In Eight Days A Week, we discover the making of a cultural phenomenon — A Film Review

Director Ron Howard takes advantage of the wealth of archival photos and videos of the Beatles to recreate their touring years in his most recent film, Eight Days A Week. The documentary captures that sense of wonder that fans of the Beatles once had as this new phenomenon emerged and became a cultural icon. The style of the documentary is straightforward, as is the narrative, which follows a chronological, linear direction. The talking heads in the documentary are interspersed with stills and abundant video footage of the Beatles in action, some of it never seen until now.

PureHoney’s publisher talks Bumblefest Music Festival and the wonders and challenges of print ‘zines

This weekend, PureHoney, our favorite South Florida-based, independent, grassroots entertainment ‘zine, will celebrate its fifth anniversary with an expansion of its usual anniversary party into a full-fledged music festival: Bumblefest. PureHoney publisher Steve Rullman says he is taking the ‘zine’s usual anniversary to the “next level.” Instead of two stages there will be five. Instead one venue there are now four, and instead of 10 bands, there will be 24.

Musicians speak to the power of Frank Zappa’s music — an unscientific IndieEthos survey

In the documentary Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words, the film’s subject sometimes comes across as a bit frustrated by his cult of personality. One thing he bemoans more than once is that most people know his name but few buy his music. The film itself is also more focused on his interviews than his performances. It didn’t even take day after I published my review (Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words highlights the mind behind the music … and the ideology — a film review) before a friend texted me to ask “Who is Frank Zappa?”

Posies’ Ken Stringfellow talks keeping busy and big — but tough — year with his old band

When we caught up with singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist Ken Stringfellow he was as occupied as you might expect … even in a foreign land like Helsinki, Finland. Touring through town as part of the Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg tour, filling the spotlight for the late Joey Ramone, Stringfellow — who has also been a member of REM and Big Star, not to mention having founded the still active alternative rock band The Posies — also had time to visit a studio and record with a Finnish band.

Presenting Princess Shaw reveals value of success in music without the money — a film review

Presenting Princess Shaw is a sweet yet frank documentary on the aspirations of an amateur YouTube star as she unwittingly is about to go viral. By focusing on Princess Shaw (real name: Samantha Montgomery) — the YouTube user — and the popular YouTube channel of Israeli multi-instrumentalist Kutiman (real name: Ophir Kutiel), Israeli director Ido Haar reveals the rather noble possibilities of a relatively new medium in the world of music. Due to legal circumstances, Kutiman’s channel is free of pop-up ads so as not to infringe on the contributions of the musicians he samples. This allows for more cathartic rewards of success to resonate and reveals how vital and essential success is to the unknown talent of Princess Shaw.

Miami solo musician Xela Zaid evolves as he searches for raw essentialism of music on latest album — a vinyl release

Local gem Xela Zaid has long been one of the most innovative musicians working the Miami music scene, from his early career as a singer-songwriter using unique tunings on an acoustic guitar with a microphone shoved into its sound hole to his current experimentation with peddles, radio and abstract noise.

Steve Hackett channels all that’s engaging about prog and doesn’t forget harmonies — live review

Last Thursday, in South Florida, former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett brought his tour “Acolyte to Wolflight With Genesis Revisited” to the Parker Playhouse. The show was in support of his 2015 album Wolflight, backed by a good taste of early Genesis music. Though, his latest album has some very good songs, it’s hard to compare any of it to the quality of the early Genesis music he helped create in the early ’70s. The night included a pair of particularly heart-stopping recreations of some of Genesis’ most epic songs. More on that later, as the merits of the new material is worth exploring.