Like heirlooms and hand-me-downs, dance music is passed from one generation to the next. Miami native and Club Space resident, Alex “ALX” Sanchez was introduced to the genre by his big brother. At an early age, he was taught that good times happen in dark rooms with loud music and…
When I was in sixth grade I went through what some would call a phase. I listened to a bunch of G-Unit and DMX, I was using the word “dawg” way too much, and I started to obsess over rims a lot for a kid who couldn’t even drive a…
You can’t talk about Miami music without mentioning Slip-N-Slide Records. It’s a label as important to this city’s sound as any other — responsible for introducing the world to names Rick Ross, Trina, Plies, and Trick Daddy. For almost 20 years, Ted Lucas, the CEO of Slip-N-Slide Records has brought…
It isn’t often that bands list writers as their influences. But most bands don’t go by the name Telekinetic Walrus. “We’re a mix of JRR Tolkien and Douglas Adams. It’s Lord of the Rings meets intergalactic space travel,” explained the Telekinetic Walrus singer who goes by Time-Zoo Keeper onstage, but…
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first heard of Sammy Arriaga, the Miami-born Cuban country singer — mainly because I don’t know a whole lot of Cuban country singers, or Miami country singers. The version I imagined of Arriaga was some type of classic South Florida bro in…
“We wanted to do something that wasn’t the regular album-release party, so we decided to have a festival,” says Cuci Amador, half of the local electro duo Afrobeta. She and Tony Smurphio (the other half of Afrobeta), along with a few close musical friends, will throw the Mooncake Jam this…
Out of all his accomplishments – discovering superestrellas like Marc Anthony, Shakira, and Ricky Martin, creating the Latin Grammy music awards, and most recently, being inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame – Emilio Estefan is most proud of his heritage. “I’m a proven fact that you never have…
If Maddy Ruff did nothing other than simply sing, chances are it would be enough to earn your attention. With two albums to her credit, including her recently released sophomore effort, Over It, the University of Miami Frost School of Music graduate has earned enough kudos to ensure she will…
“This isn’t about me,” says Emilio Estefan. “It’s about opening the door for other people and being able to recognize the Latin writers and artists. It’s about having the opportunity to show the world the talent we Latinos have.” Estefan — along with Colombia’s Héctor Ochoa Cárdenas, Chile’s Myriam Hernández,…
The romanticized form of the vampire is painted as a seductive, enticing being with an underlying hint of danger. From the prepubescent dreamboat that sparkles in the sun to the bratty prince of the night, each of these fictional creatures we see today seems to be the picture of immortal…
What? XYZA is evolving? The admired collective solidified about a year and a half ago as a gathering of minds and resources between Miami-based solo electronic artists. The motto was “DIY together.” The aim was to share knowledge, tricks of the trade, connections, and ultimately, to help each other gain…
“I don’t call myself horrorcore,” Scumbag Worldwide’s emcee Big Rela explains over the telephone. “There’s a stigma with horrorcore — you think Insane Clown Posse and fans that paint their faces. If you’re going to call me horrorcore I want you to understand the history. It’s not all bloody t-shirts…
Music and politics have always had a strange relationship. For the most part, its been contentious, like when Neil Young sang about the Kent State shootings on “Ohio,” or when Kanye West almost gave Mike Myers a heart attack when he said live on television, “George Bush doesn’t care about…
It was just after midnight on a Friday in September 2000 at Mac’s Club Deuce in South Beach.
The first time I heard of Rick Moon was in 2012. He was a few years sober then, and his first EP Tired of Sleeping had just been released. The production was shiny and crisp, the songs fun and refreshing. It was a pop album made by a creative and obsessive…
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater will go down as one of the greatest video games of our generation. Originally released for Playstation in 1999, there have been ten installments of the franchise since then. Just about every millennial can recall spending hours in their room, trying to sharpen skills and master…
There’s a certain irony that has always tailed any talk about the Mavericks. For one thing, they’re a country band of sorts that was birthed in Miami, hardly the most prolific place when it comes to fostering Americana. For another thing, they boast a Latin lead singer whose early heroes…
I met the four members of Above the Skyline for the first time at a Chipotle, and couldn’t help but think what an interesting burrito this merry band of misfits would make: a tall Filipino, a very outspoken lesbian, a long-haired dude who looks like he’s really into heavy metal,…
There was a time between 2004 and 2012 when the Miami music scene shined brightly. Wynwood wasn’t bougie yet. Bands got their starts in places like the Dorsch Gallery. Jimbo’s was still open, and some local acts were even acknowledged outside of our weird subtropical hideouts. Standing around a tank…
How we will be ingesting our music 50 years down the road is anyone’s guess. But whatever it is we’re sticking in our ear holes in 2065, you can bet there will be a small but vocal minority bemoaning the good ol’ days of the first generation iPod. We tend…
After attending this year’s Burning Man in Black Rock Desert, it hit him. Miami’s Galactic Effect (real name, unknown) finally understood what his upcoming six-track release needed. The “other-worldly” weeklong event gave him an opportunity to perform twice, showcasing a lot of unreleased as well as unfinished music during his…
In a city that seems to have little value for its history, the Olympia Theater is an anomaly. Since 1926, it’s been entertaining residents, first as a movie palace and Vaudeville stage, then as a performing arts center after 1975. But what has remained constant all those years is the…
