John Rich of Big & Rich — the funniest and funkiest new rebels in country music — likes to tell a story about his preacher dad and Mötley Crüe, a group that embodies rebellious fun (if not exactly funk) for a whole generation of heartland Americans. About four years ago,…
Last Chrismukkah, an entire generation did a double take when The O.C. ‘s resident indie geek, Seth Cohen, uttered the words “Death Cab for Cutie” on network television during prime time. A year later, it’s clear a new era has arrived when the biggest name on the soundtrack to TV’s…
Mega-producer Clive Davis of J Records declared Gavin DeGraw his “next big thing” a few years back, but ivory tickler DeGraw is still waiting for everyone else to realize just how good he really is. If you know anything about him, then you already know it might just be his…
Although Decemberists vocalist Colin Meloy went on a solo tour this past winter, Picaresque, the Portland, Oregon, band’s third album, is arguably its lushest yet. The nuanced production of Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla finally matches Meloy’s obsession with detail: Horns, strings and accordion drift in and out of…
Halloween reeks of charity, so what better way to get into the spirit than with a UNICEF-posse cut produced by some of rock’s biggest trick-or-treaters? We’re talking Beck, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Arcade Fire, Sonic Youth, Malcolm McLaren, Sum 41, an Inuit throat singer named Tagaq — along with…
Now that Lady Sovereign and Dizzee Rascal have conditioned enough ears to accept the kind of flow that rhymes “garage” with “carriage,” German electro-queen Quio isn’t going to seem like such an anomaly. Wisely ditching the “MC Looney Tunes” moniker she used in her early days as a sideshow in…
Clint Black got tired of hassling with his label a few years ago and started his own logo. This is his second outing for his own outfit (not counting last year’s Christmas album), and being his own boss obviously agrees with him. The title track has the sound of a…
Of late, hip-hop supergroups have fared better than their rock counterparts. C’mon — Madvillain? Handsome Boy Modeling School? Incredible stuff, especially in comparison to Velvet Revolver. Now let’s add Dangerdoom to that distinguished list. A collaboration between it-producer Danger Mouse and Madvillain rhymer MF Doom, The Mouse and the Mask…
Ray Raposa, the singer-songwriter at the core of Castanets, makes oddly elusive music. The lyrics are oblique, the delivery is matter-of-fact, almost spoken as much as sung, and the playing is minimal, just enough music to make the tracks into songs rather than poems or conversation. First Light’s Freeze balances…
Taking a cue from their successful Verve Remixed series, the folks behind the legendary jazz label open the catalogue of their sub-label for 10 producers to modernize classics. While Verve was always a bit more “mainstream” — if you can ever claim that of anything outside of light jazz –…
Caitlin Cary began playing violin when she was very young, but had let music lapse in favor of a creative-writing degree when she met Ryan Adams, who recruited her to play Emmylou Harris to his Gram Parsons in the band Whiskeytown. Her smoky alto had enough character to write its…
Boys Night Out and Fall Out Boy may be on the Nintendo Fusion Tour, but don’t let the monikers of these poppy emo bands fool you — they’re still adults. The real boys of the tour are the four teenage members of Las Vegas’ Panic! At the Disco, who formed…
Here’s a band that should’ve gotten some of the drooling praise that was slathered upon the similarly guitar-drenched music of Longwave. Then again, hype like that is never good for any artist, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that this Los Angeles four-piece can get the credit it deserves without…
It’s always exciting when a world-class DJ hits the ‘Nix for the first time; it does our egos good and quashes a bit of our desert metropolis’ inferiority complex. So clap your hands and say “yeah” for this Saturday’s inaugural appearance by U.K. producer and DJ BK, a.k.a. Ben Keen,…
The evolution of Breakestra has been an auspicious journey of funk and feeling. Bandleader Miles Tackett has reserved his place in the Los Angeles mind as leader of the weekly Rootdown party, a hangout for conscious and breakthrough hip-hop/soul/funk mavens. His band started by playing covers of soul classics, eventually…
Poor man’s Shins no more, California’s Rogue Wave moves past the dwarfish indie rock that defined its debut into grand, 70mm glory on its second record. You can tell right away, when the giant chorus blows up big in the center of “Bird on a Wire”, with elephant-size drums stomping…
Please welcome tonight’s three contestants for accolades, riches and fame. From Los Gatos, CA, we have Dredg, whose meandering, oceanic compositions hint of ballad-oriented modern rock. The guitars swirl while singer/guitarist Gavin Hayes croons and swoons over the top like Matchbox Twenty covering Oasis. The band’s third release for Interscope,…
Born out of the blues revival of the early ’60s, John Hammond Jr. has defied stereotypes from Day One. You know, like when he said he wanted to play the blues and someone sharply replied, “Boy, you white.” Then came Day Two, when someone else said, “Boy, you from the…
Thursday 20 Acme Roadhouse: College Night with DJ J. Alan (Top 40) Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness: DJ Suzy (hip-hop, dance) Anderson’s Fifth Estate: Area 51 with AKA (gothic, industrial) AZ 88: DJ P-Body (jazz fusion, funk) Dos Gringos — Scottsdale: Block Party with DJ Sterling (all genres) e4: “Eve” Ladies’ Night…
1. Dangerdoom, The Mouse and the Mask (Epitaph) 2. Story of the Year, In the Wake of Determination (Maverick) 3. O.A.R. , Stories of a Stranger (Lava) 4. Explosions in the Sky, How Strange, Innocence (Temporary Residence) 5. Atmosphere, You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having (Rhymesayers) 6. Jimmy…
“If you see us again, we will definitely be doing it for the money,” announced Tom Reardon, bass player and vocalist for Hillbilly Devilspeak, in a recent press release. After more than 11 years of playing shows, Reardon’s killing off the band that’s been his primary artistic endeavor, at least…
The other day I happened, to my great surprise, to walk by a cheerleading camp, a small army of kids with words like “TIGERS” emblazoned across their trim, peppy asses. Sometimes I forget that real, nonironic cheerleaders, who are very serious about what they do, exist — and not just…
