The good news is: there’s quite a lot in the hopper over here at Musoscribe World Headquarters. The sorta-bad news is that as a result, I don’t have a review to post today. But I would like to take a moment to thank all of my loyal readers – viewership of this blog is waaaaay up of late – and give a quick preview of what’s coming soon:

• John McLaughlin – famed jazz/rock/progressive/fusion guitarist has a new album (Now Here This), as new tour (coming to Asheville’s Orange Peel in June) and – best of all for me – a conversation with me less than two hours from now. Look for a feature/interview very soon.
• Rudi Protrudi – The leader of legendary garage rock revivalists The Fuzztones recently put together an odds-and-sods 2cd collection of rarities called Snake Oil. I recently spoke at length with Rudi about this and all sorts of other things. Feature/interview soon.
• Stick Men – Three giants of progressive rock: bassist/stick man Tony Levin (also of King Crimson and thousands of session dates), Pat Mastelotto (also of Crim, Mr. Mister and countless prog projects) and touch guitarist Markus Reuter have a new album, Deep. I’m talking to all three of ‘em(!) and will have a feature soon.
• Bill Spooner – The guitarist of The Tubes for all of their classic era releases (the beginning through the mid 80s) took time with me to do a track-by-track discussion of two of their 70s LP, Now and Young and Rich). Look for that fascinating discussion here soon.
• Opeth – I saw the Swedish death/prog quintet onstage last week, and my feature/review – including an interview with drummer Martin Axenrot – will be out very soon.
• Howard Kaylan – The witty and engaging Kaylan (also known as “Eddie,” as in Flo and Eddie) came to fame as lead singer of The Turtles, then with Flo/The Phlorescent Leech/Mark Volman, and with Frank Zappa’s Mothers. His new autobiography Shell Shocked is a riveting and hilarious must-read. I’ll be chatting with him about it soon, and that feature will be here soon too.
• Other stuff – There are dozens of CDs, DVDs, records and books on my desk, all in the “yes” pile (you should see the “no” pile). So, lots of reviews to come.
• And even more other stuff – I hope to make a big announcement soon.

Again, thanks for reading, and please tell your friends if you like what you find here.

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With all the news coming out of Boston, it doesn’t seem like the time to post something as frivolous as an album review or somesuch. So instead here’s a YouTube clip of The Standells with their classic ode to that city. Regular blogging will resume shortly.

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It’s rare that I don’t post a full blog entry on a business day, but at the moment I have a number of big projects bubbling under, and those are monopolizing my time a bit. I hope to announce some details shortly. In the meantime, I’ll (hopefully) whet your appetite for returning here by listing some of what you can look forward to in the coming days and weeks:

Features/interviews with…

• Mike Nesmith
• Bobby Rush
• The Orange Peels’ Allen Clapp
• The Tubes‘ former lead guitarist, Bill Spooner
• The Fuzztones’ Rudi Protrudi

Show coverage…

• The Allah-Las
• The Black Angels
• 50 Shades! The Musical

Book coverage…

• Boys Don’t Lie: A History of Shoes
• The Ghosts of A Whiter Shade of Pale

Album reviews of music from…

• Duane Allman
• Albert King
• Freddie King
• Spock’s Beard
• E.Normus Trio
• Grateful Dead

…and so, so, so much more. Stay tuned, and thanks – as always – for reading.

Late night last night seeing The Machine in concert. Review of the show to come soon(ish). In the meantime I might humbly direct your attention toward an interview/feature I did on the band — a fine Pink Floyd Tribute band — several years ago.

Here’s that feature, from way back in my pre-blog days. The main site (musoscribe.com) has plenty of other older pieces (reviews, essays, features., interviews) you might enjoy as well.

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I’ve been running this blog for just shy of three and a half years now, posting new content just about every business day (I’ve missed a few, and when life intrudes, I occasionally reach back in to the archives and repost something old, but I haven’t done that very often at all). One tradition I have observed, however, is taking Thanksgiving Day off. Not as goofy as Halloween, and thankfully (ha) free of the religious baggage with which so many other holidays are laden, I really like this fourth Thursday in November.

Regular posting will resume tomorrow, but in the meantime, here’s a quick summary of some recent Musoscribe interviews you might have missed:

• My four-part interview with John Murphy of powerpop band Shoes
• My conversation with Nick Lowe
• My talk with Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson
• My post-concert conversation with Mark Benson of “1964: The Tribute”
• A two-part interview with Alvin Lee, formerly of Ten Years After
• A conversation with under-appreciated surf/psych guitarist Merrell Fankhauser
• 20 Questions with Van Dyke Parks

Note that all seven of these are from within the last 90 days. There are literally dozens more of my interviews here and here. And many more are on the way.

I am thankful for my readers. Happy Thanksgiving.

Between day-job commitments, (happy) personal matters, and blog-related travel, these are busy days at Musoscribe World Headquarters. My goal is to deliver fresh, new content – usually 500-1000 words – every business day. And for more than three years going, I’ve kept to that goal nearly every day. Every rare so-often, however, I just don’t quite get a piece done in time for my self-imposed deadline schedule. Today’s one of those days. So instead I’ll take a moment to give a preview of upcoming content. Because, you see, I never, ever seem to run out of material.

Upcoming reviews of reissue/archival release include titles from Mitch Ryder, Toots Thielemans, Nektar, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Vince Guaraldi, The Outlaws, Brewer & Shipley, Sanford & Townsend, Clover, Jackie Gleason, Graham Parker & the Rumour, Grateful Dead, The Residents, Cannonball Adderley, Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk, Dion, The Bill Evans Trio, Jerry Lee Lewis, Thin Lizzy, John Coltrane, Tangerine Dream, The Jackson 5 and much, much more.

I’ll be covering new music from Renaissance, Phil Manzanera, Bill Nelson, Brian Lisik, The Coal Porters, The JAC, plus much more.

Upcoming interviews include The Tubes’ Bill Spooner, The Durocs, Shoes, and Jeremy Spencer. And oh-so-much more, including more post-show coverage of the recent Americana Music Association Conference and Festival.

So stay tuned. And thanks — as always — for reading.

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Here in my adopted hometown of Asheville, NC, there’s something of a modern-day annual tradition. Every year ’round this time, the local Fireman’s Association does a fundraiser. Now, this being the South, they have to use the word “association.” Because if they called themselves what they really are, they would probably find themselves unable to raise funds. You see, even though the proceeds go toward a fund to aid brave men and women injured in the line of duty – y’know, protecting us – and whatnot, that wouldn’t matter to a lot of people who have an irrational antipathy toward unions.

Anyway, and back on topic, the fundraiser is usually based around the selling of tickets to a concert featuring some manner of nostalgic act. And as it happens, in the last twelve years – I haven’t gone every year – there have been some mightily impressive performers. Gary Lewis, for one, put on a show exponentially better than anyone would have a right to expect. Felix Cavaliere‘s current lineup of Rascals gave a high energy, memorable show that had people alternately cheering and crying. And The Association were pretty swell, too.

Right up there with those high-profile acts, however, is an act whose name may or may not ring a bell for you: 1964: The Tribute. As you can readily guess, they’re a quartet that recreates the early Beatles repertoire (roughly up to A Hard Day’s Night actually up to Revolver), and they do it in style. The sonic presentation is, well, uncannily accurate. Take it from me: I saw Beatlemania in the 70s when Marshall Crenshaw was in the cast. Anyway, 1964: The Tribute are really good. Their current tour brings them to Knoxville TN on Friday, August 10, at the The Tennessee Theatre. If you’re within driving distance, go see ‘em. And if not, check their schedule for another date near you. And either way, check back on the Musoscribe blog soon for an interview with the band.

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Lots else going on at Musoscribe World Headquarters today; this is (or would have been) my first business day without a new blog post in, well, years. So here’s just a quick rundown of what’s in the hopper:

• An interview with Gordon Anderson, head of reissue/archival label Real Gone Music
• An interview with Bill Spooner, founding guitarist with the legendary Tubes
• Archival/reissue releases from Pink Floyd, Bill Evans, Little Willie John, and Merrell Fankhauser
• New music from The dB’s, Branden Daniel and the Chics, OFF!, Penelope Houston and many more.
• And other stuff I’m working on but can’t announce just yet…oh, okay, if you insist: interviews with Jorma Kaukonen, Ian Anderson (my second with him), Don Preston and Napoleon Murphy Brock of the Grandmothers of Invention, and Van Dyke Parks (my second with him as well).
• And so, so, so much more.

 Stay tuned. And thanks – as always – for reading. To paraphrase The Tubes, “I’m here because you’re there.”

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In a rare public appearance, on February 21, 2012 I gave a talk to a sold-out crowd (no, they were not all there specifically to see me, but briefly maintaining that polite fiction did help me to do well) based on some of my favorite quotes from my archive of interviews. Let’s roll the tape…

More details on the event can be found here.

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Remember The Del Fuegos? Highly regarded back in the day, they were. I’m glad to see/hear they’re back with new music. The new EP is called Silver Star, and I’m pleased to offer one of the tracks from it. Do check it out (link no longer valid). More info soon, perhaps.