AltWeeklies Wire
The Immersion Composition Society Helps Musicians Overcome Creative Hurdlesnew
The society is a loosely affiliated international band of "lodges" with around three to twelve members each who share the common goal of boosting their productivity and unleashing their creativity as musicians. The two oldest and most established lodges, Origin and Wig, are still based in Oakland -- along with at least another three.
East Bay Express |
Nate Seltenrich |
08-07-2008 |
Music
Why Does the Bay Area Have a Hard Time Harboring Hip-Hop Venues?new
Hip-hop is one of the most popular genres on earth, and San Francisco is a world-class city. Yet this town seems hostile toward this musical nightlife with such revenue-generating potential. Why?
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Garrett Caples |
08-06-2008 |
Music
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
The State of the Pink Spidersnew
After flirting with fame and fortune, Nashville's most decadent local rockers The Pink Spiders lost a major-label deal and two of the three founding members -- so now what?
Nashville Scene |
Cody De Vos |
08-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Pink Spiders
Apple Miner Colony Induces Mellow Mayhemnew
The group is a fresco, a mixed and matched selection of strings, brass, electric and acoustic instruments sweeping with ruddy choruses, that hold the audience's collective attention above the spectacle of witnessing such a large band at play. The live show and the band's recently released album confirms that relevant and soulful music is alive and well in Santa Fe.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Gabe Gomez |
08-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Prids Crash. The Prids Survive.new
"We were driving and a tire blew. I struggled to correct it and the van started fishtailing. I just couldn't get it."
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
07-31-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Prids
What Laura Says Brings Together Baroque Pop and Rustic Folknew
What Laura Says is really the product of two different bands -- an offbeat pop duo called What Laura Says Thinks and Feels, and a dirty blues trio, called the Expatriates.
San Antonio Current |
Gilbert Garcia |
07-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Kid Sister, the New Queen of Hip-Hop?new
With only a minute amount of material actually released, the buzz around this potential new queen of hip-hop is so overwhelming that when her mug graced the cover of URB this summer the immediate gut reaction was "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense," and not "Wait, she doesn't even have a record yet!"
Chicago Newcity |
Tom Lynch |
07-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Hard Lessons Learn There's No Easy Waynew
To simply say newly storied Motor City trio tours, however, is almost an understatement. The Hard Lessons spent more than six of the last 12 months on the road and they estimate that they've performed at least 600 shows since they formed nearly five years ago.
Metro Times |
Bill Holdship |
07-29-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: B&G Sides, The Hard Lessons
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
RockyGrass Festival Breaks Free from Tradition While Staying True to its Rootsnew
Compared to its relative Telluride Bluegrass Festival, RockyGrass is a slightly smaller, more traditional affair. Traditional, that is, in a vague sense. In its 36th year, RockyGrass has grown to a three-day festival that spans more than a century of American roots music, from the banjo and mandolin songs with which we're most familiar to 21st century acoustic songwriting.
Boulder Weekly |
Margaret Hair |
07-28-2008 |
Music
How Technology is Turning the Tables on the Westernization of Popnew
The exchange of musical ideas between the West and the rest of the world is evolving into a genuine conversation, and that can only be an improvement. The internet may be giving the music industry all kinds of fits, but it's pretty great for the health of music itself.
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
07-28-2008 |
Music
The Avett Brothers Rose From Obscurity to Balance on the Brink of Famenew
So many goals are behind them: selling out New York theaters, playing the Grand Ole Opry, wowing the biggest American rock festivals. But this new deal with Rick Rubin's American Recordings puts the band in a different league.
INDY Week |
Grayson Currin |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Gypsies, Tramps and Reeds Take the Stage as Balkan Bands Blow Upnew
Beyond seeking respite from mainstream songs, one reason Balkan-style music has gained such a following is that it makes you want to dance.
New York Press |
Linnea Covington |
07-24-2008 |
Music
Faraquet Had Novel Ideas About what Guitars Can Do, but Don't Call it Math Rocknew
Of course they could play in odd time signatures. And, yes, they were, at times, willfully obtuse. But at the heart of every Faraquet song is an actual song.
Washington City Paper |
Brent Burton |
07-24-2008 |
Reviews
