Former Stray Cat Brian Setzer was born in New York City and raised in Long Island. His first instrument, at age eight, was the euphonium, and he played the tuba-like instrument for ten years. He began having dreams of leading a big band with horns as a teen, but got sidetracked by punk. Initially, as a guitarist and songwriter, he took his... [+] Read More

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Former Stray Cat Brian Setzer was born in New York City and raised in Long Island. His first instrument, at age eight, was the euphonium, and he played the tuba-like instrument for ten years. He began having dreams of leading a big band with horns as a teen, but got sidetracked by punk. Initially, as a guitarist and songwriter, he took his... [+] Read More

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George Bedard has been a seminal figure on the Michigan roots rock scene for more than 20 years. A member of the Silvertones in the 1970s and Tracy Lee & the Leonards in the 1980s, Bedard has been increasingly attracting the attention that his energetic guitar playing and gutsy vocals deserve as leader of his own band, the Kingpins. Goldmine... [+] Read More

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The Genius, aka the GZA, was the most cerebral MC in the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as perhaps the most acclaimed. His cool, precise flow and intricate, literate rhymes weren't as theatrical as Method Man or Ol' Dirty Bastard, the two biggest commercial stars to spring from the collective. But among hip-hop aficionados, the Genius was revered for his... [+] Read More

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Depending on who you talk to, the irrepressible Jools Holland is best known as a blisteringly energetic piano-pounding performer of boogie-woogie, jazz and R&B; or as the keyboard-wizard sideman to one of the great new-wave pop bands of the seventies and eighties; or as one of the UK's most popular television presenters. And while any one of... [+] Read More

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A hilariously inept Detroit bowling-alley/lounge band fronted by Ernie "King" Uszniewicz (b. 1945) from 1969 to 1979. The crudest tenor saxophonist in the history of rock & roll, King Uszniewicz (pronounced "you-snev-vitch") & the U-Tones had only one single, issued on a local label during the '70s. Dubbed by one critic as "the worst oldies band... [+] Read More

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One of the most outsized personalities on college radio in the '80s, Mojo Nixon won a fervent cult following with his motor-mouthed redneck persona and a gonzo brand of satire with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Nixon had a particular knack for celebrity-themed novelty hits ("Elvis Is Everywhere," "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My... [+] Read More

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The key group of the early-'80s rockabilly revival, the Stray Cats scored several big hits on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a striking visual style tailor-made for the early days of MTV, as well as genuine musical chops that evoked the best players of rockabilly's original heyday. The Stray Cats were formed by guitarist/vocalist Brian... [+] Read More

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A crazed psychobilly quartet which later fragmented into the Workdogs and '68 Comeback, the Gibson Bros. formed in Ohio during the mid-'80s, playing barely competent yet totally energetic bluesy roots-rock which later became a staple of indie-rock through groups like the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Mule and the Delta 72. Vocalist/guitarists Don... [+] Read More

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The once and future kings of budget rock, the Mummies did for garage rock what the New Bomb Turks did for punk: stripped it to the frame, made it as raunchy as it deserved to be, and reminded everyone what was cool and crazy about the stuff in the first place. Of course, while the New Bomb Turks were able to build a career out of their roots... [+] Read More

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