Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman has the kind of curriculum vitae that most writers would kill for. Scribe for Rolling Stone, author of On The Road With Bob Dylan, co-writer of memoirs for Howard Stern, Anthony Kleidis, and Mike Tyson, lyricist for…
Steve Earle knew he had to make Guy, when Guy Clark died of lymphoma at the age of seventy-six in 2016, because he’d already made a record for Townes Van Zandt. “I knew when Guy died that I’d have to…
Portishead has been on an extended sabbatical since the release of Third in 2008. Other than the release of their cover of ABBA’s ‘SOS’ in 2016, the band has been quiet. Left to her own devices, Beth Gibbons responded to…
Under the light of the “Strawberry Moon” in 2016 (named for the time of year when the fruit is harvested), Luther Dickinson brought together a number of mostly female guests and recorded four days worth of music. The resulting collaboration…
It’s not often a punk from a hog farm in Southern Illinois gets a chance to escape and raise rock hell with a band like The Scorchers, but Jason Ringenberg believed he could “kick American roots music into the modern…
Time is relative to Astralingua. Their debut LP Safe Passage follows the release of their debut EP ten years ago. Understanding how they record helps to explain the long gestation period of their new effort. They record everything themselves, taking…
Hailing from Los Angeles, yet with roots in post-punk and Britpop, Dear Boy’s infectious sound worms its way inside your ears and won’t let go. Comprised of four longtime friends, Ben Gray (vocals, guitar), Keith Cooper (drums), Austin Hayman (guitar)…
For The Cactus Blossoms comparisons to the Everly Brothers are something to be expected. They tread much of the same ground as the Everlys, it’s just that they’re sixty years down the road. The tight harmonies on Easy Way bring…
If you’ve never heard of The National Lights you are not alone. In 2007, they recorded The Dead Will Walk, Dear – a song cycle about a Midwestern murder. And then nothing. Jacob Thomas Berns, Chris Keihne, and Sonya Cotton…
In the four years since her last album Jess Klein has gotten married; moved from Austin, Texas to Hillsborough, North Carolina; suffered from Repetitive Strain Injury and crushing insecurity based on the 2016 election and moving into an environment where…