The Useless Critic 2.0

You Need to Hear This! Nathan Fox is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter whose music has been compared to the likes of the Lumineers, Amos Lee and Brett Dennen among others. He's a graduate of Berklee College of Music, which is an impressive accomplishment in itself. I recently spoke to Nathan about his music career, his touring and his new EP. He was very cordial, which is something I always appreciate. UC: What are you up to at the moment? Touring?   Nathan:  At this moment I am enjoying a peaceful October morning in a cabin in the woods on Martha's Vineyard, Ma.  I plan to spend this winter here working on new material, and booking shows for next Spring.  I'm also planning to visit family in San Diego for the holidays. UC: It seems like you tour an awful lot (or as your Facebook says, always). What's your favorite aspect of it?   Nathan:  Well . . . perhaps I was exaggerating slightly when I created my Facebook and Twitter pages. ...

As of late I have been ordering a fair amount of CDs on Amazon.com. Most of them are Neil Young albums, and I am sure my reviews of those will be much anticipated. However, another treasure that I bought on a Whim is Dale Watson's Sun Sessions . As the story goes, Watson was supposed to play a show in Memphis which was cancelled due to mishap, mismanagement or miscommunication. As a result, he called up Sun Studios and booked the date to record. What he produced? Cash-twinged rockabilly of the highest order. Every song on Sun Sessions sounds like a Johnny Cash radio single. They're all very brief, and therefore so is the album. Some of the song topics seem trivial, bizarre, maybe even facetious, but it works. It's a fun album, and well worth it, even though you can't get a $5.00 copy on eBay to save your life. Blow the ten if you are into it. Modern music is soulless. Lent is coming. Repent. P.S. Nader, I don't know how you take such glamorous photos of...

For a band that describes themselves as "NewCountryPunkWave," Max and the Wild Things are certainly carving an interesting niche for themselves in the world of music. They've been compared to, by at least one critic, as " breezy Jonathan Richman-with-a-banjo approach to rock." They name Johnny Cash and the Misfits among their inspirations. (Where is Maurice!)  I first learned about them via the magic/wonders of last.fm. Struck by the name and then proceedingly hooked onto their catchy and charming songs, I sent a few questions over to Cole Traynor, their general manager. They were then answered by Aidan, lead singer/guitarist/banjo player. NO MONSTERS SPOTTED IN THIS BAND! W here did you get the idea for your band from?  The idea to form a band came from my brother, Cole. I was performing alone and he had recently quit his job as a traveling ale salesman. He bought bass and we found a drummer, then few more.  How have things been going for yo...