Here we are in the Ides of March; I don’t know how we got here so fast, but I do know that as winter moves toward spring, clocks and times they are a-changin’! And unlike the foreboding that is associated with the Ides, I see good things on the environmental horizon as evidenced by some […]
It is a challenge when you start a column late and it’s your brother’s birthday, your best friend may have bought a bar and your very good friend Mario, who is in from out of town, insists you buy two pizzas at 3am and then promptly falls asleep. Left in the cold of the night, […]
Okee dokee folks… As you may have garnered from my last column, I am a technosaur. I am no longer ashamed of it. I like things to be simple, and technology just keeps it complicated — for me anyway. I used to be into technology and the latest gadgets, but I realized that besides being complicated, […]
Didn’t everyone, at some point in their lives, dream of being a rock star? The desire to make music and art can start very young; however, the music scene tends to be very male-dominated. So where can young girls and gender non-conforming kids go to find role models and learn new instruments? In our state, the […]
As I sit in the recording studio of New Urban Arts a cacophony fills the small room filled with about five people all playing different instruments, all different tempos, humming to themselves songs that don’t exist yet. Among these people sits Storm Ford. She sits in the middle of the room, stringing her guitar, singing; quietly, at […]
One of the world’s greatest jazz saxophonists hails from little ol’ Providence, Rhode Island. Scott Hamilton was born here, grew up and made his name locally. He was to become the premier swing and mainstream jazz tenor saxophone player in the United States, and his style would remind us of the late Ben Webster or Coleman […]
Ever since their start in Glen Rock, NJ, in 2005, Titus Andronicus have been lauded for their energetic live performances. Frontman and guitarist Patrick Stickles sings intensely from the heart in unapologetic fashion. It’s musical honesty with a punk rock foundation that’s absolutely incredible. The band has their fifth studio album currently out, A Productive […]
An incredibly good debut album has a power that can’t be overstated: It can make a band’s career and shift the music landscape. The first self-titled release from indie pop act Superorganism has what it takes with funky beats, interesting samples and catchy harmonies. Their album came out Mar 2 via the Domino Recording Company […]
Wyclef Jean is different from many of his hip-hop contemporaries due to his individualistic approach to the style. It’s hard to pin him down to one genre due to his incorporating world, folk, jazz and numerous other kinds of music. He also pays tribute to where he comes from in Haiti as part of his […]
If you ask a band or a musician about the hardest things that come with their craft, often they’ll mention trying to capture their live essence in a studio album. It can be difficult to appreciate the spontaneous energy that comes with playing live in a room with only a limited amount of time to […]