interview Archive
19 Oct 2018
Victory Boyd: From Subway to Festival Stage
Victory Boyd was “discovered” busking Stevie Wonder songs on the streets and in the subway stations of New York City, and that discovery led to a recording contract not only […]
18 Oct 2018
Fantastic Negrito: We Can Turn It Around (Part 4 / conclusion)
Continued from Part Three… And even though Fantastic Negrito is now a high-profile Grammy-winning performer and recording artist, he still feels and maintains a close connection to that neighborhood. “The […]
17 Oct 2018
Fantastic Negrito: We Can Turn It Around (Part 3)
Continued from Part Two… The production on The Last Days of Oakland is “boxy,” and Xavier says that that quality is a deliberate aesthetic choice. “I wanted it to feel […]
16 Oct 2018
Fantastic Negrito: We Can Turn It Around (Part 2)
Continued from Part One… A 2014 EP titled Fantastic Negrito debuted Xavier’s new approach. Ostensibly blues, the five-song EP draws from a wider array of influences. Released to enthusiastic critical […]
15 Oct 2018
Fantastic Negrito: We Can Turn It Around (Part 1)
(An edited version of this feature appeared in print in Living Blues Magazine.) All photos © Audrey Hermon Kopp Fantastic Negrito is a a lot of things. On the surface, […]
12 Oct 2018
Diali Cissokho’s Story Songs
When Diali Cissokho moved to North Carolina in 2010, he knew hardly anyone. The Senegalese musician didn’t speak English, and had no one with whom to play music. But with […]
10 Oct 2018
Come Back Alice’s Simultaneous Attraction
Led by husband and wife Tony Tyler (guitar, vocals) and Dani Jaye (violin, vocals), St. Petersburg, Florida-based Come Back Alice plays high-energy rock ‘n’ roll that evokes the best of […]
09 Oct 2018
Mikaela Davis: Harping on a Pop Sensibility
The harp is an instrument most often associated with classical music; as a rule, its use in pop is generally limited to background orchestration in big productions. But clearly nobody […]
08 Oct 2018
A Chat with Amythyst Kiah
Raised in Bristol, Tennessee, a town sometimes described as the birthplace of country, Amythyst Kiah grew up immersed in music. Kiah released an album, Dig, in 2013, and the EP […]
05 Oct 2018
Jake Shimabukuro, Plugged and Unplugged
Hawaiian ukulele sensation Jake Shimabukuro catapulted to international fame in 2006 when a Youtube video of him performing the George Harrison-penned Beatles tune “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” went viral. […]