True Endeavors Presents…

America, are you ready to be inspired? Are you ready to believe that anything is possible? Wouldn't you love to feel again? Of course you would. But how are you going to feel again without a new YouTube clip of a British talent competition? That's the only thing that can cut through the numbness! Well you're in luck, because noted-magic-maker, […]

In honestly-not-that-shocking news, it now looks like Steven Tyler is back with Aerosmith following guitarist Joe Perry's casting call for a new vocalist. Tyler made an appearance at a concert by the Joe Perry Project that made the quickly mended fences public. RollingStone.com has the clip and this priceless quote, "Joe Perry, you are a man of man […]

Four actors and a minimalistic set explode into a fast-paced comic adventure at the Overture Center in Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. Based on the movie and novel of the same name, this parody spy thriller relies on inventiveness, imagination, and expert pantomime to tell its grand story. In a time when horror translates to torture porn and suspense feels […]

The Sons of Atom are a new, driving three-piece rock band that has yet to play a show. Luckily, we have a video of them rocking out in their basement. Hopefully soon, SOA will grace a Madison stage so eager fans can come out and rock the cock out. The Sons of Atom include members of Digibot, The Low Czars, The Kites, and The Outtatoons. On a side note, I […]

By Pete Donahue I admit I am not too familiar with Devendra Banhart’s previous work. I have heard bits and pieces; when his last album, 2007’s Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, was released, I sought it out not because I was intrigued by all the critical praise and blog hype, but because I read Nick Valensi [...]


 Ryan at WMSE introduced me to The Woes during our 26th podcast. The band is aptly described as “a stew of Delta blues and early Country, of bluegrass and New Orleans marching band music, dished out by banjo, harmonica, accordion, French Horn and organ.” The culmination of all these sounds and influences cultivates [...]

The music of Madison was transformed this decade in ways that mirrored broader changes in the identity of the city itself.

Almost everyone who's tried to make a living as a musician has heard the old adage: "Don't quit your day job." The thing is, lots of local musicians have great day jobs that they wouldn't dream of ditching, and plenty have found a way to rehearse, perform and create while the rest of us sleep, watch TV and play Wii. We're a town […]

Combining a mix of Bohemian cabaret, Eastern European sounds, klezmer, classical and jazz music with operatic elements -- not to mention a random belly dancer or flamethrower -- the band Vagabond Opera is creating a twisted spin on the traditional genre.

"If Toshi Reagon comes to your town, just go," wrote a Seattle music critic after she saw the soul, folk and R&B singer perform last year. Here's your chance, Madison: Reagon and her band BIGLovely perform at Music Hall, 925 Bascom Mall, this Friday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 ($10 for students). It's an all-ages show.

Alexis Pike - A Teton, St. Anthony, Idaho (2005)Daniel, Fred, & Julie - Runner (mp3): A tape machine on the floor of a garage in Sackville, New Brunswick in the summer of 2009. A semi-circle of folding chairs. On one sits Fred Squire, under a mess of black hair and thick-rimmed glasses, staring down at his feet as he tunes his acoustic guitar. Julie Doir […]

Rachel Whiteread - Study (2005)My desk is made of slippery granite, elbows of 90 degree angles, and feet of concrete. I sit here sometimes, in the perfect silence, and empty sheets of paper with an eraser. Whole novels in fact. I find the more words I take out, the more I'm able to say. I sit here, today, to complete 30 pages of narrative. And I accompl […]