No, Oakland’s Tumbleweed Wanderers don’t look or sound like a band that’s just over a year old. What they look like is a bunch of quirky Bay area hipsters having cheekily dubbed themselves “hair folk rock and roll” and, believe me, it’s entirely appropriate.Yet for a fairly newborn five-piece ensemble, they make a pleasantly tight sound well beyond its chronological […]

I believe that I’m at the point where I can stop blaming Canada for anything/everything that goes wrong in my life, in society or the world (if this allusion does not ring a comedic bell, apparently you suck at “South Park” history). So in accordance with my new-found approval of things Canadian, we can talk about Vancouver, British Columbia’s the […]

The summer of 2012 is finding MoZella, Maureen Anne McDonald, as a bit of an accidental pop star.  The singer/songwriter, born and raised in Michigan, released her full-length debut, I Will, on Warner/Maverick in 2006 and her sophomore LP, Belle Isle, on Universal/Motown in 2009 and has toured alongside the likes of Tyler Hilton, Dave Matthews Band, and Lifehouse.  She’s also […]

The one thing that you really want from a summer jam is for it to make it all feel good; like the sun is shining on the inside and all things are possible. With that vibe in mind, here are two doses of sunshine in music form for you. Youngblood Hawke  Last year, from the remnants of Iglu & Hartly came Youngblood […]

Of all the forces that we’re up against in life, time is one of the least forgiving, yet here is Lit; recently signed to Megaforce Records and with a brand new album, The View From The Bottom. But with an 8-year gap between records for the California rockers best known for their No. 1 hit “My Own Worst Enemy” (the last was their self-titled […]

Everest – OwnerlessReleased: June 26, 2012 In March I received an invite from Everest guitarist Joel Graves for a listening session they were hosting at New Monkey Studio (Elliott Smith, anyone?) in Van Nuys, CA for the finished product of their forthcoming album, Ownerless. Of course, I gladly accepted. This- their third full length and follow up to 2010’s On Approach […]

I’m not generally a fan of vacations… in any general, contemporary use of the term.  I hate the beach, I hate celebrations, and I hate leaving Center City Philadelphia (or, even my apartment, for that matter.)  But Daydream Vacation has proven to be an exception.  Daydream Vacation are Dave Einmo of Head Like A Kite and Asya of Smoosh.  Dave […]