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Clear and Present Danger Bob

Irreverent pop rock “has-beens” reunite for first shows in six years

The group’s long and heckled history dates back to about 1992, when bands like Paw and Stick were all the rage. Danger Bob were the kids who snuck in the backdoor of the Bottleneck with a six-pack of silly. Once they learned to play their instruments, all bets were off, and the foursome went on to make five highly regarded albums and make a lot of locals very, very happy (or at least very, very drunk).

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Raising (Old) Canes

Chris Crisci returns from the basement to deliver long-awaited Feral Harmonic

Is it really already October? For many of us, 2009 may have gone hastily by without leaving much to show for it — but we can’t all be Chris Crisci. We can’t all release two albums through two different bands, all while raising a new baby. Show off...

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Blue Genes

Brody Buster has the blues in his blood, but that doesn’t mean he has to play it

Most kids would kill for the kind of whirlwind notoriety Brody Buster experienced between the ages of 8 and 12. From Beale Street to Jay Leno to befriending B.B. King, Buster lived the dream before he was old enough to know it...

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L.A. woman

Lawrence native Lisa Donnelly perfects her music ‘Thing’ in Hollywood

Having moved to the West Coast in 2002 as a 22-year-old aspiring singer, Donnelly is finally seeing the toils of her battle against the L.A. music machine paying off...

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Great Scott

Rusty Scott pulls record "out of his ass," polishes it up into quite a dandy

Scott’s down-home songs toe the line between folk, rock, and bluegrass, working their way into your subconscious with easygoing melodies and old-fashioned instrumentation...

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It's St. Vincent Day!

Annie Clark returns with second album; Sufjan Stevens has no answer.

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Cast and Present

The Appleseed Cast embarks on new sonic expedition

In a one-handed count of Lawrence bands whose last two records have each sold over 25,000 copies, you’d likely have fingers left over. Tom King interviews The Appleseed Cast about its new album "Sagarmatha" and mountains to climb in 2009.

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Buncha F Holes

Meet Lawrence's finest PBR-swillin', mushroom-huntin' punk-a-billy trio

The F Holes' big-buckin' blend of rockabilly, punk and southern-fried rock would be a hoot even without the sampled truck horns that replace naughty words ...

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Dead Hair Day

The Dead Girls gear up for a big year with new EP, roast beef sandwiches

By the end of 2009, The Dead Girls will have released two EPs, an album and a whole lot of Arby's sauce. The band is also firing up “The Dead Girls Project” – an interactive website wherein fans can remix new material.

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Atlas Chugged

Rooftop Vigilantes sober up, make record

Zach Campbell, Oscar Allen Guinn, Hannah Hyde and Seth Weise join us to toast the release of “Carrot Atlas” and use our bathrooms.

The Year in Lawrence Music 2008: Not bad. Not bad at all.

A look back at the year in local music, including a podcast of the year's 10 best releases and downloads from many more...

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Hark! The Local Musicians Sing!

Two new Christmas albums FREE exclusively on lawrence.com

Sick of being hit over the head with Mannheim Steamroller and all the other crappy Christmas music out there? Download two new Christmas albums by Lawrence musicians Sam Billen and Josh Atkinson—and rediscover the true meaning of decent Christmas music.

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Armoryaggedon

Lawrence’s The Armory heralds “The New Depression”

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Tiger Beat

The Republic Tigers continue their torrid march up the charts

Hate if you wanna, but The Republic Tigers are still the best band in Kansas City. With the excitement of that whole “we have a lot of fountains” thing quickly rubbing off, it’s high time our sister city put that Puddle of Mudd thing to rest. Enter the Tigers: a brilliant and strikingly individualistic band that offers a beacon of hope to all Midwestern music-makers who don’t yarl.

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'Attack' mode

The Noise FM releases debut album; joggers and weightlifters rejoice

It's difficult to imagine a local release in recent years that comes out of the gate stronger than The Noise FM's "Dream of the Attack." Beginning with the taut, magnetic riffs of "Simple Simon" and continuing through the gaping-mouth hooks of "Circles," the album strikes a perfect balance between musicianship and songcraft-two things that don't always come as a package.

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