Category: Interviews

Pass the Syrup: Celine Dion Defends Her Smooth, Sweet Style

Jae-Ha Kim

Candy-coated. Saccharine. Gaggingly syrupy. Celine Dion’s heard it all from critics who hate her music. “I’m used to getting some critics who like me and some who can’t stand me,” says the French-Canadian singer, who was sweet enough to call us from Quebec. “Thank goodness there are more people out there who like syrup.” Since 1990, when Dion released her first English-language album, “Unison,” Dion has won a loyal following of fans who fell in love with her smooth vocal delivery on such songs as “Where Does My Heart Beat Now?” After her duet with Peabo Bryson on the Grammy Award-winning “Beauty and the Beast” a couple of years ago, she became a bona fide star.

Haircut’s Nick Heyward Takes Solo Flight With `Kite’

Jae-Ha Kim

Until releasing his latest album, Nick Heyward hadn’t had a fantastic day for a long, long time. A decade ago, Heyward fronted the English pop band Haircut 100, whose debut album, “Pelican West,” spawned a trio of hit singles (“Love Plus One,” “Favourite Shirt” and “Fantastic Day”).  At the height of the group’s success, he trimmed himself from Haircut to pursue a solo career.

Power Steering: `Anglo-Grunge’ Swervedriver Likes Its Melodies Loud

Jae-Ha Kim

Making as much noise as Sonic Youth and relying as heavily on guitars as My Bloody Valentine, England’s Swervedriver throws in a touch of reggae that mutates their sound just so.  Sometimes uneven live performers whose songs tend to drone on a la the Grateful Dead, Swervedriver fares much better with  its current CD “Mezcal Head”: strong lyrics and punkish guitars played LOUDLY.

Sooyoung Park, 26, Musician

Jae-Ha Kim

Sooyoung Park’s theory is there’s a time and place for everything. When he majored in math in college, he didn’t worry that school was holding back his music career.  And when Seam’s singer-songwriter-guitarist felt ready to tackle music full time, he put grad school on hold.

Going Hollywood: Fluid Changes Labels; Songs Remain the Same

Jae-Ha Kim

It wasn’t just its homebase that differentiated Fluid from its Sub Pop label mates.  It was, according to guitarist James Clower, a matter of attention – or lack thereof. “I don’t want it to sound like I’ve got sour grapes, because I don’t really,” Clower says.  “But (Seattle’s) Sub Pop (Records) kind of blew us off because we lived in Denver and all its other bands lived there.  They didn’t want to have to deal with us.  That’s one of the reasons why we decided to switch labels.”

An Excess Of Hype For INXS: Aussie Band Packs ’em In On Tour of Small Clubs

Jae-Ha Kim

“In a sense, we do take mischievous pleasure doing what we’re doing,” said vocalist Michael Hutchence. “But we’re not trying to tease our fans, really, because this (club tour) is part of an ongoing world tour. We’ll be back. Why we chose to play in clubs for our first trek of our U.S. tour is really quite simple. It was time for us to get back to the basics, which meant getting back into the clubs we started our careers in.