Grant Britt

“It’s fun being me,” proclaims Fishbone bassist and founding member Norwood Fisher. “Believe that–it is.” Since 1985, Fishbone has been making believers out of serious musical fun seekers with their raucous blend of ska, funk and outrageous stage shows. Several bands including the Red Hot Chili Peppers and No Doubt have borrowed the style and […]

In nearly every bit of press on the Queens of the Stone Age, some music sage slaps the label of “lo-fi metal” on the band. But the Queens’ newest member has a problem with that. “I wouldn’t even consider Queens a metal band, first of all,” says drummer Joey Castillo. “I know for a fact […]

Every time a list of the world’s best living harp players comes out, West Coast harpist Mark Hummel makes the top five. Incorporating jazz and swing into a blues format, Hummel has developed a style that, while sounding laid back, is loaded with improvisational virtuosity. Hummel grew up in East L.A., but was first captivated […]

A Soledad brother is a revolutionary from another time. The term referred to three African-American men, George Jackson, John Cluchette and Fleeta Drumgo, charged with killing a guard at California’s Soledad prison. The men were acquitted of the crime, and became the focus of a movement for prison reform. The trio got nationwide attention when […]

White trash fans will once again have a chance to root around in the culture while being serenaded with musical tales of lust, murder and drinking when the eighth annual S.P.I.T.T.L.E. Fest comes to The Brewery, Feb. 21 and 22. “Chapel Hill had their Sleazefest, and I wanted to do something a little more on […]

Running moonshine down the back roads of Memphis isn’t a job that most musicians have on their resume, but it jump-started Charlie Musselwhite’s career. “I didn’t make the stuff, I just was paid by guys who made it to move it from one place to another,” the harpist said in a recent interview from his […]

In musical circles, it’s very rare for one person to be credited with being solely responsible for inventing a new genre. When Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti debuted the music he dubbed “Afrobeat” in 1968, it was a blend of African jazz with Cuban and Latin influences that had been previously known as “highlife.” But Kuti […]

In the part of the world Rolly Gray comes from, if you want a career in music, you’d better be good–and tough. “Trinidad is the land of calypso,” Gray says of his home country. “If you’re not good enough, don’t go there, because they don’t take no nonsense. If you get up on stage, they […]