Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman offers his insights, opinions, and observations about the local scene. This week: a little bit of bragging and a whole lot of chatter.

Before beginning, I'm giving fair warning. I'm gonna do a whole bunch of name dropping, here, and possibly even some bragging.

On the other hand, I make no apologies. One of the real perks of this gig is the opportunity to talk to my rock 'n' roll heroes, and in some cases, to actually make a bond, or friends. Or at least create enough of a personal impression to lead some to remember my name.

Some folks might find this silly stuff, and some people might consider me a kind of groupie as a consequence. So I'll confess. Being the total music obsessive that I am, I am indeed enamored of those that make music (#nohomo) But why not? Their art has made an indelible impression on my senses and sensibilities. Their music has become my passion. I live it, and I breathe it. So why would I not embrace those that make the music that brings me such joy? Even with a big, old man hug if prompted.

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Backstage In South Florida: Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares observations, insights, and updates relating to South Florida's musical environs. Ex Norwegian returns!

Back in the day, the imminent arrival of a new album by the Beatles or the Stones was something of an event, a cause for anticipation and celebration. Few artists garner that level of excitement these days, but on the local scene, there are still a handful of bands that justify an ever-eager response. I'd single out Ex Norwegian for that distinction, based not only on their rich catalogue -- consisting of four albums to date -- but also because the music merits special attention.

Founding member and guitarist Roger Houdaille is an avowed retro enthusiast, and his music reflects that fact: from the vibrant melodies to his soaring guitar solos and unabashed references to Beatles, Bowie, and other Brit rock mainstays of several decades past.

Pared down to a trio -- Houdaille, singer Michelle Grand, and bassist Giueppe Rodriguez -- Ex Norwegian recently released their fourth album, cryptically titled Crack. I spoke with Houdaille and asked him to give us the lowdown on the making of this exceptional new effort.

See also
- Ex Norwegian's Songs That Remind Them Why They Play Music

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Alex Markow

Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman offers his insights, opinions, and observations about the local scene. This week: Looking back at Tortuga Music Festival.

Congratulations are in order. The organizers and producers of the inaugural Tortuga Music Festival provided a fine introduction to what might, in the years to come, evolve into one of South Florida's leading music festivals. The combination couldn't be better --- sun, fun, sand, and sounds. So I thought a look back with a fresh, day-after perspective was in order. Here's what worked and what could use use some improvement at the 2013 Tortuga Music Festival.

See also
- Top Ten Best and Worst Fashions of Tortuga Music Festival
- Biggest Trend of Tortuga Music Festival: Boobs, Boobs, and More Boobs
- Gary Clark Jr. Broke My Heart at Tortuga Music Festival
- Avett Brothers - Tortuga Music Festival, Fort Lauderdale - April 14
- Avett Brothers' Seth Avett Admits: "We Are Genuinely Sensitive Men"
- Grace Potter on Touring with the Avett Brothers: "We're Totally Sick of Each Other!"

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Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman offers his insights, opinions, and observations about the local scene. This week: South Florida veteran musicians provide a welcome return.

For all my grousing about the lack of original music here in South Florida, I do have to admit that, over time, there have been some exceptional artists to emerge from our environs.

While national attention has eluded many of the more deserving, that in no way diminishes their efforts. It has prompted some of them to relocate in hopes of finding their fortune elsewhere. So while our loss is some other locale's gain, we can still point to them with pride and refer to them as exceptional alumni.

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Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman offers his insights, opinions, and observations about the local scene. This week: the one, the only Tom Jones!

Of all the accolades Tom Jones has earned over the course of his career -- a Grammy, an MTV Video Music Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a song included in the soundtrack to Little Fockers -- none seems more impressive than the title bestowed upon him this year and last by Britain's Glamour magazine, that of Sexiest Man Alive. Granted, any rugged individual with a show-biz pedigree can be considered a contender, but the fact that Mr. Jones turns 73 this year makes this a huge step in the geriatric direction for luscious older gents everywhere.

Jones, once known as Thomas John Woodward, was a humble lad born to working-class parents in Wales' mining country. Since the '60s, he's achieved every pinnacle of success in the entertainment world: stints in Vegas, a television show, hit records, and the devotion of millions of female fans who itch to throw their panties at him.

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Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman offers his insights, opinions, and observations about the local scene. This week: Blue Sky Drive appears to be on a path to a shining future.

It's always a thrill to find new Broward bands that are willing and able to write and record original music. In an area where cover bands rule and different and daring groups are at a premium, original music immediately sets any outfit apart, especially when their material is good enough to elevate them to national status.

One such band is Blue Sky Drive, a striking five-piece outfit that hails from Hollywood. Its eponymous debut EP is a sheer delight, one that deserves to reap immediate attention. Vocalist Tricia Sheldon, who originally started singing at piano bars in her native Cali, Colombia, has the chops to suggest a long and successful career is on the way. Guitarists Lisa Cattoretti and John O'Neil, bassist Dean Robaina, and drummer Ryan Baker provide the musical muscle that makes these songs so striking right from the get-go.

See also
- Choose Your Favorite Local Band to Perform at SunFest
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The Mavericks were arguably the most unlikely band ever to emerge from South Florida. Led by a Cuban-American with a love for classic country music and an appreciation for the traditional sounds borne by his Hispanic heritage, the Mavs gained a rabid following in a place where Americana was not the norm. More »

Alvin Lee" Gone but not forgotten...

Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman offers his insights, opinions, and observations about the local scene. This week: Much-missed musicians...

"Thinking of the day, when you went away
What a life to take, what a bond to break
I'll be missing you."
-- Faith Evans

We lost another one of the great ones the other day. Alvin Lee, ace guitarist, former frontman for the seminal '60s blues-rock outfit Ten Years After, an incendiary star of Woodstock who dazzled the crowd with his sizzling fretwork and the song that became the band's standard, "I'm Going Home." And now, Alvin's gone home -- or at least that's what we'd like to believe as part of our idealized vision of the hereafter, a place where Lennon, Harrison, Hendrix, Joplin, and Cobain spend eternity jamming to their hearts' content while welcoming another ill-fated artist to their fold with a shot, a spliff, and a lost chord.

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Bob's back and he wants you to know it

Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman offers his insights, opinions, and observations about the local scene. This week: A legend living among us.

What becomes of a man who had a mega radio hit 47 years ago and has rarely been heard from since? And what if there was a legend living in our midst and nobody knew it?

The answer to both questions can be answered by Bob Lind, a once reclusive folk singer who reigned at the top of the charts in 1966, courtesy of an international hit called "Elusive Butterfly." Lind sang of love and longing, a rare hint of heart-felt sentiment in the midst of the so-called British invasion in the mid '60s. 

Like Dylan, Donovan and Paul Simon, Lind draped himself in tattered troubadour mode, setting hearts a-fluttering in the process. In the years since, the song has been covered by more than 200 other artists, most members of the pop elite -- Cher, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Johnny Mathis, Dolly Parton and Petula Clark among them.

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Ed Hale plots his next move

Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares observations, insights, and updates relating to South Florida's musical environs. This week: pondering why the rest of the nation doesn't take our sounds seriously.

Ed Hale and the Transcendence aren't above taking a different turn. On their brand new album, ominously titled The Great Mistake, they abandon the turbulent, over-clouded melodies that have imbued their signature sound, and opt instead for a rowdy, raucous, irreverent rock 'n' roll delivery. Hints of their psychedelic style still linger, especially on songs such "I Remember You" and "She Gets Me Higher." But by and large, Hale is opting for more earthbound circumstance rather than the lofty musings that populated his last solo album, Ballad on Third Avenue, or the turbulent and tumultuous circumstance that characterized the previous band effort, All Your Heroes Become Villains.

Credit Hale's co-conspirators -- mainly Fernando Perdomo and Roger Houdaille -- with helping to instigate these changes and carrying them off with such perfect aplomb.

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