Zachary A. Bennett This Tuesday, West Palm Beach's Surfer Blood announced the official release date for its major label debut on Warner Bros Records, Pythons. The long-awaited follow up to the collection of lo-fi fuzzy gems that made up Astro Coast, is slated for a June 11 release date.

It's been a long time coming for Surfer Blood, who technically self-released Astro Coast three years and some months ago. An impressive debut, it showcased Surfer Blood's use of Pixies' start-stop dynamics, and Pitts' Black Francis' style roar. The album won a place on our 2009 Best Of List and on many an accredited national music sites around the nation. Recorded and mixed in front man JP Pitts' apartment in early 2009, it wasn't held back by its DIY nature. 

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Those not familiar with pianist Michael Kaeshammer's work might find it a bit baffling that the Gold Coast Jazz Society chose a 36-year-old German-born, Canadian-raised singer-songwriter to headline the Mardi Gras-themed February edition of its 21st Anniversary Jazz Concert Series. A closer inspection however reveals that Kaeshammer -- touted as Canada's triple-threat for his virtuosic piano playing, pristine vocals, and glistening persona -- has the Fats Waller-inspired chops to pull off such an endeavor. 

No stranger to the lively and animated take on the blues, the debonair musician has been tickling the ivories in true New Orleans' boogie-woogie fashion since the age of 13. He tells New Times that he just wrapped up work on his next studio release, due out in May, a reworking of 20 songs originally recorded and/or produced by influential New Orleans R&B maestro Allen Toussaint. "It's everything my dad had in his record collection," says the personable Kaeshammer. He's quick to point out that the album is "not a period piece," rather, he rewrote a great deal of arrangements to fit his backing band and give it a modern sound.More »

ejmc via Flickr

Bon Jovi juuuuust announced U.S. dates for Because We Can Tour.

And it happens to come to Sunrise, Florida, on Jon Bon Jovi's birthday! (Yes, I know when Jon Bon Jovi's birthday is. Not ashamed.)

Let's hope Jon's daughter is all better from her recent heroin overdose; let's hope that family pasta sauce is selling like crazy; and let's hope Jon plays the hits, not the "weird old man music" he played during his solo show here a few months back.

See Also:
- Review: Jon Bon Jovi and the Kings of Suburbia at Hard Rock Live
- Bongiovi Pasta Sauce: A Taste Test

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Whip out those old black nerd glasses. Oh, wait, you're still wearing them... Well, keep wearing those Buddy Holly frames, even if it's only ironically, because alt-rock heroes Weezer are returning to South Florida to perform at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on Thursday, November 8. Following the success of their Weezer Cruise, which departed from Miami in January, the boys are back with both the great tunes of yesteryear and the controversial ones of now. For plenty of fans who couldn't or didn't feel like dropping 800-plus bucks back then, this is some seriously awesome news. The Blue Album blast-worthy news.

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Ian Witlen

Review of the Tech N9ne show at Club Cinema.

Before his epic concert last night at Club Cinema in Pompano, we jumped at the chance to chat with Strange Music mogul Tech N9ne about the Hostile Takeover Tour and his recent outspoken defense of hip-hop leading man Lil Wayne. Tech, born Aaron Dantez Yates, has been in the rap game since the late '90s. He earned his place as a revered artist with talent and hard work, selling over one million albums since he first hit the scene.

We caught up with Yates early in the afternoon and, as can be expected from a man who just performed around 90 shows in something like 100 days, he was asleep. Luckily for us, and for all of you, he woke up and got his act together in about 20 minutes before inviting us to his yacht-sized tour bus.

Contrary to his on-stage persona, Yates is noticeably quiet and mellow. Some of that might have to do a day long drinking binge he embarked upon the day before on Deerfield Beach. Dressed casually in shorts and a tee shirt, complete with house slippers and blacked out Oakley shades, he was quick to warm up. His charm and passion translate in our interview, something hard to do in black and white type.
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Liz Tracy

Every time someone from South Florida tells me that they've never heard of Dino Felipe, I am genuinely horrified. Dino's not only one of the most brilliant and productive musicians from our little corner of the world, he's got a genuine and frenzied artistic vision. A fucked up genuine vision that translates magically, both visually and musically.

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There's something relatively soothing about Brooklyn-based indie rock quartet The Faulkner Detectives. It's something slightly primal and askew and somewhat not at ease with itself that I find comfortably calming. South Florida expat Alex Segura (guitar/vocals) has done well for himself in various mediums (journalism and comics mostly) and now turns his creative juices to stripped-down indie gems.

Like any man's dreams, he's surrounded himself with women and where he's gruff and unrepentant about his southern bend towards literature, the girls soften it up whilst adding the aforementioned edge of unease. This is not sweet play on play of boy and girl, this is more like awkward first dates and coming into terms with feelings.

And like the opening twangs of "A Matter of Time," it's pretty and promising.

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Ever wonder what the underground hip-hop scene is like in Cuba? If you're Cuban-American, first, second, or even third generation, ever wonder why you feel so strongly about the island though you only know it through pictures and abuela's stories?

Lifelong friends DJ EFN and Garcia -- esteemed members of the local hip-hop community since the early '90s -- have wondered just that. They're now trying to find out what's happening just 90 miles away. They, as Crazy Hood Productions, need a little bit of your help to create an upcoming documentary/recording on the state of hip-hop within the political isolation of Cuba today.

That's right, and here I will not pussyfoot about anything fearing an Ozzie Guillen-like backlash, these two dudes just want to connect with their familial roots first, and secondly, see how their art has flourished under the extreme conditions of the Castro regime.

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Buju, who's serving a decadelong sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Miami on questionable drug charges, has been nominated for two International Reggae and World Music Awards. 

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