Interview: Brendan Benson
Q&A with Raconteur Brendan Benson for all 37 Metromix sites. Interview went great once Benson got situated but it took a bit of struggling. Here’s the inside baseball part of my introduction, which, understandably, got cut:
The singer-songwriter talked about making his latest release, The Raconteurs, recording with The Stooges and an upcoming album with country singer Ashley Monroe just as he arrived at a tour stop in Germany.
“I’m just getting out of a car now,” hold on a second,” Benson says as he arrives at the Magnet Club in Berlin. “All right, I have to get somewhere quiet … So I think this is quiet enough.”
The interview begins with a question about last night in Amsterdam. His bandmates partied while he stayed in and nursed a cold. Soft spoken, choosing each word carefully, kind of shy while speaking with me, Benson suddenly sounds brusque.
“Hey guys, where’s the backstage?” he inquires. “Sorry, Wade, it’s getting loud in here, man. It’s just fucking…this is retarded. I just got to the venue and I’m trying to find a quiet spot…Bear with me here a second.”
Benson asks two more people for directions, politely greets a gushing staffer and then we continue. The phone connection breaks up on a few, brief occasions but no more interruptions.
Record review: Bon Jovi, ‘The Circle’
For all 37 Metromix sites:
This band, despite its superstar-veteran status, does not have the chops to compose songs that capture the anxiety and despair plaguing the unemployed, under-employed and those people who enter the office each day wondering if they’ll be greeted by a pink slip
Interview: Squirrel Nut Zippers bandleader Jimbo Mathus
I’m a big fan of Jimbo Mathus, especially his solo/Knockdown Society work — and, without going into details, proud to call him a friend. Here’s a story I did to advance SNZ gig in New Hampshire for Hippo Press.
Squirrel Nut Zippers, the hot jazz ensemble that scored an unlikely hit single in 1997 with “Hell,” issued Lost at Sea late last month. It marked the group’s first live album, and first release since 2000. SNZ are back on the road elating audiences with their smartly executed brand of throwback fun. But the reunion probably would have come much sooner had it not been for the busy schedule of bandleader Jimbo Mathus. In recent years he has issued acclaimed solo discs, opened his own recording studio and worked with a pair of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Mathus’ growth as a musician is apparent on Lost at Sea, recorded last year in Brooklyn.
Top Ten Guitarists Right Now
For Miami New Times’ music blog Crossfade.
Blues badass Buddy Guy — along with Big Easy piano man Dr. John – performs Friday at the Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center. A huge influence on Eric Clapton and countless others, Guy continues to elate audience members with his guitar heroics at the grand age of 72. On stage, he looks and performs like a man at least two decades younger. But where does Guy rank with the other guitar stars making the rounds these days? These are the 10 greatest guitarists right now — or, y’know, my highly objective list of the players currently exciting me.
Sarasota business man writing songs with Rick Derringer
Running today in Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
It’s never too late to pursue the dreams of your youth. Longboat Key resident Tommy James Mannausa has spent the majority of his adult life in real estate — but his first love had little to do with building affordable rental apartments.
Record review: Amerie, “In Love and War”
Running on all 37 Metromix sites nationwide.
R&B singer responsible for 2005 smash “1 Thing” makes solid Def Jam debut
Unlike most R&B releases aimed at pop audiences these days, “In Love and War” is a nuanced album. There are ample hooks but the overall production wisely remains unfettered by sonic gimmickry—allowing the spotlight to stay where it belongs, on Amerie.
Interview: Pete Yorn — yes, he talks about ScarJo
For the Portland (Maine) Press Herald.
Pete Yorn has been a busy man lately. He’s also been a fortunate man – particularly in regard to whom he’s worked with.
For starters, the singer-songwriter recorded an album with Scarlett Johansson, pretty much the hottest and most talented young actress in Hollywood. As Don Draper of “Mad Men” would say, men want her and women want to be her.
But is she really as classically beautiful in person as she is on screen?
“More beautiful,” Yorn said from a recent tour stop in Indiana. He didn’t say it like he was bragging, which would have been excusable. No, Yorn spoke as if simply stating a fact.
Top 10 Musicians Who Have Served Time in Prison
For the Miami New Times music blog Crossfade.
Many famous musicians have spent a day or three in jail for driving drunk, holding drugs, or something really stupid. But only the select few have spent a serious stretch of time in prison, which brings us to David Allan Coe (pictured). The original country outlaw performs Friday at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale.
It’s confirmed Coe did time at Ohio State Penitentiary and he has famously claimed to have been on death row for killing a man who attempted to procure a blow job from him — this has not been confirmed or proven false. Although Coe is a redneck renegade who penned “Take This Job and Shove It,” recorded the 1970s smash “You Never Even called Me By My Name” and recorded an album with the members of Pantera, he’s by no means the greatest recording artist to do hard time. Here’s a highly subjective list of the greatest musicians who worried about being some bulky dude’s bitch.
Interview: Boyz II Men’s Wanya Morris
Published 10/29 in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
On “Love,” Boyz II Men also puts its distinctive stamp on the Cyndi Lauper classic “Time After Time,” which has been remade by everyone from Miles Davis to Willie Nelson.
“That’s a song that everyone should cover,” Morris said. “We do it a cappella and give it a different vibe.”
Record review: Wolfmother, ‘Cosmic Egg’
Running on all 37 Metromix sites nationwide.
Singer-guitarist Stockdale—armed with his awesomely super-sized hairdo and talented new bandmates—returns with another totally sweet sack of stoner rock.
