The great reggae dj and singer/producer Mikey Dread (born Michael George Campbell) passed away March 15th from a brain tumor at age 54. An engineer in the mid 70s at the JBC, the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, Dread started "Dread at the Controls", the first all-reggae show in a time where most of the music played was pop music from other countries. The show became a huge hit and Dread went on to record his own......

It's the biggest dance club night in Los Angeles over at The Vanguard and tonight is a special one -- GIANT is having its eighth-anniversary party. Join Steve Aoki, Glycerin and others along it 1500 clubbers. Metromix has the low down. And speaking of anniversaries, the monthly Dragstrip 66 at Safari Sam's is celebrating its Quinceanera! 15 years ago, January, L.A.'s queer/mixed underground have been eagerly descending upon the club night every second saturday......

The last time I saw DC punk icons Bad Brains play live was in a big hall somewhere in Long Beach or Pedro circa 1987. HR still plays solo projects, and sometimes they come around billed as Soul Brains, playing mostly reggae. Wednesday night was a rare opportunity to see the original lineup play their punk rock catalog. Their new record, Build a Nation, produced by Adam Yauch, is definitely reminiscent of their early......

Photo by Prawnpie via Flickr I recently discovered that my friend's brother does PR for Lee Scratch Perry, one of the first reggae artists and experimenters in dub. Being half-Jamaican, (but born in Louisiana), I was a bit ashamed for only barely recognizing the name, but hey, my dad was listening to The Kinks and The Who at the time, and took off to England as soon as he was old enough, so I......