18 years ago, Jose Elias, a self professed “world music nerd,” thought to put together a one-off tribute to the iconic artist Sun Ra at Tobacco Road. His curation of the event called attention to what he quickly realized was a hunger for African-derived music in Miami. “There were a…
Much like musicians of the post-punk era they idolize, the musicians in Astari Nite are romantics in black. “We really love what we do. We have a lot of passion and we’re super humbled doing what we do. If you enjoy what you’re doing there’s really no room for anything…
Labor Day in Miami is a welcome respite from the daily grind of traffic and work, but it’s also an extra day of the week to spend the cash you worked so hard to earn. It’s also the beginning of the end of summer, which means that — finally —…
At Calle Ocho’s famed bar and venue Ball & Chain, the sounds of today’s Miami music echo through walls that once heard the greats of jazz’s golden age. If these walls could talk, they’d tell stories of the time stars such as Billie Holiday and the Count Basie Orchestra stopped…
Walking up to the front door of the North Miami Beach residence that serves as Pariuh’s creative headquarters is a neat-freak’s nightmare. Test prep books are stacked high on a table next to a full trash bag and shoes are strewn about. It looks like spring cleaning or preparation for…
Jay Sean isn’t the type to look back nostalgically at his past successes, though he’s had many. His driving force is his search for the accomplishments that still await. His latest single “Make My Love Go” — his second collaboration with Sean Paul after 2009’s “Do You Remember” — is…
Three years ago, Christian Cooley moved to Miami to open his own recording studio in the heart of Wynwood. “Before Miami, I was thinking to move to L.A.,” he remembers. He booked a plane ticket, landed, and shortly after, had an epiphany. “I realized they don’t need another producer.” Born…
At first glance, at least three quarters of the band Sunghosts — with their greasy long hair and Lennon-style glasses — do not appear to be the picture of ambition. But on the band’s long awaited, full-length self-titled debut, you can hear the hunger that’s made them a success of…
Pablo Alvarez could feel his throat swelling. His tonsils were becoming raw and enlarged, and his sinuses started to clog. “I didn’t understand that part. My body was shutting down on me — I could tell.” But he still had many hours left to go. Alvarez, of the Miami bred,…
It’s hard to imagine in the era of YouTube and Vevo certifications, but for a time after MTV stopped playing videos and before YouTube launched, it seemed that music videos might become a thing of the past. Gone were the days of shutting down Times Square for a music video…
Argentinian electronic rock hybrid Altocamet have been a successful band in Argentina and South America for over twenty years. On the group’s first U.S. tour and their first ever performances in Miami, Altocamet see themselves as ambassadors for the sound of the seaside town from which they hail. The band…
In the not-so-distant future, when internet culture crushes humanity under the weight of deadpan hipster irony and belligerent comment sections, one man will stand above the fray, shouting “one love” until the bitter end. That person, perhaps one of the few in our world still left unscathed by cynicism, is…
Rock n’ roll is all about mythology: selling your soul to the devil in exchange for godly guitar riffs. Bands achieve immortal status by soundtracking the most important moments in our lives, sometimes with eerie specificity. Unfortunately, in the world of rock n’ roll mythology, old legends and first impressions…
A John Lennon “Imagine” license plate greets you in the driveway of Joe Johnson’s home studio in Plantation. The common areas in the house are lightly sprinkled with Beatles memorabilia. A poster for the Beatles’ Vegas Cirque du Soleil show, Love, and an official print of Lennon’s “Dear Prudence” lyrics adorn…
Inside Puroast Coffee, the new coffee shop that’s taken the place of the now tragically defunct Tobacco Road, there’s a stream of curly red hair bouncing at the bar. Even with her back turned, you can’t walk into a room and miss Josephine Phoenix. With a copy of Anjelica Huston’s…
