Archive for April, 2020
Cover Story: Lucinda Williams
Many artists â when looking back on their catalogs â often wish that they could have done better, compositionally speaking. Hindsight, of course, is 20/20. But when Grammy-winning folk-rocker Lucinda Williams undertook her comprehensive tour last year, celebrating the 20th anniversary of her landmark third Car Wheels on a Gravel Road effort, she never once […]
Feature: Testament and Exodus – Coping with COVID
On paper, it looked like a brilliant idea â the recent comprehensive “Bay Strikes Back” month-long tour of Europe, featuring Bay Area thrash-metal stalwarts Testament, Exodus, and Death Angel. It was just the timing â Feb. 6 to March 11 â that proved a bit unfortunate. It happened to coincide with the appearance of the […]
Q&A: Randy Blythe from Lamb of God
D. Randall Blythe â Randy to friends and family â understands that it doesnât quite fit his profile as the dreadlocked, feral-throated frontman for molten metal outfit Lamb of God. But this Virginian doesnât care. Right now, at this perilous point in time, and after everything heâs survived â including detention in a Czech Republic […]
Spins – The Boomtown Rats ⢠“Citizens of Boomtown”
The Boomtown Rats Citizens of Boomtown (BMG) The Irish rockersâ first album in 36 years finds them reinvigorated and ready to do the Rat. Citizens of Boomtownâs palette connects to the groupâs history while flinging them into sonic settings not yet invented when the group hung up its tails in 1986. Singer Bob Geldof has […]
Feature – The Claudettes
Symphonic cartoon-music maestro Raymond Scott meets titanic blues pianist Otis Spann meets punk iconoclasts the Minutemen. The Stooges meet Burt Bacharach, without the horns. French yĂŠ-yĂŠ pop at the old west saloon. These off-kilter combinations arenât deliberately ironic; theyâre legitimate attempts to make an elevator pitch for Chicagoâs baffling, delightful, and utterly unique band The […]
Spins – The Outfit ⢠“Viking”
The Outfit Viking (Pavement Entertainment) Chicago rockers The Outfit have done it again. On its second full-length album, Viking, the foursome â brothers Mark (drums) and Matt Nawara (guitar), Mike Gorman (bass) and Andy Mitchell (vocals/guitar) â seamlessly merge massive hooks, edgy riffs, soaring vocal harmonies and catchy choruses with pleasing results. Mixed by multi-platinum […]
Sweet Home – April 2020 ⢠Blues Rona Playlist
A Blues Rona Playlist These are challenging times as the Covid-19 pandemic has touched all corners of the globe, all countries, and all societies. The quarantine forces us inside to piece together new routines around an uncertain situation. Music has always been a refuge in fearful circumstances, and blues literally evolved from pain, so thereâs […]
Spins: Stephen Malkmus ⢠“Traditional Techniques”
Stephen Malkmus Traditional Techniques (Matador Records) When Pavement first entered the rock scene nearly 30 years ago, they stood out like a sore thumb. While they were lo-fi, they werenât punk, and while they had pop melodies, those were buried under tape hiss and inside jokes. Frontman Stephen Malkmus never went for a stylistic makeover, […]
Spins: Greg Dulli ⢠“Random Desire”
Greg Dulli Random Desire (Royal Cream/BMG) Calling this âthe first solo albumâ by The Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli isnât technically truthful â unless itâs a deliberate attempt to erase 2005âs Amber Headlights altogether. Whether first or second, it was time for another musical road less traveled for Dulli. Surviving way longer than most rock […]
Spins: Pearl Jam ⢠“Gigaton”
Pearl Jam Gigaton (Monkeywrench/Republic) Pearl Jamâs timing for the end of the world record is impeccable. The Seattle-based quartetâs recorded output has been stalled for nearly seven years, and apparently, they have some shit they want to get off their chests. The bandâs eleventh record, Gigaton, also finds its members looking for new ways to […]
Media – April 2020
Steve Darnall remembers the exact moment he became obsessed with old time radio. âIt was 1977, and I was driving in the car with my dad. I asked him to turn on the radio, and he turned on Chuck Shaydenâs program, which aired old-time shows from the Golden Age of Radio. Dad told me that […]
File: Q&A with Mike Campbell
Discovering your own particular avenue of expression is not always easy for a young artist. Take the late Tom Petty, for example, who started out sounding a lot like his vocal idols, Bob Dylan and The Byrdsâ Roger McGuinn. He just couldnât help it â that was his creative jumping-off point, which quickly developed into […]
Cover Story – Best Coast
Best Coast anchor Bethany Cosentino admits that her duoâs chiming new Always Tomorrow set, it’s fourth, just might be the Feel-Good Album of the Year. But in retrospect, she only wishes that she at first didnât have to feel so incredibly bad just to compose it. And she isnât waxing poetic when she describes the […]
Hello My Name Is…Tim “Ripper” Owens of the Three Tremors
Although the Three Tremors concept was initially conceived in the early 2000s by Iron Maiden wailer Bruce Dickinson, Judas Priest screamer Rob Halford, and QueensrĂżche belter Geoff Tate, it never came to fruition. However, in 2018, Cage vocalist Sean âThe Hell Destroyerâ Peck began tossing the idea around with journeyman vocalist Tim âRipperâ Owens (ex-Judas […]
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