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Earlier this month, and for the first time since 2023, I headed north of the border to Canada for the Montréal Jazz Festival, which saw this year’s edition – the 45th – run from June 26 through July 5. As always, it proved itself to be the premier destination event of its kind in North... Continue Reading →
When I recently began the "Archive" feature here with an interview with The Kills, it wasn't by accident. I was set to talk to them again a few days later, and couldn't find that LA Weekly feature for the life of me. This time around, my chat with Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince was for... Continue Reading →
Two of the most original and tortured talents passed away this week in Sly Stone and Brian Wilson, who died this past Monday and Wednesday, respectively. Both were unrivaled geniuses in their corresponding genres: Stone in funk and psychedelic soul as the figurehead of Sly and the Family Stone, and Wilson in the realm of... Continue Reading →
Apologies to the stick swinging readers, but drummers are an odd bunch. Back in college, my roommate was a drummer, and he was a strange cat – still is. It’s not very surprising as these are people whose chosen career in life is to hit things – typically very hard – with pieces of wood... Continue Reading →
Welcome to Archive, where I'll be periodically highlighting articles pulled from my files that have either disappeared into the ether of the internet, originally ran in print, or otherwise faded away. Each one will be somewhat thematic, connecting the past to the present day. Today, it's an interview I did with The Kills back in... Continue Reading →
The annual Boston Calling Music Festival took place Memorial Day weekend across three days at the Harvard Athletic Complex Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The lineup, featuring headliners and sub-headliners Luke Combs, Dave Matthews Band, T-Pain, Vampire Weekend, Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, and Public Enemy, was diverse as it was divisive. Getting off to a... Continue Reading →
Is it too early for Christmas music? You may love it, you may hate it, but there’s no denying the staying power of “Last Christmas,” the unavoidable holiday classic from Wham!, which has a massive resurgence annually starting almost immediately after Halloween since it was first released in 1984. That’s not hyperbole either, as the... Continue Reading →
I've been doing the 617 Q&A series over at Vanyaland for quite some time now. Incredibly, it took until just a few months ago, with the electronic duo Phantogram, that I conducted it with more than one person. It's hard enough keeping the pieces to a manageable length with a single interviewee, even with the... Continue Reading →
Sidemen in music are often an underappreciated, faceless lot. You either have to make some serious noise in your career or work with some major names to get any sort of recognition. Earl Slick has done both. The guitarist is best known for performing alongside David Bowie beginning in the early-70s live and on landmark... Continue Reading →
Following her split with husband and musical partner Ike Turner in the late '70s, Tina Turner’s career was dead. Two solo albums tanked in quick succession, she was left without a record label and reduced to performing in tiny clubs or as part of Las Vegas cabaret shows. Even a prestigious opening slot for a... Continue Reading →
