Photos by Hunter...

I love it when your love of a band is born from a chance meeting. I didn’t know having my teeth cleaned was going to lead to long-lasting love of Gwar, but as my dental hygienist was making small talk, we somehow, SOMEHOW, came to the topic of music and she highly recommended I check out Gwar. I had heard of them and always thought of them as a joke band, but the joke was on me. As I heard...

WHO: Jon Spencer WHAT: Sick of Being Sick WHY: Maybe Spencer’s last two solo albums have lacked a little oomph, but Sick of Being Sick hopefully is a course correction. Maybe that’s a bit extreme, but in just 8 songs, this EP delivers the raw energy, weirdness, and catchy hooks that made us all fall in love with Spencer in the first place. It’s a shame it’s so short, because even with another 10 minutes of filler, Sick of Being...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the I Planted, Apollos Watered, But God Kept Making It Grow LP by the crushedvelvets. Not every reader of this review will have experienced any kind of skepticism at the current health and validity of rock music, but they can rest assured that it’s coming. In my own case, I remember being in university when the validity and health of rock music was being called into question; at the time, an increasing...

I had an MRI on my knee this week. If you’ve never had one, it is a very noisy procedure. Clicks and raps and something that sounds like a muffled jackhammer assault your ears for fifteen to twenty minutes or more, while medical technologists create an image of your chosen body part. While not painful, it is an ordeal. You’re probably asking, “What does this have to do with a music festival?” The fact is, the MRI reminded me of...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Scott Collins’ Purple Pain LP. There aren’t many artists making music right now who are capable of introducing themselves as clearly having both their heart on their sleeve as well as a chip clearly on their shoulder, but that’s exactly what Scott Collins does on his Purple Pain LP. From the moment stylus catches groove and “Killer Crush” opens the running of Purple Pain‘s A-side, Collins straddles a line between defining warm...

OSEES have no right being as good as they are. They’re simply remarkable. They put out an album a year (sometimes more). There are certainly hits and misses among them, but I’d gladly play the “worst” OSEES album instead of 99% of music that gets put out nowadays. They have done nothing but gain momentum over the years and still (STILL!) show no signs of stopping. They are doing it for themselves and don’t care who comes along. They’re even...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Bass Drum Of Death’s “Live… And Let Die” LP. Even on first glance at the cover of “Live… And Let Die“, I began to get excited. The cover of the album reminded me of so many other live albums I’d seen before; with a black and white photo and an arguably trite title, the album instantly calls to mind similarities to live albums by bands like Aerosmith, Judas Priest, The Black Keys,...

...

How do you even define Billy Bragg’s music anymore? Nowadays it almost sounds like easy listening, but with a leftist political leaning. The man has always worn his heart on his sleeve and although his political songs can seem a little too on the nose and simplistic, his love songs are simply beautiful. I just love the guy, OK? The Chevalier is quickly becoming the cool spot to see shows. I remember it looking more like a rundown high school...