“All eyes on the judges, who tabulate the score…” So where are we on this whole American Idol saga, anyway? I heard that Simon Cowell and Ellen Degeneres had vacated their judges’ chairs (this was the first I’ve heard of Degeneres even being on the show). And Kara DioGuardi wasRead More

by Pico If a measure of the talent of a band can be measured by the amount of meaningful side projects its members get involved with, then Umphrey’s McGee is beginning to qualify as a very talented bunch. Last year, Jake Cinninger, Kris Meyers and Joel Cummins from my favoriteRead More

This being his 21st release (including a couple of live documents and soundtracks), it’s a wonder that Nick Cave could start out strong and continue to show growth with each new release. Out in March just a month after The Assassination of Jesse James soundtrack with Warren Ellis, Cave returnsRead More

by Pico We’ve used this space for bringing telling the world about the recorded accomplishments of artists both popular and obscure, and for us, at least, the talented ones who haven’t emerged yet are usually the ones that are most fun to write about. With those types, there’s a greaterRead More

I had thought Phil Collins had stopped making regular studio records altogether, and I’ll bet many of you did, too. After all, it had been eight years since Testify and he seemed to have settled into a successful little niche of making soundtrack music. However, there would be at leastRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Guitar whiz Buckethead has built a loyal following primarily by virtue of his fretted pyrotechnics. Among the several records he makes every year are the mellower, dulcet types that range from ambient to instrumental pop. In some ways , this toned-down record by a fiery guitaristRead More

S. Victor Aaron I haven’t heard this band prior to this album, but was curious about them after reading they were some sort of a jam band, like Phish, Dave Matthews or Humphrey’s McGee. Man of The World doesn’t really conjure up memories of those bands at all except toRead More

by S. Victor Aaron This one’s not dropping until April 13 and I’ve listened to it only a few times, but I think it’s a pretty easy album to peg. This is one Jeff Beck long player where there’s a lot more emotion happening than commotion. The stomping blues-rock fusionRead More

A year ago, we drooled a little over a power blues record by an ascending star on the blues scene, Joe Bonamassa. Since then The Ballad Of John Henry rocketed to the #1 position on Billboard’s Blues Albums charts, #103 on its Top 200, #35 Rock chart and #1 Heatseekers,Read More

Since we’re on the topic of Austin-based acts, why not shift our focus to one of the most acclaimed and yet most elusive since the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan? I’m talking of course about the Arcangels. It would be impossible to discuss the Arcangels without a discussing their sometimes-volatileRead More