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.
Read MoreFor 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.
Read MoreNew 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.
Read MoreGreg Dulli, frontman for The Afghan Whigs, has just released his first-ever solo record, Random Desire, via Royal Cream/BMG. The 10-song album, which was written and recorded almost entirely by Dulli, features his signature beseeching, powerful voice and the songwriter's intellectual heft that comes along with it. Random Desire, which is comprised of tracks that feel both forlorn and triumphant, is reflective. Solemn piano playing blends with howling vocals, snare hits and flashes of electric guitar. The album, which follows The Afghan Whigs' latest release, 2017's In Spades, distinguishes Dulli as a solid solo performer while also adding two handfuls of well-crafted songs to his long catalogue of heartfelt, personal music. We spoke to Dulli about the writing and recording of Random Desire, as well as the surprising influence of Bob Fosse.
Read MoreNurse Nadine Grzeskowiak - aka the “Gluten-Free RN” - has a mission: to make Americans understand that we have been tricked into eating food that is both not healthy and potentially life-threatening.
Grzeskowiak, who experienced a major health scare at 40, has been studying Celiac disease, gluten, and non-Celiac-gluten sensitivities ever since. And what she’s learned has been shocking: gluten, which can be found in various seemingly ubiquitous grains, is not digestible by human beings. Yet, because the protein string is found in so many of our foods, it’s causing severe health problems in the population, Grzeskowiak explains.
We caught up with the Gluten-Free RN to ask her about gluten, Celiac disease, the four food groups, and much more.
Read MoreDel Brown and Naja Todd, founding members of the Tacoma-based multi-genre music duo, Mirrorgloss, met on MySpace.com and bonded quickly over the music of Jeff Buckley. Brown, who stumbled on a picture of Todd on the early social media site, knew instantly they would be close friends. She had a feeling. And as they shared their love for the Lilac Wine-soaked singer, as well as their love of tattoos, body- and sex-positivity and Heavy Metal music, the two knew a band was soon to be in their future.
Read MoreLos Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, Josh Klinghoffer, has a lengthy and prestigious musical résumé. Among his many professional accomplishments, Klinghoffer has worked extensively with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gnarles Barkley.
This year, he is set to go on tour, opening for Pearl Jam with his new solo project, Pluralone. The band, Klinghoffer says, has yet to play a single show. But now they’re head on one of the most recognizable bills in the country, stopping at cities like New York City, Toronto and Nashville, among many others. Pluralone, though, which sounds like a mix of Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead, should please rock fans with its elastic vocals and thoughtful, pulsing instrumentation.
Read MoreMost people have at least heard the term “steampunk.” But most people have no idea what the term means – myself, until about two weeks ago, included. Someone who absolutely knows what the word means (incidentally, it’s a sub-genre of science fiction set in Victorian era or Wild West times) is Robert Brown, who many say invented the idea.
Brown, also known as Captain Robert, created whole worlds and myriad characters to inhabit them and these real-world-though-fictional creations make up the stories in the songs he plays with his band, Abney Park. Men with mechanical hearts, pirates flying through the sky in planes or hot air balloons, wars between robotic tribes – these are his artistic manifestations. To discuss these worlds, we caught up with Brown and asked him about the origins of steampunk, and how he came to love it.
Read MoreIt might seem like a difficult task. To play a style of music today made popular when the Old West was still rounding into form. But for the Americana harmony- and string-rooted group, Fruition, the process of superimposing modern complexities overtop a classic musical style is natural. The five-piece band, whose members live in cities throughout the United States, create contemporary compositions and have, in the past six months, conceived of an intriguing way to release music to the ever-changing world.
Read MoreThe Slow Rush, the latest LP from Kevin Parker, aka the mastermind behind the psychedelic band, Tame Impala, is as much a self-reflective open letter to the world as it is a beautifully obfuscating, transmuting, rippling piece of music. On the 12-track album, the band's fourth, Parker reminisces, offers notes on where he's come from, where he's been, and what the future might hold for his psyche, all amidst Tame Impala's signature dreamy, 1960s-retro-through-a-million-pedals sound.
Read MoreOn January 14th, longtime Jeopardy! contestant Ken Jennings was crowned “The Greatest of All Time,” defeating two other longtime accomplished contestants, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer. Jennings, who also holds the longest winning streak in Jeopardy! history with 74 consecutive wins, took home $1,000,000 for his efforts. Jennings is also a published author (many times over), a former magazine columnist, and current podcast host. He has his own board game. But, perhaps more than anything, he is the modern face of knowledge. We caught up with the trivia GOAT to ask him about his early days watching the show, his thirst for competition, and his relationship with Alex Trebek.
Read MoreBoston-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.
Read MoreSouthern California-based singer-songwriter, M. Ward, has lucid dreams. He has recurring visions while sleeping, and the most prevalent one, he says, is a dream about a tsunami raging at a “comfortable” distance away.
The dream, says Ward, who will release his latest LP, Migration Stories, April 3rd, has shown up in his songs, including the dreamy-jangly track, “Unreal City,” on his new release. The song, which is about a fictitious place, speaks to a blend of paradise and paranoia prevalent in Ward’s work.
Read MoreNurse Whittney Powers is on the negotiating team that’s discussing a new contract between a union of about 8,000 Seattle-area hospital employees and the Providence Health & Services-owned Swedish Hospital healthcare system.
The strike, which has been contentious at times, has many implications, including on patient care and employee futures.
We caught up with Powers to ask her what led up to the strike, what happens next and how both parties might be affected.
Read MorePeople change. If nothing else, this is evident on the latest release from producer Kanye West, Jesus Is Born, performed by the West-led Sunday Service Choir. The album, which is not a Kanye West album, per se, but is very much of the musician in his contemporary creative state, is his latest homage to Christianity's God and Jesus Christ. It is also a drastic shift from the earlier days of West in the center of the spotlight, with shirt collar popped, sunglasses on, and a general sense of "look at me" about him.
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