The music of Laraaji is defined by its joy. Born Edward Larry Gordon, Laraaji’s music draws from many sources, including his studies of Eastern spiritualism, avant-garde minimalism, and Gamelan rhythms, but it connects directly to […]
Category: The AD Interview
Patterson Hood :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Nearly two decades into their career, it makes sense that Drive-by Truckers would be releasing another live album, their first since 2000’s Alabama Ass Whuppin’ . Given that their catalog has grown to ten studio albums, there’s a […]
Phil Cook :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
On Southland Mission , Phil Cook has hit his stride. The record, which found him weeping upon listening back to demos alone in a cabin in Gailax, VA is a testament to the community of inspiring and talented […]
Joan Shelley :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Here in the west, it’s finally starting to feel like autumn. As the sunset comes earlier each evening, it’s been hard to get Joan Shelley’s beautiful Over and Even off the turntable. Deep hued and haunted, it’s built […]
Catching Up With . . . Car Seat Headrest
Will Toledo, the 23-year-old songwriter behind Car Seat Headrest, is not sweating the release of Teens of Style , his Matador Records debut. He’s excited, sure, but these songs – culled from his massive discography on Bandcamp, where he’s uploaded songs since […]
This Is Barbara Lynn :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
In 1962, a young left-handed guitarist from Texas named Barbara Lynn Ozen penned a song called “You’ll Lose a Good Thing.” More than 50 years later, the song continues to resonate with audiences: It was […]
Protomartyr :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
A funny thing happens toward the end of “Cowards Starve,” the second song on Detroit post-punk quartet Protomartyr’s third album, The Agent Intellect . Singer Joe Casey delivers a weird, cutting line, as a synth buzzes in the […]
K. Leimer :: Savant
In the Pacific Northwest of the late ‘70s, electronic composer K. Leimer dedicated himself to enveloping, minimal soundscapes, but in the early ‘80s, he launched Savant, an ambitious studio project involving a large cast of […]
Elyse Weinberg :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
There was some kind of magic at work in the frayed songs of Elyse Weinberg’s 1968 debut, Elyse. Part of the allure was its mystery. Who was Elyse? The answer to the question was revealed to […]
Yo La Tengo :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Yo La Tengo is unmistakable. Over the last 31 years, the Hoboken band has created a signature style, one that’s comprised of identifiable building blocks: Georgia Hubley’s hushed, husky voice and drumming, which balances a jazzy lilt and […]
Ten Minutes With Willis Earl Beal
Willis Earl Beal is a musician, writer, and actor whose work captures the often uninvestigated corners of the psyche. His first album, Acoustimatic Sorcery, was released in 2012 and was comprised of recordings Beal cut on a cassette […]
Dwight Yoakam :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Dwight Yoakam’s been playing country so long he qualifies as a statesman, but Second Hand Heart , his fourteenth album, doesn’t sound like he’s settling into a mid-career lull. With jangly guitars, bracing tempos, and rowdy vocals, Yoakam’s […]
Rickie Lee Jones :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
With a career that stretches back to her 1979 self-titled debut, Rickie Lee Jones has been creating music that transcends the every day while wholly embracing every ounce of its being. Her emergence from the […]
Jim O’Rourke :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Chances are Jim O’Rourke’s name is somewhere in your record collection. As a musician and producer, he’s worked with some of the most important artists and bands of the last three decades: Sonic Youth, Wilco, Bill Callahan, […]
The Birth of Rock And Roll :: Jim Linderman – The AD Interview
One of my favorite things about collecting old records is the ephemera. Dried and pressed flowers, photos, newspaper clips, love letters, stems. In most cases, I’ve kept each these artifacts with the record I found […]