John Reis, the subject of the following Q&A as well as a May 1 Westword profile, is the leader of a new band called the Night Marchers – but the group is hardly his first. He made his initial ripple as part of Pitchfork back in the ‘80s, after which…
Pharrell Williams, the subject of an April 24 Westword profile, is as busy a producer as any on the planet; among his most recent projects was Madonna’s Hard Candy, which reaches retailers on April 29. Still, he managed to squeeze in an interview to promote an upcoming appearance by N.E.R.D.,…
The following Q&A with Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy, staged for an April 24 profile timed to an upcoming solo appearance, got off on the wrong foot, unlike a 2004 quiz session that can be accessed here in its entirety. And yet Meloy’s professionalism and smarts make the conversation fine reading…
At this writing, Colin Meloy, leader of the Decemberists, is on a solo tour; he appears at the Boulder Theater on Saturday, April 26, with singer-songwriter Laura Gibson opening. A recent Q&A is accessible here – but an interview conducted for a March 11, 2004 Decemberists profile provides additional context,…
Who: Debajo Del Agua In Their Words: “Formed in Denver, Colorado, Debajo is composed of musicians from Chile, Peru, El Salvador, Mexico and the States. We fuse a vast diaspora of styles incorporating elements of hip hop, Andean music, salsa, samba, cumbia, reggae, and more. Our music is a reflection…
The April 17 Westword profile of Enon features quotes aplenty from John Schmersal, the band’s founder – and the changes he’s undergone of late come through even more clearly in the following Q&A. The conversation begins with Schmersal discussing the reception to Grass Geysers… Carbon Clouds, the first Enon disc…
Kimya Dawson, the subject of an April 17 profile and the Q&A below, isn’t a new artist. She and Adam Green were part of the Moldy Peaches, a so-called anti-folk combo whose debut CD arrived in 2001 – and since then, she’s issued several solo albums and cut a disc…
Eric Earley, who plays the frontman role in Oregon’s Blitzen Trapper, didn’t prove to be an effusive interview subject during a chat conducted for an April 10 Westword profile. Nevertheless, the following Q&A remains entertaining, if only because it documents the ways in which an increasingly desperate yours truly tried…
Christopher Jak has done it again. Dude’s got the midas touch, I swear. From the same production whiz who brought us the Heyday and Set Forth, comes Ride Your Bike, yet another piece of finely crafted Fort Collins-based power pop. Ride Your Bike, the brainchild of Mike Getches, is Jak’s…
Interviewing Daniel Johnston, the subject of an April 3 Westword profile, is, to put it mildly, a unique experience, as will be clear to any reader of the following Q&A. First, some set-up. I arranged my chat with Daniel’s father, Bill, who helps manage his son’s career and lives in…
Alright, stop whatever you’re doing right now. No. Seriously. Stop. Right now. Great, now that I have your attention, click here and give a listen to the Natural Selection, a new local act my boy Bitz turned me onto. Let’s see, there’s really no real delicate way to put this…on…
Having once played together in a short-lived punk band called London SS, Mick Jones and Tony James have been friends for thirty years. After embarking on successful careers with the Clash, as well as Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik, respectively, pair reconvened in 2002 to form a new project…
Right now, the most talked-about band on the rise among the nation’s critical taste-makers is Vampire Weekend. But in Westword’s March 20 profile of the New York-based group, and in the following Q&A, lead singer/guitarist Ezra Koenig talks for himself. Koenig begins by sketching in details about his background, including…
These days, performers often prefer to conduct interviews via e-mail instead of taking part in a telephone chat. There are plenty of good reasons for this switch from their perspective, even if we assume that the individual in question is actually the one sitting at the keyboard (as opposed to…
Although crunk is no longer the trendiest form of hip-hop, Jonathan Smith – better known as Lil Jon, the self-proclaimed king of crunk – continues to flourish anyway. As a producer, he’s still churning out radio-dominating hits such as Baby Bash’s ubiquitous “Cyclone” while expanding his empire beyond the music…
Say Hi has undergone some changes of late. Eric Elbogen, who for all intents and purposes is Say Hi, shortened the name of the project, which was previously known as Say Hi to Your Mom, and has taken what he considers to be a more serious approach to the music,…
The Whigs, a buzz band that gets the profile treatment in the March 6 Westword, plays music of the sort typically identified as indie rock – yet drummer Julian Dorio continues to receive the sort of love from percussion aficionados that’s all but unheard of in the genre. Dorio takes…
Here’s another highlight from the Westword Q&A archives: a wonderful conversation with country singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell that preceded a June 17, 2004 profile. At the time, Crowell was no longer scoring hits as he did throughout the ‘80s, when he and his former wife, Rosanne Cash, were country royalty, but…
In the States, the music of Bullet For My Valentine – the subject of a profile in the February 28 Westword – is typically lumped into the modern rock, hard rock or screamo categories. But as lead singer/guitarist Matt Tuck makes clear in the following Q&A, he considers his band…
Having a conversation with the members of Redline Defiance is like trying to keep a bucket of puppies from spilling: They’re young, enthusiastic-like rockets. And they’re hyper-stoked about their upcoming CD-release party. The act has performed on the Warp Tour, had its music snapped up by FSN and ABC is…
The Hives are a Swedish import with staying power, and the band’s lead singer, Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, knows it, as he makes clear in the following Q&A – a conversation conducted in advance of the outfit’s impending visit to Denver (see the appropriate Now Hear This item for the particulars)…
If David Johansen had earned a dollar for each time a music journalist mentioned him or his band, the New York Dolls, he’d be richer than Croesus by now. Instead, he’s still a working musician, albeit one who has a good perspective on his past, his present and his future,…
