In a music industry that seems more cookie-cutter than cutting edge, few emerging artists flip my switch as potentially being the next big thing. Most seem to easily “talk the talk” but fall far short when they “walk the walk.” It sounds cliché, but it’s true in many cases. Enter Diamante. From an early age, […]
Buffy Sainte-Marie has spent much of the last seven decades doing things people said she couldn’t do. Her youthful defiance comes to the fore more than once over the course of an hour’s conversation on what was—for her, in Hawaii—an extremely early morning. Her laughter is effusive, her joie de vivre inspiring as I cling […]
Longtime rocker and esteemed songwriter Willie Nile is back on the road, and releasing his 14th studio album this week on River House Records, recorded with his mask-wearing band earlier this year under unusual conditions. He spoke to us from his pad in Soho about the album, The Day the Earth Stood Still, his series […]
The early 1980s was a magical time for electronic music. Artists like Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, and OMD were coming on strong and opened doors for other artists looking for the freedom to express themselves in new and untraditional ways. Born in a dorm room in 1982 in St. Paul, Minnesota, three friends—Kurt Larson, James Cassidy, […]
It was Free Comic Day that inspired Record Store Day, the annual celebration for vinyl fans that began in 2007. And what started as a promotion among 100 stores in the US has grown into an international event that not only survived the pandemic but had its biggest year ever last year by splitting its […]
Who is Racquel Jones? To some, she’s an amazing musician and vocalist. For others, she’s an inspired artist and painter. However, after peeling back the onion a bit, I found Racquel Jones to be quite simply extraordinary. Born and raised in Jamaica, Jones has broken molds and shattered ceilings as a rising star. She is […]
One of the running tenets that makes up the current incarnation of America the band’s creative creed is the idea that while Dewey Bunnell writes the group’s “outdoor songs,” like “A Horse with No Name,” “Ventura Highway,” and “Tin Man,” his bandmate and creative partner for the last fifty-one years, Gerry Beckley writes “I Need […]
Ryan Martin has a new album out on High Moon Records titled, Wandercease, but is he really ready to cease his wandering or is he just exploring the idea of settling down? With producer Kenny Siegal, Martin’s new album was crafted into a large scale work that defies being tied down into one specific genre. […]
If you’re into punk rock at any level, you probably know of Frank Meyer. Frontman for The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs, his name is synonymous with the LA punk scene and has been so for over 20 years. He’s a legend in punk circles and continues to get better as time moves on. The Vinyl District recently […]
A year in quarantine lockdown can be overwhelming, especially for a band that is so used to being on the road as Tower of Power, the mighty soul outfit from out of Oakland, California. “I’ve toured 200 days a year for the last 53 years, so yeah, it’s difficult,” band co-founder Emilio Castillo says. But […]
Hearty Har, whose creative nucleus consists of Shane and Tyler Fogerty, possesses a plethora of creative influences. And while the duo did cut some of their performative teeth backing up their dad—rock legend John Fogerty, the co-founder of Creedence Clearwater Revival—during recent live tours, Hearty Har’s true gift for musical expression appears to lie in […]
When Todd La Torre took over the reigns as vocalist for Queensrÿche back in 2012, many felt that he’d have a hard time filling Geoff Tate’s shoes. Admittedly, I was one of those early doubters and could not imagine anyone else hitting those incredibly high notes across some of progressive metal’s most cherished masterpieces. That […]
Drummer Chris Frantz has already gotten acclaim for his 2020 memoir Remain in Love, chronicling his life with Tina Weymouth in Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club. But now he’s planning a second book, using the skills he honed at the art school where Talking Heads sprang. “I just got a shipment of art […]
Mark Farner, the long-haired, bare-chested frontman of Grand Funk Railroad, keeps chugging along at 72, releasing a new DVD From Chile with Love this month with the band he fronts, which takes the name of one of Grand Funk’s most popular songs, Mark Farner’s American Band. He’s also among the Michigan rockers asked to join […]
Celebrating Graham Nash on his 79th birthday with a look back at our 2013 chat with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. —Ed. Victor Hugo once said that music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. When searching for ways to talk about the music […]
