Remember L7, the all-girl rock band from Los Angeles that made its way into the '90s grunge scene and spearheaded Rock For Choice? Surely you recall some of their hookiest hits: ‘S---list,' ‘Pretend We’re Dead’ and ‘Stuck Here Again
Since he was seven years old, there's only been one constant in John McCauley's life, and that's his favorite band: Nirvana. "Everything else changes," the Deer Tick frontman told us last weekend at Mountain Jam 2013, where he and his group played a raucous roots-punk set that included a cover of the 'Nevermind' classic 'Breed.' While Kurt Cobain might not be the most obvious influence on this Rhode Island-born Americana collective, the group plays country, folk and blues with a badass rock 'n' roll sensibility, and their Mountain Jam set also included a cover of the Replacements' classic 'Can't Hardly Wait.'
When it comes to the Lumineers, Stelth Ulvang and Ben Wahamaki "jumped on right in time," as the pianist and bassist explained to Diffuser.fm during a recent sit-down at Mountain Jam 2013. Two years ago, when Ulvang and Wahamaki met founders Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, the band was still playing open-mic nights in Denver. Now, of course, they're Grammy-nominated superstars -- the biggest folk-pop act not called Mumford and Sons -- and their hit 'Ho Hey' is all over the place.
Nico Vega recently finished touring with Imagine Dragons, and according to singer Aja Volkman, the trek was like "a bubble of craziness" she couldn't see out of. That makes sense, since Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds happens to be her husband.
“Things are happening so fast for them, and we feel like our heads our spinning," Volkman tells Diffuser.fm. "It’s great, but I’m getting to see how that kind of fame can get overwhelming. In a way, it makes me appreciate the fact that Nico Vega is on a different pace, and it’s not overwhelming me right now."
Bo Jackson was great at two things -- three if you count selling sneakers. The first and only athlete to make the all-star team in two major American sports (football and baseball), Jackson was one of the most famous athletes of the early '90s. According to TV spots popular at the time, "Bo knows" how to do just about everything. It's from this multi-talented running back and outfielder that Rainbow Jackson get their name, and while this L.A. foursome may only excel one thing -- playing "scuzzed-up power-pop," as their bio puts it -- it's a skill that won them Diffuser.fm's latest Crucial Cut of the Month contest.
The Lumineers may be the biggest little band in America. On the strength of their megahit ‘Ho Hey’ and latest single 'Stubborn Love' -- presently burning up the charts and ensuring the continued relevance of their self-titled debut, an album released more than a year ago -- the band arrived at Mountain Jam 2013 as, well, kings of the mountain.
Before the Lumineers took the stage Saturday night (June 8), Diffuser.fm chatted with barefoot piano player Stelth Ulvang and shoe-favoring bassist Ben Wahamaki about the band’s meteoric ascent and the secret behind their name. Check back later for video of the full interview.
The Avett Brothers have been doing this banjo-and-upright-bass thing for a while now. They formed well before recent best-selling folk acts Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers started out, and over the course of six albums -- the most recent of which, 'The Carpenter,' marks their second time working with Rick Rubin -- the band has won throngs of fans all over the country. On Friday (June 7), the fellas stopped in Hunter, N.Y., for Mountain Jam 2013, and before taking the stage, Seth and Scott Avett (banjo/vox and guitar/vox, respectively), Bob Crawford (upright bass) and Joe Kwon (cello) chatted with Diffuser.fm about their music.
Elijah Wolf-Christensen released a solo EP, 'As Tall as the Sun,' in July 2012, and since then, things have been moving pretty quickly. One of its songs got placed in a Subaru commercial, and Wolf-Christensen began adding musicians and building a proper band. Now called Elijah & the Moon, the group has an LP due out this summer, and they recently embarked on a U.S. tour that stopped Friday (June 7) in Hunter, N.Y., for Mountain Jam 2013. Before taking the stage, Wolf-Christensen and bassist/vocalist Gianluca Minucci sat down for a quick chat with Diffuser.fm. Check back later for full video of the interview.
This has been a year of celebration for Arts & Crafts, the Toronto-based label that brought the world Broken Social Scene, Feist, Stars and, more recently, Trust and Dan Mangan. In honor of their 10th birthday,
Ryan and Rebecca Coseboom, the husband-and-wife duo behind San Francisco eletro-wavers Stripmall Architecture, are leading a double life. By day, they live just outside the city, in a suburban enclave of two-car garages and adobe-shingled roofs. By night, they rock faces at metro-based clubs.
It’s this duality that the couple have come to confront, and ultimately embrace, on their upcoming album 'Suburban Reverb,' which they recorded in their basement studio.
