Issue Articles — BackTalk
BackTalk: Charlie Wilson Can’t Be Stopped (Interview)
Charlie Wilson just can’t be stopped. In the ’70s and ’80s, the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native helped to define classic house-party funk with the Gap Band. Along with his brothers Robert […]
BackTalk: Todd Rundgren’s Swampland Utopia
Musician and producer Todd Rundgren first took the world stage in the mid-60s, fronting his band the Nazz. This June, Rundgren celebrates his 65th birthday at a party in swampy […]
BackTalk: Live with Daryl Hall (Interview)
I’m just glad that everybody still gets so excited about us,” says a grateful Daryl Hall during a few minutes of downtime at his winter home in Charleston, S.C. Excited […]
BackTalk: Kermit Ruffins, Hot and Spicy
When people mention Kermit Ruffins, they rarely use his last name. They just say, “Hey, we’re going to hear Kermit tonight” or “We’re heading to Kermit’s place later.” Like one […]
BackTalk: Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes
The Alabama Shakes have made it. What is “it”, you ask? It’s three Grammy nominations for the not quite 4-year-old quartet’s full-length debut, Boys & Girls. It’s attracting a crowd […]
BackTalk: Dr. John, Keys-a-Janglin’
Complete BackTalk Interview with Dr. John and Sarah Morrow Mr. Mac Rebennack, aka Dr. John, has played just about every conceivable type of popular music over the course of the last […]
BackTalk: Mannie Fresh, Still Fly
In the late ’90s, with a young, criminally underrated crew hell-bent on partying its way out of the projects, unheralded Uptown label Cash Money Records had the hip-hop charts in […]
BackTalk: OffBeat Publisher Jan Ramsey Looks Back on 25 Years
In 1979 New Orleans native and young divorced mother Jan Ramsey was driving home from work when a drunk driver jumped the median on I-10 and crashed head-on into her […]
BackTalk: Thomas Dolby’s Synthesized Science
“The America’s Cup’s about to kick off, I’m up on the veranda looking out across the bay, across the city and hoping I see some speeding sails,” says Thomas Dolby […]
BackTalk: Venerated Bluesman Elvin Bishop Stays Sharp (Interview)
In 1960 Elvin Bishop left his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma and moved to Chicago, where he learned to play the blues from legendary masters like Hound Dog Taylor, Junior Wells, […]
