At 60 years old, Robyn Hitchcock has experienced a longevity that would be the cause for many musicians' envy. He began his career as a member of several small, local London bands until 1976 when he founded the psychedelic folk rock group The Soft Boys. In 1981 (about a year after The Soft Boys broke up), Hitchcock released his debut solo album entitled Black Snake Diamond Role, followed by a long string of albums by himself, with The Egyptians and with The Venus 3, and even had a bit of commercial success in the late 80's. These days, his comfortable stage presence undoubtedly comes from four decades of performing, but it's his twisting surreal narratives thought up on the spot that characterize is "stage banter" and are about as entertaining as the hundreds of songs he's written in his career. Though a hand injury led him to play slide and skiffle versions of his songs (like the quirky makeshift drum solo on "Olé! Tarantula", for example) during our SXSW broadcast live from Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop in Austin, his set was nonetheless wickedly fun. Watch the videos here and be sure to catch Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus 3 at the Neptune Theatre on June 4.
Full Performance:
There are few moments in rock 'n' roll as iconic as the opening drum-and-breath line in "Time of the Season." Yet unlike many of their British Invasion co-horts (like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Moody Blues), The Zombies never reached the same level of success. Maybe it was tha…
"You got your peanut butter on my chocolate?" No, we got your chocolate on Thurston Moore! Or maybe it was the other way around! Either way, a simple chocolate bar wrapper was the inspiration for a brand new song, written on the spot, by Thurston and his new project Chelsea Light Moving. No doubt …
If you've been listening to the Morning Show with John Richards, you've probably heard a lot of up-and-comers Wild Cub, whose energetic, electronic-infused sound takes the best from 80's new wave romanticism, R&B and indie rock and makes it impossible to sit still. Back in February, the Nashvil…
