​Long ago, we interviewed The Get, Edwin Jantunen's multifaceted, emerald-y gem of a project. Back then, it was equal parts dubstep track production, Sumsun sidekick, remix mastery; he also co-founded the short-lived but brilliant Lush Haus party. His music was pretty potent stuff, and most of it has all but disappeared.
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​To be fair, the exact genre tag is Neue Deutsche Härte ("new German hardness"). Although the American counterpart was a distinct synthesis of hard, evil-sounding rock and beat-my-girlfriend rapping, the hard-ass Germans are a slightly more amorphous phenomenon, dating back to the late '80s. The term more or less seems to denote a metal/rock variant that does a lot of genre bending.

The only reason anyone cares or knows anything about this in the first place is because of Rammstein, the industrially focused Deutsche Härte band that crossed over to America in a big way with its 1996 single "Du Hast." Rammstein has just announced a U.S. tour, including a stop at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise on April 20, 2012, so we figured it would be an appropriate time to impart a little knowledge on the different ways one can be new, hard, and German. More >>

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​​In the late '90s, the long-brewing Boston "oi" band Dropkick Murphys finally broke into the nationally touring, Warped Tour-subsidized big-time punk "scene."

Onto that broader platform -- which included more tour dates, better distribution, and higher stages in rooms that could hold more people -- the Murphys broadcast the signature sound they had been patiently brewing: anthemic pop-punk that had more to do with Epitaph than Cocksparrer and celebrated the triumphs of the working class.

By the way, did we mention these dudes like to drink? A bunch of skins-and-affiliated from Boston... do we have to mention it? Here are five of the booziest Dropkick Murphys jams to get your liver prepped for their show at the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre on Saturday, March 3.More >>

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​Shooting the breeze with 28-year-old Fort Lauderdale native Travis Newbill will lead to whimsical conversations about artistic stimuli, meditational transformations, and botched relationships. Delivered with a starry glaze through larger-than-life spectacles and with an eccentric-yet-welcoming style, one can't help be but wonder: Is he serious? Truth be told, Trav is... and isn't. This ambiguity is the centerpiece of Newbill's ethos and the impetus behind his slightly unhinged folk tunes. He will tell you his inspiration comes from years spent meditating and devotion to Buddha Dharma, which has led him to the foundation that form is emptiness and emptiness is form.

Not following? Perhaps that's the point? You are trying too hard. Since 2003, the singer/songwriter has been constructing songs that are not meant to be so wholeheartedly cerebral. Or maybe they are? Since this past Tuesday, the uncanny musician has embarked on a career-defining project that will have him releasing one of his previous albums each day, for 11 days straight, culminating on Saturday, November 11, with the "Oneness" event.

The "Oneness," held at the Bubble, will be unveiling Trav's newest effort, Iron Rabbit, a project based solely on "psychedelic singing." Also on tap for the night are two feature films Trav has made since taking residence at the Fort Lauderdale performance art space, the Bubble. (By the way, when we say "residence," we mean that literally, Trav actually lives in the Bubble in a converted storage loft he calls "the hug.")

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​Last we heard from Coral Springs MC Dan Duarte (known as Dirty Dem in battle-rap circles), the skilled rhymer had just released an uproarious video for "Office Music" -- his crafty rework of the theme song to NBC's hit office comedy The Office. Now, the local rapper is set to have a proper release party for his debut album, Office Music: The Mixtape, at Fort Lauderdale vinyl hub Radio-Active Records.

It's been ten years since Duarte took to the stage as a solo act, and although many accolades have come his way as a battle rapper (bronze medalist in the 2010 Miami Freestyle Olympics being one of his most recent), this is his first solo effort to be set to wax. His debut showcases Duarte remixing not only TV show themes songs but a hopscotch of tracks by the likes of Kanye West and Thievery Corporation.

His delivery has a distinct bravado akin to that of Minneapolis hip-hop guru Atmosphere. Duarte, though, keeps matters light by throwing in his own touch of crass and laughs to his rhymes. Add a nip of tongue-in-cheek misogyny to that and even Tyler, the Creator fans will be intrigued. More >>

Especially for Nirvana's Kurt Cobain?

​Rousing melodic rockers the Smithereens are probably best remembered for the ubiquitous single "A Girl Like You" off their 1989 album, 11. However, it would be a disgrace to consider this Who-loving four-piece from New Jersey a one-hit wonder. On the contrary, it should be championed for a no-nonsense, British-invasion style during the late '80s, AKA when bands cared more about the amount of Aqua Net in their hair than how hard they rocked.

With all the media hullabaloo circulating these past few months about the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's definitive major-label debut album, Nevermind, grunge-o-philes should take note that alternative rock warlord Kurt Cobain listed the Smithereens as one of his major influences during the time he was penning his band's said masterwork. No shit? Seriously, Cobain paid tribute to the Smithereens outstanding 1986 album, Especially for You, in one of his famed diaries.

In honor of the Smithereens' forthcoming free gig at the Nectar Lounge at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek tonight, we thought it apt to compile the top five songs we think might have influenced old Kurt when he was chilling in Seattle drinking Starbucks coffee and thinking of the right verse to accompany "Come as You Are."

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Pink shirts are a sign of maturity.

​New Jersey's Saves the Day was a benchmark of late-'90s, mall-friendly pop-punk emo. Frontman Chris Conley sang the same kinda songs about girls with the same eunuch-nasal vocals as all the band's nationwide suburban peers. But he also slipped in an extra little darkness. His take on teenage white male ennui (see also: sexual frustration) left a vinegar aftertaste despite ostensibly sweet ingredients.

As always, those boys started getting a little fuzz on their upper lip. And, honestly, they fell off our radar, because the announcement that they'll be performing this November alongside Jersey pop-punk peers Bayside was a surprise -- local stop is at Revolution. Saves the Day is not only still a band but it also has a new full-length, titled Daybreak, coming out this fall. 

So Saves the Day is on its way. But, like we were saying, you better not expect some sweet little emo boys. What if we've got on our hands here is bona fide poop-in-the-diaper emo men. What follows is the band's evolution over the years.
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​Fire-breathing folk-punk act Everymen is geared up for the highly anticipated onslaught of record-release parties this Friday at Lake Worth's Propaganda. Lucky for those in Palm Beach County (or devoted enough to be making the trek), the Lake Worth indie dive is Everymen's admitted "home turf." The purveyors of ruffian-style bluegrass tell us in our recent story that they plan on getting "down and dirty" for the home crowd.

Frontman Captain Bobo is particularly excited about a couple of things. Number one, the debut record, titled When Water's Thicker Than Blood is also being released in a limited-edition vinyl copy through Coral Springs' label Dead Truth Recordings. Everymen is quick to warn friends and fans: they don't own the 500 pressed copies of the album, so don't expect any complimentary copies. No sweat; pre-orders can be had at a discounted price here.

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​​Get ready, Fort Lauderdale: Off! is coming to town. In the years since the advent of Fucked Up, nothing has tickled the indie-rock blogosphere's punky bone quite like this hardcore supergroup.

Since 2009, they've been pumping out singles -- collected recently by Vice Records as the First Four EPs CD -- and touring the world. Off!'s prolific history and mass appeal may have something to do with its aforementioned status as a true-blue punk-rock supergroup boasting Keith Morris from the Circle Jerks and members of assorted postpunk bands like Rocket From the Crypt, Hot Snakes, Redd Kross, and Burning Brides. In honor of Off!'s upcoming show at the Culture Room in October, we present to you five of the most memorable supergroups in the history of rock (good and bad memories alike).

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Goolsby: Proof that South Floridians make convincing Brooklynites

​It's been slightly less than a year since four-piece indie rock band Goolsby played its final South Florida show at Propaganda in Lake Worth. After that musical farewell, 23-year-old frontman Paul Simundich packed up and headed to the Northeast, where he spent some time in Rhode Island working around the clock at an Old Navy and a bookstore before heading up to Brooklyn and reforming Goolsby there. Locals who've spent the last year missing the band's wry delivery of ecstatic live performances that come packed with a mix of tight poppy rock songs such as "Wild Once" and "Imaginary Friends" as well as affecting ballads such as "Intergalactic Love Song" will be excited to learn about Goolsby's July 15 homecoming show at Propaganda nightclub in Lake Worth with Lavola, Alexander and Young Circles. More >>