There’s a saying among French Catholic schoolboys. “When you blaspheme, it only means you still believe,” this quaint morsel of wisdom goes. That may or may not be true, but it sure sounds about right. Christmas is a little like that contradiction: The harder you pump up the cynicism, the…
Sergio Lombo, suave leader of the 10-piece band Pazport, steps to the mike at Axis/Radius, the pretty-people Scottsdale nightclub where the band plays every Tuesday. The Colombian native, sporting a ponytail, John Lennon shades and a leather jacket, plays percussion and belts out lyrics to the band’s unusual mix of…
I’m into poetry. I wrote a few lines. Don’t worry, I offer just a few. This one details the passing of time: “The past is thirsty, and the present is an athlete with no feet.” Do you like it? How about this one? “In the branch of hell there are…
Who’s goin’ Jesus hunting? ICP’s goin’ Jesus hunting! Yes, the sixth Joker’s Card has finally been revealed, its message delivered after 10 years of buildup. Because most Juggalos snapped up The Wraith on release day (it debuted at number 15 on the Billboard chart), it’s safe to let the cat…
The hiatus is over. The world is safe for trampoline high jinks and glowstick wars. The mighty Phish, once burned out and rudderless, has returned to fill the longstanding jam-band hole its absence created two years ago. And what’s a rejuvenated jam band to do but jam hard over the…
As human beings evolve, we continue to realize our growing potential. The limitless possibilities allow for a sense of excitement as each generation grows from the next. The soul of hip-hop is undergoing the same evolution. The exemplary album of the moment is the Roots’ Phrenology. The group’s stunning soul-hip-hop…
What the hell is it? Does it count as blues? Or country-western? Or perhaps it’s all just a put-on? Whatever it is they’re really doing, you can’t accuse Austin’s Asylum Street Spankers of not possessing an overradiating intelligence. The band mixes folk, torch music, jump blues — basically anything with…
It ain’t easy being a second-generation artist, especially when your father is as colorful, prolific and beloved as Mel Tillis, the longtime country star known for his charming stutter. But Pam Tillis, possessor of exotic beauty and gregarious personality traits of her own, has managed just fine. After years of…
Precisely why Guns N’ Roses’ North American tour came to an abrupt end last week, days before it was scheduled to hit America West Arena, may be a mystery never totally untangled. Sure, there have been hints and rumors: Front man Axl Rose insisted the New York City show two…
Gerardo Montenegro, the Mexico-born owner of Phoenix underground record store Metal Devastation, is getting fed up with promoting his beloved rock en español, so much so that lately he’s found himself concentrating more on metal en ingles. “When I do shows with white bands, I don’t have many problems. Everybody…
Volovan, an up-and-coming four-piece band from rocanrol hotbed Monterrey, Mexico, that blends Beach Boy harmonies, melodic pop and punk, finds itself in controversy here in the States as it attempts to reach a growing audience. At issue is the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s refined application for U.S. work visas, altered…
The old Nita’s Hideaway in Tempe hosts its last show December 15, but lovers of rock’s artistic fringe won’t weep when its doors close for good — and neither will the place’s owner. Mark Covert, 55, surveys the construction site of what will be the new Nita’s, a 14,250-square-foot wooden…
The new TLC record feels less icky to me than the last Who tour, but I’m not sure why. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey explained their quick return to the road in July with a well-paid session guy in John Entwistle’s place as a tribute to the enduring spirit of…
Julie McLarnon’s debut full-length befits her Bridget Storm persona. Ms. Storm’s hushed girlish whisper presides over these elegantly constructed arrangements like a coastal depression. Loping along with understated majesty, her music recalls the hypnotic melancholia of Tindersticks, richly embellished with cellos and violins in broad brushstrokes. McLarnon, a native of…
Why shell out $50 for yet another collection that reveals for listeners the musical cave paintings that eventually became the language of rock ‘n’ roll? Because this one might be the one, that’s why. This anthology digs deeper than most roots-music compilations, stretching beyond the obvious. Not only does the…
Dot Allison is best known as the ex-singer of Scottish trio One Dove, which quickly came and went back in 1993. One Dove’s detached coolness and dub explorations (courtesy of Primal Scream producer Andrew Weatherall) generated enough earth tones to keep it grounded in dance-pop. In fact, One Dove’s sole…
Nelly may be the multiplatinum superstar of the moment from the so-called Dirty South, but the evocative Scarface is the man truly representing the artistry of hip-hop’s bawdy hard-core. The Geto Boys pioneer wowed rap and rock critics alike this year with his album The Fix and the single “On…
Kool Keith is rap’s man of mystery. The near-legendary Brooklyn MC wears personas like jackets, switching from the perverted sex fiend on 1996’s brilliant Dr. Octagon to the section-eight-dwelling cannibal on 1999’s First Come, First Served (released under the moniker Dr. Dooom) to the interplanetary shoplifter on 2000’s Analog Brothers…
Clarence Fountain is the solitary spokesperson for the sightless gospel vocal troupe Blind Boys of Alabama. Interesting, because Fountain is not the world’s most gregarious guy. He speaks softly and with few unnecessary words. Not that he’s unfriendly, mind you, but considering he turned 73 late last month, has been…
After ascending from their adopted city of Nashville on the wings of 1997’s Come On Over, which sold 37 million copies worldwide, Shania Twain and husband/producer/co-writer Jeff “Mutt” Lange rise higher into the global pop stratosphere on the brazenly titled Up!. To reassure old fans, the duo offers comfy continuity,…
This is perhaps a first in hard-rock journalism — interviewer asks interviewee if he could please turn down Mario Lanza’s recording of “Finiculi Finicula” because he can’t hear himself think. Interviewee agrees. “Yeah, that’s a hard song to talk over . . .” says Danny Marianino, a New Jersey transplant…
Don’t tell anyone, but Mike Davenport, bassist and singer for the Ataris, once had a backroom fling with a seductive game system that was not his public devotion of choice. “I was very heavily into Intellivision for a while. They had the better sports games by far,” he says. “Plus,…
