Album Review: Danny Shafer – Weddings, Floods and Funerals

Shafer, initially from Chicago, has played over 200 shows a year between his solo gig and the band he’s a part of, The 21st Century, and the polished talent that comes with that level of prolificacy shows itself with Weddings.
Album Review:Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Vol. 12

At some point in the career of a band or artist there’s a switch made from “chart topper” to “main stay.” Their weight in social currency is edged out by a growing wealth of respect and ubiquity.
The Ever Elusive Everlast

Before House of Pain was telling everybody to jump around, Everlast (real name Erik Schrody) was just another punk kid running wild in the streets of New York City. In 1992, however, the trio’s massive single “Jump Around” put them on the map with bagpipes, kilts and a healthy dose of attitude. Everlast, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal were quickly catapulted to international recognition thanks to the incredible success of their self-titled Tommy Boy debut.
Disguise the Silence – It Felt Like Drowning

“Music for me has always been this thing that is transcendent of all the other BS in life. It’s something that grounds me and makes me belong and makes me feel like I’m safe. I want other people to know that feeling,” says Michael Olivier, guitarist and lead singer Michael of Disguise the Silence.
Album Review: Rubedo – Love is the Answer

Epiphany can come in a myriad of strange and unexpected ways. In the the 1978 Superman film, Lex Luthor pontificates that “Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it’s a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.”
Night Riots: On the Ride of Their Lives

“We calculated recently that we have only been home for a grand total of one month this year,” Hawley says. “The rest has been spent in Los Angeles recording or driving around the U.S. and Canada in busses and vans or flying around the country. My favorite part is playing shows, meeting people and going new places.”
The Rev: Bow Down to the Horton Heat

People basically worship Jim Heath as if he’s the Jesus Christ of unconventional rock-n-roll. Better known by his stage name, Reverend Horton Heat, the Texas native helped usher in a whole new genre of music in the mid-‘80s, which is often referred to as “psychobilly.” Upon further exploration, however, it’s a term Heath isn’t exactly comfortable with, but has grown to accept over time.
Still Rising… De La Soul – Ascension Into Hip-Hop History

As a kid, Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos) would overhear his older brothers talking about cassettes featuring rhyming on them. Unbeknownst to him, he was hearing the emerging culture of hip-hop; artists like Cold Crush Brothers, Fantastic Romantic 5 and Afrika Bambaataa. This was the ‘80s, when hip-hop was new and exciting, especially to young, curious kids.