What keeps the live music experience exciting is that, despite the huge differences between crowds, music styles, and venues, sometimes it’s great to hit a show and get EXACTLY what you wanted. On this evening, I headed off to the Hi-Dive to hear Portland, Oregon’s Thermals plays some no-holds-barred rock music (post-pop-punk, as their label […]
Forming a record label so you can release your first record is the epitome of D.I.Y. Big D and the Kids Table embody every facet of that kind of thinking, everything from said label, to handing out fliers and stickers at each show on their tours.
Born In The Flood released its first full-length album on Morning After Records, If This Thing Should Spill, on February 9 with a huge CD release party at the Gothic Theater. I’ve seen this four piece a number of times, opening for The Walkmen and DeVotchKa, and always enjoyed their electric piano thrown-in to add […]
The Canadian Wyclef is back. This self-proclaimed B-boy K-OS, continues to push the boundaries of what hip-hop music is, firmly entrenching himself in the comparable company of such visionaries as Andre 3000, Cee-Lo, and the aforementioned ‘Clef. Where his first album Exit was the introduction of a great talent, and the sophomore release Joyful Rebellion […]
Remixes are made for the 2% music set: the nerd crowd who is half fan and half musician. A remix of any song is a techno tribute, after all. In this case, Interpretations de Oso is remixed math-rock—as you’d expect—just a bit more technically fidgety than Minus the Bear already was. While certain purists cry, […]
Rjd2 has changed labels for his latest release, The Third Hand, moving from left-field hip-hop label Def Jux to XL Recordings, home of indie rock favorites the White Stripes and Thom Yorke. This record finds Rj playing and recording every instrumental sound as well as singing on almost every track; a fair change from the […]
Dirty, gritty punk—pure and feckin’ simple. The Kaffeine Buzz entourage caught Oakland rockers The Time Flys with pals and label-mates Apache at Austin’s South By the Southwest (SXSW) festival last month, and the reality is everything their second LP, Rebels of Babylon promises: Three skinny, dirty, quite stoned boys and one rockin’ chica, blazing through […]
Finally, a rock band that reminds me of why I loose so much sleep listening, reading about, researching, and seeing music while also loathing the contrived, formulated pre-teen pop that seems to be everywhere we turn these days. Maybelline eye shadow and Gap fashion spreads does not a rock ‘n’ roll band make. And sometimes […]
Last November the Lucky Stiffs were throwing down some punk rock moves at a strip club where their show took place during CMJ in New York, receiving praise for being one of a number of bands that are contributing to a movement in music, “Punk is the new … punk.” They were also celebrating the […]
