Nina moving up from the basement

October 10, 2008

Nina Romano believes necessity is the mother of invention.

Recent columns

• Review: Chrissie Hynde is thrilling on her new CD

  October 7, 2008

  THE PRETENDERS

• Honors for De La Soul come from the heart

  October 5, 2008

  De La Soul told me once that helping out younger artists helps keep them young.

• Honors for De La Soul come from the heart

  October 5, 2008

  De La Soul told me once that helping out younger artists helps keep them young.

• English teacher turns rocker at Wantagh SOS benefit

  September 28, 2008

  John Hampson wanted to keep his two worlds separate.

• English teacher turns rocker at Wantagh SOS benefit

  September 28, 2008

  John Hampson wanted to keep his two worlds separate.

• WMJC's 'Unsigned bands get airplay on Long Island's WMJC-FM

  September 21, 2008

  Rick Eberle knows he's fighting an uphill battle, but that's nothing new to the musician-promoter-manager from Ronkonkoma who recently added disc jockey to his Long Island scene duties.

• How Matthew Bair spent his summer vacation

  September 14, 2008

  Matthew Bair hasn't wasted any time since announcing the disbanding of Bandcamp earlier this summer.

• Gabrielle Ross is Long Island's next star

  August 31, 2008

  She just finished working with Jim Beanz, the guy who co-wrote "Maneater" for Nelly Furtado and has worked with everyone from Timbaland and Diddy to Ashlee Simpson and M.I.A. Next month, she's off to work with Alicia Keys' production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers and Rihanna's musical director.

• Gabrielle Ross is Long Island's next star

  August 31, 2008

  She just finished working with Jim Beanz, the guy who co-wrote "Maneater" for Nelly Furtado and has worked with everyone from Timbaland and Diddy to Ashlee Simpson and M.I.A. Next month, she's off to work with Alicia Keys' production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers and Rihanna's musical director.

• Straylight Run gives 'Try' a try

  August 24, 2008

  There is something completely charming about the fact that the new Straylight Run single, "Try," is once again thoroughly confounding when matched up with their previous work.

• Straylight Run gives 'Try' a try

  August 24, 2008

  There is something completely charming about the fact that the new Straylight Run single, "Try," is once again thoroughly confounding when matched up with their previous work.

• Mike Dubin premieres 'B Local' on K-Rock

  August 17, 2008

  After more than a year off the air, Mike Dubin has once again brought local rock to the airwaves with his new show "B Local," airing Sundays on K-Rock (WXRK/92.3 FM).

• Mike Dubin premieres 'B Local' on K-Rock

  August 17, 2008

  After more than a year off the air, Mike Dubin has once again brought local rock to the airwaves with

• Review: 'Zach Gill's Stuff'

  July 29, 2008

  ZACH GILL / Zach Gill's Stuff

• Review: 'Zach Gill's Stuff'

  July 29, 2008

  ZACH GILL / Zach Gill's Stuff

• Let all musicians be like Billy Joel and McCartney

  July 27, 2008

  The final concert at Shea Stadium ended with such extraordinary, historic graciousness that it should be held up as an example for artists of all sorts, especially musicians.

• Oil's well for Blameshift at Vans Warped Tour

  July 20, 2008

  Blameshift has always been used to handling things for themselves, from releasing their album "The Test" last year to booking their own tours to even driving their own tour bus.

• Oil's well for Blameshift at Vans Warped Tour

  July 20, 2008

  Blameshift has always been used to handling things for themselves, from releasing their album "The Test" last year to booking their own tours to even driving their own tour bus.

• Putting Billy Joel in an LI state of mind

  July 13, 2008

  Once Billy Joel completes his Shea Stadium shows this week, he's in the market for a new challenge.

• Seaford's Bandcamp is calling it quits

  June 22, 2008

  After a string of local Top 10 singles, a major-label contract (and exit), several national tours and lots of great music, Bandcamp is calling it quits.

• Roslyn's Donnie Klang joins Danity Kane on MTV

  May 29, 2008

  Ten years ago, Donnie Klang was a seventh-grader at Island Trees Memorial Middle School in Levittown; he sang and rapped The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy's "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" for the annual talent show.

• Review: Usher's CD 'Here I Stand'

  May 27, 2008

  It's a thin line between smooth and super-safe, and Usher flops back and forth over it throughout his new album, "Here I Stand" (LaFace).

• Push Play gets a boost

  May 22, 2008

  Backstage at Zootopia's preshow show on Saturday afternoon, the wildest crowd didn't belong to Sara Bareilles, who is enjoying her first Top 10 smash with "Love Song," or platinum-selling piano guy Gavin DeGraw.

• DROPS: A departure by that other McCartney guy

  May 20, 2008

  Risk and pop music hardly ever go together. Why take a chance when there's money to be made?

• The Shake, a local blend

  May 15, 2008

  The Shake is one of those bands that probably shouldn't fit together, but somehow does.

• Duffy's 'Rockferry' a lot like Winehouse, in a good way

  May 13, 2008

  Duffy is much more than a nicer, non-addicted Amy Winehouse or the new-millennium Dusty Springfield, though being either of those things would be enough reason for celebration.

• Matt Fazzi ushers in Taking Back Sunday's new era

  May 8, 2008

  After being holed up in a Williamsburg rehearsal space for the past two months, Taking Back Sunday is eager to try out some new material tomorrow night in that intimate little setting also known as Madison Square Garden.

• Music review: Clay Aiken's 'On My Way Here'

  May 6, 2008

  Clay Aiken has always seemed like the most bewildered of the " American Idol" graduates -- his insta-fame cut with a bit of what-just-happened? caution, his music a hit-or-miss split between what he wants and what he's supposed to want.

• Long Island bands invade Jersey for Bamboozle fest

  May 1, 2008

  The Bamboozle festival may be at the Meadowlands, but it's always had a distinctly Long Island flavor - even beyond the 25,000 or so fans from the Island who attend - and this year is no exception.

• Review: Madonna's new 'Hard Candy' CD

  April 29, 2008

  Fear not, Madonna fans. The Material Girl still controls her material on her new album, "Hard Candy" (Warner Bros.)

• Ushering in a feel-good era for LI-based musicians

  April 24, 2008

  It wasn't that long ago that Long Island bands would have to say they hailed from New York to make their record companies happy. Rockers from Long Island were seen as less edgy than their Manhattan counterparts. Rappers from Long Island, as Amityville's De La Soul once explained to me, were thought to be "too country" compared with city rappers.

• Review: Ashlee Simpson's 'Bittersweet World'

  April 22, 2008

  Yes, everyone wants to know whether Ashlee Simpson and her fiancé, Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, are expecting their first child. But after listening to Simpson's new "Bittersweet World" (Geffen) album, what should concern them is that she may actually have no idea what year it is.

• On 'E=MC2,' Mariah Carey has no equal

  April 15, 2008

  'Uncle." (Should it be "Aunt"?)

• Jumping on different band wagons

  March 11, 2007

  In 1984, there was no musical middle ground. You had to pick sides, and you had to do it with a with-us-or-against-us intensity that really hasn't been seen since.

• A prime-time hit parade

  October 8, 2006

  It seems like Mat Kearney's music is everywhere these days - everywhere except, well, you know, the radio.

• The Killers don't quite go to town in their latest

  October 3, 2006

  The Killers wanted "Sam's Town" (Island) to be great.

• A dream duo come true: Ray Charles, Count Basie

  October 1, 2006

  It started with an old box of tapes that Concord Records had received from its purchase of Fantasy Records.

• Fergie's debut makes for an uneven ride

  September 19, 2006

  How come every time they come around, singers like Fergie always seem to let us down?

• Justin sets sale

  September 12, 2006

  Justin Timberlake is always selling. It's probably what he does best.

• Good, but not quite a 'Day' to remember

  September 5, 2006

  When you look like Beyoncé, when you dance like Beyoncé and, most importantly, when you sing like Beyoncé, good isn't always good enough.

• The Cure finds one in its comeback CD

  June 29, 2004

  The long-awaited return of The Cure starts tentatively, with singer Robert Smith repeating "I can't find myself," softly and slowly in "Lost" over a lone acoustic guitar.

• A Moment to Party Amid the Grief

  October 21, 2001

  FOR A BRIEF moment, the ongoing nightmare of the Sept. 11 attacks and their aftermath was replaced by a shiny rock and roll dream of unity, as Paul McCartney and his megastar friends told us all that there will be an answer. For “Let It Be,” McCartney, dressed in a blue FDNY T-shirt, played the piano, with Eric Clapton on guitar, Billy Joel on keyboards and everyone from James Taylor, The Who’s Roger Daltrey, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge on backing vocals.

• Nightcrawler

  September 27, 2001

  THEIR FEELINGS were the same: Something had to be done.