Roy Elkins: Rock the vote Roy Elkins of Broadjam oversees the MAMAs' Internet selection process Rich Albertoni on Friday 05/09/2008, (1) Recommendation When presenters ask "May I have the envelope, please" at music awards shows, there's a good chance Roy Elkins will be the guy handing it over. >MoreLucia di Lammermoor: Mad about you Lovers go over the edge Sandy Rucker-Tabachnick on Friday 05/09/2008, (1) Recommendation Overture Hall will shiver with murder and madness this weekend when the Madison Opera presents its premiere of Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti. Librettist Salvatore Cammarano based this tragic opera on Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor, a tale of two feuding families, the Ashtons and the Ravenswoods, and their struggle to maintain power amid political turmoil. >More
James McMurtry: 'Cheney's toy' James McMurtry takes on George W. Bush Rich Albertoni on Friday 05/09/2008, (1) Recommendation Austin folk-rocker James McMurtry turned 46 this spring. He's been making records since John Mellencamp produced his first album in 1989. McMurtry's career got a second wind in 2005, thanks to politics. His song "We Can't Make It Here" became a post-NAFTA rust-belt anthem. >More
THE BIN
Tapes 'n Tapes Walk It Off (XL) Rich Albertoni on Friday 05/09/2008, (1) Recommendation >MoreThe Kissers bid farewell to Madison An open letter from Ken Fitzsimmons Ken Fitzsimmons on Wednesday 05/07/2008 6:32 pm, (2) Comments, (10) Recommendations We decided to play our last show on June 7, 2008 at the High Noon (appropriate of course since it is the new incarnation of O'Cayz). Coincidentally this show will almost exactly mark the ten-year anniversary of our weekly gig at O'Cayz. >More
Celebrating our Madison music scene at the 2008 MAMAs Party on, musicians and students! Rich Albertoni on Sunday 05/11/2008 1:05 pm, (5) Recommendations If you're a Madison music scene insider, and you've attended the MAMAs more than once, no one needed to explain host John Urban's opening joke Saturday night. "I have to keep the show rolling because I've got plans at midnight," said Urban. The annual Madison Area Music Awards show has never been known for its brevity. This year's gig began at 7:30 and was finished a little more than three hours later. But much of the crowd of more than 500 was energized right until the end. >MoreAnnouncing the winners of the 2008 Madison Area Music Awards Isthmus Staff on Saturday 05/10/2008 11:06 pm, (2) Recommendations The fifth annual Madison Area Music Awards were held on Saturday night before an energetic crowd of local musicians and their fans at the Barrymore Theatre. Winners in more than 40 categories of artists, albums, and songs were named at the live show, which featured performances by Dear August, Stephanie Rearick, Westside Andy/Mel Ford Band, The Motorz, The Jessi Lynn Band, Profound with Lil' Braugh, and Pale Young Gentlemen with a string quartet composed of musicians from Madison schools. >MoreMadTracks -- 'All We Are' by 8889 April Williamson on Thursday 05/08/2008 10:43 am, (10) Recommendations Pop rockers 8889 have been working for a few years on their new album Zoology, the follow-up to their well-received 2005 debut release My Music Plan. If the five men behind the band have spent a long time in the studio, it's because they now have a growing reputation to uphold: "Dandelions" from that first album won the 2006 Madison Area Music Award for Best Pop Song. >MoreThe Kissers bid farewell to Madison An open letter from Ken Fitzsimmons Ken Fitzsimmons on Wednesday 05/07/2008 6:32 pm, (2) Comments, (10) Recommendations We decided to play our last show on June 7, 2008 at the High Noon (appropriate of course since it is the new incarnation of O'Cayz). Coincidentally this show will almost exactly mark the ten-year anniversary of our weekly gig at O'Cayz. >MoreIsthmus Jazz Festival announces 2008 schedule Dean Robbins on Tuesday 05/06/2008 7:00 pm, (1) Recommendation The Isthmus Jazz Festival broadens its scope for this year's four-day extravaganza at the UW Memorial Union. >More
MadTracks -- 'In the Ring' by The Rebuilts Tom Laskin on Thursday 03/27/2008 1:35 pm, (9) Recommendations Add meat-and-potatoes Milwaukee/Madison rockers The Rebuilts to the list of Wisconsin bands who are looking back at early punk and rockabilly for inspiration. In their case, you can almost hear Johnny Thunders and Sid Vicious whispering encouragement in the background as lead singer Skip Peer hiccups and snarls his way through the lyrics of "In the Ring" from their 2007 EP Four on the Floor. >MoreMadTracks -- 'Idle American' by The Cutouts Tom Laskin on Thursday 03/20/2008 3:16 pm, (10) Recommendations With local roots that stretch all the way back to jocular party punks Phil Gnarly & the Tough Guys, The Cutouts are prime representatives of a strain of garage-flavored pop that flourished in Madison during the '80s and early '90s. On "Idle American," vocalist/bass player Scott Olson expresses familiar fuck-all teen angst with a sneering nasal tenor that's got "mangy pug" written all over it. >More
Announcing nominees for the 2008 MAMAs Kristian Knutsen on Monday 03/31/2008 9:35 pm, (6) Recommendations The Madison Area Music Awards announced its 2008 nominees during a party at the Brink Lounge on Monday night. Presented by founder Rick Tvedt and MAMAs chair Roy Elkins of online music promoter Broadjam, the event also served as a fundraiser for the group, which has the charitable mission of raising funds for and supporting music education for school children in Madison. >MoreJens Lekman defends precious pop at UW Music Hall Eric Bescak on Monday 03/31/2008 10:27 am, (8) Recommendations A crooner of idealized loves and commonplace countretemps, Jens Lekman handily endeared the UW Music Hall's full house Sunday night. It was proof that his pop aesthetic increasingly written off as "precious," a close relation to the maligned "twee" deserves its praise. >More
Watch Screamin' Cyn Cyn & the Pons play at SXSW 2008 on Tuesday 03/25/2008 The Madison-based record label Crustacean Records hosted its first showcase at the 2008 South By Southwest music and multimedia festival in Austin, Texas on Thursday, March 13. Punk quartet Screamin' Cyn Cyn & the Pons was one of three local bands to play at the show. This live concert video of their performance was created by Hinckley Design & Production. >MoreWatch Droids Attack play at SXSW 2008 on Monday 03/24/2008 The Madison-based record label Crustacean Records hosted its first showcase at the 2008 South By Southwest music and multimedia festival in Austin, Texas on Thursday, March 13. Metal trio Droids Attack was one of three local bands to play at the show. This live concert video of their performance was created by Hinckley Design & Production. >More
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