The postpostpostposthardcore scene has seen a number of bands with names cribbed from famous books. We’ve had an Across Five Aprils, and the Devil Wears Prada is still going. Now there’s Of Mice & Men, a Southern California quintet whose sound sometimes veers into George’s smarts but more often into…
Last week, Richard Vergez unexpectedly found himself dozens of feet in the air balancing on a narrow ledge. Underneath, car after car roared by on Federal Highway as he carefully wielded a paint roller. That was no big deal, though, compared to many other Herculean acts performed within a 48-hour…
The increasingly distant connection between food — the stuff that grows, walks, flies, and/or swims — and “food” — the semi-edible material that pops out of a box, can, or drive-thru window, is the source of much contemporary hand-wringing. But how did food become “food”? The question is political, anthropological,…
Over the past two decades, Fishbone has changed markedly. Past members now outnumber current ones, and a few considered part of the classic lineup have quit, rejoined, and then faded away again. However, the important stuff about Fishbone has remained through thick and thin. The band still freely mixes metal,…
Spend enough time around South Broward and northern Miami-Dade and with a little luck, you’ll eventually have your own Yngwie Malmsteen sighting. And he’s quite a sight indeed — the Swedish-born, Miami-based shredder usually appears in full metal glory, rocking a sort of gravity-defying mane of long curls and tight…
Nothing about Between the Buried and Me is predictable, starting with the band’s appearance. Although the guys look like laid-back surfer dudes, the band’s sound is a fierce combination of nearly every kind of metal in existence. But where other bands attempting an “experimental” tack wind up with a disjointed…
Anthrax, the thrash-metal legends led by iconically bearded guitarist Scott Ian, has never fallen off. While other heavy-music peers with as much longevity have taken time to get weird or experimental, this act has always stuck to searing, soaring, anti-gravity riffs and melodies with a charging punk fury. Anthrax has…
Butch Walker’s multiple musical lives have developed as the only-in-Hollywood variety since he first headed west from his native Georgia in the late ’80s. His early musical projects included straight-up Sunset Strip-style acts with creatively spelled names like Byte the Bullet. Following that came the power-guitar-rock act Marvelous 3, which…
Wednesday’s show at Revolution is a rare coup for area metalheads, with an intimate club performance by two of the top legends of thrash metal: Anthrax and Testament. The former, led by the always-goateed and outspoken guitarist Scott Ian, has remained steadily in the public eye over the past four…
The average Talent Farm showgoer was in elementary school during the first, early-’00s heyday of the Savannah, Georgia, act Circle Takes the Square. The band’s influence on the posthardcore, DIY scene can still be felt several generations removed. Thus, hopefully, if there is any musical justice, this show will draw…
Born and raised in Compton, 24-year-old rising rapper Kendrick Lamar unsurprisingly counts Tupac and Dr. Dre among his musical idols. But rather than just aping the gangster posturing without any of the depth, Lamar has put his own fresh spin on West Coast hip-hop. Some have tagged him as “conscious…
Livid Records’ roots in the South Florida punk and rock scenes run deep. Label head Chuck Livid wrote zines and played in area bands from his early teens. So when he started his label out of Palm Beach County five years ago, he brought a similarly DIY approach to his…
With a birth date some 30 years ago and no breaks, the Toasters can definitely stake a claim as the longest-running American ska band, full stop. British expat Rob “Bucket” Hingley started the band in New York during the same period as the English two-tone ska revival in the late…
Since Dream Theater began more than two-and-a-half decades ago, the New York group has done more than possibly any other act to push the development of progressive metal. In a genre that requires flawless technical execution, frontman John Petrucci and company stand head and shoulders above a crowded field of…
Alright, so last year, it was fair if you waffled about forking over the cost of a cabin on the inaugural Bruise Cruise Festival, the world’s first garage-ish rock cruise. After all, it was the first-ever attempt at putting that kind of craziness at sea — but, if you followed…
After returning to South Florida about four years ago from a less-than-stellar stint in New York City, the guys of Cop City/Chill Pillars (and Love Handles, and Universal Expansion) have now turned into saviors of the South Florida d.i.y. scene. Of course, a large chunk of their renewed stint at…
The average Talent Farm show-goer was in elementary school during the first, early ’00s heyday of the Savannah, Georgia act Circle Takes the Square. The band’s influence on the post-hardcore, d.i.y. scene was such, though, that some of its reverberations can still be felt several generations removed. Thus hopefully this…
Oklahoma-born, Nashville-based country troubadour Toby Keith has risen to megastardom in the heartland — and beyond! — by carefully toeing all of country music’s party lines. Whereas recent stars of the genre have often fashioned themselves either as sensitive, adult-contemporary balladeers or pretty-boy rock types, Keith remains stoically cowboy-like and…
Awesome New Republic, more commonly known these days as ANR, needs pretty much zero introduction to area music fans. It’s been plying its brand of funky, spaced-out pop for nearly a decade here, and it’s finally starting to gain velocity outside of South Florida. After last year scoring slavering compliments…
West Palm Beach-based promoting outfit On Fire Booking specializes in all-ages extravaganzas featuring the latest loud, fast, and heavy acts. Originally, its shows featured mostly young, local bands, but recent booking coups have included well-known national headliners like Polar Bear Club and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. This Thursday’s…
Swedish power-poppers the Sounds have been saddled with Blondie comparisons since the beginning, an obvious but accurate tag. Like that legendary New York new wave act, the Sounds are fronted by an unforgettable, high-cheekboned blond beauty with a fierce stage presence and sharp style. But musically, the comparison isn’t too…
Propaganda’s early no-heavy-music policy has clearly long ago been rescinded, because Saturday’s show brings the loudest and most extreme to date at the venue. Headlining a rare South Florida show is Virginia Beach act Arsis, a decade-and-running act devoted to true death metal and pretty much nothing else, save for…
