Based on the above rebus, try to guess the name of this magical musician who peaked in the 1970s. Click below for the answer.
Continue readingGood Nite, and Good Luck
Posted in Interviews, Sound Off with tags Nite on 04/19/2022 by kurtorzeck
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.
Continue readingPoll: Which Hair-Metal Band Should Reunite?
Posted in Comedy, Fun And Games, Polls with tags Cinderella, Damn Yankees, Glam rock, Hair metal, Mr. Big, White Lion on 04/18/2022 by kurtorzeck
Wayfarer Blow Away Boise With Blistering Black-Metal Fare
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Ghorot, Wayfarer on 04/17/2022 by kurtorzeck
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.
Yola ‘Stands’ Tall and Proud at Post-Grammys Gig
Posted in Concert Reviews, Interviews with tags Dolly Parton, Elton John, Grammys, Jon Batiste, Los Lobos, Yola on 04/14/2022 by kurtorzeck
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.
Noctambulist, Sunless Eclipse the Rest in Boise
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Noctambulist, Sunless on 04/11/2022 by kurtorzeck
“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.
Continue readingStar Reborn: Nas and 20 Years of Illmatic
Posted in Interviews, Sound Off with tags Nas on 03/19/2022 by kurtorzeckThe Unlikely Preacher: Chino Moreno and the Book of †††
Posted in Interviews with tags Chino Moreno, Crosses, Deftones on 03/19/2022 by kurtorzeckGetting To Know Mark Lanegan
Posted in Interviews with tags Afghan Whigs, Greg Dulli, Johnny Cash, Josh Homme, June Carter Cash, Kurt Cobain, Mark Lanegan, Nick Oliveri, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, the Screaming Trees, Twilight Singers on 02/22/2022 by kurtorzeck
Mark Lanegan wears all 40 years of his life on his face. His skin, once puffed in that Tom Waits sort of way, is now ironed out into a smooth sheet. His thin amber eyes pierce his surroundings with a devastating gravity. Even his thick maroon mane, which spikes out beneath a nondescript black hat, seems to be spun by the hands of time, hammered by hard living.
Best Albums Of 2022: Gojira, Dying Wish, At the Gates, Der Weg Einer Freiheit
Posted in Lists with tags Amenra, At the Gates, Carcass, Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Dying Wish, Gojira, Harakiri for the Sky, Malist, So Hideous, Violet Cold on 12/31/2021 by kurtorzeck
1. Gojira – Fortitude (Roadrunner)
2. Dying Wish – Fragments of a Bitter Memory (SharpTone)
3. At the Gates – Nightmare of Being (Century Media)
4. Der Weg Einer Freiheit – Noktvrn (Season of Mist)
5. Harakiri for the Sky – Maere (AOP)
6. So Hideous – None but a Pure Heart Can Sing (Silent Pendulum)
7. Amenra – De Doom (Relapse)
8. Carcass – Torn Arteries (Nuclear Blast)
9. Malist – Karst Relict (Northern Silence)
10. Violet Cold – Empire of Love (La Petite Mort Prod.)
The Bad Penny (beta) 