Search Results for: JOHN

LILYS / SWIRLIES @ KNITTING FACTORY

Live Reviews

Lilys / Swirlies / Knitting Factory / May 23, 2003

Lilys mainstay, Kurt Heasley, and Swirlies mastermind, Damon Tutunjian have a lot in common. Both originally took inspiration from cynical trailblazing UK noise-rock shoegazers Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine; gained significant underground prominence around ’92; survived some lean years; and returned to the studio for worthy ’03 albums promoted for curious Knitting Factory patrons this rainy Friday eve.

Splitting time living between New York and Boston, Tutunjian …

HIGH LLAMAS / LOW / MAGNETIC FIELDS @ TRAMPS

Live Reviews

High Llamas / Low / Magnetic Fields / Tramps, April 9, 1998

Pleasantly charming lightweight art-pop rarely gets any more intimate and mesmerizing than this wonderfully adorned triple bill on a rainy Thursday evening at Tramps. The well-balanced lineup of sure-footed underground musicians made sure the audience went away both relaxed and pleased. Several fans left before the High Llamas finished, but that was mainly because they were ultimately satisfied and probably tired (the headliners played for more than 80 …

AMY RIGBY WISHIN’ AND HOPIN’ TO BE ’18 AGAIN’

Interviews

FOREWORD: I befriended self-proclaimed ‘mod housewife’ Amy Rigby (birth name: Amelia Mc Mahon) after catching her live show several times in Brooklyn and New York. I originally did a piece on her for HITS magazine to support ‘96 breakthrough, Diary Of A Mod Housewife. She was always kind despite having to do full-time secretarial work to make ends meet when not performing. Rigby and her then-current band (Dennis Diken of the Smithereens; Brad Albetta of Mary Lee’s Corvette; Jon Graboff,

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WILL RIGBY READILY BECOMES ‘PARADOXAHOLIC’

Interviews

FOREWORD: Originally, drummer Will Rigby was in acclaimed ‘80s indie pop band, the DB’s (pictured below). Unlike most of his peers, he continued being a viable artist into the ‘90s and beyond (though I’m not sure what he’s been up from ’07 onward). Once married to topical songbird, Amy Rigby, he went on to release two solo albums. He has also been potent sideman for respected artists Steve Earle, Matthew Sweet, and Freedy Johnston.

A hilarious humorist when he wants

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THE SIGHTS HAVE ‘GOT WHAT WE WANT’

Interviews, ,

FOREWORD: The Sights are diminutive singer-guitarist, Eddie Baranek, and whomever he decides to jam with. I originally befriended Eddie following a phone interview to support ‘02s colorful ‘60s-imbued garage rock set, Got What We Want. For a twentysomething kid, he had tremendous passion and a great knowledge of rock history. I met him at Bowery Ballroom and we partied like it was 1999. That night, he didn’t let a Rolling Stone reporter onto the guest list because that now-sterile publication

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SILKWORM DISCOVER ‘ITALIAN PLATINUM’

Interviews

FOREWORD: One of the greatest and most underrated guitar-based bands of the ‘90s, Silkworm boasted skillful axe handlers Andy Cohen and Joel Phelps (who left by ’95). Too competent and proficient to be labeled grunge while less accessible and headier than masturbatory hard rockers, Silkworm suffered for its aggro-rock art. I caught them at Manhattan basement club, Arlene’s Grocery, in ’02, interviewing dexterous drummer, Michael Dahlquist, to promote Italian Platinum. A month forward, I journeyed a few blocks south and

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ROBBIE FULKS / RAY MASON BAND @ MERCURY LOUNGE

Live Reviews

Robbie Fulks / Ray Mason Band / Mercury Lounge, July 9, 1998

Possibly the best solo artist of the so-called ‘neo-traditionalist country movement,’ Chicago-based Robbie Fulks proved to a passionate Mercury Lounge audience just how significant his roots-y original songs are. By emulating legends such as Hank Williams (whose microphone mannerisms Fulks has down pat), Lefty Frizzell, and George Jones, this lanky, sometimes hilarious, blonde-haired singer-guitarist offered an untainted slice of Americana.

A genuine purveyor of the Nashville sound, Fulks …

THERMALS SPRING FORTH WITH ‘MORE PARTS PER MILLION’ THEN PLAY DEAD ON ‘NOW WE CAN SEE’

Interviews

FOREWORD: I made quick friends with Thermals front guy, Hutch Harris, at Mercury Lounge supporting fantastic ’03 debut, More Parts Per Million. We conducted a weed-hazed interview in my wife’s van with then-member, Ben Barrett, while Harris’ paramour-bassist, Kathy Foster, worked the merch table.

Afterwards, I called Harris at home for an ’09 interview promoting the equally fine Now We Can See. Then, I caught the Thermals headlining Bowery Ballroom, spending a few minutes prior to the show laughing it

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SUPERDRAG DEMAND ONE ‘LAST CALL FOR VITRIOL’

Interviews,

FOREWORD: Superdrag truly knows how it feels to almost reach aboveground fame and then get dropped by its major label and live off of a respectable club audience for a decade running. Their urgent ’96 semi-hit, “Sucked” (‘who sucked out the feeling’), opened doors for the good-hearted crew.

I became very friendly with the Knoxville cats, meeting them first at Elektra’s offices, then days later at an Elektra Records pizza party prior to a headlining Irving Plaza set, and thereafter,

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TINDERSTICKS STARKLY INQUIRE ‘CAN OUR LOVE…’

Interviews,

FOREWORD: Can the white man sing the Blues? If you’re Roxy Music fan, Stuart Staples, the answer is an unequivocal yes. Speak-singing in a deeply resonant baritone, Tindersticks amiable frontman takes inspiration from Gospel-derived R & B legends and blends it into his bands’ lush orchestral settings.

I originally interviewed Stuart for HITS magazine in ’97 to promote the brilliant Curtains LP. In ’01, I met the band for dinner at Manhattan’s Time Café (with my friend, Rich Farnham), to

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STEVE WYNN PROCLAIMS ‘HERE COME THE MIRACLES’

Interviews,

FOREWORD: I had the pleasure of meeting former paisley pop underground icon, Steve Wynn, many times in the late ‘90s and thereafter.

As a solo artist, Wynn offered a tremendous kaleidoscopic range of psych-daubed rock material. ‘01s Here Come The Miracles was one of his best and the following piece was done in support.

Afterwards, ‘03s Static Transmission hit the mark, but ‘05s even better tick…tick…tick rocked hardest. In ’07, Wynn and long-time associate, Linda Pitmon, formed the Hazel Motes.

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R.L. BURNSIDE WELCOMES ALL TO ‘COME ON IN’

Interviews

FOREWORD: R.L. Burnside was a good-hearted Delta bluesman whose career was revived when dedicated Oxford, Mississippi label, Fat Possum Records, began putting his creaky bare-boned guitar-based blues into contemporary rock and techno settings. His most approachable LP for newcomers may be ‘99s Come On In. I spoke to Burnside at this time. Afterwards, he released ‘00s fine Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down and ‘04’s Bothered Mind. A year later, he died from complications due to a heart attack.

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