Email Author Chris Parker

2009 Stories by Chris Parker

• Maynard James Keenan Gets Theatrical With Puscifer

  published December 3, 2009

  Maynard James Keenan has always been more an artist than rock star, and his newest project, Puscifer, is a continuation — possibly an... More >>

• A Wilhelm Scream

  published October 15, 2009

  A cross between the melodic punk of Lawrence Arms and the churning hardcore of Rise Against, AWS combine a high quotient of both heft and hooks.... More >>

• Yo La Tengo

  published October 8, 2009

  If rock required a caretaker for its creative flame, it could do a lot worse than Yo La Tengo singer/guitarist Ira Kaplan. The one-time rock... More >>

• Sunny Day Real Estate Revisits the Past, Inspiring Hopes of a New Lease on Life

  published October 8, 2009

  They were one of the '90s defining acts, spawning legions of bands in their wake. Sunny Day Real Estate's arty, churning post-punk textures, led... More >>

• Tengo Yo La Tengo

  published October 8, 2009

  If rock required a caretaker for its creative flame, it could do a lot worse than Yo La Tengo singer/guitarist Ira Kaplan. The one-time rock... More >>

• The Meat Puppets

  published September 10, 2009

  They were among the first punks to go Americana. Like The Blasters dipped in acid and sun-baked by the Arizona heat, The Meat Puppets play cosmic... More >>

• Meat Puppets

  published September 10, 2009

  They were among the first punks to go Americana. Like the Blasters dipped in acid and sun-baked by the Arizona heat, the Meat Puppets play cosmic... More >>

• Bad Boy Bill

  published August 27, 2009

  Born in Chicago, Bad Boy Bill grew up on hip-hop as well as dance music. There in the hotbed of house, he listened to Farley Jackmaster Funk of... More >>

• Castanets

  published July 23, 2009

  Castanets auteur Ray Raposa resides in a sparse, windblown expanse where his creeping country-folk echoes through the cavernous emptiness,... More >>

• Emery, & Maylene and the Sons of Disaster

  published July 23, 2009

  Southern rock never dies; it just hangs on the sidelines until another of its native sons takes up the mantle. Maylene frontman Dallas Taylor is... More >>

• The Castanets

  published July 23, 2009

  Castanets auteur Ray Raposa resides in a sparse, windblown expanse where his creeping country-folk echoes through the cavernous emptiness,... More >>

• Rapper Cage’s Depart From Me is Hardly a Rap Album

  published July 16, 2009

  Just because an artist matures doesn't mean his fans will. So while Chris Palko, a.k.a. Cage, may have experienced a personal epiphany that's... More >>

• Heroine Chic

  published May 21, 2009

  Rachel Nagy is a strong, sexy frontwoman. Her vocals canter, strut, and shimmy with the knowing look of the much-adored — half coquettish... More >>

• Polar Bear Club

  published May 7, 2009

  Despite a moment in the sun, screamo increasingly appears a failed experiment without the undying appeal of chocolate in your peanut butter.... More >>

• The Silent Years

  published May 7, 2009

  Like moonlight on a starless night, The Silent Years project across a crisp, endless expanse both starkly beautiful and with a rich, engaging... More >>

• Silent Nice

  published May 7, 2009

  Like moonlight on a starless night, the Silent Years project across a crisp, endless expanse both stark beauty and a rich, engaging brightness.... More >>

• Bear It All

  published May 7, 2009

  Despite a moment in the sun, screamo increasingly appears a failed experiment without the undying appeal of chocolate in your peanut butter.... More >>

• Dredg/Torche

  published April 30, 2009

  Though San Diego quartet Dredg has toured with Taste of Chaos and major-label metal acts like Hoobastank and Deftones, their atmospheric,... More >>

• William Elliot Whitmore Fights the World’s Monsters in Animals in the Dark

  published April 30, 2009

  It's impossible to mention William Elliott Whitmore without talking about his voice. Its deep, weathered ache sounds as though it was rescued from... More >>

• Metal Meets Metal

  published April 30, 2009

  Though San Diego quartet Dredg has toured with Taste of Chaos and major label metal acts like Hoobastank and Deftones, their atmospheric,... More >>

• Jazz Master

  published March 5, 2009

  In a culture so besieged by the conflict between art and commerce, it's perhaps natural that the use of pop idioms is disparaged by the critical... More >>

• The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde Kicks Out Some Tasty Jams On Break Up

  published February 26, 2009

  Artists are more often like soda than wine: bubbling with ideas in the beginning, losing their fizz over time, before going completely flat. So... More >>