Archive: 2017

In the newest installment of Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle reviews DAMN., the album released earlier this year by rapper Kendrick Lamar that has been showing up on many best of the year lists, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop):

[rating=6.00] Music and politics has a weird relationship. Of that there is no doubt. Inextricably linked and invariably representative of the vast diversity inherent in both aspects of life, over the years music has worked as vehicle social and political change, a powerful tool of protest, a precious cultural asset and a controversial subject in […]

“There was a feeling back then of promise and that you might actually make a living at music someday. I’m not sure if 6 String Drag ever expected to play any stadiums, but we thought me might make a living in an NRBQ kind of way.” — Kenny Roby, frontman for the band. When 6 […]

[rating=8.00] New York City’s music scene can be competitive to say the least. Here it seems good bands are a dime a dozen, which makes it tough even for exceptional acts to get the recognition and exposure they rightfully deserve. That being said, don’t fret if you haven’t heard up and coming indie rockers QTY […]

43 years ago in December 1973, Frank Zappa played a series of legendary concerts at the famed Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. Considered a high-water mark of his career, owing to the incredible, virtuosic performances of himself and his stellar band The Mothers, the five shows – across three nights – included […]

Whatever else Star Wars means—culturally, personally, cinematically—it also means money. Big money. The phenomenon of Star Wars leads to the kind of rabid fanaticism that translates into piles of money at the box office. Even the maligned prequel trilogy, widely regarded as the three worst films in the franchise, was able to pull in mountains […]

Unlikely Friends (UF) aim to be the best hardly known, under-practiced pop band in the Northwest. D. Crane (of Seattle sloppy, loud, indie-pop band BOAT) and Charles Bert (of Seattle quiet indie-pop band Math & Physics Club (MAPC)) first played together in 2013 at an impromptu anniversary show for Seattle’s Three Imaginary Girls at a […]

Ron Gallo is set to release Really Nice Guys on January 19th, 2018 via New West Records. The 8-song set was produced by Joe Bisirri & Gallo and is a concept EP which pokes fun at himself and the year he has spent supporting his New West Records debut, HEAVY META. Released in February of […]

Coming just in time at the end of 2017, Whitechapel hopped on the bandwagon and embarked on their very own 10 year anniversary tour to celebrate their debut album, The Somatic Defilement. Though such anniversary tours have been en vogue for a few years now, 2017 seems to have had an abundance of them, especially […]

Like so many bands of the Seventies and Eighties, Foghat soldier on to this day, currently under the aegis of drummer Roger Earl. Celebrating the fortieth anniversary of their original concert album this year with the release of a document of the current alignment in the form of Live At The Belly Up.   Earl and […]

In July, Del McCoury began sending out hand rolled parchment invitations to a select group of deserving musical participants to join his DelFest 2018 Bluegrass Congress. On Memorial Day weekend (May 24-27), the Bluegrass Congress, which includes Ricky Skaggs, David Grisman, Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton, and Stuart Duncan, will officially be […]

Don’t let the sadness and down-on-their-luck characters on Pedigo’s Magic Pilsner fool you. The new release from Dallas singer/songwriter John Pedigo, one half of folk-rock duo The O’s, also radiates plenty of hope, joy and exuberant defiance in the face of loss. Pedigo’s father was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, and Pedigo set out to make and […]

Jamil Rashad AKA Boulevards has two releases to his credit, including last year’s dance-laden breakout album, Groove!. Riding a wave of momentum, Boulevards has made a quick return with the recently released Hurt Town, a high-energy, funkadelic album that features Neon Indian, Laura Reed, and more. Hurt Town evokes the sexualized R&B sounds of Prince, Rick James, […]

You’ve never seen Star Wars like this before.

A photo retrospective of the 29th Annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam that took place December 9th, 2017 at U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, NC on 12/9/17. Artists included Gov’t Mule with special guest Ann Wilson, Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB, The Avett Brothers, Les Bros., Blackberry Smoke, Jacke Shimabukuro and Holly Bowling. Photos by Brad […]

In the newest installment of Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle reviews One Go Around, the new album from Portland, Oregon folk-Americana artist Jeffrey Martin, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop):

  “Forget what we said last December, cuz it’s been a hell of a year.” Susan Tedeschi belts those words out on “Let Me Get By” a Tedeschi Trucks Band song from an album of the same name. It’s hard to know what was going through her mind when she wrote the tune with her […]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has officially announced 2018’s inductees and they are: Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, the Moody Blues, the Cars and Nina Simone. Sister Rosetta Tharpe will be given an Early Influence award. Surprisingly, Radiohead struck out on its first year of eligibility. The induction will be held at Cleveland’s Public Hall on April 14th, 2018. An […]