New Found Glory has always suffered critically from guilt by association with a lot of pop-punk bands that really had no business making music. Sum 41, A Simple Plan, Good Charlotte — these bands will most likely become footnotes to footnotes in music history. But frontman Jordan Pundik and company…

Cary Brothers might be most famous as that guy Zach Braff keeps putting on all of his soundtracks (like Garden State and The Last Kiss), but these days you’ll find Brothers’s folk pop just about everywhere. From Grey’s Anatomy to Smallville to — you guessed it — Scrubs, the guy…

Scrubs star Zach Braff’s directorial debut, Garden State, was more than just an art-house hit about twenty-something depression. When it was released in 2004, its melancholic soundtrack was like a nursery for up-and-coming dream-pop bands and acoustic-minded artists. Braff, the album’s executive producer, won a Grammy for his efforts. Acts…

For a guy who lost his wedding ring this morning, Ben Harper seems remarkably calm — but as efforts are made to recover the sacred symbol of his vows from the car that just dropped him off, his anxiety surfaces in quick bursts. “Somebody must have that guy’s number,” he…

Two bands, one stage, one burning question: Who would win in a celebrity death match between these two ’80s icons? For the curious, here’s the tale of the tape. Why Journey Will Win: With hits like “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Any Way You Want It,” “Open Arms,” “Wheel in the Sky”…

You gotta wonder if maybe Billy Idol invested in the patenting of hair gel, since there are few who’ve done as much to bolster its sales as he has. The only time he veered from his trademark peroxide-blond spikes was in ’93, for his techno-informed Cyberpunk, and the dreadlocks that…

The Unseen isn’t adding anything new to the punk idiom. It’s all been said and done before: Our president is the embodiment of evil; corporate avarice is killing the world; we’re going to hell in an oil- and blood-soaked hand basket. Thing is, though, unlike the current batch of punk…

On their eponymous debut, the Futureheads played like there was no tomorrow. The four-piece threw everything it had into its recordings. The result reflected the dangers of indie mod excess: artsy punk with a clever sense of humor and elaborate four-part harmonies run amok. News and Tributes, the band’s sophomore…

Bob Morris has got his hands full tonight. His band, the Hush Sound, is slated to open for Fall Out Boy and the All-American Rejects at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion. Just prior to the hometown gig, as the guitarist/vocalist is being interviewed, his mother — who’s standing in line outside the…

“And life is like a song,” sings Etta James on “At Last,” one of her most enduring numbers. Although the track is centered around the title refrain, this particular lyric stands out as one that mirrors James’s life, which has been riddled with pain, bolstered by hope and built upon…

As part of our continuing drive toward journalistic excellence, Westword has uncovered the private blog of director Chris Applebaum, in which he discusses his work on Paris Hilton’s new music video, “Stars Are Blind.” May 4, 2006, 7:49 a.m.: WHAT HAVE I DONE? Remember that Carl’s Jr. ad, the one…

Imagine it’s 1925, and you and yours have decided to spend Friday night at the club. On stage is a new female duet with a forward-thinking way of melding jazz, swing, tightly woven harmonies and vaudeville-era musical theater. There’s a tall drink o’ water on the mandolin and dulcimer –…

It’s no surprise that our most soulful president tapped Buckwheat Zydeco to play both of his inaugurations. Slick Willy knew that no one other than the oft-labeled “world’s greatest party band” could, you know, get the party started. Buck, born Stanley Dural Jr., refuses to follow a set list, opting…

If you’ve been racing down local dirt roads in your pickup, jamming to Toby Keith or Gretchen Wilson, then you should probably skip this week’s Hank III concert. Plastering a Confederate flag in your back window might buy you a redneck pass (and hopefully a good ass-whuppin’), but it doesn’t…

Even when Vinny Caruana was fronting the hardcore-tinged punk band the Movielife, he never really considered himself a singer or a songwriter. But after the group dissolved in 2003 and he was left to his own devices, he discovered that he actually had a lot to say. And so he…

The Veronicas are 21-year-old twin sisters out of Brisbane, Australia, who have been performing together since they were five. Just two years ago, Warner Bros./Sire signed Lisa and Jess Origliasso for an obscene amount of cash, with hopes of turning the girls into the next Ashlee Simpson or Kelly Clarkson…

Paul Maroon is slow-baking himself to death outside his Philadelphia home. The Walkmen guitarist is parked in his car for this little conversation, and not only is his air conditioner broken, but his power windows gave up a few days ago. Small potatoes, though, considering his band has just released…

Jared Leto has been fasting for four days. Except for water, fresh lemon and cayenne pepper, he expects to eat nothing anytime soon. This isn’t one of those trendy Los Angeles diets, though. The actor, who has appeared in such films as Requiem for a Dream and Fight Club, is…

The Rocket Summer is Texas native Bryce Avary, who on each of his albums has played every instrument and sung almost every vocal with such frenzied energy that he makes power pop actually seem dangerous. Imagine Ben Lee singing Christian rock while doped up on so much speed his head…

Snow Patrol’s third album, Final Straw, helped the U.K. band explode abroad in 2004, and the members are hoping that their latest, Eyes Open, will firmly establish them here in the States. Whether they acknowledge the comparisons or not, however, they’ve been dogged by the success of Coldplay ever since…

Three of the Briefs’ four members — guitarists Steve E. Nix and Daniel J. Travanti, and drummer Chris Brief — recently took a few moments to, um, briefly discuss their new album, Steal Yer Heart, as well as punk rock’s brevity and the truth behind the songs “Genital General” and…

Asking Yeah Yeah Yeahs drummer Brian Chase to discuss the stability (or reputed lack thereof) of his revered band is like asking George W. Bush about, well, anything: Both clearly know the truth, but neither are talking. Oh, Chase will answer all your questions, sure. But only in a hemming…