Few weren’t charmed by The Darkness’ ubiquitous single “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” when it hit stateside in 2003. The honest-to-God rock ’n’ roll stylings recalling the likes of Thin Lizzy, Queen and Kiss were hard not to appreciate. Even Lady Gaga counts herself as a fan, hand-picking the British glam band to […]
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The Black Jack Gypsys — 3:1
This is honest-to-God rock music for which revivalists home and afar have been clamoring — the type of music you imagine spilling out the door of some small, sweaty club on the Sunset Strip in the late ’60s. This is the Mad Max of debut EPs: hot, dangerous and tons of fun. The act opens […]
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K.C. and the sunshine grand
Credit: Kriea Arie It’s not at all uncommon to hear musicians comparing their new albums to their children. Months are spent laboring over every detail. An intimate bond exists with something in which they’ve invested their entire soul. There’s an optimistic apprehension to the idea of letting this creation move into the world on its […]
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David lean
Singer-songwriter David Ramirez needs only an acoustic guitar to perform his heartrending tunes. Since he can fit all his gear in the front seat of a sedan, his tour expenses are low, meaning he can tour often. But living on the road ensures some gigs will be out of the ordinary. “I was at this […]
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Hud home
Hudson Moore is something of a young gun on the country circuit. At just 22, he’d seem more at place at college than opening for the likes of Alan Jackson. In truth, he’d be right in the thick of finals if not dropping out to pursue music full-time. “I had these songs that I had […]
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Anger management
Mike Ness has been guilty of many things — more than he’d like to remember, or even can remember — but holding back on his emotions isn’t one of them. As the singer, guitarist and all-around force behind the three-decades-strong punk band Social Distortion, the man has summoned plenty of personal demons in hard-charging, college-radio […]
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All is ’bright
Singer-songwriter John Fullbright shares more in common with folk legend Woody Guthrie than their quaint hometown of Okemah. There’s a certain air of Oklahoma soul to everything they are and represent, whether voice, songs or presence. There’s a weight and understanding of not only life of an Oklahoman, but a human being. Fullbright didn’t set […]
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B real
The trio, which began as a quartet in 2003, is composed of Tré McCoy of Omaha, Neb.; Dele Olasiji of Norman; and Eric Hollowell of Davenport, Iowa. They met at a party in 2001, while attending college. “Four different states and we all happened to end up at the same party,” McCoy said. “The name […]
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JD McPherson — Signs & Signifiers
Producer Jimmy Sutton’s precise attention to past details is Mad Men–esque in its re-creation of rockabilly guitar tones, plunking upright jazz bass, and the way it captures Jonathan Doyle’s tenor sax and McPherson’s voice, which is the kind of durable instrument that made an army of slick-haired, suit-wearing bandleaders famous in the 1950s. It’s more […]
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You say Hello
It comes as a surprise that power poppers Hellogoodbye formed more than a decade ago. Forrest Kline — chief songwriter, lead singer and sole remaining original member — started the band in 2001 as he was finishing high school. He never expected to be featured on MTV’s The Real World, have smash radio singles like […]