Sa-Fire is the singer of the memorable Freestyle hits “Don’t Break My Heart” and “Boy, I’ve Been Told.”José el Rey: Sa-Fire, thanks for being right on time! What are you up to?Sa-Fire: I’m always very punctual. If you’re ever late, you might miss a great opportunity. My new single “Exotique”…
Click here to read Crossfade’s Q&A with Judy Torres, here for the Q&A with David from Nice & Wild, and here for the Q&A with Johnny O.Rockell’s “In a Dream” came out a decade after the initial freestyle wave. It was the only new Freestyle song on the radio in…
Never sleep in Miami. Never rest. This Saturday night, May 30, Sneaker Pimps is coming to South Florida again and this time with a live blast from Clipse as well as Cool Kids. I am not a huge fan of CKs but Clipse is extra special good. If you haven’t…
Wassup Kendall. Dade got heat in every corner of the county so put your whiskey up for some down home blues, beers, and food on Stormy Mondays at The Fish House at 10000 SW 56 Street (Miami, FL 33165). The event takes place every Monday night featuring music by artists…
I can pretty much blame Steve Bug for how I first acquired a taste for minimal. I didn’t always get minimal –I used to have a hard time grasping its tedious repetitiveness, the absence of real melody and conventional song structure. Then a couple years ago I heard a compilation…
Crossfade announced earlier that Counting Crows will be playing August 18 at the (by that time) newly renovated Bayfront Park Amphitheater on August 18. The news just got much more exciting as Michael Franti & Spearhead and California rockers Augustana will be joining the Crows for the awkwardly titled “The…
Green Day announced that The Bravery, Franz Ferdinand, and Kaiser Chiefs will take turns opening during this summer’s tour. On August 4 in Miami’s American Airlines Arena, Kaiser Chiefs will be warming up the crowd before Green Day hits the stage. If you’re hoping to see The Bravery or Franz…
Matisyahu has undergone perpetual evolution since he burst out of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where he groomed his musical talents and allowed his faith as a Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic Jew to grow. Murmurs circulated of the unlikely artist, particularly with the buzz of his Billboard chart-topping sophomore release in 2005, Live At…
Have you ever had one of those nights when you just wanna stay home and chill on the couch, but you don’t wanna miss out on all the action at the club? Well now there is a way you can have your cake and eat it too! Web TV channel’s…
Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Surf Nazis on Ecstasy are a thrash-punk trio who, despite their name, are neither beach bums nor fascists. And they definitely don’t do raves. By their own words: “We’re not artsy. We’re not Nazis. We only play all-ages shows.” It’s an operational ethic that regularly brings…
Mysterious 20-something singer Lissy Trullie has just begun her musical journey, and yet the media myth-making and labeling has already begun. Trullie fashions lean, sharp indie rock but already feels saddled with a frequent “punk” misnomer. “They always try and put me in a box,” she says. “If I mention…
Since the late 1970s, Micky Fitz and the Business have been doing their thing — writing songs for the working class, in the tradition of street punk and Oi! Fitz formed the band as a reaction to the arty types co-opting the punk subculture. To that end, he focused the…
British DJ/producer Nic Fanciulli’s career had an auspicious start in the early 2000s when he piqued the interest of big names such as Pete Tong, Deep Dish, and John Digweed. Thus he quickly went from being a 20-year-old small-town spinner to a globetrotting DJ sensation. Adding to an impressive portfolio…
Local fivesome the Mission Veo specializes in a dripping-black variety of dance-rock, shot through with tribal drumbeats, minor-key melodies, and darkwave keyboard stabs. And, sure, plenty of bands these days attempt this kind of dark dance-floor psychedelia, but the Mission Veo has another serious weapon in its arsenal: frontman Jonny…
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…
That Gwen Stefani hasn’t become a caricature of herself is either testament to her utter savvy or to the fact that she basically began as a caricature in the first place — and beat everybody to the punch line. That’s not to say that, back in the day, No Doubt’s…
Some people work at ambition while others are born to it. And then there are those who take the ambition they’re born with and work it till it gels into something successful. And each success spurs even more successes, until, well, their names become synonymous with the very word succeed…
In Miami, freestyle still reigns supreme. The Latin rhythms and synth stabs, combined with earnest, passionate lyrics, struck the heart of nearly everyone in town old enough to have his or her heart broken in the late 1980s. Anytime South Floridians hear “When I Hear Music” by Debbie Deb or…
Sometime in the past few years, between digesting French literature and watching birds alight on the placid South Florida waters, Iggy Pop, the Godfather of Punk, decided, finally, that rock as we know it is a lost cause. No, actually it’s worse. “It’s clear that rock music, what’s made right…
It seems that contempt for his radio-friendly ’70s tunes such as “The Joker” and “Fly Like an Eagle” drove Steve Miller off the stage in ’80s. He told Rolling Stone in 2008, “Bands like X were the big thing in L.A., and my work was being called unmitigated slop. I…
Click here to read Crossfade’s Q&A with Judy Torres, and click here to read the Q&A with Johnny O. When someone asks me what freestyle is, I play them Nice & Wild’s “Diamond Girl.” This song has it all: infectious hooks, English and Spanish vocals, an ominous rap part, lyrics…
To read yesterday’s interview with Johnny O, click here. Judy Torres is the singer of the freestyle hits “No Reason to Cry” and “Please Stay Tonight.” She is currently a radio host on WKTU 103.5 in New York City. And there is no doubt that she is the Queen of freestyle!José…
