Fresh off a rousing tour with Semi Precious Weapons and Von Iva, Nico Vega, one of the best live bands around will hit the road again with Detroit’s Von Bondies
Bob Mould has announced a string of dates leading up to the release of Life and Times on April 7th, including an intimate, acoustic appearance at Hollywood’s Hotel Café on
It was already packed tight when I arrived at Southpaw in the heart of Park Slope, standard for an Antibalas show in their home borough. The venue proved to be a good fit for the afro-beat collective, despite the small stage—wedging 12 band members, including keys, full percussion and six horns, into that cramped area was an impressive feat.
Marco Benevento’s second studio release in less than a year comes on the heels of his critically acclaimed LP, Invisible Baby. Me Not Me, a series of interpretive covers with three originals sprinkled in, is a natural extension of his last album, focused on layered, dissonant sound-sculpting, while beautiful piano leads carry the melody. Featuring diverse artists such as My Morning Jacket, Deerhoof, Leonard Cohen, and Led Zeppelin, Benevento has incorporated some of his favorite songs into his own musical milieu.
When I was growing up, I used to love watching the Grammys each year. The event’s producers always got big names to show up and my taste in music was
moe. is returning to New York City for the first time in eight months this weekend, so this week’s Stormy Mondays is a preview of the Valentine’s celebration (massacre?) at
Despite the tough economic environment, the Rothbury Festival will return to Michigan on July 2-5. Be sure to signup at rothburyfestival.com to be the first to get the scoop on
We here at HT sort of pride ourselves on trying to stay on top of new music that would be in our collective wheelhouse. From time to time though a
McLovin? What kind of a stupid name is that, Fogell? What, are you trying to be an Irish R&B singer?
Well, they’re not exactly Irish R&B crooners, but this trio of young musicians from the Hartford, CT area, Jake (Drumlovin), Jason (Basslovin) and Jeff (Axlovin), have certainly gained a lot of attention in a hurry with their raw talent, impressive chemistry and wise-way-beyond-their-years musical tastes.
In a genre of music that normally requires a good three years of 100+ shows and slow burn word of mouth publicity, the McLovins appear to be the first band in the jam scene to actually blow up. We see it almost every day in the realms of indie rock and pop music, but it sure is fun to see the internets buzzing with fury over the threesome of musical whiz kids because they tackle Phish covers like YEM and Harry Hood as well as plain old virtuoso material like Eric Johnson’s Cliffs of Dover, songs that most players stumble over for months (or years) just to get through a few sections.
Having already made big waves by gracing Rolling Stone’s Smoking Section, igniting the blogosphere, appearing on the local news and making a new friend in Phantasy Tour, we thought it’d be great to get to know a little more about the three J’s: Jake, Jason, and Jeff. The boys were kind enough to collaborate and shed some light on their friendship, the new found internet fame and their plans for a first album. Hopefully, this will help tide you over until we get to see the McLovins live in action.
Hidden Track: Let’s start with a little background on the McLovins; how did you guys all get to know each other and come to realize you shared a common interest in heady stuff like Phish, Eric Johnson, and Weather Report?
McLovins: We met last summer. (Jake and Jason met at Jazz Camp and Jake and Jeff met at Rock Camp). We started playing together in the basement, sharing the songs we already knew and learning new songs we’d heard that we were interested in. We started sitting in together for a few songs every Wednesday night at a restaurant in Collinsville. People started to come to hear us play, even though it is a small place and we could get pretty loud.
READ ON for more of the first print interview with The McLovins…
VH1 Classic will air Oliver Stone’s 1991 flick The Doors on Tuesday at 7PM. The movie is more about Jim Morrison, portrayed wonderfully by Val Kilmer, and his nutjob antics
