This may be old news to some of yous, but I didn’t know punk rock’s god-mom, Patti Smith, had an affinity for local forefathers of twee and history-rock, the Decemberists. The Music Slut blog was letting fans of either artist download Smith’s cover version (a b-side from her latest album, Twelve), but that file has [...]

Beverly Hills…The Troubadour is a dope, small venue in LA with lots of history. The doorman at the venue saw Mike Tyson drive by during our sound check. Iron Mike asked him what time the show starts…uh oh!
This LA show was a big deal for us, because our luck in LA has always been [...]

I doubt too many readers noticed (not to be self-deprecating), but Band Name of the Week took the week off last week so that our previous BNotW title-winner, Wah Wah Exit Wound, could have time to respond while on tour. And respond they did. Here’s was vocalist/guitarist Jared Nelson had to say:
Sorry about not getting [...]

“People still talk about our blacked-out [drunk] shows,” says Drunken Boat drummer David Wuttke of the band’s early days. At the foursome’s Northeast Portland home, he explains that fans will say, “That show was awesome!” and he’ll reply, “Are you kidding me? I puked on my snare drum.”
But now—three years after Wuttke and vocalist-guitarist Harrison [...]

I initially found the lineup for this year’s Sasquatch! music festival a tad underwhelming. Headliners like Björk and the Beastie Boys made it feel kinda like a time warp back to the music fests of my high-school years, and several of the bands I was really excited about (from Spoon to Two Gallants) were playing [...]

[ALT-COUNTRY] Even in this sequel-happy world, true stories don’t often get a second chance at a happy ending. And singer-songwriter Gerald Collier’s hard-luck story is a tale as old as the music business itself: Boy meets band; boy and band make beautiful music; boy and band get signed; record label folds and band gets dropped; [...]

[DRUGGY FOLK] Most people know Chris Funk as a Decemberist. (He’s the one who runs around onstage with giant fake whale jaws.) But his NoPo neighbors know him as a jovial fellow who enjoys lazy-day porch-sittin’ and string-pickin’. And it was just such recreational activities that led to a new Funk-led project, Flash Hawk Parlor [...]

[PROG-GRUNGE] Everything that’s right about Postulate II, LKN’s fifth full-length, is embodied in one, singular track: “On the Ride.” It begins in an explosion and ends in daisies. In a compositional feat, it smoothly encompasses the two sides of Lauren K. Newman (who plays every instrument on LKN recordings).
“On the Ride” ignites in a thick [...]

Somebody sent me a link to some New York Noise videos on YouTube (thank you, person!), and it’s all I’ve been watching for the last 24 hours. New York Noise is a NYC TV show (like cable access, but way better) that, from the looks of things, mostly just travels to music festivals and annoys [...]