You can sense the energy of the beach in Mike Mineo’s catchy tunes. The native Floridian weaves rhythm and words to create fresh jams. His new album, Big Big Star, captures the kinetic force of his live shows but with a brand new electronic twist. The CD release party for…
FastForward is a column documenting the nighttime scene in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach County. It’s a weeknight stop at your neighborhood dive; it’s a blurry, bass-filled Friday night in the club; it’s that one moment in a conversation you hope you’ll remember the next morning. EDM is truly is…
Considering he’s been dead for over two decades, it has been a busy year for Freddie Mercury, the late lead singer of Queen. Earlier this year, a stunning isolated vocal track of Mercury and David Bowie singing “Under Pressure” leaked onto the internet. Then last week Sacha Baron Cohen abandoned…
Florida has been getting a bad rap lately. And though it may seem at times like we’re a lost cause, that assessment isn’t entirely fair. We’re actually a global cultural force that spawned Major Lazer, one of dance music’s most inspiring and original outfits. Members Diplo and Walshy Fire are…
With their grand opening already under their belts and enthusiastic word of mouth bringing in patrons looking for a change of pace in Broward’s nightlife scene, Piano Hollywood is astutely on a path of class that won’t break your bank. The open-mic format is not an easy sell, but by…
Aging and appearing on a terrible reality show have reshaped Ozzy Osbourne’s public image. Now seen as a lovable old coot, it’s hard to remember that in the 1980s, Ozzy was one of the two scariest boogeymen lurking in popular culture. And while kids were pretty certain that the other…
In the wake of a viral video showing a bouncer beatdown of some patrons at Dirty Blondes, one area resident is pissed and has set up a Facebook page demanding a boycott of the Fort Lauderdale bar and justice for the patrons. The video shows bargoer Alexander Coelho getting punched…
A violent video showing three Dirty Blondes bouncers beating on patrons outside the popular Fort Lauderdale Beach watering hole has gone viral since hitting the internet Sunday evening. Two patrons, identified as Alexander Coelho, 29, and David Parker, were arrested and charged with battery and disorderly conduct after a fight…
FastForward is a column documenting the nighttime scene in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach County. It’s a weeknight stop at your neighborhood dive; it’s a blurry, bass-filled Friday night in the club; it’s that one moment in a conversation you hope you’ll remember the next morning. No one ever said…
It’s hard to overstate how fantastic the MTV series Daria was or to exaggerate the influence its (anti) heroine had on pop culture’s current crop of droll leading ladies. Some see Napoleon Dynamite, American Pie, or Juno (one of our beloved misanthrope’s many progenies) as definitive millennial fare. Others tie…
The reunion of Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, and bass guy Geezer Butler — you know, the seminal dark lords of metal — has managed to help keep the heavy-metal masses smiling. With crossed arms, of course. Even without legendary original drummer Bill Ward thundering the skins, Black…
UPDATE: Turns out many artists first listed by April Ryan at American Urban Radio Networks, like Rihanna and the Rolling Stones, aren’t actually boycotting the state. Mother Jones reported on the story, as did the Huffington Post. Dear Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Usher, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Rod Stewart, Young…
English professor and Miami native, Dean Swinford has embarked on the first serious literary treatise concerning death metal with Death Metal Epic I: The Inverted Katabasis. The young novella is picking up endorsements and accolades from both literary and musical circles. Reared in Florida with a solid education in ’80s…
If the Screamers and the Units were revamping the musical landscape of California with digital forays into synth rock back in the late ’70s, early ’80s, it goes without question that Jeremy Kolosine and his Futurisk racket was doing the same for South Florida and the Eastern seaboard roughly at…
If you’re in a large group of people listening to the Dave Matthews Band, the law of probability states that you and everyone within hearing distance will likely be participating in a little traditional peace-pipe action. It’s just a matter of time before the percussive chimes and fluttering saxophone inspire…
The man born Brian Warner is actually rather shy. But give him some color contacts, a latex body suit, and a crowd of thousands, and that skinny, pasty, quiet Florida boy transforms into Marilyn Manson, one of the most shocking musical entertainers of all time. After nearly two decades of…
As the jury deliberated the fate of George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin, the media fanned the flames of fear that there would be riots if Zimmerman was found not guilty. The media was wrong about predicting riots, instead there have been strong, peaceful reactions. Especially from the…
Rebranding and reinventing an established name is not an easy affair, and nor should it be. In the transient nightlife in South Florida the “try” list is far longer than the “succeeded,” but those odds don’t impose on those who venture into it looking to conquer the entertainment scene. The…
Last February, Lil Wayne led a roomful of moronic lemmings in yelping “Fuck the Miami Heat!” all because his douchey antics had gotten him ejected from a game at the American Airlines Arena the week prior. Weezy fucked up real good talking-trash his adopted city’s beloved team. He might as…
Three little letters: EDM. How do we define it? More important, how do we experience it? Electronic dance music is not a new phenomenon. We’ve been raving for decades, and we’re surprisingly not tired yet. EDM, though, has morphed into something of a new animal in recent years, fueled by…
Rivalries usually are between two sports teams (Dolphins versus Jets) or between two rappers (Tupac versus Biggie). A battle between music and sports was unheard-of until things deteriorated the way they have the past few years between NBA champions the Miami Heat and Lil Wayne. To prepare for Lil Wayne…
In the local hip-hop scene, a few names stand out in the positive light of hard work and artistic ambition. While there certainly is no short supply of MCs, DJs, and producers in our community, it is the sense of family and a staunch South Florida identity that separates this…
