christmas mix: swim out past the breakers

I’ve been making what I call a Christmas mix — that is, not holiday songs but a mix made at the holidays — since 1997; first they were tapes, then for a few years CDs, and finally, in the digital age, many years of downloadable zip files and since 2015 years have been Spotify playlists;…

christmas mix: something to hope for

I’ve been making what I call a Christmas mix — that is, not holiday songs but a mix made at the holidays — since 1997; first they were tapes, then for a few years CDs, and finally, in the digital age, many years of downloadable zip files and now the last four years have been…

#MWE

#MWE stands for Music Writer’s Exercise, and it ambled its way across my Twitter timeline in late January; started by Gary Suarez, it challenges music writers to listen to a new-to-them (never before heard) album every day in February, and review it in a single tweet. Since last year I didn’t listen to enough music…

promo: jphono1

Hung out with my buddies in JPhono1 on Monday night, at my other buddy Alex’s place, to do some promo shots for them. I love that top one so much.

christmas mix: if you want to see a miracle

I’ve been making what I call a Christmas mix — that is, not holiday songs but a mix made at the holidays — since 1997; first they were tapes, then for a few years cds, and finally, in the digital age, the last seven nine ten eleven years have been downloadable zip files, and this…

top 10: favorite albums of 2014

Yeah. 2014. This is late. I wrote it and never posted it and I have no idea why, but here you go, mostly because I’m trying to put together my 2015 list soon anyway. Must clean up the drafts folder! 2014 was a hard, hard year, and the place it suffered most was my music…

hopscotch music festival: saturday

Speakers didn’t cover Hopscotch this year because Matt done gone and gotten himself a baby, and I was reeling after we had a break-in in July and Butthead McStealy walked off with not only all my camera gear but also my camera bag, which contained my entire collection of press passes in a pass holder….

festival preview: secret stages, birmingham, alabama

Secret Stages, a two day festival in downtown Birmingham featuring loads of great smaller bands, starts on Friday, July 31, and runs through August 1. Festival organizer Travis Morgan was nice enough to sit down and answer some questions for me. If you’re in the greater Birmingham area this weekend, make sure to check it…

christmas mix: all i know

I’ve been making what I call a Christmas mix — that is, not holiday songs but a mix made at the holidays — since 1997; first they were tapes, then for a few years cds, and finally, in the digital age, the last seven nine ten years have been downloadable zip files, and this year…