News & Updates — punk

Unless you are a Brasileiro or follow modern Brazilian music you probably don't know who Chico Science was but he was a favorite of mine. In fact his band, Nação Zumbi, have continued to tour the world and make fresh albums mixing samba, psychedelia, funk and hard rock, along with regional folk styles of Northeast Brazil. Francisco de Assis França was born in the Northeastern state of Pernambuco, literally coming out of the swamps ("mangue"), and he helped found the manguebeat movement in Recife, a collective identity that nurtured the highly original arts and music scene that was on the...

Happy birthday to the harmolodic genius Ornette Coleman! His saxophone crying and unique compositional style were as groundbreaking on the avant-garde jazz front as John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor & Sunny Murray, Sun Ra and Albert Ayler were in that new freedom era that started in the late '50s and caused an avalanche of free-jazz in the '60s. In fact, it was Coleman's "double-quartet" album, Free Jazz -from '60, which gave name to a whole genre to follow. The musical revolutionary grew up poor in Fort Worth TX and learned to sight-read and started teaching himself alto sax at 14, right...

Here's a brand new mixtape put together by DJ Studebaker Hawk of tunes found on Peace & Rhythm releases to date, from the very first 7" to the freshest! Give it a listen, check out the links, buy some records, support independent music!! A huge thank you to all the artists we've had the pleasure of working with, Studebaker Hawk for the mix, Margot Glass for the art, and YOU for listening!! Track list: 0:00 Peliroja - Situaciones (comp: J. Batista, M. Eckroth, J. Plasse) - from Situaciones / Ciudad de Nadie 7" P&R-45-002  (OUT OF PRINT) band website, official...

The Memphis-born Arthur Lee heard and played jazz, R&B and surf music before forming a psychedelic folk-rock band in 1965 called Love, and they became one of the most popular bands on the L.A. club scene and remain a cult favorite to this day. Love's music was not just folk-rock, as the music sounded flamenco, garage, pop, blues, hard rock and funk elements as well, and Lee himself collaborated with several singers and musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Billy Preston and Ornette Coleman and is considered a proto-punk figure. He was born as Arthur Taylor, his early years were spent in...

Here's a birthday shout to Lou Reed, urban storyteller, composer, guitarist, avant-rocker and NYC icon. The Velvet Underground are one of my all time favorite rock bands, and although his solo work is very hit-or-miss he displays heart and passion through all of it. He was a drug-using, free-jazz loving, dark poet with a life of ups & downs who captivated through song and sound. He is one of the godfathers of punk & no wave, a huge influence on Krautrock and sympathized with the freaks of the world. His biggest hit "Walk On The Wild Side" has been sampled...