It’s been almost 25 years since Chris Isaak slipped his debut album, Silvertone, on to the pop music scene, but it could just as easily have been yesterday — or a half century ago. Why? Because Isaak, 52, carries the torch of tradition — steady, ready, and steeped in the…
All That Remains frontman and bandleader Phil Labonte has no worries about how recent changes in the music industry have made it increasingly difficult for bands to remain economically viable. As a self-proclaimed conservative, Ronald Reagan enthusiast, and “fan of commerce,” Labonte takes a hands-on approach to his band’s career…
There are days that just fucking suck. Maybe you notice some weird rash after a recent one-night stand. Maybe you lose your job and come home early to find Mom in bed with the BF. Maybe you back your F-150 over your dog. Whatever; shit happens. And the ensuing bad…
Sometime in the early 1970s, Frank Zappa wearily stated during a TV interview that average rock fans generally liked music they didn’t have to try too hard to fathom — “Nothing too off-the-wall,” FZ said in the parlance of the time. If the recordings comprising Wazoo had been released when…
Rachid Taha’s music treads a distinct line between two worlds, rooted in his experiences as an Algerian immigrant living in France. For those unfamiliar with the 49-year-old foreign star, he’s been rocking out with a punk sensibility since the early ’80s. Themes of dual identity, racial discrimination, and the realities…
Long before sports strikes, steroid scandals, and Madonna trysts reared their homely heads, baseball was considered America’s great national pastime. As devotion to the game cuts across generational lines, it’s only natural there’d be a concept album about baseball. The Baseball Project is one such homage, courtesy of Young Fresh…
Most everything you need to know about horny, go-getting Los Angeles newcomer Shwayze can be gleaned from lines like this one from “Polaroid”: “Woke up with a semi-hard dick/In a fat chick/Three this week/Call that a hat trick.” Yeah, it’s that bad. Oddly, though, the partly sung, partly rapped tracks…
If you know your Florida punk rock, you’ll know the mighty Roach Motel, the Sunshine State’s highly un-PC answer to Minor Threat. This CD compiles pretty much every RM song recorded (plus a Grand Funk Railroad cover), with the notable exclusion of the band’s classic “Wetback.” Oh well, you can’t…
Ah, the old visa troubles… Turns out two of the flamenco-fusion singer’s band members are Cuban nationals. Here’s the statement from the Rhythm Foundation, who booked the show. — Arielle Castillo BUIKA CONCERT IN MIAMI IS POSTPONED The Rhythm Foundation announces that the BUIKA concert Tues September 9 at Gusman…
Rebecca Smeyne The Village Voice documents the last party at the infamous McCarren Pool with Yo La Tengo. Houston Press’ Rocks Off blogger Chris Gray loses his Guitar Hero cherry. SF Weekly does its best to capture the odd fashion choices at Outside Lands. Warning: it ain’t pretty. Check out…
Rok Vegas in the New York New York Hotel & Casino. Remember Rokbar LA? No? Don’t worry, neither does anyone else. When Rokbar Miami flourish, owners quickly opened a Los Angeles version in Hollywood, competing with institutions like Viper Room and the Roxy. But the problem was that Rokbar was…
Twas the night before Tropical Storm Fay, and already the sky looked dark and gloomy. I’d seen the advertisements for Palm Grill’s drink deal — three martinis for a measly $9 — awhile ago, but I was waiting for the perfect situation in which three martinis might be necessary. An…
Fusion. Within music, it’s practically a dirty word. Though the term is intended to suggest the magic of endless possibilities, it has an unmistakably loaded ring to it. And much as in the realm of cuisine, anything that bears the “fusion” tag is likely to stir up derision, controversy, and…
There is no denying our love for Miami’s own Lazaro Casanova, so when he posted up a new track via his MySpace yesterday we were sort of excited to say the least. His first release “Venganza” was a dancefloor thriller that had us shaking the moment we heard it, and…
Mark Mauer LA Weekly’s blog Play visits the wall where the late singer/songwriter Elliot Smith posed for his Figure 8 album. Since his death in 2003, it has become an informal memorial to Smith. According to SF Weekly, Miami Beach resident Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, is scheduled…
In the beginning, Philadelphia native Garrett “G. Love” Dutton — hitting the national music scene like a fourth Beastie Boy crossed with splashes of Beck and Bob Dylan — created the song “Cold Beverage” with his two-man backing band, Special Sauce. The year was 1994, the shambling song came from…
Within reggae, few people could argue that Beres Hammond is revered as one of the greatest balladeers to ever live — if not the best. His honey-coated voice and soul-jarring lyrics have united lovers for years, and he practically redefined the lovers’ rock subgenre with his classic albums Love From…
In the 1960s, the concept of the “power trio” came into full existence. Bands of the guitar/bass/drums configuration, such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream, were the prototypes of this style. Arguably however, the Sonny Rollins trio was one of the first bands (within the genre of jazz, no…
If Lil Wayne indeed sleeps, there’s little doubt as to the details of his particular dreamscape — it’s ugly, heaving, hopelessly dark, and in constant flux at the hands of some serious demons. Aggressive, rhythm-bent voices pound in from all sides; wild, chirping sounds stab at the body; and time…
Detroit’s Casimer Pascal is a fop-pop genius, the case being made first with three leave-’em-wanting-more EPs and now indisputable with this debut full-length. Caz is the RZA of Pas/Cal’s Wu-Tang Clan (its seven members also play in Hidden Ghost Balloon Ship), and it’s his lavender fist and airy vocals that…
If sanity in hip-hop is sexy, then J-Live might fuck around and become Denzel. The New York underground fixture’s fifth indie release, Then What Happened?, is a consistent collection of songs that promote common-man sensibilities and simple humanity — traits often absent in hip-hop these days. J’s strength is his…
Hip-hop music with a message in 2008 is like a biased voter. It has plenty of opinions but often can’t see the bigger picture outside of whatever it’s ranting about at the time. One major exception to this rule is Pretty Dark Things, the new full-length by local act Cyne…
