Email Author Christian Schaeffer

2006 Stories by Christian Schaeffer

• Sonny Landreth

  published December 27, 2006

  Hailing from the swamplands of Louisiana, Sonny Landreth is a bayou bluesman like no other. His tone is syrupy and thick, while his... More >>

• 2006: The Year in Music

  published December 27, 2006

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• Phosphorescent

  published December 13, 2006

  Matthew Houck crafts loping, art-damaged country tunes under the banner of Phosphorescent. His sweetly ragged voice can be a deal-breaker,... More >>

• A Very Bert Dax Christmas shows

  published December 13, 2006

  Seasonal affective disorder or holiday humbuggery got you down? Pop in A Very Bert Dax Christmas, Volume 5 and watch your blues melt away.... More >>

• Deck the Halls with Christmas Albums

  published December 13, 2006

  Yule Jukebox It used to be that only country and adult contemporary artists released Christmas albums. These... More >>

• The Changes / Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

  published December 6, 2006

  "When I Wake" is such a stellar nugget of pop perfection that The Changes decided to use it as the first track on both their 2003... More >>

• Anna Fermin's Trigger Gospel

  published December 6, 2006

  On the just-released Go, Anna Fermin' s Trigger Gospel try on any manner of influences over nine tracks. "Where My Heart Begins" is... More >>

• Local Motion: Give Her a Lizard / Sun Sawed in 1/2

  published November 29, 2006

  Set the Wayback Machine for 1992 at the local rock & roll reunion featuring Sun Sawed in 1/2 and Give Her a Lizard. Both bands... More >>

• DeVotchKa / My Brightest Diamond

  published November 29, 2006

  Like Andrew Bird on steroids, DeVotchKa mixes strings, guitar swells and thesaurus-aided lyrics into something grand. From its beginnings... More >>

• The Oranges Band / SHed SHot

  published November 22, 2006

  One gets the feeling that if the members of the Oranges Band were more creative with their treadmills, they could be the next OK Go. But... More >>

• The Silent Years / Troubadour Dali / Brandy Johnson

  published November 8, 2006

  Rock icons never really die; they're just resurrected through the songs of their acolytes. Take Detroit's The Silent Years, a band that... More >>

• Pit er Pat

  published November 1, 2006

  Some of Pit er Pat's key traits suggest a renaissance of rock-based minimalism and faux-jazz wankery: They're a keyboard-bass-drums trio... More >>

• The Pernice Brothers

  published October 25, 2006

  For a guy who sells concert T-shirts with "I Hate My Life" emblazoned across the chest, Joe Pernice is sounding more and more upbeat on every... More >>

• The Hold Steady

  published October 18, 2006

  Part of the Hold Steady's genius is that vocalist Craig Finn chooses to tell his street poetry with a close approximation of the Silver Bullet... More >>

• Los Amigos Invisibles

  published October 18, 2006

  It's been ten years since Los Amigos Invisibles left Caracas, Venezuela, for New York and hooked up with world-music purveyor David Byrne... More >>

• Climb Ev'ry Mountain

  published October 18, 2006

  Bookish and breezy, inward and outward, folksy and metal, a singer-songwriter and a band — John Darnielle is the lonely and beloved voice,... More >>

• Hamell on Trial

  published October 11, 2006

  Talk all you want about how Bill Clinton and Howard Dean are fighting against right-wing talking heads: One-man folk-punk band Hamell on... More >>

• Cursive/Thermals

  published October 4, 2006

  Over the course of three albums, Portland, Oregon's the Thermals have expanded from thrashing out curse-laden, four-track noise-bursts... More >>

• Deadboy & the Elephantmen

  published September 27, 2006

  Deadboy & the Elephantmen may be on Fat Possum records, but don't let that fool you: There's nothing gut-bucket-bluesy about this... More >>

• Mosquitos

  published September 20, 2006

  Like wearing seersucker and drinking mojitos, conventional wisdom says we shouldn't listen to sunny Brazilian pop after Labor Day. Too damn bad:... More >>

• Hem

  published September 20, 2006

  With the just-released Funnel Cloud, Brooklyn's Hem continues to refine their vision of American pastoral music. The band operates... More >>

• Music Showcase Schedule

  published September 6, 2006

  Best Blues Artist Bennie Smith The royal pantheon of blues guitar is... More >>

• Life After the Storm

  published August 30, 2006

  Over the past few weeks, we've been reminded about the one-year anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, about its aftermath and how the... More >>

• Lyle Lovett

  published July 26, 2006

  Say a little prayer for Lyle Lovett — and more specifically, pray for the return of his muse, which has been on vacation for some... More >>

• Happy Feet

  published July 19, 2006

  Tony Danza was a professional boxer before stepping into the acting ring, so it should be no surprise that the music of Tony Danza Tap Dance... More >>