CD Reviews

And now, for something completely different. Who, might you ask, is Plexus Play? Well, for the purpose of this album, Plexus Play is the brain-child of musician Matt DiBiase, and he’s basically doing that one-man band routine (although saxophonist Robert Dove makes an appearance). Local jazz fans will recognize DiBiase as a virtuoso vibraphonist who’s […]

Ex-San Diegan Tony Taravella now hails from Laughlin, where he has released several discs of instrumental jazz guitar CDs. These have included sets of American Songbook, Beatles, and surf classics, some with a backing band and others without. His latest is Dedicated to Les Paul, a dozen tracks that the guitar immortal recorded back in […]

Americana singer/songwriter Doug Schmude (pronounced like moody) is well traveled, starting in New Orleans, then other locations including Nashville before settling in Orange County. Part of the jack-of-all-instruments movement, Schmude has released several CDs, including 2018’s Burn These Pages, with original songs featuring his endearing vocals and own accompaniment on guitars, bass, dobro, mandolin, piano, […]

The notorious “half Canadian musical comedy duo” Joe and Jaye MacAskill perform and record under the name Pony Death Ride, and guess what, folks? They’ve saddled up once again and the best warning I can give to music audiences is a quote from Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Jurassic Park: “Hold on to your butts!” […]

I’ve been following the career of Mr. Kornhauser with keen interest for the last ten years or so, and I remember interviewing him about this album, which had been recorded but not yet titled. He was lining up potential album release dates when the Covid-19 crisis hit, and, well, everyone knows what happened to public […]

Jackslacks (Chris Giorgio) has been a fixture in the local rockabilly scene for years, and his latest EP, When Pigs Fly, is a tribute to longtime friend and fellow musician Billy Bacon, who passed last year. Jacklacks and Bacon were founding members in the Forbidden Pigs, and this three-track set is a rockabilly highlight reel […]

Deadbrokedown has released a new CD of original country blues, The Last Is First, which is different from the rest of the music landscape in that it is recorded with deliberately bare bones—just guitars and vocals, no drums or bass. Deadbrokedown is David Deakman, and this web-streamed project contains ten songs that play to his […]

Keys and Curiosities is the latest EP by Way José, local keyboardist/producer Daniel DeMento’s band, or more accurately, an amalgam of musicians and styles gathered from sessions in Minneapolis, the Los Angeles area, and Miami. The online download is a five-track jumble of keyboard-driven pop with music written by DeMento, some featuring recited poetry, others […]

Trouble in the Wind has been regularly releasing CDs and EPs for over a decade from their Carlsbad home base. The band has had few personnel changes and their new release, Weird Living, is their eighth. Musically, there has been development that has seen the impressive songwriting prowess of frontman/composer Robby Gira, whose early efforts […]