For a band that titled arguably its best album For Your Own Special Sweetheart (1994), Jawbox may themselves be the sweetest post-hardcore band of the ’90s.
On the fateful Friday night of Nov. 22 in 1996, excitement for the weekend got into the heads of three students – including yours truly – and ousted any semblance of logic as punishment. When we learned that the J. Robbins-led Jawbox had plans to play a gig at Mabel’s in Champaign, a city located two hours south of Chicago.
Continue readingIt’s unlikely we’ll again witness an underground rock musician quite like Rick Froberg, whose original, speedy and catchy post-punk stylings amounted to pure fun. The singer/guitarist and – for all intents and purposes – frontman for Drive Live Jehu, Hot Snakes, Obits and other esteemed bands tragically passed away from a heart condition around this time last year. In memory of the sweaty, spastic, singular musician, here’s a handwritten list of Froberg’s favorite albums that he sent yours truly 14 years ago:
Band patches, stickers and pins are so yesteryear. Check out artist merchandise running the gamut from the hilarious to the bizarre in my latest FLOOD feature.
Bewitcher, Portland’s most scintillating speed-metal band since Toxic Holocaust, blew the garage doors off the Shredder in Boise once again on Friday night. It was an exhilarating set played by the band that played the same venue with Nile in mid-April, and with Exhumed and Creeping Death in November 2021.
The 50-or-so attendees danced and rubbed knocked elbows during each song, before and after which Bewitcher’s gracious frontman — who goes by the tough-to-memorize moniker Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations — frequently expressed his appreciation for the crowd.
The Winterlings – a self-described “nocturnal alternative-folk band” – recently reached out to the Bad Penny with some thought-provoking pictures that warrant another installment in our ongoing “Memento” series. And with the fall having just arrived and Halloween around the corner, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Continue reading
Memo to Cheap Trick: You’re not the only worthy band from Rockford, Illinois. In fact, sooner than later, you might have some serious competition. Continue reading
While modern indie-rockers Research Society are still green around the ears, having formed only a few years ago, they were born and bred on ’90s music. Founders Namky and G Mann bonded over their love of guitar-based bands like Soundgarden and Blur, and incepted a project that would also incorporate electronic elements, hip-hop and beyond. Continue reading
As you can probably tell from this Wanda Jackson story and this Wanda Jackson interview, she’s as sweet as she is legendary. Above is a handwritten card she sent me, followed me the envelope that contained it; plus a promotional matchbook her label, CMT, made around the time of 2003’s Heart Trouble. Continue reading
The latest installment in a series of “postcards” from bands on the edge comes courtesy one Branden Daniel and his chicks. Stet that: Chics. Continue reading
Here’s the first Bad Penny installment in an artist-centric series in which musicians pass along objects of importance – or unimportance – and, in particularly fortuitous situations, dish a little about them too. Continue reading
The Bad Penny (beta) 