Dan MagusWise & Otherwise: A Fells Point Character Study (self-published)For this slim volume of black and white photos, Magus points his camera at the cast of characters inhabiting Fells Point...
Dan DeaconSpiderman of the Rings (Carpark)Deacon may the hardest working and biggest hearted artist on the local electronic music scene. As you read this, he's crisscrossing the country—playing...
Laura LippmanWhat the Dead Know (Morrow)It's definitely time to drop the qualifiers when discussing Lippman's work. For years, the former Sun reporter—thanks to her popular series of Tess Monaghan...
Lafayette Gilchrist, Various Artists, and Chris Vazquez
Lafayette Gilchrist3 (Hyena)This disc is a departure from pianist Gilchrist's earlier work. As the title implies, it's a trio effort—piano, bass, and drums—without the horn section that's been...
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Greg Bottoms, and James Tigner Jr.
Kathleen Kennedy TownsendFailing America's Faithful (Warner)After a few pages—even a few sentences—of this book, I almost put it down. Here's how it opens: "Now, more than ever before, we Americans...
A freewheeling, old-time radio show highlights the Eastern Shore's cultural landscape.
"Are we having fun yet?" The tongue-in-cheek question elicits a smile from Van Williamson, but, uncharacteristically, the creative force behind Radio From Downtown doesn't have a clever rejoinder...
The JennifersColors from the Future (Beef Platter)This disc's cover art, a photo of a carefully constructed landscape of gumdrops, hints at the sugar-rush exuberance that infuses the Jennifers'...
Sherrilyn Ifill, Michael Kun, and Blaster Al Ackerman
Sherrilyn IfillOn the Courthouse Lawn (Beacon)A professor at the University of Maryland's School of Law, Ifill accomplishes two things with this important book, which focuses on the legacy of...
Tom BeckhamCenter Songs (Apria)A few years back, I went to New York to write about Baltimore native Joe Holtzman and his acclaimed magazine, Nest. While there, I met Beckham, Holtzman's ace graphic...
The Fretboard Journal and Derry Moore, Carl Skoggard, Joseph Holtzman
The Fretboard Journal (Number 4)When a guitar player friend asked if I'd ever checked out this magazine, I couldn't imagine it appealing to non-musicians like myself. But lo and behold, it's for...
