The Asylum Street Spankers’ van was in Arizona heading west when I rang Christina Marrs, the band’s saw player (and vocalist, tenor guitarist, banjo and uke player) on her cell. We started off talking about Asylum Street, a thoroughfare in the Spankers’ hometown Austin, Texas. "It’s the street that goes by the asylum," said Christina. […]
Music
Coverage of the music scene in Humboldt County with upcoming shows from locals and out-of-town acts, reviews, interviews and more.
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The Real Dirt on Farmer John
DVD, directed by Taggart Siegel Good Times Video John Peterson was a toddler in the 1950s when his mother bought a movie camera. And while she succeeded in documenting the comings and goings on their beloved Illinois farm, she may not have realized that she was also kicking off a five-decade-long project that culminated in […]
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Funky As Ever
The Greyboy Allstars first came together 15 years ago at the Green Circle Bar in San Diego, a club that’s now gone like a cool breeze. A DJ who calls himself Greyboy spun funk, soul and boogaloo jazz records there. A scene developed and there was a call for live music. With the help of […]
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Magnificent Fiend
CD by Howlin Rain American/Birdman As Howlin Rain prepares for an intense year of touring in support of Magnificent Fiend, one cannot help but cheer the developing story of a small-town boy who has gone out into the world and done good for himself. From his days as an English major to his years with […]
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Jesus Of Cool
CD by Nick Lowe Yep Roc reissue When I first saw Elvis Costello and the Attractions, blasting through a set at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in 1979 during their notorious Armed Forces tour, "Music For Money," the first song off of Nick Lowe’s then-new record, Jesus of Cool, played on the overhead speakers at […]
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Lust, Caution
DVD, directed by Ang Lee Universal Lust, Cautionis Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s second movie with a comma in the title (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). It’s also his second film about two people cautious to engage in what is ultimately destructive love (think Brokeback Mountain). In Lust, Caution Lee combines the acrobatics of the first film […]
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The Irish Connection
Monday is St. Patrick’s Day, which makes this St. Paddy’s weekend — a time when Celtic bands are sure to find work. In oh-so-green Humboldt County that pretty much boils down to two bands: the quartet Good Company, who play Saturday at Muddy’s Hot Cup, and Scatter the Mud, a somewhat wilder band that leads […]
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Greg Brown
In concert March 8, 2008, at the Van Duzer For some people in the crowd last Saturday night at the Van Duzer, the first half hour of the Greg Brown show was fraught with doubt, confusion, even a little disappointment. Who was that masked man up there on stage? He was good, but he sounded […]
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Heretic Pride
CD by The Mountain Goats. 4AD. Singer/songwriter John Darnielle, when touring alone with his acoustic guitar, would often introduce himself with, "Hi, we’re the Mountain Goats." Darnielle is The Mountain Goats, just as much as Mark E. Smith is The Fall. A prolific songwriter, Darnielle has released his 15th recording: Heretic Pride. He has been […]
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Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
Book by Oliver Sacks. Published by Knopf. Music, this weird and wonderful do-re-mi, welling up from the same ineffable place as our most basic expressions of instinct and desire — where does this stuff come from? Neurologist Oliver Sacks (Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat) doesn’t know, but he offers some […]
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Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman
CD by Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra. Forthcoming from Noir Records. History is only as memorable as the current stories we tell about the world. The preference to remember past events in a charitable or patriotic light transforms ideas, events and people who are then filtered through the current discourse to explain their relevance. Marcus Shelby’s […]
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Looking for Nothing
It’s not hard to imagine Iowan folksinger Greg Brown climbing out of a dusty, battered pick-up truck parked down some lonesome road, pulling an equally battered guitar and canvas bag full of fishing tackle from the back and ambling down an overgrown path looking for a hole where they’re biting. That’s the picture he paints […]