Category: Features

Posted on: September 5, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 2

Sven Sundberg Interview

Who are you and how long have you been active? My name is Sven Sundberg, and I am a songwriter/composer from Springfield, Illinois.  I play piano and guitar, and I specialize in creating relaxing, melodic instrumental pop songs.  I learned to play the piano at a young age, but I’ve only been recording for a year or so.  I have always written melodies as far back as I can remember.…

Posted on: September 4, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue (Dungeons and Dragons)

Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue is a must-have title for anyone that wants to further flesh out visiting the titular city in any campaign. The sheer amount of information that is stashed in this title will fuel many a session. I believe that the descriptions made of the city itself are perhaps the most valuable additions to the title. Successfully painting a backdrop for the players as a DM is perhaps…

Posted on: September 4, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Lisztomania (DVD)

Lisztomania was released in 1975 by Ken Russell (Altered States, Tommy), and features Roger Daltrey as Franz Liszt. This film is incredibly off the wall. As the same director/actor pair that led Tommy to such heights are present here, one should have some idea of what to expect. There is a much more erotic and human feel to Lisztomania. The title, set during the 19th century, focuses on the stratospheric…

Posted on: August 31, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Blues Traveler – Suzie Cracks the Whip (CD)

The summer of 2012 will likely go down as the “Summer of 90’s Nostalgia”. Every Gen Xer (myself included) who rolled their eyes through childhood while the Boomers re-lived every inane musical milestone of their generation somehow found themselves carrying the torch over the past few months, as everyone from Everclear to Marcy Playground trotted out new records and tours packed to the gills with graying musical acts. Joining the…

Posted on: August 31, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Boardwalk Empire –The Complete Second Season (DVD Set)

Steve Buscemi’s Nucky and his corrupt Atlantic City political pals (is that redundant?) are back in the second season of one of HBO’s best dramas. If you missed the first season, adapted by Soparnos vet Terence Winter, stop what you’re doing and get caught up. It’s that good. Season two finds Nucky on the ropes after being betrayed by his brother and his new crew. There is competition in the…

Posted on: August 29, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Incubus – Incubus HQ Live Special Edition (CD Set)

I’ve always felt a little bad for California’s Incubus (though not too bad, once you factor in all the money they raked in and the hot and cold running groupies… but I digress). Coming on the radio in the mid-to-late-90’s their record label took the easy route and simply tried to cram them into a box alongside the other nu metal mooks who were ruling the world at the time.…

Posted on: August 29, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Slave’s The Experiment

Kent, Ohio’s Slave has just released a new track / DJing tool. Slave provides some backstory about the cut: “Here’s a short bootleg track I put together while at Big Dub Candy Mountain, first played when I opened for Doctor P. There’s not that many transition pieces like this out there, so I’m making this a free download in hopes that my fellow DJ’s will find it useful during their…

Posted on: August 28, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman (Book)

It’s almost frightening how good novelist Laura Lippman is at churning out top shelf books that take a twisted view of suburbia. Her latest, And When She Was Good, her 11th, showcases Lippman at her best. It’s not technically a mystery or even a thriller – though there are certainly some white knuckle passages toward the end – but the story is impossible to resist nonetheless. Helen, the protagonist, is…

Posted on: August 28, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Storage Wars – Volume 3 (DVD Set)

As the third season of this popular realty series about bidding on abandoned storage units comes out on DVD, I’ve taken it upon myself to come up with the Storage Wars Drinking Game. Those who have never seen the show before just sit this one out. You’ll catch soon enough. Here goes: ·         Every time couple Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante toss an insult at each other, take a drink; ·         When the missing…

Posted on: August 27, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Blur – Box Sets (CDs)

Despite the best efforts from U.S. music mags to try and recreate the same Blur vs. Oasis rivalry that their British counterparts had been able to set up and milk for years, the competition never really caught on over here. In fact, Brit Pop as a genre never really made as much as an impact in the U.S. as it did in Europe. But for those of us who did…

Posted on: August 27, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Everclear – Invisible Stars (CD)

You know you’re getting old when those bands that first surfaced in your college years are now touring as a packaged nostalgia acts alongside fellow graying rock bands. In the case of Everclear, now celebrating 20 years as a band, that means hitting the road with the Gin Blossoms, Lit, Marcy Playground and Sugar Ray.   And if audiences are permitting, Everclear can even sneak in some new songs from…

Posted on: August 26, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

SCYTHIA Offer Free Download ‘Sailor’s Accolade” From New EP

Canada’s favorite purveyors of folk/prog metal, Scythia are proud to share with fans a FREE DOWNLOAD of their first single “Sailor’s Accolade” from their new EP “For The Bear” due out on September 25, 2012 at the following location here. Youtube embed link – Sailor’s Accolade – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG63ssJR1as “This year, we are releasing our EP right before we hit the long road across Canada and the Eastern US with dates soon to be announced.…

Posted on: August 24, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Suns of Orpheus – Amoris Orbita (CD)

  Encanto is a groovy bit of rock that will keep listeners swinging. Hints of soul, funk, and Caribbean music can be heard alongside a more continental and Spanish flair. Encanto is incredibly rewarding; subsequent listens will spotlight sides to the track that were previously hidden. Birth of Music has a unique sound that unites psychedelic rock, funk, and even surf into a retro-futuristic sound. Suns of Orpheus continue to…

Posted on: August 22, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 1

Keith Williams Interview

Who are you and how long have you been active? My Name is Keith Williams. I have been active as an entertainer in the music business for over 35 years. What musical trends will be big next year? This is the 54 million dollar question. If I really knew the answer to this one I could make a fortune. Unfortunately, I have to say anything the kids will buy ,…

Posted on: August 22, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

THE MEN ANNOUNCE FALL TOUR DATES

Having played well over 50 shows in the states (about 50 overseas) so far this year, from Pitchfork Music Festival to The Smell, The Men will continue bringing their anthemic rock n roll across the globe. They will be performing new songs from their follow-up to Open Your Heart on this upcoming tour, which they recorded this past spring in Big Indian, NY.  The Men will be touring this fall in select US markets & make…

Posted on: August 21, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Inform. Bloc Party’s Four Available Now

Four is available now via iTunes and GalleryAC.com where it can be purchased in multiple formats. Production on Four began in the winter of 2011 following a year-long hiatus during which the group contemplated disbanding, only to find its determination towards making a new record stronger than it had ever been previously. Of Four, frontman Kele Okereke says, “It is the best thing that we have ever done and finishing…

Posted on: August 19, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

THE CULT UNVEIL STILL FROM NEW FILM CLIP “HONEY FROM A KNIFE”

Shot in New York City by Rick Rogers (Prelude To Ruins) in a highly cinematic style, lead singer Ian Astbury says the new clip reveals a “desperate descent into a fractured psyche,” and the “Honey From A Knife” song title was inspired by the Buddhist precept:   “Wealth and beauty, to a man who will not relinquish them, are like a knife covered with honey which, even before he has…

Posted on: August 16, 2012 Posted by: Sargeant Comments: 0

Ellen M. Wilson Interviewed

Who are you and how long have you been active? Ellen M. Wilson.  I’ve been performing professionally for more than 30 years…it all started with a rock band in high school while I was also studying classical music. What trends will be big in the next year?  I wouldn’t bank on my opinion, but increased diversity that will be harder to categorize, and more independent artists moving to the forefront,…