Flash back 40 years. Picture a college dorm room, its walls swathed with black-light posters, the air heavy with the smell of incense and engulfed in thick clouds of pungent smoke. Its occupants seem preoccupied with resolving the secrets of the universe, despite coughing up the intake from a hookah…
Blues harpist Sugar Blue is best-known as the musician who contributed the signature harmonica riff to the Rolling Stones’ disco hit “Miss You.” He’s maintained a vibrant career ever since. Blue takes his handle from an obscure jazz recording and offers ongoing homage to such esteemed mentors as Big Walter…
Jim Camacho’s latest album, Beachfront Defeat, marks the latest chapter in an ever-prolific career that stems from his initial involvement in the Goods some two decades back. His is a seemingly unstoppable trajectory, one that’s found him a fluent multitasker who’s also adept in musical theater and cross-collaboration. Indeed, Beachfront…
Despite its disparate origins, from Mississippi to Memphis to Chicago, the blues has always boasted a common thread in its evocative expression and soulful execution. That’s something Nick Moss understands as much as most. Although he hails from a younger generation of blues devotees, he apprenticed with the best —…
Considering the circumstances surrounding the bungling would-be plane bomber on Christmas Day, Laura Meyer’s decision to dub her recent Northern jaunt “The Long Underwear Tour” may have proven somewhat unfortunate. It’s a wise choice, then, that she chose to shed that banner for her current tour, which includes an extended…
Matt Keating – Between Customers Keating’s follow up to 2007’s astonishing double disc opus Quixotic is another revelation, a collection of richly affecting songs, ranging from the heartbreaking “Louisiana, a passionate paean to the victims of Katrina, to “Better Than That,” a plaintive ballad that sounds like one of Neil Young’s…
The Deep Dark Woods – Winter Hours Both the band’s name and the album title may seem intimidating, but in truth, Winter Hours shines light on warmly-lit environs via easily embraceable melodies, supple arrangements and the most earnest of sentiments.Bap Kennedy – Howl On The ever affable rocker turned country troubadour who…
Slaid Cleaves – Everything You Love Will Be Taken AwayAfter toiling in the trenches these many years as a folk-tinged journeyman singer-songwriter, Cleaves has finally painted his masterpiece, one that ought to make both his longtime fans and those who are still novices react with awe.Richie Furay – AliveThe good…
Hit the jump to see why this was one of the year’s best.Over the next few blog posts, Crossfade contributor Lee Zimmerman gives his top picks of the best unheralded rock releases of the past year.Lee Alexander & Co., Mayhaw Vaudeville Retro never sounded so remorseful, but thanks to Lee…
The Bonzo Dog Band, an eccentric Sixties British group with a penchant for silliness and satire, once released a song whose title begged the theoretical question, “Can blue men sing the whites?” That is, of course, a twist on the age-old argument about whether white musicians, who never experienced the…
via ticketmaster.comRoger DaltreyHard Rock Live, HollywoodSunday, November 29, 2009The Review:First the good news. Take half of the Who, after being ravaged by the demise of its mighty rhythm section, Keith Moon and John Entwitsle. Then divide the remaining Who two in half, leaving only singer Roger Daltrey, concluding his first…
via livenation.comJackson BrowneThe Fillmore Miami BeachSaturday, November 21, 2009The Review:Like much of his audience these days, Jackson Browne seems to have embraced age and maturity only reluctantly. That’s the inevitable result, perhaps, of growing up in the untamed times that were the ’60s and ’70s. That’s evident, of course, in…
As both the precocious bard and poet laureate of the Laurel Canyon elite, Jackson Browne’s late-’60s/early-’70s repertoire found him standing shoulder to shoulder with the other notables of the day. With peers like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Browne helped to define the West Coast…
Shawn Snyder Stripmall Troubadour (Live at the Moose) www.shawnsnydermusic.comwww.myspace.com/shawnsnydermusicTurnip-haired homeboy Shawn Snyder made quite a splash with last year’s sophomore set, Romantic’s Requiem, an album that earned it New Times’ kudos for being among the best local releases of 2008. For its follow-up, Snyder strips things down, offering up a lo-fi acoustic…
It could be a prelude to a punch line. How many harmonica players does it take to create a spectacular blues revue? When you’re talking world-class musicians like Mark Hummel, Magic Dick of the J. Geils Band, and blues greats Watermelon Slim and R.J. Mischo, the reality is that any…
Sibling combos generally boast an uneven credibility scorecard – take, for instance, the puerile pop of Hanson and the Jonas Brothers or the cuddliness of the Cowsills and the Corrs. So you’ll forgive us if we had doubts about the West Texas brother-sister-sister act the Iveys, especially given a name…
Ed Hale Ballad on Third Avenue (Dying Van Gogh)Ed Hale’s outfit Transcendence was the kind of band that allowed ambition and extravagance to find equal footing. Progressive by design, its sumptuous arrangements often overshadowed Hale’s skills as a songwriter, which featured some great melodies at the core. Hale seems to…
Jacob Jeffries Band …Waiting for the Piano Movers…Eleven:11 Entertainment Jacob Jeffries is absurdly young — barely out of his teens — to be so abundantly talented. And despite his age, he’s clawed his way to the top strata of South Florida’s pop elite, thanks to last year’s aptly titled debut…
Dreaming in Stereo Dreaming in Stereo (Van Gogh Records) If there’s one thing that’s evident from the outset about multi-instrumental wünderkind Fernando Perdomo — aside from the already established fact that he’s one of South Florida’s most gifted songwriters and musicians — it’s that he’s obviously listened to a lot…
Dreaming in StereoDreaming in Stereo (Van Gogh Records)If there’s one thing that’s evident from the outset about multi-instrumental wunderkind Fernando Perdono — aside from the already established fact that he’s one of South Florida’s most gifted songwriters and musicians — it’s that he’s obviously listened to a lot of classic…
The music business is one arena where absence definitely does not make the heart grow fonder. So although the Orange County act Sugar Ray dominated the charts in the ’90s — hits like “Fly,” “Every Morning,” “Someday,” “Falls Apart,” and “When It’s Over” — still have serious brain-sticking power. Still,…
To read past installments of Notes from the Soundboard, click here. One constant theme of this column is a fixation on bands and artists that somehow fell through the cracks that occur within pop music’s lengthy trajectory. That’s one hazard of rock’s rich repertoire — so many artists, but so…
