Author Archive
23 Sep 2023
Update: What’s the Big Idea
I began work on my third music-related book a few months ago. I’ll be delivering the finished manuscript for What’s The Big Idea: Great Concept Albums to my publisher (HoZac […]
22 Sep 2023
Album Review: Delta Wires – If Somebody Told Me…
When blues harpist Ernie Pinata was a student at Oakland’s California College of Arts and Crafts, he assembled a band as a class project. Designed to showcase the development of […]
21 Sep 2023
Album Review: Sax Kari and His Orchestra – Swinging the Blues
With the benefit of hindsight, the live and career of Chicago-born Sax Kari seems worthy of a biographical tome or perhaps even a film. A musician proficient on multiple instruments, […]
20 Sep 2023
Album Review: Cyril Davies & His Rhythm & Blues Allstars – Hullabaloo
The British blues boom that launched the careers of Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor didn’t start with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Though Mayall employed each of those guitarists (and […]
19 Sep 2023
Have You Got it Yet? (Part 2 of 2)
Continued from Part One… A musician himself, Bogawa had long been intrigued by Barrett’s life and legend, and held a special fascination for Barrett’s unconventional approach to songwriting. “I had […]
18 Sep 2023
Have You Got it Yet? (Part 1 of 2)
New Film Dispels Myths About Pink Floyd’s Visionary Founder Syd Barrett Syd Barrett is the stuff of legends. The founder of Pink Floyd, Cambridge-born Barrett was also its front man, […]
17 Sep 2023
Five Top Hits from Joan Jett
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts are a rock institution. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, the group has sold millions of records and landed eight […]
16 Sep 2023
Five Great Joe Satriani Guest Spots
Guitar hero Joe Satriani first achieved wide fame with 1989’s Surfing with the Alien, his second LP. That instrumental record won a Grammy, as did its highlight single, “Always With […]
15 Sep 2023
30 Days Out, September 2023 #2: Damien Jurado, Durand Jones, Henry Rollins, Margaret Glaspy
Asheville has a stellar array of musical artists based here. And I would encourage you to support them as enthusiastically and often as possible; they’re worth it, and their music […]
14 Sep 2023
Album Review: Graham Parker and the Goldtops — Last Chance to Learn the Twist
Across his nearly 50 years as a recording history, Graham Parker has had it both ways: he’s made fiery, passionate, rocking music, and he’s delivered subtle, stripped-down solo/acoustic work. But […]