One is unlikely to find a more varied sampling of roots music than this crowded bill at Uncle Calvin’s. Serving as a preview for The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival that takes place in Okemah, Oklahoma, July 11-15, this performance features recognizable names and others that should be. Maines’ claim to…
Modern R&B ballads aren’t so much created as they are conjured, transmitted like electricity through cable lines and radio waves in blasts of wispy melodies and soft sexuality. With the exception of old-school revivalists such as Amy Winehouse, little thought is given to the idea of an R&B auteur. But…
Back in the day, love-gone-bad drove country crickets like Skeeter Davis to declare the “End of the World” or Sandy Posey to bemoan the fate of being “Born a Woman.” But nowadays, Amy LaVere—delicate and demure as she sounds—would rather take her man out than take it on the chin…
The members of Lez Zeppelin are used to audiences’ skepticism. “They don’t expect anything much—they think it might be a joke, they think it might be fun or kitsch, but they really don’t expect a real, heavy-duty, Zeppelin-like experience,” says Steph Paynes, who assumes the role of Jimmy Page. And…
Hailing from Australia and describing themselves as a “symphonic/ gothic/classical act,” Virgin Black are a dour quartet who revel in all that is dark and doomy. Requiem—Mezzo Forte, the band’s just-released effort, is the third component of a brain-spinning five-part trilogy that’s equally confusing and impressive. Rowan London leads this…
OK, we’re officially jealous of Austin. Oh, the “Music Capital of the World” can suck it as far as South by Southwest is concerned. And all those venues they’ve got—well, shoot, who wants to be surrounded by that many hipsters anyway? But one thing Austin’s got that we ain’t is…
One of last year’s most overlooked albums is full of soulful lullabies about the fleeting nature of life and love. Ghosts and faded lovers populate the dreamy and haunting melodies of As Tall as Lions’ self-titled Triple Crown Records release. With frontman Daniel Nigro’s vocals hovering often in the upper…
Don’t let the fact that you don’t speak Spanish keep you away from Grupo Fantasma’s show. The Austin-based group’s Latin/dance/funk/rock/reggae/R&B/Afro-Cuban style translates really well. (If only they could think of a short name for it.) The 11-piece band has one mission: Make everybody dance! During the last six years, Grupo…
The Granada Theater, Saturday, June 23: Gusts of air conditioning bat around bouquets of red, white and blue balloons, grouped in threes and fours. Many have been set free and bob lackadaisically around the ceiling. A swollen sold-out crowd melds into one entity, but occasionally a single individual peels away:…
Spune me: Don’t shoot your wad at the ACL Fest this September, as Spune Productions Wall of Sound Festival is slated for the weekend after (Saturday, September 22, to be exact). In their ever-teasing ways, the Spune-ites are revealing the lineup in a series of announcements rather than all at…
Somewhere in Helsinki, Jyrki 69 is stoked: He’s leaving momentarily to see Mötley Crüe. “The world can’t be bad after all,” he muses. Take some Danzig, some Iggy, some Nick Cave. Throw in an Elvis hiccup and drop it what seems like an octave, and you no longer have a…
For almost 20 years, the Supersuckers have been playing their brand of full-throttle punkabilly, praising everything associated with sex, Satan, booze and drugs with a rancorous glee that borders on psychopathic. Over the course of a dozen releases, Eddie Spaghetti, Rontrose Heathman and Dan “Thunder” Bolton have made up for…
Ah, Independence Day. It’s a day to reflect on America’s freedom, watch fireworks and stuff our faces with as much grilled meat as humanly possible. So, obviously we need a holiday playlist for the inevitable barbecue. As we all know, barbecue sauce is better in Texas. Grilling is better in…
While absorbing the Blueshammer ersatz and pheromone-scented metallurgy of Icky Thump, the White Stripes’ sixth record, it’s hard not to long for the candy-stripped sibs who once sat in that little room, working on something good. Remember them? Way back before the supermodel weddings, Nashville mansions and sundry side projects?…
Longtime friends Bucky Goldstein and Poppa John Tucker formed Sodajerk in Pittsburgh in the late ’90s, intent on proving that country music didn’t have to suck. Very reminiscent of local legends Slobberbone and Old 97’s (when Rhett Miller and crew worshipped Johnny Cash more than the Beatles), Sodajerk has remained…
Former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul hasn’t made much noise of late, and for good reason: His brother and bandmate, “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, was shot and murdered onstage in late 2004. Hellyeah marks Paul’s return, and his stick work is as fierce as ever. If only this would-be supergroup were as…
Not sure what the deal is with the Dallas Christian bands’ tradition of insisting on reverb-drenched guitar that echoes—literally—the Edge, circa 1988. It’s fine most of the time, if derivative (what isn’t these days), and when well-executed can actually be quite enjoyable, as Dallas’ Strike Four demonstrates. But the real…
Dante DeCaro (Hot Hot Heat and Wolf Parade) fronts Johnny and the Moon, a pleasantly engaging and sloppy folk/rock ensemble from Canada that doesn’t recall much of DeCaro’s previous associations. Featuring such unconventional instrumentation as toy piano and wind chimes, the band’s self-titled debut is a beautifully cluttered mess, with…
Boasting a deliciously sloppy, feedback-peppered oeuvre, Dallas’ the Sheena Militia has found that magical, unexplainable chemistry wherein the familiar becomes new again. Exene Cervenka-esque vocals lurk deep in the mix as fetching guitarwork kicks post-Joan Jett ass. There’s a tinge of riot grrl sensibility sneaking through the power chord-based songs…
Whenever there is an event with the name of a radio station in the title, followed by the words “summer jam,” it’s going to be a young and “urban” affair. And, of course, by music industry standards, “urban” means black. With the exception of Grammy-nominated Paul Wall, all the performers…
I wanted to create a ‘chill out’ record,” says Glen Reynolds about In Between Days, his solo debut. “I wanted to sing about things that I enjoy.” The former Chomsky guitarist is currently living in Stephenville where he and his wife are attending college. Promising to return to Dallas once…
Stewart Copeland—father, filmmaker, film scorer. This summer, he is making a return to a past life, reuniting with Andy Summers and Sting for one more record-breaking go-round with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame power trio the Police. Though it’s been almost 25 years since the Police toured, they…
