Email Author Robert Baird

1993 Stories by Robert Baird

• HONESTY IS THE BEST ANODYNEUNCLE TUPELO KEEPS ITS MIDWESTERN ROOTS ON THE WAY TO LOW-TECH SUCCESS

  published November 3, 1993

  Ask any big star about telephone interviews, and he'll tell you that there's an art to blowing them off. The trick, from a musician's point of... More >>

• PASS THE JAM

  published November 3, 1993

  Pearl Jam Vs. (Epic) They're back for round two, folks. Vs., the second album from Pearl Jam, finds the Seattle grunge men cranking it... More >>

• FUNK, BY GEORGEHERE'S ONE CLINTON WHO WON'T BE CONFUSED AS A HALF-BROTHER OF BILL

  published October 27, 1993

  Time and rhythms are fluid for George Clinton. His clock and metronome have always ticked at speeds different than the remainder of... More >>

• DEAD HOT AND RIPE BUT WILL THE TALENTED TEMPE BAND MISS ITS HARVEST SEASON?

  published October 13, 1993

  Tempe on a Friday night. Mill Avenue, the main drag, is a warm, yeasty environment, alive with frat rats, gang wanna-bes, packs of young women... More >>

• BUFFALO TOM'S QUIET STAMPEDE

  published October 6, 1993

  Bill Janovitz vividly remembers the night last summer when his band's manager called with big news. "He said, 'I've got good news and bad... More >>

• ROCKIN' PAST 40

  published September 29, 1993

  John Hiatt's heard it all before. Over 40. Past his prime. Lost his edge. Too old, too tired and, lately, too happy to still be relevant. "Too... More >>

• ROCKABILITY REGAINED

  published September 22, 1993

  Rockabilly retrorocket Colin Winski has spent most of his life in a love-hate relationship with the ghost of Elvis. Blessed--or cursed--with a... More >>

• ARIZONA'S MR. MICROPHONEBLUES HARPISTS ARE BLOWN AWAY BY JOE HARLESS' HARMONICA MIKE

  published September 8, 1993

  From the outside, the mobile home where Joe Harless launched his journey to musical fame and fortune looked like just another tin can on another... More >>

• NEW RELEASES FROM THE DESERT

  published September 1, 1993

  Arizona's music scene is in an unusual state these days. Here in the Valley, hip-hop knuckleheads Phunk Junkeez and smooth R&B singer Malaika are... More >>

• SPLENDOR IN THE BLUEGRASSALISON KRAUSS, THE GRAND OLE OPRY,S NEWEST SUPERSTAR, PLAYS SECOND FIDDLE TO NO ONE

  published August 25, 1993

  Will success spoil Alison Krauss? The pressure is certainly building. On July 3, 21-year-old Krauss became the first bluegrass player in 29... More >>

• CLAWING THEIR WAY TO THE TOPWHEN IT COMES TO PUNK-METAL, YOU'VE GOT TO HAND IT TO PAW

  published August 25, 1993

  "I was stone-cold sober, and I still don't remember playing that night!" Grant Fitch is straining to recall events from a weekend two years... More >>

• COMPILE DRIVERS ARIZONA MUSICIANS SHINE ON THREE NEW, DIVERSE COLLECTIONS

  published August 18, 1993

  Local music carries a stigma. "Local" conjures up visions of being trapped without a seat in a crowded bar with pushy waitresses and a bad band.... More >>

• PROGRAM NOTES

  published July 28, 1993

  On the morning two years ago when my father died, the music I immediately turned to was that of Sam Cooke. To me, that hypnotic voice and those... More >>

• LEAN AND SOBER

  published July 28, 1993

  There's no use mourning the Replacements. They were irreplaceable. They were the finest, most visceral example of that great staple of rock n'... More >>

• USED CDS ON THE HIT LIST

  published June 30, 1993

  The mother of all paranoias is whispering in the ears of ®MDRV¯four®MDNM¯ of the six major record labels. With sirenlike tones, ... More >>

• ROAD WORRIERWITH A NEW ALBUM AND A NATIONAL TOUR, DANNY GATTON CAN'T STAVE OFF SUCCESS MUCH LONGER

  published June 23, 1993

  Being on the road is no picnic. For most musicians, the biggest headache is wondering what's going on back home. Has Ma Bell finally shut off the... More >>

• ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING-AND A LICENSEMUSIC COPYRIGHTERS ARE WAITING TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR BUSINESS

  published June 2, 1993

  Music and commerce go together. Restaurants, clubs, bars and even retail shops become more inviting with the ambiance created by music. Root... More >>

• PLAYINT THE SKIN GAME

  published May 26, 1993

  Liars, Gods & Beggars eccentricities, idiosyncrasies & indiscretions (local CD) In musical terms, everything north of the dog track at... More >>

• RODGERS' MUD

  published May 19, 1993

  Earlier this year, MCA Records made a big media splash with the "news" that it had knighted itself lord-protector of the hallowed Chess Records... More >>

• THE BOYS FROM BRAZILTRANSPLANTED TO PHOENIX, SEPULTURA STRIVES FOR DEATH METAL WITH A CONSCIENCE

  published May 12, 1993

  Half-rotting ghouls dismembering and devouring a pregnant woman. Horned half-man, half-beast creatures having sex with decomposing female corpses.... More >>

• BLUES BLOODED JOE LOUIS WALKER IS READY TO EMERGE FROM THE SHADOW OF ROBERT CRAY

  published April 28, 1993

  Joe Louis Walker is not the kind of person to look back in anger. But he admits that sometimes, the endless comparisons to that other Bay Area... More >>

• REPLACING THE MATS

  published April 14, 1993

  Bash & Pop Friday Night Is Killing Me (Sire) Chris Mars 75% Less Fat (Smash/Island) How do we miss the Replacements? Let's... More >>

• THE WORTHY DISCIPLENANCI GRIFFITH LEADS A FOLK RENAISSANCE BY HARKENING TO THE MASTER

  published April 14, 1993

  Like most people who've spent the past 20 years in show business, Nanci Griffith hates doing telephone interviews. Although Griffith has a... More >>

• CRYPTIC GRUNGESAN DIEGO'S ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT STAYS IN TOUCH WITH ITS PUNK KIN

  published April 7, 1993

  A few years ago, "grunge" could be defined as a persistent fungus found in shower stalls, or as the flannel coating that forms on the teeth of... More >>

• BARTHOLOMEW'S RHYTHM AND BLUES CRUISE

  published March 31, 1993

  Various Artists The Genius of Dave Bartholomew (EMI) Smiley Lewis The Best of Smiley Lewis: I Hear You Knocking (EMI) One... More >>