As a founding member of Sonic Youth, Lee Ranaldo etched his name into the canon of New York rock artists during his 30-year tenure with the group, from 1981 to 2011. His inventive guitar playing, built upon unusual tunings, sprung from the city’s downtown experimental ‘No Wave’ scene and had […]
Eric Holland
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Some of The Black Angels’ publicity shots are trippy as befits the band. They are clearly at the head of the contemporary psychedelic rock class and arguably leading this year’s rock charge regardless of sub-genre. They are by no means passe trippy-dippy nor do their sounds feel like they […]
When Boston, Mass came out in 1985, it became one of my favorite records of my high school experience in Pepperell, Massachusetts. I connected with it sonically, locally, and emotionally. I still do. Five years ago, the Del Fuegos indulged me with an interview and session at WFUV as part […]
Tina Guo, the exciting and accomplished cellist and erhu player, turned up in New York this week. Her first love as well as her first training was in the classical realm but Guo’s playing evinces an enthusiasm for music across a wide array of genres. The Shanghai born, California raised and based […]
Judith Owen is on road with Bryan Ferry but she managed to steal a few minutes in front of a camera while the tour bus sat idle this week. In the Spring of 2014, I had a chance to speak to Judith Owen at her Slipper Room show. She […]
Raul Midón landed in town, showed off his chops, and shared some winning new tunes in two appearances last week. On the album Bad Ass And Blind that came out Friday, he offers a glimpse into his sightless world on Sound Shadows and his mantra for living on Pedal To The […]
Ladysmith Black Mambazo elevated the spirits of those in attendance at BB Kings on March 8th with a show that featured generations of singers. The passing of the torch from the elders of the group to younger members is evidenced by the title of their most recent album, last year’s […]
In December of 2015 Dawes played The Beacon as part of the Holiday Cheer for WFUV show which included Brandi Carlile, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, and Lucius. While on stage, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes remarked it would be cool to come back and headline the theatre on their own. […]
A tremendous lineup headed by Patti Smith and Iggy Pop has been unveiled for this year’s Tibet House benefit concert happening Thursday, March 16th at Carnegie Hall. Laurie Anderson, Alabama Shakes, and Sufjan Stevens as well as Bernard Sumner, Phil Cunningham, and Tom Chapman of New Order will all perform […]
The Zombies will make a pair of appearances in New York this month as their mighty Odessey & Oracle approaches its fiftieth birthday. The brilliant rock and pop outfit from St Albans, Hertfordshire in England are experiencing an amazing phase in their career that began in 1961. I was fortunate enough […]
The 43rd annual Fest For Beatles Fans brought together an impressive array of super-fans and people in a position to show and tell first hand accounts involving John, Paul, George, and Ringo. It was a pleasure to be able to roam around the Hyatt Regency Jersey City On The Hudson […]
The Quintessential New Yorker will not be erased! Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed’s companion since the early 90s and wife from 2008 until his death three and a half years ago, spearheaded the effort to present his complete archives to the NYPL. Lou Reed became synonymous with New York personifying its […]
Thievery Corporation are back with a new album, The Temple Of I & I, that was recorded in Jamaica and is the most dramatic manifestation of their career-long fascination with the music of that island. When Rob Garza and Eric Hilton first got together in DC in the mid 90s […]
Antibalas will be the house band and twenty artists will perform the songs of Aretha Franklin on Monday, March 6th at Carnegie Hall in the 14th annual tribute concert to benefit music education programs. Here’s the lineup: Melissa Etheridge, Kenny Loggins, Ann Wilson, Todd Rundgren, Sarah Dash, Glen Hansard, Rhiannon Giddens, […]
As anyone vaguely aware of Talib Kweli knows, the man can spit with the best of ’em and arguably offers more thought-provoking words per song than anyone in the game. The lyrics of Palookas from 2011’s Gutter Rainbows – “You ain’t gotta verse better than my worse one” – would […]
The Chili Peppers doing a pretty killer show at The Garden is hardly surprising. The Chili Peppers doing three distinct pretty killer shows however may be eyebrow-raising. They busted out covers like Simon & Garfunkel’s The Only Living Boy in New York and Search & Destroy by Iggy and The […]
Kronos Quartet Champions Humanity, Understanding Across Cultures – February 15, 2017 The Kronos Quartet are and have always been modern and progressive in the sense that they favor new music as opposed to playing works by composers like Haydn or Mozart who did their thing hundreds of years ago. Now […]
John Fogerty Recalls Robert Johnson Leading Him Back To CCR – February 14, 2017 The first time I saw John Fogerty was in 1986 on the Eye of the Zombie tour. It was fab but it was also strange as he didn’t play any, not one, song that he wrote […]
Annette St. John At Smoke’s Sunday Brunch – Weekly gig; footage from Super Sunday 2/5/17 Heading over to Smoke, the Upper West Side venue, to hear some wonderful music from Annette St. John and her trio is a very clever move on any given Sunday especially now that football season […]
Elliot Moss Unveils New Music At The Penthouse At The Standard – January 30, 2017 Elliot Moss made it clear he is a young artist worth keeping an ear on with an engaging performance on Monday at The Penthouse at the Standard. A lot of people, specifically 4.2 million of them […]
New Documentary Film & Book On H.R. Of Bad Brains – Event at Saint Vitus Bar on January 24, 2017 One of the Bad Brains CDs in my collection has a sticker on it with two well chosen quotes about the band: “If you want to hear real excitement, real […]
The latest album by Andrew Bird represents, as the artist phrased it in an interview conducted last month at Carnegie Hall, an attempt to go top shelf all the way. That is, he didn’t start recording until he had explored myriad permutations of each song. He turned them upside down and […]
Anything Could Happen: Tommy Stinson Talks Bash & Pop 2.0 – Anything Could Happen by Bash & Pop released 1/20/17 Nothing not to like about the new Bash & Pop record. Tommy Stinson, now safely nestled upstate in Hudson, got some pals together in his home studio with the intention […]
Alejandro Escovedo Hits City Winery, Talks Triumph Over PTSD – January 19th, 2017 (Also 20th & 21st at City Winery NYC) Alejandro Escovedo celebrated his 66th birthday earlier this month and no one is more deserving than him of the late career success he is currently enjoying. The guy is […]
London Haydn Quartet Share Music Of Composer They Love – At The Morgan Library and Museum 1-12-17 It was a great opportunity to hear beautiful music under ideal conditions when The London Haydn Quartet took the stage in the concert hall at The Morgan Library and Museum on Thursday. The […]