Q&A, Pitch

Chino Moreno on the next phase of the Deftones; show Saturday at Voodoo Lounge

Saby Reyes-Kulkarni — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:03:26 -0500

When the Deftones last came through Kansas City, the alterna-heavy quintet was in the process of rebounding from the long-term loss of original bass player Chi Cheng, a series of divorces, and a sluggish writing process that had created no small measure of internal friction. The situation had begun to improve in 2008, when work commenced on what was to be the band’s sixth album, Eros (now shelved for a future release date that's as yet TBD), but then Cheng was severely injured in a car accident.…

Mark Patton, KC native and star of Nightmare on Elm Street 2, on acting, horror and his 'scream queen' status

Abbie Stutzer — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:48:00 -0500

Though Mark Patton, native Kansas Citian and actor, has played many roles, he’s best known for his interpretation of Jesse in Nightmare on Elmstreet 2: Freddy's Revenge. Patton hasn’t lived in KC for a while, but he’s returning this weekend to meet fans and horror aficionados at the Boulevard Drive-In’s Horror on the Blvd. We recently chatted with Patton over e-mail and discussed how often he gets back to KC, why he originally stopped acting, and what caused him to get back into the role-playing game.…

Sarah Vowell on Kansas state history, election-year politics and her latest, Unfamiliar Fishes; reading Wednesday in Lawrence

April Fleming — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 08:03:00 -0500

A hero to literature-history-public-radio nerds, Sarah Vowell is the author of six New York Times best-selling books about American history and culture; a contributor to This American Life, the New York Times, and Salon; a McSweeney’s editor; Pixar voice actor (Violet in The Incredibles); and a really freaking funny person. Her most recent work, Unfamiliar Fishes, follows the bawdy sailors and missionaries-made-sugar-barons whose influence led Hawaii to become the 50th U.S. state.…

Daryl Hall on his Web show, misperceptions about his band's name, and the complete and utter lack of irony attached to Hall and Oates' music

David Hudnall — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:11:00 -0500

Last week, I was waiting around for a call from John Oates, one half of '80s "rock and soul" duo Hall and Oates. (The two are at Starlight this Saturday, September 8.)…

Jill Gevargizian of Slaughter Movie House on Monday’s screening and her Halloween plans

Abbie Stutzer — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:12:39 -0500

To celebrate the unofficial beginning of the fall season on Labor Day (Monday Sep. 3), Czar is hosting the monthly Slaughter Movie House, which begins at 7 p.m. and is free for patrons 18 and older. We recently contacted Jill Gevargizian (Jill Sixx), Slaughter Movie House organizer, and asked her about this month’s feature film, Mold, who she met at Crypticon KC, and what special spooks she’s planned for Halloween night.…

Bobcat Goldthwait on Juggalos, the Olympics, and God Bless America

April Fleming — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:01:55 -0500

For someone who started out as That Dude with the Crazy Voice, Bobcat Goldthwait has had a long, successful career. He did stand-up in the early '80s, appeared in character on Letterman and in '80s classics like Scrooged and three of the Police Academy movies.…

Dawes' Taylor Goldsmith on jamming with legends and the unknown art of songwriting

Abbie Stutzer — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 08:42:00 -0500

Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith formed Dawes in 2009. The band's Los Angeles ties typically elicit comparisons to other California rock bands, such as the Eagles and Buffalo Springfield.…

Chelsea Wolfe on songwriting, her country-tinged childhood and learning to perform overseas

Abbie Stutzer — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 07:48:39 -0500

Chelsea Wolfe benefited from living in a music-filled home. Wolfe garnered musical inspiration from jamming out to R&B music and Fleetwood Mac.…

Jason Chaffee on the possibilities of Echo Cinema and Arcade

Nick Spacek — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 07:18:00 -0500

Partners Jason Chaffee and Eric Graves have a grand plan to bring a revival theater and retro arcade to Kansas City. It's a plan not without its ups and downs, nor is it a small financial commitment.…

Girl in a Coma's Phanie Diaz talks NPR and influences

Nick Spacek — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:51:00 -0500

Girl in a Coma's release on Blackheart Records, Exits & All the Rest, was named as one of NPR's 50 best records of 2011. It's an astonishing bit of rock and roll from a Los Angeles group that blends rock, punk and girl-group harmonies to create something that's all their own yet immediately familiar.…

Gaslight Anthem guitarist Alex Rosamilia on the Cure, European tours, and Handwritten

Nick Spacek — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 07:29:00 -0500

New Jersey rockers the Gaslight Anthem frequently gets tagged with comparisons to the Garden State's most notable son, Bruce Springsteen. The quartet's sound draws from any number of influences: punk, rock and hints of folk.…

The English Beat's Dave Wakeling on the band's new box set

Nick Spacek — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:53:00 -0500

Dave Wakeling, frontman for the long-running 2-Tone ska act the English Beat, is not a man who's afraid of the past. He reunited the Beat in 2003, and the group's been making summer tours of the United States a regular deal for the past few years.…

Artist Jim Mahfood on Los Angeles Ink Stains and his start in Kansas City

Nick Spacek — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:13:00 -0500

Artist Jim Mahfood began his career in Kansas City. While the St. Louis native attended the Kansas City Art Institute, his work for zines like Flavorpak, as well as his own self-released comics Cosmic Toast and Girl Scouts (to say nothing of his illustrations for The Pitch) made him a respected name around the area.…

Q&A: Eric Earley of Blitzen Trapper

Chris Parker — Wed, 30 May 2012 10:03:00 -0500

Eric Earley is now into his 12th year leading Blitzen Trapper. The band spent the first half of its life mired in Portland's local indie-music ghetto.…

Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast on California, influences, and Drew Barrymore

Kyle Eustice — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:16:00 -0500

It wasn't too long ago that Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast was a normal 22-year-old woman living in California, sorting through the emotional ups and downs of everyday life. The singer-songwriter/guitarist has since joined forces with multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno and started banging out 1960s surf-rock-influenced numbers as Best Coast.…

Erika Wennerstrom on Austin, influences, and Heartless Bastards' latest, Arrow

Abbie Stutzer — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:47:52 -0500

Erika Wennerstrom is the backbone, heart and creator of blues-garage act Heartless Bastards, and her vocals have a fierce, feminine grit uncommon in modern-day frontwomen. She started writing songs on the piano at the age of 13 and learned how to play the guitar by writing original material.…

Luke Top of Fool's Gold on global music and recording Leave No Trace; show tonight at Riot Room

Abbie Stutzer — Wed, 23 May 2012 06:05:18 -0500

Fool's Gold is back on the road, touring in support of the band's August 2011 release, Leave No Trace. Since the L.A. band's first album, the two core members (Lewis Pesakov and Luke Top) have trimmed the band down to a five-piece.…

Joey Balls of Old Man Markley on the intersection of punk and folk

Nick Spacek — Mon, 21 May 2012 07:19:00 -0500

Fat Wreck Chords' Old Man Markley falls in line with a long tradition of folk-punk artists, going all the way back to the Pogues. The band's sound - lots of fiddle, banjo and washtub bass - is a fun time, communing as it does the energy of a punk show with the chops of a well-oiled bluegrass band (unsurprisingly, really, given that the band counts members of Youth Brigade and other SoCal punk acts among its ranks).…

Jane Siberry on k.d. lang, life on the road, and HuffPo

Nick Spacek — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:25:00 -0500

Singer-songwriter Jane Siberry is probably best-known for "It Can't Rain All of the Time," her contribution to The Crow soundtrack. But the Canadian musician's string of hits goes all the way back to 1984's "Mimi on the Beach."…

Deer Tick's John McCauley on Occupy, true crime, and recording with Steve Berlin

Saby Reyes-Kulkarni — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:32:05 -0500

Stumbling in the footsteps of legendary booze-hound acts like the Replacements and Guided By Voices, Providence quintet Deer Tick professes its love for alcohol pretty much every chance it gets. But judging from Deer Tick's work - most recently, the 2011 full-length Divine Providence and the new EP Tim, which contains leftover songs from the same sessions - the social aspect of drinking matters to the band as much as the buzz.…

Joe Pug on touring, giving music away, and becoming an adult

Abbie Stutzer — Fri, 11 May 2012 08:19:00 -0500

In April, we highlighted Joe Pug's Daytrotter session, and mentioned how the singer-songwriter broke into the music scene by giving away his tunes to people at his shows. We recently spoke to Pug and asked him about that free music model, how he approaches songwriting, and what inspired him to write the content on his new album, the Great Despiser.…

Jonah Qwerty on the horror musical 'Femme Assassin Guy'; shows at the Bottleneck this weekend

Abbie Stutzer — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:55:00 -0500

One of Kansas' own is trying his hand at the rock musical genre and making a rather bloody splash. The project: Femme Assassin Guy.…

The Rumblejetts' Jud Kite on drums, art and the band's latest, Motor Honey

Nick Spacek — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:08:00 -0500

Long-running KC rockabilly road warriors the Rumblejetts have seen their share of lineup changes since they formed in 1997. Drummer Jud Kite has been behind the kit for nine years now.…

Liberty Hall's Maggie Allen on Film Church and Annie Hall

Nick Spacek — Thu, 03 May 2012 08:11:00 -0500

Lawrence's Liberty Hall is an honest-to-goodness movie palace - stage, chandeliers and red-velvet seats. The cats who run the place are known for their knowledge of film, as anyone can attest who's ever been at a loss as to what they should grab from their video store.…

The Billybats' Jason Vivone on recording and recovering

Nick Spacek — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:25:00 -0500

Kansas City blues rockers the Billybats have been lying low as of late, for a couple of disparate reasons. Firstly, they've been recording a new album, Lather Rinse Repeat, for which they'll have their CD-release party this Friday, May 4, at Coda.…