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Unicorn Times

Unicorn Times

Unicorn Times was a free monthly paper published in Washington DC between 1973 and 1985. It covered all music genres from rock, jazz, blues and bluegrass to country, traditional folk, reggae, go-go ethnic and more, as well as film, theater, dance and art. Through interviews and reviews it covered national acts as well as local artists.

31 articles

List of articles in the library

By date | By artist | Most recently added

Danny Gatton

Interview by Richard Harrington, Unicorn Times, September 1974

SOMEWHERE ALONG the line, guitarist Danny Gatton played in a group called Fat Chance. That name may have been appropriate for the gentle portliness of ...

Gil Scott-Heron

Interview by Richard Harrington, Unicorn Times, June 1975

"I'VE BEEN doing what I'm doing for five years on records and for longer in my life," says Gil Scott-Heron, who seems to be approaching ...

Grin, Nils Lofgren: Nils Lofgren

Interview by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, September 1975

ON THE EVE of his upcoming nationwide tour, Nils Lofgren returned to his home turf August 16th, to preview his new band treating a small ...

Garland Jeffreys, Tom Waits: Tom Waits, Garland Jeffreys: The Cellar Door, Washington DC

Live Review by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, October 1975

THE NIGHTHAWK SOARS ...

Victoria Spivey: Queen of the Blues

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, Unicorn Times, December 1975

HALFWAY INTO her 70th year, Victoria Spivey is a queen with a diminishing court. She is perhaps the last of the great women blues singers, ...

John Cale, Patti Smith: Patti Smith: Critics' Choice? Recycling With Patti

Comment by Joe Sasfy, Unicorn Times, March 1976

PATTI SMITH and band are nothing more than some refried psychedelic/mysteriosio guitar fronted by some Shangri-La/Ronettes vocals emitting Doors/Rimbaud poetry — and they're great! ...

Asleep at the Wheel, Doug Sahm, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys: Doug Sahm, Asleep At the Wheel, Bob Wills: I Hear Miles and Miles of Texas

Overview by Joe Sasfy, Unicorn Times, October 1976

THE CHILDE Harold could have billed it as a mini-folk festival. Mini 'cause only two acts appeared, Doug Sahm and his Texas Tornadoes on a ...

Ry Cooder, Flaco Jimenez: Ry Cooder: Ry Talks

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, Unicorn Times, November 1976

IF YOU know Ry Cooder's music for its own brilliance, then you can be considered lucky. If you don't know it specifically, then chances are ...

Jimmie Rodgers: The Hard Times and Blues of Mr. Country, Jimmie Rodgers

Retrospective by Joe Sasfy, Unicorn Times, December 1976

IT'S REAL tough getting an angle on Jimmie Rodgers. Although he's been written about extensively — his short life plotted, his influences and influence crisscrossed, ...

The Damned, The Dead Boys: CBGB, New York NY

Live Review by Joe Sasfy, Unicorn Times, May 1977

I SawThe Damned And The Dead Boys And Am Alive And Not Angry By Joe Sasfy, Doctor of Rockology ...

Shaun Cassidy, The Damned, The Dictators, Eddie & The Hot Rods, The Hollywood Stars, The Sex Pistols, Snatch, Ultravox, Venus & the Razorblades: New Releases: The Kids Err Alright

Review by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, July 1977

REMEMBER "PUNK ROCK?" For a while there it was the supreme hip misconception — a much abused catch-all referring in general to any sort of ...

The Ramones, The Sex Pistols: The Ramones: Rocket to Russia (Sire); The Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (Virgin/Warner Bros.)

Review by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, December 1977

The Life-Affirming, Entropy-Baiting Ramones and Sex Pistols ...

Talking Heads Approach Art Rock from the Right Direction

Interview by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, January 1978

TALKING HEADS are certainly not the only rock group ever to be designated "intellectuals." They are, however, the first to wear that description gracefully; they ...

The Band, Rick Danko: Danko: Happy With His Band — And The Band

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Unicorn Times, February 1978

THE LIGHTS went down at the Cellar Door and the disembodied voice purred: "Please welcome to our stage, Arista recording artists the Rick Danko Group." ...

Blondie, Shaun Cassidy, Iggy Pop, Suicide, The Vibrators: New Albums: Best at the Theft — Suicide Outclasses Blondie

Review by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, March 1978

AMONG OUTSIDERS, the paramount issues of the punk/new wave movement revolve around stuff like clothing styles, politics, and the effect of massive success on a ...

Warren Zevon: Excitable Boy (Asylum 6E-118)

Review by Geoffrey Himes, Unicorn Times, April 1978

The Excitable Warren Zevon: Accidently Like a Rock Star ...

Pere Ubu: Punching the Music Time Clock

Interview by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, May 1978

IF A TELEPHONE pole gets toppled by lightning and no one hears it hit pavement, was there indeed any sound of "thud?" Yeah, don't be ...

The Rolling Stones: Stones Still Hungry After All These Years

Review by Geoffrey Himes, Unicorn Times, 1 July 1978

THE ROLLING STONES first crawled into our collective hearts as a teenage working class street punk band. And now, here are Keith Richard and Mick ...

ABBA, Blondie, Lisa Burns, The Heaters, Ronnie Spector: Albums by Abba, Blondie et al

Review by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, October 1978

Girl Group Sound Filters Back into Rock Scene ...

Devo, The Only Ones, The Ramones, Talking Heads: Don't Step On My Gray Canvas Shoes: New Albums from Talking Heads, Ramones, Devo et al

Review by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, November 1978

IN EXAMINING Talking Heads' latest release, More Songs About Buildings and Food (Sire, SRK 6058), we encounter a disturbing new twist upon several crucial new ...

The Cramps

Profile and Interview by Joe Sasfy, Unicorn Times, 1979

CONFIDENTIAL REPORT BY JOE SASFY ...

The Brides of Funkenstein, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Funkadelic, Parliament: George Clinton & The Funk Mob

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Unicorn Times, May 1979

GARY SHIDER and Mike Hampton held the stage at the Capital Centre in the fiercest rock'n'roll guitar duet in any local hall recently. Shider's fingers ...

Peter Tosh, The Wailers: Peter Tosh: The Bush Doctor is in

Interview by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, August 1979

  FIRST TACTICAL error: having arranged earlier in the day to meet with a long admired reggae legend at a given place and hour, I trust ...

The B-52s: On Target with the B-52s

Interview by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, December 1979

Setting their sights beyond Athens, Georgia ...

T Bone Burnett: Truth Decay (Takoma Records)

Review by Joe Sasfy, Unicorn Times, October 1980

Prime Cuts from T-Bone Burnett ...

Minor Threat: 9:30 Club, Washington DC

Live Review by Howard Wuelfing, Unicorn Times, June 1982

THEY RAGED; they soared; they conquered. In fact, the reformed Minor Threat very nearly surpassed the grotesquely high expectations everybody held for them on this, ...

Lester Bangs: The Immortal Lester Bangs

Obituary by Robot A. Hull, Unicorn Times, July 1982

"...but there is a death in the balance and you better look long and hard at it, you stupid fuckheads, you who treat life as ...

Rank And File: A String Tie And Safety Pin Affair

Interview by Joe Sasfy, Unicorn Times, February 1983

I LIKED Rank And File's music from the moment I heard a demo tape of theirs in Joe Patoski's livingroom in Austin in mid-1981. I ...

Nils Lofgren: Thirteen Views Of Nils Lofgren

Interview by Charles Bermant, Unicorn Times, December 1983

NILS LOFGREN'S LIFE can best be described by a poignant line from 'Like Rain', a song he wrote in his teens that he will probably ...

T Bone Burnett's Chapter and Verse

Interview by Charles Bermant, Unicorn Times, March 1984

T-BONE BURNETT STRIDES onstage alone, immediately sitting at the piano. He seems to strike a few soulful chords, wincing at every sound. He stands up, ...

The Go-Go's: Exclusive: The Go-Go's Papers

Interview by Charles Bermant, Unicorn Times, August 1984

Explicit Scenes of a Writer's Downfall ...

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