The unlikely fusion of rockabilly and gothic punk has produced some freakish results (Dallas’ own Ghoultown comes to mind), but Austin’s Hotrod Hillbillies only nibble at the nether regions of the mascara and tombstone crowd. The trio’s debut Under the Texas Sky is country punk saturated in Budweiser and infused…
At a recent show a barefooted Glen Phillips responded to requests from the crowd with a begrudging, I get it, you only want to hear the old Toad the Wet Sprocket stuff. He was only half right, because the crowd responded almost as well to the less familiar songs off…
Call the San Francisco dance scene eclectic if you want, but really, it has always been about house. In the past few years the dominant face of that scene has certainly become one Miguel Migs. Having a mug that could pass for a gardener on Desperate Housewives doesn’t hurt his…
Dallas Observer in-jokes usually don’t warrant mentioning in print, but this week, I’ll make an exception for our office’s Hot Dudes Wall. The music section receives a lot of goofy press photos, but we don’t just make fun of them–we stick the dumbest, campiest ones on a huge wall and…
1. In the beginning, the devil created heavy metal. 2. And it made white men and women worship him, causing them to eat bats, kill cats and carve pentagrams into their flesh. And the devil saw that it was good but that it had no impact whatsoever on black folks…
Talk about jumping the holiday gun–on Thanksgiving Day, Drams lead singer Brent Best was already impersonating Santa. The Dentonite had hitched his horse up to eBay (username: brentbest) to sell a few gems from now-defunct country-rock legends Slobberbone; highlights included a 1979 Guild S-300D electric guitar used on Barrel Chested…
It’s time to be frank: Everything I’ve written about Dallas hip-hop has been inadequate. The columns, the previews, the Dallas Observer Music Awards blurbs–chump change. I thought I was doing service to an ever-growing scene of performers around town, but on Friday night, I was forced to look the metroplex…
In “Who You’d Be Today,” a slo-mo ballad from his new album, Kenny Chesney wonders what life would have dealt a handful of dead people if they hadn’t died. “It ain’t fair, you died too young,” he sings in weepy close harmony, “Like a story that had just begun.” Penned…
Nothing’s worse than when bands hit the road together solely for convenience–labelmates get strapped together to save the boss man dosh on tour support, or MTV bands adopt buzzy newcomers to edge up their image. But every once in a while a double bill makes immediate, seductive sense, and the…
Looking for a more intimate experience than sitting on Santa’s lap at the mall this holiday season? A Grown and Sexy Christmas brings three R&B smoothies–old-hand singer-producer Babyface, hard-body heartthrob Ginuwine and new-jack quartet Jagged Edge–to the Nokia for a night of heavy-breathing melodies, bump-and-grind rhythms and determined proclamations of…
Though their name conjures up images of half-century-old pickers and grinners crowding a dilapidated front porch, the youthful and lively South Austin Jug Band adds some much needed rock grit to the new-grass sensibilities inherent in acoustic roots music. Sophomore album Dark and Weary World is country-folk with just as…
Dip into any scuzzy indie-punk dive right now, and you’re bound to bump into a noise-rock two-piece. They seem to spawn out of beer-stained floors all over the place these days, so it’s only a matter of time until the scene belches forth a duo with the potential to break…
Broken guitar strings are expected at a rock show, what with the slashing pick attacks and whole-step note bends. But how the hell do you break a cello string with a bow? By playing hard, I guess, which is exactly what the eight-piece Earlies did before and after the string…
Think the live album is a dying art, falling victim to rabid bootleg trading through the Internet and Pearl Jam’s 50,000 “official” bootleg releases a few years ago? Then you could probably use a reconfirmation, and luckily, five live albums released in the past month get the concept right. Consider…
After two blood-drenched decades, GWAR continues pleasing hard-core fans, slamming out thrash metal and gleefully beheading celebrity effigies in concert. But for Oderus Urungus and his mutant band of foul-mouthed space pirates (guitarists Flattus Maximus and Balsac the Jaws of Death, bassist Beefcake the Mighty and drummer Jizmak Da Gusha),…
Conspiracy theory: If you’ve flipped through our Night & Day section this week, you’ve already seen a jumbo-sized item about Saturday’s Art Conspiracy show at the historic Texas Theater–artists create works in only 24 hours, bands play, proceeds go to charity. Interesting stuff, sure. But music fans should take an…
Anyone confused by 2003’s worldwide Darkness phenomenon–How does a band this goofy compete with U2 on the charts?–shall remain so. The Darkness still has nothing up its spandex sleeve but exuberant hard rock and satire. Nevertheless, One Way Ticket to Hell…And Back does differ from the debut, Permission to Land,…
Lasting a long time in the music business is all about reinvention and supposed relevance, although icons like U2 or Madonna don’t even need quality output anymore to gain attention. But some still have to earn it after almost three decades–not that notoriously cranky Mark E. Smith, leader of the…
Why the hubbub about mash-ups? By its very nature, classic hip-hop is a mash-up; the DJ utilizes the best elements of his vinyl-filled crates to create a new yet familiar musical experience. No DJ embodies the best of that sensibility like Z-Trip, who brings his party-rocking, chunky break approach to…
August 22, 2010 Dear Sir or Madam: My name is Kanye West. I am writing to inform you of my intention to matriculate at the illustrious Chicago State University. Again. Yes, I’m that guy. The one who talked mad shit about higher education on The College Dropout and Late Registration…
San Francisco’s Heavenly States was the first American band to ever play a concert in Libya…barely. In February, the band’s Australian record label organized the trip as a super-sized chance at publicity, and unfortunately, it became just that–the barely-known quartet was put through every wringer possible, from missed flights and…
For a decade, Fort Worth native Andrew Kenny has led some form of the American Analog Set, Austin’s greatest contributor of ambient pop. But the body can only take so many cramped, smelly van drives across America, and with some members having family obligations, this coming Wednesday’s stop at Trees…
