Victor Gonzalez

Raphael Celebrates Mi Gran Noche at the Fillmore Miami Beach

The international music scene has undergone countless transformations over the past five decades. And to keep up with record label trends, artists have been forced to adapt (even compromise their integrity) to simply stay afloat. But for Spanish singer Raphael, defying the corporate suits has worke ... More >>

Gunshots Fired Near Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull's South Florida Video Shoot

A day at the beach is supposed to be relaxing. But shortly after Entertainment Tonight's Rob Marciano sat down with Jennifer Lopez on the Fort Lauderdale Beach video shoot set for "Live It Up," J-Lo's latest collaboration with Pitbull, gunfire cast a dark cloud over production. "BREAKING: Guns ... More >>

Digitalism and "A New Drug" at Bardot Miami

Long before Apple ventured into the world of Intel processors and redefined industry standards with the MacBook Pro, DJs carried crates full of store-bought vinyl records to their gigs and remixed tracks on bulky, direct-drive turntables. But whenever science and software evolve, electronic dance mu ... More >>

Pepe Billete on Cinco de Mayo and Immigration: "Pobre Mexicanos, Se La Clavan Sin Vaselina"

"Retired marimbero" and Miami New Times columnist Pepe Billete doesn't know many specifics about the Battle of Puebla, Mexico's victorious May 5 mêlée against France during the Franco-Mexican War in 1862. However, that isn't stopping the frisky felt puppet from hosting tremenda fiesta to commemor ... More >>

Suicidal Tendencies on Miami Vice? "This Is Real!" Watch Video of Crockett, Tubbs, Punks

Between 1984 and 1989, Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, as "Sonny" and "Rico," respectively, were the coolest motherfuckers on television, eliminating highly dramatized drug crime 'round South Beach in pimp Armani blazers over pastel t-shirts on NBC's Miami Vice every Friday night. And just li ... More >>

Ultra Ravers Boost Miami Tourism, Pack Hotels Through March at $238.12 Per Night

South Floridians owe beat freaks and frat boys a drink. Fueled almost entirely by Red Bull, Molly, and (presumably) a little bit of cocaine, sunburned college students from the Midwest, foreign ravers, and Ultra Music Festival organizers rallied to resurrect South Florida's economy in March. See a ... More >>

Pitbull Drops Rap Response to Jay-Z, Beyonce's Cuba Visit, Offers to Pay for Trip

Senator Marco Rubio suggested that Jay-Z and Beyoncé have "no interest in Cuban People's freedom." And U.S. Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart said that the pair's recent visit "funds the machinery of oppression." Pero, their constituent, Miami native, and Cuban-American ra ... More >>

50 WTF Quotes From Ultra 2013

"What the fuck does unicorn taste like?" Stardust. Rainbows. Maybe black-market horse meat from Miami's C-9 basin. There's really no way to know, though. Because this fabulous one-horned equine creature doesn't actually exist. Except when you're raving, raging, and tripping out at Ultra Music Fest ... More >>

Ultra 2013: 11 Best Nipple Pasties

Bras, ugh. They're so constrictive! It's no surprise that women often unclasp around the house, opting to let their ladies breathe and bounce freely, just the way evolutionary science intended. But in public, breasts are typically confined to two cups, held up by a couple of straps and an elastic ... More >>

Ultra 2013: Top Ten (Almost) Naked Raver Girls

A check of the weather: Sunshine and a ten-percent chance of rain. Which means we're rocking nothing but underpants and furry boots for weekend two of Ultra Music Festival, just like the "Top Ten (Almost) Naked Raver Bros" we met last week. But girls just want to have fun too. And the ladies of UM ... More >>

Ultra 2013: Ten Best Inflatable Animals, Blow-Up Dolls, and Other Party Props

Ultra Music Festival is a zoo. From land sharks to killer whales, pink flamingos to African zebras, UMF 2013 is starting to feel a lot like a World Wildlife Foundation fundraiser, complete with endangered species and cuddly critters. Sure, they're inflatable. But try explaining that to someone rol ... More >>

Ultra 2013: Ten Best Butts

The status quo, namely the prudish American population's stance on public nudity, has never favored the exhibitionist. At Ultra Music Festival, however, the status quo is tossed out the beat-freaking window, along with its attendees' sense of shame. And while it may seem that the men were wearin ... More >>

Ultra 2013: Top Six WTF Moments from Weekend One

It began Friday afternoon, just as the happy-hour crowd realized that something was different about its typical Metrorail commute. En route to downtown Miami, kandi kids in furry boots, nipple pasties, and CamelBak packs had overtaken the train. Ultra Music Festival was officially underway, but t ... More >>

Sweat Records' Sweatstock 2013 Lineup, Raising Money via Indiegogo

Record Store Day 2013 Ambassador Jack White said it best: "We need to re-educate ourselves about human interaction and the difference between downloading a track on a computer and talking to other people in person and getting turned onto music that you can hold in your hands and share with others." ... More >>

LIV Miami Makes $45-$60 Million in 2012, Fourth Highest Grossing Nightclub in U.S.

Weak economy? Yeah, right! Despite staggering unemployment rates and a sinking middle class, the top 100 American bars, lounges, and nightclubs generated an estimated $1.5 billion in revenue last year, according Nightclub and Bar Media Group's "Nightclub & Bar Top 100." And while Las Vegas b ... More >>

The Deftones Celebrating 25 Years of Alt Metal, Coming to Fillmore Miami Beach

Don't call it a comeback. Because the Deftones never left. And avoid using the term "rap metal." Because this band detests musical subgenres. Instead, celebrate the fact that this crew is still tearing the tits off music venues, like the Fillmore Miami Beach, with the same Adrenaline levels as 25 ... More >>

Shakey Graves: "What I'm Trying to Do Is About Storytelling; It's About the Human Struggle"

"There is a reason I have a stage name," Alejandro Rose-Garcia (AKA Shakey Graves) admits. "There is something to be said about performing outside of yourself. I feel that when a lot of people get onstage, they become a bigger version of themselves. It's the classic becoming the band." But Shakey ... More >>

Beatport Sells Out: SFX Entertainment Buys Music Website for Undisclosed Sum

If a picture's worth a thousand words, an electronic-dance-music site has to be in the neighborhood of $50 million, right? According to the New York Times, SFX Entertainment, which owns a stake in the Opium Group (Mansion, Set, Cameo) and is in the midst of negotiating a deal with Miami Management ... More >>

Shakey Graves on the Thrill of Writing a Great Song: "Holy Shit, I Made This?"

There's something inherently blue collar about working on cars. Grease stains. The inescapable smell of motor oil on calloused hands. Engine grit collecting under already dirty fingernails. The cigarette breaks. Similarly, there's something inherently blue collar about Alejandro Rose-Garcia, the ... More >>

Akon Sued for Stage Diving Injury, Six Worst Stage Diving Incidents Caught on Video

Stage diving. It's all fun and games until someone's seriously injured, which is exactly what Matthew Graham says happened to him when Akon unleashed his inner Iggy Pop and dove off the stage at the BayFest music festival in Alabama, TMZ reports. According to a new lawsuit, the crippling stage d ... More >>

Gunplay Cleared of Armed Robbery and Aggravated Assault, Prosecutors Can't Locate Victim

Chalk it under a simple misunderstanding with a side of armed robbery and aggravated assault; Maybach Music Group's Gunplay will not be spending the rest of his days locked up behind bars for robbing his former accountant at gunpoint, TMZ reports, despite video surveillance that captured the entire ... More >>

Pitbull To Lil Wayne: Stop Eating "Pinga," Drops "Harlem Shake" Freestyle

Con los terroristas Cubanitos... Get it straight, when it comes to Miami-Dade County, Pitbull will "ride for [his] motherfuckin' clique, die for [his] motherfuckin' clique," and "bust heads with [his] motherfuckin' clique." And if you "talk shit, watch [his] shit go click." He's not kidding. It's ... More >>

Travis Porter and Rizinstar Tour Cancel Miami Stop

UPDATE The Rizinstar Tour with Travis Porter, Kirko Bangz, Ca$h Out, and others has nixed its show at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami. The venue and Ticketmaster have both confirmed the cancelation. Refunds are available at the point of purchase. God bless Atlanta, dammit. In terms o ... More >>

Hard Miami Announces Pool Party Lineup: Felix Da Housecat, Baauer, 13 Others

Y'all ready to get your HARD on? It's beginning to look a lot like springtime. And as such, electro bangers will soon drown out every other noise Miami generates in a 24-hour period -- construction, traffic, chusmeria -- as part of the March tradition known as Winter Music Conference and Miami Mu ... More >>

Ricardo Arjona Returns to Miami With Metamorfosis World Tour March 9

Skeptical until about 46 minutes ago, we just learned there is, in fact, a God. And while it took her several years to answer the one prayer that we'd been repeating every night for the past 1,460 days, Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona is finally returning to Miami. The veteran crooner ... More >>

Matchbox Twenty Announces Three-Night Cruise Aboard the "S.S. Matchbox"

Some say "happiness is a mat that sits on her doorway." But in reality, happiness is a three-night cruise with Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas at the helm. For the first time ever, the 2004 People's Choice Awards selection for Favorite Musical Group is hitting the high seas aboard the Carnival Imagina ... More >>

Every Time I Die and Acacia Strain Coming to Grand Central Miami on February 26

It's the worst feeling in the world; you've washed the blood off your hands and packed the corpse in the trunk when, all of a sudden, you and your accomplices find a heavily bandaged wheelchair-bound man on the side of the road. Exposed only by a small hole in the gauze, you put your ear up to his ... More >>

Murs's Road to Paid Dues Tour Coming to The Stage Miami on February 15

While Internet-era culture boosters promote the idea that anyone can write, record, and produce quality music, Tucson-based rapper Murs does not. A veteran hip-hop hustler who broke onto the underground scene as a solo artist when he released F'Real in 1997, Murs encourages artists to think twice ... More >>

Valentine's in Miami: Lisa Lisa, Information Society and Other 80s Freestyle Legends

It's February, and that means Cupid's arrow may soon pierce your little heart and cripple your vulnerable soul with love. Or maybe it's something that feels like love, but actually turns out to be a costly gaffe. Whatever. At the end of the day, we're all just a little "Lost in Emotion" and really ... More >>

Chris Brown Feels Victimized: "A Day in My Shoes Is a Day in Hell"

Poor Chris Brown. After beating his gorgeous girlfriend in 2009, going ape-shit on the set of Good Morning America in 2011, brawling with Drake's posse at a New York City nightclub in the summer of 2012, insensitively dressing up like a terrorist for Halloween last year, and probably calling Frank ... More >>

Feliz Valentine: José Feliciano Coming to Miami on February 14

We're suckers. For years, retailers have made fortunes off love-stricken individuals who feel obligated to spend copious amounts of money on stuffed bears mass-produced overseas, heart-shaped boxes of crap-quality chocolate covered cherries, sappy holiday cards, and dinner for two at underwhelming ... More >>

Miami's Top Albums, EPs, and Singles of 2012

Miami's Best Albums, EPs, Singles of 2012

Heavy bass, ear-shredding distortion, booty beats, syrupy synths, and prime rhymes. Even though the 305 is a sunny city, it's definitely got a weird, dark, and dirty side. So while this year's top local releases were often sexed-up and fun-obsessed, they were also experimental, X-rated, drugged-ou ... More >>

New Times' Five Best RNC 2012 Videos: High-Fives, Welsh Cake, and the H-Word

All last week, New Times' own Jacob Katel and Victor Gonzalez dove headfirst into the $75 million dollar lake of fire that was the Republican National Convention in Tampa, all so they could ask the tough questions the rest of the media wouldn't. Should Jesus be on the dollar bill? What the F is a We ... More >>

RNC 2012: What Were They Thinking? Our Best Thought-Bubbles On Photos

Have you ever wondered what's going on inside the heads of Republican delegates at the GOP's National Convention? We have. If it's true that the eyes are the windows into one's soul, there was a lot of twisted shit going in Tampa during the RNC. Quite frankly, we'd like to forget about most it, bu ... More >>

Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann Hugging All Up On Each Other While Talking About Cake (Video)

Yesterday, New Times' correspondent Victor Gonzalez caught up with none other than former GOP presidential hopefuls (and, hence, rivals) Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann. The primary battle apparently didn't come between their friendship, because the two caressed each others' Republican backs with ... More >>

RNC 2012: The Seven Craziest GOP Souvenirs at the Republican National Convention

Check out our slide shows: "Inside the Republican National Convention 2012 at Tampa Bay Times Forum," and "Republican National Convention 2012 Tampa Day Two." Tampa's rich with GOP swag this week as thousands of Republicans gather to show off their favorite Mitt Romney mementos and Paul Ryan tchot ... More >>

Tercer Cielo at James L. Knight Center July 28

Jon Bon Jovi and the Kings of Suburbia at Hard Rock Live July 26

Billboard Latin Music Awards 2011: A Quick Recap Full of Stargazing, LOLZ, and Mr. 305

Victor GonzalezInside the Latin Billboards​Broadcast live across the globe to 70 countries, the Billboard Latin Music Awards were billed as música Latina's biggest night. Show hosts promised we'd see more stars at the annual gala than we would in the sky. But then again, Miami isn't known as a st ... More >>

Steve Aoki at Ultra Music Festival 2011 Day Three, March 27

Photo by Ian WitlenSteve Aoki celebrates by sitting on his gear.​Steve Aoki Ultra Music Festival's Live Stage Bicentennial Park March 27, 2011 Better Than: A Benihana chef's onion volcano. If you're a sucker for hibachi like I am, then you probably already knew that Steve Aoki comes from Jap ... More >>

Crystal Castles at Ultra Music Festival 2011 Day Three, March 27

Victor Gonzalez​Crystal Castles Ultra Music Festival's Live Stage  March 27, 2011 Better Than: David Guetta at Ultra's Main Stage.  Alice Glass is so adorable. She's so damn cute and Canadian I just want to pour maple syrup all over her skinny indie frame and eat her up like a mounta ... More >>

Art Basel's best bands and DJs

Last Night: Juliette Lewis and Joe Perry Rocked Miami Dolphins Tailgate

Photo by Victor GonzalezJuliette LewisSpecial Guest Joe PerrySun Life Stadium, Miami Dolphins TailgateThursday, November 18, 2010Better Than: The DolphinsLast night, the Miami Dolphins lost--the Bears shut them out, actually. And believe it or not, Crossfade was at the game. However, nothing about t ... More >>

ArtOfficial and The Bright Light Social Hour iPhone Video Highlights

Victor Gonzalez's iPhone​​Where were you last night? Did you hang around Cafeina for the acoustic Taylor Guitar showcase, or get your Christian on at the Urban Inspired Gospel Showcase inside the Hyatt Ballroom? Whatever the case, there were a bunch of options last night, and Miami Music Festiva ... More >>

Kohl's Cools Our MacBook Pro, Part 2: The Review

AlexMuse via Flickr​A typical week at Miami New Times involves long hours of intense typing and photo cropping, web browsing, and transcribing. Needless to say, our three-year-old MacBook Pro undergoes a series of vigorous tests each week, and is often on the verge of internally combusting.As repo ... More >>

3D Holograms of Will.I.Am and DJ Irie: Hello, Future

Photo by Victor Gonzalez3D hologram of DJ Irie.​Imagine Celia Cruz or Bob Marley's ghost appearing on stage, right in front of you, and performing in all their holographic glory, real as if they were still alive.Sound far-fetched? Media Stage, a South Florida audio, visual, and lighting production ... More >>

Last Night: The Dewars and The Band in Heaven Rock the Vagabond

Photo by Victor GonzalezThe Dewars​The Dewars & The Band in Heaven Friday, September 10, 2010 The Vagabond, Miami The Review: There were quite a few people that made an hour-plus trip from Palm Beach to the Vagabond last night in support of two of their own local bands -- a beautiful display ... More >>

Will the Real Joe Flanigan Please Stand Up?

Photo by Victor GonzalezJoe Turino in his Flanigan's costume​Last week we met Joe Turino, a contestant vying for the final spot of the second annual Joe Flanigan look-alike contest. His mission was simple: to be crowned the best Joe Flanigan look-alike in Hialeah and represent his favorite restaur ... More >>

Joe Flanigan Look-Alike Contest

Photo by Victor GonzalezJoe Turino working on his Joe Flanigan costume.​Every year, the city of London, Kentucky pays tribute to the king of processed chicken, Colonel Sanders, in September with a look-alike contest. In Key West, tourists celebrate Hemingway Days, where look-alikes compete in Key ... More >>