Okee dokee folks… The past couple of issues (and many before) I have started my columns discussing subjects that I have opinions about. Some of my views tend to rapidly stir the pot. So, I want to let you in on the not so secret reason behind my pot stirring: I do it to rile […]
Imagine on any given night during the 1950s being able to hear the swinging sounds of Count Basie, the bluesy diva Billie Holiday, or Louis Armstrong, one of the greatest trumpet players of all time? No, I am not talking about the thriving Times Squares jazz scene in the Big Apple, but the fabled Celebrity […]
Okee dokee folks… I like to “stir the pot” a bit. Okay, a lot. I posted my thoughts about something on social media that got a lot of “knickers in a twist.” It’s fun. My post was about open mics. Specifically, it was about “venue bookers” who want you to play their open mics BEFORE […]
We asked readers to share their favorite local love songs and why they’re worthy of your Valentine’s playlist. Here are 28 songs of love and loss from 24 local artists. THE BENJIS: “SKATE” AND “BAD SIGN” “‘Skate’ is basically a sloppy love letter to Parker Posey, an end-of-summer lament,” says Benji’s vocalist Aryieal Francis. “‘Bad […]
When the Mixed Magic Exult Choir comes together to sing, there is a palpable magic in the air. “Some of it is technical and practical,” says artistic director Jonathon Pitts-Wiley. “Kim [the choir director] makes sure the instruments are tuned at a certain frequency, 432 Hertz, the healing frequency. There is intention in what Kim […]
Love is in the air this season, and who better to direct this love at than Rhode Island musicians. Here are my picks for this edition of Stop, Rock, & Roll! DRED BUFFALO – “HEAVY LOVE” Dred Buffalo continue to hone their craft, climbing into the upper echelons of New England rock & roll. Their […]
I disappeared for a couple of months and the world ended. Legends have left us, notably Shane MacGowan and Robert “Balcony Bob” McBride. MacGowan once tried to drive his tour bus into Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel when it was at the Peerless Building for his stage entrance. Balcony Bob worked for over 30 years to keep […]
I have no problem with Taylor Swift, but I can’t tell what’s more annoying: people complaining about Swift attending a football game? Or, people complaining about people complaining about her attending a football game? Y’all need a hobby. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Swift’s Reputation reissue is going to drop to combat the Fox News […]
I was headed into middle school, just starting to develop an independent identity, my own taste in music. This meant I was distancing myself from my parents. Ironically, the catalyst for my change occurred while I sat beside them, riding shotgun in their car, fiddling with the radio dial, and finding 95.5 WBRU. “Closer” by […]
Grace Church Cemetery is a few blocks from my house. I like walking through cemeteries, I like reading the names, I like reading the inscriptions: There is one link that death cannot sever/ a loving remembrance lasts forever. If you enter the cemetery on Elmwood Ave, one of the first headstones you’ll see reads: RICH […]