Having managed the Brooklyn-based La France Promotions for ten years, Micheline Conde has the credentials (and the connections) to book one hell of a show. And this Saturday, she’s bringing the party to downtown West Palm Beach, for the Palm Beach Music Festival. Now a PBC resident, Conde knows what…
I was freezing my ass off, standing in front of the stage at the overly air-conditioned Hard Rock Live. But it was OK: The Dictators version of “California Sun” was blaring over the P.A. while a line of Halloween-costumed go-go dancers shook and shimmied their stuff before a giant, carnival-styled…
So the Bang! Music Festival features Gnarls Barkley on the bill. That raises the obvious question: What’ll their get-up be? The character-assuming psych-funk duo of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse can’t show up as, you know, Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse; they’ll have some manner of alter ego in place, whether it’s…
When West Palm Beach’s Dumb Struck formed 11 months ago, the idea, according to vocalist Corey “Fox” Logan, was to be an Iron and Wine-style acoustic act. At the time, the only other band member was guitarist Chip Sengelaub. But things changed. The lineup grew, as did the songwriting. Now…
Puttin’ the Breaks On It was like the Bronx circa 1982. A pair of graffiti artists were busy doing up a wall outside the nightclub. Meanwhile, a couple of b-boys were inside trading moves on the dance floor. A DJ held it down with beats older than half the audience…
Pharoahe Monch
Despite all the chatter about the death of Clematis Street, there’s still one nail that refuses to help close the coffin — the annual party known as Moonfest. And ironically, it’s the most morbid of them all. For more than a decade, Moonfest has been one Halloweenish party that’s not…
When the Dwarves signed to Sub Pop Records for 1989’s Blood Guts & Pussy, the Chicago-born/California-bred group burst on the West Coast underground like a runaway orgy. Equal parts garage, grunge, and gore, the Dwarves quickly proved that Blood Guts & Pussy was more than an album title — it…
Say Anything isn’t just the name of the vaguely punkish indie-rock band from Los Angeles; it’s also the band’s credo. Anyone who heard Say Anything’s …Is a Real Boy is familiar with vocalist Max Bemis’ impassioned rants against pop culture. But when Alternative Press magazine ran a missive by Make…
The first thing I saw when I entered the Culture Room was a giant banner that read “Resist the Green Scare.” In the corner to my left, a small drum circle formed. Soon, a belly dancer joined in, as did a few more drummers. Several information booths were set up,…
A lot of older punk-rock types tend to look down at Warped Tour bands, whining about how they’re “not real punk,” as if 1977’s going to repeat itself three decades later. But one band that does seem to please the geezers is Rise Against, whose thoughtful political punk is a…
A mere ten seconds into the opening track, “Geneva Code,” the Strays’ debut sounds like it’ll be an album’s worth of Arctic Monkeys/Bloc Party rip-offs. Then the vocals start, and Nirvana gets thrown into the mix. And while the second track, “Block Alarm,” invites the obvious Bloc Party reference, it’s…
On October 30, 1968, MC5 vocalist Rob Tyner shouted, “Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!” to the crowd at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom and rock ‘n’ roll was rescued from the low-energy vibe of the hippie generation. On September 30, 2006, Eighteen Visions vocalist James Hart screamed, “You wanna get fuckin’ rowdy?”…
The metal guitar riff ain’t what it used to be, and the bands on the Solid State Youngbloods II Tour are here to remind you of that fact. Oh, there’s plenty of low end and thrashy, palm-muted power chords to go around. But the sheer number of key changes and…
Big Bill Morganfield has the right lineage. His dad is, after all, the late, great Muddy Waters. Of course, being the son of a legend can be as much of a burden as a benefit — living in constant comparison, always being referred to as junior (see: Sean Lennon, Ziggy…
Falling on the person next to you is one way to get up close and personal at a roller rink, but it’s not recommended. At Saturday’s reggae-flavored “Up Close and Personal,” you don’t need wheels to get in on the action. Hosted by Hot 105’s Lady English and LynksFM.com’s Sir…
When it comes to choosing album names, Seattle’s Kultur Shock doesn’t have the best timing. Its first studio full-length dropped in September 2001. The name? FUCC the I.N.S. Brilliant — especially when the band’s composed mostly of immigrants. Similarly, now that Middle America’s got its panties in a bunch over…
Four weeks ago, New Times ran my cover story “G Marks the Spot.” The article was about the G, formerly Gumwrappers, a Fort Lauderdale strip club turned rock venue I thought deserved some attention. I knew there was a club in central Palm Beach County called Mr. G’s that could…
Have you heard the new John Mayer album, Continuum? Oh, so you’re not into “adult-contemporary” stuff, you say. Perhaps you’re still nauseated from Mayer’s 2001 hit, “Your Body is a Wonderland.” The thing is, that’s the old John Mayer, before he became a born-again bluesman. Mayer hasn’t totally abandoned his…
After beating up on the ’60s generation for its “Never trust anyone over 30” mantra, punk rock itself has entered its third decade as bands like the Vibrators celebrate their 30th b-days. So can we trust them? Well, yeah — much more so than the major-label-sucking pop-punk bands of today…
They looked like rock ‘n’ roll Vikings, what with their long red beards and even longer hair. Either that or an Appalachian motorcycle gang. But who spells Thor with two r’s? Apparently, Valient Thorr does. And it was the first clue I found that the rough-rolling rockers weren’t of Nordic…
For a band that spends so much of its time on-stage — playing at least twice a week, sometimes twice a night — the Spoon Benders aren’t what you’d call a studio band. So it’s only fitting that the funky rock trio is recording its next album far outside studio…
