Southern California has birthed more successful hyphenated punk bands than anywhere else in the world. From the Eighties punk-metal of Black Flag to the latter-day pop-punk of the Offspring, La-La Land and its environs are the epicenter of anger-with-a-twist. Strung Out’s latest release this past June, Blackhawks Over Los Angeles,…
Cleaveland Jones is a band of mystery, insists its frontman and songwriter, named, also, Cleaveland Jones. “I don’t mind it being a bit confusing or ambiguous,” insists the Ohio transplant, who has been in Miami for 10 years and playing music locally for three. Try to get more details about…
The thing that stokes Mark Caro — alias Tech Itch — the most is his rep as the godfather of dark, hard, experimental drum ‘n’ bass. The thing that least stokes him is what the marginal success of d ‘n’ b is doing to the genre. “There’s too much cheesy…
Saturday night the Southern rock hits of Molly Hatchet — “Flirtin’ with Disaster,” “Beating the Odds,” and “Gator Country” among them — will make a perfect soundtrack to blowing some dough on that not-quite-fast-enough filly. Grown from the same musical soil as Lynyrd Skynyrd, in its Seventies heyday Jacksonville’s native…
About two years ago Jason Tyler lost everything in a Chicago house fire, which was accidentally started by a superstar DJ and good friend. Then he spent a couple of semihomeless weeks in New York writing and recording an entire album with nothing more than a laptop he carried in…
In Miami, women’s voices resound all over the music industry, but they usually don’t get much attention unless they’re accompanied by a nice set of silicone implants. Even in the politically correct and culturally diverse local fusion scene, women often find themselves sola amid male-dominated bands. But last spring, 16…
Sometimes the simplest music is the most affecting. So it goes with PJ Harvey’s new studio album, White Chalk, which often feels like a sequel to Björk’s Vespertine. Absent are the scorched-earth guitars and feral vocals for which the songwriter is known. Instead Chalk finds solace and strength in desolation…
Denmark’s prolific electronic experimentalist (and much-lauded remixer) Anders Trentemøller hand-picked his best tracks and remixes for this two-disc set, which follows his 2006 studio debut, The Last Resort. Fans of that album’s dubby down-tempo and gorgeous clicking techno would hope for a collection of similar new compositions. Instead The Trentemøller…
Konono No. 1 is from the Congo and is unlike anything you’ve ever heard. The group’s music is based on the sound of the likembé, or Congolese thumb piano. Angola-born bandleader Mawangu Mingiedi moved to Kinshasa (Congo’s capital) in the Seventies, starting the band with the intention of playing Bazombo…
Prepubescent bands tend to do best when they don’t take themselves too seriously. Rock may be a young man’s game, after all, but it’s hard to sell the lifestyle when sex and drugs could result in a major grounding. Fortunately the three members of Care Bears on Fire — Sophie…
Dropkick Murphys w/ HorrorPops September 25, 2007 Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale Dropkick MurphysPhotos by Jamie Puntumkhul Better than: Three accidental fists to the face due to an ardently chanted Oi! trinity. The Review: I have somewhat of an obsession with that span of time between an opening band’s wasted plea to…
Hey, sometimes there’s no underestimating high school principals. Who knew a publicity snap of four skinny rockers could amount, in the eyes of one, to porn? The band in question: All Time Low, a poppy, punky, quartet from the suburbs of Baltimore, who just released their debut full-length, So Wrong,…
Our punk rock icons are aging. Mike Watt now looks more like a retiring shop teacher than a rocking member of the double bass group Dos, and the recent surprise guest on NPR’s quiz show, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me was not a senator with presidential aspirations, it was the…
Apparently, Crossfade just can’t get enough of Meg White. A lot of the Internet, especially some of the music chatrooms, are buzzing this morning over the sex tape that suddenly appeared this weekend that supposedly shows White Stripes drummer Meg White engaged in full coital activity. While nobody can verify…
Lauren Reskin, owner of Sweat Records. Shout outs to the whole Sweat Records crew as Lolo and the gang are preparing to move from their current location at Churchill’s Pub into brand new digs right down the street at NE 2nd Ave. After a fairly successful two year stint seeking…
Bob Dylan is the kind of iconic musician than breeds obsessive – and discerning – fans. It’s natural, then, that Dylan devotees would be split over I’m Not There, an experimental biographical movie directed by Todd Haynes. Here, Dylan is portrayed by six different actors (Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard…
Outspoken rapper, actor, and activist Mos Def is voicing his anger at the hip-hop community for their lack of support for the Jena 6. He’s been in Louisiana of late, marching and performing, but recently spoke out about feeling alone within the hip-hop community when it comes to standing up…
You be the judge. He is looking mighty ripped these days. First 50 Cent rumors of steroid use swirled, then it was Busta Rhymes and Timbaland (and rightfully so, who are we kidding) but now it’s Dr. Dre? The 42-year-old Compton native recently appeared on television looking like he could…
So, word is on the other side of the pond, French kids like Cali, le super clubber, above, are all into this “tecktonik” dancing business. Agence France-Presse has hailed it “a new homespun urban dance phenomenon … a mix of hip-hop and techno dance.” Um… well, Cali here is certainly…
Stevie B Thursday, September 20, 2007 Nectar Lounge The Review: It’s a sad thing when your life peeks at 13. Ever wonder what those kids that used to rule the roller skating rink grew up to look like? Well, kind of the same – ghetto-fabulous in tight clothes and big…
Got this letter in our e-mail today. “Today I stopped by a health food store (Wild Oats) on S. Dixie Highway for my weekly shopping, and was met by the most astounding music from local musician, Peter Betan, playing pieces from his CD, PassionFix (which I bought). Now, I’m not…
Duncan Sheik w/ Holly Brook September 22, 2007 The Theatre, West Palm Beach Better than: MTV Unplugged The Review: Politically charged lyrics that are shrouded in double entendres, Buddhist sensibilities and laid-bare songwriting are the hallmarks of a Duncan Sheik semi-acoustic show. Known for his chart-topping “Barely Breathing,” which garnered…
