Thanks again Miami Nights for the heads up. No real surprises on this second phase of the lineup for the Ultra Music Festival, except for the totally awesome addition of Underworld headlining the second night. Don’t know who they are? Yes you do — their big mainstream breakout track was…
Italian-born DJ John Acquaviva has called Ontario, Canada, his home for most of his life, but as one of the most elite and in-demand techno DJs, he calls the world his stage. He cofounded the seminal techno labels Plus 8 and Definitive with cohort Richie Hawtin, and the two have…
Considering Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are headlining Super Bowl XLII’s halftime show, we couldn’t help wondering which other acts would deserve the chance to play to one of the year’s biggest crowds. Of course, then we also got to wondering about what rare musical matchups the event could motivate,…
Admit it: Sometimes you’re sitting around listening to your old Sex Pistols records and thinking, Which punk-rock icon has the biggest schlong? Or maybe you’re wondering, What kind of pizza would that Food Network dude say goes well with the New York Dolls? The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists…
There’s nothing I could say about local band The Eat that is not going to come across like some dribbly fanboy slosh. But I’ll say it now, as I’ve said it a thousand times and will continue to say till my dying day: I fucking love The Eat! Seriously, I…
Led by singer/guitarist Mike Montero, OSO exhibits a great knack for spacey, jammy prog-rock reminiscent of Particle. The band’s full-length LP, You Know, was released independently on its own Polyphonic Studio label last July. Like many local musicians, Montero finds the Miami rock scene a challenge, but he does detect…
Here are Kenny Garrett’s credentials: At the gentle age of 18, he was part of Duke Ellington’s orchestra (then led by son Mercer Ellington). At age 21, he was gigging with Mel Lewis’s orchestra, and by age 24, he had produced his first solo recorded effort. A talented and accomplished…
Pittsburgh might not be known as a hotbed of hip, but native Gregg Gillis, a DJ turned remix artist, serves up white-hot mashups that perfectly reflect the genre-bending preferences of downtown types. Like similar DJs/remix artists such as Flosstradamus and The Rub, Girl Talk spins sets that traverse hip-hop, crunk,…
On tap at Shine this Saturday is a friendly reminder that Winter Music Conference is on its way. A bit early, yes, since WMC doesn’t officially kick off until March 24, but any excuse to get two of Saw Recordings’ standout acts to South Beach will work. First and foremost,…
Not just a local hero anymore, Markus Schulz rides a wave of adulation for his second artist album, Progression, into Mansion on Saturday. These days the German-born DJ and producer lives in and operates out of Miami as well as Berlin. And from wherever he calls home at the moment,…
Placing a phone call to Austin Barber, vocalist and guitarist for Oakland-based quartet Saviours, can be off-putting. After a few rings, his voicemail greeting comes on, a recorded clip of a hillbilly-sounding guy ranting, possibly about gold. It’s utterly creepy, hard to shut off, and goes on forever. “Oh, that’s…
“My Lord,” you might be saying, “Ween is still around?” And how, brother. Dismissed for two decades as a joke band, Ween has labored in sorta-obscurity while somehow simultaneously selling out shows and winning die-hard converts. How do they do it? Easy: Ween rules. In fact the Pennsylvania group is…
Steve Bug will not make you run through the streets nude. Using digital production suite Ableton Live, Bug has strung together 22 druggy, dubby, minimal-funk tracks that will cause responsible rejoicing among tech-house fans. The head of German label Poker Flat, Bug has delivered to London’s Fabric an appropriate followup…
Sweet post-holiday stocking stuffer or iPod space waster? That should be the only relevant question when discussing a free 13-song “album” from the established rap statesmen of Atmosphere. (It’s available on their label’s website at www.rhymesayers.com/atmosphere.) Even if it sucks, it’s costing you only the time it takes to skip…
A brilliant South African warrior and king in the 18th Century, the legendary Shaka Zulu was one of the great unifiers of his nation. On the other hand, he was a strong-willed, vengeful man who was murdered by his half-brothers, one of whom succeeded him to the throne. Now Joseph…
The debut EP by Los Campesinos!, Sticking Fingers into Sockets, noodled its way onto an infinity of 2007 best-of ballots. Colorful aural confetti like “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives” addressed the schism between artist and audience, and tickled various pop fancies. There was Gareth Campesino! playfully sneering in his…
Just when you thought Snoop Dogg didn’t have any creativity left. I don’t know why this song gets stuck in your head so easily. Even though Snoop’s T-Pain approach gets annoying after a while, the video makes it all worth it. — Jonathan Cunningham…
Miami native and one-time TVT Recording artist Jacki-O had a tough last few years. She garnered some national attention with her 2003 single “Nookie,” and “All Grown Up” became the official ring entry music for Stephanie McMahon in the WWE. But a couple years after that, things took a nosedive…
I don’t care about his feathered hair. I don’t care about his unfortunate fascination, in the Seventies and Eighties, with puff sleeves. Or his continuing fascination with white suits. Or the fact that, with some teenage parenting, he could technically be old enough to be my grandfather. I love Rod…
Speaking of Hialeah (since the blog post below is on the self-professed king of Hialeah freestyle), the city’s favorite punk band Guajiro is playing a series of shows in Puerto Rico next month. Anybody that’s visiting the island around that time and looking for some good tunes should check out…
If you haven’t seen Jose El Rey perform around town yet … you’re missing out. How to describe the legend? He doesn’t really sing, he doesn’t really rap…. He just kind of is, over some tinny 808 freestyle beats. He makes ladies want him and guys want to be him…
So if you’ve ever visited the ice-cold city of Toronto, you’ll know that when it comes to music and culture, it’s one of the biggest melting pots North America has to offer. With relaxed immigration and a stronger currency than the U.S. (ahem), Toronto isn’t a bad city in which…
