Columns

What deeper meaning can be gleaned from 45 minutes of Nick Offerman silently sipping whiskey?

The alterna-rock feedback slingers from Amherst, MA, Dinosaur Jr. turn 30 this month and to celebrate the group is playing seven sold-out shows in a row at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom starting December 2nd, 2015. The power trio has been incredibly influential in the music scene and scored a few “buzz bin” worthy singles […]

2015 might not go down as the best year for new music on record, but there are still a number of standouts making defining recorded albums. Take Low Cut Connie (pictured above) who are molding showmanship, punk and boogie into a new realm of relevancy. Riley Walker  is mixing the pastoral folk of Nick Drake […]

On October 2nd Atlanta’s Sevendust released their eleventh studio album, Kill The Flaw. The energy is there, the passion is there, the blazing guitars and machine gun drumming are there. Everything you could possibly want on a Sevendust record is served right up. “We took some time off from the heavy side of Sevendust and […]

With “I Was There When…,” veteran music journalist Doug Collette reflects on his experiences in the glory days of live rock music. With each column, he takes us back to a specific concert he attended way back when, spotlighting bands like The Who, Pink Floyd, and The Allman Brothers Band, among many others. How could you […]

There’s a good chance you won’t be hearing any of these songs when Tool tours next year. That won’t stop us from hoping though.

It’s a bit on the warm side, this Friday night in New Orleans when Ryan Bingham takes to the Flambeau Stage at the Voodoo Music & Arts Experience a few weeks ago. Opening with a kicking “Dollar A Day” from his first solo record, 2007’s Mescalito, when Richard Bowden’s fiddle kicks in, you can feel […]

In Vinyl Lives we spotlight and profile record stores around the country who offer music lovers an experience that goes beyond an iTunes purchase or a Spotify playlist. Vinyl has found a new resurgence and the good folks behind independent record stores are on the front line, directly responsible for curating a unique collection of […]

In 2008, a trio out of Wales released their first record, an EP titled A Balloon Called Moaning. Several of those tracks they still include in their live set, songs such as “Whirring” and “Cradle.” For their 2011 debut full-length, The Big Roar, they rerecorded those tracks, plus two others off the EP, and the […]

Ahhh yes. Can you smell the delicious aroma of the taco cannon as it is readied to fire tasty egg and bacon filled tortillas upon the hungering, moshing masses? Fun Fun Fun Fest is upon us once again. This year Austin’s long-running debaucherous fall party celebrates a tenth anniversary, no small feat in a town […]

It’s not every day that a band starts, plays a couple of gigs and then gets signed to their first label. But it happened to Alberta Cross. The band formed when Petter Ericson Stakee and Tyler Wolfers decided the songs they were creating on their own while in another band were worthy of more attention. […]

On November 3rd an extraordinary group of iconic performers are coming together at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angles on Tuesday, November 3rd in the name of cancer awareness. The show was organized to benefit Ronda’s Kiss, an organization which raises money for cancer patients struggling to pay their medical bills. The core band […]

“I’m in dad mode,” Black Stone Cherry’s John Fred Young says with a laugh when I call him for an interview a few weeks ago. “It’s our first one, the first grandbaby and the first great-grandbaby on both sides so she has no hope, she’s going to be spoiled.” With a daughter approaching the one […]

Looks can sometimes be quite deceiving. With his spiky hair and hardcore stare, you might look upon Billy Idol guitar player Billy Morrison as a firm supporter of the days when punk rock was boiling over with attitude and violence. He comes across tough with his low slung Gibson and leather jacket, hanging out near […]

Over the course of nine years, Treasure Island Music Festival has built itself up as an alternative yet accessible mid-autumn event specifically tailored to the musical tastes of San Franciscans. This year will be no exception, as the festival returns next weekend boasting an exciting lineup packed with both established and up-and-coming acts, as well […]

The album art on Rayland Baxter’s second album Imaginary Man features a photograph of Baxter’s face, half of it obscured by shadow. The original plan to make the left side another face didn’t work out, so it was left empty. That side is the “imaginary man,” and it makes sense that it’s just space, because, as […]

On Friday, the Winery Dogs released their second album, appropriately titled Hot Streak. It vibrates with such a delicious mix of rock and funk, it should be considered for many best of 2015 lists. The super trio of Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy has certainly done it again, proving fire can burn in […]

In Vinyl Lives we spotlight and profile record stores around the country who offer music lovers an experience that goes beyond an iTunes purchase or a Spotify playlist. Vinyl has found a new resurgence and the good folks behind independent record stores are on the front line, directly responsible for curating a unique collection of […]

You have to give Alice Cooper credit: he has always had the best bands around him. From the original five guys who were a band first and foremost to the musicians who make up his entourage in 2015, each one knows how to bring the rock to such classic songs as “School’s Out,” “Under My […]

A prolific writer, John Lodge has penned many of the Moody Blues songs since he joined the band in 1966; songs such as “I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock & Roll Band),” “Gemini Dream,” “House Of Four Doors,” “Ride My See-Saw,” “Send Me No Wine” and “Isn’t Life Strange,” among many others. Recently, he […]