Rachael Pollard likes roller skates. A lot. She got married with her skates on, played a few gigs with them on and even skated in the pivot position for the Red Riding Hoods roller derby team for about nine months. It might be something to keep in mind when listening…
Because one feature is never enough when it comes to a band like the Breeders, in addition to this week’s profile by Rob Trucks, we bring you the following extended Q&A with Kelley Deal by Andrew Fersch…
Musical success in one country is no guarantee of triumph in another – particularly not the United States, which, despite the downturn in the domestic record industry, remains the place that separates regional luminaries from global superstars. Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, who’s profiled in the May 22 Westword, understands that…
The May 15 Westword profile of Maya Arulpragasam, who performs as M.I.A., is built upon the foundation provided by the following Q&A, conducted on April 28, the day after the end of the 2008 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, where her set turned the heads of fans and fellow…
Who: The Magic Mice Dossier: Formed last year, the Magic Mice feature Aaron Betcher and Chad Peterson, both formerly of O’er the Ramparts. In Their Words: Wisely, these cats opt to let the music speak for itself. Sounds Like: Breathy and languid one moment, on songs like “Body slash Soul,”…
Jemina Pearl Abegg may be the lead singer of Be Your Own Pet, a Nashville combo profiled in Westword’s May 8 edition, but she’s hardly rejected her family in favor of punk-rock mayhem. Far from it: The following conversation took place while she was riding in a car piloted by…
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,…
