The California Honeydrops’ lead vocalist and major multi-instrumentalist, Lech Wierzynski, was born in Warsaw, Poland, and drew his appreciation of American music from listening to Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong. Like the other current members of the band — drummer Ben Malament, sax and clarinet player Johnny Bones,…
Back in July, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. changed their quirky name to the simplified JR JR, it must have seemed like a curious move for both admirers and music critics. But as with anything the Detroit pair do, there was careful thought and consideration in the move. In a…
The last time we spoke to Corey Harris, things didn’t exactly get off to a promising start. The interview, scheduled for an unrealistic 8 a.m. his time, only got so far as his answering machine. We could have guessed that’d be the result. After all, musicians are not especially known…
As with an electric Jimi Hendrix lead or a crooned Frank Sinatra bar, as soon as a melody from the Growlers begins, fans know it’s them. With a playful, full-bodied bass up-front and acidic vocals over top, the California-based indie-rock band has honed a distinct and infectious sound. Sporting a…
The local rap scene in South Florida is not complete without a visual collaboration to go along with that fire mixtape your favorite rapper just dropped. It takes a skilled videographer to capture the vibe of a song and work with an artist to create a clip that tells a…
When it comes to Halloween, your party plans are just as — if even more — important that your costume. And if you and your clan have already gathered your light sabers and chosen your Star Wars characters, but have yet to decide where you’re going to spend the fright-fest…
“In the Aztec tradition, there is a special day when the world of the living and the dead have a gateway to party, sing, and dance together,” explains Jim Hammond of the November 2 holiday known as Day of the Dead. As executive producer of the Florida Day of the…
Albert Castiglia works the room like a prodigal son at his first family reunion. The air of familiarity and fandom is unmistakable. Several people in the crowd are wearing Castiglia t-shirts. Others remark about how many of his shows they’ve seen, several insisting they’ve followed him up and down the…
In a just world, we would hear Gang of Four’s “Damaged Goods” on American classic-rock radio as often as the Clash’s “London Calling.” Both songs take cues from varying aspects of the British day-to-day (a Morrison’s supermarket slogan and BBC Radio’s wartime broadcasts, respectively), and each puts enough post in…
By the time Mark Knopfler gets to Fort Lauderdale Halloween night, he will be very well rehearsed. His show at the Au-Rene Theater will be the 86th of his current tour and the last North American date in support of his eighth solo LP, Tracker. But the 66-year-old former Dire…
Any story about New Brunswick, New Jersey ska-punk heroes Streetlight Manifesto is really two stories. One is a story about music, a decade’s-worth of intelligent, clever, and genuinely fun albums that kept the flame going for third-wave ska (a flame vocalist/bandleader Tomas Kolnaky helped ignite in the late ’90s with…
When Brooklyn’s Pro Era poster child Joey Bada$$ talks about energy, he’s not just trying to get the crowd hyped. At 20, he might be young, but the rapper who’s known for his technical flow and old-school flavor is also pretty damn spiritual. When he’s not taking reporters crystal shopping…
Perfect Vodka Amphitheater was jam-packed with flannel, cowboy boots, and camouflage as attendees eagerly awaited Jason Aldean’s presence on Saturday. Parking had been redirected into an angry slew of stop-and-go to other parking lots after the main lot filled early on. Sure, there was a carnival and fright night-esque event…
Have you recovered yet? Because I’m not sure I have. I’m pretty sure I’m still attempting to claw myself out from under the toppling mountain of Drake memes that poured down on us this week in an endtimes-style deluge, except that I sort of just wanted it to keep raining…
Greetings, fellow penny-pinchers! It’s time for your weekly rundown of all the super cool, yet refreshingly cheap stuff you should do this weekend. Read on for details on this year’s Zombie Prom at O’Malley’s, a free surf rock show at Dada, and more! The world is your oyster, friends. Groovin’…
A bit after 8 p.m., what sounded like an automated female voice said over the Hard Rock Live loudspeaker, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage the best fucking rock band you’ve ever seen — Cheap Trick.” That might be a bit of hyperbole, but last night, the aging Midwestern…
Boyfriend isn’t a boy, she’s not your friend, and no, she won’t tell you her given name. What she is: a foul-mouthed, mile-a-minute rhyme-spitter; a bawdy, brassy performance artist; a moonlighting schoolteacher; and a feminist provocateur. It all adds up to a singular style she’s dubbed “rap cabaret.” We caught…
Because the internet. #AubreyWanKenobi Drake’s uncanny ability to tap into the universal life source and repeatedly break the internet made us wonder whether he might be Illuminati, but now we realize he’s been using the Force all along. #TennisBling Tennis and Wii Sports… Drake is channeling two suburban bro pastimes…
Thank you, Taylor Swift, for not destroying the world. What? You don’t think she could if she wanted to? Oh, really? Did you know that T-Swift has more followers across social media than the population of Germany? And do you remember what Germany was able to do back in the…
“Corey was the first musician to unify the Miami, Homestead, and Fort Lauderdale church musicians with the Boynton, West Palm, even all the way up to Fort Pierce players,” says Carlton Williams, a piano player and good friend of Corey Jones, the 31-year-old church drummer who was shot and killed…
Part of JR JR’s novelty lies in the fact that its name bears no indication of what its sound might be. With a glittering new album out this past September, JR JR (formerly Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.) brings its brand of eye-opening, bouncy music back to the fore. But what…
Besides the comfort and personal satisfaction that comes with keeping a band together for four decades, there are some less obvious benefits too: like not having to rehearse. After so many years on the road, Cheap Trick simply show up to a town, create a setlist, and at soundcheck, play…
