Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover Interviews Golden Bloom for Rabid in the Kennel

Revered writer Jack Rabid's hailed magazine, The Big Takeover, just turned 30 (and also relaunched a new website design). That is a milestone these days with the online competition. "Music with Heart," is the magazine's subtitle, and it's one of the reasons Rabid's magazine continues to flourish. Rabid recently interviewed Shawn Fogel of Golden Bloom for Rabid in the Kennel's special show highlighting new and undiscovered bands called Best of the New Breed. The in-studio performance and interview with Golden Bloom can be heard as part of the series on on BreakThru Radio on September 15th.

Rabid In The Kennel is a live performance and interview program, hosted by Jack Rabid and presented on the second Wednesday of every month on BreakThru Radio (BRT). Performances by well-known and emerging artists are recorded live, with no overdubs, at The Kennel Recording Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Click Here to Read More..

Avi Wisnia at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on June 11th

Philadelphia native Avi Wisnia will perform his Brazilian bossa nova on Friday June 11th at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “Art After 5.”

Philadelphia Museum of Art says of the Art After 5 Series, “Friday evenings take on a whole new groove with Art After 5, a unique blend of entertainment from 5:00–8:45 p.m. in the Great Stair Hall. With an eclectic mix of international music on the first Friday of each month, and recognized and emerging jazz artists performing all other Fridays, it’s a stylish way to start your weekend.” Wisnia is likely to have the most interesting style of jazz music the Art After 5 Series has ever seen! Wisnia will follow up almost a month later when he hits Cambridge, MA on July 11 at Club Passim.

Wisnia releases his debut full-length album Something New nationally on June 29th. Recorded by Grammy-winning producer Glen Barratt (Amos Lee), Something New’s unpredictable cover songs only highlight the main attraction of his new collection of songs: his incomparable mish-mash of piano-pop meets bossa nova pop gems.

Having played major festival such as SXSW and CMJ, Wisnia says of his live performances, which always seem to be unpredictable and chock full of great stories to tell afterwards, “There have been shows where the band and I improvise songs on the spot, or ask audience members to come up and sing on kazoo. In one instance, the bartender who was shaking a martini at the bar ended up being an add-on percussionist. Another time, I had lost my egg shaker and asked the audience to pass me a pack of Tic Tacs. Instead, someone threw on stage a bottle of menstrual relief pills (it sounded fantastic). You have to be spontaneous and cater to the crowd and the moment."

Avi Wisnia Tour Dates

Friday June 11, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Art After 5 Event, Grand Stair Hall
Show: 5pm-9pm
Tickets: Free after Museum admission

Sunday July 11, Club Passim, Cambridge, MA
Door Time 5:30 PM
Show Time 7:00 PM
Opening Act: Caleb Hawley
Cover: $12/$10 (Club Passim Members) Click Here to Read More..

Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover on Leopold and His Fiction

The Big Takeover's infamous scribe Jack Rabid gave us a sneak peak at his glowing review of Leopold and His Fiction's Golden Friends EP before the next issue of The Big Takeover hits stands.

"This six-song EP is really a two-song teaser for a forthcoming third LP, with two songs each from last year’s Ain’t No Surprise and 2006’s self-titled debut added. Having reviewed Ain’t in issue 63, the new approach foreshadowed by “Golden Friends” and “Throne” is interesting torment. It’s hard to tell from such limited sample if the San Francisco trio are fully modifying their dirty-roots rock, gut-bucket shake ‘n’ shimmy that had me reaching for Gun Club, Tex & the Horseheads, Flesheaters, and Pontiac Brothers references. But with Thom Monahan (Pernice Brothers) producing, the lighter swamp blues soul of “Golden” is something I could hear Tom Waits howling in a graveyard—although Daniel James’ molasses voice is plenty sexy. “Throne” is just his voice and mostly just a quiet electric guitar playing a line like The Beatles’ “Something.” Bring on the LP." Click Here to Read More..