Read Bands You Should Be Listening To, Part One and Part Two
OK, and if you want new music, would it kill you to check out these four?
Tied for Last
One of the few bands I would climb from my deathbed to see live. These modern day punks (with some rockabilly thrown in for good measure) are indeed the hardest working folks in town, with catchy clever songs that never disappoint. Please, don’t take it from me, see them live, you will go home converted (and if not, probably because you are the type to stand in the back of the room with your arms folded over your chest at every show shouting “Boo! Do the old stuff!” but that’s your problem, not mine).
Screaming Females
The New Jersey scene that brought us the Ergs among others still produces stunning bands and my newest fave is the Screaming Females, even though only one out of three is a woman. Great mixture of guitar heroics and weirdly slightly distorted vocals make them local heroes, and yet another great band on Don Giovanni records.
Left on Red
If you ride the NY subway, you probably have seen the two gorgeous intelligent and funny women busking at one point or another. They are political without being didactic and whether they are playing old timey music, or modern pro-women anthems, they back up their politics with beautiful harmonies and expert interwoven violin and guitar. Try and see them before they are too big to play Penn Station.
Marty Rivas
OK, this may count as cheating, as I’ve know the guy for thirty years now, but while a lot of white singers sing soul music, Marty actually has soul. Whether it’s him and Craig on drums doing their repertory of seemingly a thousand obscure covers, or his dynamic full band shows, Marty (I know he goes by Martin these days, but I have seniority) is the bastard child of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.
— Brian Cogan
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