05 Dec 2007

Punk Books Deliver the Goods

By John M. James

Punk 365Punk rockers old and new can get their literary fix in four terrific new books that revel in the spirit, the lifestyle, and the humor of banging the drum their own way. It's not a sex confessional, but the spurts and snorts of My First Time are just as charged with sweaty adolescent discovery. Originally conceived as a small-run fanzine and now expanded into a full book from the AK Press, editor Chris Duncan invited more than 40 rock writers, artists, band members, and fans to share their first-punk-show stories. Not merely recollections of the concerts themselves, each tale is more the story of where the author was in life at that time, the cultural and social zeitgeist, and the often-hilarious anecdotes of getting to that show. Highlights include passages by Jack Rabid, Blag Dahlia, Jade Tree Records' co-founder Darren Walters, Joe Queer of The Queers, and scene historian George Hurchalla.

28 Nov 2007

Spitting Sounds: Vocal Percussionist Jeff Thacher Performs with Rockapella at Hancher Auditorium

By Mike Schulz

RockapellaIn every concert performed by Rockapella, the a cappella quintet that first garnered fame with its appearances (and title-song crooning) on PBS's long-running children's game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, a segment is devoted to a solo by the group's vocal percussionist, Jeff Thacher.

28 Nov 2007

What Comes Out: AIDS Wolf, November 30 at Mixtapes

By Administrator

AIDS Wolf When you look at publicity photos of the band on its Web site and elsewhere, stereotypes about hippies come to mind. There are rural settings, and some long hair, and some naughty bits - yes, a pair of breasts, pubic hair, and even a penis or two.

28 Nov 2007

Book Unearths Rock-and-Roll Landmarks

By John M. James

Led Zeppelin Crashed Here While it might be a little dreary to think of a cross-country road trip, a fun guide to rock-and-roll landmarks across North America has me itching to load up, head out, and touch the sacred grounds of infamous debauchery, birthplace homes, and final resting places of rock's greatest legends. Published by the Santa Monica Press, Led Zeppelin Crashed Here is peppered with modern-day photographs and a detective's keen eye for tracking down rock history in its original scandalous settings, and the pages turn like attacking a bag of chips. Travel writer Chris Epting collects more than 300 pages of these famous (and hidden) sites, sure to put a smile on the face of any music nut who finds his new book in a stocking. From directions to the concrete Woodstock marker in the earth outside Bethel, New York, to a deeper understanding of what Joni Mitchell was singing about in "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot," Epting's research makes me want to visit the location of famous album-cover sites for a personal snapshot, like in front of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti brownstone or shaking hands at the Warner Bros. studio lot where Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here cover was created.

21 Nov 2007

"I Claim Iowa, Too.": Believe Him or Not, Rapper Kuz Wants to Put the Quad Cities on the Hip-Hop Map

By Administrator

660_coverthumb.jpg Here's what the Davenport-based rapper Kuz and his manager want you to know:

His single "Boss Status" is presently number seven on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart - one slot ahead of Beyoncé, and one behind J. Holiday - and peaked at number three. The song reached 15 on Hot Singles Sales, and topped out at 80 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. As of Monday, it topped Jamster's hip-hop ringtones chart.

Kuz appeared as himself in the 2007 horror movie April Fools (an I Know What You Did Last Summer knock-off, he said) alongside Emmy nominee Obba Babatundé and hip-hop artist Lil' Flip. "I didn't get killed," he said of his character.

21 Nov 2007

The Taste of Chicago: Nick Moss & the Flip Tops, at Blueport Junction November 21

By Mike Schulz

Nick Moss Describing the music that he's spent more than half of his 38 years learning to master, blues guitarist Nick Moss states, "There's a lot of nuance that people don't realize," and underscores his point with an unusual - but apt - analogy.

"To me it's like food," says Moss in a recent phone interview.

21 Nov 2007

Benefit Album Works for Quick Relief

By John M. James

Causes 1 With its proceeds split between Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam America, next week's release of Waxploitation Records' Darfur benefit CD is worth searching for. Causes 1 is the first of a proposed series of CDs, available on iTunes for 90 days and available as a limited-edition physical CD directly from the label's site.

14 Nov 2007

Never Quite Too Much: Driver of the Year with the Diplomats of Solid Sound, November 17 at RIBCO

By Administrator

Driver of the Year Listening to Will Destroy You, Driver of the Year's release from earlier this year, the first thing that popped into my head was Flight of the Conchords, the comedy folk duo from New Zealand that scored an HBO series on which the band's fan base never grew much larger than one.

14 Nov 2007

Former Talk Soup Host Adds Voice to Shredders' Paradise

By Administrator

Dug Pinnick Almost as weird as when kids' TV star Steve from Blue's Clues turned up collaborating with the Flaming Lips back in 2003, sweet and smarmy Hal Sparks, former host of E's Talk Soup, winds up with an A-list lineup of guitarists on a blistering metal release. This coming Tuesday, Doug Pinnick of King's X takes his cosmic blaze to new landscapes of sludgy soul as "Dug" Pinnick. An air guitarist's fantasy album of sizzling leads, the Magna Carta Records' release, Strum Sum Up, is Viagra for aging headbangers. The album features Wally Farkis of Galactic Cowboys, Alain Johannes of Eleven, and the ever-devastating Steve Stevens of Billy Idol fame. Sparks holds his own with the big boys, fronting his own top-notch band, Zero 1. Other players in on the fun include Natasha Shneider of Queens of the Stone Age, Ray Luzier of Army of Anyone, Kellii Scott of Failure, and David Henning of Big Wreck.

07 Nov 2007

Hitchcock Gets Deluxe Box Set

By John M. James

Robyn Hitchcock's I Wanna Go BackwardsNext week the Yep Roc Records imprint releases the five-disc I Wanna Go Backwards box from Robyn Hitchcock, the first of twin sets that pluck three choice albums from his catalog, slather each with associated outtakes and demos, and ice the layer cake with two CDs of B sides. Selecting three fan-favorite albums of solo work, the offering includes Black Snake Diamond Role from 1981, the pensive I Often Dream of Trains from 1984, and the haunting Eye from 1990. Hitchcock's wit and image associations are socially progressive, brutally honest, and seductively mad. Too timid to slide into the full box set or the eight-LP vinyl version? All three expanded albums are being reissued individually.

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