Incoming: Tom Waits hits Phoenix
If the ticket gods allow, I’ll be seeing Tom Waits live for the very first time next month, right here in Phoenix. For some reason – and I’m not complaining – Tom has chosen our sleepy little town to kick…
New Tunes: Old 97’s Blame It On Gravity Out Tuesday
I’m goin’ old school tomorrow and will head out to my local record store (Zia Records) during my lunch hour, and buy myself the new Old 97’s album. Blame It On Gravity (New West) is their first studio release in…
New (Texas) Tunes: Band of Heathens
I like Texas music. And I like songs about whiskey and beer and waiting at train stations. Austin-based The Band of Heathens has ’em all covered in this tune. It’s easy to hear how they’ve garnered comparisons to Little Feat,…
Darkness and Born to Run at the Count Basie Theater
Photo from Yahoo (AP) When I first checked out the set list and Backstreets review of last night’s Boss show to benefit the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, I had to do a double take to make…
Idle Idol Thoughts
Okay, let’s pretend I watched American Idol, and I need to chime in… Did anyone else besides me experience such a high level of unadulterated, pure joy while watching Jason Castro forget the lines to “Mr. Tamborine Man“? Oh, such…
Listen Up: American Babies
Seems like 4 out of every 5 new bands I discover these days are from Brooklyn, NY. Here’s another one: Tom Hamilton’s American Babies. This tune caught my ear recently, I think on Sirius. Influences range from Ryan Adams to…
Hot Stuff: Santogold
A few months ago I caught some buzz on Santogold as someone to check out. At the time, her record wasn’t out, and I simply forgot about it. This week I found a slip of paper (amongst many) on my…
James Brown Throws Down in Zaire
In 1974, a DC-10 took off from the U.S. en route to Kinshasa, Zaire. The Rumble in the Jungle was about to go down – a heavyweight fight between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. It was Don King’s first big…
Oval Room, by Blaze Foley
Written about Ronald Reagan in the early 80’s by the late Blaze Foley, “Oval Room” sure is just as fitting today as it was 25 years ago, isn’t it? Blaze Foley – Oval Room (mp3) from Oval Room [buy it]…
Review: Friday at the 2008 McDowell Mountain Music Festival
When you show up to at a music festival to pick up your press credentials, and you’re handed a VIP pass with 12 free drinks ready to be punched, at a Sierra Nevada-sponsored festival, well – you just know it’s…
