Thursday marks 30 years since the King of Rock and Roll — Elvis Aron Presley to his mama and daddy — keeled over on his Graceland throne, dead at the love-me-tender age of 42. But he’s still with us in myriad, mysterious ways. The billion-plus albums sold worldwide, for starters…
The fresh-faced quartet Down to Earth Approach might look barely old enough to legally enter Studio A, where the band plays Thursday. But really, the guys have been at it now for the better part of a decade. Forming first in their native New York state, they decamped to California…
Rarely does a band’s name fit its music as decorously as with the Birthday Massacre. Similarly the Toronto-based quintet’s sound is color-coordinated with its black-and-purple art scheme. It is Eighties big-rock balladry reupholstered for the goth-rock vampire patrol, like Missing Persons lost in the House of Frankenstein, armed with only…
Joey Tiger doesn’t mince words. He shoves them into your ears in raw chunks. “We get the best crowd response out of all the bands we play with,” brags Tiger, lead guitarist of Hialeah-based hard rock act Dead Beat Dad. Together for a year, the bandmates have been writing songs…
If you are a Miami native and you love hip-hop from the 305, then you know Slip-N-Slide Records. Named Best Independent Record Label by Miami New Times earlier this year, the company has sold more than 15 million records since its inception in 1993. That number should grow exponentially: In…
Adopting the guise of roots revisionist, musical journeyman, and trad troubadour, John Doe has taken an unexpected tangent since parting ways with X, the apocalyptic punk group he helmed in the Eighties. And with every twist of his trajectory and each succeeding album, Doe’s reputation has ratcheted up accordingly. So…
For some, vinyl is like a daily Cuban coffee addiction or FIFA 2007 on PlayStation 3. For others, it’s a leftover relic from an older generation, like comic books and Cracker Jack. Luckily in South Florida, there are still a few shops that stock it, like the storied Blue Note…
Membership has its privileges. How else do we explain the cameos that stud Minnie Driver’s sophomore effort? Would Ryan Adams really chip in a guitar part if Driver weren’t a movie star? Would Liz Phair lend backing vocals? Sure they would. Right. In fairness, though, Driver isn’t pulling a Hasselhoff…
The Projekt Revolution Tour, featuring Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Placebo, H.I.M., and others Sound Advice Ampitheatre August 10, 2007 View a slideshow of photos from the concert here. Gerard Way of My Chemical RomancePhoto by Jeffrey Delannoy Better Than: If you like rock and don’t mind…
Second Annual Ozone Awards James L. Knight Center, Downtown Miami August 13, 2007 Better Than: The over-hyped, over-rehearsed and just plain ol’ boring MTV Music Video Awards. OK, the Second Annual Ozone Awards are meant to honor the very best that Southern hip-hop has to offer, but judging by Monday’s…
Macy Gray Hard Rock Live, Hollywood August 14, 2007 Better Than: A Sideshow Give Macy Gray her due. The woman’s not just a one hit wonder even though it’s her song “I Try” that brought most of the crowd out to the Hard Rock to see her. Part chanteuse, part…
Against Me! New Wave Gainesville’s Against Me! shares a hometown with Lynyrd Skynyrd and, discounting the redneck caricature Skynyrd became after frontman/spiritual leader Ronnie Van Zant’s 1977 death, a lot more: a keen eye for the flaws of leaders and those being led alike, and songs with sentiments as potent…
DJ Slip 187 Lucy Orozco Masters of Mayhem Thunderbird Beach Resort August 11, 2007 Better Than: Getting locked inside a tanning booth and blistering up to the sound of “Diamond Girl,” on your brand new iPod headphones. The review: The usual darkness and crowding of nightclubs can only do Miami…
Gilberto Santa Rosa Hard Rock Live August 9, 2007 A stunning – and obviously health conscious – woman sensually swayed her hips and caressed her long black hair from the second level railing for most of Gilberto Santa Rosa’s performance last night at the Hard Rock Live. Despite going relatively…
Rick Ross Alexandra Quinones Rick Ross Charities, Inc. teamed up with Magic Johnson Burger King restaurants to kick off the 1st Annual “Rick Ross Be Out Day” Wednesday, at Miami Carol City Senior High. The concert was free, but it was incredibly hot. Luckily, Slip N Slide Records invited Miami…
Taking Back Sunday’s slow-but-steady rise to stardom is one of the most genuine post-hardcore success stories. Forming eight years ago in Long Island – historically a hardcore hotbed – the quintet got their start the true d.i.y. way, grinding away on the all-ages circuit and self-releasing their music. And that…
Anyone ever listen to Diplo’s seminal 2004 debut release, Florida, and find themselves rewinding the best frigging song on the album, “Diplo Rhythm,” endlessly trying to recapture that little snippet of Rio baile funk he slips in for the last 2 1/2 minutes of the track? It’s the one that…
When you set out to do a biographical film about a public figure who’s well known to much of the audience, you start in a deep hole. But give the makers of El Cantante some credit. Marc Anthony, with a slender physique and a pair of retro aviator-style specs, is…
Southern rap magazine Ozone hustled its way into the awards show game last year, presenting a program as musically satisfying and gossip-fueling as its informative and edgy printed pages. It was mounted in conjunction with TJs DJs Tastemakers DJ/Music Conference, a weekend of artist showcases and practical panel discussions. The…
After witnessing her stage bravado, her rheumatic and melodic vocalization, one finds it difficult to imagine that singer Aymee Nuviola faced many difficulties as an adolescent in her native Cuba. From the way she passionately croons, gracefully grinds her hips to the music, and spontaneously trades barbs with band members…
Local group Aboriginal holds the distinction of being one of the very few bands — if not the only one — that can boast of having opened for both Black Sheep and L.A. Guns. Few acts could, but true to its name, the quintet’s sound is raw and fresh. The…
More than 30 years ago, a lanky Dominican kid with a deep but piercing voice could do no better than third place on El Festival de la Voz (“The Festival of the Voice”). The talent search show, à la American Idol, had been organized by a local artists’ association in…
