We Can Control the Medium: Radio’s Dying Gasps

“We can control the medium/ We can control the context of presentation…” – T. Gabel
Radio has been dying a slow death for the past decade, losing ad revenue to companies who have increased their ad spending online. I don’t claim to be an expert on the intricacies of radio but I knew enough in college [...]

Hot Water Music Reunion: Now I See (About SXSW)

I got inspired after reading about a reunion on Dirtbags blog. It brought me to this:
I was drunk at South by South West. Most everyone is. It is Vegas for music geeks. My best friend Alan flew in to Houston and drove the truck up from his Mom’s house and we ate and drank on [...]

Lucero: An Interview with Ben Nichols

Lucero: Blood in your veins is Rock and Roll
Lucero is a southern rock band that had their ears battened by Nashville swagger during childhood, then turned to the irreverence of Punk music in adolescence. While the styles of music seem polar opposites, the reality is they complement one another very easily. Lucero isn’t reinventing the [...]

Against Me or With me?

It took me 3 months to write this Against Me! feature (posted friday). I had spent some time with Tom and Co. in Austin during SXSW. We ‘hung out’ at the No Idea party where we watched the Draft and Chuck Ragan play. I had made a bet with Warren against James that Chuck and [...]

Against Me!: an interview with Tom Gabel

Against Me! started out as a solo acoustic project by singer and principal songwriter Tom Gabel. His penchant for blue collar lyrics, peppered with folk punk musings on everyday life built a solid base for what many fans and critics consider paramount among Against Me!’s strong points: great lyrics and amazing songs.
Against Me is made [...]

Planes Mistaken For Stars: The Best Band You Never Heard Of

I wrote this in 2003. Gared was my fourth interview for the music edge. In celebration of them coming to San Diego to play Cullens 30th B Day bash I thought I’d put this up. There is a funny anecdote of an experience I had when they played the Black Box in 05′. Gared and [...]

Ben Lee covers Against Me!’s New Wave

Yeah. It’ll break your heart. Ben Lee covers the entire new Against Me album puts a whole new spin on it. Gut wrenchingly beautiful. Here is a link to the scenestars post and within it you can find links to download the tracks. “Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart” and “Thrash Unreal” are [...]

Sirens from the North: Tegan and Sara

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As the old tale of the sea goes, mythological creatures called Sirens resided on rocks far enough from shore so that when their sweet voices lulled the ships and sailors near them, the ships would crash on the rocks. The last sounds those sailors would hear were the Sirens’ angelic voices. It’s kind of morbid [...]

Searching for a Form of Clarity:

Or Music Journalists Aren’t Your Friends and Don’t Forget That – Ever!
Hmm. Yes I remember it well. Not quite as well as I should and being a writer I probably should have documented every nuance and snippet of conversation while I was in the ‘moment.’ Alas, I’m not much of a journalist when it comes [...]

out of diego, into austin

So i’ll be leaving on a jet plane, bound for Austin, TX. The good old bastion of liberal thought in the middle of Texas, home of steers and apparently queers but i’ve heard they are only in East Texas, the steers that is. Man, R Lee Ermy is lame but his Full Metal Jacket [...]