Email Author Ryan Wasoba

2009 Stories by Ryan Wasoba

• 

  COVER STORY

  The Best of 2009 in Music

  published December 16, 2009

  I gave the RFT's freelancers very simple guidelines when assigning the following year-in-music pieces: In 300 words, tell readers what... More >>

• Show Review: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Scottrade Center, Saturday, December 12

  published Dec 13, 2009

  To my knowledge, the slew of vocalists which accompanied the Trans-Siberian Orchestra last evening never sang the word "Jesus." The concert did not feature a denouncement of Santa or the formation of... More >>

• Trans-Siberian Orchestra

  published December 9, 2009

  You'd better not pout, better not cry. You'd better not shout "Freebird!" and I'm telling you why: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is... More >>

• Impermanent Vacation: Darin Gray and Glenn Kotche reactivate their instrumental project, On Fillmore

  published November 25, 2009

  "Cinematic" is a descriptor often assigned to instrumental bands, a catchall term that frequently serves as a polite way of saying "background... More >>

• Japandroids

  published November 18, 2009

  Japandroids' 2009 summer jam, "Young Hearts Spark Fire," is aptly named: As guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse shout, "We... More >>

• Question the Answers: Yoni Wolf of Why? answers B-Sides' questions

  published November 4, 2009

  Yoni Wolf's career has taken him many places — from his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, to the Bay Area, his current locale (which is where... More >>

• Ska Is Dead 4 Tour

  published November 4, 2009

  The Ska Is Dead 4 Tour may seem morbidly self-aware. After all, ska's third wave crashed at the turn of the millennium when Reel... More >>

• Many Arms

  published November 4, 2009

  Many Arms is an instrumental band from Philadelphia. It's a triumvirate of valiant warriors crusading, not against each other or a... More >>

• Not Waving But Drowning

  published October 14, 2009

  In a small market such as St. Louis, many blame the city itself when its most potent bands don't hit it big. However, the tragedy of Not... More >>

• They Might Be Giants

  published October 7, 2009

  In the beginning, John Flansburgh and John Linnell created They Might Be Giants, which begat a self-titled debut and sophomore triumph,... More >>

• Show Review: Tortoise at the Firebird, Tuesday, September 29

  published Sep 30, 2009

  The "math" and "post" prefixes have become journalistic inevitabilities in describing Tortoise's brand of rock. Digging deeper into the band, however, reveals its members' nerdy fascinations with jaz... More >>

• Slow and Steady: Post-rock instrumentalists Tortoise look to the future with a new album and tour

  published September 23, 2009

  2009 might just be the Year of the Tortoise — what with the band's numerous festival performances, massive tours, the fantastic new... More >>

• Review: The Books and Lymbyc Systym at the Luminary Center for the Arts, Sunday, September 20

  published Sep 21, 2009

  At the sold out Luminary Center for the Arts, the Books capped off a pre-encore set with a strangely self-aware message, which was both spoken in a pre-recorded voice and projected on the video scree... More >>

• Maserati

  published September 16, 2009

  While many Explosions-in-the-Mogwai-You-Black-Emperor-inspired groups drum along at a glacial pace, Maserati's cinematic inventions are... More >>

• Show Review + Photos: The Mars Volta at the Pageant, Tuesday, September 8

  published Sep 09, 2009

  When the Mars Volta unleashed its 2002 debut EP, Tremulant, some critics cheekily tagged the band "Punk Floyd." Given that vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez cut their ... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Interview: The Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

  published Sep 08, 2009

  The Mars Volta is far too weird for its own popularity, but somehow Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and their virtual lazy susan of band members have turned virtuosic, psychedelic prog jam... More >>

• The Gaslight Anthem

  published September 9, 2009

  On the title track of the Gaslight Anthem's monstrously well-received The '59 Sound, singer Brian Fallon wonders aloud what song... More >>

• Battle of Wits: Who's better: Blink-182 or Weezer?

  published September 2, 2009

  [Editor's Note: News that Blink-182 was moving its show to Tuesday, September 29, arrived just after press time. Tickets for the September 3... More >>

• The Mars Volta

  published September 2, 2009

  Ever since the demise of screamo progenitors At the Drive-In, guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala have been on a... More >>

• Sing For China Tour

  published August 26, 2009

  The Sing For China Tour features a triumvirate of Beijing acts billed as "three of the biggest and best bands in China." Coed trio... More >>

• Fall Out Boy

  published August 12, 2009

  Matching military outfits, celebrity romances and hip-hop collaborations — Fall Out Boy has become the Coldplay of punk... More >>

• Native

  published August 5, 2009

  There's something about the age-to-talent ratio that makes the post-punk of the barely legal Indiana quartet Native both impressive and... More >>

• Happy Birthday, Punk: The Vans Warped Tour turns fifteen years young

  published July 29, 2009

  The traveling punk-rock circus known as the Vans Warped Tour is a sensory overload of loud bands, loud people and loudly colored merchandise... More >>

• Abe Vigoda

  published July 22, 2009

  The beaches of Los Angeles are not the same pristine blue oases the Beach Boys used to harmonize about. Appropriately, LA's self-proclaimed... More >>

• Back to the Future: The Pageant hosts four straight days of '90s rock icons

  published July 22, 2009

  For four days, the Pageant will party like it's 1996. So to help simplify this way-back bonanza, we've drafted a helpful comparison among four... More >>