Beach Boys

Beach Boys

The Beach Boys featured three talented brothers, Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, a cousin, Mike Love and a friend, Al Jardine. Of them all, the most talented and sensitive was Brian. Their first hit was “Surfin’ U.S.A.” which put new lyrics to a Chuck Berry riff. The Beach Boys were soon on a roll with…

Duran Duran

Duran Duran

There are some groups so “on trend” it’s scary. MTV, launched in the early ’80s, was initially in dire need of content. Equally important, they needed to find musicians who “got it.” Artists who understood making a video was more than standing in front of a camera lip-synching. Enter Duran Duran from Birmingham, England. Duran…

Hi Vis

Hi Vis

Graham Sayle, a longtime U.K. hardcore Punk devotee, fronts High Vis. He and his bandmates faced difficult childhoods, dead-end jobs and saw friends and family members perish in a toxic environment. To Sayle Punk was “a vehicle for being pissed off.” Formed in ’16, Hi Vis released their debut album, “No Sense No Feeling” three…

All Time Low

All Time Low

Any band that starts out covering Blink 182 and takes their name from the lyrics in a New Found Glory song (“Head On Collision”) is pretty heavily steeped in Pop Punk. All Time Low started in ’03, while band members were still in high school. They hadn’t even graduated when their debut EP, ’04’s “The…

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

On the strength of a three-song demo Nine Inch Nails got signed by TVT Records. “Industrial Nation,” released in ’88, was a powerful debut. However, the TVT label boss didn’t think much of it and couldn’t sell it. But two years of non-stop touring could only push it to #75 on the Album Charts. “Pretty…