Santa Fe Reporter - Music Reviews http://www.sfreporter.com/articles.sec-24-1-music-reviews.html <![CDATA[The Blues Man, Plus Reggae - If I love Taj Mahal, the rest of you damn well better love him, too.]]> When I was just a kid growing up in Los Angeles, my mother played a wide array of records for my brother and me, but the musician who brings me back to those glory days is—wait for it—Taj Mahal. My mother played 1976’s Satisfied ’N’ Tickled Too so often that, even after years of not hearing it, songs like “Black Man, Brown Man” and “Satisfied ’N’ Tickled Too” are firmly lodged in my brain with nearly the same sense of necessity as things like breathing. ]]> <![CDATA[King David - We Will Never Forget David Lescht]]> Sixty-four-years old isn’t exactly elderly, and I had seen David Lescht around town on many recent occasions, so the news of his death late last week was hard for me to fathom.
]]> <![CDATA[Take Cover - Every now and then, covers are the way to go.]]> As bands like Chango will tell you, choosing the right tune to cover is critical. It’s pretty easy to look like a fool when you choose to cover some crap nobody’s ever heard of or a song that’s beyond your means. On some occasions, however, covers outshine the original material.
]]> <![CDATA[New (Mexican) Radio - You can turn on your radio again]]> About a year ago, I sat down with legendary (yeah, legendary) Santa Fe DJ Maynard Del Mar to discuss changes to radio station KLBU 102.9 FM [A Sharp, May 1, 2011: “Radioactivity”]. Del Mar, along ]]> <![CDATA[Making Enemies - Public Enemy is coming, but can you attend?]]>

Back in November, SFR received an email from Santa Fe University of Art and Design about a free public event featuring legendary hip-hop act Public Enemy. The April 28 “hip-hop symposium” is a part of SFUAD’s Artists for Positive Social Change series, a five-year initiative spearheaded by Director of Photography and Artist in Residence David Scheinbaum. According to the press release, “Artists for Positive Social Change is a groundbreaking, university-wide series of events and performances that highlight one high-profile issue or genre.” 


]]> <![CDATA[Low-Down Local Music Blues - James T Baker is pissed]]>  James T Baker has a problem. The local bluesman has been trying to make a go of it for 30-some years, but after being relegated to out-of-town shows and farmers markets, then recently losing a r]]> <![CDATA[Mraz-Matazz - Hey Jason Mraz, you suck.]]> I’m not the type to look a gift disc in the mouth, so when I recently discovered an unsolicited package from Atlantic Records on my desk, I was pretty sure it would be a good day (they’ve got Miss]]> <![CDATA[¡Sick! - How my super-sick girlfriend got me to stop hating her music]]> When it comes to music—the world’s most universal art form—the lady and I often have what you might call misunderstandings.
]]> <![CDATA[Man with a Plan - Daniel Werwath wants to help you to help yourselves. Let him.]]> As a fixture in local networking groups MIX and the http://afterhoursalliance.wordpress.com/, Daniel Werwath’s opinion is highly sought (including by SFR, on occasion). He has some big ideas for rev]]> <![CDATA[Word Association - Getting inside the head of teen musician Alix Monasterio]]> Everybody’s talking about local musician Alix Monasterio, a young dude who has become famous in the teen scene for multilayered soundscapes recorded entirely in his garage. Always down for a good old-fashioned bandwagon, I sat down with Monasterio and gave him a little word association test.
]]> <![CDATA[Doomsday - Local doom trio Drought basically lives in my brain full time now]]>

As I start listening to “Turquoise Monolith,” the new single from local doom metal band Drought, everything around me ceases to matter, almost melting into nonexistence. My eyes close while I shift to make myself more comfortable. After all, this song is 18-some-odd minutes long, and I can already tell it demands my full attention. 


]]> <![CDATA[Try Something New - Low-risk opportunities like SxSF don’t come around often]]> Two phenomena, other than genre, influence whether or not I’ll attend a music gig. The first and least interesting is the availability of money. The second is an anecdote I heard about Jimi Hendrix: He complained that fans wanted to hear the tunes from his albums, whereas he felt that a recording signifies the end of the artistic process.]]> <![CDATA[Five and One-Half Reasons to be at SxSF - This festival is the best-ival—better than this joke, anyway]]> Think about how the annual SxSF (South by Santa Fe) Transit Music Festival is ingenious: Bands are on their way to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, passing through Santa Fe anyway, so why not snag]]> <![CDATA[Rock 101 - Pop quiz: what's cooler than a school that teaches rock? Nothing. ]]> Kids involved with the world of music tend to excel in countless other areas. So why is the excitement of most school music classes generally limited to an instrument as fantastically boring as the re]]> <![CDATA[Hungry Like the [Meow] Wolf - Meow Wolf joins forces with Sol Santa Fe Stage & Grill. You’re welcome]]>  Let’s get the bad news out of the way: Following the Starfucker show on Jan. 11—which bordered on a scaled-down Altamont with VFW members acting as Hells Angels-esque security—local arts collective Meow Wolf put an end to its shows at the VFW. Sounds like a drag, but as it turns out, it was a blessing in disguise for the artsy weirdos.]]> <![CDATA[Sista Sista - Local vocalist Michèle Leidig finally gets the band she always deserved]]> I remained unconvinced about the new vision at Vanessie until a chance conversation with local vocalist extraordinaire/reigning karaoke queen Michèle Leidig led me to the restaurant for the debut per]]> <![CDATA[Radio Ga Ga - Bill offers New Mexico radio stations incentive to think local]]> A new (ish) bill proposed by the New Mexico Music Commission and sponsored by state Sen. Eric Griego, D-Bernalillo, could have a major impact on the business of music statewide. Senate Bill 43 wo]]> <![CDATA[Get Funked - The Sticky adds some much-needed fun to Santa Fe’s nightlife]]>  5:13 pm: When the girlfriend asks what time I’m heading to Rouge Cat to see new local funk band The Sticky, I give her an answer that is perhaps more long-winded than she wants. “I was told ]]> <![CDATA[Nothing But a Number - It’s hard to provide music for Santa Fe’s youth]]> If you’re looking to dispel the notion that Santa Fe dismisses youth artistic movements, don’t go asking the Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau.Shortly after a blog post by SFR Staff Writer W]]> <![CDATA[Anybody Seen These Genres? - We should permanently fly the flag at half-mast for these forgotten musical styles]]> While driving to the SFR offices the other day, I click-wheeled my iPod to shuffle. Usually I listen to music I make (because I’m stuck up like that), but shuffle took me on a journey of song genres that aren’t around so much anymore.]]>