“We’re gonna make sure shit gets broke at Abilene,” promises country singer/songwriter/all-around rambunctious hillbilly cat, Chuck Mead. And though he and his band, the Grassy Knoll Boys, will undoubtedly tear up the joint, Mead is a respectful artist who speaks with an excited reserve when talking about his latest platter, “Back at the Quonset Hut.” […]
Q&A
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Nikki Hill
All hyperbole aside, St. Louis-based soul shouter Nikki Hill is one of the best roots-rock singers I have ever seen. And I’ve seen quite a few. And I’m not just talking about the stars of now, but of all time. I rate her up there with Wanda Jackson, Barbara Pittman, Etta James, and Ruth Brown. […]
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MUSIC INTERVIEW: Mulu Lizi
Usually when discussing a concept album or a band with an ongoing narrative, you figure that theatrics aren’t far behind. Mulu Lizi is a Rochester quartet that has aliens and zombies wandering in and out of its post-but-not-that-post-90’s sound. The band’s brooding music doesn’t necessarily lend itself sonically to the walking dead and the extraterrestrial, […]
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Rock-n-Roll Social Club
It was a lopsided split when local band Boneyard disbanded last year. Cloud-busting singer JJ Lang went one way, while guitarist Mick Ditko, bassist Doug MacDonald, and drummer Brian Donnelly went another. Lang went on to form The JJ Lang Band and keep with his former band’s heavy, Southern gothic grind and wail. The other […]
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MUSIC INTERVIEW: Love and Death
In its mid- to late 90’s prime, Bakersfield, California’s Korn helped forge the nu-metal genre by not only incorporating its heaviest and loudest aspects but also going outside — way outside — to untapped sources like hip-hop and electronic music. The band became huge and earned Grammy Awards in the process. At the very heart […]
