When Dengue Fever first surfaced circa 2003, its Westernized take on Cambodian pop music from the Vietnam War era seemed like a wonderful novelty — one apt to fascinate briefly and then fade away. Instead, the group has managed to evolve from the oddest of cover bands to a supplier…
Over thirty years ago, long before Mick Jones joined the Clash and Tony James teamed up with Billy Idol in Generation X, the pair played together in the short-lived punk band London SS. Five years ago, the two reunited for a new project called Carbon/Silicon. Inspired by their shared love…
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…
Dear Bandicoots, My band hasn’t figured out what costumes to wear on stage. Got any advice? – Anonymous…
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…
Slide Show March 17 at Larimer Lounge was an adventurous night full of rock and roll, fights, the police, drunks getting taken away in an ambulance, and a marriage. This, Denver, is what RAWK looks like…
Update: Click here and here for live blog coverage of the entire event. Tom Petty and Dave Matthews will be bookending AEG’s inaugural Mile High Music and Arts Festival, on Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20, respectively. The rest of the bill will be filled out by top shelf…
Here’s a selection of the best of last week’s music blogging from around the Village Voice chain: You’ve heard of this South by Southwest thing, right? The Village Voice sent some folks who reported on things like the giant pile of crap picture here, a killer set by the Constantines…
Alan Andrews and company deliver a Photo finish. Slide Show If you could see pretty much any band in the world that you wanted to right now or to catch groups that you can see at home any old time, which would you choose? No brainer, right? It was for…
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…
…wasn’t nearly as loud as expected, but this kid was prepared. The last time I saw Motorhead was a few years back at the Ogden Theatre with Corrosion of Conformity. Stupid me, I forgot to bring earplugs. I knew better. Not sure what the hell I was thinking. Anyhow, about…
Dear Bandicoots, See comments from “Chad” here — in which his close to 700-word diatribe calls into question a “thriving” Denver scene and forces me to put South Broadway culture into context. Chad, I feel your frustration. As someone who has given his blood, sweat, and tears to the Denver…
Just when I think I really know the Denver music scene, something happens to humble me and make me realize how much I have to learn. As Depeche Mode said, it’s a lot like life. Last weekend, I had the honor of participating on a panel at the third annual…
Paul Benton Grey Bridgetone Records 01:00-01:45 of “I Only See You” I think the lyrics “I only see you in all that I do, to the rest I am blind,” clearly exemplifies Mr. Benton’s knack for writing crap lyrics where he is that friend that we all have that gets…
This week, the Spiral catches up with Big Timber while they work on some new material at the Furnace Room. Download the episode , or listen to the stream below…
Xavier de Rosnay’s honesty is refreshing — even if the words he’s just uttered won’t exactly go down as the most artistically inclined assertion ever made. “We make electronic music,” the musician confesses, “because it’s accessible and easy.” Rosnay is one half of international dance-floor phenom Justice, whose suave yet…
Over the years, Eric Elbogen, who performs under the Say Hi moniker, hasn’t always shared the straight dope about his music. The biography on his website, www.ilikesayhi.com, is a masterpiece of deadpan obfuscation (it begins with the claim that “Say Hi simultaneously defies and enforces physics” and gets more incomprehensible…
Bhi Bhiman has an ax to grind. Leaving behind the dance-happy roots funk of his old Bay Area band, Hippie Grenade, Bhiman has tapped into some hardcore angst. Whether he’s vilifying the Bush administration or calling bullshit on racism and America’s culture of apathy, he’s considerably more provocative on his…
The list of musicians who’ve played New York City’s Village Vanguard throughout its seventy-year history reads like a who’s who of jazz. Luminaries such as John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Sonny Rollins celebrated live albums there. Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, who kicked off his musical career playing with Gary Burton and…
Donna Jean and the Tricksters, Donna Jean and the Tricksters (Ryko). Former Grateful Dead backup vocalist and Muscle Shoals studio alum Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay has honked behind some of rock’s legendary artists. Stepping out front with New York’s Zen Tricksters, Godchaux-MacKay proves she’s still got it with natural soul-, blues-…
Denver-based Beatport.com pretty much dominates the world of electronic and dance-music downloads through its online store. The guys behind Beatport know the music inside out and have been booking some of the world’s best DJs for the past decade — so it seems only fitting that they’ve finally opened their…
