Kurt Cobain rocking a Daniel Johnston T-shirt @ the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards BY JOSH PELTA-HELLER Daniel Johnston died of a suspected heart attack on Tuesday, at his Texas home. He was 58. For most of his life, the unlikely rockstar struggled with mental illness, battling schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, and admirably surmounted these formidable hurdles to be able to write and perform his own work for the large fandom that he garnered, and leave a legacy on the craft with an influential voice uniquely his own. When I met him in 2012, he was lounging in his Union […]
WORTH REPEATING: The Ghost Writer
NEW YORK MAGAZINE: When I was a sophomore in college, I took a creative-nonfiction workshop and met a girl who was everything I wasn’t. The point of the class was to learn to write your own story, but from the moment we met, I focused instead on helping her tell her own, first in notes after workshop, then later editing her Instagram captions and co-writing a book proposal she sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. It seems obvious now, the way the story would end, but when I first met Caroline Calloway, all I saw was the beginning of […]
INCOMING: Return Of The Red-Headed Stranger
A man who needs no last name, Willie is to Country what Neil is to rock: the Buddha, bestowing laid-back grace on all those who bask in his benevolent THC-tinged glow. Born April 30, 1933, in Abbott, Texas, Nelson begins writing songs at age seven. After serving briefly in the Air Force during the Korean War and studying agriculture at Baylor University, Nelson moves through a series of luckless, low-paying career changes–disc jockey; door-to-door vacuum and encyclopedia salesman. By 1958, in dire financial straits and married with children, Nelson is forced to sell his songs for cheap (“Night Life,” later […]
POND: Sixteen Days
Pond — the circa now Australian psych-pranksters whose memberships Venn Diagrams with Tame Impala, NOT the early 90s Portlandian Sub Pop grunge-titan-shoulda-beens, although there is some haircut similarities — raises more questions than it ever answers. Chief among those questions is not ‘Are these guys high?’ instead it’s ‘How goddamn high are these people?’ ‘Is that even safe?’ ‘Should we tell someone?’ and lastly, ‘What about all the chromosonal damage?’ The answer to these questions in order of appearance: Higher than an entire Phish concert parking lotful of nitrous balloon huffers, fuck no, don’t bother everyone already knows, and the […]
INCOMING: The Importance Of Being Morrissey
For the deeply devoted—and they are legion—there are but two periods in the history of mankind: The time Before Smiths and the time After Smiths. The years B.S. ended in Manchester one May afternoon in 1982, when Johnny Marr—his rockabilly quiff stacked high and retro, Brando-esque Levis cuffed just right—ambled up to 384 Kings Road and knocked on the door. One Steven Patrick Morrissey, unemployable bookworm homebody, who at the ripe old age of 22 was beginning to get the distinct feeling that life had passed him by, answered the door. Marr did not bother with the inane niceties […]
BEING THERE: Vampire Weekend @ The Mann
Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER Vampire Weekend, what a silly name for a band. Named after a short film Ezra Koenig (lead singer and guitarist) made in college, it took me a while for these guys to grow on me because of their title. New bands, take note- the name of your band is important. Hot off the release of their fourth album Father Of The Bride, Vampire Weekend has made a successful comeback after a six year hiatus and are now embarking on their first tour in about as long. Last night, the crowd braved the threat of hellacious rain […]
THE MIDNIGHT RAMBLERS: Q&A W/ Acclaimed Guitarist Larry Campbell & Singer Teresa Williams
BY JONATHAN VALANIA To the average man (or woman) on the street, the names Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams might not mean much — not yet anyway. But to anyone who keeps an ear to the ground when it comes to American music — alt-country, No Depression, roots-rock, whatever you want to call it — they are something approaching Nashville royalty and widely regarded as The First Couple of Americana. In addition to being one half of the Larry Campbell/Charlie Sexton guitar trust in Bob Dylan’s Neverending Tour band during its 1997-2004 annus mirabilis, Campbell has played on recordings by […]
LISTEN LIKE THIEVES: Guerilla Toss “Plants”
What Would The Odd Do? by Guerilla Toss It’s rare for me to find a band that I absolutely adore from the moment I first discover them, but such is the case with Guerilla Toss, a New York-based outfit whose music may be appropriately, though inconclusively, described as art rock. Their tunes find themselves on an acid-soaked spectrum that splices demented moshpit ragers with extraterrestrial funk jams, accounting for everything found in-between and bookending. Their sound advances in prospect and aim with each addition to their already broad discography, though the 2017 record GT Ultra represents a definite shift away […]
BEING THERE: Made In America 2019
Travis Scott @ Made In America by ALEX PATERSON-JONES Day one began with Philly’s own 99 neighbors. Although everyone comes to Made in America to go crazy, it is not an easy crowd to win over especially if they have never heard of you. 99 neighbors is a four person rap group took on the challenge and had the crowd jumping and singing songs they didn’t know the lyrics to. Grace Carter, an R&B artist from London, followed at Liberty Stage with her debut American festival performance. Shooting the show means you only get to stay for the first three […]
PLAGUE VENDOR: New Comedown
PLAGUE VENDOR + NO PARENTS + WARPARK @ JOHNNY BRENDA’S OCTOBER 9TH
Q&A With Americana/Alt-Country Zelig Neal Casal
Artwork by MARK LOUGHNEY EDITOR’S NOTE: Upon hearing the sad news that Neal Casal has passed away at the too-soon age of 50, we are re-posting our 2012 interview with him. DISCUSSED: Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Owen Wilson, Sweeten The Distance, Chris Robinson, Beachwood Sparks, Fade Away Diamond Time, talking music and art and life with Keith Richards around a table for six hours, and getting stoned with Willie Nelson. BY TONY ABRAHAM Neal Casal is a renaissance man. Even if you’ve never heard of him, you’ve heard him – believe me. Since the release of his solo debut […]
BEING THERE: Tame Impala @ The Mann
Photo by ALEX PATERSON-JONES Twenty-three stops into tour for their long-awaited and still-unreleased fourth album, Tame Impala played a way, way sold out Mann Center Friday night. A darkened stage and 14,000 screaming fans marked the entrance of TI mainman Kevin Parker and co. as the intro to “List Of People (To Try And Forget About)” unfurled. Tame Impala’s uber-psychedelic sound was matched with an equally trippy light show while smoke machines pumped out fog all night long. The stage had a frame of lights that would act as a race track of color to surround the band, which they […]