RECENT ARTICLES

As soon as the chucking rhythm hits your eardrums, you know it’s Heart’s sharp-toothed song “Barracuda” that’s on your stereo. Written in the aftermath of an insensitive comment from a record promoter directed at the band’s sisters, “Barracuda” is a sonic barrage of fitful fists in response, bludgeoning any lingering inappropriateness to a pulp. The track, which first appeared on the band’s second album, Little Queen, rouses audiences and is one of the band’s most memorable songs. (It’s also wildly popular as a karaoke song.) We caught up with Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson to talk about the song’s powerful opening riff (and its semi-controversial origins), the revenge it might have offered the sister songwriters and more.

Read More

Pearl Jam’s celebrated lead guitarist, Mike McCready, knows a thing or two about the importance of healthcare. McCready, who has suffered his whole life from Crone’s Disease, which causes inflammation in the digestive tract and often leads to very severe symptoms like constant and painful defecation, began to speak out about his affliction later in life. Since then, McCready has learned what its like to find community around a shared problem and how important that cab be when coupled with proper care.

As such, McCready recently joined forces with SMASH – or, Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare – to raise money and awareness for the organization, which offers mental and physical health services to musicians who often don’t have health insurance. For this partnership, McCready has joined forces with the mighty Seattle rock ‘n’ roll band, The Black Tones, which is co-founded by twins Eva and Cedric Walker.

Read More

Today, songwriter Patty Griffin is considered one of the greatest in the world at her craft. She writes spare songs that tear at your heartstrings and rattle the marrow of your bones. Griffin, who has lived in Austin, Texas, for decades, got her start, though, in New England, playing small coffee houses as she honed her craft. She first learned about music at the feet of her mother, singing along with her, and bought her first guitar for $50 at 16-years-old. Ever since, she’s been creating, writing and touring her work around the globe, first in small clubs then later in larger venues.

Now, Griffin is giving back to those spots, many of which are independently owned. Griffin, who released her Grammy-winning, self-titled LP last year, has scheduled three unique shows livestreamed from the historic Continental Club in her hometown of Austin, Texas to help raise money and awareness for those venues who have dramatically and severely suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tickets are available here for the gigs, slated for November 7th and 21st and December 5th.

Venues all over the United States have had to close their doors and will have to keep them shut for an undetermined amount of time. They need help. And Griffin is here to add her support. We talked with the exquisite songwriter about why venues matter to her, what she’s learned by playing their stages, how the government may or may not be helping and much more.

Read More

John Ondrasik, aka Five for Fighting, released his hit song, “100 Years,” on November 24th, 2003. The track, which followed the artist’s 2001 mega hit, “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” solidified Five for Fighting in the American cannon. The track, which follows the course of a life from birth to old age, hit number-28 on the Billboard charts and has since earned U.S. platinum-status. “100 Years,” which boasts some 50-million YouTube views to date, came as the result of a great deal of work and craft for Ondrasik. We caught up with the songwriter and asked him about the song’s origin, how he became so skilled on the piano, what he loves most about the song when considering it today and much more.

Read More

Atlanta-based artist, Summer Walker, is all about the process of making music. Attention from journalists? Eh, whatever. Accolades and fame? Sure. She’ll take it if she has to, but she doesn’t strive for it. Instead, what Walker wants is the freedom to continue to make more music, to invest in the muse and simply write. Which is why her 2019 LP, Over It, is so aptly titled. Walker, who’s worked many odd jobs to support herself (including stripper, while also teaching herself guitar in off hours), has put in the time and made the sacrifices. Walker has also seen what a life without music at its center may lead to and she wants none of it for herself. Instead, she’ll continue to coyly and expertly write her songs, perform on massive stages (digitally and in-person, when allowed) and grow her passion. We caught up with the creative mind to ask her how she came to love music, how she found her band mates and why she always seems so in-charge.

Read More

On May 29th, the inimitable and larger-than-life artist, Lady Gaga, released her sixth studio album, the 16-track epic, dance-infused, Chromatica (selling 274,000 copies in the first week). The record, which hit number-one on the U.S.Billboard 200, as well as the top spot on more than a dozen other charts, displays Gaga’s knack for bridging deep ideas with pop sensibilities. Gaga has the uncanny, almost superhuman ability to produce a song that can fill up a sweaty dance floor at 3 am with heart-pounding sound (see the new single, “Rain on Me”) while at the same time, if you examine her verses, she will have your heart welling up with emotion.

Read More