AltWeeklies Wire
No Betta Ettanew
Beyonce sang "Survivor," but she'd have a tough time personifying Ms. James.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Terry Terrones |
04-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Etta James
David Brewis Goes for Baroque with School of Languagenew
More raw and rocky than Field Music, School of Language's melodies are sweet, but more distorted, with jagged guitar riffs dashing across blatty bass and crashing, compressed-sounding drums.
The Pitch |
Jason Harper |
04-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: School of Language, Sea From Shore
Houston's Matt Clark Strums for New Orleans' Glen David Andrewsnew
How a white kid from upper-crust Houston found his calling in New Orleans in funky joints like the Candlelight Lounge, a landmark bar in New Orleans's fabled jazz nexus, the Tremé neighborhood.
Houston Press |
John Nova Lomax |
04-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Matt Clark
Dusting off Dusty Springfieldnew
From Lesley Gore to Amy Winehouse, female singers wanting to open the throttle on romantic need and desire have inevitably borrowed more than a little from Springfield -- especially if they were white women who loved black R&B.
Baltimore City Paper |
Geoffrey Himes |
04-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Dusty Springfield
Why American Mars Won't Let Gonew
"You'd hope for someone to grab you by the shoulders and go, 'It's time to put this thing to bed,'" says frontman Thomas Trimble. "But the only people I'd trust to tell me that are the others who are in this band, and they're as deluded as I am in their unwillingness to give in or move on to other things."
Metro Times |
Chris Parker |
04-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: American Mars, Western Sides
The Fuzzy Sound Collage of Beatrix*JARnew
What sets Beatrix*JAR apart from these various media manipulators is its particular method of music generation.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Manny Theiner |
03-31-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Beatrix*JAR, Golden Fuzz
Howlin Rain Offers Fresh Take on '70s American Guitar Rocknew
"We might use methods that are from a different era," says Ethan Miller, the band's singer/guitarist. "There are no sampled beats, no sharp, Pro Tools-y sounds, but I don't think that makes the band sound old."
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Andy Mulkerin |
03-31-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Howlin Rain, Magnificent Fiend
Iron Mic Collective Creates a New Memphis Soundnew
Iron Mic's vitality comes in representing a considerable, mostly silent slice of the city's African-American hip-hop audience: people who don't relate to Three 6 Mafia or Project Pat or Yo Gotti and never thought there'd be Memphis-bred hip-hop for them.
The Memphis Flyer |
Chris Herrington |
03-31-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Jill Scott: Neo-soul's Deserving Standard-bearernew
Philly soulster and Roots protegee Jill Scott has become the scene's true standard-bearer. She's the genre's reigning poet laureate -- a strong, precise lyricist in a genre without many.
The Memphis Flyer |
Chris Herrington |
03-31-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Jill Scott, The Real Thing
Low: The Notoriously Quiet Band Sharpens Its Teethnew
For more than a decade, snickering naysayers dismissed the Wrath of Low as a novelty: a slowcore group fronted by a harmonizing husband and wife that often perform for cult-like, seated audiences.
Shepherd Express |
Evan Rytlewski |
03-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Low, Drums and Guns
Ministry Done With Preachingnew
No one ever accused Al Jourgensen of keeping his opinions to himself. Whether the topic is American politics, the soul-sucking vortex that is the music industry, or the NHL, the Ministry founder invariably has something to say.
The Georgia Straight |
John Lucas |
03-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: ministry
Against Me! Makes Like Modern-Day Clashnew
Against Me!'s Tom Gabel is honest enough to admit that, despite Against Me!'s best intentions, his band probably doesn't matter as much today as it might have 20 years ago.
The Georgia Straight |
Mike Usinger |
03-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Against Me!
DJ Kazell Helped Put L.A. on House International Mapnew
That DJ Kazell has become one of America's great spinners is no joke: True DJ fans appreciate the extra work and skill that goes into opening and sustaining a big night, including setting the mood, modulating energy, and handing off the baton off to the next spinner with aplomb.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Dennis Romero |
03-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: DJ Kazell
Cadence Weapon Raps With Breakneck Flownew
Ordinary rappers rarely try to distance themselves from party funk, and even more rarely try to align themselves with cerebral electronica. But 22-year-old Cadence Weapon is no ordinary rapper.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Greg Katz |
03-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Cadence Weapon
Success Remains the Best Revengenew
Junkie XL remains a music-industry iconoclast, having pushed beyond accepted practices of marketing and distribution well before Internet downloads hobbled the major-label machine.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Matt Diehl |
03-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Booming Back At You, Junkie XL
