Seated behind a folding table in the small lounge at Lee Harvey’s, next to the Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga arcade game, Mark Griffin is flipping through a book of CDs, trying to pick the next song when two 30-something guys walk in, halt in their tracks and stare at him for a…
Rocky Athas with the Lightning Strikes.Rocky Athas has been playing the blues for almost 40 years. The Oak Cliff native grew up with another legendary string bender, Stevie Ray Vaughn. Athas’ band, Lightning Strikes, was an area blues/rock mainstay and Athas recently re-cut their debut for a European label. Athas’…
The Hourly Radio is down one member as guitarist Ryan Short announced his departure. In a letter sent out via the band’s mailing list, Short stated he “… realized that as great as this was and as much I believed in where we could go from here, it was just…
Erv Karwelis over at Idol Records announced that they will be hosting their own official showcase at South by Southwest March 14 at The Wave. Expected to play are label artists (duh) Black Tie Dynasty, The Crash That Took Me, Mitra, Glen Reynolds, Watershed and P.P.T. Karwelis also mentions that…
While the Old 97’s were just recently in Dallas finishing up work on their next CD, those who need a quicker fix of frontman Rhett Miller can pick up the newest issue of Harp magazine. No, there won’t be a five page photo spread of the camera-friendly Miller, but included…
All you fake (and I guess real) guitarists who feel stage worthy after hours of playing Guitar Hero III, your time has come to display your talents. The Industry Bar will be hosting their Guitar Hero III Tournament for you to pit your shredding skills against Slash and other pixelated…
All the old big guns seem to be on the road. We just had Billy Joel and Van Halen and now we’re expecting Bruce Springsteen. AEG Live just sent out word that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are heading this way as well. Petty will be free fallin’ his way…
Janye Anderson as Gladine and Paula Coco as Cornelia in “Breaking It Down Old School,” part of Nipples to the Wind. (Julia Gerace) Any play including the word “nipples” in the title piques our attention, of course. And Paula Coco’s clever collection of monologues Nipples to the Wind certainly deserves…
Funk songstress Sharon Jones.Sharon Jones January 27, 2008 Granada Theater Better Than: The Super-fly doppelganger of Adam West performing the Bat-tussi on Soul Train. In support of their third independently released album, 100 Days, 100 Nights, funk revivalists Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, played a vibrant and smooth variety-style…
This weekend was a blur – the good kind. There was drinking, dogs, dancing and, oh yeah, Diamond Dave. Dig in: Hooch and Pooch by Kitchen Dog Theater Jay Breaux, Laura Sears and Lee Trull at Hooch and Pooch. Check out 20 photos from the party. (Melanie Gomez) The folks…
Keller Williams and WMD’S January 25, 2008 House of Blues Better Than: Spending your evening trimming Grandma’s corns for gas money. Before I dig into the show, let me first drop my disclaimer: Going into the House of Blues I was about as familiar with Keller Williams and WMD’S as…
Denton’s Uptown BumsYour dad’s favorite songwriter, Robert Earl Keen, plays Billy Bob’s Texas tonight; hard-rockin’ has-beens Van Halen will disappoint an arena full of nitwits Saturday; and former Fugee Wyclef Jean performs Sunday at the House of Blues while soul singer Sharon Jones performs with Amy Winehouse’s backing band, The…
On a Friday afternoon one week after the Transoma Five reunion show, Sloppyworld is doing a fantastic job of living up to its name. It’s dark and filthy, lit only by a few barely functioning fluorescent tubes. Dozens of bottles—empty, half-full or broken—litter the floor and every horizontal surface. Hundreds…
Sharon Jones doesn’t sugarcoat her words. “I’ve been to six funerals [recently]. I’ve sung at four,” she says. The 51-year-old soul singer has seen tough times lately, from her brother’s death and her mother’s stroke to the loss of many close friends, but she’s as resilient a survivor as you’re…
FADE IN: INT. MGM GRAND PENTHOUSE SUITE, LAS VEGAS (NIGHT) The camera lingers on the full-length windows and panoramic view of the glittering Strip below before slowly panning around the lavishly appointed room. WOLFGANG VAN HALEN sits on an overstuffed couch, playing Halo 3 on the room’s giant flat-screen TV…
Along with his backwoods drawl and folksy demeanor, singer and guitarist Malcolm Holcombe displays an alarming and plainspoken intensity that mirrors his passionate songs and performances. “It’s a fucked-up America,” Holcombe says. “I just try and put songs together that I think are befitting our time of crisis.” Driving through…
For Every Day is a quartet of really young guys from Flower Mound whose music contradicts both the members’ ages and their faith-based associations. Normally, religiously infused rock (especially that of the emo-punk variety) succumbs to vague references to finding the light and a limpid infirmity that makes one question…
North Carolina native Michael Holland has been an Americana sensation for more than 15 years, both as a solo performer and as a member of the acclaimed Jennyanykind. His most recent effort, Simple Truths and Pleasures, may be the best overall collection of folk, bluegrass and country he’s ever put…
Since releasing 2005’s Descending Like Vultures, Rogue Wave has found itself the victim of circumstances that pretty much measure up to its name. There was the split with Sub Pop, the record label that, among other successes, brought the San Francisco band exposure on TV shows such as Weeds, Friday…
Droning, disorienting, ominous and sometimes satirical, Dallas noise collective Loop 12’s sound-art compositions (the term “music” might be a bit restrictive here) definitely aren’t for everyone. Rickety analog tape equipment meets looping software as the musicians and artists compose these psychedelic soundscapes on the spot for each performance. The 10-minute…
With hip-hop increasingly a boys-only drug cartel, it’s not surprising that the top urban hit makers are increasingly females in the R&B genre. Like Alicia Keys on her recent chart-topper As I Am, Mary J. Blige plays things safe on her own new blockbuster CD, Growing Pains. The album functions…
In the ’70s, when Austin City Limits was just getting off the ground, Craig Calvert and Connie Mims brought Wheatfield to the Hill Country stage and found immediate success. Wheatfield’s slick, acoustic folk was the perfect panacea for those burned-out hippies looking to mellow out along the Colorado River. Eventually,…
