Jered Scott

20 years is a major milestone in any career, but in the music industry it's an eternity. Combine that with the fact that the three members of MxPx aren't even 40-years old yet and it's nearly unheard for a band to have existed for so long at such a young age. To celebrate their two decades together, the Bremerton-based trio is playing half a dozen shows on the West Coast, including a kickoff date at El Corazon on Saturday, May 26th, which will also raise money for local charity Thrive Through Cancer. We chatted with singer-bassist Mike Herrera about the band's longevity as well as their latest record, Plans Within Plans, which is their first on their own label, and their first since guitarist Tom Wisniewski and drummer Yuri Ruley stopped touring full-time. Here's what Herrera told us:

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David Black

Bethany Cosentino, the leader of L.A. duo Best Coast, is one busy lady. In between her summer-long touring schedule, Tweeting for her cat Snacks and releasing the band's hotly-anticipated sophomore album The Only Place, she's been focused on launching a clothing line for Urban Outfitters, something she's taken a lot of flak for from the same indie community that devoured the group's 2010 debut, Crazy for You, which placed it atop several end-of-the-year best lists. We were, however, able to pin Consentino down long enough to have her to answer some of our questions via email, where she riffed on her indie backlash, her favorite California bands, and the time David Letterman asked about her cat. Best Coast play the Neptune Theatre on May 22nd.

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Like The Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, Vancouver, Canada's Real McKenzies combine their love of traditional Celtic music with the blazing tempos and sing-along melodies of punk rock. Their latest album Westwinds is the most accomplished of their 20 year career and brings the band to El Corazon on May 18th for their first U.S. tour in seven years. We caught up with frontman Paul McKenzie on the eve of their departure, and we chatted about their latest album, the downside of wearing a kilt on stage and the band's two decades together.

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At 64, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is still living the rock & roll dream. He's still making records and still hitting the road like he did as a wee lad. And his songs are still finding generations of new fans enamored with his heady themes and his flute-flecked rock music. 40 years after its release, Anderson has issued Thick as a Brick 2, a sequel to Tull's best-known work, an over-the-top concept album told through the eyes of an 8-year-old boy that was released as a response to the era's prog-rock indulgences. And the sequel may just mark the longest timespan between original and sequel in rock history. We chatted with Anderson as he prepared to take the album on the road, discussing rock & roll flautists, the war in Afghanistan and his first time in Seattle, when he was opening for the MC5. Though there's no Pacific Northwest date on Anderson's upcoming tour, Thick as a Brick 2 is available now.

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Todd Roeth

Having toured alongside acclaimed songwriters like Steve Earle, M. Ward and Josh Ritter, Joe Pug is carving out a niche for himself not unlike that trio of storytellers. With his soulful voice as the hook, Pug's songs are filled with flawed characters that struggle to move through life just as we all do. This week he'll issue his sophomore record, The Great Despiser, which was accompanied by a move to Austin, where the songwriter hopes to soak up some of that city's rich musical history. We chatted with Pug about the move, his new record and his favorite Capitol Hill dining establishment, where you'll likely find him and his band before their show at the Crocodile on Saturday, May 5th. Here's what he told us:

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Moshe Brakha

Devo, circa 1981, on their New Traditionalists tour.

There are a lot of great releases on tap for this year's Record Store Day from a wide-ranging list of artists. Whether you're into The Grateful Dead, Metallica or Miles Davis, there's pretty much something for every kind of music fan. But few selections will send collector nerds racing to the bins as quickly as Devo's contribution, Live in Seattle 1981, a 2xLP recorded on their New Traditionalists tour that was pressed from a recording found buried in a box by the band's longtime archivist. The release is limited to 2,000 copies and was recorded at the Seattle Center Arena, which became the Mercer Arena in 1995. We were lucky enough to get Devo's Gerald V. Casale on the phone to discuss the record, the 1981 music scene and why the band shied away from opening acts.

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Scott-Toepfer

More than any of the other punk rock singers cum troubadours, Chuck Ragan of Gainesville, Florida's Hot Water Music, has forged his own identity outside of the band that made him semi-famous. Both projects share similarities, namely Ragan's honest songwriting and those sandpaper vocals, which found his voice particularly gravelly on the morning we spoke. With renewed activity from Hot Water Music, who will issue a new record in May, and as the founder and headliner of The Revival Tour, which hits El Corazon on April 15, and which also features Tom Gabel of Against Me!, Ragan has been busy. He found a few minutes, however, to chat about his latest solo record, his favorite things about the Pacific Northwest and the effects his schedule has been having on his voice.

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Brooklyn noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells had a rapid rise to success, becoming hipster heartthrob darlings on the back of their debut LP, Treats, a noisy blend of thrashy guitars and pop melodies that received glowing reviews from the music bloggerati. The band has just released their follow-up, a more diverse collection of songs, called Reign of Terror, which the band will bring to Seattle at the Showbox SoDo on April 8. We caught up with the male half of the duo, guitarist and producer Derek Miller, to chat about the expectations for the record, his love of Def Leppard and the current state of hardcore.

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Todd V. Wolfson

Let's get this out of the way up front: Kathleen Edwards is dating Justin Vernon of the Grammy-winning Bon Iver, who also produced her latest record Voyageur, which she wrote while going through a divorce. But that's hardly the whole story.

The Canadian singer-songwriter has been releasing great Americana (Canadiana?) records since 2003, when she was discovered at SXSW after years of touring across Canada as an unsigned act. Her latest LP is her biggest departure yet, combining the lusher textures of Vernon's production with her tuneful country-rock. We chatted with Edwards about the record, her time spent in Seattle with our own John Roderick, and her heard of cats. Edwards plays Neumos on April 3rd.

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Rodrigo y Gabriela have one of the great success stories in recent memory. After growing frustrated with the Mexican metal scene, the guitar-shredding duo abandoned their metal sound -- and their country -- for the more-musician friendly city of Dublin, where they cultivated a hearty following in that city's pubs and street corners until being discovered by Irish folkie Damien Rice. Success followed, as did a quartet of well-received albums, which defy classification as they zigzag across influences from thrash metal to flamenco. Their latest album is Area 52, which re-works some of the band's previous material for a 13-piece Cuban orchestra. We caught up with the male half of the duo, Rodrigo Sánchez, to chat about the record, his thoughts on their next one, and his favorite Seattle vegan joint. Rodrigo y Gabriela play the Paramount with C.U.B.A . on April 3.

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