Local MC’s are always vying for the number one spot. Despite the amatuer camera skills used to record this, wordsmiths Lyve Kaos of Brokensound BLVD/Deadbeat Writer’s Lab and freestyle champion Wrekonize go at it in a top notch battle that’s full of sharp barbs and comical punchlines. Hip-hop fans should…
Passing this along from Pandora’s e-mail list… Hi, it’s Tim one more time… Disaster looms! Yesterday a federal court denied a plea to delay the massive increase in rates webcasters must pay the record labels. This means that, absent immediate Congressional action, the new ruinous royalty rates will be going…
Seven years ago actor Andy Garcia portrayed Arturo Sandoval in a biopic film about the renowned jazz musician. On Sunday Garcia and Sandoval will stand side-by-side on stage. Garcia will try his hands on the congas alongside the Cuban trumpet-player and friends at the Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club in Miami…
So I finally headed out to the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where the Latin Alternative Music Conference’s headquarters are stationed. At the showroom, you are inundated with an array of products ranging from Gibson Guitars to Microsoft’s Zune, which is trying to beat the iPod in its own game…
Latin Alternative Music Conference Indie Musician Showcase July 11, 2007 New York, NY So last night I headed out to the Mercury Lounge, where the LAMC indie showcase was already unfolding. The venue is a small room located in the city’s Lower East Side (also dubbed East Village), and is…
Once a year, Latin Alternative musicians – those who don’t play salsas, tangos, boleros or other regional beats come together in New York City for a series of industry panel discussions,networking opportunities, open bars (there is a cocktail party that begins at 1 PM on Thursday!),promotional stops and of course…
Aymee Nuviola will play Mystique on Saturday, July 14th. On more than one occasion Aymee Nuviola has emphasized her inability to socialize and vocal inclination as traumatic hurdles she encountered as an adolescent. “A raspy voice and lack of social skills will do that to you,” says Nuviola. “Let’s just…
Not even the shorest glimpse of the movie El Cantante is not necessary to understand Marc Anthony is no Hector Lavoe. Short on schooling but long on raw ability and bravado, Lavoe had a unique propensity – unlike Anthony whose antics at times seem forced – to grasp a stage…
As Tall as Lions July 11, 2007 Culture Room Better Than: Paying $200 for recycled nostalgia The Review: Coordinated in vests & dress pants like they were late to play a VH1 afterparty, As Tall As Lions’ hit the stage at freeway speeds, merging their sounds in and out of…
The first time Kristine Young, frontwoman for, um, Kristeenyoung, was summoned to meet Morrissey, she was summarily ejected from his Rome recording studio. “His producer for his last record videotaped one of our shows at the Delancey [in New York]. Over in Rome, where they were making the record, he…
Breakage and Mayhem don’t necessarily sound like things clubbers would submit themselves to willingly. But in this case they should, for this duo comprises notable evangelists for drum ‘n’ bass at a time when the form has pushed past its initial mass excitement in the States. The seven-year discography of…
First things first: Starlight Mints do not sound like the Flaming Lips. Yes, both bands beam an oddness only Norman, Oklahomans could conjure. Yes, SM’s “The Bandit” (from the 2000 album The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of) could have come from Wayne Coyne’s “Jelly”-era songbook. But there the comparisons…
Which would you rather see: a concert appearance with the septuagenarian rockers from Deep Purple, or a performance of the band’s legendary “Smoke on the Water” featuring 1683 guitarists (which happened in Kansas City last month)? At least one has a whiff of unpredictability to it. Like any good Seventies…
A grinding bass line boomed as the lights came up on the baby-faced DJ, his white polo shirt collar popped and his black cap tipped sideways. He thumped his chest, and then, almost invisibly, his hands flew over the turntables, leaving a spray of scratches in their wake. Shouted hip-hop…
Morrissey, England’s most dapper downer, isn’t quite as depressed as he used to be. In fact he seems to be almost enjoying what he does these days, touring the world in support of his latest album, Ringleader of the Tormentors (Sanctuary). Nevertheless the guy is still as press-shy as ever…
The local buzz for Miami Beach-based band Elastic Bond has been nonstop. This past May, 944 magazine named the group “One of Five Local Bands You Need to Hear.” The same month, Miami New Times bestowed the seven-piece with the title “Best Funky Fusion Band Even Yo Mama Would Like.”…
It’s unfortunate Daddy Yankee is the poster boy for reggaeton in this country. It’s even more unfortunate he used his latest album to declare himself the Big Boss (of reggaeton, one would presume), mainly because the shortcomings of El Cartel: The Big Boss wouldn’t be as evident if not for…
John Lennon’s solo catalogue, with its variety and venerability, ought to make for a worthy tribute album in the guise of a benefit CD. Instead, with a few exceptions, Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur winds up as one-dimensional as the late Beatle’s beatification. It ignores the…
The sophomore effort from this Toronto quartet features snarly, swaggering three-chord rock that is so perfectly executed you’ll want to set aside a whole afternoon to stomp on photos of old lovers. Singer/guitarist Lucas Silveira has drawn a gazillion comparisons to Chrissie Hynde, but Silveira is a better singer, with…
MC Jimmy Jamz and DJ/producer Bobby Evans are Brother Reade, a hip-hop duo from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, that has settled in the smoggy climes of East Los Angeles. The California metropolis seems to have exerted a stronger influence than the pair’s Dirty South hometown, resulting in a sound closer to…
A gravitating presence, charismatic flair and enchanting voice. Those are just a few of the traits Rey Ruiz devotees will be treated to when the Cuban salsero takes the stage at Escape (inside the Howard Johnson, Hialeah) on Saturday night. Ruiz hits Miami on Saturday Fresh off making the rounds…
Photo by Jeffrey Delannoy Better Than: Every other large-scale concert of the year so far. The Review: Believe the hype. It’s not often I’ll say that. But last night’s Dolphin Stadium stop of the Police megatour revealed a band so technically assured and connected onstage, even after a 21-year break,…
