The Setlist

While I’m never fully clear what the “music industry” is comprised of, any professional musician will tell you things have changed on the business end of their profession. The “higher up” one is on the professional music ladder, the more pronounced these changes have been. Decades ago, before there were billions of bands, record labels […]

Although Halloween falls on a Monday this year — much to the children’s dismay — it seems everyone will go ahead and consider Friday, Saturday and maybe Sunday Halloween or at least a pre-party. I expect the children will still be honoring this high-fructose holiday on Monday but adults who like costumes have many shows […]

Some of my luckier friends informed me how awesome this recent Desert Trip Festival was down in the hotlands of California. They shared because they know I’m a music fan and this festival had some of my all time favorites (Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Roger Waters) but […]

A couple of weekends ago I got an unexpected call from my old high school friend Akshay, a man of many of talents. A Harvard-trained dental surgeon, he is also one of the more skilled musicians I’ve met. He’s classically trained, and is as comfortable playing jazz piano as he is on rock guitar. I’ll […]

In the event you have been dead for the past year, there is an election coming up next month. We’re the most No. 1 country on the goddamn planet but we need to be made great again (go figure). To make America great again — again — we have to vote. And to get many […]

This past weekend I had the pleasure to see and hear from the Blue Dragon Steel Band while up in Blue Lake. Comprised of students from Blue Lake and Trinidad, the kids not only learn how to play the steel pans in school, but get to gig around town once in a while. Some of […]

While I spend a few hours on Sundays putting together these very insightful, informative and professionally written columns, I take some time to listen to some of the artists who are playing during the upcoming week and familiarize myself with the ones I’m not, well, familiar with. In chatting with a former music writer for […]

Over a quick cup of coffee at Ramone’s recently, I had a chance to sit down and chat music with Humboldt County 4th District Supervisor Virginia Bass. I was curious about her experience with the local music scene and shows she had seen while growing up in Eureka. Although she shyly admitted that she didn’t […]

There’s the old saying “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” There’s also a more recent addition: “Those who can’t teach, teach gym.” Leaving that last one aside, I don’t know if the saying is meant to put down teachers — perhaps specifically those damned liberal university professors — but we, as enlightened individuals, […]

In my brief musical career, I’ve always been a part of the rhythm section, far from “frontman” status. Partly due to my lack of charisma and over-active sweat glands, I’ve never had a problem with this. Occasionally I’ll feign that I’m giving the lead a run for his or her money, but that’s just to […]

In a previous Setlist, I mused on what qualifies a band as local. Now, I won’t wade into those waters again, but on a somewhat related note, I’ve been wondering why it matters where a band is from. Unsure of exactly how much that information matters, I will admit it scratches an itch. The question […]