Now I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to "punk rock" shows, I'm a bit jaded these days. Growing up in the S.F. Bay Area I was lucky enough to witness many local bands such as M.D.C., Verbal Abuse, D.R.I. and Attitude Adjustment, all of whom played in glorious, shitty little sweatboxes such as Ruthie's Inn, Rock on Broadway and The Mabuhay Gardens. This was back in the days when there was still a sense of danger...

From my experience the first thing any respectable journalist should do before a phone interview is to test the equipment. I say this because I didn't and it almost bit me in the ass. It was 10:50 and I knew Jus Oborn would be calling me at 11. I set up my mic and recorder then hit go on the speakerphone to set my audio level. All was good to go. The phone rang a second later and with it...

The nature of nationalism when it comes to the arts has always been rather funny. Each nationality is under the misguided impression that they’ve got the market cornered on something and have attempted, with varying degrees of success to lay claim to one art form or another as their own. Think about it—at this point in history and because it has fallen from constant public appreciation, if one says something as simple as "painting" most people will immediately flash upon...

U.K. rap star Dizzee Rascal will release his new album, Maths+English in stores and through online download sources this spring. Previously only available in the U.S. as digital download, this CD will be heading Stateside with added tracks and bonus materials April 29th via Definitive Jux Records. Dizzee Rascal’s debut album Boy In Da Corner received rave reviews and even won the coveted U.K. Mercury Music Prize of 2003. Rascal’s desperate growl and focused anger leads his rhymes, making him...

Swedish metal gods In Flames just inked a new deal with KOCH Records to release their new album A Sense of Purpose, which will be released April 1, 2008. Over their storied metal past, In Flames released a majority of their catalogue on Nuclear Blast and were signed for a few minutes with Ferret, only to try out another label to help get this sure-to-be powerhouse album certified gold. The band’s most recent album, Come Clarity, peaked at #58 on...

For someone who likes music as much as I do, it takes a lot to get me out of the house to see a band. All of that standing around for hours has to come with the promise of a fierce guitar solo, especially if we’re talking about going to a show on a weeknight. Still, I took a chance on Black Mountain at Pop Montreal a couple years ago and I wasn’t disappointed. The show was at Montreal’s Spectrum—an...

Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Grief Of War was formed, in their own words, "For the purpose of being the true heir of real thrash metal." With A Mounting Crisis…And Their Fury Got Released, they may have honestly done just that. Originally released in Japan in 2005, this record is being re-released by Prosthetic Records, who signed Grief Of War in 07. I for one am glad that it is finally going to see the light of day, as it's a...

Hope you saved up those Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Boxing Day checks from Grandma, kiddies, because the horn has sounded and the race is on for all your hard-earned cash this summer. Leading off right now is Coachella, which just announced its three (THREE!!) day lineup for the sweatiest festival this side of the Rockies this coming April 25th-27th. Names in bold, you ask for? Survey says: Portishead, Roger Waters, Kraftwerk, Death Cab, Jack Johnson, MMJ, Raconteurs, The Verve and Love & Rockets. Honorable...

Working at a record shop is pretty sweet. I worked at one for years, and the only time it sucked would be on say, a cold rainy Tuesday afternoon, when there would be nuh-thing to do. So you’d find yourself going through CD bins to make sure everything was filed correctly. One day I pulled out a CD with this psychedelic collage/painting, kind of like something Rick White would do, and guessed (correctly) that this would most definitely be worth...

The girl at the raised, round bar table kept stashing the tens and twenties in an odd little wooden mail rack—the kind that grandparents always seem to put bills in—as opposed to the standard metal cash box. And there were a lot of tens and twenties flowing into her hands, or credit cards being flashed and lists being checked. Over the chatter in the bar area of Tangier—just past the cordoned-off pre-speed dating event, whatever that means—could be heard the...