Mark Keresman

The artist known as Buckethead is an unusual variant on "guitar hero." He knows six-string constructs like a salamander knows wet leaves, but few know the face, or identity, of Buckethead (due to his ever-present bucket-shaped hood). Buckethead's style is forged from the metallic assaults of Slayer and Steve Vai,...

Decemberists main man Colin Meloy must have a dandy record collection. The influences throughout the band's latest opus, The Hazards of Love, are enough to make older prog heads glow with sweet nostalgia. Love is a suite, each track leading into the next, its narrative told via an engaging mixture...

Alejandro Escovedo hasn't had it easy: His first wife committed suicide; his excellent, critically praised discs haven't set any charts afire; and he battled a recent bout of hepatitis without the support of health insurance. So you might expect his first release since 2002's By the Hand of the Father...