| Indigenous frontman chasing the sun on his own
Guitar heroes don't come easy these days. There was a time generations were marked by their six-string icons. We know most of them -- Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Ritchie Blackmore and Eddie Van Halen -- just to name a few. Some hail hyper-speed wizardry or plodding tuned-down tones as the makings of a guitar god, while others are more inclined to use descriptions like "passionate," "emotional" and "soulful." Native Nakota Indian Mato Nanji falls in the latter category. He leads an idea more than just a band. He calls his music Indigenous. It's how he expresses himself in a number of different directions within his chosen genre, that of electric blues. Eight years ago vocalist and guitarist Mato, his brothers Pte (bass), and Horse (percussion) along with sister Wanbdi (drums) left their reservation in South Dakota to record "Things We Do," a tangled mixture of rocking blues with Stevie Ray Vaughan appeal.
'Hillbilly rock stars' party in Tampa
The band launched into a full-throttle version of "Rock and Roll," the propulsive second track on Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album. The instantly recognizable guitar riff echoed across Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and the crowd of about 45,000 erupted in approval with decibel-defying screams. However, it wasn't Robert Plant singing the sex-crazed lyrics and offering the overheated panting in between verses - like he did in front of a record-setting Tampa Stadium crowd in 1973. No, it was good ol' girl Gretchen Wilson singing "I don't know what I've been told / But big-legged woman ain't got no soul" to the delight of thousands last Saturday. Before channeling Plant, Wilson offered an equally faithful and effective cover of Heart's roaring, classic rock staple "Barracuda." Wilson ended her set with an amps-turned-to-11 run through of her trailer girl anthem "Redneck Woman," which in terms of sound and style, owed more to the Heart and Zeppelin covers than anything recorded by Loretta Lynn or Patsy Cline.
Motion City Soundtrack: 'We Are Evolving'
Since guitarist Josh Cain and his bandmates in Motion City Soundtrack made their way into the national music scene with 2003's I Am The Movie, life has been moving along at a lightening speed. In the past couple of years, MCS has found a cozy spot in Vans Warped Tour and worked with a producer whose name carries plenty of weight in today's music world - Mark Hoppus of Blink 182. Even with Hoppus at the helm of the band's latest CD Commit This To Memory (a deluxe edition with bonus DVD was released on June 20, 2006), the band is open to the possibility of working with new producers for future releases. But for now, the band is currently on a whirlwind trip, playing at all the dates on Warped Tour rather than just a portion as in year's past. While the band is not quite ready to start recording another full album just yet, Cain has gotten the ball rolling by setting up shop in the back of his tour bus.
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