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Pop quiz: What do Metallica and Mexican acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have in common? The answer is simpler than you might think -- both acts are heavily rooted in thrash metal.
"The first riff on the new album is totally a metal riff," Rodrigo Sánchez tells Spinner of the lightning-fast lead-off guitar attack of last fall's '11:11.' ...
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One of the most integral parts of any Minus the Bear jam is a twisty, complex Dave Knudson guitar line. But on 'My Time,' the first track from the Seattle, Wash. band's 'Omni,' due May 4, you won't hear one. In fact, you won't hear his guitar at all because Knudson's got a brand new toy.
"I got this weird Japanese Omnichord synthesizer, and we ...
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He went solo in 2000, but Ben Folds had lot more than his keys for company on Saturday night as he played to a sold-out Heinz Hall audience in Pittsburgh, PA, backed by the city's own Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The resulting revamped tunes ranged from too sparse to too cluttered, with a few striking a perfect balance. That dichotomy struck a ...
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There's a phrase in Kevin Devine's bio on the website of Favorite Gentleman, his Manchester Orchestra-run label, that sticks out: "largely slept-on." Assigned to a musician whose been written up in the New York Times and just about every major music publication, one has to wonder -- what's that mean to Devine? "My career's been very incremental," ...
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When New York Magazine lists the top 40 songs that define Brooklyn's sound, there's no denying that the so-called "scene" has gone mainstream. Few folks are so aware of the Brooklyn scene -- without being a part of it -- as Kevin Devine. The longtime singer-songwriter grew up in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood where he continues to reside today ...
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Dancing is supposed to be fun. For most people, aside from pre-pubescent boys who are afraid of girls, it usually is. It only would make sense, then, that those who create dance music would be fun folks as well. The Texas duo of Ghostland Observatory, purveyors of crowd-demolishing dance beats, is willing to answer that call. Producer/programmer ...
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What's in a name? If you're Memphis garage rocker Jay Reatard, a whole lot. "I've lost a lot of money because of [my name]," Reatard, whose real name is Jay Lindsay, tells Spinner. "It's like 'OK, we can't use that song for the Crayola commercial because kids can't be coloring listening to some guy named Reatard.'" While that might sound like a ...
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