AltWeeklies Wire
Eric Blowtorch: The Jamaican Connectionnew
A prolific recording artist always willing to share the microphone with guest stars, Eric Blowtorch’s musical endeavors have been more a vocation in the traditional sense than a career. He has reached a new height on his latest album with his band the Welders, The Alphabet.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
12-11-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano Show Soulnew
That the mariachi genre has become associated with a tourist brochure image of Mexico is unfortunate.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
05-09-2008 |
Reviews
George Clooney's Football Folliesnew
With its speak-easies and patina of easy Roaring Twenties corruption, its bungling cops and daring hijinks, romantic rivalry and slinky moments of seduction, Leatherheads delivers two solid hours of old-fashioned entertainment.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
04-18-2008 |
Reviews
They Might Be Giants of Kids' Musicnew
Cleverly designed to teach kids to recognize numbers and how to count, TMBG deploys its usual earnest wackiness with a variety of musical influences, from twisted American folk to '60s rock riffs and '70s soul, as the duo works its way up from zero to infinity.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
02-15-2008 |
Reviews
The Nice Outfit: Power-pop Legendsnew
Paul James Wall sums up The Nice Outfit with a catchy litany of bands: "Buzzcocks, Bangles, Beatles and Byrds."
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
01-18-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Kissing Jocelyn, The Nice Outfit
Kevn Kinney's Milwaukee Homecomingnew
Thirty years ago Kinney and I were among the five kids in our high school of more than 2,000 students who embraced punk rock. Finding each other in study hall was not difficult.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
01-18-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Kevn Kinney, Preapproved
Dictator-rattling Musicnew
Bachata was the guitar-powered music of the Dominican underclass, akin to blues and tango, but with a gorgeously melodic sound tempered by the simplicity of the performances and straightforward, expressive vocals.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
01-11-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Various Artists, Bachata Roja
Those Old Wisconsin Bluesnew
Most residents of southeast Wisconsin, even music fans, are still surprised to learn that Port Washington and Grafton were home to a significant blues label in the 1920s, Paramount Records.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
01-11-2008 |
Music
The Early Bob Marleynew
Another Dance reveals Marley's roots not only in the rock-steady Jamaican rhythms that preceded reggae, but also in American R&B.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
01-04-2008 |
Reviews
Miles Davis as a Band Membernew
Collected in an elaborate six-disc set with extensive jacket notes, The Complete On the Corner Sessions brings together everything from that era, released and previously unissued.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
12-14-2007 |
Reviews
Young Franknew
A Voice in Time's material shows the surprising, youthful vulnerability and naïve romanticism of early Sinatra — a far cry from the cocky swagger of his Vegas years.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
11-30-2007 |
Reviews
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Team Upnew
If Robert Plant and singer-fiddler Alison Krauss seem an unlikely duo, remember: The roots of Led Zeppelin and bluegrass grow from the ancient drone of Anglo-Celtic folk music.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
11-12-2007 |
Reviews
Beirut Stays Low Keynew
As his needs and imagination dictate, Beirut can expand into a live orchestra or contract into a small combo.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
11-05-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Beirut, The Flying Club Cup
Recycle, Repackage, Repurchasenew
Few figures from the punk era have benefited from the push to recycle as much as the prolific Elvis Costello, whose albums have been issued and reissued again on CD, always with more bonus tracks.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
11-05-2007 |
Reviews
Whatever Name He Chooses, Black Francis Rocksnew
On Bluefinger, Francis is channeling faraway echoes of classic, mid-'60s Kinks and early-'70s Lou Reed and New York Dolls
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
09-24-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Black Francis, Bluefinger
