Let’s be clear—it’s been quite some time since the men of The All-American Rejects were, in fact, rejects. With careers exceeding the 10-year mark, as well as four albums and a slew of radio hits under their belts, the mere notion is damn near laughable.

But in an era…

Stumbling upon Sean Rowe on NPR’s First Listen left me wanting more from the Troy, New York native. Drawing on pure talent and folk influences, Rowe’s latest album, The Salesman And The Shark (Anti-), showcases the enduring simplicity of a man, a voice, and a guitar. Sometimes singing with…

With the establishment of their own record label last year, Gold Medal Records, and the release of their new 7”, Big Business seem to be rocking just as hard as they did in the beginning. The band that started out as a duo before joining the infamous Melvins in…

About a month or so ago, the guitarist in my band turned me on to a hardcore group from Belgium called Oathbreaker. This was one of those conglomerations that I immediately fell in love with on first listen. About two weeks later, I was informed via social networking that they…

On March 19, 2011, it seemed like everyone was pulling for UFC light heavyweight up-and-comer Jon “Bones” Jones to dethrone champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Hours before I stepped inside of Newark’s packed Prudential Center to see him put on the show I thought he would, Jones apprehended a thief…

June Divided – Backbone

June Divided are a band of humble origins. They are the first ones to tell you that they didn’t get involved in music to do “the rock star thing.” Interestingly enough, Melissa Menago and Chris Kissel met in school and turned to writing music as…

Magic Thrust have burst onto the scene with, well, you can make your own pun based on the name of the band. But musically they have developed a unique sound that has brought them to the forefront of the New Brunswick party circuit, as well as venues such as…

Resident Evil: Retribution

Screen Gems

Rated R for partial nudity and pervasive graphic violence.

Enduring Franchise Finds Latex-Clad Heroine Fighting More Mutants

The Resident Evil film franchise is proving to be every bit as enduring as the hordes of flesh-eating zombies featured in its every episode. The movies…

For only his eighth studio album since his 1983 Suddenly debut, multi-instrumentalist native New Yorker Marcus Miller, 63, (the man who wrote “Tutu” for Miles Davis) is back with the absolutely stunning and aptly-named Renaissance (Concord). Jazz album of the year? Damn close.

With eight of 13 originals, Miller…

One band that’s really tickled my fancy recently is a band called The Tattoo Rebellion. I’ve seen their name a few times on event invites on Facebook, but have never really checked them out until recently; and I think these guys rock! What drew me to them was their…