This past Saturday, my wife and I witnessed an extraordinary show by Twelve Twenty-Four, a theatrical Christmas-rock act based in part on the nationally popular Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The group has an incredible lineup of seventeen performers along with a supporting cast which brings the total production to well over twenty people. The music is performed … Read more
Autohypnosis‘ new album, Conversation (in) Pieces is, at least on the surface, a series of glimpses into the dynamics of a failed relationship. The songs proceed through doubt, mistrust, then finally anger and despair in that order. Although, while listening to the album, you get the feeling that there may be something more going on … Read more
NOTE: This article was originally published at DAMESofPA.com on September 24, 2011. On September 18th, the Christian rock group Vessel released their debut album The Battle Begins. The effort was was spearheaded by producer and lead guitarist Lenny Kucinski and recorded, mixed, and mastered at Studio Independence, a state-of-the-art home recording facility. Joining Kucinski … Read more
In the 2010 motion picture, Paul, the aforementioned protagonists jokingly remarks, “This is the stuff that killed Dylan,” while smoking Mary Jane with his friends. To which another of the protagonists replies; “Dylan’s not dead,” and then the conversation is brought to a close by Paul when he asks rhetorically, “Isn’t he?” No he most … Read more
NOTE: This article was originally published on the DAMES of Pa website on August 16, 2011. There is something quite admirable about musicians who produce albums entirely by themselves. It takes a plethora of skills to play several instruments adequately, provide all the vocals, and do all the mundane engineering tasks independently, not to mention … Read more
by Leah Della Croce E’s primary focus, after the 2005 release of Blinking Lights, was writing his memoirs. Released in 2007, Things the Grandchildren Should Know provided a deeply personal glimpse into the tragic life and exhilarating career of one of rock’s greatest minds. Both the autobiography and its author were lauded for their … Read more
by Leah Della Croce After the productivity of 2003, E decided to take some time to regroup. However, he wasn’t out of ideas; in fact, he had something spectacular up his sleeve. During the past several years, E had recorded bits of material, some of which had never made it onto albums. He took … Read more
by Leah Della Croce Following the release of such a heavy and emotional album as Electroshock Blues, E very wisely went in the opposite direction on Eels’ next album, 2000’s Daisies of the Galaxy. This album was very aptly named; it is light, breezy, and altogether lovely. The title track is a soft, encouraging … Read more
by Leah Della Croce Although his childhood years had been relatively tame, his young adulthood would soon prove to anything but, and this profound love of music would be his sole anchor in a life gone hopelessly awry. In 1982, just shy of his twentieth birthday, E had experienced the death of his brilliant … Read more