Vermont Musician Michael Franti
January 31, 2006
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
"As I've traveled around the country and traveled around the world, I've realized that there's millions of us who believe that we should do everything in our lives to create peace, and that we'll be more effective in putting an end to "terrorism" by creating bonds of friendship than by dropping bombs on...
Wise up to Matisyahu
November 15, 2005
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
"I really believe in the universal nature of music and I'm excited that my music is touching different groups of people no matter what their personal beliefs are." -- Matisyahu On Saturday, Oct. 22nd, Matisyahu gave an electrifying performance to a sold out Higher Ground audience. The show had sold ...
Jeremy Scott is So Hot Right Now
February 22, 2005
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
Here at the Cynic we are under a constant assault from aspiring musicians looking for publicity, and most of them don't deserve any. Every day, we editors and writers dread receiving the newest hit singles from the best crappy performers this great nation has to offer. However, there is a silver li...
Family Groove Company Coming To Nectar’s
February 22, 2005
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
Think of jam songs like dragsters: shaky vehicles flirting with disaster. The tires might blow, the car could hit the wall, and the next one looks to do the same. Bands often lose sight of composition and rely on jams like a parachute. Family Groove Company (FGC) is one quartet with their hands gripping ti...
STS9 Is Coming Too
February 17, 2005
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
Sound Tribe Sector Nine has played Burlington many times in the past few years. After releasing their new album Artifact on their own independently owned record label 1320, this tour will be one not to be missed. The new album features styles ranging from House and Down Tempo to R&B and Hip-hop fl...
A Cynic Exclusive With The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy
October 27, 2004
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
Colin Meloy, lead singer and songwriter of the Portland based band The Decemberists, is an angelic embodiment of the indie-rocker stereotype. He wears nerdy glasses, a vintage shirt and a grandpa v-neck sweater. He drops names like Ira Glass of NPR fame and goof-ball popsters Deerhoof, and cites Hemingway as...
Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains
October 16, 2004
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
Being a long time Primus fan I was excited when I heard that Les Claypool, lead singer and arguably one of the best bass players around, would be making a new CD for this fall. The band's name, Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, is a combination of each of the artists in the new group: Cl...
T.E. Breitenbach Comes To The Fleming
April 26, 2004
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
Some of you may know who he is because his painting "Proverbidioms" has been reproduced and is now a popular selling poster throughout the world. Others may be aware that he painted a triptych for Jim Morrison of the Doors in the 70's. If you still don't know who I'm talking about, it's worth ta...
Off the Record: Esoteric
April 19, 2004
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
This past week the Cynic had a chance to catch up with Esoteric, the rapper from one of Boston's premier hip-hop acts, 7L&Esoteric. 7LES is known for its consistently innovative records, (DJ) 7L's flawless production, and Esoteric's bullet-proof Beantown flow and high energy performances. Whether fr...
A Conversation with Vinnie Paz
April 12, 2004
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
This Thursday Higher Ground will be hosting one of the most dynamic and original Hip Hop duos to come out in the last few years: Vinnie Paz, aka Icon the Verbal Hologram and Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, also known as Jedi Mind Tricks. Their most recent album, Visions of Ghandi, is out on Baby Grand re...
Honey Nut Roasted at Living/Learning
March 1, 2004
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
Let's face it; we are at the heart of Phish country. Although the Burlington scene has developed a bit of diversity, it often seems like there a few too many jam band knock offs with words like groove and project in their names. Now don't get me wrong I am a huge fan of listening to one of these bands at...
Thank God For Kimock
March 1, 2004
Filed under Archives, Artist Spotlight, Arts
The Steve Kimock Band is one of those bands that makes one realize that music is still progressing, interesting, and most of all, beautiful. The audience at the Higher Ground on Thursday, February 26th, felt extremely lucky to be a part of something so uniquely special. Steve Kimock is a musician ...
