Not so widely known beyond his native Los Angeles, the artist that L.A. Weekly called one of that city's "most revered instrumentalists" will headline this year's San Jose Jazz Winter Jazz Fest. Read More
Growing up with five siblings in San Jose’s working-class east side gave Andrew Bigelow personal insight into Silicon Valley’s yawning gap between rich and poor. Especially once his parents scrimped enough to send him to Archbishop Mitty High, the expensive parochial academy known for its football team and schooling the offspring of… » Read More
Seasoned hip-hop fans of a certain age will remember Jazzy Jeff as part of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, a rap duo that began in the late ’80s before Will Smith went solo and became a movie star. The pair had massive hits, performing on the Grammys when rap was… » Read More
What do John Williams, John Cale, Flying Lotus, Dr. Dre, Hubert Laws, Billy Higgins, Hall and Oates, Lana Del Rey, Barry Manilow and Ray Charles have in common? They’re just a few of the acts that have called upon the talent of Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. Multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer, producer, educator, Atwood-Ferguson’s job titles… » Read More
For the record, I was pulling for them. For services rendered to indie music, for the bands they’ve inspired and for proving to me and countless others that rock still had life in it. The Pixies deserve to be rich and happy, left alone to play whenever and release whatever they want,… » Read More
Despite releasing his autobiography last year, Morrissey is more of mystery than ever. After climbing to rock icon status after only five years with the Smiths, he’s risen and fallen in the pop-culture consciousness over and over, but to paraphrase one of his own songs: the more they ignore him, the closer… » Read More
“I was at a record store in Boston, and I saw a person returning Come on Pilgrim,” says Joey Santiago, guitarist for legendary indie band the Pixies, recollecting their debut EP, on 4AD records. Back in 1986, the British label was known for its roster of ethereal gothic bands, and here was… » Read More
Drugs, violence and just plain rock & roll madness were major themes covered in the 2004 rockumentary Dig! as viewers watched San Francisco psychedelic rock band the Brian Jonestown Massacre fall apart at the seams. Yet, it was their goofy, flamboyant and not-nearly-as-volatile tambourine player Joel Gion who became a favorite with… » Read More
