Making music comes naturally to Oklahoma City brothers Sam and Ray Ashford, who made it official by s tarting a band together in 2009. With big choruses and mellow verses, Oxford Town has been described as garage blues with a hint of grudge. A reflection of their shared musical taste, their band name is taken […]
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Sound of Noise
Unfortunately for him, avant-garde musicians Sanna (Sanna Persson) and Magnus (Magnus Börjeson) are plotting something big: a full-scale, public performance of his masterpiece, Music for One City and Six Drummers. They only need four more drummers, so they recruit them Blues Brothers style, in order to “give this city a concert it’ll never forget.” Welcome […]
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Star trek
Most touring bands book years of shows in dingy rock venues, playing for few more than the members of other groups on the bill before getting the call up to the big leagues. On its debut road trek, Los Angeles rockers Stars in Stereo nabbed such a spot opening for post-hardcore favorites The Used. “It’s […]
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Auto parts
Autoerotique takes elements of techno, rock, indie and house music, which shifts dance floors into hyperdrive. BY Joshua Boydston When the two guys behind Canadian act Autoerotique got their start as producers back in 2007, they never thought electronic dance music — aka EDM — would have taken over the mainstream in less than half […]
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Jazz hands
The Bert Dalton Brazil Project Santa Fe, N.M.-based pianist Bert Dalton may not look like your prototypical Latin jazz musician, but he’s as experienced and talented as they come. Growing up in Chicago, he was exposed to the Windy City’s lively Latin jazz scene at any early age. It hooked him almost immediately, and he’s […]
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Slumber party
When it comes to membership, country music group Asleep at the Wheel is like a revolving door. “I’ve had a hundred people through this band,” said leader and founding member Ray Benson. “It’s been 42 years.” Playing Sunday at the Blackout Block Party fundraiser at Grady’s 66 Pub in Yukon, the Texas outfit has been […]
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The Lowbrow Reader Reader
Thirteen years later, my zine became the victim of its own success: The process simply ceased to be fun for me, so after 37 issues — or was it 38? — an exhausted one-man publisher called it quits. I only tell you this because as I was wrapping up, a New York-based zine called The Lowbrow […]
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Don’t Go in the Woods
The first feature as director for longtime fine actor Vincent D’Onofrio (Kill the Irishman), Woods is as ambling as the five young musicians — one of whom is blind — who drive their van to a forest for a songwriting retreat, where the following things are not allowed: booze, drugs, girls, phones and common sense. That […]
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Aw, Swell
Jonathan Weiner When Nick Diener and his brother formed punk act The Swellers as teenagers, they didn’t know what they were doing. “When we were kids, we had these guitars and we wondered what it would be like to be rock stars. So we formed a band,” guitarist and singer Diener said. “I didn’t know […]
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Vesper recipe
With two albums surveying themes of hope, redemption in Jesus, and supernatural healing to their name, it’s no surprise that The Vespers are a band of Christians. But are they a Christian band? A closer look at the college-aged siblings’ output and business acumen suggests they’re aiming for the former. “When we got together, we […]