Dismemberment Plan is full of both potential, enthusiasm

A good friend of mine will tell you that the Dismemberment Plan is the best band in the world ““ bar none. At worst, he’s not far off. The Dismemberment Plan has certainly made a good case for itself with its last two phenomenal albums, “Emergency and I,” and “Change.” And the four men from […]

Hal Willner adds event creator, co-producer to list of accomplishments

Some people have that innate ability to have great things happen around them, or maybe because of them. Hal Willner, co-founder of the Knitting Factory, music supervisor for Saturday Night Live, recording artist, producer of a myriad artists from William Burroughs to Marianne Faithfull, and a man who has worked with Tom Waits, Harry Nilsson […]

Poe extravaganza promises night of chilling performances

Halloween is a holiday for mischief and mayhem. Halloween is a holiday for outsiders. Halloween is a holiday for Edgar Allan Poe. “He had directed, in great part, the moveable embellishments of the seven chambers, upon occasion of this great fete; and it was his own guiding taste which had given character to the masqueraders. […]

Untraditional scary music can frighten any passerby

Ooooooh Ohhhhh! Aaaaaagghhhhhhhh! Eeeeeeeeeee. Rruuuuuur! Yes, spooky noises are a staple of All Hallow’s Eve and rightly so. Where would a truly haunted house be without the appropriate amount of howls, creaks, screams and other eerie effects? The sad truth, though, is that these old standbys are utterly passe. I mean, honestly, no one really […]

Bad vendors corrupt ambience of music

Being a money-making business does not have to ruin or corrupt art. “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “The Muppet Babies” have all helped to prove great works of art can be commercially mainstream. And despite big business having a virtual stranglehold on advertising money and putting the word out […]

Watts stretches her range in “˜The Ring’

She has seemingly flawless good looks. She’s an import from Australia. She’s not Nicole Kidman. “Nicole’s a really good friend,” said Naomi Watts, star of “The Ring” and “Mulholland Drive.” “And she’s someone you learn a lot from just because you’re in the same proximity, but she never sits me down and says “˜this is […]