January 26th, 2015 | by Stephen Slaybaugh | published in Features | 1 Comment »
Named by friends in The Mekons after a faction in China’s Cultural Revolution of the late ’60s, Gang of Four is perhaps most widely known as the post-punk provocateurs responsible for songs like “Anthrax,” “I Love a Man in a Uniform,” and “To Hell with Poverty.” Seemingly fueled by punk’s lasting anger-derived energy when they formed in Leeds in 1977, on seminal records like their …
December 11th, 2014 | by Stephen Slaybaugh | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
In the annals of punk rock history, there is a wide spectrum of notoriety, from the unsung heroes to the Hall of Fame pillars with which everyone is familiar. Somewhere in between those extremes are the Pagans, the Cleveland punk band fronted by Mike Hudson that operated in fits and spurts in the late ’70s and ’80s. Every bit as volatile as they were fearsome, …
November 17th, 2014 | by Stephen Slaybaugh | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
Both as a member of Welsh psych-pop hooligans Super Furry Animals and as a solo artist, Gruff Rhys has always combined innate songwriting smarts with a certain curiosity and exploratory nature as well as hereditary pride. In both instances, he’s sung in both his native tongue and English, creating a songbook inherently catchy even when you can’t understand a word he’s singing. No stranger to …
November 6th, 2014 | by Stephen Slaybaugh | published in Features | Leave A Comment »
As the bass player in both Joy Divison and New Order, Peter Hook has been at the center of two of the most distinctive and influential bands to follow in the wake of punk rock. As he details in his recent book, Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division, that infamously short-lived band formed as a direct result of seeing the Sex Pistols and took up …
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 …