RIP Shawn Smith

A long ago friend hipped me to Brad’s first LP Shame in his mom’s basement back in 1993. It was this odd-looking basement, one that was finished but was furnished like it was 1975. Bright orange counter tops and cabinets with a faucet to wash the dishes dirtied at the key parties that probably took […]

Altitudes + Attitude : Get It Out

If you’d told me back in 1991 that the bass player from Anthrax and the bass player from Megadeth would someday form a hard rock band after doing bass clinics together I’d say you were crazy. Just plain crazy, man. But alas, I’d be the one with egg on my face. Frank Bello from Anthrax […]

Tamaryn : Dreaming The Dark

I have a soft spot for 80s pop radio. Sure, in 1987 I was the kid sitting on the bus heading to middle school with headphones on and a copy of Anthrax’ State Of Euphoria in my Sony Walkman. But side A would end and before I could flip to side B I could hear […]

Voyag3r Return With ‘War Mask’; Listen To “The Terror Is Gaining On You”

Detroit, Michigan’s prog/synth warriors Voyag3r return on April 26th with their follow-up to 2016s excellent Are You Synthetic? War Mask sees the trio of Steve Greene(synthesizers, piano, saxophone), Greg Mastin(drums and percussion), and Aaron Greene(guitars) heading from sci fi territory to a post-apocalyptic landscape, and from the sound of lead single “The Terror Is Gaining […]

Chris Cohen : Self-Titled

Chris Cohen seems to exist in his very own musical space. It’s a space where the Kinks Village Green Preservation Society coalesces with Johnathan Richman’s I, Johnathan and some wistful memory of a summer afternoon long ago. Cohen played with Deerhoof from 2002 to 2006(some say their best years), as well as a bevy of […]

Strand of Oaks : Eraserland

Timothy Showalter started releasing albums as Strand of Oaks back in 2009 with his debut Leave Ruin. The Indiana native(born in Goshen) put out folks-y, acoustic-heavy albums that dealt with personal issues like love, death, infidelity, and the struggle to keep it all together. His sound slowly developed into a more space-y, dreamy style that […]

Andrew Bird : My Finest Work Yet

Andrew Bird has had quite the 20+ year run so far. Starting out in the hot jazz/old time-y retro scene with Squirrel Nut Zippers and working his way thru a few albums on his own as Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire. He ended that phase of his career on the excellent The Swimming Hour. From […]

The Claypool Lennon Delirium : South Of Reality

Truly, one of the most surprising and enjoyable collaborations of the past couple years has been the musical coming together of Sean Lennon and Les Claypool as the Claypool Lennon Delirium. The singer/songwriter and prodigious Primus bass player have taken the genre of psychedelic music into new and exciting territory with their collaboration. When it […]

Thomas Ragsdale : Honley Civic Archives Volume 2

Thomas Ragsdale works in the shadows, but tries to bring light whenever he dives in. His musical worlds are vast, dense, and seem to attempt to make sense of existential questions we present to ourselves on a daily basis. His albums carry with them the intensity of early 70s Tangerine Dream and the lucrative sonic […]

Dick Dale : 1937-2019

I suppose I owe Quentin Tarantino for exposing me to Dick Dale. Sure, I’d catch an earful of his swanky surf guitar playing as a kid sitting in my room listening to oldies 97.7 out of Elkhart, Indiana. But my first slap in the face from Dick Dale was “Miserlou” in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Hearing […]