Seattle music legend and supernice guy, Graig Markel, would like to introduce you to his uberfresh, retro-soul/Muscle Shoals inspired project, Graig Markel and the 88th St. Band. They’ve just finished a record, and are playing a release show in Seattle at Barboza Friday, October 3rd at 7pm. Markel is joined on 88th Street by his …
Meet Daniella Watters, an award winning pop/soul/R&B singer-songwriter from Toronto. She has just released a video for her latest single “Never Will Die,” a song dedicated to her grandmother. As a Canadian child, it was Watters’ dream not to play pro hockey, but to be an Olympic figure skater who delighted worldwide audiences while skating …
It’s Sunday night and Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood is teeming with night life. I’m hanging at the Nectar Lounge where The Skatalites are headlning. Skatalites are pure reggae ska. Although they list Jamaica as their hometown, the members hail from all parts of the globe. And with various guest performers joining them from time to time, …
The Real McKenzies, from Vancouver, BC, ventured into Seattle for a hell raising show at El Corazon. After some rebel rousing from four opening acts, the Real McKenzies, all wearing green plaid kilts, hit the stage sans their lead singer, Paul McKenzie. They led the audience in several chants for, “Paul! Paul! Paul!” to no …
By Peter Dysart It’s been a blustery overcast morning. The steady rain has formed rivulets and puddles all over the lawn. Hot cup in hand, I’ve opened the email and click on a link to a new song. Within seconds of sound waves pushing a few bars of The Joy Formidable’s stompy new Aruthrol single …
If you haven’t seen these three ladies yet (plus one daughter along for the walk) you must stop and watch right now. I like the gritty sound from the stringed instrument one of them plays. This is a minimalist music video in the Georgian language which is absolutely lovely.
Playing at Seattle’s Bumbershoot as part of their short reunion tour, the Replacements kick, kick, kicked our doors down. We didn’t realize what great anthems those songs were when only 200 people were in the audience. Somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 were in attendance Sunday at the main stage at Memorial Stadium, singing along with …
Linda Ronstadt, one the great folk chanteuses, has been in the news lately, receiving a National Medal of the Arts in July for all of her work. She released a collection of duets with various artists in April, and her memoir, Simple Dreams, was published in September 2013. Ronstadt was a leading member of the …
Saturday night, August 23, was a date I looked forward to for some time, for this night a rare reunion concert of the Posies was to occur at Seattle’s Triple Door. The lineup consisted of what was the original Posies, that is Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. The two formed The Posies while still in …
Meet your new favorite reggae artist. Singer-songwriter Leilani Wolfgramm has the greatest name in show business. Any name with “wolf” in it is wicked awesome. The Orlando, Florida native with Tongan roots has been busy releasing four singles this summer from her recent album, Rebel. And here they are. East Portland Blog has only four …
A gift, if not “The Gift”— http://dangerousminds.net/comments/entertainment_gang_of_four_live_in_zagreb_1981 At or very near THE PEAK! (of Postpunk, of Rock Music in General, and of Live Musical Performance….) TK</a
London soul songstress Ella Eyre’s rapid rise continues with ‘Comeback’, a thrilling, horn-led smash new tune with a whole heap of attitude. The song is based on a break-up Ella experienced at 17, but is written from the point of view of speaking to a troubled best friend. ‘We’ve all been played, we’ve all been …
“Let’s Hate LA Together” makes fun of the quirks of Los Angeles living — red carpets, selfies, and self-involvement — and tells the story of Sonia Rao moving to LA and navigating this world. The message in the end is that most of us find these things strange, so let’s hate it together and, in …
On a hot steamy Tuesday night, Seattle’s Neptune hosted the legendary Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It’s been more than a decade since the Bosstones played this area, but like a good wine, they’ve aged well and this eight-piece from Boston was in top form. They came on stage all wearing matching read coats and black trousers …
Rising reggae artist Jo Mersa, the son of Stephen “Ragga” Marley and grandson of Bob Marley, unveils his intimate side on the brand new video for “Sunshine,” the first single off his debut EP Comfortable (out now on Ghetto Youths International). So where’s the big funky spliff? This vid shows a Rastaman in exile, enjoying …
Award-winning multiplatinum star ARIANA GRANDE releases her brand new music video for “Break Free” [featuring Zedd]. The video makes its world premiere on VEVO today, paying homage to Jane Fonda’s legendary Barbarella! “Break Free” is the second single from ARIANA’s forthcoming sophomore effort and the year’s most anticipated album, My Everything [Republic Records], available August …
Used to be that I’d find my summer songs on a jukebox (Queen, “Killer Queen,” 1974; Chicago, “Old Days,” 1975) or AM radio (Andrew Gold, “Lonely Boy,” 1977). But now I find them on whatever media happens to be in the car while I’m on vacation. This year the song that has me hitting the …
Thursday night in Seattle the Triple Door hosted LA punkers X for an acoustic show. Interestingly, they were playing under the name X and not their acoustic alter egos, The Knitters. Whatever the name, X never disappoint whether they’re acoustic or hard punking. Exene Cervenka can still do her charming little dances while belting out …
Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj took the below pic while filming the music video for their recently released single “Bang Bang”. The song, a true collaboration between all three artists, was released this past Tuesday and immediately shot to #1 on the iTunes charts in over 25 countries including the US, Canada, Sweden, …
Tori Amos has just revealed the video for “Promise,” a stirring duet with her 13-year old daughter Tash. The track appears on the critically acclaimed Unrepentant Geraldines, Amos’s 14th studio album, and eighth release to debut in Billboard’s Top 10 at #7, reaffirming her iconic status in a 20 plus-year career. The video is an …
Originally featured on the warm weather-themed “Summer Series: California (Vol. 1)” compilation, Anacron’s eau de L.A. single (available via all major digital retailers) represents the truest of summer loves: the tawdry affair between a man and his city. Atypical as ever, Anacron describes a summertime experience that’s not usually recognized by West Coast rap. From …
It’s Friday July 25th. It’s stifling hot and El Corazon has no ventilation. But Arizona’s Andrew Jackson Jihad are playing to a packed crowd and are not to be missed. AJJ is the only band I know of who combine melodic folk songs combined with a harder edged punk drive. To add to this, their …
I heard a stirring version of “For Those Tears I Died” at Sunnyside SDA church today and decided to follow up on it. This morning’s female vocalist, accompanied by a pianist, sang so beautifully I could have been in tears. The tune was enormously popular in Christian circles in the 1970s, so much so that …
Recently I saw one of the very few bands/artists whom I’ve come to love during the past (largely desultory) musical decade, Hartford CT’s The Magik Markers, who played a headlining show at Seattle’s Chop Suey. I first saw their lead singer/noise guitarist/front person, Elisa Ambrogio, in November 2008, entirely by accident, as she was then (very briefly) guesting on guitar …
Weezer has released their first new song since 2010, which they describe as “an ebullient slice of alterna-rock awesomeness.” Gotta love, “…kick in the door, more hardcore, rockin’ out like it’s ’94…” This time out Weezer reunited with the man who helped them record their strongest album-length work, Cars frontman Ric Ocasek. The resulting album, …
It’s Saturday morning and I’m still on a high from Thursday night when I ventured to Seattle’s Showbox to witness the glorious, long-awaited return of the Aquabats. Like the Phenomenauts, they infuse elements of ska, punk rock and corny kids’ science fiction into one fun filled show. Celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band, the …
This year marks the Golden Anniversary of many events and milestones of the Woodstock generation. LBJ’s “War on Poverty,” King’s “Dream Speech” and the Beatles’ Hard Day’s Night to name a few. And anyone tracking the news in any media will be hard pressed to avoid this long look into our cultural rear view mirror. …
A few weeks ago I happened to be in Palm Springs, CA with a couple of spare hours, so I paid Frank Sinatra a visit. For those unfamiliar with his life, he made Palm Springs his permanent home in the 1950s, so far as it was possible for someone whose career required a nomadic life. …
Sad news for those of us who loved/still love “Jazz with a Future”….and the precious few musicians with the courage to reach for it, much less actually ARRIVE there, as Charlie Haden did on so many occasions. P.S. This Fred Kaplan is NOT the academic and Nineties Gore Vidal biographer with whom Gore had a …