Celebrating Community
February 23rd, the band and I played our second show at the Flying Lobster, the coolest new venue in Carroll Gardens/Columbia Street waterfront. Essentially the backroom of Le Petite Crevette, it’s a highly attractive place with a brick and wood interior, tin ceilings, great food and wine, and a vintage jukebox stocked with jazz 78’s. The group that night went […]
Jalopy Records has recently released the debut album Fatboy Wilson & Old Viejo Bones. Samoa “Fatboy” Wilson and Ernesto “Lovercat” Gomez (aka Old Viejo Bones) are an acoustic duo who specialize in old-time, folk, Americana, blues, and more. Wilson sings and plays baritone ukulele while Gomez sings and plays guitar and harmonica. The sound of this recording is true to […]
Thanks to a friend, I recently discovered the music of Michael Hurley. To say I am late to the game is an understatement. Hurley has a prodigious career that spans more than 56 years and is highly prolific with over 21 albums released and three more in the works. At age 79 he is still going strong and will […]
On November 21, Robyn Hitchcock performed two sets at Murmrr, a Brooklyn synagogue which periodically programs cutting-edge folk and rock. The show was originally meant to be a double bill with Tanya Donnelly (Throwing Muses, The Breeders, Belly) opening, but for reasons unclear, she was unable to appear. Though Donnelly was missed, fans of Hitchcock were able to enjoy even […]
Like most people, my introduction to Jamaican music started with Bob Marley, whose aptly titled hits collection Legend set my standard for all other reggae music. Soon after I discovered Peter Tosh, Toots and The Maytals, Black Uhuru, and more. A family trip to Jamaica in the spring of ‘87 exposed me to the dancehall styles of Admiral Bailey and […]
With a colorful career spanning more than 40 years, Robyn Hitchcock remains one of the world’s most idiosyncratic song writers. Born in Paddington, a neighborhood of London, in 1953, his father Raymond Hitchcock was a novelist, screenwriter, and cartoonist best known for his novel Percy. Robyn attended Trinity College at Cambridge but failed to graduate. However, it was here he […]
Maybe I’m just getting old, but the New York music scene ain’t what it used to be. Only about a decade ago, there were venues that supported emerging artists of all styles and genres and the public had a greater interest in going to shows. One of the best and most legendary in Manhattan was of course CBGB’s, the birthplace […]
At 14 years of age, Nora Brown is a talented banjo player who sings ballads and traditional music with an interest in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee styles. She uses the clawhammer method of plucking and strumming with her thumb and fingers, resulting in a deep, muddy tone that lends an air of dark mystery and timeless depth to her playing. […]
Recently a song came on the radio that stopped me in my tracks. The singer’s arresting voice was at once soothing and eerie, not unlike Grace Slick’s part in “White Rabbit.” The vocals rested upon complex country blues guitar picking with a British sensibility reminiscent of Fairport Convention. All combined it gave me goosebumps. The tune was “Strange Country” by […]
As part of LA’s Paisley Underground, The Long Ryders were one of the first American groups to combine the cosmic country of The Byrds with the DIY punk ethos of the early 1980’s. The band recorded their debut LP Native Sons with Henry Lewy who worked with The Flying Burrito Brothers on their legendary album Gilded Palace of Sin. Former […]