All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on Starting a Band Today: "It's Not Cool"

Categories: Chatting

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Christina Mendenhall
Last time we saw power-pop punkers All-American Rejects, they brought Spanglish, mini-moshpits, and scores of 18-year-old girls to West Palm Beach's SunFest. This time, they're singing at Febrewary, a beer-based fest at Mizner Park Amphitheater, taking place this weekend. On top of all the beer that's going to be there, the band hasn't played since mid-December, so this should be quite a sweaty show.  

Lead guitarist Nick Wheeler spoke with us beforehand about interviewing Def Leppard and "farting around on the computer" while gaining inspiration.

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Rubblebucket's Kalmia Traver on the Band's Halloween Costumes: "A Lot of Spandex, Leotards, Stuffed Crotches"

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Last time frontwoman Kalmia Traver and her band Rubblebucket came to South Florida, they all got their wallets stollen. After playing at a LandShark Lager promotional event on South Beach, they decided to take a late night dip in the ocean. Though the others got totally screwed, Traver lucked out, kinda. "Everyone got their phone stolen. Mine was a little bit apart from the group, just in the pocket of my pants. So, I was lucky." Adding of this Miami experience, "The mood went from so good to so bad in like one second."

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Luckily, this isn't deterring them from returning to Florida. They'll be performing tonight with the Resolvers at the Funky Biscuit thanks to Brotherly Love Productions. Traver and bandleader and trumpeter Alex Toth first met in Vermont and moved to Boston to join reggae act John Brown's Body. There they got 15 of their friends to form Rubblebucket. Nowadays, the crew has become more, "manageable" at a mere seven members based out of Brooklyn.
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Sarah Packiam Chats About Trudie Skyler, Shakira, and Working at Cutting Cane Studios in Davie

Categories: Chatting
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Yesterday, you might have heard soulful songstress Sarah Packiam's song as the soundtrack to County Grind's latest video endeavor: Interviewing a mermaid. When it came time to find a song that complemented a beautiful magical sea creature, Packiam's folk, blues, pop tunes came to mind. And, whaddya know? They fit the feminine visuals perfectly.

In her Irish accent, the singer and songwriter told us that she's been working on a second album, writing, recording, gigging, you know, the works. We asked what was inspiring her now to make music, she said it was her new 6 M13 pedal, "I've been experimenting with distortion sounds, going back to basics, and asking my dad for more guitar lessons [a blues musician]. Every time I sit with the pedal, I come up with these crazy distorted sounds." Packiam is truly a siren committed to her sound. 

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Ultra Music Festival 2012: Bassnectar Thinks Dubstep Is Old News

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Mel D. Cole
"The momentum has not ceased since Ultra two years ago," says Lorin Ashton, better-known as freeform electronic bass artist Bassnectar. "At that point, I couldn't really have asked for more. I was at a point in my music career that was already so intoxicating and exciting, and now it has proceeded to double, triple, and quintuple. So, I'm just clinging on to dear life, giving thanks, and extremely fucking hell-bent on just continuing to move forward."
 
His previous appearance at Ultra 2010, in retrospect, feels like somewhat of a watershed and symbolic moment. His late set at the Roots Society Dome drew a huge, anarchic crowd, offering a glimpse into the underground bass scene subculture that had been gaining momentum across the country. 


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Part Two: Steve Aoki on Odd Future and Keeping It Real

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Dove Shore
Steve Aoki uses the word experiential liberally when discussing music. His engagement with the philosophy of the experience of existence is apparent from his crazed wild-eyed live shows, which feature regular stage-diving and crowd interaction. 

Live music as a medium is clearly a visceral force that should catalyze something transformative, or as he says, "Dance music is largely experiential -- you go and you experience the music and then it changes your whole lifestyle. It's not like just listening to the song on the radio -- now you experience it, and your whole life changes."

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Part One: Steve Aoki on Breaking Down the Barriers of EDM

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Dove Shore
Steve Aoki speaks with the wired enthusiasm that can be attained only by being a relentlessly touring global DJ, acclaimed producer, owner of Dim Mak Records, and part of an organic nexus of artists including Diplo, Skrillex, and A-Trak, who are the current figureheads of the U.S. electronic dance music revolution. We catch him as he is about to leave California to hit up Miami Music Week for multiple label showcases at Mansion and Dream and a high-profile appearance at Ultra.
 
"It's probably the most happening time in Miami. I've been doing Dim Mak events there for a long time, since at least 2006, so it's really important for all the other artists to get together and play something like this. So many people come out to this thing, and it's just getting bigger and bigger, and the EDM community itself is obviously just blowing up."
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Is It Right to Hate Skrillex and His New Video for "Bangarang?" The Answer Is Yes

Categories: Chatting
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Hate is the strongest word. Using it to describe emotions you have for someone and their entire existence is really quite ridiculous. This is especially true if you have never met the person and are making value judgements based on their artistic endeavors. 

With that being said, I hate Skrillex. For the sake of those quick to point out hypocrisy, please hear me out. The juvenile nomenclature, reminiscent of an early '90s AOL user name or online gaming handle, will be used here to denote the American dubstep music project of Sonny John Moore. I do not hate Sonny. I have not had the chance to interact with him in a capacity to feel strong disdain for him. I just hate his music project Skrillex and everything it represents. If this makes you mad, please continue reading.



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Bret Michaels on the Foo Fighters, Being the Susan Lucci of Rock and Roll, and Drealism

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"I'm a self-proclaimed drealist. I may have invented this word, I'm not sure," says Bret Michaels, "But I'm a dreamer and a realist. I'm the kind of guy that I dream stuff up big and then I try to go for it."

Though many artists do too much dreaming and other people too much pragmatic thinking, Michael notes, "I dream stuff up big and then I try to go for it." Given his recent laundry list of endeavors, he's definitely gone for it, and all the way.

We've seen a lot of former Poison frontman Bret Michaels over the past few years. With his show Rock of Love, we uncovered a personal side to the rock star, both good and not so good, depending on who's in the room.



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Cody Simpson Loves Miami; Talks Dubstep, T-Pain, and the Fontainebleau

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Chris Baldwin
​Cody Simpson is a teen dream at only 15. He's got the world, and tons of screeching preteens, at his feet. 

The Australian singer and songwriter has a strong connection to the Sunshine State, believe it or not. He's worked with both Flo Rida and T-Pain and, brace yourself, he grew up in Miami Beach. 

"I grew up in the Gold Coast part of Australia. The suburbs I actually grew up in, ironically, it's called Miami Beach," he told us. 

OK, so it's not the stateside Miami Beach, but it's something. 

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