Through smoke and haze, the aroma of cappuccino (there's also espresso, if you prefer) and something that doesn't smell like tobacco, is a dusty stage with a single microphone and a stool. A singer with bad skin and bad clothes is warbling an old folk s

In some places the water is funny . . . New Orleans, Austin, Chicago, Memphis, Minneapolis. For a reason that cannot be explained, these places have a sound. Another of these spots: Athens, GA. In Lesson 95 of the 101 Series we rock you in a jangly fashio

We at Le Balcony firmly believe in diggin' deep. Deep into the ice cream carton. Deep into the pizza dish. Deep into the crate of records. Deep into the second side of albums. All your favorite artists and bands record an album of 12 songs and you know fo

The true test of a great singer and songwriter is the influence that person has on music. Warren Zevon, the subject of Lesson 94, wrote lots of songs that were covered by other people and he could rock pretty well himself. For the 101 Series this week we

Rock and roll is work, dammit. Not every jam starts a fucking jam. All creative endeavors start in a more gelatinous form . . . In episode 7 of Embryonic, our testament to the demo, we look over the shoulders of giants and check out the songs you know by

The glam aliens have arrived and they want to dance and make out with you. And not in that order. They may look a bit odd (especially the guy in the feathered boa with bad hair) but they can still put on good show. For Lesson 93 of the 101 Series we dip

Not everything that's new is bad. We promise. Some of the new stuff rocks your balls off, too. Believe us. So, for episode 7 of Dusty Gems, we showcase contemporary bands and artists you don't know (instead of old artists you don't know, like we usually d

The Who? No. The Band. What a bunch of pompous assholes to name their band THE Band . . . but, seriously, when your group has five front men you can call it anything you want. In this lesson (92!) of the 101 Series, we plug into the only bunch of musician

Alright alright allllllllllllllright, now. It's time for everyone to shut tha fuck up and sit tha fuck down, here's episode 7 of Deez Rhymes - Freestyle in da hi-youse!  In the next one hundred twenty minutes, we drop beats stickier than the stickiest o

The green isle of Ireland has given the world a great many things: James Joyce, the Boston P.D., Guinness and a certain Mr. Van Morrison. In Lesson 91 of the 101 Series, we sit down and bask in the warm glow of the Belfast genius . . . And we try not to b