Features
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Q&A: Dedric Clark of Social Animals on losing his ‘Best Years’ and finding new ones
Social Animals. Courtesy of Rise Records. When you’re desperate for paying work, you take anything available to you. That was the case for Duluth, Minnesota’s Social Animals, who had followed a motto to never say “no” to an offer. That’s how the quartet found itself with a gig at…
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INTERVIEW: Bruno Major learns ‘To Let a Good Thing Die’
Bruno Major, Courtesy. U.K. soul singer-songwriter Bruno Major was a week away from kicking off his biggest U.S. tour in March when the plug was pulled on the touring industry. The concerts were meant to be an introduction to his second album of jazzy slow-burners, To Let A Good…
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INTERVIEW: Cherie Currie is fully charged for new album and audiobook
Cherie Currie, Courtesy: Robert Sebree. Cherie Currie is a badass. The former frontwoman for The Runaways burst onto the scene in the mid-1970s with an outsized attitude, an undersized corset, hellbent on injecting some estrogen into the rock and roll patriarchy. Even over the phone from her house in…
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INTERVIEW: Kendal Conrad finds a new voice amid industry uncertainty
Kendal Conrad. Courtesy. Like just about everyone, life has changed dramatically for Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Kendal Conrad. She had a summer packed with plans sining the National Anthems at sports stadiums, gigs at local bars and restaurants and increase her growing fanbase across the country. That summer schedule now hangs…
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INTERVIEW: Lindsey Stirling learning to slow down in a pandemic, show love with her wallet
Lindsey Stirling, Courtesy. Lindsey Stirling is proud to show off the makeshift recording and video studio that she’s concocted for herself in her guestroom at her sister’s Missouri horse ranch. She’s sitting on her bed, to which she’s attached a tall standing shoe rack with her dog Luna’s leash.…
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INTERVIEW: Foreigner’s Michael Bluestein passes the time with original song, beer
Foreigner’s Michael Bluestein. Courtesy: Karsten Staiger. Millions of people around the world are stuck at home due to coronavirus, sometimes passing the time by starting a podcast or recording a song for YouTube. But not all of them are a member of a band that’s sold 80 million albums…
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SWMRS’ Max Becker determined to return stronger after brain injury, pandemic
Max Becker of SWMRS performs at Live 105’s BFD 2017 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on June 10, 2017. Alessio Neri/STAFF. SWMRS’ Max Becker doesn’t remember undoing his seatbelt, but obviously he did on the fateful drive from Oakland to Denver, where the band was set to begin…
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INTERVIEW: Electronica songwriter James Hersey on the end of coronavirus quarantine in Berlin
James Hersey, Courtesy: Tori Whitworth. On the 12-minute bike ride between his studio and his apartment in Berlin, electronica musician James Hersey is starting to see signs that Germany is about to loosen its coronavirus quarantine regulations. It’s April 17 and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has set May 4—“may…
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INTERVIEW: Ryland James keeping his momentum going from quarantine
Ryland James, Courtesy: Alex Evans. In an alternate reality, Ryland James might have ended up a professional hockey player—like both of his parents. In a normal timeline, the Canadian pop crooner—who’s been pouring his heart and sandy voice into every one of his soulful pop ballads—might be planning a…
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INTERVIEW: Billy Raffoul tours the rooms of his girlfriend’s parents’ house to support his new EP
Billy Raffoul, Courtesy: Jesse DeFlorio. In early March, when singer-songwriter Billy Raffoul found out his tour dates got called off due to coronavirus, he packed up his car and drove from his home in Nashville north to Canada. Billy Raffoul Social Distancing Tour Various times and days Live from…
