In 2011 the Decemberists released the album ‘The King Is Dead’. It was a departure from their previous albums. It was less an exercise in old British folk tales and impenetrable references, and more an alt-country tinged monument to folk-pop melancholia. I had listened to the band off and on prior to the album’s release.... Continue Reading →

Sultry isn’t a word you would use to describe the Northeast where I grew up. No one makes movies about hot and sweaty Connecticut nights. Clifton Chenier may have visited the Catskill mountains, but that’s not what you hear in his music. Those things all belong to the South, all tangled up between myth, legend,... Continue Reading →

I wasn’t around for Led Zeppelin’s heyday. The were done before I was old enough to really know what rock and roll was. Heck, my parents only got married a few months before Led Zeppelin 4 came out. Despite missing their prime, they were an indelible part of the musical landscape I came of age.... Continue Reading →

It’s a Friday afternoon, snow is falling outside, and I’m sitting in my den listening to the new record from Skinny Lister. The band is currently on tour in Europe with Trapper Schoepp and I’m not sure I’ve ever wished I was rich enough to follow a band around more. I discovered Skinny Lister via... Continue Reading →

A couple of nights ago I had the chance to interview a rock band for the first time. I did so in my capacity as a write-at-large for TapIntoTheMainLine.net. I was pretty nervous going into the interview. I don't necessarily find the idea of talking to musicians intimidating, but I have no idea about protocols... Continue Reading →

I woke up sad this morning. It’s February 3rd, 2019, the 60th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson, otherwise known as the Big Bopper. There is a poem by Robert Frost that says, “Nothing gold can stay” and this was the moment that taught a generation that... Continue Reading →

The Vansaders had an advantage over other bands that I’ve fallen in love with while seeing them perform for the first time. They played a cover of one of my all-time favorite songs in their set while playing as the opener at my all-time favorite concert. In 2017, Jesse Malin headlined a concert called ‘Strummer... Continue Reading →

Part One: Getting a Little Bit Ugly Sometime in late 1992 I was hanging out in the lounge in my brother’s dorm during his sophomore year at UMass Amherst. His room was part of a suite of rooms that shared a bathroom and a common area. I was in high school at the time but... Continue Reading →

There aren’t many musicians or bands my father, brother, and I all agree on. My dad is a jazz and classical guy predominately now, but he used to be a bit of a deadhead, and once got mad at me for implying he might not know who Keith Richards was. My brother has somewhat similar... Continue Reading →