J. Hayes - music writer's Page

Singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne has been portrayed as the tragic hero or tortured soul since the release of his perhaps conveniently titled commercial debut Trouble in 2004. One interviewer even referred to his sounds as "a tender blues rasp of exquisite world-weariness” which sounds… Continue

originally written for examiner.com July 2, 2009

So as I usually write about indie music, a column about Michael Jackson's passing may seem forced. Honestly I never had any intentions of writing one until a dear friend and music columnist emailed me her latest column, which focuses on the Detroit mu… Continue

Not exactly a book for your night stand. This is a small but heavy treatise from the Barrelhouse Blues series that has brought us a number of excellent volumes chronicling various aspects of the Blues. This volume, written by Paul Oliver, a blues historian and author since the early 60s, focuses on field recording in the history of the blues.

Acknowledging lesser known artists from the Grand Ole… Continue

There are two kinds of people: those who love Bettye LaVette and think she is one of the greatest interpreters of song in our time, and those who are so tragically un-hip that they haven't yet heard her music.

The number of unenlightened dropped dramatically on a cold January 18th in 2009 when B… Continue