​"How many famous women drummers do you know?" Hit So Hard: The Life and Near-Death of Patty Schemel is a no-punches-pulled portrait of the life and times of hard-hitting drummer Patty Schemel. The film tells a raw, intimate story about openly gay Schemel, and provides an up-close look at her struggles with being different, addiction, the deaths of her close friends, her near-devastating descent into drugs after a major betrayal, and ultimately her journey back to a clean, new life.  More >>

Photo by Shawn Brackbill

In the print edition of this week's City Pages, we have an interview with Matador signee and Philadelphia indie rocker Kurt Vile, who is coming to the Varsity Theater next Monday with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. What follows is the extended transcript of Ian Power's interview with Vile; you can read the version of this article from this week's paper here.More >>

Photo by Emily Roberts

​Over here at Gimme Noise, we're pretty excited about Tommy Stinson's return to First Ave this Friday--and not just because we had the chance to talk to him about it in the print version of today's City Pages. Why all the excitement then? Because it gives us an excuse to kill some time on YouTube, duh!

Check out some of our favorite clips below the break.

More >>

​In anticipation of tonight's sold-out Cars gig at First Avenue -- the band's first time performing at the club since forming in 1978, parting ways in 1988, and regrouping last year -- we caught up with all four surviving members of the band for an interview. That article is featured on the cover of the paper this week, which also reprises our very first cover story in the history of City Pages, back when we were a music magazine known as Sweet Potato.

More >>

​Impaler want to wish you a scary Christmas, and we thought as a gift we'd include some vintage photographs and the rest of the interview with lead vocalist Bill Lindsey as he talks about his inspiration, holiday favorites, and family life and getting banned from Best Buy.

(Read my interview with Bill from this week's print edition of City Pages here.)
More >>

Photos courtesy of Impaler

​From the '80s metal heyday to the grunge infused '90s and up through the last decade and today, the godfathers of Twin Cities thrash metal and horror rock, Impaler, have as extensive a catalog as they do history.

More >>

Photo by Marcel Houweling

​I recently had the opportunity to sit down with busy Romantica frontman Ben Kyle, who is preparing to release his band's second album, America, on vinyl this weekend, for an interview for this week's print edition of City Pages. Ben and I ended up covering a lot of ground during our chat, musing on everything from his recent European tour with Carrie Rodriguez and forthcoming duets album to his thoughts on vinyl, songwriting, and more.

Below, find the full transcript from my interview with Ben Kyle, along with a few music videos and the details on his vinyl release show this Sunday at the Cedar.

More >>

Photo by Tony Nelson

​While you were reading today's cover story on Cloud Cult, you hopefully noticed all the great pictures Nick Vlcek snapped of the band during their performance at the Lowertown Music Festival in July.

Well, that's not all we have for you. On his visit with the band in Eagan for the cover shoot, Tony Nelson took rolls of photos (or digital rolls--you know what I mean), including outtakes and pics of their practice in Scott West's basement.

We have some of those pics below, as well as music videos for "Running with the Wolves" and "You'll Be Bright," which just Monday appeared as NPR's Song of the Day.

More >>

Photo by Nick Vlcek

​After reading today's cover story on Cloud Cult, you may still be thirsting for more on the local six-piece (or eight-piece, depending on how you roll) and their spiritual leader, Craig Minowa. Well, rest assured: In sitting down for four separate interviews with the band, I picked up more than enough info to fill up one article.

One of the most interesting conversations that didn't make the cut had to do with a particularly traumatizing event from Craig's childhood. So if you're wondering why Craig still feels anxious about playing live, read on.

More >>

Photos by Nick Vlcek

​Can't get enough of Lookbook? Fear not: We have some outtakes from the photo shoot for this week's cover story, in addition to a few videos from our dear friends at and MN Original and MPLS.TV, two of our favorite local organizations committed to documenting the musicians in our fair scene.

And if you haven't done so yet, be sure to read our profile on the duo in today's paper!

More >>