When the late Monterey Club opened, the relationship between it and adjoining Kreepy Tiki Tattoos was definitely symbiotic. If you were at a show early enough, you could wander into the shop — the connecting door was usually open — and check out the rotating art shows there or make…

No matter what group of able players is backing him, Izzy Zaidman — known just as Izzy on swingin’ circuits — is a one-man powerhouse of retro guitar fun. As the longtime axman for Wayne “The Train” Hancock, he perfected a rollicking style of guitar-picking that sounded like it was…

Mega-huge names like Skrillex might get a lot of the mainstream dubstep shine, but right on their tails is buddy 12th Planet. And without him, there might be no American dubstep scene as we currently know it. As cofounder of the early L.A. dubstep weekly Pure Filth and the label…

To call Tool the “thinking person’s metal band,” to use that oft-cited quote, is, frankly, insulting to the rest of the sprawling world of metal, a vast genre with cave-like nooks and crannies. Still, there has always been something obviously cerebral about the group, which has managed to enjoy both…

Somewhere between country, folk, blues, punk, and even metal exists Texas bad boy Scott H. Biram. A cult figure for years, perhaps Biram may start benefiting from mainstream America’s revived interest in Americana via far less salty acts like Mumford and Sons. Where rock radio’s new rootsy bands are still…

As the almost-antebellum-sounding name of this duo suggests, there is something more than a little vintage about the Civil Wars’ sound. Legend has it members Joy Williams and John Paul White met at a Nashville studio session, and they’ve taken that city’s Americana roots to heart. Rather than go for…

Chuck Loose is one of our favorite icons of the South Florida punk scene. The guy basically helped create it, through his early promoting and booking efforts, through playing with acts like the Crumbs. Back then and in recent years, he’s also proven a supertalented illustrator and designer to boot,…

The contemporary world of metal is a funny place. It’s a vast, deep musical genre in which some of the most creative expression is currently happening. At the same time, especially in its more obscure ends, it’s one still strongly tied to traditions, rules, and even specific costumes. Mess with…

South Florida’s next big breakout act, Blonds, is a funny example of how a little mistake in the internet age can translate to acclaim, label interest, and opportunities very, very quickly. Of course, a cute girl singer with a distinctive voice — backed by some pretty sweet songwriting — helps…

Over the past couple weeks, South Florida benefited from the music-cruise scene when top acts from the annual Jam Cruise and inaugural Weezer Cruise played land-locked kickoff and post-ship shows. It’s been an unexpected positive of the booming themed cruise explosion, which has attracted entirely new audiences to cruising and…

People who pretend to be too cool for Tool are usually shut up by the band’s choice of tour openers. Maynard Keenan and company — or at least their shrewd booking agents — usually dig below the mainstream, opening up fans to entirely new areas of the heavy-music spectrum. As…

Miami fusion collective Palo! spells its band name just like that — exclamation mark and all. But just like the completely musically unrelated Mayday! — also from Miami, about whom we posted a little earlier — that extra punctuation is well-deserved. The group calls itself an Afro-Cuban-funk act, and it…

Miami act Modernage’s rise to local prominence echoed that of the South Florida indie scene itself. When the group first formed in the early aughts, its sound reflected one that was very of its time: heavily Anglophilic, influenced by rock from across the pond from the previous two decades. As the area’s…

The music world is a wondrous one, where a dreadlocked girl named Alison in a slightly crusty Vero Beach pop-punk band can morph into a beautiful, indie, fashion-plate chanteuse named V.V. Such is the case with the Kills’ “V.V.,” born Alison Mosshart, the former frontwoman of ’90s Florida act Discount…

Anthony Green stood out immediately in sound and sensibility, first as the frontman of Saosin and later of Circa Survive. His two bands rose from a certain mid-’00s post-hardcore scene that welcomed Green but in which he was essentially still a misfit. With an unabashed love for proggy, experimental musical…

In 2012, melanin levels are no longer much of a factor in overground rap credibility. See, for example, the success of Yelawolf, on the one hand, plying a trunk-rattling Southern sound and, on the other, the lighthearted “frat rap” of Mac Miller. Now entering the mainstream fray is Machine Gun…

Somewhere between country, folk, blues, punk, and even metal exists Texas bad boy Scott H. Biram. A cult figure for years, perhaps Biram may start benefiting from mainstream America’s revived interest in Americana via far less salty acts like Mumford and Sons and the like. Where rock radio’s new rootsy…

As the frontman of Saosin and then Circa Survive, Anthony Green stood out immediately in sound and sensibility. His two bands came up from a certain mid-’00s post-hardcore scene that welcomed Green but in which he was essentially still a misfit. With an unabashed love for proggy, experimental musical tinkering…