AltWeeklies Wire
How Anna Broadway Cashed in on Being a 31-year-old Virgin and Scored a Book Dealnew
There are huge advantages to being a 31-year-old virgin, says Broadway, whose popular blog "Sexless in the City" ultimately led to a book contract with Doubleday. But there are downsides, too.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
10-14-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
How One Runner's Obsession Left Him Missing in the Wildernessnew
John Mintz was lost in the Snow Mountain Wilderness, which straddles three counties and includes 37,000 acres within the larger Mendocino National Forest, with no supplies for an entire week. How did that happen?
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
10-07-2009 |
Culture
The Founder of Bitch Magazine Brings Her Feminist Sensibility to a New Cookbooknew
For Lisa Jervis' first single-author book -- recently released on PM Press -- she took a surprising turn: She published a cooking manual. Or, to put it more accurately, Jervis published a "manualfesto."
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-12-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
John Forte: From Jailhouse to Jazzhousenew
Ex-Fugees producer Forte keeps a low profile these days. Since his release from prison last December, after serving seven years of a fourteen-year drug sentence, Forte has started treating home as his sanctuary.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-05-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Putting the Zing Back into Ringlingnew
Richmond-born Alex Ramon is the second-youngest person to helm Ringling Bros. Circus — and the first "zingmaster."
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-05-2009 |
Performance
Tags: circus, Ringling Bros.
How Hi-Fructose Magazine Stayed Sweet in a Bad Economynew
Attaboy and Annie Owens felt marginalized by the art magazine world. The fine arts magazines were too over-theorized and curatorial; the hipster magazines were too self-consciously ironic and sceney. So they created their own.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
07-15-2009 |
Art
The Artist Who Stirred Up Controversy with 'All Known Metal Bands' Now Wants a Million Dollarsnew
Since the publication of All Known Metal Bands last year, Dan Nelson has been thinking more like a capitalist. He'd like to keep his artistic vocation but figure out how to get rich. Specifically, he'd like to make a million dollars.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
06-03-2009 |
Art
A Jazz Keyboardist Finds New Inspiration in a Dour 19th-Century Composernew
Although he didn't really have the chops to be a classical pianist, Michael Coleman found a way to bring his new love interest to the public. Last summer, he formed a new jazz combo called Schumann's Humanns, whose first assignment was to reinterpret Schumann's Kinderszenen in a jazz template.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
05-13-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
PM Press Goes Beyond Anarchynew
Twenty-five years after launching AK Press, Ramsey Kanaan took his democracy elsewhere.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
02-18-2009 |
Books
How Silk-E Established Herself as Bay Area Rap's 'Hit Woman for Hire'new
Erica Reynolds grew up singing in the church choir in Richmond, fell in love with hip-hop as a young girl, and began rapping under the stage name Silk-E. She's managed to balance the rigors of parenthood with a vocation that requires her to have an iron-hand demeanor, just to keep from getting burned.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
01-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Maybe It's Time to Commit Facebook Suicidenew
Blue-collar jobs that take place outdoors, involve manual labor, and don't interact with computers probably aren't at risk of Facebook abuse. But white-collar office jobs are a different story.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
01-15-2009 |
Tech
Kev Choice Created a Cult of Personality by Straddling Two Worldsnew
Choice's new downloadable album, The Bailout, is a return to the classical mixtape format -- it has three sampled tracks and eighteen original beats, all blended seamlessly together by DJ D-Sharp, all available for free. It's a strange convergence of genres and creative processes, but the result is fascinating.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
01-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
How Al Lucchesi Built the Biggest Incubator in Bay Area Musicnew
Over the course of twenty-plus years, Lucchesi's Soundwave Studio and its predecessors have been home to virtually all of the East Bay's biggest names in music.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
01-07-2009 |
Music
E-40's Latest Already Sounds Like an Anachronismnew
A self-anointed hip-hop "ambassador" who's made most of his fortune in other industries, 40 takes few risks with his music. When he finds a successful formula, like the "hyphy" style that shaped his 2006 album My Ghetto Report Card, he'll beat it past the point of death.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
12-10-2008 |
Reviews
California Honeydrops Brings a New Sensibility to Old Styles of Musicnew
Unlike mainstream revivalist acts like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, or Raphael Saadiq, of late, the Honeydrops aren't dredging up old trends in order to make a concept album or a nostalgia-based soundtrack.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
12-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: California Honeydrops, Soul Tub!
