Review: Shawn Snyder, Stripmall Troubadour (Live at the Moose)


Shawn Snyder
Stripmall Troubadour (Live at the Moose)
www.shawnsnydermusic.comwww.myspace.com/shawnsnydermusicTurnip-haired homeboy Shawn Snyder made quite a splash with last year’s sophomore set, Romantic’s Requiem, an album that earned it New Times’ kudos for being among the best local releases of 2008. For its follow-up, Snyder strips things down, offering up a lo-fi acoustic…

Local(ish) Album Review: Ed Hale – Ballad on Third Avenue

Ed Hale Ballad on Third Avenue (Dying Van Gogh)Ed Hale’s outfit Transcendence was the kind of band that allowed ambition and extravagance to find equal footing. Progressive by design, its sumptuous arrangements often overshadowed Hale’s skills as a songwriter, which featured some great melodies at the core. Hale seems to…

Local Album Review: Dreaming In Stereo – Self-Titled

Dreaming in StereoDreaming in Stereo (Van Gogh Records)If there’s one thing that’s evident from the outset about multi-instrumental wunderkind Fernando Perdono — aside from the already established fact that he’s one of South Florida’s most gifted songwriters and musicians — it’s that he’s obviously listened to a lot of classic…

Notes From the Soundboard: Something Blue

To read past installments of Notes from the Soundboard, click here. One constant theme of this column is a fixation on bands and artists that somehow fell through the cracks that occur within pop music’s lengthy trajectory. That’s one hazard of rock’s rich repertoire — so many artists, but so…

Local Motion

Local Motion: Jennings and Keller’s latest CD, As the Universe Unfolds, sees them at the top of their game.

Local Album Review: Jennings and Keller – As The Universe Unfolds

Jennings and KellerAs The Universe Unfoldsjenningsandkeller.comAs the owner and proprietor of Homestead’s late, lamented Main Street Café, Laurie Jennings (uh, the musician, not the anchor lady) was adept at entertaining her guests with covers of well-worn classics from the Americana songbook.  Now, paired with partner and veteran session whiz Dana…

Notes From the Soundboard: A Broadway Bias

Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade,  focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments.Okay, let me start by stating that…

Notes From the Soundboard: A Michael Jackson Retrospective

Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade,  focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments.In the coming days, this headline will…

Local Album Review: Michael Feinberg – Evil Genius

Michael FeinbergEvil Geniuswww.michaelfeinbergmusic.comTo the uninitiated, jazz generally falls into one of two broad categories — that which is readily accessible and that which isn’t. That’s an unsophisticated observation to be sure, but one with which many non-aficionados will likely concur. Count Chuck Mangione, Spyro Gyra and, yes, Kenny G among…

Cat Shell: One Cool Cat

When New Times first caught up with Cat Shell last year, the Boca-based singer-songwriter was trying to accomplish that age-old dream: Make enough money from music to quit the day job. But as any South Florida musician will affirm, that’s no easy task here. So it’s impressive that a year…

On a Square

On a Square is unapologetically old school, a band that seems to relish in hum-worthy melodies and feel-good sounds, even at the risk of appearing somewhat archaic. Truth be told, the group’s apparent reverence for the Beatles, Badfinger, and other 1960s pop pundits brings a freshness and finesse that’s been…

Notes From the Soundboard: Let’s Get Physical

Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade,  focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments.I have a gripe.  I don’t want…

Cat Shell

If genre-jumping was considered a test of athletic dexterity, Cat Shell would be an Olympic contender. That’s evident in the way the Boca-based chanteuse nimbly treads the divide that intersects jazz, blues, pop, and country, excelling in all without compromising any. Though a 20-something might be a bit hazy when…

The Dana Paul Quartet

It might be a stretch to say South Florida has its very own Sinatra, but the truth is that Dana Paul is as close as it comes. Widely regarded as our area’s leading jazz singer and interpreter of sentimental standards, this cat knows how to scat, as the old school…

The Bendy Pastorius Group

When your dad was one of the most innovative musicians of all time, and you’ve got ample ability of your own, it’s only natural you’d carry on in the family business. In this case, the extraordinary paternal figure happens to be the late Jaco Pastorius, an extraordinary bassist who fused…

Notes from the Soundboard: Famous Fathers and Sons

Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade,  focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments.”It’s not time to make a change,…

MP3 of the Day: “Burnin’ Hell” by Rotagilla

RotagillaSeason For Leavin’ (self-released)You’d think it was 1970 again, for Chrissakes, what with the way the guys of Rotagilla let out their inner Led Zep. Granted, there’s no hint of a Robert Plant or Jimmy Page lurking among this lot. However, in recycling the old school power trio format and…

Three? No, Try TEN Australian Tenors at the Kravis Center Tomorrow Night

First there were the Three Tenors — or was it the Four Tenors? Sorry, we’ve lost count. Regardless, the standard was set by hefty gentlemen with booming operatic voices prone to dazzling their audiences with rich and riveting performances. Now there’s the next generation, a group of twentysomething Australians dubbed…

Notes From the Soundboard: The Joys of Poco

Notes from the Soundboard is a new column appearing weekly on Crossfade, focused on pop music’s history and ongoing evolution. Lee Zimmerman shares insights and observations on how music continues to connect with the weirdness of the world. Click here to read past installments. I try not to spend too…