Tag Archives: rock and roll

Candye Kane’s The toughest girl alive

Where to start with Candye Kane? The obvious place is the name. If it sounds like the moniker of somebody involved in the adult entertainment industry … she was. But this isn’t another faded porn star putting out a slick, … Continue reading

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Various artists’ Swamp Pop

Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues is a companion CD to a book of the same name by Shane K. Bernard. With or without the book, it’s an excellent primer in the Louisiana-based style of rock ‘n’ roll … Continue reading

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Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band’s Ready or Not, Wayne Toups and Zydecajun’s Little Wooden Box and Li’l Band o’ Gold’s Li’l Band o’ Gold

These three rocking, accordion-driven releases from Shanachie draw on all three of the popular musical styles born in Southwestern Louisiana: Zydeco, Cajun and swamp pop. Together, they give a lively snapshot of the state of this artistically fecund region’s music. … Continue reading

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Shane K. Bernard’s Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues

I didn’t think I knew what swamp pop was. Chances are you aren’t familiar with the term either. But if you are a member of the Baby Boom generation as I am, or if you’ve ever listened to “oldies” radio, … Continue reading

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Rick Kennedy and Randy McNutt’s Little Labels—Big Sound

Some of the most important and influential American music has been put out by small independent labels. And it’s no accident that it’s also some of the best and most authentic American music, from Delta and Chicago blues to bebop … Continue reading

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Ass Ponys’ Some Stupid With a Flare Gun

Some Stupid With a Flare Gun is arresting, rootsy rock from a band that’s been around for more than a decade and may be just hitting its stride. The Ass Ponys have been making folk-rock, country-rock and just plain rock … Continue reading

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Craig Morrison’s Go Cat Go! Rockabilly Music and its Makers

Rockabilly music is a curious creature. It is one of the most vibrant and durable musical styles ever to be born in America, but it’s more popular in Europe than in its homeland. It’s difficult to define, but everybody knows … Continue reading

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Fernando’s Old Man Motel

Old Man Motel is one of the most enjoyable rock albums I’ve heard in a long time. In fact, it’s near the top of my Top 10 of 1999 discs. Fernando is a Portland, Oregon, band fronted by Fernando Viciconte, … Continue reading

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Richard Thompson Band, Aladdin Theater, Portland, Oregon – Sept. 14, 1999

Richard Thompson has always rocked; sometimes more, sometimes less. Unfortunately, he got that pesky prefix “folk” appended to his title, because he was a founding member of the seminal English folk-rock group … uh, Pentangle? no; Steeleye Span? no; oh … Continue reading

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John Doe solo acoustic at Lenora’s Ghost

John Doe seems to be coming to terms with being an aging rock star. Not that, in his mid-forties, the  frontman of X — the most important punk band to come out of Los Angeles — is anything like a … Continue reading

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