George Clinton’s musical career began almost 40 years ago when he literally stepped out of the barbershop with his doo-wop outfit, The Parliaments, and scored big with the 1967 hit “I Wanna Testify.” Not bad for a teen from Jersey. However, not until the P-Funk mothership rocketed from his brain…
South Florida, if you boil it down, is chock full of enough surrealist bizarr-o-ness that its inherent charms prove a bit much for outsiders. The kids raised in this subtropical environment are subjected to steady if at times disharmonious doses of hip-hop, disco, punk, metal, and jazz. It’s difficult to…
In recent years fans of hardcore have suffered from too many frilly pseudo acts lauding their supposed “skills and technique.” But don’t despair, young thrashers, help is on the way. With a lineup of artists that stretches from coast to coast, and with each act supporting recent recordings, Street Brutality…
Since its inception in the Nineties, Converge has been on a path frequently dotted with the telltale signs of your average American aggro-hardcore band: blood, sweat, broken instruments/ bones, and a rabid testosterone-fueled following. Taking cues from the finest punk, metal, and hardcore, Converge continues to produce solid albums and…
Los Lonely Boys are a trio of brothers — Henry, Jojo, and Ringo Garza, Jr. — rocking out of the great state of Texas with a tornadolike twist of classic American rock (the Chuck Berry kind), conjunto, country and western, Tex-Mex, and classic Latin American rock (the Carlos Santana kind)…
The misunderstood phenomenon of XBXRX is best explained after a large glass of tequila and a handful of barbiturates. Imagine the creative noise manipulations of mid-Nineties anarchic noisemaster Flammable Child thawed by the artistic impulses of Melt Banana and finally tempered by the technological misuses of the Residents. XBXRX has…
M83’s third album, Before the Dawn Heals Us, suffered from the unimaginative palates of club snobs across the land, and though it was a fine album, it’s nice to see Nicolas Fromageau and Anthony Gonzalez’s first effort reissued in the full glory of their analog synth, keyboard, and Moog manipulations…
Modernage’s basic sound is hardly original. With influences that include Joy Division, Fugazi, and Gang of Four, the group shares a postpunk-meets-disco template that has been the style du jour for indie rockers over the past three years. At times the band is reminiscent of Spanish New Wave darlings Hombres…
With the exception of a drowned drummer here and a slain icon there, Lady Death has been holding off on the Beatles and the Rolling Stones’ pact with the Devil for an awfully long time — allowing them to soak up their “living legends” titles while remaining productive (if not…
Underground musicians in South Florida have always suffered from a certain geographical isolation. Florida’s sheer length makes touring a logistic and economic mess for homegrown talent. And while major cities such as Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville get their fair share of national tours, in Miami-Dade it’s slim pickings. For local…
Synth seamstress Oly knows all about moving around and absorbing new cultures. On her first EP, A Hot Hooray, this Miami diva’s musical rearing and geographical displacement are evident on every turn. Born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents and reared in South Florida in the turbulent Eighties, Oly’s musical…
Here’s one of those cases of a band making it purely on perseverance and positive attitude. The group 311 has come a long way from unsuccessful stabs at studio work in L.A., prodigal sonlike returns to the Midwest, dog-food poverty in Van Nuys, and the great exploding RV incident of…
Themes of spirituality and renewal reign on Induce’s debut album, Cycle. The DJ has been a fixture in South Florida’s underground scene for several years, spinning at hot spots such as I/O and the Pawn Shop as well as events in Wynwood and the Design District. And his work on…
A lesser man might try to ride out pop for pop’s sake, but Jorge Gonzalez Graupera — a.k.a. Jorges — elevates the genre with a firm grasp on arrangement and technique. Jumping onto the local scene via master popsters The Brand and then touring with Latin rock darlings Volumen Cero,…
Alvin Youngblood Hart’s life is deceptively simple. In the central Mississippi town Youngblood calls home, the man enjoys family, fishing, and horseback riding. But beyond this rather prosaic life, the gentle Hart makes beautiful music. Refusing to be pigeonholed into a blues-only niche, this dreadlocked, well-traveled cross between Howlin’ Wolf…
How do four degenerate punksters from the dengue-infested swamps of South Florida sign with über-cool German indie Crazy Love Records? The old-fashioned way: hard work and a little luck. With individual influences steeped in jazz, metal, punk, and rockabilly, as well as a shared passion for broads and B flicks,…
On June 3, 1993, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were arrested for the ritual-like murders of three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. At the center of the prosecution’s case against the teens was an allegedly coerced confession from Misskelley (who is mentally handicapped) and a public gripped…
On their followup to last year’s debut EP, Your Move, indie rock group Baby Calendar offers an album custom-made for these slow summer days. Tom Gorrio’s guitar work continues to gain complexity without losing its sense of euphoric zeal, while lead singer/bassist Jackie Biver’s vocals have become an amalgam of…
Arturo Sandoval has firmly cemented himself in the annals of jazz. His performances are rich in history, education, reverence, and fun. This CD/DVD showcases his 40-plus years in the biz and is a galloping ride replete with Sandoval’s signature Afro-Cuban styling, raucous scat vocals (even a little rapping in “Eso…
Inmate, squatter, Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll columnist, educator of developmentally disabled students, and punk rocker: 47-year-old Dave Dictor has been many things. But his insane stamina and boundless inspiration still gives younger punk rockers a run for their money. This year, the leader of MDC (Millions of Dead Cops) is…
Triple-A has been a wee bit quiet as of late … until now. Proving yet again that hard work will get you ahead, Florida’s original ska-tinged, thinking-man’s punks will release two new albums this year. The first is an eight-song split EP with the sadly defunct Common Rider. On AAA’s…
If you can clear the clutter of a billion girls wanting to throw their panties at Green Day, you’ll find one thing for certain: Those three Oakland, California pretty-boy punks have come a very long way from their 1987 EP Sweet Children. And it can’t get any sweeter than winning…
