11:55-12:00 CJ 5 min
Xavier
Xavier has come full circle. Its an apt title for the group's new album, out
on Rising Son records; listening to aural evidence of the band's 15-year journey,
it's obvious Abe Guthrie and friends have matured, found their own voice. It's
a voice worth listening to.
Guthrie, of course, is the son of Arlo Guthrie, one of many grandsons of Woody
Guthrie, whose contribution to the American musical heritage and to the workers'
rights movement in this country is incalculable. But that doesn't mean he sounds
like Woody. Although he has toured with and opened for his dad, Abe's band has
a sound and a following all it's own. In fact, in the late '80s and early '90s,
Xavier was about as far from Woody's Okie drawl as you could get, playing metal
and hair-band rock with the abandon of any rebellious group of American teens
in the Reagan era. The fact that they were playing it in the Berkshires, a mountainous,
wealthy, liberal, crunchy-granola region of western Massachusetts, didn't detract
from their zeal.
The Gentlemen
The Gentlemen formed back in 1999 when Mike Gent of The Figgs joined forces
with 3/4 of Boston's The Gravel Pit. They released their debut CD, Ladies and
Gentlemen...The Gentlemen on Hearbox/ Q Division Records in March of 2000. Recorded
in just four days and mixed in one marathon 22-hour session by Scott Riebling
(Letters to Cleo), the record sounds like a band playing live in a room because,
well, it is. Entertainment Weekly gave the record an (A-), stating, "One
minute they're crushing hearts with the catchiest skinny-tie songs Graham Parker
never wrote; the next they're stumbling around like Johnny Thunders fronting
the Stones. But therein lies the genius: No tribute act, these guys just revel
in the sounds they love---and make you love them, too." Their latest effort,
Blondes Prefer The Gentlemen (out April 2, 2002 on The Gentlemen's Recording
Co./Soda Pop Records) is much along the same lines as Ladies... except with
slightly more care in the recording department. The record was made in six days
or so over the course of a year by a varied cast of characters at the helm including
Dave Minehan (x-Neighborhoods), Dan McLoughlin (Push Stars), Tom Polce (Senor
Happy, Loveless) and of course Mr. Riebling. The record features 6 new gems
by Gent as well as three songs apiece from Jackson and Valauskas. Also, there
are guest appearances by Kay Hanley (x-Letters to Cleo) and Jon Brion (Aimee
Mann, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainwright).
Bonescrew
www.bonescrew.net
Unique gothic industrial metal
Rainshine
www.rainshinemusic.com
Impossible to capture in words, their sound is unique and modern. Their shows
are alive with high energy, dynamics and audience participation.
Joint Chiefs
www.jointchiefs.org
Double jointed reggae sound.
Felix Brown
www.felixbrown.com
Felix Brown is the kindred mix of real musicians summoned from the four corners
of American music: R&B, Jazz, Blues and Rock. These influences, fused with
an undeniable live energy, create a band that is truly greater than the sum
of her parts.
Three Day Threshold
http://www.angelfire.com/music/3daythreshold/
"I heard so many Yee Haws, I thought I was in a Dukes of Hazard episode.
Though it was the breakneck banjo playing that originally caught my eye, it
was their guitarist Sam Reid, who stole my breath away as he burned holes up
and down the fretboard. He was the best live guitarist I have seen since The
Reverend Horton Heat." - Jackie C. Traps, Soundcheck Magazine.
Michale Cloud - LIbertarian Party
Libertarian candidate for John Kerry's seat in the US Senate. Michael is a professional speaker, speechwriter, and widely quoted phrasemaker. He was the National Organizer of the 1996 Harry Browne, Libertarian for President campaign. He also was National Organizer for the 1992 Libertarian Presidential Campaign - and the 1988 Vice-Presidential Campaign. He was the Events Fundraiser for the Harry Browne 2000 Presidential Exploratory Committee. His work has been quoted by Playboy, Reader's Digest, Harper's, the Wall Street Journal, the Congressional Record, and Vital Speeches. He has written over 437 speeches & ghost-written 6 books. Mr. Cloud is the creator of THE ESSENCE OF POLITICAL PERSUASION tape training program. `Advocates for Self-Government' recently announced that Mr. Cloud's Political Persuasion Tapes have sold over 4,000 copies. Cloud has raised over $3,700,000 for Libertarian Candidates and the Libertarian Party in the last 10 years. He's the most successful fundraiser in Libertarian Party history. Michael Cloud has been a Libertarian candidate for U.S. Congressand the U.S. Senate and has fundraised for and consulted on over 81 Libertarian campaigns. He was the Keynote Speaker at the July 2, 1998 Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C. Mr. Cloud's talk - nationally televised on C-SPAN - was entitled "The Libertarian Party: the Unreasonable Alternative." Michael Cloud was named "the Best Speaker in the Libertarian Party" by Libertarian State Chairs on March 30, 1999. Michael Cloud is the author of THE ART OF LIBERTARIAN PERSUASION, a book being published by LiamWorks late this year.
Steve Bloom - HIGH TIMESSteve Bloom is the Senior Editor of High Times magazine. HIGH TIMES was founded in 1974 by Thomas King Forcade, one of the leaders of the counterculture in America. For almost 30 years the magazine has sought to celebrate, protect and preserve alternative culture. The legalization of cannabis is central to our mission because cannabis has been widely recognized as a sacrament of the countercultur