This week is graduation weekend, a perfect time to find out if American Dumpster can toss its tassel from left to right, and make a name for itself outside of our comfortable university town. The band’s management team, AfterParty Artist Management, is going to make sure the answer is yes, yes, yes! AD has the […]
Two veterans of the local music scene release their second CD this Thursday night at The Gravity Lounge. Keyboardist Mike Sokolowski and bassist Houston Ross have been playing together as Soko since 1990. At last count, Sokolowski estimates that more than 20 musicians have cycled through the band at various times, including Leroi Moore. […]
This installment of OTR is the first in a two part series of skateboarders and skate music. Andy Foster grew up in Roanoke and started skating in 1975 when he was 12 or 13. He considers himself part of the second wave of skaters, and though he has been off and on boards, he says that about three years ago he started back seriously and now he wants to skate all the time. Primarily a bowl skater, Foster\’s favorite place to skate is California, and he would very much like to start up a skate shop in town. He also teaches lessons through the city at the Skate Park on McIntire Road. I asked him about the history of skate music.
American Dumpster’s much-anticipated new CD, Rumor Mill, will see the light of day this month, and there are plenty of opportunities to get out, see a great band and pick up that record. May 18 is the official release date, and there will be a catered release party at a location to be disclosed in the very near future. The Dumpsters will also play at The Corner Plan 9 on May 20. Recorded at Sound of Music, the disc is a fine representation of Christian Breeden’s tunes fleshed out by the swampy groove of the band.
The Cyndra Van Clief Jazz Sextet wrapped up the season at The Cardinal Café in Scottsville this past Sunday night. The sextet plays jazz music from the 1930s, and features vocals, piano, bass, guitar and flute. Van Clief says she is very excited about playing Scottsville, which is her adopted hometown, and also where her church (she sings in the choir) is located. Cardinal Café presented the band’s premiere performance, and you can look for them to play more around town. I got to ask Van Clief about the music that she and the band like to play.
This Friday evening, April 28th, you can catch one of the series of music and arts shows put on by painter Lee Alter. Alter’s studio is located at 109 E. Jefferson St., in a building that is one of the oldest in town (and was formerly the site for town meetings and dances). The building, […]
This Sunday night, the Pavilion presents Wilco, one of the most successful and adventurous alt-rock bands on the planet.