The story is, by now, a worn-out cliché. It even shows up on network television shows like Nashville: the influential elder statesman who helped establish a form of music popular today is granted meetings with record label A&R executives “out of respect” to hear his newest, vital work, only to be told “no” regarding label […]
San Diego’s music community has seen many talented musicians emerge over the past few years, but nothing compares to what’s going on with 16-year-old Cody Lovaas. At a time when acts big and small are having a hard time filling seats, Lovaas has emerged as a major talent. A quick scan of the audience outside […]
If there is a feature of Zydeco music that sets this hybrid of blues apart, it may be the relentlessly upbeat, let’s-party vibe that permeates so much of it. Where a traditional blues may be about a lowdown woman doing a man wrong, a Zydeco song will more likely be about how she makes a […]
How wistfully I recall the furor during my high school years as the school administration squared off against the insidious threat of what it called “Public Displays of Affection.” In those olden times, PDAs consisted of nothing more than handholding and mouth-to-mouth kissing, but adults seemed to think that if they allowed such behavior, our […]
“You look familiar.” Jeff Pekarek is examining me with one of those, “I think we went to high school together,” expressions. Beatriz Basile, his wife, looks up at me and wordlessly nods in agreement. I take a good gander at both of them as I wait for my Expensive-o-latte at the counter at Starbucks. As […]
That, at first glance, may strike you as an odd question, but think about it. The bluegrass repertoire includes songs about coal mining, labor unions, strikes, and other clearly political activities. Also covered are songs about the struggles of working people of all stripes in a variety of circumstances. There are songs about farmers, factory […]
Solid Air Records has been recording music by a collection of talented acoustic guitarists, with discs by nationally known artists as well as theme projects like music by Elvis, Cole Porter, and Leiber and Stoller, played by a group that includes local aces Jim Earp and Wayne Johnson. This Guitar’s In Love With You is […]
Moving on. That was my latest project. Moving my studio. Moving from my home. Moving to another state. Moving in with other human beings. I get itchy just writing it, even in hindsight. All along, that wooly sweater of concern was and has continued to be singular in focus: moving forward. The first complication I […]
Bill Dempsey is a songster of great talent and has released a number of disks, almost all of them centered on a theme. One was a CD of children’s songs; another featured original tunes. In 2007 he put out Shanty Man, a disk filled with songs of the sea and the romance of the days […]
