In Conversation with Vanessa Williams
Before her concert in Scottsdale.
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Indian Antao on Why the Mesa Music Festival Is Free
“You like what you see, you stay, and try to have something for everybody.”
The Pixies’ Black Francis on Head Carrier and Working with Paz Lenchantin
And “All I Think About Now.”
Herbie Hancock on Playing with Miles Davis and the Meaning of Life
He’s performing at Mesa Arts Center this week.
Tears for Fears’ Curt Smith on Finding Creative Balance
“I didn’t find the whole stardom thing healthy.”
Tony Bennett on His Duet Bucket List, Which Absolutely Includes Beyonce
Also the greatest accolade he’s received and the best life lesson learned.
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Mike Ness and Social Distortion Have Matured With Age Like a Fine Wine
Through the eyes of its die-hard fans, Orange County punk rockers Social Distortion should be content to crank out formulaic songs of impulsive teen-angst and rebellion in the vein of “Mommy’s Little Monster” and “Another State of Mind” over and over, right? They could, but enigmatic frontman and band originator…
Flogging Molly to Unveil New Songs at Pot of Gold Music Festival
Just another reason to celebrate.
Reverend Horton Heat’s Jim Heath Talks Music and Parenting on the Road
You would be hard-pressed to find a traveling musician who plays as many shows and as many towns these days as Jim Heath, of Reverend Horton Heat (RHH). In fact, there are not too many saloons, night clubs, festival stages and places that he hasn’t liked, and even fewer he…
Los Angeles Punk Pioneers X Are Still Evolving After 40 Years
When members of the band X came onto the music scene of the late ’70s, the world had already witnessed the punk rock insurgence cropping up in New York and London.
Mavis Staples Reflects on a Career Full of Gospel and Positive Energy
The ability to reinvent oneself as a relevant musical talent in any era is difficult. To do without giving into popular trends, is as much an art form as the music that emanates from that talent. No one exemplifies that sentiment quite like legend Mavis Staples. The irony of her…
Frank Turner’s Music is for Punks of All Ages
Singer-songwriter Frank Turner has made a name for himself in his native England and in the U.S. by mixing punk attitude with a folk bent that conjures up his countrymen Joe Strummer and Billy Bragg. It is a sound Turner says is for the people, much like the global camp…
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This Isn’t ‘Nam, This Is Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s Country Music
You probably know him best from his stint as Smokey in “The Big Lebowski.”
The Blind Boys of Alabama Are Still Singing
The Blind Boys have been singing for the better part of a century.
Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden Describes What Inspired The Band’s Comeback Album
Good Charlotte began its career with a bang and went on to rule the roost as one of pop punk’s most successful bands among fans with more than 10 million in sales. This happened despite harsh criticisms from rock critics as being too boy-bandish and heavy on the teen angst themes…
Kraftwerk’s 3-D Concert Just One More Step In Band’s Relationship With Technology
Finding the balance between advances in modern technology and the excess that can come from them has always been at the center of the message that permeates the mysterious and yet mesmerizing music created by Kraftwerk, the godfathers of modern synthesizer music. Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider formed the band…
Staying Busy is Key to Daryl Hall’s Soul Salvation
They were two young Philly kids who fell in love with the burgeoning soul music scene exploding in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Their musical education was learned on the streets of the City of Brotherly Love, and their teachers were legendary songwriters like Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff,…
The Truth of the Flamin’ Groovies’ Story is Stranger Than Fiction
The Flamin’ Groovies would prefer to take the oft-bestowed label as one of the “greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands you’ve never heard of” and kick it to the curb. And yet, 50 years since their humble San Francisco beginnings, this sincere, yet dubious distinction given to them may be be…
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The Go-Go’s Talk The Joys of Touring and Why The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Is Ridiculous
The Go-Go’s still have the beat, but the beat will no longer go on: The group is calling it quits after decades together. The group’s sound epitomized the New Wave era of the early ’80s. The Go-Go’s combined ’60s beach music fandom with a spunky punk-rock DIY attitude, created catchy…
Staying Rock-Relevant Keeps Heart, Cheap Trick, and Joan Jett Rolling
If there’s one word to describe the bands taking the stage at Ak-Chin Pavilion this Sunday, it’s “experienced.” The three groups on the Rock Hall Three For All tour — Cheap Trick, Heart, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts — have sold almost 65 million records between them. All told,…
For Alabama Shakes’ Heath Fogg, Happiness is Maintaining Musical Passion
Heath Fogg should be upset that his band’s touring van has broken down on a few Fridays back en route to the Panorama NYC festival at Randall’s Island Park his band is set to headline. Dealing with NYC traffic can be more than a bit trifling for even the most…
Melissa Etheridge Talks About “Pulse,” Her Reaction to Orlando Shooting
A nation was stunned and horrified at the senseless shooting spree that took the lives of 49 innocent people and injured at least another 53 at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, in the early hours of June 12. One of those heartbroken over the tragedy was Melissa Etheridge, who…