It’s only appropriate that we commit ourselves to a moment of silent reflection for Jen “Hellcat” Blackwood. Once calling Burlington, Ontario home, Blackwood helped, along with bassist Sean McNab, keyboardist Kristian Rowles and drummer Matt Gee, to found hellbilly stars The Creepshow in 2005. Blazing vocals, hellacious guitars, successful tours, a full-length album on Stereo Dynamite Records, Sell Your Soul, put the band on the international music map. And those were just a few of Blackwood’s contributions to...
I used to get this panic-stricken feeling on dress-up days in elementary school—like I would show up and awkwardly have not received some memo canceling the event and have to sit through an entire day dressed in a Popeye costume my mom put together. I haven’t been so concerned about this in my hardened, jaded latter years…until last Thursday. I showed up at what appeared to be 80s Prom Night in my 9-to-5 work garb. There were leggings. Skinny jeans....
To say that Busdriver is a rarity in the realm of hip-hop is something of an understatement. Born Regan Farquhar and raised in Los Angeles, the MC was first turned on to hip-hop at age nine and released his first album as part of the group 4/29—named for the date of the L.A. riots—when he was just 13....
Hello, my name is Matthew Maude. I’m a music video director and documentary producer from Halifax, UK. I will be gracing you with my day in the life of a certain Saturday in March 2007. I’m writing about producing and directing a music video for a band from Leeds, a city in the north of England. Saturday March 24th, 2007. 5AM I lift my eyes to the pain of my ears. There’s something loud in my room, something very loud...
The United Kingdom’s favorite brat, Pete Doherty, and his new set of misfits, The Babyshambles, recently released their sophomore effort Shotter’s Nation. This may not seem like exciting news given their rather disappointing debut, Down in Albion; but Shotter’s Nation is different: it truly feels like the work of a whole new band. Okay, okay…so maybe not whole new band. As it is, Doherty’s typical croon and Whitnail’s guitar work are at once recognizable, allowing the album to carry that...
Man, if you were looking to bang your head and stomp your feet like a possessed Shaman channeling the spirit world in order to alter your reality for a couple of hours, then ending up at the Mastodon and Queens of the Stone Age concert was your portal to such mania. These two bands on the same bill was a gift and they delivered the goods. Mastodon was so ferocious and loud they shook the hell out of the brand...
Every once in a while—if you're lucky—there will be that moment where you realize that the band has gone completely off the setlist. For the most part, this doesn't really happen. As much as you want to believe that you really are part of the rockingest crowd they've seen all tour, chances are it's just another night for (insert band name here). They've played all these songs for at least a month in practice, and that awesome, one-of-a-kind solo? Yeah,...
Out from the ashes of doom comes BBE’s “Lost and Found” series Rockabilly and Jump Blues from Keb Darge and Cut Chemist. That’s right, read it one more time. Keb Darge, the up front and center funk-meister and turntablist/producer extraordinaire Cut Chemist bring you something completely amazing and unexpected; Rockabilly and Jump Blues. I guess you could say I have selective reading. I saw “Cut Chemist” and “Lost and Found.” My response? So In. I will play this back to...
Anaheim rock-trio The Willowz released their third album, Chautauqua, earlier this year and the group is now gearing up for a tour this winter alongside dance-rockers Electric 6. The tour is mostly comprised of dates across the southern United States but does include stops in Philadelphia, New York and Cleveland. The Willowz formed back in 2002, releasing their first LP, The Willowz, in 2004. They quickly became hipster heartthrobs with their unique merging of White-Stripsian garage rock with OC punk....
Asked to typify the city of San Francisco as an animal, I'd call her a chameleon. Asked again to typify the crowd that showed up on a moody Sunday night to listen to Oakland masters of stoner metal (High On Fire) and Japanese masters of apocalyptic post-rock (Mono), I'd say the 70% all-male crowd was a mixture of metal worshiping beasts and borderline trendsters—a peculiar amalgam. These two bands are great enough in the mastery of their sounds that they...