Miami singer/songwriter Arlan Feiles says he’s made an album he believes in — one that accurately represents the tough and gritty new sound of the former Natural Causes frontman. Problem is, his label doesn’t want it. More than a year after he inked a deal with Island Records, Feiles fears…
Yes, as a Matter of Fact, That Is a Roll in My Pants Robert Andrew Powell had his percentages wrong in his article “Eat Early, Eat Cheap” (April 25). Ninety percent of early bird diners are content with and appreciative of the reasonable prices offered. The picture painted in the…
In Micky We Trust Nothing in Jim DeFede’s article about Micky Arison even remotely justifies its inane title (“Micky Arison Is a Greedy Corporate Pig,” April 25) or the other defamatory rhetoric littering the article. Arison clearly had no obligation to go through with the deal in Broward, where Huizenga…
Go figure: A techno band has a hard time getting a gig in South Beach, one of the nation’s musical meccas for all things that go beep, blip, and boing to a rapid-fire drumbeat. Strange, indeed, but as Soul Oddity cofounder Joshua Kay will tell you, it’s also true. “Doing…
As promised more than a month ago, here’s another roundup of local and regional music. Some new, some only kinda new. For what it’s worth, it’s all new to me. Unlike the last “Reverb” batch of South Florida stuff, this one leans more heavily toward readily available compact discs and…
Not to worry, rock and roll conservatives: Reports concerning the death of classic rock have been somewhat exaggerated. Sure, album rock radio programmers may be replacing their copies of Jailbreak and Escape with Sixteen Stone and Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Nonetheless the tireless Frankenstein’s monster, created from the…
Hey George, Why Don’t You Just Arm-Wrestle Bruce Matheson and Be Done with It I have been visiting Crandon Park for 35 years and have some comments on its proposed future, as described in Oscar Musibay’s article “His Own Private Paradise” (April 4). It was a bonehead decision to install…
Crandon Park: Commissioners Feared Lost in Mangroves! We were very pleased with Oscar Musibay’s frank and honest description of the state of affairs at Crandon Park (“His Own Private Paradise,” April 4). It was interesting to note the level of dissension within the county about Bruce Matheson’s plans for the…
Been wondering why the University of Miami’s WVUM-FM (90.5) sounds an awful lot like commercial FM stations WSHE (103.1)and WZTA (94.9)? Then gather around for a brief, explanatory history lesson. It may seem hard to believe now, but there was once a time when college radio was the place to…
Coming Up Next, 1000 Little Eco-Artists Regarding Kirk Semple’s article “A Whiter Shade of Green” (March 28): I am unapologetically responding to the statements made and sentiments held by Mary Barley and her people regarding the Hispanic community’s so-called lack of support for the arts and social causes. Artist Enrique…
Growing up in Havana in the late Sixties and early Seventies, pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba made little distinction between the percolating jazz of his countrymen and that of their creative counterparts working in the U.S. “[Cuban and American musicians] are the main sources of inspiration in my work,” Rubalcaba explains by…
The Smallest Slice of the Jailhouse Pie After reading Jim DeFede’s story “Jailhouse Rumble” (March 21), I have to wonder about the remaining fifteen percent of the corrections officers who are not black or Hispanic. How do they fit into the department and who represents them? Edward S. Sheppard Miami…
The music industry as a whole isn’t exactly known for taking care of the workers who create its main commodity. Yet Florida Music Association (FMA) executive director Helaine Blum insists that the Tampa-based nonprofit organization exists to help musicians develop the skills needed to journey unscathed through the financial minefields…
As soon as I started working at New Times last November, before I had even memorized my new phone number, the demo tapes started pouring in. I must have received at least five my first week here — little C-60 missives from this band or that singer/songwriter, usually accompanied by…
Austin: A Goethe Wanna-be After reading Tom Austin’s final “Swelter” column (March 7), I was reminded of the absolute relief I felt when I sold the Island Club and closed the doors for the last time. I had a wonderful and loyal staff, a good clientele, and a host of…
Austin: Swooning over Swelter I’ve never set foot in a South Beach nightclub. I haven’t even a passing acquaintance with the frivolity, venality, and fabulosity rampant in the world Tom Austin has covered in “Swelter” as a reporter for New Times. I have, however, been a devoted reader, plowing to…
“After the accident, like the next day, we made a conscious decision that if there was any kind of passion in our music, any kind of legacy we wanted to create, we had to keep doing this.” For Squirrels guitarist Travis Tooke is ruminating on the aftermath of the September…
There’s some new blood over at WSHE-FM (103.5), but don’t worry: “South Florida’s rock alternative” will most likely continue to serve up Deep Blue Something’s unctuous hit “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” as well as what the station calls “Excellent Eighties” tracks from New Order, U2, R.E.M., and other modern-rock radio regulars…
This is the last “Swelter,” the end of the road. It’s time to say goodbye to all that, keep things short, sweet, and even more about me than usual. I’ve had a long enough run, God knows, given that the first column appeared on August 21, 1991, which translates to…
There are certain perks to living in Miami, but at times it’s rather like being a typecast actor, vainly struggling to escape some early career embarrassments and forge a new image of professional seriousness. Of all the baggage associated with the city, none is more crippling than the idea that…
Don’t bother asking Michael O’Brien why his band the Eat has become an underground legend in punk circles. With equal amounts of humility and bewilderment, he’ll tell you he has no idea. “We’re all totally clueless,” admits O’Brien, the 39-year-old guitarist and vocalist for the Miami quartet, whose 1979 single…
When Lobbyists Rule the World I was intrigued by Jim DeFede’s analysis of the Miami Herald’s American Airlines upgrades-to-commissioners expose (“Smeared for Takeoff,” February 22). As I read the Herald’s front-page article, I was amazed that our principal daily newspaper would publish such a trivialized deja vu and that the…
