Quick: What’s the name of John Mellencamp’s latest album? Uh-huh. That’s what we thought you’d say. Actually, though, we’re looking for the title of his latest disc, not the last Mellencamp record you heard. Still drawing a blank? Don’t worry. We haven’t listened to old Johnny boy since he shaved…
The godfather of grunge? According to artist and former Seattle scenester Art Chantry, that crown should sit upon the unlikely head of Kurdt Vanderhoof, guitarist of Metal Church. After the demise of the Lewd, Vanderhoof’s semi-legendary Seattle punk band, he took a young King Buzzo of the Melvins under his…
Things have recently come full circle for Voices Underwater. After playing South by Southwest and putting out an acclaimed self-titled album in 2003, the Denver outfit added two new members: guitarist Ian O’Dougherty of Uphollow and drummer Larry Joireman. Both left, though, after completing a new disc, Trip the Light…
Though not exactly a hotbed of musical talent, Israel can lay claim to the distinction of producing one of the most critically acclaimed trance and psy-trance acts around today. Amit Duvdevani and Erez Aizen, who make up Infected Mushroom, have been producing trance music in one form or another since…
You don’t have to be serious and emo to make a record,” insists Tom “Alice” Gilbert, drummer for the Maybellines. “People are happy in the world. And we’re generally four really happy people.” For the past seven years, the Maybellines have done more to push their agenda of musical Pollyannaism…
Scott Stevens insists that he’s no longer bothered about being overlooked in his home town. But there’s an acerbic undertone to his words that reveals trace amounts of bitterness. “We haven’t really had too much success in Denver,” says the Exies frontman, who’s on the phone in Maryland during a…
During its brief existence, Black Black Ocean was many things to many people. The soundtrack to a night of shaking ass and puking Schlitz. The rock band most obsessed with chess since Yes. And, hands down, the most spastically captivating live act Denver had seen in forever. But the flame…
Kelly Clarkson, who’s slated to visit the Colorado Convention Center this week, is beating the odds. Her second album, 2004’s Breakaway, may not constitute great art, but it’s still spitting out hits years after Clarkson first rode Fox’s American Idol to pop notoriety. And compared with the wannabes who competed…
When the Supreme Court ruled last month against Internet sites that enable peer-to-peer file-sharing, it did music downloaders a favor. As anyone who’s ever visited P2P sites like Grokster and Morpheus can attest, sound quality is maddeningly dodgy, and the catalogue is hopelessly disorganized. The imminent shutdown of these sites…
Zach Sciacca wanted to know one thing, and one thing only: “Did that motherfucker just grab his dick at me?” That motherfucker was big-time raver DJ Icey, and, yes, that motherfucker had, in fact, just grabbed his dick at Sciacca, who was then a fast-rising hip-hop battle DJ and all-around…
On its major-label debut, Death Cab captures flashbulb moments of melancholy — the dissolution of a summer romance, growing apart from a lover, being dumped — and analyzes them with astounding honesty. Take the tear-inducing “What Sarah Said”: Solitary piano chords drive a vivid depiction of a sterile hospital where…
OK Go is back with a sophomore release that puts its brilliant debut to shame. Offering intelligent lyrics, infectious melodies and a bratty Brit-pop swagger borrowed as much from Let It Bleed as from Blur, Oh No turns loose thirteen party anthems that never sacrifice kick for cleverness. Swedish über-producer…
Dallas Wayne mixes country’s dyed-in-denim traditions with the stupidity-free sensibility of modern, insurgent C&W. On Fan, Wayne wraps his burly baritone around a batch of old-style tunes that mention trucks and jukeboxes but never scream cliches. (Fan’s intended early-2004 rollout was delayed because of eye problems that have left Wayne…
Both the Warlocks and the Raveonettes recently issued records that were buoyed by a Ronettes-like makeover. In the Warlocks’ case, however, it’s more tempting to use kindred spirits the Jesus and Mary Chain to describe the white-hot relaxation of their latest release, Surgery. “Think of ice cream sliding into a…
Brian Pennington briefly played bass in the local hardcore group Shogun — and later became its drummer. It’s no surprise, then, that he’s poured his multi-instrumental talents into a one-man studio project, Radiant Republic of Texas. But where many people’s solo debuts are empty echoes of their previous bands, Lightning…
Whoops! The members of Greenfield got the chance to record with producer Malcolm Burn, a Grammy winner whose credits include work with Bob Dylan. But on the jacket of Kingston, an EP whose release is being celebrated on Saturday, August 27, at a Soiled Dove performance also featuring Joshua Novak,…
311, Don’t Tread on Me (Volcano). In the early ’90s, 311 was the harbinger of hybrid. Back then, the act was wide-eyed and innovative. Since that time, however, this Los-Angeles-by-way-of-Omaha quintet has steadily coasted into obsolescence. At this point, 311 sounds as laconic and dated as its treatment of the…
Dan Finnerty is living the dream. His old lady, Kathy Najimy, is a semi-famous Hollywood starlet; he fronts a band named after himself and jets across the globe like a rock star. Thing is, he’s not a rock star. He does play one on TV, though — er, rather, the…
Rock stars take drugs: Like most stereotypes, this one exists because it’s often true. And ever since DJs became the new rock stars at the peak of the rave scene, many of them have fallen into similar behavior patterns. There’s an exception to every rule, though, and Minnesota’s DJ ESP,…
Part of the West Coast honor roll from the gangsta class of ’91, DJ Quik made a name for himself with “Born and Raised in Compton” and “Tonight,” a pair of top-twenty hits from his debut album, Quik Is the Name. More renowned for his skills behind the soundboard than…
I’m not a morning person. Quite frankly, I’m homicidal before noon. As much as I love Slayer and the Geto Boys, their music is the last thing I reach for as I’m wiping the sleep from my eyes. On most days, prior to firing up that first pot of coffee,…
Purity, simplicity, integrity — three things that aren’t so chic in the realms of punk and indie rock right now. But amid a flood of packaged, plastic pretension, Michigan’s the Trembling isn’t afraid to shoot straight from the brain and heart. With all the head-rush riffs of Superchunk and tart…
