It goes without saying – but we’ll say it anyway – the best guitarists are those that have a distinctive sound. From Chet Atkins and Scotty Moore to Jimi Hendrix and Joe Satriani. There’s Link Wray to Brian May and Keith Richards to BB King. The musicians that claim a…
Are you a desperate musician looking for a gig for your obscure band? Look no further than downtown Hollywood, where proposed city laws are likely to send restaurant and bar owners scurrying to fill live-music slots.Mayor Peter Bober has decided that he wants to make downtown a music destination. “If…
Since you (better) dig Thee Oh Sees and Goner Records crew, you’re gonna poo yourselves over the Gun Hoes. The Hollywood duo makes fun, straight-up garage psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll. They just put out a new song, “Melt Machines,” and we keep playing it over and over, and for some…
Suffice it to say, Willie Nelson may well be the most prodigious musician working today, no small accomplishment for a guy turning turning 79. Born April 30, 1933, Willie continues to issue multiple albums in the space of a single year, generally for multiple labels (his accountant must go crazy!),…
When you’re the founder and guitarist of a band like Kiss, and your brand is literally stamped with makeup on your face, what other peaks are left to conquer? That’s the dilemma faced by Paul Daniel – A.K.A. “Ace” Frehley. Frehley, who was born April 27, 1951, adopted the persona…
Listening to French electro (or French-inspired electro, or French-electro-inspired electro) can produce within the brain very pretty visuals: images of neon, good-looking dancers, outer space. It can all be rather Miami. Which is why it makes sense that the indelicately named SLDGHMR is based in Miami and makes dance songs…
Born April 24, 1942, Barbra Streisand may be the ultimate diva. Like Cher, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Celine Dion, she’s become a modern cultural icon, although arguably she can claim more accomplishments than all of her competitors combined. Who else can claim two Academy Awards, eight Grammys, five Emmys,…
James Newell Osterberg Junior, better-known to the world simply as Iggy Pop, is and will always be one of rock’s most indelible icons, a man who literally put himself on the edge and defied his fans to get the better of him. Iggy, who was born April 21, 1947, could…
The hits were immediately accessible and radio-ready at that. The voice that sang them was a mournful croon, operatic in timbre and flush full of desperation and desire. Even the trademark shades couldn’t mask the sadness spurred from inside. Even so, Roy Orbison (born April 23, 1936) was one of rock…
Polynesian culture is an easy fit for Fort Lauderdale. It’s a city long associated with leisure that came into its own around the same time as the newfound middle class found fascination in the late ’50s and early ’60s with tiki idols, puffer fish, and the natives of the Pacific…
Editor’s note: If you grew up in South Florida, you’ve lived a delightfully half-baked existence. You’ve definitely smoked the stickiest crippy and the worst Jamaican schwag. County Grind got all stoned and thought, why not ask these toasty South Florida musicians to give us a taste of their favorite pot-inspired…
As the son of reggae superstar Bob Marley, Stephen Marley had a lot to live up to. Of course, that’s no different from the challenge faced by any offspring of a musical legend, but given the impact Bob Marley made not only on reggae but on the whole of popular…
It’s a rare feat in music, especially with rock acts, when the bass player outshines the lead singer in recognition and popularity. Be it the stylized wardrobes, the Peter Hook-influenced bass playing, or the Crispin Gloveresque conflicting personality, Carlos Dengler embodied everything that was cool about Interpol and the postpunk…
After nearly an hour of conversing with Dick Dale, he apologizes for getting into storytelling mode. The time spent on the phone with the “King of the Surf Guitar” made me feel like I was 5 years old and listening at the feet of that wise, old, clean-living grandfather I…
One of rock’s more tragic tales has to do with the story of Alexander Lee “Skip” Spence, a talented, innovative songwriter and guitarist whose first flush of brilliance was waylaid by emotional upheaval. Born in Canada on April 18, 1946, Spence played a critical role in the evolution of San…
“We really didn’t know how to do it. It was kind of figuring things out,” Violens’ Jorge Elbrecht says of playing in bands in the late ’90s South Florida music scene. It revolved around Cheers, he remembers. “There was nothing else to do; everyone just went to these shows. It…
Within Hard Rock’s Disneyesque alleys, littered with pricey food and secondhand-smoke-filled slot rooms, the holy temple of comedy this week is over at the Improv Comedy Club, where friends and co-conspirators Joe Rogan and Duncan Trussell are making people laugh all weekend. Both have extensive stage experience, both are wicked…
OK — quick question. What do Barack Obama and Tina Turner have in common? Maybe a lot of things, but most important, both have quoted that soulful crooner Al Green — Turner in her incredible comeback hit, a redo of his standard “Let’s Stay Together,” and the prez in a…
Simply stated, Herbie Hancock is unique. An artist whose stellar reputation extends to both popular and serious realms, he’s one of the most proficient jazz musicians of all time and yet also widely heralded in contemporary circles. That’s no small achievement, given the fact that few other names come to mind when considering…
Several radio stations in West Palm Beach are about to get a new owner. CBS Corporation announced today that it has signed an agreement to sell its five radio stations in West Palm Beach for a total of $50 million to local broadcaster Palm Beach Broadcasting. The deal comes in the…
Merle Haggard, also known simply as “Hag” was born April 6, 1937. In the seven decades since, he’s become an American institution. While the songs he wrote and helped popularize have become etched into the firmament of modern country music, it’s his brash attitude and uncompromising stance that’s set him…
During its brief, few months’ run, the short-lived Lush Haus party at Propaganda cemented a sort of miniscene. Its resident performers, Sumsun, the Get, and Secret Hideout, tapped into a certain cosmic, New Age-y Zeitgeist in electronic music that was gaining steam on the internet but hadn’t quite reached real-life…
