Showing 101 - 112 of 112
Artist: Larry Ray
Larry Ray was born on September 12, 1945, in San Francisco, CA. He started playing guitar in 1960, spending a lot of time just working on the mechanics of the guitar, devoting hours and hours of practice, listening to other guitar players, and trying to figure out their licks and riffs. In 1961 he formed a Northern California band in San Jose... [+] Read More
Artist: Swallow
Known for their volatile personalities, Seattle band Swallow came together in 1987. The group consisted of Rod Moody (aka Rod Ho) on guitar and vocals, Andy Scheen (aka Andy Springsheen) on bass, Chris Pugh on guitar, and Scott Schickler (aka Guitar) on drums. From the beginning, they experienced a variety of problems, including breaking down... [+] Read More
Artist: The Orchids
One of the most prolific bands on Bristol, England's legendary indie pop label Sarah Records, the Orchids were also one of the label's most press-shy outfits. Formed in 1986 in Penilee, Scotland, a suburb of Glasgow, the Orchids took their initial inspiration from some of the city's better-known acts of the time, particularly Lloyd Cole and the... [+] Read More
Artist: Hank Locklin
Hank Locklin (born Lawrence Hankins Locklin), one of country music's great tenors, was born February 15, 1918, in the small town of McLellan, located in the lumbering district of the Florida Panhandle. The youngest son of four children, he went to a one-room schoolhouse and was musical even as a young child. Locklin was injured at the age of... [+] Read More
Artist: Diamond Head
Diamond Head's history is certainly among the most peculiar in all of rock. One of the most remarkable talents to arise out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the band's career never fulfilled its early promise, yet their legacy still ranks among the most influential of the genre. Sounds metal editor Geoff Barton (the man who coined the... [+] Read More
Artist: T.S.O.L.
In the early years of Los Angeles punk, one of the premiere hardcore bands was T.S.O.L., which stood for True Sounds of Liberty. Offering poppier music than many of their contemporaries and featuring an image that appealed to punks who wanted to dive deeper into the gothic subgenre already being offered by many British punk bands, T.S.O.L.... [+] Read More
Artist: Sanctity
Even before the release of their debut album, Road to Bloodshed, Asheville, NC metal quartet Sanctity earned respect and recognition from two generations of heavy metal royalty. First, Trivium frontman Matthew K. Heafy saw Sanctity and was so blown-away that he helped get them a record deal. Then, Megadeth's Dave Mustaine caught Sanctity's... [+] Read More
Artist: The Sound
The Sound's inability to break through to the type of '80s post-punk prominence reserved for the likes of Joy Division and Echo & the Bunnymen, the two bands the Sound fell in between sound-wise, isn't all that easy to explain away. Any deep-minded attempt to do so leaves one with a sort of abject sourness that can only be directed for, well,... [+] Read More
Artist: Raymond Scott
Composer, bandleader and inventor Raymond Scott was among the unheralded pioneers of contemporary experimental music, a figure whose genius and influence have seeped almost subliminally into the mass cultural consciousness. As a visionary whose name is largely unknown but whose music is immediately recognizable, Scott's was a career stuffed with... [+] Read More
Artist: Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa was born on September 1, 1935 in Hoten, Manchuria (Fenytien, China) of Japanese parents at a time when Manchuria was an occupied province of the Empire of Japan. As the borders of the Empire were beaten back from their largest expanse in the early days of World War II, Ozawa's parents were compelled to move the family back to the... [+] Read More
Artist: Hank Mobley
One of the Blue Note label's definitive hard bop artists, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley remains somewhat underappreciated for his straightforward, swinging style. Any characterization of Mobley invariably begins with critic Leonard Feather's assertion that he was the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone," meaning that his tone wasn't as... [+] Read More
Artist: Jan & Dean
It's almost too easy to underestimate the importance of Jan & Dean in the history of rock & roll and its evolution into rock. The mere mention of their name today evokes images of suntanned California teens dancing and surfing on the beaches of Malibu. The ultimate good-time music act of the early '60s -- who only earned one gold record (for... [+] Read More
