LL Cool J, courtesy. Last week I interviewed rapper-actor-Grammy host LL Cool J. The big issue swirling around him lately has been the controversy over “Accidental Racist,” the song he recorded with country singer Brad Paisley. I briefly go into that in my story. But since space is at…

The Avett Brothers may get bumped up to headline the opening night of BottleRock Napa Valley on Thursday, following Furthur’s cancellation. Yesterday I chatted with Seth Avett about his band, the Americana movement (Is it on the decline? He thinks it might be) and how the Avetts try to…

At the last minute, I was able to arrange an interview with Robert Levon Been, of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. BRMC has a sold-out show coming up at the Fillmore on April 22, but it was a different performance I was more interested in. Leven is stepping in his…

Photo: Paige K. Parsons Following Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s show at the Regency Ballroom Friday evening, no one could claim that that frontman-bassist Andy McCluskey was phoning it in. The 53-year-old, drenched in sweat in an oversize shirt that he said fit snugly prior to the start of OMD’s…

I saw San Cisco open for the Vaccines in February and decided back then they’re worth speaking to. Luckily, Popscene brought them back quickly. They’re playing Thursday, and I spoke to singer Jordi Davieson and wrote a story about the Australian quartet that you can read here. Here’s an extra Q&A.…

Imagine Dragons perform at the Great American Music Hall on March 16, 2013. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Saturday’s show at the Warfield in San Francisco featured an interesting juxtaposition of bands: A Las Vegas band that used to open for a Los Angeles band found itself the headliner, with their roles…

Metric, Courtesy. When Metric singer-keyboardist Emily Haines met legendary crooner and Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed a few years back, she was star-struck. But Reed was equally impressed with the Toronto alt-rock band’s body of work. Live 105’s Not So Silent Night  6 p.m., Friday, Saturday, Sept. 13-14 Oracle…

Snow Patrol, Courtesy. Snow Patrol is still best known in the U.S. for “Chasing Cars,” which played over a tearjerker moment on “Grey’s Anatomy” a half-decade ago. That’s why the Irish-Scottish band made a purposeful attempt to prove Gary Lightbody and co. can create more than the masterful ballad…

The Pierces perform at HP Pavilion in San Jose on April 27, 2012. Following three commercially unsuccessful albums, Alabama-born and raised sisters Allison and Catherine Pierce had decided that a joint music career might not be in-store. The following day Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman called them and said he…

This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. American Idol is in it’s final season and Carrie Underwood is on tour, coming to Oakland in a couple of months. That got me thinking about the time I interviewed her while I wrote for the Oakland Tribune. The story is…