Music

Click here to read Crossfade’s Q&A with Judy Torres, and click here to read the Q&A with Johnny O. When someone asks me what freestyle is, I play them Nice & Wild’s “Diamond Girl.” This song has it all: infectious hooks, English and Spanish vocals, an ominous rap part, lyrics…

via myspace.com/judytorresTo read yesterday’s interview with Johnny O, click here. Judy Torres is the singer of the freestyle hits “No Reason to Cry” and “Please Stay Tonight.” She is currently a radio host on WKTU 103.5 in New York City. And there is no doubt that she is the Queen of…

If you like your local music smart, conscious, uplifting, and all kinds of other complimentary adjectives, then you’ve probably heard of Soulflower. If not, get with the program — she’s one of the few visible female MCs in the local underground circuit, and is dedicated to getting more women participating…

For those of you still aching for some ich bin Berliner tech grooves after Phonique’s stellar set last week, Format: B will be in town and throwing down an exclusive live PA at the Electric Pickle on Friday night. This dynamic production duo from (where else?) Berlin have been making…

Yes, there are more local band battles than you can shake a stick at, but the Fort Lauderdale-based Ghost of Gloria is poised, possibly, to win a big-deal national one. The Hard Rock chain has, over the past few months, sponsored its own “Ambassadors of Rock” series. Hard Rock Cafes…

DegenerationSomehow I didn’t notice that Pennsylvania’s War Pigs are playing at Goo tonight, Wednesday May 27. Think of if Black Sabbath met Motorhead but they grew up listening to 1990’s HC and post-HC. Amazing shredding, raw intensity, deep riffs – it’s all fucking in there. If you haven’t picked up…

The parade of super clever names continues with Boys Like Girls hitting the Culture Room on June 24th in support of their brilliantly titled upcoming album “Due or Die”. The Boston based pop rockers are touring across the U.S. and seemingly hitting every Six Flags in the nation along the…

Mark your calendars boys and girls, I’ve got your Saturday night plans all lined up for you. Now, I know you don’t normally like to commit to an outing until you’re four to six drinks deep at a Friday afternoon happy hour, and well on your way to the 48-hour…

Want to see Matisyahu and Les Claypool for under $25 bucks? You can: The only catch to this deal is you’ve got to have at least three friends. Well technically they don’t have to be friends so much as they have a little cash to chip in for some cheap…

via myspace.com/surfnazisonecstasyHailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Surf Nazis on Ecstasy are a thrash-punk trio who, despite their name, are neither beach bums nor fascists. And they definitely don’t do raves. By their own word: “We’re not artsy. We’re not Nazis. We only play all-ages shows.” It’s an operational ethic that regularly…

via brookesworld.comAs I said last week, I don’t have anything against Brooke Hogan, and, frankly, as a fellow twentysomething female, I empathize with some of her foibles. But damn, the girl has got to get a new … aesthetic counselor. Hogan’s people have revealed an “exclusive first look” at her…

While we’re on the subject of the Freestyle Invasion II concert this Saturday, we put together a play list of some of the best songs by the artists performing. Enjoy.Oh yeah – there’s also another HUGE freestyle show coming up, the Freestyle Extravaganza on June 27 at the AAA. That…

via myspace.com/johnnyofreestyleSaturday’s Freestyle Explosion features some of the biggest names in the genre, and Crossfade’s own columnist, Jose El Rey, interviewed most of them. We’ll be publishing one or two interviews a day in celebration of the show, which takes place this Saturday night at the BankUnited Center in Coral…

Cleaveland Jonesle Spam at Suenalo release partyAndrew Yeomanson a.k.a. DJ le Spam has one of the sickest vinyl collections in the swamp state.  Anyone who has been to his record sales or has seen him digging in the crates, knows that the man is a walking, talking, scratching, selecting, cutting…

You may recall reading about a group on these pages called Tiempo Libre. If you’re a Cuban coffee drinker, there’s a chance they may even peek at you from the side of your can of grounds every morning as you curse the five day work week. That’s right, they’re those…

Twenty one years is a hell of a long time to be playing music, much less to be playing someone else’s music, but The Machine is doing just that. They’ve been hailed as the best Pink Floyd tribute band by numerous people, and Spin.com claims they sound “exactly like Pink…

Buy a ticket for a Hank Williams III show and you’re probably expecting to hear a whole lot of country songs about heartbreak, good old boys, and life on the wide open plains. Show up to the Hank Williams III and Assjack show at Culture Room in July and you’ll…