On Tuesday, we presented you, dear reader, with an exceptionally (and probably unnecessarily) long examination of Bob Odenkirk’s recently released Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama: A Memoir. The post included a list of facts and details likely unbeknownst to even the most devout fans of the actor/writer/director/sketch-comedy icon.
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Thanks to his breakthrough role as Saul Goodman a.k.a Jimmy McGill in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Bob Odenkirk finally got his due in mainstream culture starting in 2009. Landing the part was a game-changer for the actor/writer/director/sketch-comedy icon who had spent more than a decade toiling on dozens of projects that never saw the light of day.
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“To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” screening and Q&A with Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo also confirmed for Foos’ Ball, happening July 8, 2023, in Roswell, New Mexico.
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Years before anyone reading this article was born — unless you’re a member of the AARP, in which case, holla! — country-music mecca Nashville had already established its own original variety of music. “The Nashville sound” wasn’t exactly the most inventively named subgenre, but it didn’t matter: Record labels like Columbia and RCA Victor, along with teeming masses of musicians eager to embrace the next big thing, gave birth to a smoother, poppier take on country that endures to this day.
Problem is, when a city builds its reputation on a particular sound, it simultaneously confines itself. Musicians hoping to make it big are often constricted by the same phenomenon that lured them to the city in the first place. It’s worse than ever nowadays, with major labels having stripped the authenticity out of “The Nashville sound” in favor of a commercial strain that makes country music virtually indistinguishable from pop. Deforestation isn’t just happening literally; billionaires are cutting down creativity as well, in a metaphorical sense, with artists becoming an endangered species.
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Based on the above rebus, try to guess the name of this magical musician who peaked in the 1970s. Click below for the answer.
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As children, we fear things that go bump in the night. Could they be monsters? Evil spirits? The devil’s minions?
As we age, we realize that most of those frightening sounds probably emanated from our parents having sex in their bedroom — a terrifying thought in its own right.
One of the lousier aspects of growing older is the loss of imagination. Case in point: Analytical website Skynet & Ebert determined in 2015 that people stop exploring new music and bands as early as 33 years old. Bands are culpable of ripping off each other’s sound, lyrics or beats.
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Make no mistake about it: Denver’s Wayfarer are dead-set on claiming the throne as kings of black metal in the Western U.S. Cofounded in 2011 by guitarist/vocalist Shane McCarthy, bassist/vocalist James Hansen and drummer Isaac Faulk, the group even haughtily describes itself as follows: “Wayfarer is black metal of the American West.”
Reaching such status will be a very tall order, but the quartet (also featuring guitarist Joe Strong-Truscelli) showed promise with a relentlessly crushing concert at the Shredder in Boise on Thursday night. The gig was the penultimate one on their 11-date “Death Rides West” jaunt.
British-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter Yola left the Grammy Awards empty-handed last week, losing to Jon Batiste for Best American Roots Song and Los Lobos for Best Americana Album. Still. the outcomes weren’t a huge surprise for an emerging artist whose music is not confined to a single genre.
Indeed, Yola didn’t seem phased whatsoever when she played her unique blend of pop/country/hip-hop/Americana/soul/R&B/you-name-it to the Knitting Factory in Boise. Smiles abounded through the crowd, who were enraptured by Yola’s vocal range and authenticity — and seemed to know the show was so special, they might tell their kids about it someday.
Her covers of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” Aretha Franklin’s “Day Dreaming” and Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love” iced the cake.
If you aren’t yet familiar with the gift from the music gods that is Yola, check out my recent cover story on the artist for Music Connection. In the feature, she discusses her most recent album, July 2021’s Stand for Myself; growing up practically destitute; the “hot mess” that is U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson; and her lifelong love of Dolly Parton.
“Just remember what ol’ Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big old storm right in the eye and says, ‘Give me your best shot. I can take it.’ ” -Jack Burton, “Big Trouble in Little China”
The Shredder, Boise’s go-to club for brutal bands, came out of the pandemic with guns blazing. Tech/death-metal legends Defeated Sanity and Skeletal Remains dropped by late last month. Meanwhile, Inferi, Wayfarer, Bewitcher, Nite, Borknagar, Rotting Christ, Necronomicon, the Convalescence and Malevolent Creation will perform there over the next month.
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The Bad Penny (beta) 