Tampa Bay Times
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Weekly bylines previewing the best of Tampa Bay's live music calendar.
Ray Roa
Verified
As seen in:
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Ray Roa’s Journalist Portfolio
View as a gridIt's Tampa Time This Summer
Daily Beast
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Heat is an inescapable part of Tampa's essence, and while visitors this summer will sweat profusely, they'll also be out experiencing the rich, understated history, natural beauty, and one-of-a-kind food and drink of this fast-rising Southeastern metropolis. These suggestions will help you wring every last drop out of the season, guaranteeing you'll fall into autumn bursting with more knowledge about a place that is much more than the cigars and outrageous pirate parties that the rest of the world seems to know it by. Get Learned Tampa is a cultural melting pot built on the backs of immigrants, residents of historic black neighborhoods, plus every snowbird and soccer mom that calls it home.
Ray Roa | Creative Loafing Tampa
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
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Bylines for Creative Loafing, one of the best sources for events in Tampa, Tampa Restaurants, Tampa concerts and shows, Tampa Visual Arts reviews, Tampa news and opinion.
Cigar City Brewpub, St. Petersburg rock band team up for new beer
Tampa Bay Times
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New World Brewery, on any given night, is occupied by musicians entertaining patrons whose taste buds are awash with some of the best beers the world has to offer. The sounds often come from a local artist, and with the Tampa Bay area's craft brew scene growing exponentially, the suds are usually local too. A serendipitous mash-up of all of those elements will happen in Ybor City on Friday when St. Petersburg indie rock quartet Alexander and the Grapes arrive at New World to celebrate a new 7-inch single (on beer-colored vinyl) as well as the release of their own signature beer brewed and bottled by the Cigar City Brewpub.
Review / setlist: John Mayer shuts up, lets his guitar and songs do the talking at Tampa's MidFlo...
Tampa Bay Times
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Thanks to TMZ, John Mayer may never, ever, be able to live down the things that have escaped his own stupid mouth. But in a world dominated by the clickity-clacks, swipes and snaps of our connected devices, he put the sideshow on hold long enough to stage a performance that was simply ... musical. "I want you to be free," Mayer, 35, explained to his adoring fans at Tampa's MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on Saturday, before launching into Vultures, from his 2006 LP, Continuum, "I want everyone to be so busy dancing that the person next to them can't take a picture and put it on Instagram."
CL Music Issue: Hardcore/Punk/DIY
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
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Consider this: away from the cover charges and security guards, there exists a world where art and music are made purely for art and music's sake. There aren't liquor licenses or curfews to fret over, and the idea of a band guarantee is laughable at best. "The first real house show I went to was in Ybor. I went to see balls-to-the-wall noise rockers Loins - they were my absolute favorite," says John Freda. The 21-year-old plays in St. Pete punk outfit Just Satellites and helps run Fuzz Factory, a multi-purpose space in St Pete's Dome Industrial Park.
David's a Goliath
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
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David Dondero will be nursing a broken right hand when he arrives in Tampa to headline Summer Jam Music Festival. He earned it a month ago after punching a bar in Annapolis, Md. And before you dismiss him as a reckless troubadour wasting away his talents in dive after dive, take a moment to hear his side of the story. "I was angry about the [Aurora, Colo.] shooting and heard these guys piping up about how they still support guns," he explained in a recent CL phone interview.
Review / photos: Jason Mraz gets easy, breezy and a little political, at 1-800-Ask-Gary Amphithea...
Tampa Bay Times
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How does someone that spent the early 2000's cutting his teeth on San Diego's coffee shop circuit end up packing 20,000-seat outdoor sheds on a recession-era summer tour? If his name is Jason Mraz , then the answer lies in simply being his own goofy, relaxed self. On Tuesday, the 35-year-old Mechanicsville, Va.-born songwriter arrived at a cool and breezy 1-800-Ask-Gary amphitheater on the fourth stop of a tour supporting his fourth major-label album, Love Is A Four Letter Word. Joining him were shrieking fans of all ages, races, and even genders.
Dancing in the sunlight
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
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ANTI-ANTIWARPT Date: Fri., July 26, 2012 The Lowdown: An inevitable reaction to the original Antiwarpt's rapid growth, the first-ever edition of this free fest -...
Music Issue: They've got the St. Pete Beat
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
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Aristotle once said, "Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope." And while "hope" seems to be a dirty word in today's hazy economic times, two young St. Petersburg residents - Ryan Zarra and Ryan Grosjean - are helping breathe just that into the 'Burg's already blossoming music scene. Both film school products, the 22-year-olds are responsible for St. Pete Beat - a year-old series of music videos showcasing some of the city's most promising talents performing in some of its lesser-known locales. Shot in a grainy yet aesthetically rich tone, the series already boasts 16 clips and serves as visual documentation of the youthful energy powering St.
Ray Roa | Consequence Of Sound
consequenceofsound.net
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Bylines from time at consequenceofsound.net
Interview: Wayne Coyne (of The Flaming Lips)
consequenceofsound.net
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The Flaming Lips have been ruling festivals for at least the last two years now, and while one might think that the band could get sick of delivering the spectacles they call their live show day in and out, just 20 minutes with the Lips' charismatic frontman Wayne Coyne is a pleasant reminder that every day is an adventure for the band, which has now been around for the better part of three decades.CoS recently caught up with the 50-year-old Oklahoma native and hit upon topics like the band's upcoming appearance at Moogfest, being a Twitter-powered Flaming Lips news outlet, and what kind of surprises they have in store for their fans (a potential Nick Cave collab included).
Moving into St. Pete's burgeoning Warehouse Arts District
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
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Flanked on the left by an art installation dubbed "TV Mountain" and on the right by stacks of completed canvases, Venture Compound founder Jesse Vance sits on a salvaged yellow couch and confidently states one of the goals of his multipurpose art space. "We want to change the way art and music is perceived, bought, and sold," says Vance, 27. "We want artists to stay in St. Pete, and we need people to buy their shit." Venture's art director, Bradley Kokay, who's 34 but looks about half a decade younger, presents the objective even more bluntly.