Rejuvenated Artistic Soul You know Jeff Berkley, right? The preeminent figure in San Diego folk-rock, anchor of our top folk duo, sideman to the stars, and producer of innumerable San Diego Music Award-winning albums over the last 20 years. That guy. You do know Jeff Berkley, right? Your favorite memory might be an intimate Berkley […]
Book Review Those hungering for a history of rock ‘n’ roll’s glory days, à la the Sixties, should latch onto a copy of Ed Ward’s book Michael Bloomfield: The Rise and Fall of an American Guitar Hero. Ward, a longtime music historian and journalist, was one of the original record reviewers in the early days […]
If you‘ve been following San Diego’s music scene over the past decade, you’ve certainly taken notice of Lauren Leigh Martin. A powerhouse singer, her own music’s sound touches on Americana, with elements of folk, country, and pop, topped by a wonderfully soulful voice. Meanwhile, she’s been a part of an impressively diverse set of bands […]
Film Review Movies, the authentically good ones, have the ability to reflect the best and the worst in humanity. If done well, we witness the highs and lows of the journey of life. The 2019 documentary, Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind, is as revealing as it is entertaining in its portrayal of […]
I doubt there’s a blues harp player on this planet that doesn’t know the name James Harman. His mastery of that instrument is only exceeded by his incomparable songwriting talents. I used to have some money, but it all got spent. Reached down in my pocket and I pulled up lint. Then add a voice […]
Tom “Tomcat” Courtney died last month. He was the Godfather of the Blues in San Diego, and among the last of the OG bluesmen in the world. He was our direct link to Lightnin’ Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, Johnny Shines, Smokey Hog, and all the past greats. He meant so much to so many, and the […]
Leonard Feather, legendary jazz critic for the Los Angeles Times, was chatting with a local journalist between sets at Elario’s nightclub in La Jolla during a late 1980s engagement by trumpeter Harry “Sweets” Edison. “I come down here to Elario’s as often as I can,” Feather said. “It’s better than anything currently going on in […]
It’s difficult to think of life without Pat Metheny. For the last 45 years the jazz guitarist has been one of the most prominent musicians to have shaped the sonic landscape of the United States and, for that matter, the rest of the world. And for San Diegans it’s difficult to think of life here […]
Gabriel Sundy was in a quandary. The musician and composer was racking his brains trying to figure out what kind of music it was on a recent recording. “What kind of music is this? I don’t even know!” he was heard to say. With all the distortion and loudness, was it metal? Was it head-banging […]
