Music has always played a central role in Ben’s life. His wit and skill as a singer-songwriter showcases an artist who is comfortable in both his own skin and with his impressive musical legacy. His acclaimed previous releases comprise his debut album 2003’s Famous Among The Barns, 2005’s Another Run Around The Sun, and 2008’s [...]
By Jhoni Jackson Will somebody let Billy from Portland’s Mean Jeans borrow a guitar for their set at the Mess-Around tomorrow? Because the one he’s been using for years was smashed last week—during the first song of the first show of tour, in fact. The notoriously raucous party-punks are known for a few things: Wild [...]
Like A Locomotive pulled out of the station and starting thundering down the tracks in 2010 as a collaboration of accomplished musicians who hail from Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. Although the members had experienced success in other projects (including some nationally known touring acts), magic occurred the first time the group played together as Like [...]
Atlanta, GA raised Kelly McFarling and gave her space to find her powerful voice in its church choirs and baseball stadiums, but it was San Francisco that gave her the encouragement and community to solidify her original sound. She has spent the past three years selling out shows in both her hometown and her adopted [...]
Cigar Store Indians is an American Rockabilly/Roots-rock band that plays all original, dirt under the finger nails, dance-all-night honky-tonk music. The guys will be playing a hometown show this Saturday, April 27 at Smith’s Olde Bar! We asked singer-songwriter of the band, Ben Friedman, questions about the band’s history, their killer name and their plans [...]
By Jhoni Jackson There’s a little bit of L-U-V hidden in the lineup of this year’s Mess-Around. Two of the annual weekend throwdown’s most theatrical performers, Hether Fortune of Oakland’s Wax Idols and Tim Gick of Lafayette, Indiana’s TV Ghost, married in February. Their Friday-night sets at the EARL are part of a joint tour [...]
By: Shelby Lum The Beat. Here in the states known as The English Beat. The band has been wandering the planet for over three decades, in front of crowds ranging from huge festivals to intimate bars. Thirty years is nearly unheard of in the music industry and with that time change, came changes in the bands [...]
Melding his classical training with years of Colorado mountain woodshedding, Bobby Yang is reinventing the sound of the acoustic violin. His inimitable sound combines the passion of a violin with the dirt of a bluegrass fiddle and the rawness of a guitar. He has surrounded himself with musicians who share his madness, his Unrivaled Players, [...]
Tyler Bryant was born to play music. The 21-year-old guitar prodigy has been playing since he was six and was bred on the roughneck blues of Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Bryant’s impressive resume reads as if he’s been in the business for decades. Tyler was awarded the Robert Johnson Foundation’s New [...]
By: Shelby Lum Driving on long tours can be difficult, but maybe a little easier for Mitch of Born Ruffians considering he doesn’t have a drivers license. “I don’t drive, so I am the dork on tour that doesn’t ever drive,” Mitch said in an interview with Atlanta Music Guide. So the one thing he doesn’t [...]
The title of Gretchen Peters’ new Hello Cruel World is a pun on the famed exit line – a joke that, like the lovely melodies and deliciously textured arrangements framing these 11 songs – sweetens this captivating music spun from a year of turmoil. The Grammy nominated singer-songwriter from Nashville calls Hello Cruel World her [...]
By Ellen Eldridge Although they might be a square peg in a round hole, Stolen Babies may just fit somewhere within this heavily hyphenated description: Quirky-Prog Pop-Art Rock-Avant Garde-Cabaret Metal-Horror Punk-tinged with Industrial, Goth and Dark Wave. The band’s mythology began back in 1997 when Dominique Lenore Persi, the Sharones and keyboardist Ben Rico were [...]
By Ellen Eldridge Gun Outfit plays at 529 in Atlanta on Tuesday, April 23, to support the April 2 release Hard Coming Down. Fans of any SST band, Sonic Youth, Wipers or Pavement will love the album as well as the live show. Vocalist and guitarist Caroline (Carrie) Keith answered our interview questions: What is [...]
By: Shelby Lum Many musicians break into a record deal through networking, knowing the right people, or knocking on a lot of doors. Kate Earl found it by nearly getting hit by a car–which she luckily dodged. “I almost got hit by a car,” Kate said. “The driver of that car was my neighbor.” So [...]
James Hazell, better known by his stage name FuntCase, is an English Dubstep and drum and bass producer and DJ, from Bournemouth, England. Hazell first released drum and bass, under the moniker DJ Dose in 2007, and in 2009 released his first single under the name FuntCase. In 2010 he was signed to Flux Pavilion [...]
Interview: Imagine Dragons; Rocked Out @ Hangout Fest 5/19
After the last note played on the last song of a marathon set a few years ago, Dan Reynolds, frontman for Las Vegas based rockers Imagine Dragons, realized it was all starting to come together. Reynolds and his bandmates – guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman – independently released three EPs, [...]
Picture Book & Review: Party in the Park, 5/18
Photo Credit: CatMax Photography, LLC, Review by Gini Strobel If you couldn’t make it to Hangout Fest, like AMG’s Katie Caccavale, you still had your chance to see some of the awesome artists that played the popular beach festival. Back for year 2, Centennial Olympic Park packed in a sweet festival lineup for Party [...]
Picture Book: Avett Brothers @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 5/17
Photos by: CatMax Photography, LLC
Picture Book: Clutch @ Center Stage
Pictures & Review By Deidra Pinion If you were coming to see Clutch at Center Stage, you probably noticed that almost, if not every seat, was filled. Clutch started touring in March 2013 in support of their new album, Earth Rocker. People of all ages lined the theater. I was told that I was in [...]
Picture Book: Titus Andronicus @ The EARL 5/14 & Criminal Records 5/15
Photos by Hillery Terenzi: So So Glos: Titus Andronicus: Criminal Records In-Store Performance:
Picture Book & Live Review: Justin Furstenfeld @ Center Stage 5/14
Photos and review by Jenna Hughes The atmosphere at Center Stage was quiet and calm on Tuesday night as fans eagerly awaited the stripped down solo performance of Justin Furstenfeld (of Blue October). The standing room floor was transformed into a seating area and those seats filled up fast with dedicated fans. Strangers chatted and [...]
5GB Interview: Shockwave Riderz; Playing with !!! @ The EARL 5/22
Shockwave Riderz are a three piece from Pittsburgh consisting of Phil Boyd, Sara Mac and !!! drummer Paul Quattrone who make fuzzy garage rock. The band started making music roughly a year ago, but they are already on a roll. They guys are starting a tour with !!! this week and were super stoked to [...]
5GB Interview: Cosmonauts; Playing 529 Thursday, May 16
By Jhoni Jackson Orange County outfit Cosmonauts boasts a blend of chaos and comedowns in their forever-fuzzy rock ‘n’ roll repertoire. Last year’s If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die (Burger Records) hits both amped-up, anxious highs and droning, lost-in-lament lows with equal intensity. Nailing an energetic, raucous jam like “Motorcycle #1” is a feat in [...]
5GB Interview w/ Twin Sister; Playing TONIGHT (5/15) @ 529
Twin Sister trade in a brand of dreamy pop that’s equal parts Galaxie 500, Tusk-era Fleetwood Mac, and Lynchian weirdness. They claim it will make you feel good enough to hook up with that one person you’re not supposed to hook up with. UH-OH! We caught up with the band before they hit the road [...]
5GB with Beth Hart – playing Smith’s Olde Bar Tuesday May 7
By Ellen Eldridge Beth Hart brought her life experiences, both positive and negative, together for her April 2 release, Bang Bang Boom Boom, which was produced by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Joe Bonamassa, Jimmy Page/The Black Crowes, Dream Theater). The Kennedy Center Honors show-stopping performance of Jeff Beck and Beth Hart’s “I’d Rather Go Blind” [...]
5GB Interview: Telekinesis; Playing @ The Drunken Unicorn 5/4!
Telekinesis is Michael Benjamin Lerner, an indie rocker based out of Seattle who is currently signed to Merge Records. The band was signed to Merge Records in early 2009, and shortly afterward released the eponymously named debut album Telekinesis! on April 7, 2009. With the recent release of their third album, Dormarion, Telekinesis was ready [...]
5GB Interview w/ Device – Playing @ Center Stage 5/3!
By Ellen Eldridge David Draiman of Disturbed, and ex-Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo recently collaborated together to construct Device. The self-titled debut released April 9, taking strands from hard rock, industrial and electronica to form a focused, fierce and fiery new machine. It all started while the Grammy Award-nominated multiplatinum powerhouse Disturbed was on hiatus. Lenardo [...]
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