Whether with The Schemers, The Raindogs, The Men of Great Courage, his Tiny String Band or as a solo artist, I’ve long been a fan of the music of Mark Cutler. He has been a staple over the years, performing in his various bands and sitting in with legends like Bo Diddley and David […]
The Fabulous Thunderbirds Still “Tuff Enuff” after all these years, you can bet that when The Fabulous Thunderbirds roll into town they’ll be ready to preach the blues. They may be in their 43rd year as a band, with only singer Kim Wilson remaining from the original lineup, but Wilson has always had a knack […]
I’ve always admired people who organized enough to keep track of how many times they do something. Personally, I can’t. I couldn’t tell you if the amount of columns I’ve written is closer to 100 or 500. Chuck Staton (from the punk band Senior Discount) and Brad Rohrer (Providence Improv Guild player) who do the popular […]
I want to start with a few words about Tim Davis who recently passed away. I first got to know Tim from him doing a show on the internet radio station 990WBOB. Then he was booking shows at the Spot Underground and more recently at Alchemy (in the old Jerky’s) downtown. In addition, he wrote […]
Heart was one of those bands in the early- to mid-70s that shined through the mudpack of mainstream mediocrity and had pioneering elements with two sisters leading the charge and tunes that aced the test of time. They were really the only band that was both female-fronted and had a woman playing guitar when I […]
WBRU – Post-End of the Century Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio The news in recent days is that WBRU is possibly up for sale subject to a wider vote from their student council. This isn’t new, as it has been tried before, but the bids were approximately $14 million short of the desired asking price. I […]
Scott H. Biram – The Bad Testament (Bloodshot Records) On The Bad Testament, Scott Biram unleashes a collection of rollicking outlaw country fuzz stompers for these troubled times. The opening plea of “Set Me Free” is filled with yearning to return to the rambling ways of the road. “Red Wine” is a slow honky-tonk number […]
An Evening with Lol Tolhurst, Founding Member of The Cure I’ve been a fan of The Cure for almost 30 years and don’t recall anything remotely related to them ever happening in Providence. That is part of what makes this a special night as co-founder Lol Tolhurst comes to town to promote his new book, […]
Darklands Shoegaze rockers to their core, Darklands craft melody out of fuzz-ridden noise. Darklands’ sound owes much to the noise pop of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and that early ’90s English noise guitar scene. I’ve always dug that adventurous style of guitar playing where the sound drives the song. Badlands have an EP, St. Thaddeus, […]
Civility – Self-titled EP It seems like there has been a recent surge in the amount of post-punk/new wave influenced bands lately. I’m generally ambivalent about trends, but anything that cuts down on the banjo epidemic from the Americana plague is okay by me. Civility started just less than a year ago, and is heavily […]