Ultraviolet Hippopotamus’ stylized logo looks like it was lifted wholesale from a Stanley Mouse-designed poster for a Fillmore West concert circa 1967. While the group exhibits an obvious fondness  

Do you ever wonder what the world would be like if members of boy bands were replaced with “boys” who could actually play and write songs? They could still be dreamy, just also, you know, talented. Yonder Mountain String Band is a perfect example of what an Utopian boy band might look and sound like. YMSB uses traditional instrumentation (mandolin, banjo, upright bass and acoustic guitar) balanced with harsher, less Appalachian-y vocals.  

As exciting as it is to have The Black Keys back in Ohio to kick off their first arena tour, you should also be stoked for opening act The Arctic Monkeys. Heralded as leaders of the U.K. Post-Punk revival, Alex Turner and Co. make a noise akin to what The Clash and Sex Pistols were doing 40 years ago. Jolting guitars and screamed, feisty lyrics make up much of The Arctic Monkeys’ four albums
  

Maynard James Keenan is a Renaissance Punk, with Alternative Metal performance artist, AltRock poet laureate, improv stand-up comedian, winery owner, restaurateur and martial artist being just a few the roles he plays. Wedged in amongst all of that is Puscifer, Keenan’s side project where he allows his creative ID even freer rein than in Tool or A Perfect Circle.   

Eight years ago, Interscope Records released a compilation called Freshly Squeezed: The Best New Music of 2004 with issues of Spin magazine. It was a fairly good comp, but one track in particular stuck out — Carina Round's virile, ominous “Into My Blood,” a slow-burning masterpiece full of fantastically apocalyptic and occultist imagery filtered through the perspective of one woman. The song sounded like an introduction to a would-be superstar.  

It’s safe to say that when a band is formed to cover up a college kid’s half-baked plan, it usually doesn’t last. Dirty Guv’nahs are the exception, forming in 2006 when bassist Justin Haskins volunteered his nonexistent group for a benefit. Between roommates and random connections, the fictional band became real enough to rehearse. During that first performance, they discovered they were actually pretty good.
  

In the mid-’80s, I saw Leo Kottke at Bogart’s with the intent of getting close enough to assure myself that the 12-string master didn’t have a third arm, nine fingered hands or a magic guitar. I  

If you are getting anxious to see strangers hugging, hear the sound of finger rolls on a fiddle or taking a few nips of Jameson, don’t panic. You don’t have to wait for St. Patty’s Day. Just try  

When it comes to Alt/Indie Rock, new bands appear on the radar almost daily. What has kept Young the Giant on the tips of everyone’s tongues is its ability to be more. The band channels its California home with a sound that is summery and playful, while its anthemic guitar sounds and danceable beats have a strange tendency to make you long for the beach. In a word: fun.   

Although it’s only been two years since the formation of D.R.U.G.S. (stand down, Million Mom outragists — the name’s an acronym for Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows), the Post Hardcore quintet ru  

Officially, Philadelphia-rooted Psychedelic/Garage Rock outfit Purling Hiss consists of three members, but the brain stem of the whole affair is undoubtedly singer/guitarist Mike Polizze. The project is  the product of Polizze messing around with a grab bag of elements, from sound levels to white noise to the song structures.  

Dave Matthews is understandably fond of Soldiers of Jah Army, or SOJA as they’ve been acronymed. The Arlington, Va., quintet has a similar grass roots success story, after all. SOJA has opened for M  

With 2009’s The Mountain, Erika Wennerstrom and Heartless Bastards transformed themselves from a great garage-stained Indie Blues outfit to a world class Rock band. The contemplative nuances of The   

Mike Doughty is coming! Mike Doughty is coming!Not sure who this elusive Mike Doughty is? What about Soul Coughing, his ‘90s rock band? You know, “Circles” and “Super Bon Bon”?---  Mike  

Some artists form in the womb and emerge ready to push their instrument's limits and in turn be pushed by them, using their childhoods as a proving ground for the brilliance to follow. That is