We have gazed upon the netherworld: drag queens with a grudge, the morally crippled, hustlers obsessed with short-order fame. And, dear God, we have become what we beheld. Well, sort of. It’s 3:00 a.m., it’s Hombre, it’s like an extremely confrontational Virtual Reality video recreation of a 42nd Street Jack…
“Miami-based rock quartet Nuclear Valdez have channeled the breadth of vision, tunefulness, and integrity of their widely heralded Epic debut I Am I into an exciting and surprising follow-up, Dream Another Dream, set for a January 14 release.” So begins a November 13 press release from Set to Run Public…
There was no giant crowd of underdressed and/or primped-up poseurs. No giant video screen relaying images of the evening’s stars. A basketball game was on the tube instead. No giant parking lot, stage, or presentation. But December 14 was a night of giants at the Brickell Tavern. Todd Anthony’s ersatz…
I totally screwed up – so what else is new? – a Screaming Iguanas of Love feature I’d hoped to publish in this issue of this newspaper. Somewhere in Melbourne (Florida) is a befuddled man, scratching his head and wondering what the hell was meant by the phone message on…
The holiday season, and it’s beginning to feel a lot like celeb time. Models. Fashion vampires. The famous and not-so-famous everywhere, selling things, basking in the sun and the envy of the less celebrated, pollinating, spreading malaise. William Kennedy Smith, free at last and even more famous, reportedly seen stomping…
I don’t know about you, but I had a blast at the South Florida Rock Awards, even staying for seven hours, almost all of them on my feet. That was the thing to do at Max Borges’s now-established local-muse shindig. Walk about and talk about. Pandisc Music marketing coordinator Lydia…
I try to avoid using this space to plug myself (do too) and last week was a refreshing reminder why. Under the sadly mistaken impression that I could get a life, and caught up in the be-nice spirit of Chanukah et al., I hyped two events — “I’ll be there”…
The term is not perfect, but it’s useful and expedient: Local rock scene. And what a great one this is. Dozens of thoroughly professional bands making music in a range of styles. A healthy mix of venues for these groups’ performances. Two powerful commercial radio stations that play local music…
Is this the tiny part of the year during which it’s okay to be kind to people and generous? I always forget which week people give instead of take. Well if it is this week, here are three timely events: If your wishes include some hard-as-Quayle’s-head rock, nine bands deliver…
Everywhere you turn, with the exception of George “Mr. Denial” Bush, it’s the same story: “We’re just getting by, what with this recession and all.” “Yeah, I hope to get some work soon, but it’s tough with this recession going on.” “I prefer steak to beans, too, but we’re in…
What this town needs is some new trends, fads, something, anything, new. Oh, all right, we’ll take something borrowed, then. Rave, the British rage where thousands of people gather in fields to hear techno music, comes to South Florida tonight. DJ Pierre from London, DJ T4 from Jamaica, Freedom of…
Ya know snowbound New York rock-industry hotshots have their calendars blocked out, and so should you, even if you aren’t escaping the big chill. You rock, right? Mark off December 9 for the South Florida Rock Awards at the Button South. (By the way, I think the battle between this…
I saw rock & roll’s future and its name is Bruce Springsteen –Jon Landau To settle back is to settle without knowing “Jackson Cage” by Bruce Springsteen Much has happened in the personal life of New Jersey’s favorite son since the release of his preceding studio album, Tunnel of Love,…
Things are different now. Pee-wee Herman. Kathy Willets. Jimmy Swaggart. Willie Smith. Clarence Thomas. It seems like a 2 Live Crew album come to life. And, coincidentally enough, there is a new Crew album out, Sports Weekend, the group’s best work yet. And you know what that means. Up north…
The four-year-old drowning victims, the urban fire that ravages too many lives, the cold-blooded street shooting, there’s not much he can do about those events except frame them for the electronic eye and the talking heads, relay the grim gist to the viewing public. As a news producer for WCIX-TV,…
All local bands face their obstacles. Some acts are considered too weird, others too straight. Some have been jerked around by major labels, others have been signed by them. Descriptions – metal, progressive, alternative – tend to do more harm than good. That sound-guy at Washington Square is a real…
Unlike a year ago, this autumn seems to be devoid of rampant censorship. Thank goodness, ’cause the F-Boyz are back in town. Long before there was a Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, Methadone Actors, or Human Oddities, there was F-Boyz, the most musical dick waggers to ever rock a…
This town definitely ain’t big enough for me and Paula Abdul. On the strength of four number-one singles, Forever Your Girl sells ten million copies and change. Spellbound is a smash. Videos keep popping up on MTV like fleas on a hound dog. And now the woman herself is coming…
Since May 2, 1968, Miami has had a true radio alternative in the form of WVUM-FM. From reggae to rap to local bands, from the obscure to the ridiculous, WVUM, not constrained by commercial concerns, gives voice to so much music that otherwise wouldn’t receive airplay. What the station needs…
Charles Trahan, co-star of Miami’s popular rap duo Young & Restless, doesn’t belong here. He should be in a recording studio. Or on MTV. Here, at Jackson Memorial Hospital, he’s out of place, amid a tangle of bed linen and intravenous tubes, hurt filling his handsome young face. So many…
From the Beatles to Bruce, from Petty to the Pixies, worthwhile careers and weighty influence begin with songwriting. Musical ability, sonic inventiveness, choice of approach, even appearance all count, but if the songs aren’t there in the first place, the best a band can hope for is a few platinum…
The choice had to be made: become a cop killer or go into rehab. Decisions, decisions. The traumatic turning point came September 28 at, naturally enough, Churchill’s Hideaway. A new “band” – actually a loose amalgam that is open to membership changes with each show – called the Volunteers debuted…
