Music

Fort Lauderdale isn’t like the rest of South Florida. It’s not Miami, whose robust art scene and dynamic, multicultural music communities are rivaled only by its flashy vanity and cocaine cliches. It’s not Palm Beach, where quaint, young, suburban families sprawl out from a core of Old Florida wealth all…

As he drives through the Southwest during our phone call, Dick Dale is not pleased with my first question. “Have you done any research at all on me?” he says. Of course I know all about the king of surf guitar, whose fast scales captured the Zeitgeist of the beach…

For musicians by musicians: This is essentially the motto of a humble Broward warehouse that is on the cusp of potentially becoming the next local spot for live music. The warehouse (4530 N Dixie Hwy., Oakland Park) was formed a few months ago out of the need for a more…

Last month, we celebrated the tentative return of South Florida’s beloved neighborhood watering hole and live music gem, Alligator Alley. “This is a spot for the people and artists,” bar owner and local musician Carl Pacillo (otherwise known by his Kilmo Doome moniker) told us during our catch-up. “Hopefully, I…

As old-school as it may sound, radios are still key to discovering new music. While blogs and streaming services soak up most of the spotlight nowadays, radio, though not the giant it once was, remains relevant. Especially when it comes to local music, radio exceeds where websites like Spotify cannot…

When we last left Que Lastima, the band was melting speakers with its debut album, Fever Dreams, inciting riots at music venues across South Florida. The album cracked like a whip, making it tough to guess how they might move forward without retreading former glories. But anyone who’s followed Que Lastima’s…

Some of the best bands have gone through tumultuous times, and during those times, the best music is created. Of course, there could be a total implosion, wherein the perceived notion of “beautiful chaos” takes hold. But despite years of rumored conflict and infighting, Sacramento’s Deftones have not only continued…

Liam Tobin, who plays Gerry Goffin in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, remembers his mom playing Tapestry at home. As a kid, he wasn’t really aware of who Carole King was, but he knew the music like a familiar feeling. Most of us can distinguish her voice, strong and pure over a…

The story goes like this: During the 1980 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan’s team decided that the former California governor needed to court the youth vote. The song “Born in the USA” was popular at the time, so naturally they figured that the connection with Bruce Springsteen and a song that…

“I grew up in West Texas. It was like what you see in Friday Night Lights. The only two bands that came into town were ZZ Top and Pantera, and in a funny way, I think The Sword are somewhere in-between.” That’s the Sword’s laid-back guitarist Kyle Shutt tells, speaking by…

Like any true Fort Lauderdale basic, I have a deep, almost holy appreciation for a good Friday night happy hour. Days are hot, weeks long, and the thirst so real in this wonderful city — which is why when I find a well lit, trendily decorated astroturf patio wherein I…

On February 1, 2016, Jon Bunch, former lead singer of Pompano Beach emo band Further Seems Forever, was found dead in Irvine, California at the age of 45. After months of waiting, the cause of death has been ruled a suicide. Bunch first found fame as the frontman of Southern…

Brian Silla, the self-effacing singer of the Front Bottoms, doesn’t like to describe himself as a singer/songwriter. Songwriter, yes — he’s always working on verse — but it’s his qualities as a singer that have him poking fun at himself. Fans of his New Jersey-bred four piece (of which there…