What happens when a Burton-sponsored Olympic snowboarder irreparably tears his ACL (knee) at the height of his career? My guess is that most boarders would just retreat to the backcountry for a while to hole up in haze of frustration, and eventually open up an overpriced snowboard camp for kids in Tahoe. However, if your best friend and fiancée is the hotter-than-hot musician Santogold, and she helps you rehab by channeling your rebellious snowboarder mentality into songs, you might end up finding your second calling. That’s exactly what Trevor “Trouble” Andrew did a little over three years ago, and now his group is shredding stages (and the occasional slope) with their fresh crunk-rock sound. After a show last week at the Mercury Lounge, members of Trouble Andrew sat down with us in the venue’s bunker-like basement. Amongst beer boxes filled with empty bottles, Trouble Andrew, guitarist Joao Salamao, and bassist Masa took us behind the music.

Lady Gaga, nee Stefani Germanotta, is a 22-year old New York native singer/songwriter whose debut album, The Fame, features dizzyingly danceable tracks like the aptly titled, “Just Dance,” “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,” and “Paparazzi.” Thanks to a high/low art musical mix-n-match, and a futuristic glam-girl persona, the musically trained Gaga (whose name is a play on Queen's "Radio Gaga") is inevitably headed towards major superstardom. After starting with open-mic nights at the Bitter End and becoming a must-see act on the New York club circuit, she quickly landed a major deal with Interscope Records. Here's our candid interview with the disco sister, and don't worry, we didn't know who Joe Biden was either.

From the get-go, one notices Diesel founder Renzo Rosso’s two R tattoos bedecking the knuckles on the ring finger and flip-‘em-off finger. In response to my comment (cool tats), Rosso answers, “They are my initials,” in the way he answers all questions: coolly and matter of fact. Other facts -- Diesel turns 30 old this year. Fact: Diesel has more jean variety than Baskin Robbins has ice cream flavors. Fact: Diesel stores always have loud music roaring, often spun by an in-house DJ. Personal fact: My first encounter with Diesel was courtesy of Vanessa, the Venezuelan exchange student in 9th grade, who blessed the halls of Asheville High (North Carolina) in the sickest pair of rocker jean shorts I’d ever seen.