Steve Knopper – Page 18

Tony Orlando still hasn’t needed that backup career option, despite his mother’s advice

December 17, 2018 at 7:21 p.m.

Tony Orlando's mother gave him some crucial advice early in his singing career: "Find a backup career," she told him. "This is not something you can count on forever." The...

Shuggie Otis performs on stage at the Jazz Cafe on November 20, 2012 in London.

Rejuvenated Shuggie Otis is right where he wants to be

June 16, 2018 at 4:40 p.m.

Toward the end of a half-hour phone interview, Shuggie Otis panics. He becomes agitated as he talks to his tour manager. "Oh, man, did you see my black bag and...

Raekwon goes solo but keeps the Wu-Tang Clan links intact

December 17, 2018 at 7:24 p.m.

Everything about the Wu-Tang Clan is complicated. All nine founding members are hip-hop MCs with distinct, powerful personalities, have elaborate nicknames, maintain solo careers, and have unique conflicts and loyalties...

The Melvins still seeing how long it all can work

December 17, 2018 at 7:26 p.m.

After delivering his final pizza and abruptly quitting his deliveryman job in 1988, Buzz Osborne did not celebrate. "I was pretty broke," he says. At the time, the Melvins, his...

Blondie is a stylish 40-year-old

April 6, 2019 at 12:33 a.m.

As the story goes, Blondie's Clem Burke demolished his drum kit during a concert days after the death of the Who's destructive drummer in 1978. "That's for Keith Moon!" he...

Michael Franti expands his sonic palette

April 6, 2019 at 12:25 a.m.

Early on, Michael Franti was an angry rapper. He ranted in great detail about how American civil rights would collapse "at the hands of fundamentalists" and television was turning the...

Geto Boys perform at the Beats Music Launch Party At Belasco Theatre on January 24, 2014 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Reunited Geto Boys are now a hard-rapping legacy act

April 6, 2019 at 12:18 a.m.

Scarface planned to record "Mind Playing Tricks on Me," his long poem of ghostly paranoia and fighting with the devil on the streets, as a song on his solo album....

The Offspring thrives on road

April 6, 2019 at 12:11 a.m.

If nothing else, the Offspring's platinum-selling 1994 album "Smash" made one Chicago musician extremely happy. His name is Rick Sims, and he used to lead a band called the Didjits....

Billy Joe Shaver, uncut

April 6, 2019 at 12:04 a.m.

A lot of country singers wear ten-gallon hats, but Billy Joe Shaver is the only one who rode a bull in the rodeo, saw Hank Williams Sr. perform in person,...

Musicians Jason Bonham and Sammy Hagar attend the 2014 Classic Rock Awards Launch Party in Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 2014.

Jason Bonham is more than his father’s son

April 5, 2019 at 11:58 p.m.

This may not come as a surprise, but Jimmy Page didn't set any behavior rules for band members on his first post-Led Zeppelin solo tour in 1988. He told them:...

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