Author Archive
04 May 2024
Album Review: The Cyrkle – Revival
Remember the Cyrkle? No? C’mon; think harder. The mid-60’s group scored a pair of Top 40 successes, first with Paul Simon’s pop confection “Red Rubber Ball” and again with “Turn […]
03 May 2024
Roger McGuinn’s Signature Sound
Roger McGuinn is largely responsible for one of the most distinctive sounds in popular music. Though his musical career began in the folk idiom, McGuinn – like countless others in […]
02 May 2024
The Marshall Tucker Band: Together Forever
Combining rock, country and even a bit of jazz, the Marshall Tucker Band earned major success in the 1970s. The group from Spartanburg, South Carolina would score six Gold albums, […]
01 May 2024
30 Days Out, May 2024 #1: Eric Slick, Carpal Tullar, Cypress Hill, Real Estate
What an impressive lineup of touring (and local) acts on the calendar over the next 30 days in Asheville. Even with everything going on in the world, what a great […]
30 Apr 2024
Capsule Reviews for April 2024 #2
There’s a real assortment of great new music that I’d like you know about. So here I present capsule reviews of five new titles in a variety of styles and […]
29 Apr 2024
Preview: Music to Your Ears: R.E.M.’s ‘Reckoning’
R.E.M. debuted with their Chronic Town EP and followed it up with the great Murmur. But it was the band’s second long-player, 1983’s Reckoning that truly broke them nationally. Tracks […]
28 Apr 2024
Reviews: Five New Power Pop (or Power Pop-adjacent) Titles
Emperor Penguin – Gentlemen Thieves The hardest-rocking of these five new releases, Gentlemen Thieves folds in glam and other rock styles to create a memorable set of songs. A strong […]
27 Apr 2024
Take 5: The Pop Side of the Velvet Underground
The late Lou Reed is one of rock music’s most iconic artists. With and beyond the Velvet Underground, his work is revered for its boundary-pushing nature, often bringing taboo subjects […]
26 Apr 2024
Jim Messina: Master of Stage and Studio
It’s the rare individual whose work encompasses multiple and clearly-defined sectors of the music business: very few people can claim deep experience as recording engineer, producer, musician, recording artist, singer-songwriter […]
25 Apr 2024
Trauma’s Tribute to Trax
The life and legacy of trailblazing Bay Area rapper and producer Traxamillion was honored with a gala fundraiser in February. And now one of Trax’s protégés – part of the […]