There’s been a plethora (love that word) of releases on the rock side of the genre ledger that has demanded by attention. You see, the rocksters listed here were all riding high back in the seventies, so naturally, I was curious to see if they still got “it.” In eachRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Today, John Hiatt is among the leading American folk-rock singer-songwriters, standing in stature just below Springsteen and Mellencamp, but it was no overnight success story for him. Hiatt struggled to get traction on his career for over a dozen years after releasing his first album inRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Les Dudek is one of those guitarists you may have never heard of but you’ve certainly heard him. He was the harmony guitar part on The Allman Brothers’ first major hit “Ramblin’ Man.” He added slide and dobro to Steve Miller’s dual classics Fly Like AnRead More

by Pico This version of Quickies focuses on new rock and old jazz. One thing they have in common: it’s all good. >Bennie Maupin The Jewel In The Lotus Multi-reedist Bennie Maupin first made his mark contributing that bad-assed bass clarinet to Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and then joined HerbieRead More

by S. Victor Aaron As a nation is transfixed on the destructive fires going on in Southern California, the fate of millions living there seem to rest on something Man has no control over: those Santa Ana winds. Hot, dry gales that blow in from the desert to the eastRead More

by Pico Songs that I’ve known for a quarter of a century don’t tend to stay in my brain’s record rotation continuously for that long, but this song popped up out of nowhere in my consciousness once again. Maybe it’s a sign that it’s time to write about it. “ThatRead More

This installment of “Quickies” actually boasts some more diversity than the last one. As in some (gasp) singer-songwriter records! Sandwiched in between is a jazz icon, who like the first entry, recorded some folk-rock back in 1968. Thankfully, he eventually chose the right genre. The last guy is in aRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Chris Rea is something of a lingering figure in popular music. He had a top 20 hit way back in 1978 for “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” and then a smaller one in 1986 with “On The Beach.” Both of these songs casted him asRead More

by S. Victor Aaron They look and sound like they’ve been around forever, but the Subdudes have “only” existed for 20 years (counting the roughly eight-year hiatus from 1996-2004), mainly flying under the radar. They come out of that musically rich town of New Orleans, but have rarely been mentionedRead More

By Pico The fertile music grounds of Austin, Texas has brought the world such uniquely talented guitar big shots like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Johnson. But the list doesn’t stop there; among many other specialists of the six string from that locale is a dude who stands out aRead More