http://www.culturesonar.com/10-quintessential-bass-lines-80s-pop/

A young man and his Peavey Fury bass, circa 1987.  What music inspired this fine youngster to pick up a bass guitar and learn how to play?  How were his sensibilities formed about what the function of…

http://www.culturesonar.com/mariah-carey/

My latest piece for CultureSonar is live, extolling the virtues of Mariah Carey.  Time to recognize Mimi as the American Cultural Icon that she is!  

#ARIESPOWER

Be well

JM

We celebrated Ringo Starr's 77th birthday with a full set of his solo hits and some choice Beatles cuts.  Many thanx to my incredible band of stellar musicians: Bennett Paster (keys), Benny Landa (guitar), Anthony Babino (guitar), Steven Babino…

Being a freelance writer in the internet age is not for the faint of heart.  The court of public opinion has grown wider and more vicious than ever, with “comments” sections full of self-appointed thought leaders skewering anything and anyone…

The news about the Fyre Festival disaster spread fast.  Hordes of unsuspecting millennials who were promised a luxurious "VIP music experience" in the Bahamas were simply cheated out of thousands of dollars, and left stranded on an island with bad…

Several days ago I wrote a blog about the backlash toward the upcoming Beatles "US Albums" box set. In short: the source audio for these CDs will be the 2009 remasters done in the UK at Abbey Road, and not…

Being a Sting fan hasn't always been easy.  Haters love to tell you how pretentious and self-indulgent they think he is, and how his solo work lacks the fire and passion of The Police.  But I disagree: I love the…

Sept. 29, 2016 

Last Saturday night I was doing a “private event” gig in Manhattan (aka “the city”).  I generally take the subway to city gigs; traffic and parking make the driving experience hellish, and my amp is light…

July, 1996.  The Summer Olympics are being held in Atlanta, and my “private events” band is flown down by Swatch to play their massive event at the Hard Rock Cafe.  We are given all-access VIP credentials for the “Olympic Village,"…