Music

Thursday’s Ill Bill hip hop show at Mazzotti’s on the Plaza was a complete "brodeo." What is a brodeo? A brodeo is an event where men bro down, or bro out. Basically, the audience was almost entirely composed of dudes (which I don’t really consider to be a great representation of humankind). At one point, […]

Underground instrumentalist Phil Spirito has journeyed from one obscure band to another. His membership with rex brought him together with Chicago-based band, Red Red Meat, many of whose members — including leader Tim Rutilli, Ben Massarella and Brian Deck — would later form Califone. The mixture of these two bands would result in an interesting […]

"Prolific" suggests "fruitful" or "productive." Former Guided By Voices bandleader Robert Pollard is beyond prolific. The 51-year-old songwriter from Dayton, Ohio, has been busy. Aside from the 16 full-length records released by his band GBV, Pollard has released 20 solo records under his own name, and he has released 25 additional records of "side projects." […]

Tom Stoppard is sometimes unfairly regarded as a playwright where ideas trump character, but in fact he has a rare ability to create characters who express themselves through the ideas they espouse. From his first success, Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, to his recent three-play epic of 19th century politics, The Coast of Utopia, he’s […]

From their early stages as Giant Sand and Friends of Dean Martinez, Calexico was a band that strove to hone their own sound — a mix of Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti Western soundtrack music, mariachi horns, experimental treatment flourishes and subtle percussion — while providing backup to various artists such as Michael Hurley, Victoria Williams, Richard […]

The concept of “home” has been a recurring theme in song, literature and art. It conjures up the literal, physical structure, the metaphorical and one’s history. Resident singer/songwriter Lila Nelson uses the various forms of “home,” telling an eclectic assortment of stories in song, for her excellent new record, Letter Home. Nelson displays her gift […]

When I first heard the album Trashed in high school, there was something so familiar, so honest, so inspired about Lagwagon’s music that they instantly became my favorite band. It’s surprising to say, but almost 15 years (and five albums) later, they still are. As the title suggests, their newest (half) album, I Think My […]

The merger of Scott McCaughey from Minus 5 and Steve Wynn, former leader of the LA-based ’80s band the Dream Syndicate, makes for a perfect doubleheader. Together, the songwriters have culled baseball folklore, stories and forgotten personalities to inspire a new album that, to borrow baseball verbiage, goes the distance. With the contributions of REM/Minus […]