Rolling Stone recently called vocalist John Gorka “the preeminent male singer-songwriter of the new folk movement.” It’s a description that would thrill most artists, but not Gorka. “That’s not my thing,” he says simply. “It’s kind of silly.” In fact, he adds, he’s not sure that the music he makes…
After 1994’s summer concert season (the most lucrative for promoters in recent memory), this year’s announced dates seem modest by comparison. There are few multigenerational must-see performances–meaning that consumers will have to peruse the schedule more closely than ever to find those gigs that are right for them. In an…
You don’t have to be young to love Crestfallen–but it helps. In fact, most of this Denver band’s biggest fans are barely able to drive, let alone drink. “For some reason, our music appeals to younger people,” says bassist Jason Heller, 23. “We play all-ages shows whenever we can, even…
Type O Negative, with Queensryche, Tuesday, May 9, at McNichols Arena, looks like your average hard-rock band–its members sport hair as long as Crystal Gayle’s, the requisite tattoos and puckered sneers that say to young, alienated sorts, “We still remember how terrible our lives were before floozies began throwing themselves…
Jazz Lee Alston Jazz Lee Alston (Rhyme Cartel/American) The attention-getter here is “Love…Never That,” based on a poem Alston wrote in honor of her cousin Jacqueline Alexander, who was shot to death two days after Christmas 1992, while Alston was visiting. (Alexander’s estranged husband, Paul, is wanted for the crime…
When we last looked in on All (“All for One,” December 8, 1993), the band–which descended from the Descendents, among the best, and best-remembered, of the original Los Angeles punk bands–was living in tiny Brookfield, Missouri, population 4,000. Why? Back then, bassist Karl Alvarez explained, “In L.A., we were living…
Archers of Loaf, with the Flaming Lips and Beatnik Film Stars, Tuesday, May 2, at the Ogden Theatre, seem to be at their best when they’re beating the crap out of poor, defenseless guitar-pop melodies. The band’s 1993 debut, Icky Mettle (on Alias Records), kicked and spit with so much…
“I’m generally a pretty optimistic person,” understates jazz and classical pianist Darrell Grant. “I expected good things from life and have, for the most part, gotten them.” The reasons behind Grant’s progress thus far have everything to do with his work ethic and personality: In many ways, he’s a jazzy…
If you’ve never seen San Diego’s Crash Worship perform and you enjoy shock value, don’t spoil it for yourself by reading this article. Just put down the paper and plan on being at the Aztlan this Friday night. As for the rest of you, these are the primary ingredients of…
“We are not a joke band,” declares Jon Spencer, the namesake of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. “We do have a sense of humor, but we’re serious, too. We take joy in what we do, and there’s stuff that’s just crazy and funny. But we’re not a joke.” If Spencer…
Claw Hammer Thank the Holder Uppers (Interscope) Claw Hammer hits the majors with its sound unprettified, thank goodness. “Superthings” tips the bandmates’ hands: sloppy drumming (from Bob Lee), raucous guitar calisthenics (executed by Jon Wahl and Christopher Bagarozzi) and screamed vocals that suggest Robert Plant if someone really were squeezing…
“People can interpret labels in a specific sort of way,” says Andrew Gray, guitarist for England’s Wolfgang Press. “Like `gloom and doom’–they might think of raincoats, you know, or very serious people. Or with `dance,’ they think of rave music. But there’s more depth to what we do.” True, the…
“You can have every single thing against you in the entire world, but never give up. Don’t ever compromise,” advises jazz vocalist and pianist Denise Mangiardi. Speaking as much to herself as to her listener, she adds, “I have this continuing argument with people who say that I should be…
Lou Rawls, Friday, April 21, at the Odgen Theater, has been singing for over thirty years, and during that time he’s mastered an impressive variety of styles: gospel, R&B, Philly soul, smooth-talking pre-rap, blues, jazz and crossover pop. He got his start at Chicago’s Dunbar High School, where he polished…
According to Jon Wurster, drummer for North Carolina’s Superchunk, “We get mentioned whenever the big magazines do an article about vinyl or indie labels–that kind of thing. But they aren’t usually that interested in the band.” Strange, but true. In many ways, Superchunk is among the more influential musical collectives…
Electric Company A Pert Cyclic Omen (Onion/American) Thus far, the memorable work Brad Laner has produced under the auspices of his band, Medicine, has evaded the embrace of the mainstream: A cut on The Crow soundtrack does not a breakthrough make. But rather than up the pop quotient of his…
godheadSilo, with the Melvins, Wednesday, April 12, at the Fox Theatre, is the name chosen by two guys who don’t care much for musical frills like harmony and melody: They just wanna rock! Bassist Mike and drummer Dan–a duo so dynamic they don’t need a guitarist–kick out the sort of…
“I feel better the longer I’m alive,” says twelve-string guitar sorcerer Leo Kottke. “I think I was at my most unconscious in my late teens, early twenties. I was completely off. As a result, I didn’t think I felt bad–because I didn’t feel anything. And after that, when I started…
Norm Roberts, the only founding member still part of the Denver-based industrial band Ein Volk, has an admission to make. “People have basically told us we sucked,” he says. Indeed, Ein Volk–German for “one people”–has come in for more than its share of knocks, in large part because of its…
Imagine the most frustrating of all possible lives in the music business. Imagine making one, two, three brilliant albums that are all but ignored by the general public. Imagine being signed and then forgotten by record company after record company. Imagine casting about for new methods, new ideas, only to…
In the number “Smoke Rings,” conceptualist Laurie Anderson intones, “Well, I had a dream, and in it I went to a little town/And all the girls in town were named Betty.” By contrast, none of the members of the oddball trio BETTY sport this moniker. The New York-based act consists…
Liz Phair, who married film editor Jim Staskauskas on March 11, has just returned from an extended honeymoon in the Bahamas–and she’s not happy about it. “It’s so depressing to come back here at this time of the year,” the 27-year-old says from her comfortable Chicago home. “It’s so gray,…
