Given all of the attention that John Mayer as received as of late, one hardworking publicist is probably due for a raise. Since his 2001 release Room For Squares, Mayer has shifted from an insipid, light FM suck-up to a Mark Knopfler-lite, whiteboy bluesman to the most interesting interview since Dennis Rodman.

The likelihood of finding a successful rapper lacking in bravado is about the same as finding a Hall of Fame slugger who can't hit a hanging curve; it's not a result of being great, it's one of the tools that got them there. If there's one thing to take from the cover of Greensboro rapper Brandon D's new release Carolina Legend,.

When jam-band provocateurs moe. kicked off their 20 th anniversary tour at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City last month, something looked just a little bit off.

Durham black string and folk resurrectionists the Carolina Chocolate Drops recently released their third studio album Genuine Negro Jig, their first with a major studio, and are enjoying more than a major regional following, but a burgeoning international following.

National Signing Day for any avid college football fan usually guarantees one thing: a day of lost productivity in the workplace.

After more than a year in the making, the debut album for Sam Robinsons Five Gallon Groove is finally available and its been well worth the wait. Though its a bit abbreviated at eight tracks, the star-studded, self-titled disc is a tour of Southern rock, jazz and blues through the sweltering guitar of one of Winston-Salems most unsung talents.

Yet, there was still a rather sober fleshing-out period from the time that singer and guitarist Ryan Vanderhoof departed to join a midwestern Buddhist Monastery in 2007 to the release of their first album as a trio, 2009s Set Em Wild, Set Em Free..

It was apparent that, while setting up my Raving Knaves gear at the Westerwood Tavern, the dozen or so locals didnt appear to be there for the mod-fueled RB of the evenings soon-to-be-headlining quartet, Rough Hands. By the time the PA was assembled, the place was nearly empty.

The first time Molly McGinn met Jim Avett, he insulted a brand new Ibanez guitar she was playing. McGinn was playing with Thacker Dairy Road at the time, who were opening for the Avett Brothers during her encounter.

Hunter S. Thompson said that, and it's a quote that speaks directly to the often sordid nature of the entertainment industry, a game that historically rewards duplicity, punishes integrity and has a funny habit of turning investments into debt. It's also a business that Joe Ferguson can't seem to get enough of.