I can remember DJ Laz being on the air at Power 96, in some form or another, since I was in elementary school in the early/mid-Nineties. Much like his home station itself, I really didn't expect him to go anywhere. Still, Beasley Broadcast Miami, who owns Power 96 (and 99.9 KISS Country and Sports Radio 560), wants to make sure you know that. The company announced yesterday that DJ Laz has signed on for at least another two years with the station, in the same time slot he currently occupies. So, at least through August 2010, you'll be able to get your fix every weekday morning from 5:30 to 10 a.m. (For extra credit LOLZ, try to answer a bemused parent's question, "But why is it called 'The Morning Pimp Show?'") -- Arielle Castillo

As a recent purveyor of South Florida’s finest strip clubs, I’ve been taking stock of songs that are currently getting the most spins. As some people know, strip clubs are now ground zero within certain genres to find out what tracks are hot--often before they even make it into radio rotation. Most of the strip clubs DJs I've been interviewing keep these songs on their short list of songs to play and strippers are coming up to request them frequently as well.

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Churchill’s (5501 NE Second Avenue, Miami; 305-757-1807) Monday night Jazz Jam, winner of our 2007 Best of Miami award, is not a well-kept secret. It’s more like an institution. But a reminder is still in order: if you haven’t gone, you’re missing some of the best regularly-scheduled live music in Miami.

The first time I went, the band was made up of white-haired old white men, guys that looked like they retired here. They played upbeat, trumpet-heavy jazz, like what you might expect from an excellent wedding band.

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The Sword and Clutch
With Never Got Caught and Graveyard
Friday, September 26
The Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale

Better Than: Not discovering the awesomeness that was Graveyard.

The Washington, D.C.-area quartet Clutch have been around since about 1991, and have seemingly been on the road ever since. That's a long time in which to explore a number of different sounds along the hard rock spectrum, and in which to gather a seriously hardcore following. As such, Clutch could tour with just about any heavy band, and take a great number of them on the road. So it was interesting to discover the tenuous common thread that held Friday's acts together: the blues. Well, sort of.

In fact, the acts seemed arranged along a spectrum, beginning with the Boston band Never Got Caught. Although the core of the band -- Bryan and Bill Hinkley -- were the backbone of that city's hardcore legends Tree, they seem to have gone a little softer, errr, more "mature." Although their recorded tracks boast some interesting twists and churns, live on Friday, playing to an anemic early-evening crowd, they sounded (and looked) more like a blues-inflected bar band than anything else. Not unpleasant, but nothing to write home about. My companion and I were momentarily impressed by the Orange brand double stacks behind them, until we realized they were turned off, and most of the equipment seemed to belong to the following acts, Graveyard and The Sword.

Graveyard, in fact, were the greatest surprise discovery of the evening. With their impossibly long hair, almost skeletal frames, and worn-out flannels, they looked as though they could be the Sword's Austin, Texas neighbors. The funky accent that issued forth from the frontman's lips, however, sounded Scandinavian. Score! The band actually hails from one of my favorite cities on earth -- Gothenburg, Sweden.

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John Hood

Henry Rollins speaks to a crowd gathered at Revolution in Fort Lauderdale Sunday night.

Henry Rollins
Sunday September 28th 2008
Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale

Better Than: The same ol’ hipster shtick.

Fitting that I’d have to drive through a torrential rain storm in order to catch the latest from Henry Rollins, I mean, the cat’s a fuckin’ force of nature. It’s also quite fitting that he’d stage in a place called Revolution. Not that Ol’ Henry’s a revolutionary, mind you (though he has had his revolutionary moments), but because if a revolution ever went down, it’s a cinch he’d be posted right along the front lines, stomping heads with the best of ‘em.

And last night up in Broward, the cat stomped some heads alright, and stuck it to The Man with a ferocity that cored his very marrow.

To be fair though, The Man – by which we mean the white men who continue to run America into the ground – does make for a rather easy target, what with his ridiculous wars, despicable viewpoints, and untenable raping of the Constitution. And Henry doesn’t fail to call him on every one of his transgressions. In fact, The Man is the very reason Rollins is on the road in the first place. As he told me in last week’s interview: “[Bush] and I have done eight years together,” and “I just wanted one last lap around America while [he’s] still in office.”

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Sayre Berman

Fergie performs as the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, as part of the Ambassadors of Rock Tour. Click here to view the full slideshow.

Fergie Ambassadors of Rock Tour And VIP Party
Friday, Sept. 26
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, Hollywood

Fergie's The Duchess. Fergie's a fashion maven. Fergie's good to sick kids. Fergie knows how to work the crowd. Bottom line? The girl's got it going on.

On Friday night, the California girl, whose real name is Stacy Ann Ferguson, and best known as the frontperson of hip-hopsters the Black Eyed Peas, put herself front and center in a night that showed her rap side, her rock ‘n’ roll side, and her ability to sing a ballad. And did we say she's good to sick kids?

OK. Here's the sick kids part. An hour before showtime, Fergie made an appearance at a VIP party inside the Hard Rock Café where she helped to present a check to the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. A portion of the proceeds, $20,000 to be exact, from her performance that evening went to the kids' care facility down the road from the Hard Rock in Hollywood.

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Jason Handelsman

Cash Money Records CEO and co-founder, Ronald “Slim” Williams.

Last night, Miami’s Hobie Beach – located on Virginia Key, just over the Rickenbacker Causeway -- was filled with tour buses, Maybachs, an orange Lamborghini, a couple of Bentleys, and some limousines. Lil Wayne was in one of the tour buses, as this was to be the video shoot location for his hit song “Mrs. Officer,” a song about making love to a female police officer, with classic lyrics like, “All she wants me to do is fuck the police.”

The film crew set up as a group of real police officers gathered around a police car. The red and blue sirens flashed, and their faces glared at me as I took out my camera. “I do not want to see my picture on the internet,” said one of them, as I put the camera back into my pocket.

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Friday, September 26:

*Smart-guy metal bands the Sword and Clutch play at Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale. Click here to read more about both.

*The South Dakota-based, Nakota nation band Indigenous performs at the Seminole Hard Rock, blending classic rock riffage with Native American traditions. Click here to read more about it.

Saturday, September 27:

*Up during the -- gasp -- early evening? There's some free live music at Sweat Records, starting around 8 p.m., courtesy of Sirens & Sealions and some other new local acts. Just don't melt. Click here to read more about the event.

*Henry Rollins, formerly of Black Flag, doesn't seem to play much music today, but he sure loves to talk. Check out the first of two nights in South Florida, at Revolution in Ft. Lauderdale, of his latest spoken-word tour. Click here for more information about it.

*If you haven't attended a Notorious Nastie event lately, tonight is as good a night as any: the Collision Music and Art Festival at PS14 presents Mod'Lone, Fitzroy, the Down Home Southernaires, and a bunch of other multimedia excitement. Click here to read more about the event.

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One of my favorite things about the Friday night party about the Vagabond is its mixture of just enough live music -- one band on the patio a week -- with the usual DJ fun. But beyond that, since the party is co-presented by Sweat Records, the live lineup is always excellently curated. The Sweat folks have got a knack for finding new, local bands seemingly out of the woodwork that are actually also quite good.

Tomorrow night's fare veers away from the usual shiny-indie-type stuff with a performance by Vivalevox, who describe themselves on their MySpace page as "punk/rockabilly/blues." Pretty accurate, only instead of being costumey rockabilly about hot rods and stuff, this is more like quality roots music, with a lot of surprisingly rollicking acoustic guitar. Think, weirdly, something like early Against Me! visiting early Birthday Party, but on Prozac and a lot of whiskey. That's fun stuff, folks, and it'll be interesting how the sound fleshes out live.

You know the drill: the Vagabond is at 30 NE 14th St., cover is $5 from midnight to 3 a.m., and ages 21 and over are welcome with ID. -- Arielle Castillo

We're exhausted just thinking about the packed weekend schedule ahead of us that we aren't sure if we'll survive come Monday. But that's the fall season for you. Things are finally in full swing and there are so many things to do that we're sure we are leaving out plenty of other amazing things to do around town. But let's try to sift through all the bullshit and because here is what you'll want to check out this weekend:

Atlanta DJ Klever will be back in town tonight. Last time the man was here, he played at a semi-empty White Room (for shame), but we are sure The Vagabond's (30 NE 14th Street, Miami) Money Shot party will attract a sizable crowd. But Klever is definitely reason enough to go out tonight -- trust us. Also, we are hearing around this will be the last weekly Money Shot party, as it turns into a monthly special event party after tonight.

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It was really cool talking to Henry Rollins over the phone. The man has the gift of gab, and he spoke non-stop for almost twenty minutes. In this episode of PrunkTV, we talk about last week’s guest, HR of the Bad Brains, and pumping iron. He also told me about his travels in the Middle East, why he is voting for Obama, why he thinks McCain will win, what music he is currently listening to, and the books that he is currently reading. If you are interested, well, go check out his spoken word performances this weekend at Revolution.

Also, check out my article on Rollins in this week's issue of the New Times.

-- Jason Handelsman

It all started out as a pleasant Sunday. Lauren Reskin, owner of Miami staple Sweat Records, was trying to relax two weeks ago and enjoy her lone day off. Unfortunately, the day’s tone changed dramatically when she swung by her business for a quick meeting and found out that her beloved record store had been vandalized and robbed.

Thieves had stolen the computer, cash, artwork, video projector, and even the used CD bin. “I might have started hyperventilating a little bit,” recalls Reskin, “then I got on the phone.” The police came soon after and took fingerprints. Reskin put out the bat signal: an army of volunteers emerged to help clean up.

Sweat was set back roughly 15 grand by the tragedy. Since they’ve never given up before, though, you can be sure that Reskin and crew won’t be stopped now. Local musicians Jesse Jackson and Animals of the Arctic jumped into the relief efforts. They put together tonight’s mega fundraiser show at Churchill’s (5501 NE Second Ave., Miami), and since love is infectious, soon more bands than could fit on the bill were volunteering their services.

Here’s the line-up as of press time: Jesse Jackson, Animals of the Arctic, Raffa & Rainer, The Down Home Southernaires, Rachel Goodrich, Dino Filipe, The Electric Bunnies, Little Beard, and Tee Pee. The seven dollar cover goes to keepin’ Miami all good and Sweaty, so go and bring a posse. Doors at 8:30 p.m. Visit www.sweatrecordsmiami.blogspot.com.

-- Jamie Laughlin

J. Thompson

The Sword are a hard-hitting, sludgy, but epic quartet from Austin, Texas, who are preoccupied with very metally subjects like Norse mythology and the science fiction writings of George R. R. Martin. And irony be damned, they’re damned serious about it. “It's not a joke at all,” says the colorfully named drummer, Trivett C. Wingo. "You could say, like, how serious was Led Zeppelin when they recorded 'Immigrant Song?' They were pretty damn serious."

Taking the dirt-sifting textures of doom metal but giving them an amphetamine kick, the songs on the band’s second and latest album, Gods of the Earth, seem somehow crushed by the weight of gravity, but also about to break free from its grasp. For various reasons – perhaps its alt-heavy hometown, its relative good looks, its penchant for properly fitting clothing – the band has been, occasionally, tagged as “hipster metal.” Those who would wield that term, however, would be ashamed to use it in front of one of the band’s biggest fans: none other than Lars Ulrich, of Metallica. He’s just taken the Sword on tour with his band in Europe, and will take them through Metallica’s high-profile U.S. tour this fall. Who’s laughing now?

New Times caught up by phone with Wingo recently to discuss the band's latest album, its current tour with Clutch, and its upcoming opening slot for Metallica. The full interview follows after the jump. -- Arielle Castillo

Clutch and the Sword perform with Graveyard and Never Got Caught. Friday, September 26.
Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Lauderdale. Doors open at 7 p.m.; tickets cost $19.99 in advance. All ages. 954-564-1074; www.cultureroom.net and www.ticketmaster.com

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It’s possible that the musicians of Washington, D.C.-area punky, metally, bluesy hard rock quintet Clutch do not know how to take a break. They blasted out of the gate running in 1991 with a seven-inch single, “Passive Restraint,” snagged a deal with EastWest Records, and hit the road. Since then, across 12 albums, they’ve often forgotten to come home, building a near-mythical reputation for explosive live shows, whose bootleg recordings are coveted and traded by the band’s legions of fanatical followers.

Led by the slightly gruff, but doggedly determined Neil Fallon, the band has touched the near-mainstream a few times, most notably in the earlier part of this decade with the albums Pure Rock Fury and Blast Tyrant. However, its unpredictable music evolution, traversing everything from stoner rock to hardcore to blues, as well as Fallon’s uncompromising, obtuse lyrical references, have kept Clutch firmly in cult territory. It’s just fine with the band members, though, who have severed ties with their most recent label, DRT, in favor of distributing their latest live DVD/CD combo, Full Fathom Five, through their own web site.

New Times caught up with Fallon recently by phone to discuss the band's regained autonomy and current tour. The full interview follows after the jump. -- Arielle Castillo

Clutch and the Sword perform with Graveyard and Never Got Caught. Friday, September 26.
Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Lauderdale. Doors open at 7 p.m.; tickets cost $19.99 in advance. All ages. 954-564-1074; www.cultureroom.net and www.ticketmaster.com

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So today, new R&B sensation Jazmine Sullivan has her debut album, Fearless, available in stores worldwide. She's got a voice that's at times, reminds me of Lauryn Hill like on the song above, "Need You Bad," and at other times, she's unlike anyone I've ever heard.

The Philadelphia-raised singer used to be on Jive Records (signed when she was 15), but got dropped (at 17) before ever getting to release an album. She was on her way to obscurity when Missy Elliot re-discovered her and helped her get a deal with J Records. And now, with lot's of marketing dollars behind her, Jazmine Sullivan is getting lots of play.

Check out the video above, and if you like what you see, head to the Florida Room inside of the Delano hotel this Thursday. Doors are at 10 p.m, the shows starts when the vibe inside is just right.

--Jonathan Cunningham