This next letter is about the hallowed, now defunct Miami rock venue, Washington Square. “I used to live in Miami around 93/94, and I use to go see shows at the Square. I had the live disc, I was wondering if there is a way to get my hands on…
I’ve gotten a few messages recently from people trying to track down musicians, friends, etc from the South Florida music scene. Hence, a new public service of this blog … If you’re looking for a person, copies of an old rare local album, whatever, send me all the info and…
Did you hear what recently happened at the G-8 in Germany? Anarchists from around the world tried to overthrow the fascist global police summit with a punk rock revolution! Black masked protesters wearing Crimethinc and Leftover Crack T-shirts threw grapefruit-size stones and bottles at police and torched overturned cars. But…
Developing a strong identity as a band is a challenge. Often, groups try so hard to be unique that they all end up sounding the same, or they don´t have the experience to trust their gut and just be. Throw race and nationality into that mix and things get even…
There is no better way to dismissively sum up a rock band than by labeling it ¨emo.¨ This has worked almost universally for the past six or seven years, with few exceptions. The problem arises when a few exceptions occur, as music aficionados and pop culture in general must scramble…
Twenty-year-old British soul phenom Joss Stone sings with a quiet but powerful strength that epitomizes what the French meant when they came up with the word chanteuse. With three hit records under her belt, it´s hard to believe how much she´s accomplished in such a relatively brief career. None of…
Less than a decade ago, it seemed that Broward County was known for its emo-pop heroes. John Ralston was getting started, Recess Theory was making waves, and New Found Glory and Dashboard Confessional were breaking out and becoming darlings of MTV. Anybody who paid enough attention could credit South Florida…
Although a member of Buena Vista Social Club (in 2001, at the tender age of 26, he replaced Rubén Gonzalez) right up until the group´s final recordings, Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca is not at all interested in having his music viewed as nostalgia. Though certainly respectful of the various traditions…
Listen to the track “Anti Love Song” by Betty Davis here. Music history is packed with people on the periphery of fame, amazingly talented, and/or ahead of their time that never quite ¨make it,¨ defined by achieving stardom and riches. Eccentric model and singer Betty Davis, a former Mrs. Miles…
The average unsuspecting gringo has no idea: Across Latin America, Los Tigres del Norte are huge. Regularly selling out stadiums of more than 80,000 seats, registering global sales of over 32 million records — yeah, that kind of huge. Playing continuously for close to 40 years now, the five-piece band…
It´s a sad era for Broward County hip-hop once again. As of two weeks ago, the county´s only consistent hip-hop night, the Breaks, was forced to shut down and won´t start again any time soon. Hosted every week at Roxanne´s on Main by MCs/promoters Alex Cruz and Jasper Delaini, the…
The title of this superb anthology of furious rare grooves from Florida speaks for itself. There are tons of righteous soul, hard-kickin´ drum breaks, James Brown-influenced grooves, and a whole lot of unheard funky goodness. For those new to the funk, according to the scrupulously detailed liner notes, funk music…
With the release of its latest album, Mirrored, Battles has proven unequivocally that it´s possible for noise-rock to have a heartbeat. And what a heartbeat it has. Driven by the percussive attack of ex-Helmet drummer John Stanier (whose mile-high cymbal setup is on must-see-it-to-believe-it status), Battles´ music careens around head-snapping…
In 1960, Jerry Butler left the Impressions. He probably figured he was making the best move. After all, the group he led had been unable to duplicate the massive success it had in 1958 with the Butler-sung ¨For Your Precious Love.¨ Although Butler´s departure inadvertently did wonders for the Impressions…
So you never heard of Suénalo, huh? That´s all right. Amin DeJesus, the band´s MC, acknowledges you latecomers and welcomes you to the party. On the intro of their self-titled CD, DeJesus exclaims, ¨For those who just tuned in… the name of the band is Suénalo. Say what you like;…
Famed DJ, producer, and remixer Armand Van Helden has three of the best jobs he could ever want. He´s an internationally respected electronic DJ — something he´s worked at for the past 15 years — and also a stellar producer of house and progressive trance music, which are the two…
Yes another rapper is dead… shot down well before his prime. It’s a story that hip-hop seemed like it was almost ready to outgrow. There hasn’t been a marquis rap homicide since rapper Proof of D-12 died in a hail of bullets in a gritty Detroit afterhours club last year…
I’m not sure what’s more filthy, Pisspot the handpuppet or Blowfly, the Miami-based dirty rapper. You’d think Pisspot would win, but in this video, Blowfly steals the show. –Jonathan Cunningham…
“Electric Porkchop is a fluctuating DJ collective that plays everything under the sun in varying configurations. I cover mostly dub, breaks, house and techno, and other members mix in hip hop, funk, soul, acapellas, mashups and more. This mix is something of a “disc 2” sampler, highlighting some of the…
Some came dressed in barely-there dresses, armed with look-at-me attitude. Some came in hip-hop gear designed to demonstrate street cred. Everyone came with their business face on. Russell Simmons was about to be in the house, and the vibe at Books & Books was electric. At 7:00 p.m., Simmons was…
On Friday night, Club Nocturnal in Miami, celebrated its two year anniversary with an exclusive MySpace.com party hosted by Dub Magazine’s poster girl, Vida Guerra. The lovely Miss Guerra must have been the cause of many sticky magazine pages throughout her career because the club was flooded with men who…
Oh the joy of Disco. Over the weekend, myself and Arielle Castillo stumbled in to Dolphin Staudium, literally, half-cocked on wine and tequila and caught one of the most hilarious disco shows that you could imagine. Picture the scene: standing next to second base right after a Florida Marlins game…
