AltWeeklies Wire
Pride and Pretensionnew
Rock critics overuse the word "pretentious" with the same over-enthusiasm NorCal teens have for "hella." Even so, from the name on down, Austin's ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead freely makes itself a ridiculously easy target.
East Bay Express |
Rob Harvilla |
06-02-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
On Lockdownnew
Speaking from a prison phone, C-Bo, aka Shawn Thomas, estimates he's been arrested 40 or 50 times. In some regions, he's regarded as one of the realest, hardest and most authentic pushers of gangsta rap.
East Bay Express |
Eric K. Arnold |
04-18-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Frontline Spearheads a West Coast Rap Renaissancenew
Frontline's recording, "What Is It," became an anthemic call to arms for what the upstart underdogs optimistically called the "New Bay" movement. A year and a half later, that movement is huge, and they're on top of it.
East Bay Express |
Eric K. Arnold |
02-08-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: MTV, Def Jam, East Coast, grunge, Baby Jaymes, Frontline, hip-hop duo, left, Locksmith, Raphael Saadiq, Reignman, Shock G
David Dondero's Opening Actnew
David Dondero styles himself as an anti-folksinger, a writer who turns genre cliches on their heads. He bah-humbugs the bleeding-heart compulsions that seem to inspire most folk music.
East Bay Express |
Justin Berton |
01-25-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Celebrity du Jour Visits Oakland High Schoolnew
Rap artist Kanye West stopped by an Oakland high school to talk in rhyme to kids, many of them representing the young-artist-run label Youth Movement Records
East Bay Express |
Eric K. Arnold |
10-05-2004 |
Profiles & Interviews
Oakland Band Unveils Offbeat, Devastating Antiwar Crynew
In an increasingly overpoliticized musical environment, it's hard to take a stand without sounding like a piggybacking doofus, but the States pass that litmus test via force of will and effort of innovation.
East Bay Express |
Rob Harvilla |
09-27-2004 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Heavenly States
João Gilberto’s Daughter Becomes a Star in Her Own Rightnew
The artist from a famous Brazilian musical family is hotter than São Paulo in the summertime.
East Bay Express |
Eric K. Arnold |
09-07-2004 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Jazz Tortoise: Charlie Hunter Simplifies the Equationnew
Hunter has a reputation as an absolute monster live. There's a killer instinct within him that comes out in a stage setting, despite his penchant for laid-back grooves.
East Bay Express |
Eric K. Arnold |
08-23-2004 |
Profiles & Interviews
