In this age of universal social networking, it is difficult to find mystery. When you discover a new artist, writer, cook, or fire marshal, you can instantly uncover every facet of their lives. The Atlanta band Del Venicci flies in the opposite direction. Only two of their songs, “Speaking to…
There are as many answers as there are comics for the question of whom America’s best stand-up comedian is. But if you’re asking who the most popular comedian is, Pollstar magazine will tell you the only correct answer is Jeff Dunham. Dunham is a ventriloquist who crafts and designs his…
When New Times spoke with Les Claypool last month, he said the live experience of his Duo de Twang was “more of a hang than a show.” The man does not lie. With the house lights set down low and a campfire with artificial orange embers below faux logs, Les…
With the lineup announced for this year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival held in Indio, CA, one is torn between financial prudence and musical reward. The general admission for the three day festival starts at $375 (before service charges). Many are seeing money as no object, since the first…
Probably because of the movie Deliverance (or maybe old Bugs Bunny cartoons), the banjo is still seen today as the instrument of the slack jawed yokel. A stringed tool that can be mastered by anyone no matter how closely related their parents might be, nor how many jars of moonshine…
Twenty years ago, one of the most common arguments between bong hits was who was the better bassist: Primus’ Les Claypool or the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea. Like many other such debates (such as whether peanut butter tastes better scooped directly out of the jar), this age-old question was…
When Billy Joel plays the BB&T Center on January 7 and 11, odds are pretty good according to his recent set lists that his first encore will start with “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” The 1989 novelty song that will not get out of your head, as it lists historical…
With the holidays over, a lot of people fall into a deep funk thinking there’s nothing on the horizon. Not so. Our music calendar is brimming with excitement as we enter the middle section of our fair decade. So keep your chin up as we enter 2014 for the following…
With 2013 almost in the books, we can sit back and recollect on what a great year it was musically, or we can be greedy and count next year’s chickens before they hatch. We’re choosing the latter. Sure, 2013 had its sweet moments. There were crossover hits that (almost) everyone…
Stick around long enough, and you become what you pretended to be. When ZZ Top formed in 1970, they were a trio of twenty-year-olds trying to capture the blues of their home state of Texas. Thousands of whiskey bottle-emptying, smoky nights later and they’ve filled the role they cast themselves…
Twenty years ago, one of the most common arguments between bong hits was who was the better bassist Primus’s Les Claypool or the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Flea. Like many other such debates (such as whether peanut butter tastes better scooped directly out of the jar), this age old question…
More than just a couple of pretty beards, ZZ Top is the rarest of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted bands. Not only is the trio still gigging with its original lineup — guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard (who with that name had to be…
With another lackluster class announced to enter its not-so-hollowed shrine, it is now fully apparent that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should either change its name or have a class-action lawsuit filed against it for false advertising. On Tuesday, it was announced that Nirvana, Kiss, Linda Ronstadt, Hall…
More than just a couple of pretty beards, ZZ Top are the rarest of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted bands. Not only are they still gigging with their original line-up – guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard (who with that name had to be the…
At the 2002 Academy Awards, Paul McCartney told the Hobbit director Peter Jackson that the Beatles once wanted to make their own version of The Lord of the Rings. Paul would have portrayed the hobbit Frodo, Ringo would have been his faithful companion Sam, George would have played the wise…
There’s the age-old argument: which is better: the oldies of yesteryear or the untz of today? When you stop to think about it, music is always getting better. Not only do we have access to all the classic songs that influence current music but also to the newbies fighting to…
When most scholars study a subject, they write a book about what they learn. For Colombia’s Totó la Momposina, that was not enough. Instead, in 1968, she chose to embody her area of expertise: the folk music of the Mempos Falls in the Atlantic coastal region of Colombia. For more…
Thirty-three chapters of the epic “hip hopera” Trapped in the Closet are evidently not enough. The song that never ends, written and performed by R. Kelly, where he sings every character’s dialogue and action in E major, endures with new chapters coming in 2014, according to IFC. To celebrate, the…
Photo by Ian Witlen Tegan & Sara VH1 and SCOPE’s ART + MUSIC + BEACH Party SCOPE Pavilion, Miami Beach Friday, December 6, 2013 At 8 p.m., the massive oceanfront tent that houses one of the largest auxiliary fairs during Art Basel Miami Beach week, Scope, closed its doors for…
When you can be divisive enough to make both Comedy Central’s list of 100 greatest stand-ups of all time and simultaneously make Maxim magazine’s worst comedians list, you must be doing something right. Paula Poundstone has had a successful stand-up career for over three decades now, which has included four…
Cheech Marin began our telephone conversation with a loud, sustained yawn. At the moment it took me off guard, but as I kept replaying the interview to type up the transcript the yawn became funnier and funnier each time. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Cheech is a man who knows…
Funny how Jimmy Eat World’s most famous song is called “The Middle,” given it was released in 2001, landing almost exactly smack dab in the middle of the Mesa, Arizona band’s 20 year career. At first listen, with its impossibly cheery lyrics, “The Middle” seemed like the work of either…
