Those of you who caught Motel's performance at Unbuckled 7 will no doubt remember the scorching axe work of John Lee. The self-described "Chinese-Irishman" is a fixture on the local music scene, playing with a multitude of bands around town. The 28-year old guitarist's journey began at the age of ten, when MTV hair bands like Warrant, Poison, and Motley Crüe inspired the young Lee. In high school, he became a fan of improvisational music......

When the biggest names in jazz come to D.C., they generally play Blues Alley or the Kennedy Center, choosing the sterility of Georgetown or the concert hall setting and thereby only increasing the separation between jazz and the community from which it originated. But back in jazz's heyday, if you wanted to hear the best jazz in the District, you had to go to U Street. Unfortunately, with the death of Dr. King and......

Neelam Patel ... and Neelam Patel Local actress/poet/dancer Neelam Patel’s first foray into the arts was through the world of dance, training and performing in the classical Indian styles of Bharatanatyam and Odissi. An injury forced her to take a hiatus from dancing and in order to feed her creative hunger, she began taking acting classes at Studio Theater, Dody Desanto's movement-based classes at The Center, as well as classes in New York. Patel......

It's clear from the moment they hit the stage that Pattern Is Movement want to become everybody's friends. The Philadelphia duo immediately invite everyone down to the stage, eliminating the awkward horseshoe shaped barrier that sometimes exists between band and audience and immediately plunge into their visceral yet symphonic tunes from last month's release, All Together, that include such disparate influences as Radiohead, math rockers like Deerhoof and Broadway musicals. Then they ask the audience......

When blogging about books in D.C., you tend to receive more press releases about political non-fiction than any other genre — so much that it starts to make you cynical. Most of the books read like armchair quarterbacking with an unhealthy dose of rhetoric. But Matthew Yglesias' book, Heads in the Sand: How the Republicans Screw Up Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Screws Up the Democrats, manages to break out of that mold. Yglesias, an......

Last month was National Poetry Month. But for poets and proselytizers of poetry, the work never stops. Local poet and human dynamo Deborah Ager is the driving force behind 32 Poems, one of the most respected poetry journals in the country, one that has, in the short time its been around, attracted the attention and the work of such notable poets as Brigit Pegeen Kelly and former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. Ager and 32......

Nathaniel Rich is unquestionably a big name in the young, New York-based literati scene. He went to Yale, is a senior editor at Paris Review, and carries the high expectations that come along with an impressive pedigree: his father is New York Times columnist Frank Rich, and his brother, Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich, famously inked a book deal with Random House before he even graduated from college. That's got to be a lot......

It's about that time, folks. Unbuckled 7, taking place this Thursday at DC9, is almost upon us, and we have an incredible bill featuring Muhsinah and Motel, two up-and-coming acts from the District who blur the lines between R&B, jazz, and hip-hop, as well as DJ v:shal kanwar, who is making waves in the city's electronica scene. Matt Grason, a bandleader, bassist, and composer, is the brains behind Motel, a jazz/hip-hop collective that pairs D.C.'s......

After having toured and recorded for over a decade, Robert Cray had a breakthrough with his 1986 release, Strong Persuader, which included his signature tune, "Smoking Gun". Though the subject of criticism in those early days because of his willingness to embrace contemporary production techniques and incorporate soul and rock elements into his version of the blues, Cray's recorded output over 30 plus years on the scene and continuous touring around the world prove that......

Kate Nash is tired. It's 9 p.m. and she's on her first major U.S. tour, knitting a scarf in her hotel room in Atlanta and occasionally yawning. And for good reason — it's been a busy couple of years. The 20 year-old English singer-songwriter wrote her first song and played her first live gig two years ago, then went from a spot in Lily Allen's Myspace Top 8 to the top of the English charts......

Toronto-based indie rockers Broken Social Scene have spawned some of today's most popular artists, including Feist, frontman Kevin Drew, and Metric's Emily Haines. One of these breakaway solo artists, Jason Collett, has been wooing fans on both sides of the border with his Dylan-esque vocals and folky, upbeat style. Cross-collaboration is practically the raison d'être being a Broken Social Scene bandmate, and Collett has had his fair share of guests on his early albums. But......

Ilana Trachtman is a television documentary producer by trade, but when presented with the story of Lior Liebling, she jumped into the choppier waters of independent filmmaking for the opportunity to make her debut feature. Lior is a young man with Down Syndrome, born to two Reconstructionist Jewish rabbis in Philadelphia. From an early age, he showed an unusually ardent interest in davening, the recitation of Jewish liturgical prayers, reciting the melodic prayers along with......

There are several layers to D.C.'s jazz scene, and each boasts its own set of musicians and strengths. National acts generally play at the larger halls, such as the Kennedy Center, or Blues Alley, if they choose to play a club date. As far as the local scene, the older musicians tend to play the same rooms, or places where the crowd is generally older as well, such as Jazz Night in Southwest. The most......

The Apes are not afraid to be loud. They are not afraid to be weird. They are not afraid to be abrasive. Should you be afraid of The Apes? Only if you need your music to be pretty and unobtrusive. At a time when it seems like a lot of bands want to be pleasant, and seem content to provide listeners with some vaguely edgy but ultimately bland background sounds, The Apes refuse to bleed......

Director Alex Gibney was recently nominated for his second consecutive Academy Award for his documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side. Gibney has a history of scathing documentaries investigating corporate and government wrongdoing. His previous film (also nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar), Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, examined the shocking levels of corruption at the top of one of America's largest corporations that ultimately led to its downfall, and before that he adapted......

As the region continues to mourn the loss of Sean Taylor, some hopeful news has come to light in the search for his killer. Over the course of the week, officials have stated that they have "no reason" to believe that Taylor was anything more than the random victim of a botched burglary. However, in a story broken by the Miami Herald, a relative of Taylor's has announced that three men have now been detained......

After a fire gutted Eastern Market last April, the stretch of 7th Street SE adjacent to the market building was closed off on weekends to accommodate vendors, construction of the temporary East Hall and reconstruction of the South Hall. In an interview on WTOP (link to audiostream) last week, Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells said he wants to keep 7th Street that way. The Hill picked up the story on Wednesday, and the Hilleast......

In the midst of trying to pull the Capitals out of last place, new coach Bruce Boudreau (2-1-1) has the challenge of finding enough playing time to let the young guys--and except for goalie Olaf Kolzig and a few free agents, they're all young guys--develop to their potential. Boudreau has already won top marks from embedded blogger Mike Vogel for letting Steve Eminger play his second game of the season. It will be interesting to......

The name may be unfamiliar, but the players behind Club Tiger Promotions are highly recognizable to any one who follows the D.C. music scene. Local artists Carol Bui and Jay Smith of Middle Distance Runner have started an all-ages venue, The Lab in Alexandria, which will both give under-age bands a place to play with their more seasoned peers and serve as an environment where, as Bui puts it, "kids feel totally comfortable and safe......

>> A solid small local show at the Red and the Black tonight, with the pleasing rock of The Charm Offensive, Cheverly Hot Noodle, and Baltimore's Lawnchair. $8, 9:30 p.m. >> It might be easy to dismiss Galactic as some frat boy-friendly jam band, but the funk and jazz-influenced quintet are practically royalty in their hometown of New Orleans, and tonight they'll perform with a series of well-respected MCs in support of their latest......

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did......

>> The ICC has been given the green light by a federal judge who denied a request by environmental groups. [AP via WTOP] >> The District's Department of Public Works has launched a new campaign trying to get local youths not to litter so much. Maybe if they spent some of their energies putting some more trash cans on the streets, that would help. [WaPo] >> An interview with one of the D.C. firefighters......

MONDAY >> Do you like screamo? How about metalcore? Us neither, but if you do, get yourself to the 9:30 Club, for Underoath and similarly sinisterly-named Every Time I Die, Poison the Well, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and Belle and Sebastian. Just kidding about the last one. 6 p.m., $18. TUESDAY >> Stevie Wonder needs no introduction. He's coming to the Verizon Center today. Tickets start at $68, so get your wallet ready.......

The last time I had my heart broken? When Brian Lamb, the founder and CEO of C-SPAN, decided back in 2004 to put an end to Booknotes after 16 years on the air. Sunday nights found Lamb spending an hour (an hour!) with a non-fiction writer (usually a historian, journalist or biographer), peppering them with questions about their latest book and providing viewers with background and insight into their subject and origins. Unlike most......

>> It appears as if there are still tickets available to see handsome Swedish crooner Jens Lekman at Black Cat tonight, which is preposterous. The box office opens promptly at 8 p.m., so get yourselves over to get in line for what will surely be a spectacularly moody rainy day show, with Patrick Cleandenim and Viktor Sjöberg. Tickets are $14 at the door, and the show begins at 8. >> Don't miss our lengthy......

Jake Gyllenhaal was frequently quoted this week when, in an interview, he declared that he "Hates preachy message films." No one's going to think twice about something like that coming from Dwane "The Rock" Johnson, but from someone doing press junkets for a film raising awareness about a U.S. government practice it clearly finds abominable, it's bound to elicit a ringing chorus of, "Say What?!?!?". Rendition is a movie so focused on its message that......

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice......

Kris Racer left the punk scene to do some solo soul searching. The former frontman for Ohio based Tagline is being taken very seriously by critics, with an acoustic presence comparable to Elliot Smith and Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carabba. He sings with sincerity, speaking to the twenty-somethings across the country about work, relationships, and the future. But Kris isn’t just another moody musician. There’s a nerdy quirkiness that separates him from the rest, and......

>> DAM! Fest kicks of with its first night of shows featuring a dozen different bands at three venues, including New York's A Place to Bury Strangers (don't miss our interview with the band) and Dirty on Purpose at the Rock and Roll Hotel, Vandaveer and Julie Ocean at the Red and The Black, and Foreign Islands at DC9, among many others. Check out our guide to the DAM! highlights. >> Two film festivals open......

The 2nd year of the District's Awake! Music Festival is making it's grand sophomore entrance tomorrow night in clubs across town. News about the festival is traveling far and wide, with a sponsorship and podcast from everybody's favorite online radio station, WOXY, an interview on the local news, and more. A few last minute changes have been made to the festival — namely the unfortunate cancellation of Cloud Cult's set, and of the Rock &......