One appreciated the Echo for finally living up to its name with Tillman’s seasoned voice filling up the entire room and the walls sending its best approximation back to our grateful ears. And what a voice, an uncanny combination of Jason Molina and Will Oldham’s vocal timbres, it’s probably at its most effective when Tillman would simply, wordlessly hum. Maybe it was all that hair covering his face that made some of his cries resound like a lone wolf howling in the darkness.

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The Minutemen’s Double Nickels On The Dime is one of the several weathered foundations of L.A. RECORD. Exactly twenty-five years later, it still starts bands and makes friends. Minutemen bassist Mike Watt meets for pizza at San Pedro’s excellent Pavich’s Pizza for remembering D. Boon and George Hurley and that guy Mike Watt in the summer of 1984. This interview by Chris Ziegler.

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Nino Moschella started out four-tracking funk-soul that sounded like Sly and Shuggie and Stevie in a mountain shack at midnight and exploded into fidelity once he visited the wider world. His newest Boomshadow is out now on Ubiquity. This interview by Daiana Feuer.

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The Dream Syndicate found whatever was in Sister Lovers and Tonight’s The Night still breathing in L.A. in 1984 and used it to make Medicine Show, still a nervous and wild local classic. Guitarist-singer Steve Wynn will perform the album in its entirety tonight with his band the Miracle 3. He speaks now from a quiet park in New York. This interview by Chris Ziegler.

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Jody at the excellent blog When You Awake—your welcoming home for all things country friendly in Los Angeles—alerts us to Bob Dylan Goes Twang Part 4, the newest in the series of the …Goes Twang mixtapes, previously featuring the Band, Gene Clark, Leon Russell and many more! Get right to it here and examine the [...]

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Did he really think we came to hear the fine guitar dynamics or the clarity of his subtle voice? Hell, it took about 3 minutes before “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” became recognizable as a Dylan cover. 30 crushing minutes of music was short, but maybe just sweet enough to keep the old eardrums intact. If you want to hear the ”subtler” parts of the band, buy Tentacles. If you want to have some fun, see Crystal Antlers rock a concert.

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The Monks were one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands ever. They came from nowhere—five G.I.s about to muster out of the Army when Vietnam and the Beatles were both heating up—and they sounded like nobody else on their album Black Monk Time. Founders Eddie Shaw and Gary Burger (who reveals the location of the lost last Monks session!) speak now about the Monk times. These interviews by Chris Ziegler.

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The Shins right now are no longer the Shins they used to be—founder James Mercer debuted a new line-up (with members of Modest Mouse and Fruit Bats) last week and will be taking the band from Sub Pop to their own label Aural Apothecary for their next releases. He speaks now about this and Bob Dylan, Heath Ledger and Kermit the Frog, too. This interview by Daiana Feuer.

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Fleet Foxes finished 2008 by overwhelming many best-of-the-year lists and scheduling a set on Saturday Night Live, during which they were wearing at least one smelly shirt. Singer Robin Pecknold speaks before decamping to a creaky new home studio. This interview by Thomas McMahon.

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Jerry Jeff Walker was the heat-seeking missile who tore up Luckenbach on Viva Terlingua and once got in a dust-up with Willie Nelson on stage. He has covered several Texas classics and written some of his own, too. He speaks now from Nashville. This interview by Chris Ziegler.

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