Rap’s Atmosphere has never shied away from a heavy tour schedule. The duo would travel hundreds of miles for a couple hundred dollars, rarely covering costs, just to drum up buzz. After steady success with six studio albums, Atmosphere still takes to the road at a ferocious pace — now for love and money. “I […]
Music Features
Posted inMusic
Giants’ success
You’d think sharing a band with a guy for nearly 30 years would cement the foundation of your relationship. Of course, when your band happens to be Brooklyn’s often-silly and offbeat, usually sweet and affecting They Might Be Giants, you can’t take each other’s words too seriously. According to the band’s Twitter feed, this show […]
Posted inMusic
What a Maroon!
Pop-rock chart favorites Maroon 5 and Train have made for one of the season’s top tours. That doesn’t mean they were positive they’d get along. “You’re always a little nervous. It’s like, ‘Man, I hope these guys aren’t dicks,’” Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine said. “But they’ve been really cool, and it’s a great combo.” […]
Posted inMusic
Cagle exercise
Life as a touring musician has left country’s Chris Cagle with plenty of lumps. Somehow, he’s taken them all and poked fun at the experience, titling his last album, “My Life’s Been a Country Song.” The narrative has seen Cagle stumble over all the trappings of country stardom — divorce, label drama, legal battles — […]
Posted inMusic
Paws command
Kitten front woman Chloe Chaidez had played in a cover band — performing alongside the likes of Band of Horses and Midlake — for three years before she decided to pursue something more mature and artistically satisfying than those cute, little cover songs. She was 13 at the time. One year of songwriting led her, […]
Posted inMusic
Westerns’ union
It’s been a busy year for Smith Westerns. Luckily, with their respective ages barely reaching into the 20s, they group’s members had plenty of energy to meet all the opportunities that have presented themselves since the release of their critically acclaimed sophomore effort, “Dye It Blonde.” The Chicago-based, indie-rock band has made the most of […]
Posted inMusic
Soundcheck: Junebug Spade — Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Things crackle to life on this short disc, goofily titled “Extra Virgin Olive Oil,” by layering Peter Seay’s great, big, grinning voice over his vintage, red dirt-crunching guitars (reinforced by fellow riffing ace AJ Sadeghi), which lick their way across the opening track, “Aborigine.” “EVOO” makes for a fun, heavily stoned 18 minutes of music, […]
Posted inMusic
Lyrical leprosy
What happens when your marginally successful punk-revivalist group winds down? If you are Steve E. Nix (!), you just start another one. Nix’s original group, The Briefs, lost steam when members lusted for lives not dictated by tour schedules. With the few still interested in the road, he formed The Cute Lepers, which functions quite […]
Posted inMusic
Jake brake
Since the Stillwater-based musician first started taking guitar lessons in middle school, music has been the love of Jake Moffat’s life. But that love got lost somewhere along the way of his long battle with drugs. For some time, it looked like the last note had rung. “There’s a few years when I was down-and-out, […]
Posted inMusic
Superior sequel
It’s been a long ride for Oklahoma City indie-rock act Student Film. The band is fast approaching a full decade, much of it full of laborious promotion, touring and recording. Although the group never expected to necessarily hit it big, frustration with expectations — both their own and others — and the Oklahoma music scene […]