RECENT ARTICLES

For many, music discovery comes via older siblings. An older sister will pass her younger brother a copy of The Who. Or a half-brother will show his younger sister a Heart vinyl, inspiring new worlds. But for Sydney, Australia-born and Los Angeles-based songwriter, Tal Wilkenfeld, she learned about artists like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones from all-time musicians – and chosen family – like Jeff Beck and Jackson Browne. Wilkenfeld, who has played bass for a number of the greats, learned early on at the direction of the masters and has since grown to become one, herself.

Wilkenfeld, who rose to prominence as a bassist playing with artists like Prince, Herbie Hancock and The Allman Brothers, released her latest solo project, Love Remains, in 2019. The record, which boasts an eerie edge and a plentiful dark, aggressive sonic attack, showcases Wilkenfeld’s talent as a songwriter and front person. And in the process of creating the record, Wilkenfeld bolstered her music background with the help of some famous tutors.

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Son Little grew up watching his father preach in church on Sundays, speaking of spirituality and ethics to a rapt congregation from the pulpit. All eyes in the room were fixated on the orating church leader. During the week, however, Little’s father would spend time around the house, peacefully humming into his clarinet or saxophone, enjoying simple melodies.

Though Little (born Aaron Livingston) didn’t think much of it at the time, these examples of public-speaking prowess and solitary musicality helped shape his early musical career.

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Los Angeles-based songwriter Emma Gatsby knows her story might sound sad. But she’s okay with it. It’s her story. When she looks back on her years, she’s come to terms with the reality that her memories of childhood may remain the happiest of her life, no matter how old she becomes or how much she achieves.

But that’s alright, she says, her childhood, after all, felt like a fairytale. Gatsby has lived on the Long Island farm that inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, The Great Gatsby, and since has lived through life-changing personal tragedy several times over.

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To say a lot had to happen in order for Ana Cash to write, record and release her latest record, Shine (out April 24), is an understatement. The number of proverbial dominos that had to line up and then fall down for the 12-song LP to see the light of day is staggering. Whether talking about her parents’ immigration from Communist Cuba decades ago, her good fortune to land on a Spanish-language TV show or her chance meeting with her soon-to-be husband, John, in an L.A. bar one night, Cash’s story is almost too wild to tell.

Raised in Miami, Cash, who was born Ana Cristina, knew by the age of six she wanted to sing and perform. Watching Disney movies and daytime television with her grandmother, Cash was inspired one afternoon to contact the popular local program, Sábado Gigante, for a tryout. Her mother called and, as luck would have it, she passed the audition. She would go on to perform regularly on the show for the next eight years. At 15, she signed with Sony Music’s Latin division and began recording songs.

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When it comes to songwriting, Ryan Kattner – aka Honus Honus, front man for the boisterous rock band, Man Man – subscribes to the Nick Cave mode of operations. Namely, Kattner errs on the side of perspiration directing his creative output, not capricious inspiration. For, as Cave put it, “’Inspiration’ is a word used by people who aren’t really doing anything.” And Kattner, who remains hard at work daily despite dealing with creative doubts, will display the fruits of his efforts this spring with the release of his anticipated record, Dream Hunting In The Valley Of The In-Between, out May 1st. 

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Guitarist and songwriter, John Oates, one-half of the multi-platinum-selling duo, Daryl Hall & John Oates, has seen almost the entirety of rock and roll history transpire during his lifetime. Oates, who was born in 1951, came of age as Chuck Berry and Big Mama Thornton were changing the way people thought about sound. Over the decades, Oates devoted himself to music, contributing to one of the greatest-selling bands in pop history. But today, Oates, like much of the world, is going through new chapter: life in the era of the Coronavirus. 

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Providence, Rhode Island-based songwriter, Jake Blount, is a tailor of musical traditions. The banjo and fiddle player, who cut his teeth playing in funk and metal bands at 12-years-old and has since evolved into a scholar of traditional forms, dives headfirst into sonic histories and lineages each time he picks up an instrument. Blount, who will release his forthcoming LP, Spider Tales, on May 29th, has created a collection of folk songs that reach from Appalachia to Africa, pulling and plucking from some of the genre’s most timeless melodies and heartfelt tales.

From the moment Blount heard the album, Barton Hollow, by the Civil Wars in high school, he decided to drop everything and buy an acoustic guitar. From then on, he was hooked on traditional music. But as he got deeper into understanding the histories behind the traditional songs, Blount realized how closely and poignantly they started to relate to and intertwine with his own life. Growing up black and queer in America, Blount says, there was much in the cannon of folk music that resonated.

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Mick Jagger said he would call at 8 p.m.; the phone rang right on time. Kevin Parker, also known as the mastermind behind the Perth, Australia-based pulsating rock ‘n’ roll project Tame Impala, answered. Without even an assistant to formally introduce the two, there was Jagger’s voice – and the legend it belonged to was ready to discuss a remix for a song on a recent solo record.

“It was surreal,” Parker says. “But (Jagger) made it easy for me because he was so nice. We talked about the song and how he wrote it and we talked about what I could do with it. We had a couple of phone calls. I was expecting someone to connect the calls but it was just him, like, ‘Hello!’”

Parker highlights the uncommon interaction on one of the more poignant tracks from the latest Tame Impala record, The Slow Rush, released on Feb. 14. The song, “Posthumous Forgiveness,” is about his deceased father, who first introduced Parker to music, playing guitar around the house and listening to favorite artists during car rides. The track represents the two sides of Parker’s relationship with his dad. One side of the song is drenched in remorse and the other settled, resolved.

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Los Angeles musician, Lauren Ruth Ward, belts a poignant lyric on her recent single, “Wise Gal,” from her forthcoming record, Vol. II (out March 16th), singing in reflection of her past, “I asked for sugar when I should have been making bread.” So much of what Ward stands for today as an artist is captured in that one line. The artist, who grew up in and around Baltimore, Maryland, has been on a continuous personal transformation ever since she put pen to paper to write her first chorus. 

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Multi-instrumentalist Yuuki Matthews remembers talking with his dear friend and fellow musician, Richard Swift, on iMessager years ago. Matthews had just ended a stint on the road with Sufjan Stevens. Feeling bummed and unsure of his next move, he explained his situation to his friend. But, as was usually the case with Swift, he had an answer. He had just run into James Mercer, front man for The Shins at a wedding, who said the band was in need of a keys player and bassist for the tour. All of a sudden, there was hope. Soon Matthews and Swift were on the road playing with Mercer and The Shins.  

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As a boy, Alex Brown Church, front man for the L.A.-based indie rock band, Sea Wolf, wanted to be a writer when he grew up. And while the musician is clearly talented, Church could never quite wrap his brain around composing lengthy novels or screenplays. But when he began to write songs, the contained brevity the style offered intrigued and inspired. Now, Church is set to release his sixth album, Through A Dark Wood, on March 20th to significant anticipation. 

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For some, the band name “Thunderpussy” is hard to swallow. Some commercial radio stations, for example, won’t play songs from the Seattle-based rock ‘n’ roll band because DJ’s won’t say the name on-air. In fact, the four-piece has a case pending in the United States Supreme Court to determine whether or not the name is obscene and therefore not trademark-able. Nevertheless, the ladies of Thunderpussy persist on their musical trek, releasing new records (and music videos) and touring relentlessly.

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New York City-based musician, Kassa Overall, knows what it’s like to feel trapped. The artist has spent two stints in a mental ward as a result of serious manic attacks. Ever since, he’s had to maintain vigilance over the highs and lows. But thanks to songwriting – a talent he’s made supremely mobile (more later) – Overall has found an outlet for his energies and better modes to understand his brain. And all of this is on display on Overall’s latest solo record, I Think I’m Good, out Friday. 

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Boston-based musician, Mark Erelli, is known for both his songwriting acumen and his ability to bring that talent to co-writing sessions with other recordings artists, like Catie Curtis and Red Molly. But for his latest single, “A Little Kindness,” Erelli turned to a different type of collaborative counterpoint: the memory of the late Hall of Fame musician, Tom Petty. 

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