By Al Kaufman When Cody ChesnuTT released The Headphone Masterpiece in 2002, the music world noticed. ChesnuTT was exactly what music should be. His 36-song masterpiece (the title is not an empty boast) easily encompassed R&B and hip-hop with funk, classic rock, gospel, and even a touch of punk. His songs were songs of passion, […]
The Band of Heathens Sunday Morning Record BOH Records By Al Kaufman The name Band of Heathens conjures up images of boys in overalls playing one string basses and banging on wash basins and other assorted metals while downing some blinding moonshine. The actual Band of Heathens have never lived up to their name in […]
By Al Kaufman For most kids, the age of 15 is a time for texting, dating, and making sure they are wearing the right shoes. Fifteen-year-old Decatur, GA native Sydney Rhame is already nine years into her music career. Rhame started writing songs at the age of six. Since that time, she has trained under […]
By Al Kaufman It doesn’t take a sociology degree to know that Brooklyn has its own attitude. Folks from there are headstrong and arrogant, but also have a strong sense of justice, and an even greater sense of pure enjoyment. The guys who make up The So So Glos have that Brooklyn mentality. Brothers Alex (lead vocals, […]
By Al Kaufman It is a human trait to attempt to make order amongst chaos, hence our need to label. A band used to be known as a rock band. That same band today could be Americana, hard rock, thrash, pop, Southern rock, blues . . . the list does not end. Most bands today, […]
Pop. 1280 Imps of Perversion Sacred Bones Records By Al Kaufman Beware those who listen to Pop. 1280. They make the type of music that makes moms everywhere think their kids are on drugs and sacrificing the neighbor’s cat. The Brooklyn noise-punk band, which derived its name from a Jim Thompson pulp fiction novel, gleefully […]
By Al Kaufman Maybe it is the southern cooking. Maybe it’s having to deal with southern men. But hell if the female musicians we get out of Georgia ain’t bad-ass. Think of the fiercely independent and creative Janelle Monae. Or think of that rough and tumble sweetness of southern rock and blues mama Michelle Malone. […]
By Al Kaufman Damn, that Jeanne Jolly can sing. All those metaphors comparing her voice to a songbird, an angel, a summer’s breeze, they just don’t cut it. Jolly’s voice is the first day of spring, after the grey dirty snow has melted and the sun beams down on the crocuses that begin to bloom. […]
Radiation City Animals in the Median Tender Loving Empire By Al Kaufman On their sophomore record, Animals in the Median, Radiation City has done the near impossible. They have made electronic music sound warm and soulful. The five-piece (three boys, two girls) indie band out of Portland, Oregon has created an album full of rhythmic […]
By Al Kaufman “It’s better to burn out then to fade away,” said a wise rock and roller (who has yet to do either after over 40 years). But these words ring even truer in the world of punk rock. Like a red dwarf, these bands burn brightly with passion and fury, then fade out […]
By Al Kaufman It’s been 20 years since Rusted Root formed, and almost as long since “Send Me On My Way” was all over the radio. These days, “Send Me On My Way” is an Enterprise Car commercial, but the band, who have sold over 3 million albums, is still pumping out new material. They […]
The David Mayfield Parade Good Man Down Beautywood Records By Al Kaufman With crystalline vocals reminiscent of a young James Taylor, it would be easy for David Mayfield to write adult contemporary songs and have middle-aged women swoon over him for the rest of his life, but Mayfield isn’t that type of guy. He spent […]
Caveman Caveman Fat Possum By Al Kaufman When the Brooklyn quintet, Caveman, released their debut CD, CoCo Beware, it raised enough of a ruckus in the indie pop world that it was eventually picked up by Fat Possum Records. For their self-titles sophomore release, but first one with actual label backing, they first escaped to […]
Interview by: Al Kaufman Michelle Malone is almost as big an Atlanta institution as The Varsity. Her rocking blues have caused many to kick some dust off their boots. She can get down and raunchy and sweet and spiritual. She’s the kid sister Bonnie Raitt always wanted, or possibly the secret love child of Raitt […]
Review by: Al Kaufman Led by bands such as Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers, folk-rock is enjoying a revival. People keep coming back to the earthiness of the music. The songs are pretty and melodic, with lots of harmonies and enough hooks to stay wedged between your ears for a few days, or at […]
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