Dubstep triggers either immediate body-jostling or a dismissive smirk. Either way, it’s impossible not to react to Philadelphia producer Starkey’s approach to the genre, which is more akin to skirting it. Making bass-heavy music is the easy part, but adding enough pop twists to keep it compelling is something else…
Aventura — the novelty musical act, not the city in Miami-Dade — has turned traditional Dominican folk music, AKA bachata, into a worldwide sensation by doing what Carlos Vives did in Colombia. They’ve taken song structures from el campo (the sticks), propped them up with pop tropes, and performed them…
Gentle reader, I have downed many Guinnesses and feigned (terrible) Irish accents on many occasions. I’ve sat at dark-wood bars and gazed upon kitschy shamrockesque décor more times than I care to remember. But never in my traveling in our sunny counties have I come upon anything that struck…
Country music fans with a lot of money and a thirst for the ultimate souvenir (no, not Taylor Swift in a duffel bag) will be excited to see Alan Jackson list his Tequesta guest house for $1.275 million.Jackson, 51, has been one of the best-selling country artists since launching his…
It’s easy to have a love/hate relationship with Courtney Love. She’s a rock star, which inevitably comes with a lot of baggage. We try not to judge, and even relish the theatrics of figures such as Love. But no matter how much I appreciate her quasi-subversive antics, she never fails to be annoying…
West Palm Beach’s Surfer Blood is giving back to the Florida coastline that in many ways is the band’s identity. Drenched with beach imagery formed on local shores and uplifting indie-rock tropes, Astro Coast earned the band a national following (and New Times’ Best Album of 2010) and significant cachet…
We decided to mix things up for our next band on our Countdown to Warped tour, and bring in Bradenton boys We the Kings. Sure, technically Bradenton isn’t in South Florida, but they still feel like a South Florida band — and that’s good enough for us.Their first hit single…
Evan Rowe is a local songwriter and performer best-known as Catalonia, a professor of political science and history at Broward College, and a small-d democratic strategist with no party affiliation. Each week, we surrender our space for his thoughts on the music industry and how they relate to our region…
Even without the best waves in the world, South Florida has a thriving surf culture, with enthusiasts ranging from “super kook” to “full on ripper.” That’s one reason world-famous pro surfer and musician Donavon Frankenreiter is kicking off his summer tour with a two-night stand at the Culture Room in…
Glimpses of the South Florida Scene is a weekly column devoted to the artists thriving within Broward and Palm Beach counties featuring interviews with the folks making it happen. This week, the Dewars.The brothers who make up West Palm’s the Dewars are clouded in dreamy mystery: they play shows only…
After dismissing reports and press releases and Ticketmaster links suggesting that Neil Young would perform at Hard Rock Live on September 23, Young is happy to announce that he will perform at Hard Rock Live on September 23.As detailed in Rolling Stone, the folk-rock legend (a term County Grind doesn’t…
Reggae singer-songwriter Mishka is a man who brings the positive vibe to the people, whether he’s doing it with a full band or by himself with a humble six-string. Since he began his musical endeavor in the late ’90s, his music has spread like wildfire among mellow-headed people across the…
In our Moving Units column, Mike Ramirez at Fort Lauderdale’s Radio-Active Records graciously keeps us up-to-date and comments on the current releases flying out of his store each week.Don’t forget to attend Mike Ramirez’s 30th Birthday Party tonight at Monterey Club!After Devo and the Cure beat back the years last…
Fresh off the news that Lilith Fair was adding another local component to each show by searching for a local social media ambassador at each tour stop, we have some possibly heartbreaking news: Lilith Fair might not be coming to West Palm Beach on August 10 after all. We haven’t…
Fort Lauderdale-based Iron Forge Press creates some of the most eye-popping rock posters we’ve ever seen. Whenever possible, we’ll share their designs right here on County Grind.Nothing new for Iron Forge Press to get some attention from clients in other parts of the country, and this arresting poster for the…
Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week: Reflections from the road…During the ’70s and ’80s, I had ample opportunity to experience a brief snippet of life on a tour bus, both as…
Following some focused coverage on County Grind, West Palm Beach’s synth outfit the Jameses is getting some more national love via Pitchfork’s Forkcast. Read a very short summary of the band, and cop an MP3 of “The Haunted Rider” right here. Although the posting claims that the conceptual shot of…
.hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } –With WithRespectable Street is taking its anniversary to the streets of West Palm Beach on Saturday, July 31. According to organizers, the event will feature “23 bands on 4 stages” to honor the venue’s 23rd anniversary. The event…
When you write a song called “Dr. Feelgood,” you have to be careful: From then on out, anything bad that happens to you is ripe for puns by late-day reporters (hello there). So, ready for it? Motley Crue frontman and part-owner of Feelgoods, a West Palm nightclub, was arrested in…
Granted, Ted Nugent’s picture isn’t likely to show up in the dictionary as an example of the word “humble.” As an advocate for insurgency, draped in the guise of a rock ‘n’ roll outlaw, he’s never identified with the brooding, introspective image assumed by others of his era who forever…
Night Watch is a regular feature about bars and clubs by nightlife columnist Tara Nieuwesteeg. Green Room100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale.Call 954-727-0954 or visit here.I’d been wandering around America’s Backyard for a while. I was misdirected twice by bartenders and nearly knocked out by some unwieldy dancing college kids;…
FusikWith Ketchy ShubyCulture Room, Fort LauderdaleSaturday, June 26, 2010TopSpot USA’s Sean Russell, a local music industry player and subject of a recent New Times Broward-Palm Beach profile, tracks down the latest news and adds insight from the front row of local concerts. On Saturday, Russell attended the CD Release Concert…
