Posts by Scott Zuppardo

Pope Paul and the Illegals’ debut offering When The Stars Come Hurtling Down (out February 22nd on Dial Back Sound) is a smorgasbord of acumen connecting on twang and rockabilly with a heavy dose of dopamine inducing punk rock sensibility and a comedic chide. The Santa Ana, California-based trio enlisted the guidance and camaraderie of like-minded […]

[rating=9.00] It’s 8:32am on a brisk New Jersey morning, October 19, 2017. I’m about halfway through my third rotation of Porter & The Bluebonnet Rattlesnakes’, Don’t Go Baby It’s Gonna Get Weird Without You, wondering if my heart is going to dropout again when I get to “When We Were Young”. Like most folks who […]

[rating=8.00] East Nashville’s Blank Range brings us their long-awaited debut full-length Marooned With The Treasure with Hiss Golden Messenger’s multi-everything guy Brad Cook’s hands on the knobs a’la Thirty Tigers. The loose grooves are plenty, as are great songs. Deliciously left of center just as the previous EPs suggested a long player would be. I’ll […]

[rating=8.00] Throwback country music is a saving grace for me these days. I’m growing weary of felt hats and custom-fitted Americana coupled with the atrocity of radio-induced contemporary rubbish and its creative null. Enter The Kernal to keep firm that middle ground that he’s been a part of for years, backing homies and mainstays in […]

[rating=8.00] The legend that is Taj Mahal released a time capsule of acoustic country, folk, blues in Labor Of Love, his first offering in four years and 47th record to date! Housing classic Mahal favorites like “Stack-O-Lee”, “Walking Blues”, and John Hurt penned personal favorite, “My Creole Bell”, but the succulence is the atmosphere. Clearly […]

[rating=8.00] Nashville’s Blank Range recently released their EP, Vista Bent, on hometown powerhouse Thirty Tigers. The four song collection travels no distinct path or set of sonic moorings. Part cocaine country, part indie come garage rock, a few stoner, electronic brushstrokes and a heady, jazzier meld than most rock bands can muster. Vista Bent delivers […]

Rock and roll stalwarts the Drive-By Truckers are taking aim at the assholes with their latest long player American Band. The third release from this grandiose lineup featuring Jay Gonzalez as his own mini-orchestra of sorts, the steady time-keeping of the interminable Brad Morgan on the drum kit, and Matt Patton’s heavy yet bouncy bass […]

[rating=9.00] If there’s a better vibe to ride than that classic Rocksteady clank and grind, I beg you to show it me. Ironically enough, the highlight of my summer soundtrack has been that very vibe channeling four Queens, NY brethren with an ample dose of love and loss. Nothing More To Say was released this past […]

July 29th, 2016 should’ve been a national holiday for punk rock in literal form. Both coasts represented ostentatiously by the legends of the sport, left and right, East and West. The almighty Descendents representing spritely for the left coast and the ever-boisterous Bouncing Souls anchoring the east coasters, with a combined mass of just short […]

[rating=9.00] The inaugural release on the brand new label, Blue Front Records, is a keeper by many a bastion. Forever immortalizing the famous Bentonia, Mississippi juke joint started by Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ parents in 1948 and polarizing the blues greats who have performed and still do at the world’s oldest standing juke joint; It Is What […]

The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, a radio program ironically set up to preserve or actually recreate the set of 1987 and the feeling-out of this new hip hop music and elemental lifestyle, was the proving ground for the Golden Age of hip hop through the 90s and a definitive movement that almost died when […]

[rating=9.00] “I’m a democrat with a republican attitude… …I’m for everybody!” growls the soon-to-be octogenarian come garage, sleazy r&b, neo-soul and rock-n-roll legend Andre Williams on his 5th and latest offering on Bloodshot Records, I Wanna Go Back To Detroit City. The “Shake Your Tail Feather” author and Motor City stalwart’s new record is nothing […]

[rating=8.00] Spanning a career over half a century, one of the most memorable guitar tones and vocal deliveries ever to grace Nashville, and a Lightnin’ Hopkins obsession that may rival my very own neurosis, Tony Joe White is the story pole by which all songwriters and artists in general should be gauged. The swampy sentry’s […]

I hit the road with two of the best rock bands in Alabama, if not America, and journaled the entire experience. I’m involved with members of both bands in a small indie label and also handle business dealings for the Dexateens as of late. Imagine having the greatest ten days of your life, hanging with […]