The Aquarian Weekly » Olivia Taubner

Goo Goo Dolls: Something For The Rest Of Us

Olivia Taubner — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:55:37 +0000

Something For The Rest Of Us is just that, a collection of “oblique” songs (as John Rzeznik describes them) written for the world to interpret in their own unique way.

Rzeznik’s voice is in its best shape since 1998′s Dizzy Up The Girl, with more distinction and emotion than ever, and he’s retained the rare ability to articulate thoughts in few words (a Lennon-ism). Even Goo Goo Dolls founder and bassist Robby Takac’s songs are full of melody and emotion with their regular punk rock flare embedded.

It’s easy to tell that background musicians Korel Tunador (eerily good harmonies, keys,…

Goo Goo Dolls: As I Am

Olivia Taubner — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:00:45 +0000

“I wanted to really focus on: What are these people feeling? What are they thinking? What’s going on in their lives? How does it make a man or a woman feel when they can no longer support their family, and they’ve sort of lost their way and their purpose all because a few incredibly wealthy people are in a race to the bottom and don’t care if they destroy our way of life?” John Rzeznik describes sincerely in his distinct voice that is just as melodic when speaking as when singing. “I did think a lot about how the decline…

Jeff Beck @ Wellmont Theatre

Olivia Taubner — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:15:02 +0000

MONTCLAIR, NJ—Every artist has his or her own medium with which to paint a picture, whether it be oil, watercolor, pencil, a camera or an instrument. Jeff Beck uses his guitar (specifically an array of Fender Stratocasters) to paint his world, and consequently ours, with sound.

Beck is a true singer who, not only can use his voice (refer to “Pay Me No Mind [Jeff Beck Remix]” from Jeff), but his instrument as well, finding a way to belt out the sweetest and sickest notes with a dynamite combination of guitar and supercharged emotion. It is the reason he finds,…

Growing Up Twisted: Interview with Jesse Blaze Snider

Olivia Taubner — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:21:42 +0000

It’s nearing one o’clock when relief is finally achieved by ice cold air-conditioning on this July afternoon in New York City, where outside the temperature averages 100 degrees and the humidity is doling out battle scars. Slightly hunched over and wandering along the glass-encased food counter of a 3rd Ave. bagel shop is Jesse Blaze Snider, with strands of his limp blonde mohawk (which he is on the fence about eliminating) sliding across his forehead as he moves, unsure of what he’s after. He’s been attending the New Music Seminar at Webster Hall all morning with his manager, and although…

Jay-Z @ Izod Center

Olivia Taubner — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:35:40 +0000

E. RUTHERFORD, NJ—I fall in love with euphony that defies genres, and a charming Grammy Award-winning rapper who was born Shawn Corey Carter on Dec. 4, 1969, holds a very special place in my heart. Finally, on March 6, I was able to watch him in his element at New Jersey’s IZOD Center, while I was in my own. He performed well after 11 p.m., to which he said, “I feel like I’m being set up every night. Let’s go into overtime, fuck it!”

Carter’s superhero alter-ego, Jay-Z, is easily the classiest and most universal contemporary urban poet of my…

Daughtry @ The Prudential Center

Olivia Taubner — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:13:42 +0000

NEWARK, NJ—Daughtry’s performance at Newark’s Prudential Center was both expected and not. I expected the compressed guitars, somewhat the heavier-than-thou approach, but not lead singer and halftime guitarist Chris Daughtry’s demeanor and stage presence.

I spoke on the phone with the North Carolina native a couple of weeks prior for The Aquarian’s March 17 cover story on Daughtry, and the person on the other end of the line was just who I expected: Reserved yet candid, serious yet relaxed, humorous, and kind; definitely not the pacing southern boy with the macho-man attitude, maniacal grimace, and a full head of hair…

Jeff Beck: Emotion & Commotion

Olivia Taubner — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:08:21 +0000

Until now, Jeff Beck hadn’t put out an album in seven years, since the Grammy award-winning Jeff. Emotion & Commotion is not just a perfect title for Beck’s new album, but for his music, if you were to create a genre for it. It’s loud, distinctive, melodic and so emotional that it’ll make the hair on your arms stand up.

On this recent effort, both emotion and commotion overlap with such ease that you don’t think twice about which is which. You also don’t realize that 70 percent of the songs are covers—they’re now his own. “Hammerhead” is signature Beck,…

Interview with The Rocket Summer: This Is It, Japanese Exchange Student

Olivia Taubner — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:01:38 +0000

New York City is dreary and drizzling today, somewhat normal for late February on the Northeast. I’m reveling in the fact that myself and my friend Sara, who used to intern in this very building, are finally inside the Island/Def Jam offices and have just landed on the 27th floor, quickly greeted by The Rocket Summer’s publicist amid a bit of chaos. We walk through the noisy, crowded, corridors and I’m drying off as we pass Bryce Avary talking to his manager. Avary’s publicist leads us into her new office, which is decorated with electronics, a large desk, and a…

Interview with Daughtry: No Surprise

Olivia Taubner — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:30:03 +0000

Spring is finally approaching, and Chris Daughtry is back home in North Carolina taking advantage of the last few days he has left in town before getting ready to hit the road once again on a headlining tour with friends Lifehouse and Cavo. Today, after asking permission to put me on speakerphone, we are chatting it up while he drives to an appointment nearby. It takes him 30 minutes to arrive—that, or he was graciously indulging me while sitting stationary in his car at some point. Only being able to hear his voice and the sounds outside of my own…

Butch Walker And The Black Widows: I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart

Olivia Taubner — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:24:30 +0000

I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart shows Georgia-born singer, songwriter, musician, and A-list producer Butch Walker’s innate ability to—much like an early Ray Davies—create an album of storytelling with lyrics that overlap wit with earnestness and exhibit coinciding love and sadness. Examples include the lovesick “Pretty Melody,” the jocular “Days_Months_Years,” and the melancholy “Don’t You Think Someone Should Take You Home.”

The album defies genres with tinges of country, folk, pop, R&B, doo wop and rock, but more importantly: Butch Walker. Prominently showcased is Walker’s constant musical growth. He fuses better than ever before with fellow musicians…