Saturday night April 14 was the night of the 2018 Psychobilly Brawl. I’ve attended the Psychobilly Brawl many times but I think this one was the best attended in a long time. Psychobilly is not dead in Seattle. This event was headlined by Detroit’s Koffin Kats, but any of the eight bands who played could …
One of the best parts of playoffs in the NBA is that teams step up their pageantry a notch. The banners are more plentiful outside the arena, the excitement of the crowd is more palpable, and the lights out introductions are astounding. In this case, the fans were all issued, in addition to T-shirts draped …
The video above declares that crows are as smart as a seven year old human and I’m here to tell you they are way smarter than a seven year old. I have a lot of crows in my yard and I feed them several times a week and they are very loyal to me. Once …
As of this writing, the Portland Trail Blazers have lost their last four games and play the streaking Utah Jazz tonight in their final game of the NBA regular season. A win will clinch the #3 seed for the Blazers, and a loss might put them as low as #5 and send them on the …
I saw Stuart Adamson and Big Country perform once, at Sacramento’s now-extinct Cattle Club. November 16, 1993, during their “Buffalo Skinners” tour. The Cattle Club wasn’t a huge venue, somewhere between Seattle’s Tractor Tavern and Showbox Theater in size. I was right up front in this packed room, and holey moley, ten years after their …
Because Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder used to be in the same band, when nobody outside the LA folk scene knew their name. Talent wise, that’s Lennon & McCartney, Tosh and Marley, Captain & Tennille, Elton & John. Taj Mahal is my favorite artist of all time. When Jessica Stenson told Taj I read his biography, Taj …
WELCOME TO MY LIBRARY: It’s time to go back and finish this book on The Staple Singers. This group was such a big influence on what I did with The Staquelettes, which Tracy Ferrara is translating into horn arrangements. The fact that so many everyday people aren’t really that aware nor all that hip to …
I always forget about Rufus Thomas. But he and his daughter were the one two punch that put Stax / Volt on the map. Rufus was one in one billion. He pulled off something few corny old Dad’s have ever done. He stayed stayed FRESH dressing like this. Super Fresh. He gave James Brown a …
Sandmoon is an indie-pop formation originating from Beirut, Lebanon which was initiated by singer/songwriter Sandra Arslanian. Their new mini-EP, Beirut-Berlin Session was released on March 8. “Shiny Star” is the first single from that release. Loaded with Levantine mystery and promise, Teutonic discipline, tantalizing vocals, brash guitar and the devil’s own chamber orchestra, “Shiny Star” …
Generally there are two kinds of biographies: those that skate on the surface and those that do their homework and dive deeply into the subject’s life. The biography, Tiger Woods, published this last week by investigative journalists Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian, just in time for the Masters, falls into the second category. In addition …
I have a long but wonderful list of people to still tell you about, regarding my journey last month to Jamaica. One of them is the mysterious Kingston based Selecta, Lenny Roots. The German Lennart Tacke introduced me to him and I hung with Mr Roots as he put together this educational mix tape in a peaceful …
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 …
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 …