On his introduction to the first Jazzmatazz album, Guru talks about how he’d always wanted to do an experimental fusion of hip-hop and live jazz. But he wanted to do it right. With that in mind, the former Gang Starr MC recruited a few jazz heavies such as Donald Byrd,…
The Global Dance Fest will once again feature some of the biggest names in dance music, including this year’s headliner, Tiësto, who first came to prominence with “Traffic” and solidified his reputation with his remix of Delerium’s “Silence,” a track that enjoyed considerable crossover success and radio airplay. Since then,…
The members of Southern California quartet Abe Vigoda are way too young to remember Fish from Barney Miller. So it’s possible they chose their name after watching the namesake actor get his eyebrows tugged by baby Mikey in Look Who’s Talking. Actually, the act’s deconstructed punk, polished with spurts of…
Those rock-is-dead pronouncements we hear periodically ignore the genre’s cyclical nature. Every time the style seems bound for the grave, it reanimates and begins stalking the public again, usually in a form that’s damn close to what was previously regarded as DOA. Which brings us to Hinder, an Oklahoma City…
Last Thursday, I pulled off Highway 36 at Pecos and headed over to Brewski’s Pub & Grill, 1451 Cortez Street — where I was greeted by boarded-up windows and a “For Sale” sign on the front door. So much for checking out Brewski’s Thursday-night lingerie party. The club where cover…
When Adam Littles was in the Navy Girls, his signature guitar style helped establish that band’s unique sound. He carved out a niche with angular yet beautifully glittery guitar lines that fit within the act’s catchy rhythms. Around the time that group came to an end, Littles found an odd…
Sander van Doorn (due at the Church on Thursday, July 19) handles all of the production, engineering and mastering on his tracks and remixes. As a result, he’s carved out a sound that’s dense, clever and well-balanced — albeit a bit too busy at times for its own good. Juxtaposing…
There’s a free show tonight at the hi-dive to raise money for Magic Cyclops’s medical bills. Poor Magic suffered an excruciating and literally crippling blow after being thrown through the air at a Dan Deacon show and breaking both wrists when he landed. Like many musicians, he is without medical…
It would be nice to say that our July 19 profile of acoustic guitar wizard Leo Kottke was filled with the endless, witty and off-kilter diatribes that act as between-song banter during his concerts. But that’s the trouble with email interviews; the interviewee is less compelled to ramble. Still, as…
In lieu of the usual Q&A connected to a Backbeat profile, here’s something different, and more than a little crazoid: an audio interview conducted with O.G. rapper Ice-T by his manager, Jorge Hinojosa. What the hell? As noted in this article, from Westword’s July 19 edition, Hinojosa initially told yours…
For the record, Keller Williams does not sell real estate. He does, however, tour regularly on the jam band circuit, where he routinely impresses audiences with his one-man band approach. With the help of looping technology, Williams constructs his crowd pleasing grooves right on stage, layer by layer, all with…
Slide Show Nick Terranova July 13, 2007 The Church Better than: Most club nights have any right to aspire to be. Before Nick Terranova took over the decks, 2040 residents Matthew Orloff and Bryan Matthew played a fun opening set that got the crowd amped up for the main event…
The Chris Cornell/Juliette and the Licks concert slated for Saturday, July 14, at the Fillmore Auditorium, has been postponed according to a July 12 release sent out by the local arm of Live Nation, which is promoting Cornell’s tour. That’s it: No other information has been provided about the whys…
I got this shit on lock! I got this shit on lock! Holler, holler at me if you’re on my block! Hours before the members of 3Oh!3 even rapped the opening lines from “Chokechain” on the Hurley Stage at the Warped Tour this past Sunday, it was clear: Sean Foreman…
During separate stints with Soundgarden and Audioslave, Chris Cornell was seen as the sort of brooding performer who had no time for glad-handing or show-business conventions. So why the holy hell did he agree to appear on Spike TV’s Guys Choice Awards, a June broadcast during which he bantered with…
Page McConnell is the first to admit that he’s better known as “the guy from Phish” than he is by his given name. Just the same, when Phish dissolved in 2004, McConnell wasn’t in a hurry to make a name for himself. Instead, he spent almost two years piecing together…
Before Umphrey’s McGee ever played a gig here, the Chicago-based act sent out 600 live CDs to be distributed throughout Denver, Boulder and Breckenridge. So when the band came through Colorado for a five-date stint in the spring of 2001, it sold out Quixote’s and the Trilogy Lounge in Boulder,…
The Dead Science writes pop music. Just ask guitarist/vocalist Sam Mickens. Despite any appearances to the contrary — the lo-fi recordings, the lilted, nervous-boy falsetto vocals or the elementary disregard for verse-chorus-verse structure — the act’s music is pure pop, Mickens insists. Sure, the Seattle-based trio’s sound is kindred to…
Groups that have put out excellent music in the past aren’t only competing with other current discs when they unleash a new album. They’re also going up against themselves — and by that measure, The Mix-Up falls way short. Admittedly, the Beasties didn’t set out to issue another Ill Communication…
Five years later, Spoon’s 2002 release, Kill the Moonlight, still feels new. In fact, it still has the acute ability to make listeners pace from room to room, clapping their hands, attempting bad imitations of Britt Daniel’s raspy croon, wishing there was a sweet party about to happen. It’s almost…
American Relay’s stripped-down, two-man approach to the blues isn’t particularly innovative. Nonetheless, the way the duo injects grit and earthy passion into the tired art form is refreshing. Nick Sullivan’s fiery vocal delivery is filled with the edgy danger that many have tried to approximate but few have attained. And…
Screaming? In general, thumbs up — but vocalists who roar too often risk sapping the technique of its power, much as comedians who constantly swear wind up making the word “fuck” seem about as shocking as the typical show on the ABC Family Channel. Death and the Lovers’ self-titled debut…
