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Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

All content by Trey Irby

The Bear, Doc Dailey, and Magnolia bring Shoals sound to Tuscaloosa

Trey Irby April 19, 2012

If I were obnoxious, I would mention that Muscle Shoals has one of the secretly great music histories in the United States. I would say bands like the Rolling Stones would sneak into town to record great...

After Tuscaloosa Get Up, what comes next?

Trey Irby April 4, 2012

About two weeks ago, the Bama Theatre’s Tuscaloosa Get Up show sold out the venue and truly created a wonderful, emotional experience among one of the city’s greatest nights. While my thoughts on the...

Tuscaloosa Get Up benefit show offers best of Alabama music

Trey Irby March 21, 2012

While tickets are already sold out to the Bama Theater’s Tuscaloosa Get Up show on Friday, the show’s anticipation is still worth covering. Actually, hold on a second. I want to ask you a question....

Music of 2012 not yet as good as music of 2011

Music of 2012 not yet as good as music of 2011

Trey Irby March 1, 2012

While 2012 has not yet produced the type of brilliant music that made the last quarter of 2011 so special, there have been an impressive number of interesting records worthy of your listen. Here are a...

Grammy performances range from authentic to absurd

Trey Irby February 15, 2012

If there were three basic things to take away from the 2012 Grammy Awards, they would be as follows: 1. Willie Nelson can make me cry watching a Chipotle ad. 2. Jennifer Hudson can make me cry singing...

Performance: the career killer

Performance: the career killer

Trey Irby January 18, 2012

One of the chief lines in the 2003 Richard Linklater film “School of Rock” involves the idea that “one great rock show can change the world.” The line is both a mantra and a throwaway joke, considering...

The best of 2011: "Strange Mercy" tops list that includes Gaga, G-Side

The best of 2011: “Strange Mercy” tops list that includes Gaga, G-Side

Trey Irby December 7, 2011

I know that list making does that annoying thing where I try to quantify art by saying one thing is somehow more valuable than the others. I also know that this framing device is pretentious, and that...

Music to think about

Trey Irby November 16, 2011

Sometimes it is extremely difficult to honestly critique music. It may be because you’ve developed a friendship with the people involved, compromising any attempt at a more distant critical view. You...

Ham Bagby provides experience to a youthful scene

Trey Irby November 2, 2011

When meeting local musicians in Tuscaloosa, many students are surprised to find that these artists are in the same age range as they are. The guy who wrote “Sassprilluh Champagne” is barely out of...

Passive responses are not solutions

Trey Irby October 13, 2011

We clearly don’t know what to do. In lieu of the recent horrific racist chalking found at Moody Music Building on Tuesday, a tepid email was sent to us by UA President Robert Witt. To no surprise, his...

St. Vincent's 'Strange Mercy' one of year's best albums

St. Vincent’s ‘Strange Mercy’ one of year’s best albums

Trey Irby October 12, 2011

On the track “Surgeon” from St. Vincent’s third album “Strange Mercy,” Annie Clark says, “Best, finest surgeon, come cut me open.” Clark’s lyrics come from a quote said by Marilyn Monroe...

Alabama Shakes' have energetic sound

Alabama Shakes’ have energetic sound

Trey Irby September 28, 2011

Last Wednesday night, it seemed as if Green Bar in Tuscaloosa was approaching fire code capacity. The building, which is legally maxed out at 150 people, hosted Alabama Shakes, a band from Athens, Ala....

Oxford American concert a strong showcase

Oxford American concert a strong showcase

Trey Irby September 14, 2011

I’ve always thought a truly great live show can turn a mere building into a visual and aural experience, transforming that venue into a memory. This might be the experience I’ll feel several years...

Alabama musicians pick the best of fall

Trey Irby August 31, 2011

In honor of the new semester, I decided to talk to a couple of fine musicians about their recent favorite albums from the state. I will pass the floor on to them to comment. Reed Watson The Secret Sisters...

Turntable, Spotify turn music into a social experience

Turntable, Spotify turn music into a social experience

Trey Irby August 3, 2011

Forms of media (movies, television, music, et al.) tend to go in these strange cycles almost entirely independent of what it is hyping in terms of quality. Great things get embraced somewhat by accident,...

Tornado serves as inspiration for two local musicians

Tornado serves as inspiration for two local musicians

Trey Irby June 22, 2011

"I feel like I could tell the weather was getting bad,” said Tuscaloosa musician Joshua Folmar. Folmar and I are standing right outside of Egan’s as he recounts the story of what happened to him on...

Embracing differences will help Tuscaloosa heal

Trey Irby June 1, 2011

The toughest thing to learn in the midst of tragedy is how to really care about the more pedantic things in life, like opinions on the arts. Of course, I personally wasn’t thinking about new records...

Hackberry Records disconnected from Tuscaloosa

Trey Irby April 27, 2011

As the school year closes, it always feels like a series of departures. For better or for worse, Tuscaloosa is shaped (or destroyed) by the people who stay here for four years of their life. And unfortunately,...

Callooh! Callay! discuss creating new music

Trey Irby April 19, 2011

"We're going to play some songs." Adam Morrow, lead vocalist of Callooh! Callay!, opened our little chat with that line, and while he meant it as a joke response parodying bad interview questions, it...

Tuscaloosa Music Diary: A primer for a perfect weekend

Trey Irby April 12, 2011

Egan’s To make a ridiculous and probably flawed comparison, Egan’s is our own little Austin, Texas. In a city of typical Southern culture, it is our weird area. Metalheads, hipsters, outsiders and...

‘Friday’ preys on our insecurities

Trey Irby March 23, 2011

We are exactly the same. What I mean is that we have the same mindset in trudging through the school week to get to Friday, to the weekend, and partying (or drinking or studying). Fun and partying (in...

Young band embraces music of the past

Trey Irby March 3, 2011

Five men in suits cornered me outside of Egan’s on Saturday night. Normally, this is petrifying for a human being, as it seems like the beginning of every mob movie ever made. Thankfully, the guys weren’t...

Sparrow and the Ghost proud to be old school

Trey Irby February 16, 2011

I knocked on the door of Reed Watson’s apartment and was immediately greeted by a fierce cat. The cat, named Otis, was a stray – only a few weeks old – picked up by Watson outside a Barnes and Noble...

The Civil Wars attract crowds to Oz Music

Trey Irby February 10, 2011

Record stores aren’t known for packing in the people these days. They hopefully get enough money to get by, but they tend to please the “quiet browsing” crowd. But on Saturday, Feb. 5, Oz Music...

Tuscaloosa Music Diary: Blaine Duncan one of Druid City’s finest musicians

Trey Irby February 2, 2011

Blaine Duncan accidentally introduced me to Tuscaloosa’s music scene. Back in August 2009, I was assigned to write a story about a band that I had never listened to before. The band was called Blaine...

Blaine Duncan, songwriting and culture

Trey Irby February 1, 2011

Blaine Duncan accidentally introduced me to Tuscaloosa’s music scene. Back in August 2009, I was assigned to write a story about a band that I had never listened to before. The band was called Blaine...

Ten best albums of the year

Ten best albums of the year

Trey Irby January 18, 2011

10. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang While it could be considered “more of the same,” the branch of great stories and upbeat rock ethos of vocalist/lyricist Brian Fallon and his men makes this...

Kanye, criticism and whatnot

Trey Irby December 1, 2010

I have to admit I’ve felt a little sick the past few days. You see, I still actually pay attention to reviews from major media, because I guess I have nothing else better to do with my day-to-day life....

Surprisingly good albums released this year

Trey Irby November 9, 2010

Two months are left in 2010 and it already feels like the year is over. Of course, big albums are supposed to come out in this period because of the holidays, but other than Kid Cudi, not much good is...

Entertainment: West’s ‘Runaway’ ridiculous and unfunny

Trey Irby November 1, 2010

I wish I could have no problems with Kanye West. The guy was at one point a quiet force of hip-hop with a good ear for rhythm. But something set him off. Whether it is success, tragedy or just pure ego,...

Classical identity often overlooked

Trey Irby October 26, 2010

Let’s talk about football. Relax, there is still music discussion, but I want you to think about your Sunday habits. Presumably, you watch football and thus watch CBS’s coverage of the NFL. (And if...

Stern’s music is solid, but limited

Trey Irby October 12, 2010

So-called “progressive rock” is one of the most redundant genre titles in all of music, since no one else ever refers to “regressive rock,” or to what they view as music beholden of clichés, thus...

Tuscaloosa teeming with music

Trey Irby September 28, 2010

“This song is called ‘Memphis,’ it’s about Nashville.” With those words, Blaine Duncan and the Lookers went from extremely solid to amazing last Friday night as they opened for Lee Bains III...

VMAs an affront to all music fans

Trey Irby September 14, 2010

“Remember when MTV played music videos?” This is the dumbest question that is most constantly asked by anyone in their 20s, because, no, I have no memories of an all-music channel. No students at...

Cheap sports gamers unite!

Trey Irby September 2, 2010

This economy hasn’t helped sports gamers at all. If you buy the entire collection of Electronic Arts sporting games made for this year, you’ve spent a good few hundred dollars. As it turns out, that...

Local music is not dead

Trey Irby August 31, 2010

I hope you’ve read a letter to the editor by Reed Watson, co-owner of Hackberry Records (although, he would argue it is more a creative agreement than a traditional label). In it, Watson writes out a...

Vapid pop music isn’t always so bad

Trey Irby August 17, 2010

I will admit to you early on, dear reader, that I’m not too hot on pop music. I really don’t have a good excuse other than not liking the beat, auto-tune, or the look of the artist. Of course, better...

'Suburbs' an instant classic

‘Suburbs’ an instant classic

Trey Irby August 3, 2010

After three agonizing years of wait, the Canadian-American group The Arcade Fire has finally brought a new record to the world, titled “The Suburbs.” To those unfamiliar with the baroque pop band’s...

Where has all the metal gone?

Trey Irby July 15, 2010

            While it is true that we are in a different time and place for music than in times past, it still seems like major exposure for “popular” groups is as commonplace in the modern climate...

Mellow Mushroom to show Lightboxes

Trey Irby July 8, 2010

An art exhibit of chilled expression will take place at the Mellow Mushroom on Thursday night at 9 p.m., as Elliott McPherson showcases his “Lightboxes” for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Art Show. Rabid Tuscaloosa...

Jupiter hosts 17th Floor

Trey Irby June 17, 2010

Illinois-based group The 17th Floor is bringing their genre-bending set list of covers and originals to the Jupiter Bar and Grill this Friday night. Boasting over a decade of experience and a reputation...

Sleigh Bells new album Treats dazzles

Sleigh Bells new album Treats dazzles

Trey Irby June 9, 2010

Sleigh Bells new release “Treats” comes off of a massive wave of Internet hype and a label connection with highly acclaimed hip-hop savant M.I.A. (of “Paper Planes” fame). Sleigh Bells brandishes...