• Fantômas, the enigmatic band helmed by Mike Patton of Faith No More, is taking a new direction this Tuesday with the release of Suspended Animation on Ipecac Records. While the collective has previously noodled in science-fiction fancies, the new CD is described as a lavishly designed project that dallies in all the sound effects and manic energy of cartoon music.
• Rounder Records has just re-issued a lost gem from 1972, Mountain Moving Day, by the Chicago & New Haven Women's Liberation Rock Bands. Now re-mastered under the title Papa Don't Lay That **** on Me, the CD features six previously unreleased tracks and two bonus songs by modern rockers Le Tigre.
Even though he has played the piano professionally for five decades - and is a Latin jazz and salsa legend because of it - Eddie Palmieri concedes that his first love was the drums. "I wanted to be my brother's drummer," Palmieri said, referring to the also-legendary pianist Charlie Palmieri (who died in 1988).
Natalie MacMaster grew up listening to her brothers' records - everything from AC/DC to Michael Jackson to Loverboy. "I'm an '80s chick, all the way," she said in an interview with the River Cities' Reader.
• Two "masters of darkness" have picked this coming Tuesday to go head-to-head with new CD box sets. The Ozzman cometh with Ozzy Osbourne's long-awaited four-CD box set, Prince of Darkness, packed with rarities and newly recorded cover selections.
Comic book characters have finally come to life. GWAR, or God What an Awful Racket, combined elements of heavy metal, comic books, and horror movies to provide a brutally entertaining experience at Davenport’s QC Live on Saturday, February 26.
There is a place where elephants flit through the trees, where dignified violists play toy trumpets, and where a visit to the catacombs follows a trip to the park. The Quad City Symphony Orchestra led us on a journey through our imaginations on March 6, and the destinations were of the most unique sort.
With the disappointing news that the River Music Experience will not be bringing any nationally known musical acts to the Quad Cities as previously advertised, jazz fans will seldom have a chance to catch creative jazz musicians and bands from out of this area.
Lon Bozarth, the River Music Experience's new director, has worked in just about every aspect of the music business - outside of a museum. In the 1970s and '80s, he was vice president of operations for Sound Warehouse, overseeing 150 large record stores.
I enjoy music in several different ways. There’s the intellectual satisfaction of learning, being engaged by a piece, and using my imagination to make the music come alive. There are the quirky nuances of the piece, performance, and musicians that spark my interest and make me smile.

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