July 22nd, 2014 | by Nate Knaebel | published in Features | 1 Comment »
For close to 15 years now, Greg Cartwright has been the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the Reigning Sound. The name has become a place, of sorts, for Cartwright to hang his hat, a sturdy moniker to display his singular talents as a musician and writer. But despite the nearly constant line-up changes, the Reigning Sound remains a band. It’s Cartwright’s band, sure, but …
June 2nd, 2014 | by Stephen Slaybaugh | published in Features | 4 Comments »
As a member of Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, and Love and Rockets, Daniel Ash has had a hand in creating some of the most distinctive music to emerge in the post-punk era. Though he and his comrades railed against the term, Bauhaus came to epitomize the goth lexicon, even though the band incorporated everything from ’60s psychedelia to dub into their darkened brew. With Tones …
March 10th, 2014 | by Chris Sabbath | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
Tucker Rountree, the wiry-looking singer and guitarist for Total Slacker, is the first image that pops into my brain when I think of modern-day Brooklyn. On paper, the 32-year-old Salt Lake City transplant epitomizes the archetypal bohemian, warehouse-dwelling pipsqueak down to a T, with large, bespectacled eyeballs hidden behind a fringe of blond, moppy hair and clothes that look as if they went extinct in …
March 3rd, 2014 | by Ron Wadlinger | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
In a sense, Death of Samantha is the quintessential Cleveland band. After self-releasing its first single in 1985, the band, which originally consisted of lead vocalist/guitarist John Petkovic, lead guitarist Doug Gillard, bassist David James, and drummer Steve-O, began generating significant buzz in underground rock circles. In 1986, the group released its debut LP, Strungout on Jargon, on Homestead Records, the label that also …
February 21st, 2014 | by Kevin J. Ellliott | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
To understand Skaters completely, one has to understand what was happening in and around New York during the turn of the century. While it is a city that is perpetually seen as the center of the universe, 2001 was a year when New York seemed like the only place on earth. The release of records by The Strokes, The Walkmen, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs …
January 27th, 2014 | by Chris Sabbath | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
If Julian Cope ever gets around to penning a sequel to his cult classic testimonial, Krautrocksampler, he may consider adding Emeralds’ 2010 double LP, Does It Look Like I’m Here?, to his shortlist of recommended listening. Although four decades removed from the crux of first-wave krautrock—not to mention hailing from the very un-cosmic city of Cleveland, Ohio—there was something enigmatic and fascinating about …
December 19th, 2013 | by Chris Sabbath | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
Of all the dark, disturbing characters that dwelled in Lou Reed’s sleazy downtown tales, none seemed more innocent then Jenny, the cool New York chick whose “life was saved by rock & roll” on the 1970 Velvet Underground classic “Rock & Roll.” Grime and grit aside, Jeffrey Novak, singer and guitarist for Cheap Time (as well as solo artist), could easily be Jenny’s wide-eyed clone, …
November 25th, 2013 | by Kevin J. Ellliott | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
Should the title of Circuit des Yeux’s latest album, Overdue, be taken literally, Haley Fohr has had this record burrowed deep inside her psyche for quite some time. Throughout Fohr’s discography, there have been a number of breathtaking moments of both the awe-inspiring and clutch at your throat variety, but never did it seem there was a time to exhale. Reflect on 2009’s …
November 11th, 2013 | by Ron Wadlinger | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
Over the course of their nearly 10-year run, San Francisco’s Sic Alps built a reputation as one of the foremost purveyors of psychedelic garage rock. After the release of the She’s On Top EP earlier this year, the band decided to call it quits, leaving behind a strong (and lengthy) discography. Never one to rest for too long, former Alp Mike Donovan immediately set to …
October 10th, 2013 | by Stephen Slaybaugh | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
It is probably not surprising that to the casual listener, French five-piece Phoenix appeared to emerge from nowhere with their 2009 album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenx. The album sold more than 20 times as many copies as its predecessor, It’s Never Been Like That, and catapulted the band from relative obscurity to playing the world’s biggest stages. But while Phoenix may have seemed an …