Philadelphia City Paper | Music | AAN.org

Bassist Todd Sickafoose Walks the Line Between Pitchfork and 'Down Beat'new

Despite his years leading jazz units, first in his native California and more recently in his adopted home of Brooklyn, Sickafoose is best known as Ani DiFranco's regular bassist, and also tours with folk-jazz violinist Jenny Scheinman.

Philadelphia City Paper | Shaun Brady | 09-02-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: jazz, Cryptogramophone, Tiny Resistors, Todd Sickafoose

Philadelphia Folk Fest Tests Its Traditionally Traditional Audiencenew

Two sides are struggling: One wants traditional folk. The other wants to dilute the tradition percentage with something maybe sorta, kinda ... hip?

Philadelphia City Paper | Mary Armstrong | 08-19-2008 | Concerts

Tags: Philadelphia, music festivals, folk, concerts, Philadelphia Folk Fest

Nas Revels in Frictionnew

There are a multitude of obvious reasons why Nas would choose to christen a record about race relations in America with an unprintable epithet, but there are subtler implications, as well.

Philadelphia City Paper | J. Edward Keyes | 08-12-2008 | Reviews

Tags: hip-hop, Untitled, Nas, Def Jam, Bill O'Reilly

Soulful Folkie Mutlu Chases the Dreamnew

His debut CD, Livin' It, has a similar funky-folky feel, but with a soft, hip-hop groove.

Philadelphia City Paper | A.D. Amorosi | 08-12-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Livin' It, Multu

Circa Survive's Anthony Green Makes Solo Debut with 'Avalon'new

What Roots godfather Ahmir Thompson is to hip-hop, Green is to local progressive punk — a good housekeeping seal.

Philadelphia City Paper | A.D. Amorosi | 08-05-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Anthony Green, Avalon

Mission of Burma Takes Its Earliest Successes on a Victory Lapnew

To promote the reissues, the band is devoting its live shows to playing Signals and Vs. in their entirety, offering the EP and the album on alternating nights.

Philadelphia City Paper | Sam Adams | 07-01-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Mission of Burma, post-punk, Reissues

Ex-Vels Frontwoman Alice Cohen Plants 'Sky Flowers'new

Anyone familiar with Cohen, or the "Alice Desoto" who led Philadelphia's the Vels through the New Wave '80s, wouldn't be surprised by her solo album's distance and its flash of tenderness.

Philadelphia City Paper | A.D. Amorosi | 04-29-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: singer-songwriters, Alice Cohen, Sky Flowers

Interpreting the Mad Dreams of Fire Museum Recordsnew

"All the music on the label shares a spirit of sonic inquiry, and often times elements that to my mind are psychedelic, as overused as that term has become. I suppose I'm referring to the altered and intensified sensory perception meaning of that word."

Philadelphia City Paper | Shaun Brady | 04-21-2008 | Music

Tags: museum, fire, records

Papertrigger Bravely Blends Rock and Showmanshipnew

The heady blend of circus carousing and rock energy of the Philly band got its start in Syracuse, where its five members grew up and studied music together. Sporadically, usually during semester breaks from college, they'd get together and play for kicks.

Philadelphia City Paper | John Vettese | 04-15-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Papertrigger