Rough Seven – Codebreaker

Rough Seven – Codebreaker

When the original guitarist for the Rough Seven Michael Aaron passed away recently the band looked internally for solace. Aaron had not been in the band for some time but was vital in its construction and was still tight with the present day group. In tribute the band went back  ...[more]

White Denim – Corsicana Lemonade

White Denim – Corsicana Lemonade

There’s a lot going on throughout the 38-minutes that comprise Corsicana Lemonade, White Denim’s sixth LP, and third since expanding to a quartet with the addition of guitarist Austin Jenkins. The Austin, Texas-based band has long specialized in chaotic and harried jams that burst forth with snippets of kinetic energy. Where  ...[more]

The Melismatics – Rising Tide

The Melismatics – Rising Tide

The Melismatics have put together a spunky collection of tunes that run the gamut of upbeat disco flavored bubble gum rock. The four piece from Minneapolis has been honing their sound for most of the millenium and Rising Tide shows the band is still experimenting while bouncing along. The dueling  ...[more]

Vienna Teng – The Independent, San Francisco, CA 11/16/13

Vienna Teng – The Independent, San Francisco, CA ...

Aims takes an introvert and thrusts her into extroverted waters. In a live setting, a few of the songs from the new record lacked the epic trappings they wore in the studio. Still, this tour shows Teng at her most musically adventurous....[more]

Kings Of Chaos Avalon Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA, 11/18/13

Kings Of Chaos Avalon Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA, ...

If there is one thing that musicians love to do, it’s get together with other musicians, pull out the guitars and jam for fun. When you’re able to do this to help an organization or a friend in need, it makes it all the more sweet. So when former Guns  ...[more]

Marco Benevento – The Cutting Room, New York, NY 11/16/13

Marco Benevento – The Cutting Room, New York, ...

Da da da dum, da da da dum, it’s the Royal Potato Family!  Just after Halloween, the leaders of the Royal Potato Family music label, the Marco Benevento trio, presented themselves as the eccentric band you’d like to live next to.  They are a modern day Addams Family with Marco  ...[more]

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me

Near the beginning of the documentary film Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me rock critic Lester Bangs equates Memphis rock band Big Star with The Beatles. At the time of his comment, a 1970s interview, few people had heard of Big Star. Turns out Bangs was on to something. Big  ...[more]

The Rolling Stones- Charlie Is My Darling

The Rolling Stones- Charlie Is My Darling

As The Rolling Stones evolved from blues purists and made a concerted attempt to commercialize themselves for the pop market, their manager Andrew Loog Oldham posited them as bad boy alternatives to the cuddly mop-tops that were The Beatles. It only makes sense then, that instead of the semi-fictionalized presentation  ...[more]

Graham Parker & The Rumour: Live at Rockpalast 1978+1980

Graham Parker & The Rumour: Live at Rockpalast ...

During their original alliance, Graham Parker and The Rumour never released a live album that accurately represented how powerful they sounded in concert (the execrable The  Parkerilla is only worth mentioning as an aside. These double-disc packages, however, stand as essential documents of the early stages of the partnership between  ...[more]

The Merciless Book Of Metal Lists & Louder Than Hell

The Merciless Book Of Metal Lists & Louder ...

In the late 70’s, a curious paperback book was published, filled with wackily twisted facts about famous people and unusual historical sidebars of eyebrow raising information. It caught people off-guard but the lure to peep into it’s catacombs of information was strangely alluring. It was titillating and a bit scandalous  ...[more]

Eric Clapton FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About Slowhand

Eric Clapton FAQ: All That’s Left to Know ...

David Bowling’s Eric Clapton FAQ is written like a trip through that part of the authors music collection devoted to the archetypal guitar hero. As such it is comprehensive to a point, covering in no small detail Slowhand’s earliest work, including his stints in The Yardbirds and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers,  ...[more]

Neil Young : Waging Heavy Peace

Neil Young : Waging Heavy Peace

The cover of Neil Young’s Waging Heavy Peace is a remarkably accurate reflection of its contents. The Canadian rock icon’s name is emblazoned across the front and a present-day head-shot of the man himself with head down and eyes shaded by a fedora juxtaposes the back cover B & W  ...[more]

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  • The Complete Last Waltz – “Don’t Do It”

    Featuring a  house band that consisted of Joe Russo, Scott Metzger, Marco Benevento and Yellowbirds/Apollo Sunshine guitarist Sam Cohen, along with a variety of other musicians, The Band’s historic 1976 ...