John Dawson fronted this pioneering Americana band.To read past installments of Notes from the Soundboard, click here. It’s become all too common in our society to mourn the passing of those whose fame has taken them to the heights of international stardom, while all but ignoring others who perhaps lack…
Jennings and KellerAs The Universe Unfoldsjenningsandkeller.comAs the owner and proprietor of Homestead’s late, lamented Main Street Café, Laurie Jennings (uh, the musician, not the anchor lady) was adept at entertaining her guests with covers of well-worn classics from the Americana songbook. Now, paired with partner and veteran session whiz Dana…
Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade, focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments.Okay, let me start by stating that…
Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade, focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments.In the coming days, this headline will…
via michaelfeinbergmusic.comMichael FeinbergEvil Geniuswww.michaelfeinbergmusic.comTo the uninitiated, jazz generally falls into one of two broad categories — that which is readily accessible and that which isn’t. That’s an unsophisticated observation to be sure, but one with which many non-aficionados will likely concur. Count Chuck Mangione, Spyro Gyra and, yes, Kenny G…
When New Times first caught up with Cat Shell last year, the Boca-based singer/songwriter was trying to accomplish that age-old dream: making enough money from music to quit her day job. But as any South Florida musician will affirm, that’s no easy task here. So it’s pretty impressive that a…
Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade, focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments.I have a gripe. I don’t want…
The Saw Doctors Live at the Melody Tent sawdoctors.com There may not be any such thing as the perfect band – hell, even the Beatles had their flaws – but Ireland’s Saw Doctors damn sure come close. On the one hand, they create the most rousing, exhilarating material imaginable, with…
When your dad was one of the most innovative musicians of all time and you’ve got ample ability of your own, it’s only natural that you’d carry on in the family business. In this case, the extraordinary paternal figure happens to be the late Jaco Pastorius, a bassist who fused…
via myspace.com/rufuswainwrightRufus Wainwright did his dad proudNotes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade, focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments.”It’s…
RotagillaSeason For Leavin’ (self-released)You’d think it was 1970 again, for Chrissakes, what with the way the guys of Rotagilla let out their inner Led Zep. Granted, there’s no hint of a Robert Plant or Jimmy Page lurking among this lot. However, in recycling the old school power trio format and…
First there were the Three Tenors — or was it the Four Tenors? Sorry, we’ve lost count. Regardless, the standard was set by hefty gentlemen with booming operatic voices prone to dazzling their audiences with rich and riveting performances. Now there’s the next generation, a group of twentysomething Australians dubbed…
Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade, focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments. I try not to spend too…
Joe Ely & Joel Guzman Live Cactus ely.com Though he hails from the same West Texas environs that birthed Buddy Holly and he practices the same roots regimen as his fellow Flatlanders Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely is still an original. A crossover country troubadour, his dust-blown…
Rod MacDonald After the War (Blue Flute Music) With a new president and a slightly more optimistic national outlook, you’d think there wouldn’t be much for your ordinary, everyday protest singer to still rail about. Apparently nobody has told that to Delray Beach’s favorite folkie, Rod MacDonald. Though its title…
Local band Ex-Norwegian’s name doesn’t make much sense — we’re not talking about legitimate Scandinavian ex-patriots here, after all. But consider it an improvement over ringleader Roger Houdaille’s former nom de plume, Father Bloopy. Fortunately, there’s reason enough to forgive Houdaille for his unfortunate choice of monikers; it doesn’t diminish…
Anne Heaton Blazing Red annieheaton.com The latest in a series of superb, self-released albums, Blazing Red finds this Boston-bred singer/songwriter/pianist offering a set of low-lit ballads that ring with a plaintive emotional pull. With keyboards being Heaton’s primary focus, comparisons to Tori Amos and Fiona Apple become almost inevitable. But…
Matthew Sabatella has carved out a distinctive niche for himself over the past several years or so by re-creating the songs of America’s past, complete with instruments of the era — fiddles, banjos, Jew’s harps, and the like. He takes his traveling band to schools, libraries, and just about anywhere…
Stifle yourself, Steve Earle. Lower that middle finger, Hank III. Take another hit from that spliff, Willie Nelson. And then all of you step aside. When it comes to insurgency, you guys pale compared to that cantankerous country crooner David Allan Coe. Banished to reform school at age 9, he…
Hmmm. Ludo? Isn’t that the nickname for a certain much-abused narcotic of somewhat ill repute? Or could it be that hit by Boz Scaggs from way back in the day? Or maybe it’s the nickname your college buddy chose because he always shunned his given name. Well… no. This Ludo…
Tapping into tradition isn’t exactly a shortcut to notoriety. But when the Mavericks set out to carve their niche in country music in the late 1980s, they were arguably the most unlikely outfit ever to emerge from South Florida’s music scene. They eschewed the dance designs that had propelled the…
Certain unforgettable snapshots frame Arlo Guthrie’s life and career. They’re prefaced by the lingering legacy he inherited from his father, Woody Guthrie, one of America’s most indelible folk singers, the patron saint of protest, and the man who inspired generations of young men like Bob Dylan to pick up their…
