bands
Rock n' roll, boy bands, jazz trios, and more; the greats, newbies, and forgotten icons who create our favorite groups.
Paying The Devil His Due
Have you ever known a band within the last past decade who made it? Is there such a thing that exists today in the music industry? It seems like things have changed their game. You can now listen, download and watch your favorite band from the comfort of your home on the internet. You don't have to pay for parking, wait in line or even bother with pre-sale. Sounds good, right? But is it? Are you missing out on a bigger experience you may not know about? With the ever changing world of how music operates comes to the issue of new bands trying to find a footing on an already slippery floor.
By Angel Dearborn9 years ago in Beat
Dani Felt Consultants Keeps Their Clients Connected
As a musician, enlisting a music consultant to amplify your career can feel like beginning a relationship that proceeds from parallel universes and distances the artist’s passion from the pragmatics of achieving success. But Dani Felt believes her unique place as both a consultant and a musician helps bridge the gap.
By Rich Monetti9 years ago in Beat
Review of Rob Sheffield's Dreaming The Beatles: 6 of X
Rob Sheffield makes the case for Ringo in the next chapter of his stellar Dreaming the Beatles, putting the question regarding Ringo as whether he was an all-time genius drummer who made the Beatles possible, or "a clod who got lucky, the biggest fool who ever hit the big time". Sheffield puts his chips on the genius.
By Paul Levinson9 years ago in Beat
Review of Rob Sheffield's Dreaming The Beatles: 5 of X
Rob Sheffield's short chapter in his Dreaming the Beatles (actually, they're all short, which is good) is about "It Won't Be Long," and is about as fine a piece of music journalism, or rock 'n' roll analysis, or whatever you want to call it, as you can find. It's a holographic sample of why the book as a whole is so enjoyable and important.
By Paul Levinson9 years ago in Beat
Best Indie Rock Bands
We're pretty sure that VH1 has done at least one list ranking the best indie rock bands of all time. Indie rock has been around for longer than hipsters have been in Brooklyn, and the fact is that many of the biggest movements in music were sparked by good indie rock bands and their unique sounds.
By Skunk Uzeki9 years ago in Beat
It Really Was 50 Years Ago Today!
The Beatles manager Brian Epstein had just come out of a drug-induced collapse in May 1967, in the Priory Hospital in Roehampton in West London, when he heard the group he had propelled to international stardom’s latest album. A stereo had been set up by his bedside and acetate provided; he closed his eyes, lay back and listened to the magic that filled the room.
By Bob Robertson9 years ago in Beat
Review of Rob Sheffield's Dreaming The Beatles: 4 of X
I don't want to get too far into Rob Sheffield's addictive book without posting another review, so I thought I'd check in here after finishing a chapter on George, which comes after discussions of Ringo (which I talk about in my last review) and Paul and John, which are of course a part of every chapter.
By Paul Levinson9 years ago in Beat
Review of Rob Sheffield's Dreaming the Beatles: 3 of X
In the next chapter of Rob Sheffield's Dreaming the Beatles -- I just realized that the chapters are not numbered, which means that each chapter is a piece of a hologram, a snapshot of the whole, like a verse in many a song -- we get a deconstruction of "Dear Prudence," which Sheffield holds to be one of The Beatles' best, and I agree (though they have so many bests the term hasn't the usual meaning for me).
By Paul Levinson9 years ago in Beat
The Bad Fire
The Bad Fire has a fantastic story behind it. Even though it is obviously about an abused woman and an angry hate filled man the actual events still make me chuckle. It was a busy night in a hotel where I was working a few years back. I was the Duty Manager and I was in a slightly cynical mood. It's easy to become cynical when you work nights in a hotel, as you are often surrounded by drunk people at their very worst. When they get kicked out of pubs and clubs they come back to where they're staying, often bedraggled, moody or with bad company. I've had the same inane conversations with drunk people over the years. It's often like nursery school for people detached from responsibilities. They forget what politeness is and become impulsive and rash in their actions. Some fight, some threaten, some attempt to abuse others and to rape when the opportunity arises. If you have 400 people in house and a third of them are stag and hen parties things become gruesome and so if someone wants to book in late at night with no reservation then you must be a little suspicious of what may occur once these people are out of sight and amongst other rooms.
By Johnny Vedmore9 years ago in Beat











