Sometimes you don’t have enough tracks for an album, but you want to put more music out into the world than a single. The EP is the awkward middle child of musical formats, but it’s endlessly useful for acts at every level of the industry, from rising new artists to one-off collaborations and experimental detours […]
When Mike Sartain, who released his latest EP, Push On Through, in April and goes by the stage name Sartain, saw the back cover of Rancid’s 1994 album Let’s Go for the first time, in ninth grade — with a mohawked, leather-clad Tim Armstrong flipping off the camera — he knew that everything he had […]
In the life and work of artist Shepard Fairey, social justice and the musical counterculture have always collided, igniting many of his most striking images. Most famously, they have come in the form of 18-by-24-inch posters, with messages against police violence, war, and government surveillance, and calling for peace, civil rights, and multiculturalism. There are […]
“There was a site you probably remember called MP3.com, it was like pre-social media,” says Jon Ehrens, 41, thinking back to the music he made in high school. “I needed a name fast because I recorded four songs and just wanted to upload them immediately, and I used the name Repelican.” 25 years later, Ehrens […]
A flame-haired, dirty white-suited Tyler Childers strides with intent through a standing, whooping, exultant ovation in Nashville and takes the stage to give his rejection speech at the Americana Music Association’s annual awards ceremony. Freshly anointed as Americana’s Emerging Artist of the Year, Childers wastes no time ripping the genre a new asshole. After declaring […]
The best thing that happened to pop music in recent years is that Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Allen watched that insipid Twilight saga and was revolted by the sight of the childbirth scene. This experience spurred Allen to leave “real school,” as she calls the nursing program she was enrolled in at Boston College, and go […]
Name Randy Bradbury Best known for Bassist of the band Pennywise. Current city Huntington Beach. Really want to be in I am right where I want to be! Excited about I’m excited about our (84 Days) debut album (released on November 7). I’ve been wanting to make an album like this forever. My current music collection has a lot of Late […]
In February 2014, I tuned in to the BRIT Awards to watch my newly minted friends Rudimental’s performance. I didn’t expect to get knocked out by Ella Eyre, the featured vocalist on their chart-topping, BRIT-winning single “Waiting All Night.” In a painted-on catsuit, with enviable tresses, and a commanding presence, she owned that stage. Like […]
Luke Spiller has had a year of “achievements.” He mentions the term twice during our conversation. Once in connection with his group the Struts, who celebrated the 10-year anniversary of their debut album, Everybody Wants, with a major tour. And once when speaking about his debut solo album, Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes […]
You know your band’s legacy is secure when the sold-out crowd at your show can sing two full verses of your song before you even play a single note. Not that the U.K. Oi! punk originators Cock Sparrer were remotely worried about how they’ll be remembered during their two recent sold-out shows at the Hollywood […]