Russ Giguere of The Association Words He Uses to Describe… by Jay S. Jacobs In the introduction to his new autobiography Along Comes the Association, long-time band member Russ Giguere good-naturedly explains to the reader who exactly he is and why he felt the need to write about his life in The Association. It is a joke, obviously the reader knows who he is – they wouldn’t be reading the book otherwise. However, it does have a note of truth to it, as well. Even though The As

Mandy Patinkin Mandy Patinkin – Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center – Philadelphia, PA – October 30, 2019 Mandy Patinkin has been working for so many years mostly as an actor that you sometimes forget what a sublime singer he can be. After all, before he became an accomplished actor on TV and the big screen – he currently is in the middle of a long stint as co-star on the popular series Homeland, and his beloved role in The Princess Bride has made him a pop-culture meme – Patin

The Old Man and the Gun THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN (2018) Starring Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Tika Sumpter, Ari Elizabeth Johnson, Teagan Johnson, Gene Jones, John David Washington, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Barlow Jacobs, Augustine Frizzell, Jennifer Joplin, Lisa DeRoberts, Carter Bratton, Leah Roberts, Alphaeus Green Jr., Keith Carradine and Elisabeth Moss. Screenplay by David Lowery. Directed by David Lowery. Distributed by Fox Searchlight

Bob Seger – I Knew You When Bob Seger – I Knew You When (Capitol) You may take it from the wistful title and the cover photo of a fresh-faced, 20-something Bob Seger staring out at you that his latest album would be a celebration of the music he grew up listening to. Instead, I Knew You When is a look backward, but more to the Detroit rocker’s glory days than his inspirations. The album has the feel of past glories like Night Moves and Live Bullet, which is a pleasant surpris

Dermot Mulroney as Dr. Walter Wallace in “Pure Genius.” Dermot Mulroney A Pure Genius Rocks Out with Cranky George by Jay S. Jacobs We think we know Dermot Mulroney, after decades of watching him in classic movies like My Best Friends Wedding, Young Guns, About Schmidt and The Grey.  However, despite the fact that he has been so visible in films and on TV, did you know that Mulroney was a professional musician? Not just an actor who put together a band, mind you, but a classi

Squeeze – The Keswick Theatre – Glenside, PA – October 14, 2016 – Photo by Deborah Wagner © 2016. Squeeze & The English Beat – The Keswick Theatre – Glenside, PA – October 14, 2016 The 70s and 80s were littered with bands that were given the honorary title “the next Beatles” by fans and the music industry.  This was usually reserved for particularly melodic and smart rock-pop bands, ones who had sterling critical acclaim and all of the potential in the world.  Unfortunately,

Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer Sutherland Hits the Road Kiefer Sutherland, highwayman and guitar-slinger?  Yeah, it surprised us too. Not that an actor is a frustrated musician, you hear of that all the time.  However, much like the inscrutable secret agent Jack Bauer from 24, which cemented Sutherland’s stardom, his sidelight as a singer songwriter seems to have been top secret. Even more surprising, his coming debut album Down in a Hole seems to be a country record.  Not current

Jill Hennessy – World Café Live – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – December 2, 2015 Photo by Jim Rinaldi © 2015. Jill Hennessy A Little Bit of Comfort by Jay S. Jacobs There is sometimes a bit of mistrust of actors who suddenly decide to become musicians.  And while it is true that some of them are trying to exploit their name recognition, more and more often it is turning out that those actors really are talented singer/songwriters who just became well known in a different mediu

Jessi Teich “Twisted Soul” Jessi Teich – Twisted Soul (Madame Freak) You know an artist has some diverse tastes when she covers both Tom Waits and Justin Timberlake on her album. This young Philadelphia-based jazz singer certainly lives up to this wide range in her latest CD, recorded live in studio in Paris. Teich refers to Twisted Soul as “a crossover record with a jazz spinal cord,” and that explains the eccentric charms of the album as well as anything, I suppose. A sweet

Tom Jones – Theater of the Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA – May 17, 2013 The youthful and charismatic Prince of Wales of yore has matured into a slightly grizzled and hardened King.  While the years have passed and life has challenged, he still retains at 70 years old the chiseled handsomeness and bellwether voice that so mesmerized your mother (or grandmother) that she threw her panties up on stage back in the staid 60s, when they just didn’t do that kind of thing.  (I apolo

Rue Melo This is Her House by Jay S. Jacobs In Paris – where Rue Melo was born – the word rue means road.  Although it isn’t her given name (“Rue is actually a nickname that I grew up with,” she explains) somehow it totally fits her. Rue Melo – North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA – September 20, 2007 – Photo by Jim Rinaldi © 2007 The 23-year-old singer has lived a bit of a gypsy existence, but in all the best ways.  She was born in the City of Lights.  Her father is a musician

KT Tunstall Eyes to the Skies by Jay S. Jacobs Is it possible that the next big thing in music is a thirtyish woman from Scotland? An adopted daughter of a scientist who had no real interest to speak of in music? An iconoclast who became a figurehead of a local music scene where lack of commercial success was considered a badge of honor? A busking guitarist who played guitar on streets all over Europe and once got a quid from a member of then British supergroup Take That? Wel

East of Sunset EAST OF SUNSET (2005) Starring Emily Stiles, Jimmy Wayne Farley, Dikla Marshall, Greg Garritano, Lucia Sullivan, Robby Morris, Jeff Gargiulo, Nino Cirabisi, Conor Jonathan, Eimer Devlin, Monte Vallier and Will Waghorn. Screenplay by Heather Miller. Directed by Brian McNelis. Distributed by Blixa Films.  89 minutes.  Rated NC-17. East of Sunset is the story of two alcoholic drug-users who fall in love in the slightly bedraggled Silverlake section of Los Angeles.

Low Millions LOW MILLIONS EX-FILES BY JAY S. JACOBS It’s never easy to make your own way when your father is a legend in your chosen pursuit. Just ask Julian Lennon, Jakob Dylan and so many others, even if you sound nothing like them, the comparisons will still come. Adam Cohen is in an even weirder position than most. His father is the legendary novelist-turned-song-poet Leonard Cohen, who is revered by critics, but has always been more of a cult artist than a popular one. S

Coffee and Cigarettes COFFEE AND CIGARETTES  (2004) Starring Roberto Begnini, Steven Wright, Steve Buscemi, Joie Lee, Cinque Lee, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, Joseph Rigano, Vinny Vella, Vinny Vella Jr., Renée French, E.J. Rodriquez, Alex Descas, Isaach De Bankolé, Cate Blanchett, Mike Hogan, Jack White, Meg White, Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, Katy Hansz, GZA, RZA, Bill Murray, Bill Rice and Taylor Mead. Screenplay by Jim Jarmusch. Directed by Jim Jarmusch. Distributed by MGM Communi

CROSSING JORDAN — NBC Series — Pictured: Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh — NBC Photo: Chris Haston Jill Hennessy crossing Jill by Jay S. Jacobs When the 2003 television season started, fans of the popular forensic drama Crossing Jordan were surprised to find the show was not on NBC’s schedule.  Many asked if the show been canceled.  How could that be?  The show had strong ratings and a passionate following.  Where was Crossing Jordan? They needn’t have worried.  NBC had

Sixpence None the Richer Sixpence None the Richer There She Goes by Jay S. Jacobs Sixpence None the Richer are just one of a long, storied tradition in music– the overnight sensation that had been toiling away in obscurity on the sidelines for years.  Sixpence – which is made up of singer Leigh Nash, guitarist/songwriter Matt Slocum and drummer Dale Baker,  – had recorded three albums (The Fatherless & The Widow, This Beautiful Mess and Tickets For A Prayer Wheel) that had be

Chuck E. Weiss Chuck E. Weiss Chuck E.’s In Love by Jay S. Jacobs “How come he don’t come and p.l.p. with me down at the meter no more…” With that opening line to a hit song in 1979, singer/songwriter Chuck E. Weiss was introduced to American popular culture. Problem was he didn’t write the song – or even sing it. In fact, “Chuck E.’s In Love” was about him, a tribute written by friend Rickie Lee Jones. No one really ever expected the song to become a smash hit. But it did, w