Category: Features
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by Michael McCarthy Last Saturday night on 5/12/18, I was fortunate enough to catch Stryper live for the third time in my life. It feels weird admitting that, that it was only my third time seeing them, because they’ve been one of my all-time favorite bands – easily in my top 5 – since I…
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interview by Michael McCarthy When I first interviewed Francesca Lia Block during August of 2016, she was hard at work on a memoir, which I was very excited about. Since that 2016 interview, I’ve taken one of Francesca’s popular online courses. It was a lot of fun and quite educational, especially when it came to…
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You may be wondering why I haven’t posted anything this week since I had written that I’d be back in the swing of things on April 30th. Well, there’s a reason why I haven’t posted anything since I’ve been back and that’s because my best friend, my cat Mister White, passed away a week ago…
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interview by Michael McCarthy The reason this interview is titled Much More Than The Voice is that today’s subject is Whitney Fenimore, who you may recall from season 13 of a little show called The Voice. She did a touching rendition of Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” which she rearranged herself, at the blind…
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review and photos by Michael McCarthy This past Friday night I finally saw the legendary Juliana Hatfield – one of my favorite artists – in concert. Being a fellow Masshole (slang for Massachusetts resident), I should’ve seen her years ago. I’m honestly not sure why I didn’t. I’m sure I wanted to and there were…
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interview by Michael McCarthy Congolese-born Baloji’s new LP, 137 Avenue Kaniama, was released on March 23rd, 2018 via Bella Union. Prior to when the label approached me about the album, I’d never heard of Baloji, but then I suppose very few people here in the States would’ve heard of him. That’s exactly why I wanted…
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interview by Michael McCarthy It’s been roughly 12 years since the release of The Fratellis’ universally loved debut album, Costello Music. Their newly released album, In Your Own Sweet Time, is their fifth and certainly one of their best. I was, honestly, blown away from the first time I heard it. I wouldn’t bother trying…
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by Michael McCarthy Yes, it may be hard to believe, but this is my fourth interview with Stryper frontman/co-lead guitarist Michael Sweet already. What can I say, he keeps putting out fantastic albums and I love to ask him questions about them. Between making records with Stryper, his solo projects and Sweet & Lynch, Michael…
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interview by Michael McCarthy You may be familiar with Louis Torre because you’ve heard his popular, stripped-back covers of songs like “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back” by Shawn Mendes, “Don’t Take The Money” by Bleachers and “Toxic” by Britney Spears. He’s released roughly two dozen covers already, and we discuss those at length, but we…
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interview by Michael McCarthy Hudson Taylor, the duo comprised of Harry and Alfie Hudson Taylor, is not easy to pin down. As I said in the first question below, I hear so many genres all at once when I hear their upbeat songs. Folk, Americana, Country, Pop – it’s all in there. The more I…
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interview by Michael McCarthy I’ve heard lots of different things about BulletBoys frontman Marq Torien over the years. Whether it was people accusing him of having LSD (lead singer disease) or other things, it seemed like he had a larger than life personality. I was even a bit intimidated going into this one, afraid that…
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interview by Michael McCarthy Ruth Koleva might be from Bulgaria, but after doing this interview I feel confident in saying that she speaks English better than I do. That’s the God’s honest truth. She makes better music, too! In other words, she’s quite the talented person, which you can discover by listening to any of…
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review and photos by Michael McCarthy This past Saturday night, 2/24/18, I had the opportunity to check out the English pop/folk singer/songwriter Gabrielle Aplin in concert for the first time at The Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA. Simply put, she was fabulous. The same can be said of her opening acts, Hudson Taylor and…
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interview by Michael McCarthy Kat Cunning (aka Katrina Cunningham) is a singer/songwriter who mixes pop, soul and Baroque influences with excellent results. So far, however, she’s been known for her work as a Broadway actress and dancer, having performed in Dangerous Liaisons, Cirque Du Soleil’s Paramore and NYC’s Sleep No More. She’s also performed as…
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interview by Michael McCarthy The more I listen to Alex Maws and his band The President Lincoln, the less I know how to describe them. They’ve been called a cross between glam rock and Americana by the BB6, but I personally don’t hear glam rock or Americana when I listen to them. The band sounds…
