My Roots

Considering it took Doyle Bramhall II fifteen years between 2001’s Welcome and 2016’s Rich Man, one might not have been expecting another album from the Texas guitar player so quickly. But the creative juices were flowing and Bramhall left the spigot wide open and while he has been out touring these last couple of years, […]

With a cool new album dropping later this month, The Struts continue on their journey to bigger & better music. With a few EPs and a full-length debut album, Everybody Wants, under their belts, and a reputation for being an exciting live band, The Struts are keeping their glam rock loving roots without becoming Freddie […]

The music of Cream has influenced a generation, or two, of musicians, while their songs, birthed within a short period of time, have become timeless classics. Who doesn’t recognize “Sunshine Of Your Love” or “White Room” just from their opening chords alone. The chemistry between Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker was undeniable and […]

In the 1980’s, you didn’t get much hotter than Paul Young. His songs were pop hits that oozed with his smooth vocals and R&B-grooving melodies. His first solo album, 1983’s No Parlez, brought him success with the singles “Come Back & Stay” and “Love Of The Common People.” But it was his second album, 1985’s […]

For an artist like Dorothy Martin, whose latest album, 28 Days In The Valley, is a to-the-bone rawness synchronized to bluesy psychedelic swirls of grungy guitars and naked emotional exasperations, being honest is what makes a song real. It may be a fictionalized truth in some cases but it’s a truth nonetheless and someone somewhere […]

To paraphrase the singer, if you don’t know what a Midge Ure is, you’ll find out soon enough. A virtual musical god in the UK, Midge Ure is the voice behind some of Ultravox’s biggest hits; he co-wrote the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” with Bob Geldof to raise money and awareness for the […]

If you still think the ukulele is not cool, then you haven’t heard it in the hands of Jake Shimabukuro. One minute it can sound like a lush lullaby, like the waves hitting the shores in his native Hawaii, while the next it can rock out with all the rascally tonality of an electric guitar. […]

Being in the right place at the right time definitely has its advantages; but to go the next step with your stroke of good luck takes talent, determination and passion for what it is that you are pursuing. Bass player Rick Wills had all those ingredients, and more, one of which is a delightful sense […]

On first glance, Emily Kinney’s songs are sweet and bubbly; but when you give them another go-round, especially those on her upcoming album, Oh Jonathan, out next month, the layers start peeling open like a slow-motion blooming rose and you begin to inhale what is really going on. Kinney’s voice may be all innocence and […]

Singer-songwriter Elijah Newman is in the process of preparing his fifth record for release and if the first single/video is any indication, it’s going to continue to jump down the rabbit hole of Newman’s emotions except this time with a heavier beat. With “Free Born,” he has upped the sonics and the fervor and stitched […]

Can you remember what you were doing twenty years ago? The band Gomez does and they set about making a celebration about it. Back then, they were a newly formed band, recording their first album, with no idea that it would be the starting point of a two-decade career. Bring It On, experimental with cool-sounding […]

With the release in April of their new live DVD, Kings Among Scotland, and a big tour with Slayer happening as we speak, it looks like there are no signs that Anthrax is slowing down. In fact, while other bands are taking breaks or stopping altogether, the New York band formed in 1981 by guitarist […]

“I really had a great time the last time I was in Baton Rouge but this time I’ve got my band with me so it makes a big difference.” For a singer-songwriter like David Bromberg, he can stand alone on a small stage with just an acoustic guitar or he can surround himself with musicians, […]

Judith Owen is a woman of many hashtags: singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, wife, daughter, sister, lover of dogs, resident of New Orleans, world traveler and Welsh. She has so many things in her palette that they all come tumbling out when she sits down to talk with you about her new album, a collection of […]

When you’re in a busy, non-stop band like Korn, it’s sometimes hard to find blocks of time to work on anything but your main band. For singer/songwriter Jonathan Davis, he’s been sitting on his solo album for close to ten years now, with songs just waiting to come out into the light. With some label-oriented […]

It starts with a few thumps, like a heart awakening to a new day. With a few strums of an acoustic guitar, life slowly kicks in and you begin again. It’s how Royston Langdon has chosen to take his first breath of a new album, with a tranquil, reflection pool number called “You Can’t Go […]

Black Stone Cherry is the kind of band that can play your backyard BBQ party and then headline a major music festival and put out the same blast of energy at both places. All four of the guys who make up this band – Chris Robertson on vocals and guitar, Ben Wells on guitar, Jon […]

“It’s a little dreary today but the temperature is nice and I’m actually outside in my backyard right now. I don’t mind it,” said Caleb Crosby with a laugh. Crosby, drummer for Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, doesn’t have as many backyard-with-his-feet-up kind of days like he used to; not with the band burning a […]

It was just in her DNA that Elizabeth Cook would end up standing behind a microphone and singing. Her mother sang honky tonk and her father played stand-up bass so music was always a part of her life. She sang as a child but it wasn’t until later on as an adult that Cook would […]

Leah James has a unique musical gift: that her vocals and melodies contain a beauty not often found without enhancement in today’s modern music world, where over-the-top chanteuses prefer the outrageous over the intimate. It is a natural beauty that emanates from the vocal cords of James, whose first solo album, While She Sleeps, came […]