Perhaps no one has phrased this better than Michael Burkett, also known as “Fat Mike,” the lead singer of NOFX and co-founder of the San Francisco-based indie label Fat Wreck Chords. “I signed a fucking band; I didn’t sign an artist!” Fat Mike is quoted as saying in the last chapter of Dan Ozzi’s book Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy that Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994-2007).
“If I’m gonna give you hundreds of thousands of dollars, help me sell the fucking records!” The punk singer and businessman is describing his frustration with Against Me! (the Florida band known for songs like Sink, Florida, Sink and Baby, I’m an Anarchist!) and their choice of album artwork for Former Clarity, featuring a black and white photograph of a single palm tree, which according to Fat Mike, was not a cover that would sell records.…
The streets were empty, eerie even. No children played in their yards, no laughter filled the air, nothing. Things are not like they used to be. But as I roll down the road, bass bumping and the volume on high, the neighborhood fades away and I find myself elsewhere.
I’m still in my car, but the outside world has all but disappeared, drowned out by the noise of my past. I clutch the steering wheel as memories flicker by like frames on a film reel, unable to comprehend the blur of years past. Deep breaths. Count to ten. My hand instinctively reaches for the radio, nothing a little music won’t cure.
Country. A twangy guitar comes over the stereo, accompanied by a sad story sung by a hurt man.…
As a registered caffeine addict, I’m more than a little bewildered by anyone over the age of twelve who doesn’t drink coffee. I’m with Michael Pollan, whose recent audiobook, Caffeine, explores not only how the world’s most widely used psychoactive drug has taken over our lives but also tells how he tested his own reliance on caffeine by giving it up for three months. Pollan slept better, he says, but his brain power flagged and his productivity declined, so he went back to the stuff.
As for myself, well, I’m glad that somewhere around the year 850, an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi noticed that when his charges nibbled the berries of a certain plant, they gave up the foxtrot, waltz, and mambo forever and began to do the twist, frug, swim, hitchhike, monkey, slop, Watusi, pony, shake, jerk, stomp, shag, and mashed potatoes.…
Pacifica is the fourth album by Washington, DC singer/songwriter Peter Maybarduk. Peter’s introspective songs include post-punk and symphonettes, sometimes bridging classical and rock music. He writes about transience, justice, dignity and meaning, and he arranges field recordings into his music. The Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (1300 entries) has just recognized Pacifica‘s third track, “Discontents” (Honorable Mention in the “Open” category). Pacifica features stellar musicians of the Washington, DC scene (Shawna Potter of War On Women, Kate Rears of Ladygod, Sriram Gopal of The Fourth Stream), with J. Robbins producing. You can find lyrics to the songs below here.
Peter Maybarduk – “Where is Your Heart?” Peter Maybarduk – “Failed States” Peter Maybarduk – “All of Whom I Love”
Eki Shola is a keyboardist/vocalist from the San Francisco Bay area who recently transitioned from a career in medicine to music. In both cases, her mission is the same: to heal however many people she can. Over the last few years, she’s released two albums: 2016’s Final Beginning and this year’s Possible, which is set to the first in a trilogy of LPs. Around those projects, she’s been compared to Flying Lotus, Gold Panda, and Nina Simone while also winning a NorBay Music Award for best Electronica Artist and performing in NPR’s Tiny Desk series in 2018.
In this episode of Cover to Cover with . . ., Editor-in-Chief Jordan Blum chats with Shola about her style and inspirations, her transition from medicine to music, the ways in which hardships can lead to hopefulness, and more!…
Jim Curtis received his PhD from Columbia University and taught for 31 years at the University of Missouri. He now lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and a much-loved poodle, Alfie. The origin of Decoding Dylan, his current book, goes back to his early years in Tupelo, Mississippi, when he had the chance to see Elvis Presley perform live. That was a life-changing experience that gave him his lasting love of rock and roll, and the great rock stars such as Bob Dylan.
In this episode of Cover to Cover with . . ., Editor-in-Chief Jordan Blum and Curtis go in-depth about Dylan’s cultural impact and inspirations, as well his links to other artists, Curtis’ process for completing the book, and more!
To me, this is the single greatest fear that every
musician, singer and songwriter must confront over the course of their creative
lives. How should one respond when one’s audience no longer cares, or worse,
when it disappears entirely?
It’s a question I’ve been asking for more
than 20 years. During that time countless artistic empires have risen and
fallen, the music industry has transformed beyond belief and I’ve experienced
my own zenith and nadir as one of the architects of obscure indie-pop outfit
Silent Alliance.
Many claim that the creative process, the
pursuit and fulfilment of artistic vision is the higher calling – a pure,
uncompromising objective for any that wants to lay claim to true authenticity
as a musical creator.…
