Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders: Live at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City
August 10, 2014 | Posted in LIVE MUSIC, ROCK | By sockii
On May 6, 2010, Foo Fighters’ drummer Taylor Hawkins played The Gramercy Theatre in New York City, New York with his side-project band “Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders.” This show was the second of Hawkins’ current tour that I’ve had the chance to see, the first being on May 4 at the Sonar in Baltimore, Maryland…
Brandon Flowers Takes a Break from The Killers with Flamingo
August 9, 2014 | Posted in ROCK | By sockii
Brandon Flowers, lead singer of the highly successful rock band The Killers, breaks the mold of the typical debut solo album with his first solo record, Flamingo. Unlike other singers who release an album of material that wouldn’t fit the sound or structure of their bands’ work…
Ryan Star Lives in the Moment with “11:59”
August 7, 2014 | Posted in ROCK | By sockii
Ryan Star, one-time contestant on Rock Star: Supernova, has just released his first major-label album, 11:59. But has the high-end production made Star’s work sound too generic?
Gil Evans Orchestrates the Music of Jimi Hendrix
May 20, 2014 | Posted in JAZZ, ORCHESTRAL MUSIC, ROCK | By Jason Sositko
Jazz lore tells it, that in 1969, before Jimi Hendrix met his demise, he had discussed a collaboration with the jazz arranger Gil Evans and jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Believe it or not, Jimi even discussed bringing Paul McCartney into
The Who: Quadrophenia and More in Atlantic City, February 22 2013
May 18, 2014 | Posted in CLASSIC ROCK, LIVE MUSIC | By sockii
Quadrophenia has long been my favorite album by The Who, so I was thrilled to hear they would be taking it on the road again for the “Quadrophenia and More” Tour in 2012-2013. However, many expressed concerns over…
The Hoosiers are back with The News From Nowhere
May 9, 2014 | Posted in ROCK | By sockii
Perhaps it makes me a bit of a “cranky old rock dinosaur” or music snob to state that there have been very few new rock bands in the past decade that have really grabbed my full attention and interest. The Hoosiers are one of those precious few…
Taylor Hawkins soars with The Birds of Satan
April 30, 2014 | Posted in ROCK | By sockii
Imagine, if you will, that Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” had a love child with Aerosmith’s “Dream On”. The end result just might sound a great deal like…
Fiction Plane: A Great Modern Rock Band
April 17, 2014 | Posted in ROCK | By sockii
Fiction Plane may be one of the best modern rock bands you likely have never heard of. (But if you have heard of them before, good for you!) If their lead singer and bass player looks – and sounds –
Pete Townshend: Who I Am Book Review
April 17, 2014 | Posted in CLASSIC ROCK, NON-FICTION | By sockii
Who is Pete Townshend? That is the question the famous rocker purports to answer in his 2012 autobiography, Who I Am. With a musical career now encompassing…
Circa Zero’s “Circus Hero”: Is this what new Classic Rock sounds like?
April 7, 2014 | Posted in ROCK | By sockii
I had Circa Zero’s debut album Circus Hero pinned as one of my most-anticipated music releases for 2014. As a lifelong fan of The Police, how could I not be excited by this band…
