View Davey von Bohlen’s Chicago shows in a larger map Milwaukee musician Davey von Bohlen has led the kind of musical career that must leave other artists teeming with jealousy. Since the early ’90s, Davey has performed in a variety of bands: Ten Boy Summer, Cap’n Jazz, The Promise Ring, Vermont and Maritime. Nearly all … [Read more…]
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. What does that mean? Well, it means it’s time for a Valentine’s Day mix, of course! Below is a nice little mix of songs for VD 2010: 1. Electric Six – “Electric Demons in Love”: [youtubevid id=”cDGQTlJjCrg”] 2. Andre 3000 – “Happy Valentine’s Day”: [youtubevid id=”DYnzdj4EK1c”] 3. Nina … [Read more…]
The Internet has been buzzing with rumors of a potential Cap’n Jazz reunion since December. This week, the reunion picture got a little clearer. Jessica Hopper dropped a hint in the Chicago Reader that the rumors may come to fruition at the Joan of Arc Don’t Mind Control Variety Show at the Empty Bottle tonight. … [Read more…]
It was indeed “A Decade Under The Influence.†But while Taking Back Sunday could string together a few solid hits drenched in a post-hardcore milieu and cut with pop sensibilities, chances are no one in the band could have predicted how influential emo would become in the aughts. The presence of the word in the … [Read more…]
I’m happy to post a selection from the ongoing email interview I’m having with one Darren Walters, co-founder of Jade Tree Records. As a majority of my America Is Just A Word interviewees happen to be musicians, it’s great having Darren on board to give some perspective of the other goings on that helped transform … [Read more…]
This is why I cannot respect Andy Greenwald’s opinion on emo: Obviously, taste is taste. Opinion, opinion. But if this man is the guy who’s supposed to be the emo know-it-all (read: self-created title/Spin created title), I’m not buying it. The guy doesn’t seem to understand the impulse that emo acts have towards evolution, probably … [Read more…]
It’s an absolute pleasure to bring Chris Simpson into the America Is Just A World fold. Part of my inclination for adding more interviews and material to what I’ve already written for the book is to really uncover the narratives that have been overlooked, and no band’s lifetime has the same mixture of mild coverage … [Read more…]
I wrote another piece for The Boston Phoenix, this time about… Sunny Day Real Estate. Whoda thunk it? For folks wondering about A) all the reunion hubub and why it’s happening 2) what’s the big deal with the band C) just how the band got back together and 3.14) the details of the reunion and … [Read more…]
Another day, another quizzical top ten list. This time it’s curtsey of Justin Jacbos at Paste magazine, with a piece entitled “10 Bands That Prove That Emo Wasn’t Always For The Hot Topic Tween Set.” The newsworthiness of the piece is due to the two fall reunion tours by emo 2nd wave forefathers Sunny Day … [Read more…]
I stumbled upon these guys from an article on punknews.org, and I’m glad I did. Snowing is a quartet out of Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and they seem deeply into the Pennsylvania emo thing. Which, these days seems to be a resurgence of the kind of cataclysmic catharsis that Cap’n Jazz and early Promise Ring. It’s … [Read more…]