Henry Rollins Out of the Van by Ronald Sklar “I could grandstand and tell you I’m The Man, but I basically don’t have a life,” Henry Rollins tells me in a recent phone interview. As usual, The Man is being too hard on himself. The rock legend, now in his early forties and still as tough … Continue reading
Raphael Saadiq The Return of Ray Ray by Abraham Kuranga Raphael Saadiq is cool. Student Council president cool. Zach Morris cool. O.K. well, you get the point. Saadiq is also extremely focused. No stranger to success, Saadiq has reached both highs and lows, but mostly highs, with Tony! Toni! Toné! and later Lucy Pearl. Saadiq … Continue reading
Alison Moyet – Voice (Sanctuary U.K.) Back in 1991, I interviewed Alison Moyet as she was releasing her third solo album HooDoo. At the time, we discussed her biggest international hit, an old-fashioned jazzy sounding cover of Billie Holiday’s “That Ole Devil Called Love.” Although the song topped the charts in most countries outside of the United … Continue reading
CHARLOTTE MARTIN A SHORE THING by JAY S. JACOBS Everybody wants to be loved. That’s why we do most of the things we do in life. Even more than most, people in the arts crave acceptance. However, sometimes it is enough to just get a strong reaction. Case in point, Charlotte Martin. With the release of her … Continue reading
Sammy Hagar – The Essential Red Collection (Hip-O) There are two kinds of Van Halen fans, the ones who like Diamond Dave and the ones who dug Sammy. (Okay, somewhere out there may be a Gary Cherone fan, too, but I doubt it.) I was always a David Lee Roth guy as far as the band … Continue reading
Sarah Hudson Girl on the Verge by Jay S. Jacobs Everybody wants to know about Sarah Hudson’s family. Her father, Mark Hudson, along with her uncles, made up the Hudson Brothers, the 70s pop group and TV variety show hosts. Her cousin is movie star Kate Hudson, who is featured in many movies including Almost Famous and How to Lose … Continue reading
Three Dog Night In Black and White by Ronald Sklar The feat would be impossible to achieve in today’s market-fragmented world, but back in ’71, the bell-bottomed-and-walrus-mustachioed anthem “Joy To The World,” by Three Dog Night, shone through the polluted air and permeated the culture. In a world already torn every which way but loose, Jeremiah … Continue reading
CARLY SIMON LIVE FROM MARTHA’S VINEYARD – THE CLASSIC CONCERT (2004) Starring Carly Simon, Rick Marotta, Hugh McCracken, Jimmy Ryan, Robby Kilgore, Robbie Kondor, Michael Brecker, Tom “T-Bone” Wolk, Lani Groves, Kasey Cisyk and Frank Simms. Directed by Jeb Brian and Tony Mitchell. Distributed by Grandstand Entertainment. 70 minutes. Not Rated. One problem with watching … Continue reading
Five for FIGHTING It’s not EASY by Jay S. JACOBS Remember when popular music could actually say something? A tune was a mirror that we held up to our world. The lyrics were humorous or tragic or whimsical or heartbreakingly sincere. Songs spoke of love, war, relationships, politics, lust, and death. They would climb the heights or plunge the depths. John Ondrasik, the lead singer and songwriter of Five for … Continue reading
Jonatha Brooke – Back in the Circus (Bad Dog/Verve) Jonatha Brooke has been out in the folk-pop trenches for almost twenty years, working up a great reputation in music circles, first as half of the acoustic duo The Story and then as a solo artist. Her music has mostly been released independently; only two Story albums and one solo were … Continue reading
PopEntertainmentblog.com 