Photo by Ari Justin Rothenberg

TopSpot USA asking Alesana's Shawn Milke the tough questions

​The Broward-Palm Beach Crossfade contingent is definitely the opposite of emo about our feature, "TopSpot USA Showcase Punks Up the Talent Farm" in this week's music section.

We caught up with TopSpot USA founders Sean Russell and Frankie "Famous" Nobile preparing for their first industry showcase at the Talent Farm this Saturday. The show features Naples keyboard punk outfit Vega Under Fire, and the glam-fused support act, So Long Davey, comes from San Diego. The other three acts all have ties to South Florida: Ex-Hey Monday  drummer Elliot James' Easton (West Palm Beach), pop-punks Not Here Now (Miami), and electro-punks New City Lions (Fort Lauderdale).

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​Just a few items we wrestled from the jaws of this week's New Times Broward-Palm Beach print edition.

In Music: Aside from massive WMC/Ultra coverage from Miami, Lee Zimmerman confirms that Rodney Atkins really is just a simple guy and Gilberto Gil rolls through the Broward Center.

In News: Fighting crime does pay. And professional alligator wrestling is real even if Hulk Hogan isn't taking part.

In Film: Soak in '80s nostalgia with Hot Tub Time Machine.

In Food: Nu-Sushi rolls right over the competition.

In Calendar: How to Train Your Dragon, puppet animation A Town Called Panic, and the piano prodigy Lang Lang.

​Just a few items we cultivated from in this week's New Times Broward-Palm Beach print edition.

In Music: Alkaline Trio rolls through Revolution next week, Aretha Aretha Aretha, Miami's Raffa & Rainer rocks a Fort Lauderdale CD release party, and there will be Jazz in the Gardens this weekend.

Night Watch: "Large calves and all."

Feature: Growing pot can be worse for your health than smoking it.

Food: Japanese soul food?

In Calendar: Whiskey Blue gets gay-friendlier, go see the Dr. Radio show, a quality Art Walk in Fort Lauderdale, and Wine, Dine and Design

​Just a few items we tackled in this week's New Times Broward-Palm Beach print edition.

In Music: Pitbull is throwing a party on Sunday. Carnaval Miami and Calle Ocho's guest list includes T-Pain, Flo Rida, Sean Paul, Spam Allstars and a million or so of their closest friends. Someone was also gonna throw a party featuring Drake, but no one told Drake.

News: A must-read about the Lingerie Football League's Miami Caliente. Some guy who's not Fidel Castro, but is named Fidel Castro.

Food: El Guanaco Taqueria has "fluffy pupusas larded with stringy cheese, crispy fried tostones, and pollo à la plancha smothered with a rustic sofrito of tomatoes, onions, and peppers." (!)

Night Watch: The Wreck Bar returns: "I'm sorry -- you appear to be wet. Is it safe to conclude that you are a mermaid?"

Calendar: Nelly and Bow Wow will battle... on the basketball court, Churchill's own Dave Daniels celebrates 50 years in the music biz, some rednecks tell some redneck jokes, The Dumb Waiter at Nova, Vagina Monologues at Miniaci, Miami Film Festival, and there's some Irish holiday coming up.

public domain image via Florida Guy 128 on wikimedia commons.

Hallandale Beach at Sunset

​The image above is of the sleepy-looking beachside town called Hallandale, Florida and gives no indication of the city's Black musical history. But the Palms in Hallandale, just north of Miami, otherwise known as the Million Dollar Palms, was a major stop on the Chitlin Circuit, a nationwide string of venues where it was safe for African-Americans to perform and experience live music during segregation. After the jump, check out the top 10 moments in black music history that happened at the Palms.

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Miami New Times archives week of November 2 - 8, 1988

​Ron Wood is one of the world's most famous bass guitar players thanks to his tenure with the Rolling Stones. But did you know that back in the '80s he was part owner of a live music venue on Miami Beach called Woody's?

Well, it's true. Woody's Miami Beach was a live music venue, bar, and club located at 455 Ocean Drive on Miami Beach, and according to the ad we pulled for this week's Archive Diver, Ray Charles was booked for a show there way back on November 3, 1988.

Ray Charles is the famous blind musician who took a gospel singing background, applied it to making pop music, and changed the world.
By 1988 he was already a legend. It would have been cool to see him perform.

Here's the full ad for the show as it appeared in the November 2 - 8, 1988 issue of the Miami New Times.
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via Miami New Times archives week of October 12 - 18, 1988

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NewTimes week of Oct 5 - 11. 1988

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image via Miami New Times archives week of September 7 - 13, 1988

​Yesterday And Today Records is a legendary Dade County mom-and-pop record store. The above ad is from their original location, long since closed, but guess what, they're still open  at 9275 SW 40 St. At 28 years strong and counting, they say they're "South Florida's oldest record shop (vinyl)."

Crossfade dialed up Evan Chern, the dude who has owned the place for the last ten or so years. He's a former WDNA DJ who spent "about 13 years" doing his show Notes From The Underground. Evan bought the store from the original owner Richard and had the foresight to buy the domain for VintageRecords.com. Here's some of what Evan had to say, the rest you'll have to ask him about in person:
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via Miami New Times Archives week of August 31 - September 6, 1988.

Click for Fullsize.

​According to Wikipedia, Overkill is "an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey." Their studio discography encompasses 14 albums from 1985 through 2007.

Their wikiography also says Overkill formed out of the ashes of a punk band called the Lubricunts -- awesome name.

The ad on the right promotes Overkill's Under The Influence album and the single "Hello From The Guitar," though artwork on the same ad references the song title as "Hello From The Gutter." The song was made into a video which appeared on Headbanger's Ball. Are we looking back at an era when the word gutter was too controversial for MTV? I don't know.

The album was released on Megaforce Records, an early independent metal label, with a push from Atlantic Records.

The ad also promotes an all ages Overkill show at the Cameo Theatre on September 6, 1988.

Were any of you there? Got a favorite Overkill song? Leave a comment. Check out this link to a 1993 New Times article that talks about Overkill. After the jump, the Overkill video for "Hello From The Gutter," featuring their logo mascot "Chaly," a skull with bat wings.
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