AltWeeklies Wire
Heavy 'n' hairy Crew Bison B.C. Busts Out of Van Citynew

Someone at Metal Blade must've recognized Bison's crossover potential with the non-metal crowd and decided to make the heavy 'n' hairy foursome of Masa Anzai, Brad Mackinnon, Dan And and Farwell the legendary alt-metal label's first Canuck signing.
NOW Magazine |
Tim Perlich |
09-22-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Bison B.C.
Philly Electro Mavericks Pink Skull Keep It Live and Dirtynew
Unlike many live electronic acts, Pink Skull tend to stay fairly close to the original arrangements. They still leave some room for improvisation, but the overall structure of the songs is locked down in advance, which keeps things concise and focused.
NOW Magazine |
Benjamin Boles |
09-22-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Pink Skull
A Place to Bury Strangers Crank It Upnew
Death by audio is the name of Oliver Ackermann's Brooklyn-based effects pedal company, but it's also an apt description of his band, A Place to Bury Strangers.
NOW Magazine |
Jordan Bimm |
09-22-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tortoise Not Really in a Hurrynew
Chicago post-rock icons would rather be proficient than prolific.
NOW Magazine |
Bryan Borzykowski |
09-08-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Tortoise
Brilliant New Film Documents Youssou Ndour's Spiritual Questnew
What first appears to be a conventional film biography of the Senegalese superstar reveals an entirely different dimension of Ndour.
NOW Magazine |
Tim Perlich |
09-08-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
MGMT Hypd Abt V-Fstnew
Ben Goldwasser and Andrew Van Wyngarden are currently living the rock star life they only fantasized about while writing the lyrics to their debut single, Time To Pretend, a few years back.
NOW Magazine |
Jordan Bimm |
09-08-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: MGMT, Spectacular
Hip-hop Legend Large Professor Announces Class is Back in Sessionnew

If hit songs were murders, Large Pro's fingerprints could be found on many a soundbwoy killing.
NOW Magazine |
Addi Stewart |
09-02-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Large Professor, Main Source
Winnipeg's Boats! Rock the Boatnew
Playing the same bar multiple times does have its advantages. For one, it’s easy to tell if your popularity has increased between gigs, and so far it seems as if more people are trekking to the Boat to see Boats.
NOW Magazine |
Bryan Borzykowski |
08-26-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Boats!
People Under the Stairs Stick to the Fundamentalsnew
The Los Angeles-based underground mainstay's fifth album, cleverly christened Fun DMC, should resonate with new people seeking that good ol' head-nodding feeling and anxious old disciples underwhelmed by the group's last LP, Stepfather.
NOW Magazine |
Addi Stewart |
08-11-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Fun DMC, People Under the Stairs
Montreal Indie-Popsters Wolf Parade Get Back on Tracknew
Every musician needs a side project now and then, but what if your extracurricular activities become more important than your day job? That's sort of what happened to Wolf Parade.
NOW Magazine |
Bryan Borzykowski |
08-11-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer
South African Hip-hop Hero Tumi Goes Solonew
Tumi has the verbal dexterity of Pharoahe Monch and the lyrical clarity of Nasir Jones. His moniker often gets bandied about in "who's the best MC?" conversations across the globe.
NOW Magazine |
Addi Stewart |
08-04-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Rick Ross' Rough Real Talk Turns Out to Be Not So Real After Allnew

How stunning was it when The Smoking Gun discovered that Ross, one of hip-hop's most popular new artists, was really a former Florida Department of Corrections officer named William Leonard Roberts?
NOW Magazine |
Addi Stewart |
08-04-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Katie Stelmanis Bridges the Classical/industrial Gapnew

Bands mix rap and rock, country and electronica, even klezmer and pop, but Katie Stelmanis has combined three styles that rarely interact: industrial, opera and classical.
NOW Magazine |
Bryan Borzykowski |
07-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Mulatu Astatke and the Swinging Addis Scene of the 60s Pop Up in Many Unlikely Places Latelynew

The seductive slink that characterizes the captivating music of Mulatu--who is to Ethiogroove what Fela Kuti is to Afrobeat--is a combustible concoction of traditional Ethiopian modes and rhythms mixed in with some nasty Nuyorican boogaloo and busted out with the boisterous bash of a Question Mark and the Mysterians frat rocker.
NOW Magazine |
Tim Perlich |
07-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Pharcyde Reunite for Rock the Bells Blowoutnew

This culture often kills the dreams of hip-hop optimists like me, but 2007's Wu-Tang Clan/Rage Against the Machine reuniter and Rock the Bells president Chang Weisberg has brought about another miracle: all four original members of the Pharcyde are set to perform together on hip-hop's biggest tour of 2008.
NOW Magazine |
Addi Stewart |
07-21-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews