When Jimi Hendrix asked ARE YOU EXPERIENCED (Polydor, 1967), a toddler-young Annie Wenz must have looked up from her toy piano and shouted back Hell Yeah! In her latest CD titled RIDE THE SKY, Annie rides right out at you with HALLELUJAH ROSE, projecting all the bravado of Jill Sobule’s groundbreaking 1995 hit I KISSED […]

Alan Bradford (www.reverbnation.com/alanbradford) is one man, one guitar, and on his 2010 CD titled FROM THE HEART, he has one hell of a message: open your eyes. Alan is a singer/songwriter who refuses to look the other way, and in refusing, he opens our eyes and ears to the entirety of the world around us. […]

In his classic title track HEART ATTACK AND VINE (1980), Tom Waits famously states there ain’t no devil, just god when he’s drunk.  Going one better, in his latest CD titled THE DEVIL IN ME, Brother Lou (www.brotherlou.com) tells us there ain’t no devil, there’s just you and me.  Whereas Tom (my hero) has a […]

If Mick Jagger and Greg Allman were related, that relative would be Jimmy Durkin (www.reverbnation.com/jamesdurkin). King of the uniquely toned Yamaha guitars, Jimmy’s latest CD titled ANDY’S CASTLE (2011) – performed, mixed and master by Jimmy – is a trip through the tales of someone who spent their life on the inside looking out. Jimmy’s […]

If heaven were The Everglades, then Valerie C. Wisecracker (www.wisecracker.net) would be heaven’s leader of the band. And it’s always a party when Valerie’s playing, cause whether she’s zippin-it with Zip Robertson or rakin-it with Raiford Starke (www.raifordstarke.com), or just plain setting down a beat with long time collaborator bassist Mitch Mestel (www.iko-iko.com) you’ll always […]

In today’s world of excess filled with Donald Trumps and American Idols, Tom Schafer (www.tomschafermusic.com) stands testament to the idiom that less is more. With a powerful voice rich in texture like a fine piece of mahogany furniture, Tom has the vocal presence to turn even a Hell’s Angels biker-bar into a listening room. Yet, […]

To say I like Brian J. Cline’s music (www.brianjaycline.com) is like saying I like three meals a day. It’s obvious. After all, I’ve been listening to him perform live for the past three years at Luna Star and Your Big Picture Cafe, and his performances always please. Recently, he gave me a copy of his […]