Record Store Day…What an excellent idea! It’s not only really just become a thing. It’s really just become a great thing! Record Store Day 2015 is this Saturday, April 18. As a guy who worked at Second Coming Records (the one between Harvard Square & Central Square in Cambridge, MA […]
Sound Advice
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I used to see The Sheila Divine a lot while living in Boston in the late 1990s. They were the kind of band who brought so much energy and power to the stage that I’d want to catch them any chance I could. I had my first chance to catch […]
New York Before The War is Jesse Malin’s first record in 5 years. The quintessential New York rocker spoke to me about it and let me roll some video on his mean band in their Lower East Side practice space. He’s at the Bowery Ballroom next Saturday…
Austin orchestral rock band Mother Falcon and South Florida hip hop string musician duo Black Violin both have roots in high school orchestras, are both wildly original and creative, and both played at St. David’s Bethell Hall as part of the SXSW Universal Music Classics showcase. There are few similarities […]
Visually stimulating and musically diverse, the 3rd annual K-Pop Night Out at South by Southwest, showcasing musical artists from South Korea, was made memorable by Hitchhiker – the man in the spacesuit , EE – the husband and wife led total art experience, and Crayon Pop – the 5 member […]
Despite being attacked by a bouncer on Thursday, London’s Palma Violets tore it up in their inimitable way at SXSW in Austin on Friday. This was the third (of the 4 times) I had a chance to chat with this band. The first one reveals just how quickly they were recognized as an exciting […]
The debut studio album from Big Data, “2.0”, features songs inspired by the likes of Snowden/NSA and the Facebook mood experiments sung by an impressive gaggle of guests like Rivers Cuomo, Jamie Lidell, Twin Shadow, and Joywave. In the studio, Big Data is Brooklyn-based producer Alan Wilkis (whom I spoke with at […]
The Icelandic songstress Bjork gets a career retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. The museum show coincides with a handful of concert dates this month (and one next month) by Bjork at different NYC venues.
Here are some bits from interviews and performances over the past year or so put together as a celebration of jazz in NYC, past and present…full of fantastic characters! Find the full reports on Wynton Marsalis, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Bill Frisell, Chris Botti, and Lew Tabackin in the jazz section.
Brazilian Girls traded making music for making babies for a while but they’re preparing to release their first new material since 2008. They played some of it at Highline Ballroom and I spoke with lead singer Sabina Sciubba backstage at the venue while she was getting ready to go on […]
A dynamite exhibit, Sinatra: An American Icon, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is the way to begin appreciating Frank Sinatra this year, the centennial of his birth, with lots more ways soon to come.
Pop music is alive and well and living in New York City…Chelsea, actually where the 3 brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met, collectively AJR, used the family living room to record the songs that evolved from busking around town. Their new release is appropriately called Living Room.
A delight to catch Midge Ure playing solo and acoustic at Iridium where the Ultravox frontman touched on every phase of his career. The Scot lives in England where, in his home studio, he created his first new album of original material in 13 years called Fragile. As 2015 marks the 30th anniversary […]
Great to have Dr. John rolling through the city tonight February 27, 2015 especially as his last scheduled show here in Central Park on August 2, 2014 was canceled at the last minute. The New Orleans music legend spoke to me recently about his latest album: Ske Dat De Dat – […]
The young dancehall/reggae artist Kranium went from Montego Bay, Jamaica to Florida to Queens, New York, and from Queens to worldwide fame behind his smash Nobody Has to Know…
When Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra went to Cuba in 2010, seeds were already being planted for the Jazz Across the Americas Latin America tour which begins on Friday February 27th and Saturday February 28th 2015 at Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater. The multi Grammy winning Jazz […]
A fine how do you do! from British indie-rock band The Struts who played their first ever show in the U.S. at the John Varvatos store on the Bowery…better known as the old CBGB. The fellas promised they’d be back soon.
The last few projects from the wonderful jazz singer Allan Harris have been tributes to some of his idols like Nat King Cole, Billy Strayhorn & Tony Bennett. Harris credits Bennett especially as a mentor who, when they spent time together in the late nineties, helped him hone his vocal […]
As hip hop artist Maino unleashes a video for his latest single Dreamer featuring French Montana, B.O.B., and Tweezie – The King of Brooklyn dropped by NY1 for a powwow that included news of a literary project.
Zach Williams’ first NYC gigs were at the Rockwood Music Hall and it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. He was the first guy to play Stage 2 when it opened and when it came time to record his band‘s debut album, they converted the venue into a studio […]
Most family projects involve clearing out a garage or attic. Not this one. When Teddy Thompson, who has lived in NYC for 15 years, thought it would be good to get the family together, he hatched a scheme for an album that came to fruition and was released in November. […]
Bettye Lavette made me cry more than once during the opening show of her run at The Carlyle. She is among the very highest echelon of vocalists – a masterful interpreter who fully inhabits each song she sings. The show Wednesday January the 28th served as an album release party […]
The Tragically Hip connected with their fans in New York City – as well as those close enough to get to The Beacon Theatre on Friday – for a satisfying, career-spanning concert. The fellas are featuring their 1992 album Fully Completely on this run of shows.
Put That Dream In Your Pipe And Smoke It is Mike Rimbaud’s new disc. The Bowery Electric was the venue for the New York singer-songwriter‘s latest release.
Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee of The Vaselines have carved out a place for themselves in the history of rock n roll. The Scottish alt-rock band plays selections from their latest release V For Vaselines in a rare New York appearance.