Category: Features
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interview by Michael McCarthy Jack Russell is the original lead singer of the iconic hard rock/heavy metal band Great White, which rose to fame in the ’80’s and early ’90’s with hits like “Rock Me,” “Save Your Love” and their cover of Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.” Where most of their peers were influenced…
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interview by Michael McCarthy A few months ago I discovered this wonderful thing called Bookbub. Basically, you sign up and tell them what retailers you purchase E-books from and which genres you enjoy and then every day – even on weekends – they E-mail you a list of books that are on sale. These books…
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interview by Michael McCarthy Rob Garza is one half of the duo known as Thievery Corporation, which he created with Eric Hilton during the summer of 1995 in Washington D.C. at the Eighteen Street Lounge. Their sound is big on dub, dancehall, house and other types of music, but they are considered pioneers of both…
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interview by Michael McCarthy Stephen Pearcy is famous for being the lead singer of the heavy metal band RATT, which has just reunited with plans to do some live dates and, hopefully, a new album. Aside from being the vocalist, Stephen is the one who named the band and founded it and was/is a key…
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by Michael McCarthy Adriana Mather is a descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the key players from the Salem, Massachusetts witch trials. Accordingly, it should come as no surprise that her debut novel, the young adult best-seller How to Hang A Witch, is ripe with almost as many historical facts as it is fiction. The…
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by Michael McCarthy After being the edgiest contestant on the one season of The Voice in Sweden and making it pretty far into the competition, Nicole Sabouné released her debut album, Must Exist, in 2014. It was an especially dark album, but a very successful one, thanks largely to the inspired singles “Win This Life”…
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by Michael McCarthy If St. Vincent ditched the electronics and simply made her music with live instruments, she would probably sound a lot like Lily Virginia, who’s an equally talented singer/songwriter/guitarist. Other artists Lily reminds me of are Ben Folds – she’s like a female Ben, just using guitar instead of piano – and Rilo…
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by Michael McCarthy Mimoza H is one of the most fascinating artists I’ve come across in a long time. Her somewhat abstract music is like a cross between Florence + The Machine, Bjork and Tori Amos. That might not sound like a good combination, but to my ears it’s sonic bliss. I especially love how…
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by Michael McCarthy Gigi Rowe is a pop star in the making. Based out of Miami, she makes fun songs that blend modern pop beats with early ’80’s pop vibes. Her bouncy and mighty danceable songs make me think of Madonna’s first album and Cyndi Lauper’s album She’s So Unusual. Come to think of it,…
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by Michael McCarthy When I think of death metal and extreme metal, usually the first band to come to mind is The Black Dahlia Murder. The reason for that is simple. They’re the best metal band of either sort on the planet right now. That’s my opinion, but they have legions of die-hard fans that…
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interview by Michael McCarthy One of the most bewitching albums I’ve heard all year is Rose & Thorn by British artist Wendy Bevan. Not merely a singer/songwriter/violinist, Wendy works in a variety media including film, visual imagery and intense, experiential artworks. To experience any of her work is to step into an alternate world where…
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interview by Michael McCarthy “Don’t have much to say,” sings Christian O — a super talented pop/R&B/soul singer/songwriter — at the beginning of “Free,” the first track from his latest EP Shiva’s Dance. Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As the song later goes, “Everyone’s free to be as they wish to be.” Now, that’s…
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by Michael McCarthy It’s hard to believe, and makes me feel old, but I’ve been following Tim Skold’s career for roughly 30 years now. I first became aware of his music when he went by the name Tim Tim and was the bass player for Shotgun Messiah, who were considered a hair band by most…
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by Michael McCarthy I recently interviewed the insanely talented Nikki Yanofsky about her Solid Gold album and EP and I’m happy to report that the EP is out now. While I would consider its six tracks to be pop songs, her jazz, soul and R&B influences all shine through at various points. The first four…
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review by Michael McCarthy all photos by Joshua Bernard Electronic producer/artist The Range – real name, James Hinton – opened the show, taking to the stage at 8:05 with “New Lots.” He delivered a high energy set of songs mostly taken from his recently released sophomore album Potential and its predescesor Nonfiction. Although he played…
