Posts by E Ward

As they close in on the 20 year mark, moe. steps out of their recording confines by, ironically, holing up in an old church and hammering out a record in isolation.

Sharing the anchor spot with Bill Kreutzmann will undoubtedly by his most notable achievement, but it's far from Mickey Hart's only contribution to music, history and even science.

Some artists can spend their entire careers trying to recreate the magic they created on their debut record. When that debut wins three major Juno awards (Canada

With an inaugural invite to Bonnaroo, solidified cast and yet another album under their belt, John Popper and co. have somehow managed to weather the music business storm for close to two decades. To catch up, we sat down for a quick “12 questions with Popper.”

Aside from the academy award, established acting career, esteemed directing work, acclaimed screenwriting, notable pitching arm and the enviable Angelina Jolie connection, Billy Bob Thornton also happens to be a lifelong musician and songwriter. And that

Less of a proving ground, more an early marathon stride, RAQ is finally beginning to settle into a balanced rhythm, one less concerned with external pressures, and tightly focused on creating their own

How would String Cheese follow a summer that included the cancellation of Lollapalooza and Phish calling it quits? They got back to business. And they didn

Whether this tortured soul is truly wrapped in bitterness, sickened by the sordid failings of men, or just snidely reacting to the greater absurdity of man like any cynic, one thing is for certain – no one snarls

They

It’s not often you sit down at a prestigious jazz club, take off your suit coat, order a dry martini and nod in appreciation of the Black Sabbath and Nirvana covers bellowing off the exposed brick walls. That was, of course, until The Bad Plus began infiltrating the jazz scene with their melodic pop twist […]

The image of a DJ in Miami is usually accompanied by thumping house beats, Prada-clad models, neon strobes and dark Chanel sunglasses peering over $15 cocktails. But that

At a time when the greater rock world has become inundated with throwback sounds, quickly subtitling everything retro-this and post-that, an improvisational four-piece from Vermont is stepping out from an ominous shadow by reinventing a sound it would have otherwise never outlived.

Recent advances in technology have certainly made life a bit more comfortable, but California

Of all the artists we

Distance can create a sense of comfort and security, but it can also overwhelm, causing feelings of isolation and despair. So when Ben Gibbard was developing a title for the band

It

With The Black Crowes on hiatus, the band

Just as the lines of diverse music genres have continued to outgrow preconceived labeling, the world of “extreme games” is experiencing it

The recent surge in singer-songwriters has given pop music a certain level of respect it once had, before losing it to over-sensationalized choreography and flashy outfits for teens. The acoustic rhythms and lyrical sincerity of the genre are free from the over-produced work more elaborate pop-rock stars inevitably succumb to. While still simple in structure, this reflection back to the roots of songwriting has resurrected an industry plagued with turmoil and profit-loss with it’s little touch of integrity. And now, as The Incredible Moses Leroy is beginning to prove, the category no longer must be synonymous with a solo mic and acoustic guitar, but free to embrace all of our creative contemporary outlets.

If we learn from times of hardship more so than in times of joy, the founding members of Blues Traveler should be members of Mensa. Enduring a motorcycle crash that almost took the life of frontman John Popper, followed by angioplasty, major industry struggles, and the tragic death of bassist Bobby Sheehan, they were inevitably brought to a fork in the road, where one path went to what could have been, and the other straight ahead to reinvention. Truth be told, they chose the latter.