Carrie Rodriguez, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Friends and family, all of them musicians, contributed to make Carrie Rodriguez a successful singer and fiddler. Since she was a child, folks working in the country and folk music realms would appear whenever she seemed to be…

Ziggy Marley, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. ZIGGY MARLEY embarked on a tour of China expecting to see despair on the faces of its people.  “I was looking for that stereotypical Communist oppression,” Marley, eldest son of reggae legend Bob Marley, said a day after…

Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. It’s a bad sign for a touring musician when, going through customs in a foreign country, the customs agent does not recognize the state seal on his passport.  Just like a popular slogan in…

Dublin Death Patrol band members Willy Langenhuizen and Chuck Billy pose for a photo at Dublin HS.(Jay Solmonson/Tri-Valley Herald) This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. DUBLIN — In the late’70s, Dublin was farms, barns and backyards. At night these would fill with teens, alcohol and rock and…

Explosions in the Sky perform at The Fox Theater in Oakland on Sept. 16, 2019. Joaquin Cabello/STAFF. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Explosions in the Sky was just a little instrumental band from Texas in early 2004. The band members had their contingent of fans in…

Skillet, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Growing up in a traditional Southern Christian home, John Cooper was raised on church hymns. He wasn’t allowed to listen to rock’n’ roll — even Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. Anything with a drumbeat was forbidden.  But when…

Art Alexakis (center) and Everclear, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. It’s understandable for Art Alexakis to want to plant permanent roots. As a youth, the Everclear frontman saw his dad walk out on him and his brother die of a drug overdose. He then was…

Chris Wolstenholme, Matt Bellamy and Domenic Howard of Muse, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. Conspiracy theories, biblical apocalypse and little green men.  Muse bassist Chris Wolstenholme swears that despite the fact that the majority of the band’s songs revolve around one of the three, the…

Under the Influence of Giants. The members of Los Angeles’ Under the Influence of Giants aren’t afraid to name the artists they are borrowing from. And for this disco-funk-pop-R&B ensemble, the list varies from the Bee Gees, Prince, Michael Jackson, Kool & the Gang, Earth, Wind and Fire, the Beatles…