Using original material, along with four tracks drawing from the folk and old time traditions, Lindberg and Zasloff ingeniously create a beautiful arc throughout Beneath The Open Sky which defines their own genre and world as they see it. Their message is clear from the album’s opening track and rousing call for universal equality “Bound …
Month: March 2018
Only day 2 here in Vietnam and we are already completely blown away by the amount of hospitality we’ve received! The local Hip Hop community is unbelievably talented and welcomed us right in with open arms. So much love here it’s crazy!! Big shout out to Francois Babelaere for linking us up with Cipherz Coffee Shop, Thái Bình Dương and …
Well, the next shoe has dropped in the MSU/USA gymnastics sexual molestation scandal. Dr. William Strampel, 70 y/o, the MSU supervisor of serial molester Dr. Larry Nassar, has been arrested. Strampel came under scrutiny earlier this month, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on 3.20.18. The Journal noted that Stampel, MSU’s Dean of Osteopathic …
The Cubs had a great start to the season Thursday, with center fielder Ian Happ leading off and hitting a HR on the first pitch. Team leader Anthony Rizzo dedicated his first HR of the season to his alma mater, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. It’s got to be a bit demoralizing for the Marlins …
Last Tuesday night, I took my daughter Jillian to see the Sacramento Kings play the Dallas Mavericks. She had never seen an NBA game, and the tickets were cheap for two lottery teams playing a game with absolutely no bearing on the playoffs. The Mavericks won 103-97, but the evening was most notable in that …
Rozie is the hardest working singer/songwriter in Vancouver, BC (not Vancouver, Washington). She’s been working on this song for a long time and she has just decided that she’s ready to release it. “I really wanted my music to portray this sort of vibe that I constantly dream of,” says Rozie, “That vibe being soulful, …
So I am obsessing over Chicago, I will admit. This all started when I noticed that much of the XTC catalogue had been upgraded and issued in terrific blueray/CD editions. I got a few, and they do sound fantastic. Much of the praise centered on one Steve Wilson, who remixed and remastered the albums and …
Wow. I didn’t think anything like this existed. Understood only a few pre-1970 Tonight Shows survived. This must be one of em. It conveys the improvy (im-Pervy?) flavor of the rat pack just about better than anything I’ve seen. Dean still makes me laugh out loud, even when it’s Schtick I should’ve seen coming for …
No surprise that my bracket was busted in the first round of March Madness. It was a little shocking at first that my pick for national champion, Virginia, didn’t even make it past their first game, but as I watched the second half of their game against UMBC, I was more puzzled how the Cavaliers had managed …
Here’s a question for Chicago Cubs fans: Which player hit the club’s farthest home run in 2017? You would be forgiven if you said Kyle Schwarber; after all, Scwarbs, who is built like an NFL lineman, hit five of the team’s ten deepest dingers. But you’d be wrong. On October 18, catcher Willson Contreras launched …
Friday night March 23, I helped pack Seattle’s El Corazon club to see a double punk bill with the Dickies and the Queers. This is the second time I have seen these two punk bands headline a show together and I hope to see them do so again. The Dickies came on stage just as …
Last night, March 21, I ventured out to Chop Suey to see the female dominated SO Cal group the Regrettes. This power punk quartet oozes charm and sex appeal as well as outstanding showmanship. Front woman Lydia Knight knew just how to work her audience. Her platinum hair was in French braids and she wore …
Tuesday night March 20, I ventured out to the Funhouse to see a ska band calling themselves the Opskamatrists. With a name like that, I knew I had to check them out. I wasn’t disappointed either. This five-piece from Idaho Falls was non-stop fun. Though they hail from Idaho Falls, for some reason their front …
This is how stupid people are when they debate the complexities of music appropriation. People are questioning Bruno Mars for cultural appropriation based on race, when he is half Puerto Rican and was trained to destroy pop music with real instruments by his Puerto Rican father. I would love for one basic ass bitch of …
I’ve been eager for a classical work to come in over the indie music wire. Now one has, and “The Book of Arius – Act I” is a great one. I love it. TC Crosser has serious compositional skills and extraordinary self confidence to send his work out this way. Please give it a listen. …
This is hard for millions of people to accept for various reasons. But this is something I have always known and have happily embraced. And it only gets confirmed each step of the way. When I moved from Central LA to Mays Pond where through some sort of Imperialism, I had to go to Junior …
You know really gives zero f_cks? Vladamir Putin. He installed his very own US President and now he just put a hit on a Spy and his daughter with a Nerve Agent in England in broad daylight. That was a message. That he is the bully, he has new Nuclear weapons we can’t stop and …
When Ryan Cory and I work together it has always been FIRE. But now we have a project that is going to reach millions of people guaranteed. Anthony Red Rose is just going to press the button. But he needs the goods. The way I put today to Ryan at The Cloud Room today was this, as the first beautiful …
Most natives of Portland don’t need to be told that they live in a sea of natural beauty, but they may not be aware just how close some of the outdoor wonders are to their doorsteps. One of these is the Tualatin RIver National Wildlife Refuge, just off of Highway 99W a few miles southwest …
One of the first things you notice when the Golden State Warriors come to town is that their fans travel well. There were as many blue and gold jerseys as Blazer black and red outside the Moda Center before Friday night’s game, and the majority of them had the familiar number 30 for Stephen Curry, …
On March 6, 2018, Chicago’s fabled classic rock station, WLUP (97.9), announced it was being acquired by Educational Media Foundation (EMF). Since 2014 “The Loop” has been operated under a local agreement with Cumulus Media. However, as part of a bankruptcy filing last month, Cumulus withdrew plans to buy the station, and so the search …
This was last night’s last skit. I hope everyone caught it. I was amazed that with a simple, off-center concept they were able to get such a hearty laugh out of me, and I don’t laugh at much anymore. This tickles my weakness for the absurd while awakening nostalgia for good times and loud, dated …
I have found myself once again coming to understand what really happened in Jamaica, in this case, Port Antonio. Ignorance is a kind of reverse (but reversable) amnesia. I am realizing the significance of how I fell right into the heart of the Mento scene and met the ghost Errol Flynn. Well not really. But really. …
BJ DjSticky AKA Bluejay Hankins has been trying to get a new press release out of me for weeks. We polished one before I left for Jamaica but it was missing something. He needs a KILLER press release to the reach the estimated 1000 DJs that matter in the global Roots Reggae & Dancehall universe that …
On March 7 I had the esteemed privilege of seeing They Might Be Giants. It has been many years since I last saw them and only my third time seeing them. The first time was in 1988 and was one of the most entertaining shows I ever had the pleasure of attending. They did not …
Listen up, all you ska fans living on the west coast of the USA. If you haven’t already heard, there’s going to be a two-day concert on the beach in So. Cal April 28 and 29, 2018 showcasing some of the finest ska bands currently active. As the promo states, this is a two days …
After a wonderful writing session with the reggae powerhouse Hold in Fyah, I went to QFC for the only sensible thing I can eat on my new diet – 4 pieces of Baked Chicken I can spread over the next few days as if each piece were itself a giant bucket. On the way I went …
A lovely song and a lively video. Please give it a listen:
When I asked Israel Voice to give BrodieNation Music Festival a shout out up at Nine Mile on Bob Marley‘s birthday he took it a few extra steps. He launched into a completely improvised song from bottom of his huge Rastafarian heart, extolling the virtues and unparalleled greatness of Morgan Henley Epic Summer Party. This is what it looks like …
I just stopped in to see my friend Marilyn’s new location for Cafe Zippy LLC. I worked with her at her last location when I was doing locations for the TV pilot for Tabitha: Witch of the Order. The place is full of smiling faces on a beautiful day hinting at the promises of Spring. Places like …