Rip Rense

Photo by Gregory BojorquezMaceo Hernandez stands tall in front of the shime, a snare-sized Japanese drum mounted on a waist-level wooden stand. He stares straight ahead, seemingly at something in the distance, but inside this Buddhist temple in Montebello, the distance is within. His arms work in a blur of......

Photo by S. Maruta NPR commentator Ruben Navarette recently decried ongoing “boomer obsession” with Vietnam, citing the debate over Bush’s time (or lack of it) in the Air National Guard vs. Kerry’s service in Vietnam. “Americans have fallen into a political time warp,” the Gen-X-and-proud Navarette railed. “We’ve been transported......

Photo by Ethan Russell ©Apple Corps Ltd. It was January 1969, a few months after the release of the Beatles’ eponymous “white album.” John Lennon was Beatled-out, and Paul McCartney was trying to elicit enthusiasm for a new project: Get Back, a no-studio-frills album, and a film documenting the making......

Given the singularity and popularity of the late Frank Zappa, it’s surprising how little has been done to keep his music alive since his passing in 1994. There have been several post humous Zappa albums released by Rykodisc, a couple of all-Zappa tribute CDs by European chamber-music groups, a few......