Look Who’s Crawling Out of the Dark: O – It’s Orianthi! Celebrated guitarist and vocalist Orianthi released her fourth studio album, O, on November 6 (via Frontiers Music Srl). It’s her first new music as a solo artist in six years, and she says personal reasons inspired her to create these songs. “I made this record… Continue reading Orianthi
Tag: Guitar Shredding
Deep Sea Diver Lift the Impossible Weight
Led by guitarist/vocalist Jessica Dobson, the kinetic and exhilarating Seattle band Deep Sea Diver will release its third album Impossible Weight on Oct. 16. Recorded following a year of opening tours for Wilco and Joseph, the LP is preceded by a video for the lead single “Lights Out.” “Especially right now when the world is… Continue reading Deep Sea Diver Lift the Impossible Weight
We Versus the Shark Suck at Goodbyes
We Versus the Shark broke up in 2009, but they didn’t really mean it because six years later guitarist/vocalist Luke Fields, guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Samantha Paulsen, bass guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Jeff Tobias and drummer Scott Smith resurrected the Athens math-rock juggernaut for another round of ruckus. Their last album, Dirty Versions, along with the covers collection Murmurmur, both came… Continue reading We Versus the Shark Suck at Goodbyes
Joe Satriani
The Spice of Life: Gettin’ Shifty with Joe Satriani “People need music in their lives,” says legendary rock guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, calling from his home in San Francisco. “We put on music when we’re happy, when we’re sad, when we need it to accompany us and help us get through life. So all these… Continue reading Joe Satriani
Sadler Vaden Wants to Get Next to You
Sadler Vaden first came to our attention with his Charleston, South Carolina power trio Leslie. Later on, his guitar prowess played a big role in revitalizing Drivin’ N Cryin’ in the first few years of this decade. Since then he’s been a key member of Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit. He also released a damn good… Continue reading Sadler Vaden Wants to Get Next to You
Southern Culture on the Skids, Part 1
Musical Mutations and Swamp Tones: Rick Miller of Southern Culture on the Skids Talks About the Sounds that Get Him Off Although I love their hokey sense of cornpone humor, and I wouldn’t alter a thing about them, sometimes it irritates me that so many writeups I read about Southern Culture on the Skids focus… Continue reading Southern Culture on the Skids, Part 1
Southern Culture on the Skids, Part 2
Pop culture always gets recycled. One of the stranger revivals, to me, was that period during the ’90s when easy listening, Tropicalia and so-called “space age bachelor pad” music made a brief mini-comeback. And your sound even touches on aspects of that. “I really love that stuff. And I tell you what, I was into… Continue reading Southern Culture on the Skids, Part 2
Echoes
Echoes: The Hampton Grease Band, My Life, My Music and How I Stopped Having Panic Attacks By Glenn Phillips [Snow Star Publishing] For nearly fifty years, guitarist Glenn Phillips has been making music that defies classification. First with the Hampton Grease Band, and later as a prolific solo artist and active contributor to the works… Continue reading Echoes
Jeff Walls Has Left Us
We were all pulling for Jeff Walls. Pulling hard. And praying and donating and encouraging and doing all those dutiful measures we engage in when we feel helpless and at a loss for what else to do. What was deeply troubling in late March, when Walls was hospitalized after blacking out at the Star Bar… Continue reading Jeff Walls Has Left Us
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Rodrigo y Gabriela: Echoes of the Past, Focus on the Present The music that Mexican acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela make is sometimes characterized as “acoustic speed metal.” The pair’s flamenco-influenced instrumental approach has certainly attracted fans from the metal scene, but Rod y Gab’s style draws from flamenco and classical guitar as much… Continue reading Rodrigo y Gabriela
Reignwolf
Clap For The Wolfman! Reignwolf Keeps Prowling At His Own Chosen Pace Fuck Greta Van Fleet. I’m so fuckin’ tired of hearing about those graceless schmucks. As if Led Zeppelin didn’t plagiarize enough old blues and folk tunes, and Whitesnake didn’t plagiarize Zeppelin to the point that Jimmy Page was convinced it’d be a good… Continue reading Reignwolf
Screaming Females – All at Once
For over 10 years now, few punk bands have matched the ferocity and creative drive of Screaming Females. On one hand, the New Jersey-based band represents a simpler way of doing things. They’re D.I.Y. punks with the ambition and talent to play larger venues without compromising. At the same time, the trio’s sound and approach has always been… Continue reading Screaming Females – All at Once
Nels Cline, Julian Lage Do the Band Thing
Colossally talented guitarists Nels Cline and Julian Lage first teamed up in 2014 for the acclaimed album Room, with Lage also contributing acoustic and electric guitar parts to Cline’s 2016 ambitious double CD Lovers, amid a wash of string, brass and woodwind arrangements. They continue their collaboration on the new Currents, Constellations, stepping back from… Continue reading Nels Cline, Julian Lage Do the Band Thing
Dixie Dregs
Dixie Dregs Answer the Question: “What If?” Atlanta (by way of Augusta and Miami) band the Dixie Dregs were among the most boundary-pushing acts of the 1970s. Deftly blending styles from hard rock to jazz-fusion to country, the instrumental quintet released an impressive string of albums on Macon-based Capricorn Records. In later years, the band… Continue reading Dixie Dregs
Mastodon Nabs Grammy; Brent Injured
The funny thing about the Grammy Awards… like all such celebrity awards, we all know they’re overwhelmingly bullshit, out of touch, an industry popularity contest that all too often overlooks quality or innovation in favor of mediocre known entities. So all us true music fans, you know, the ones who were “into Chris Stapleton when… Continue reading Mastodon Nabs Grammy; Brent Injured
Unheard Link Wray Tracks See Light
A pair of previously unreleased songs from Link Wray are scheduled to be issued on a 7-inch vinyl single come April 13th. Aligning neatly with 2018’s 60th anniversary of the release of his seminal instrumental song “Rumble,” the newly unearthed A-side is titled “Son of Rumble.” The B-side, “Whole Lotta Talking,” is another otherwise unreleased… Continue reading Unheard Link Wray Tracks See Light
Everything is Combustible
Everything is Combustible: Television, CBGB’s and Five Decades of Rock and Roll By Richard Lloyd [Beech Hill Publishing] The rock band is a multi-celled organism that usually has more than one nucleus. Yeah, every band has a certain someone who stands in the middle and reaps the bulk of the adoration and filthy lucre. But… Continue reading Everything is Combustible
The Dream Syndicate – How Did I Find Myself Here?
I haven’t known what to think about this Dream Syndicate reunion. More to the point, I didn’t know how I felt about them calling it The Dream Syndicate. Granted, Steve Wynn could call anything The Dream Syndicate if he wanted to, I suppose. He could’ve called The Miracle 3 the new Dream Syndicate. Certainly other… Continue reading The Dream Syndicate – How Did I Find Myself Here?
Prog/Fusion Guitarist Allan Holdsworth Dies, Age 70
Legendary guitarist Allan Holdsworth passed away April 16th at the age of 70. Holdsworth melded progressive and fusion guitar playing to create a unique style that even Eddie Van Halen, who considered Allan his favorite guitarist, admitted he couldn’t cop his licks because he wasn’t sure what he was playing. Guitar World magazine called him… Continue reading Prog/Fusion Guitarist Allan Holdsworth Dies, Age 70
Thirsty for Moore? Thurston Has More
When a band splits it can mean bad things. Given the interplay within Sonic Youth, one would think the solo material released by the individuals would suffer outside of the group dynamic. Instead, much of the material has been of higher quality than the later group efforts. The next album to add to this looks… Continue reading Thirsty for Moore? Thurston Has More
Dinosaur Jr. – Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not
Alright, it’s pretty much a given that J Mascis is Dinosaur Jr., right? He’s the singer – well, 90% of the time. He’s the guitarist. He’s the songwriter. And he’s the King of The Band, a Machiavellian mind-fucker if ever there were one. (Read the Dinosaur Jr. chapter of Michael Azerrad’s excellent Our Band Could… Continue reading Dinosaur Jr. – Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not
Glenn Phillips – At the Rainbow
People keep searching for that pot of gold. You just know it’s there, somewhere over the rainbow. For fans of Glenn Phillips that gold has been found. Glenn Phillips At The Rainbow is just that. Recorded November 3, 1977, at London’s famed Rainbow Theatre, this live album captures the guitarist at the peak of his… Continue reading Glenn Phillips – At the Rainbow
Eleventh Dream Day
Don’t Call it A Comeback: Eleventh Dream Day’s Return to Burn Telling a band that its album is the year’s most overlooked is a double-edged sword. On one hand, you’re saying that it’s really good. On the other, you’re indicating that people haven’t paid attentio to it. Fortunately, Rick Rizzo takes it all in stride.… Continue reading Eleventh Dream Day
Marnie Stern
The Golden Mean: Marnie Stern’s New Pop “For some reason, the routes that we’ve taken on this tour, we’ve seen different stuff than we usually see,” Marnie Stern remarks as she passed through Oregon. “Maybe because we used to drive at night, but I can’t figure out why this is so much more scenic. GPS… Continue reading Marnie Stern
Glenn Phillips
Something Lost, Something Found: Glenn Phillips Reflects on His Fiery First Musical Memoir It’s been forty years since the release of Lost At Sea, guitarist Glenn Phillips’ first solo album. Forty years! That means it’s been that long since I interviewed him for my high school newspaper, Phillips being the first local Atlanta musician I… Continue reading Glenn Phillips
Screaming Females – Live at the Hideout
So why are live albums made? In the ’70s, when the live album format reached its acme (or nadir, depending on your perspective) with mondo-selling gems like KISS Alive, Frampton Comes Alive and Cheap Trick at Budokan, the live album was about as close to the concert experience a kid in the hinterlands could get.… Continue reading Screaming Females – Live at the Hideout
Kylesa
The Unseen Light: Kylesa Emerges From the Darkness With Its Best Music Yet The rays do penetrate the maelstrom, reassuringly, ephemeral but gleaming. But from the jolting get-go, Kylesa’s new album, Ultraviolet (Season of Mist), is a restless fever dream of tidal turbulence, its catharsis determinedly punching forward while so much clustered chaos bears down,… Continue reading Kylesa