Music Business

A Beatles Insider Gets His Own Story in a Titanic Tome

A Beatles Insider Gets His Own Story in a Titanic Tome

Our Own Music Writers Lament "The Shows That Got Away"

Our Own Music Writers Lament "The Shows That Got Away"

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Author David Ensminger Gets to the "Roots" of Punk—with a Special Guest—at Cactus Music

By Bob Ruggiero
Nov 13, 2023

In general, music is an art of genres. And subgenres. And sub-subgenres. And even then, the lines get too fuzzy for nitpicky record store clerks looking to place discs in their respective divider cards. Take punk—itself a subgenre of rock. Is it the street-tough New Yawk ‘60s-inspired buzzsaw attack of...
Boogie & Blues Rockers Foghat Keep Up Their Sonic Mojo

By Bob Ruggiero
Nov 8, 2023

Turn on any Classic Rock radio station—terrestrial, satellite or streaming—and you’re sure to hear something by Foghat. The UK-bred boogie blues band scored in the ’70s with hits like “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” “Drivin’ Wheel,” “Fool for the City,” “Stone Blue,” “Third Time Lucky (First Time...
Down Home and Through the Lens: The Story of Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records

By Bob Ruggiero
Oct 19, 2023

When Chris Strachwitz died earlier this year at the age of 91, his name was probably not familiar except to a specific school of record liner note readers and aficionados of certain types of musical genres. He called it “down home music.” But it’s mostly known today as “roots music,”...
Harmonicist Jason Ricci Peers Behind the Veil on New Album

By Tom Richards
Oct 16, 2023

Appearances, as they say, can be deceiving. A first look at Jason Ricci – with his blond braids, sometimes multicolored hair and do-rag – might give the impression that he’s a Grateful Dead refugee or maybe a member of some white-boy reggae band. But no, Ricci is, in fact, one...
Johnny Rawls Diagnoses a Houston Heart Attack

By Bob Ruggiero
Oct 13, 2023

It’s around lunchtime when we reach the veteran “Soul Blues” man Johnny Rawls at his home. So maybe that’s why he’s especially interested in food analogies when discussing his new record, Walking Heart Attack (Catfood Records). “It’s like this, buddy, making an album is like making a soup!” he says...
Beaumont's Ole Lonesome Checks Into the "Tejas Motel"

By Bob Ruggiero
Sep 22, 2023

Blues Rock bands—like those of any genre—can take their names from the most telling of sources. Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker settled on “Cream” because each was the “cream of the crop” in terms of stature playing their respective instruments. ZZ Top’s moniker paid tribute to both bluesman...
Aaron Neville's life of Funk, Faith & Fiyo on the Bayou

By Bob Ruggiero
Sep 7, 2023

Of course Aaron Neville’s autobiography is titled Tell It Like It Is. It’s too perfect. After all, it was his breakthrough song, a bona fide classic, and a monster smash in 1966, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 2 on the Hot 100. Written by George...
New Book Finally Gives the "Girls" of '60s Girl Groups Their Own Say

By Bob Ruggiero
Sep 5, 2023

They were responsible for performing some of the most era-defining pop hits of the early and mid 1960s. Time capsule songs of romantic longing, tough talk, and teen angst on tracks like “He’s a Rebel,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “My Boyfriend’s Back,” “Leader of the Pack,” “Be My...
Coco Montoya Definitely Sees the Writing on the Wall

By Bob Ruggiero
Sep 4, 2023

Though you’d likely find his discography filed in the “Blues” section at your fine local record store, singer/guitarist Coco Montoya has since his 1995 debut record Gotta Mind to Travel shown an influence from several other genres, including a more rock sound. That predilection is on full display with his...
Everclear's Art Alexakis Adds a Little Whisky to His Drink Menu

By Bob Ruggiero
Aug 31, 2023

Though he’s closely associated with the cities of Los Angeles, California (where he grew up) and Portland, Oregon (where he founded his band), Everclear singer/rhythm guitarist Art Alexakis does have some roots right here in Houston, Texas. It’s where as a teen in the ‘70s he lived with his father...
A Long and Winding Journey Down Abbey Road

By Tom Richards
Aug 29, 2023

The Beatles and Abbey Road are inexorably linked. Not just because Abbey Road is the name of the last album the band recorded together, but also because the Fab Four recorded most of their catalog at the venerable London Studio during a period of eight years. As a result, the...
Harmonica Man Lee Oskar is in a Mahalo Mood

By Bob Ruggiero
Aug 28, 2023

In 2021, harmonica virtuoso Lee Oskar released the album Never Forget. Its concept was rooted in recalling the horrors of the Holocaust, a tribute to the survivors (including his Jewish mother and aunt, who as teens escaped from a Nazi concentration camp in Poland) and hopes for a future in...
Beck, Bogert & Appice—Classic Rock's "Lost" Power Trio—Thunder on Live Box Set

By Bob Ruggiero
Aug 24, 2023

Though it’s been nearly eight months since the sudden and unexpected death of guitarist Jeff Beck from bacterial meningitis, his former bandmate, drummer Carmine Appice, is still stunned. Especially since the two had been working closely together on a new box set project featuring archival live recordings from their short-lived...
Firefall Focuses on Famous Friends & Family

By Bob Ruggiero
Aug 21, 2023

The country-tinged Classic Rockers in Firefall first ignited their musical ember in 1974. That means they’ve had nearly five decades worth of touring with other bands, while various members have also played with big-name artists or been in noted groups. The band is best known for a trio of big...
Bob Dylan's "Blood"-y Minnesota Musicians Finally Get Their Flowers

By Bob Ruggiero
Aug 15, 2023

Among the passionate group of music aficionados known as the Dylanologists, consensus is that the Bard of Hibbing’s 1975 effort Blood on the Tracks is among his best, if not the best. And the general world tends to agree. The disc that produced such high-profile canon tracks like “Tangled Up...
Foreigner's Kelly Hansen on the Band's Legacy, Rock Hall Snub and Fond Farewells

By Bob Ruggiero
Aug 1, 2023

You can go ahead and add Foreigner to the list of Classic Rock bands who have announced that their days of being on the road are over. But audiences around the world will have plenty of chances to see the group, as the officially-dubbed “Historic Farewell Tour” will run through...
Suburban Sweet Spot Audio & Records Keeps On Spinning In Clear Lake

By David Rozycki
Jul 25, 2023

In August it will be 2 years since long-time customer and music enthusiast Bart Roberts purchased Sweet Spot Audio & Records in Webster.
Things Can (Still) Only Get Better for Howard Jones

By Bob Ruggiero
Jul 24, 2023

If there was a Mount Rushmore of ‘80s Synth Players (and really, why isn’t there a stone carving of that niche tribute already?) the likely visages on display would belong to Thomas Dolby, Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, Martin Gore of Depeche Mode and Howard Jones. When this information is...
New Doc Explores Chicago Blues—in Black and White

By Bob Ruggiero
Jul 21, 2023

While the respective champions of New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta can (and will) continue to tussle over a claim to the “birthplace” of the blues, there’s only one Kind of Town that can lay a fairly unchallenged status as the epicenter of the music once it went electric: Chicago...
More Online Guitar Instruction Than You Can Shake a Stratocaster At

By Tom Richards
Jul 17, 2023

In the beginning, there was Mel Bay. In 1947, Melbourne E. Bay wrote the first of what would be dozens (hundreds?) of instructional books that taught the nation (the world?) how to play the guitar. If you are “of a certain age” and took guitar lessons, you are acquainted with...

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