Josh Grabert tears through competition It looks like the good folks with the WBRU Rock Hunt got it right again this year. They usually do (not counting 1993 when a band intimately related to the author of this article lost out to Angry Salad…but I digress). And as with acts like The Schemers in 1982, […]
An endless supply of true alternative rock In October of last year, we lost a musical pioneer who many consider to be the father of alternative rock, Lou Reed. Hailing from an era where the vast majority of teenage record buyers were still consuming “boy loves girl” lyrical content, he and his band The Velvet […]
Venues that deliver At a live performance, many elements contribute to the overall mood of the evening. The ambiance of the venue, the staff, the sound system and lighting, and even your fellow patrons will alter the experience. It falls on venues’ shoulders to deliver a show that leaves fans with a positive experience, and […]
Immense talent portrayed in Madam Tieger’ s Illumination Some 10 years ago I hit the radio airwaves on a Sunday night special at WARL 1320 AM, (LATE AM) filled with local talent, and during that three years-plus, also hit another station as Uncle J (for jazz), at WAKX 102.7 FM (both stations now kaput) every day […]
“Rhode Island’s Mike Laureanno is truly a multi-talented Renaissance man who wears the hats of singer, songwriter, producer, engineer and musician with equal proficiency. “ At its basic core, a well-written song should be able to transport the listener from out of the here and now, and into the songwriter’s state of conscience. Much like […]
What determines a hit? Obviously nobody really knows for certain, or we’d all be millionaires with our songs saturating the airwaves from sea to shining sea. There are, however, a few timeless concepts in the music world that guide an artist or producer in focusing their project in a certain direction. And in listening to […]
It’s getting progressively difficult for a band to make their mark on the local music scene, let alone the national one. Young (and some not so young) ambitious musicians are putting together projects, armed with over a half century’s worth of inspiration, and marching out headlong into the cut-throat world known as the live club […]
In contrast to the hard-driving numbers, The Silks reach down deep for the acoustic folk-blues dirge I’ve been accused of taking rock & roll a tad too seriously. You see, I’m one of those people who have lost countless hours of sleep wondering why it all went so wrong. How could an enterprise that once […]
Local musicians David Furlong and Joe Caron have made a stunning CD, Halfway Home, which contains 11 well-produced tunes and was recorded at the Richmond Room. A second CD is underway. These two accomplished local “musos” have joined forces inlaying tracks (also with cameos by Laura Furlong on other strings; John Brough on drums and […]
Local Rhode Island band live: 45 years later Sitting down to review a new Roomful of Blues release is a little like trying to critique the air. Overstatement? Perhaps, but consider this: for over 45 years, no one entity has come close to not merely representing, but rather defining the very fabric of what the […]