Glen Campbell Ghost on the Canvas Surfdog Records By Al Kaufman Upon first listen, hearing Glen Campbell sing the line, “People don’t know when they’re looking at soul,” evokes outright laughter. There are many who would argue that, next to Pat Boone, Glen Campbell is probably the biggest American singer with the least amount [...]
Red Hot Chili Peppers I’m With You Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman There was a time, some twenty or more years ago, when one of the greatest things to do would be take some drugs, blast the Chili Peppers, get naked, and dance like a maniac; a drug addled, naked maniac to be precise. Fast [...]
Black Lips Arabia Mountain Vice Music By Al Kaufman Every artist has that moment when they wish to be taken seriously. They make that attempt to branch out and not get pigeon-holed. The Jim Carreys and Will Ferrells of the world perform dramatic roles. The U2s release messes like Zooropa. In 2009, Atlanta’s Black Lips [...]
Hank Williams III Hillbilly Joker Bruc/Sidewalk By Al Kaufman Hank III never had a good relationship with Curb Records. They thought they were signing a old-fashioned country singer that was more like his grandfather than his dad. What they got is a kid who likes punk and thrash metal more than anything else. The whole [...]
Big Trouble The Very Best of Big Trouble DCM Records By Al Kaufman Back in the early ’90s, when hair was big and spandex was the attire of choice, four guys from Atlanta got together to start a band. Like most young kids at that time, they wanted to sound like Van Halen, Motley Crue, [...]
Daddy A Go Go Grandkid Rock Boyd’s Tone Records By Al Kaufman Here’s why Atlanta’s John Boydston, AKA Daddy A Go Go, is important for America. While the tinny tunes of Kindermuusik and The Wiggles prepare our little ones for the sexed up, but equally soulless, Rebecca Black or Justin Bieber, Daddy A Go Go [...]
R.E.M. Collapse Into Now Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman If R.E.M. came out with Collapse Into Now on the heels of 1994′s Monster, it would have been their biggest seller.It’s got all the power and passion that has been missing from the boys from Athens since Bill Berry left the band. But, alas, Collapse comes out [...]
Lykke Li Wounded Rhymes Atlantic By Al Kaufman Sweden’s Lykke Li’s first CD, 2008′s Youth Novels, was nothing more than sugary girl pop. Some of that remains on Wounded Rhymes (“Rich Kid Blues” springs immediately to mind). But Li has done a bit of growing up since then. Wounded Rhymes is full of want, desperation and [...]
Jeff Talmadge Kind of Everything Berkalin Records By Al Kaufman While he may currently call Roswell, Ga. home, Jeff Talmadge’s heart and head reside in the small towns of Texas where he grew up. In that time, Talmadge served as a janitor, a lawyer, a press secretary to Congressman Bob Krueger, a seminary student, and [...]
Iron and Wine Kiss Each Other Clean Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman With Kiss Each Other Clean, Sam Beam, the person behind Iron and Wine, should finally rid himself of the neo-folkie tag. While 2007′s The Shepherd’s Dog hinted at a fuller sound, Beam goes in full force on Kiss Each Other Clean. The CD opens [...]
Wanda Jackson The Party Ain’t Over Third Man/Nonesuch By Al Kaufman Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and whatever new band he happens to be in this week) seems to have a thing for older rebel women. First he resurrected the career of country maverick Loretta Lynn with Van Lear Rose. Now he takes on [...]
Amanda Palmer Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under Liberator By Al Kaufman There are two basic tenets of a rock concert if you want to get the crowd riled up: 1. Say the city/state/country’s name 2. Say “fuck.” And if anyone knows how to pander to a crowd, it is punk performance artist Amanda Palmer. On [...]
Animal & the Evolvers Heads Up Portugal By Al Kaufman First things first, Atlanta’s own Animal & the Evolvers are to be loved if only for the message on the bottom of their CD: “Pass the wine. Please feel free to rip this CD and share it with a friend.” No FBI warnings here. These [...]
Regina Spektor Live in London Sire By Al Kaufman Regina Spektor is an acquired taste. While most often compared to that other weird piano playing diva, Tori Amos, Spektor comes across as more appealing, and possibly slightly wackier. Spektor’s CDs have always been a mix of sheer beauty, idiosyncrasies, and sometimes downright annoyances. Live, the [...]
Cee-Lo Green The Lady Killer Elektra By Al Kaufman Was it gimmicky, stupidity, brilliance, or just plain arrogance to release a first single with a title that all but guaranteed no radio airplay? For Cee-Lo, it was clearly the latter two. “Fuck You,” like his monster hit with Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy,” is just too powerful [...]
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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