The Bad Penny (beta)

Burt Bacharach’s Secret to Writing Timeless Music: ‘Don’t Overwhelm’

Posted in Interview Transcripts, Interviews with tags Burt Bacharach, Isley Brothers, Ron Isley on 02/09/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

One of the greatest American composers of all time, Burt Bacharach passed away earlier today at at 94. In celebration of him — and his long, unparalleled life — I unearthed my previously unpublished full interview with the beloved Bacharach on November 14, 2003.

Our conversation took place eight days after my mother and I saw him and Ron Isley perform their collaborative album, Here I Am, with a full orchestra at the Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills, California. Tears gushed copiously onstage and in the crowd as Isley and Bacharach delivered one of the most touching concert performances of that — or any other — year.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

An Epic Conversation With Mikael Stanne of the Halo Effect, Dark Tranquillity

Posted in Interviews on 02/08/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Did someone say they wanted a 4,536-word feature on Dark Tranquillity and Halo Effect frontman Mikael Stanne? Check out my very long conversation with one of the very best metal frontmen:

INTERVIEW: The Halo Effect’s Mikael Stanne on His Positively Passionate Project

Leave a comment »

Human Potential Tells Story Behind New Single, ‘Hoosi, No!’

Posted in Interviews with tags Human Potential on 02/07/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Charles Bukowski famously said: “Potential doesn’t mean a thing. You’ve got to do it. Almost every baby in a crib has more potential than I have.”

Whether or not Andrew Becker knows Bukowski’s axiom, he might’ve had tongue in cheek when naming his solo project “Human Potential.” But, sarcasm or not, Becker is continuing to raise the bar — or pushing his potential even further, as it were.

The former drummer for Dischord Records’ Medications, Los Angeles-based Becker formed Human Potential about a decade ago so he could do his own thing. Each Human Potential release demonstrates Becker’s ever-expanding tool kit of musicianship. His latest single and video, “Hoosi, No!” dropped today, and they’re no exception.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Bonnie Raitt Talks About ‘Favorite Track I’ve Ever Cut’

Posted in Interviews with tags Bonnie Raitt, Grammy Awards on 02/06/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Big props this morning to Bonnie Raitt, whose tune “Just Like That” won Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards last night. The music legend now owns 15 Grammy statuettes, including her wins for Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal album and many more. But this was the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s first victory in the Song of the Year category.

In honor of her win, here is an interview I conducted with her for ICE magazine in 2002.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Video Premiere: Four Star Riot’s ‘Adding It Up’

Posted in Exclusives with tags Four Star Riot on 02/03/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Twenty years after their formation, Tampa, Florida’s Four Star Riot are rising up again with the infectious new song and hypnotic video for “Adding It Up.” Even more exciting, it’s the harbinger of things to come, with Four Star Riot announcing that they’ll deliver a new album in the spring.

“Adding It Up” swirls together the strongest aspects of the alt-rock band: its catchy rhythms, jangly melody and laid-back style. The song is the best anthem for indie-rock sleepyheads so far this year. The melancholic, narcotic song is particular well-suited for fans of Ride and Brian Jonestown Massacre.

“It’s a culmination of our influences over the years,” frontman Steve Alex told the Bad Penny of the new track.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

In Flames’ Foregone: 2-Cent Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags In Flames on 02/03/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

The end of the world is coming if the status quo continues. We all know that. But is there still a sliver of hope? That’s the question everyone is returning to — ironically, as we try to shake off the collective stupor that the global pandemic inflicted upon us.

It’s also the overarching theme of Foregone, the brilliantly crafted 14th album by Swedish melodic-metal masters In Flames. That’s right: metal. Whereas many of the band’s previous recent records fell under the umbrella of heavy rock, this 12-song tour de force delivers a punishing blow befitting the dire topic at hand.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Doppelgängers: ‘It Follows,’ ‘Hereditary’ and ‘In the Mouth of Madness’

Posted in Doppelgängers, Favorite Films, Features with tags Ari Aster, David Robert Mitchell, Hereditary, In the Mouth of Madness, It Follows, John Carpenter on 01/31/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Three of the scariest horror films from the past 30 years deeply affected audiences for radically different reasons.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Mantar: ‘We’re Not Super-Good Musicians’

Posted in Interviews with tags Mantar on 01/30/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

January is winding down. That means February is almost here. Then it won’t be long till spring arrives. Spring, you say? How about some early spring cleaning? Ain’t that a killer segue?

Here is my still-kinda-recent New Noise interview with Germany-based two-piece Mantar, who revel in sludge, black metal and melodic doom. Better yet, go here and buy the magazine’s issue in which the interview appears. It’s only six bucks, which is the best value you’ll find among the top music publications in the U.S.

Interview: Mantar Talk New LP, ‘Pain Is Forever and This Is the End’

Leave a comment »

Chase Matthew: Nashville’s Top ‘Unicorn’

Posted in Interviews with tags Chase Matthew on 01/29/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Pick up the latest issue of Music Connection — or check out the magazine’s website — for my feature article on country-music newcomer Chase Matthew.

Leave a comment »