No one would have blamed Ron Sexsmith if he’d decided to skip the Valley on his current tour. His last visit here, in July of 1997, qualified as a perfect disaster. First off, Sexsmith and his two-piece supporting band played a heartfelt show at Nita’s Hideaway to about 15 people…
When septuagenarian bluesman T-Model Ford sings “I’m Insane,” he’s not playing around. Even in a musical genre defined by tough times and hard-luck stories, Ford’s life stands out for its sense of madness frequently on the verge of spinning out of control. Born James Lewis Carter Ford, T-Model knew little…
Sadly, the Sunset-strip scene of the ’80s took the New York Dolls’ name and dragged it through a thick, shit-infested mud bath, the kind through which few other pop trailblazers should ever have to suffer. I mean, the Velvets were never misinterpreted in such a way that had some thumb-head…
Cibo Matto Stereo Type A (Warner Bros.) When Cibo Matto made it to MTV in 1996 with a goofy, giddy novelty song called “Know Your Chicken,” the natural reaction among the previously uninitiated was to write the duo off as a one-joke gimmick. The idea of two thickly accented Japanese…
The 16-year-old kid with the obscene acne problem and boring piercings said he had never heard of Joan Jett. He stood behind the store’s counter wearing a cow’s expression and a Korn tee shirt. He used his mouth to draw air in and out of his body. Around his neck…
Julian Coryell never really considered being anything other than a musician. His thinking is easy enough to explain: His father, Larry Coryell, has long been one of the world’s most celebrated jazz guitarists, and Julian grew up watching musical virtuosos come in and out of the family’s southern Connecticut home…
It seems that every time Fred Green plays in California, the funk trio winds up relying on the kindness of rock heavyweights. At the group’s most recent Redondo Beach gig, a guitarist friend brought ex-Minutemen bassist Mike Watt, and Watt proceeded to get high in the band’s van before the…
Various artists Libations Unlimited: Phoenix 1997-1999 (Sentry Press) While Phoenix is nationally known for many things–excruciating heat and a sadistic sheriff among them–a stellar music scene doesn’t make the cut. Save the Meat Puppets and Gin Blossoms, virtually no Valley bands have cracked Top 40 radio or become household words–and…
For a guy once known for his unwillingness to do interviews, Elvis Costello has turned out to be one of pop music’s most insightful commentators. Over the years, he’s actually emerged as something of a “player-coach,” to borrow a term Rolling Stone once applied to Pete Townshend (in fact, Costello…
It hasn’t been the easiest of weeks for the band Chula. For their first real road excursion, the emo-punk quartet had lined up a couple of Southern California gigs along with two other bands, to be capped by a return gig in Tempe. Three hours out of Phoenix, their van…
The Negro Problem Joys and Concerns (Aerial Flipout) If there’s a weakness surrounding L.A.’s recent pop renaissance, it’s that too many of the bands settle for emulating their heroes, right down to the very last “c’mon, c’mon” and “sha-la-la.” As transcendent as much of Badfinger and the Raspberries still sound…
It was probably pure coincidence, but Gwar fans entering Club Rio’s “21 and over” patio on Tuesday, May 25, received a stamp on their wrist that read: “Circus.” The word perfectly describes the band’s bong-inspired combination of trash metal riffings and goofy gore–both performed with stage props far more ridiculous…
Henry “Mojo” Thompson sits in his wheelchair, hunched over his kitchen counter, jotting down notes in a spiral notebook. His one-room South Phoenix apartment has the near-empty look of someone who’s either moving in or moving out. The only furnishings are a TV and VCR that both rest in one…
Nick Broomfield’s controversial 1998 documentary Kurt and Courtney works very hard to paint a negative portrait of Courtney Love. So hard, in fact, that by the end of it you almost find yourself feeling sorry for her. Everyone from Love’s father to her ex-boyfriend to her former nanny fires verbal…
Branford Marsalis calls exactly at the appointed time, 3 p.m., despite a schedule that should not allow for such promptness. He is on a cellular phone, sitting on the front stoop of his 13-year-old son Reese’s piano school on White Plains Post Road in Eastchester, New York. Branford does not…
Various artists Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Maverick Records) The world inhabited by Austin Powers is more an evocation of the way the ’60s were documented than of the time period itself. Its absurd devotion to swinging at all costs echoes films like Casino Royale and the Matt…
It’s not often that I feel like I’m in the middle of an episode of V.I.P. Actually, part of the inept glory of Pamela Anderson Lee’s action series is that it never feels like anybody’s real life, with the possible exception of those well-tanned, scantily clad super sleuths out there…
On the eve of Cinco de Mayo, while many bars spent a slow evening stocking a shitload of Coronas, limes and tequila, Boston’s was quite busy serving an eclectic crowd of fans who came to see Atlanta space rockers Man or Astroman?. This band has been immortalized within indie rock…
The year is 1983. Offspring singer Dexter Holland–looking very much the blond, spiky-haired, ersatz Billy Idol that he is today–is pathetically bashing away at the drums, in his very first band. This raw piece of camcorder verite is the kind of stuff that VH1’s Before They Were Rock Stars is…
Ricky Martin Ricky Martin (Columbia Records) Whatever happened to the good old days, when the Grammy Awards were a joke and everybody knew it? Grammyland used to be a fanciful place where Jethro Tull was the pre-eminent hard rock band, while Toto and Christopher Cross were recognized as Mozarts of…
Old 97’s Fight Songs (Elektra) On “Victoria,” the opening cut off the Old 97’s 1994 release Wreck Your Life, front man Rhett Miller sings, “This is a song about Victoria’s heart/You might think it’s stupid but I still think it’s art.” In truth the same sentiment could be applied to…
If rock’s first half-century ends with Korn’s “Rock Is Dead” tour pulling down the largest 1999 concert receipts, what hope could there possibly be for people to get excited about the acts that once made rock live? Come New Year’s Eve, Little Richard will probably be woohooing it up in…
