Call this one New Weird Denton 101. There’s quite the Back to School promotional push in area venues this month, and Rubber Gloves’ Free Week is as good as it gets. Six tasty days of mixed local and national bills culminate Saturday night, with this all-local pileup that can’t be…
Zayra Alvarez was axed on national television Wednesday, August 16. At approximately 8:20 p.m. the Puerto Rican native and Dallas resident launched into a high-energy version of Blue October’s “Razorblade” on Rock Star: Supernova, but it couldn’t save her from a deftly wielded Tommy-hawk. Alvarez was tragically denied and Supernova…
“I have 20 songs already written for my next album, and I’m just getting started,” Matthew Pryor says. Seems like the front man and founder of the New Amsterdams is off to a good start…except when you take into account the fact that he hates his own songs. Wait, really?…
“One. One. One. One or two won’t do. No, I want it all.” From the moment M. Ward’s smoky, Technicolor voice kicks off “Poison Cup,” the first song on his sixth album, it’s clear that he’s reaching for the brass ring. Already one of the best singer-songwriters of the aughts,…
The first thing you notice when talking with singer-songwriter Richard Buckner is how cheerful he sounds, quite in contrast to his bottomless singing voice and brooding stage presence. “It must just be all the coffee I’ve had today,” Buckner deadpans. Speaking from his Brooklyn apartment a few days before starting…
If we’re all caught under the penny loafer of Christian fascism sometime soon, the Thermals’ vision of a hectic dash for the Canadian border, pursued by evangelical thought police, will be vindicated. As it is, The Body, The Blood, The Machine comes off a little like theories of migrant invasions…
When rapper/actor Ice-T released the first Body Count effort in 1992, critics snickered at the formulaic metal as the world at large hollered about “Cop Killer,” the “pivotal” track that was eventually removed from future pressings by the record company. Ironically, neither the rap nor metal audiences ever responded to…
Looking for a solid rap show in Dallas? Good luck finding more than one per week. Saturday’s diverse showcase at the Gypsy is the only big-time MC show for the next few days, but don’t be fooled by the lack of competition. Proven Detroit rhymester Baatin (ex-Slum Village) heads the…
The Spinal Tap quip about the thin line between clever and stupid holds truer than ever in these postmodern days–really, it can be the height of arch hipsterism to elevate the utterly uncool into totally rad kitsch. And what could be squarer than the tuba? But this Austin-birthed and now…
Hailing from Long Island, this photogenic four-piece infuses its brand of emo with a modest British influence as well as a rewarding hint of ’70s album rock. Touring in support of their appealing self-titled sophomore effort, ATAL’s line-up has finally settled after losing two members last year. Vocalist Dan Nigro…
If rock bands were required to inventory their ingredients in descending order of prominence, like on a bag of Sun Chips, most would list vocals first, then guitar, then bass and drums. Math-metal godfathers Don Caballero’s list of ingredients would be noticeably inverted. Most of their songs are composed on…
The first time I ever went to famed music venue Trees was in 1997. The pony-tailed bouncer looked at my brother’s driver’s license and ran through the series of pointed questions…the ones that get asked of underage kids carrying fake IDs. My brother was tan and skinny in the photo,…
LOST: America’s Sweetheart. 16 years old. A bubbly, tumbling pixie. Last seen in Athens, Greece, wearing a captivating smile and three Olympic medals. Starbucks, of all places. Making the impossible look cutesy, Carly Patterson does a couple twisting round-off back flips and winds up stealing our headlines and hearts. Then,…
Never a good sign when movies aren’t screened far enough in advance for weeklies to review them, but in the case of a hip-hop duo’s film, how does that affect the accompanying album? Soundtrack might not be the right word, since this hour-long romp is delivered as an overt “we…
The stats alone nearly boggle the mind: 41 songs, including numbers by Roger Miller, Robbie Robertson, the late Syd Barrett, Flat Duo Jet Dexter Romwebber and Texas Playboys Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan. And 23 guests such as Jon Spencer, Neko Case, Mekon/Waco Brother Jon Langford, The Band’s Garth Hudson,…
Three months ago, Sorta accepted its first Best Act in Town distinction at the Dallas Observer Music Awards, a major validation for a band that consistently produces some of the best music in this city–but also somewhat of an albatross. Because almost overlooked in the “Best Act” hoopla is the…
Hailing from Cincinnati, this eccentric but muscular quartet features ex-Afghan Whigs bassist John Curley, but the soul of the group is singing guitarist Austin Brown. Brown’s jittery personality, fiery lead work and darkly impressionistic lyrics make All of This and More, the band’s sophomore effort, more than a sum of…
Former Dentonites the Riverboat Gamblers have recently played so often in the area, you might think they moved back from Austin. That’s fine, really; each show is a unique display of acrobatic rocktacity (and take bets on where, when and how badly someone in the band will injure himself). On…
Dentonite Mike Dillon has injected his wildly ornate percussive stylings into a host of talented and eccentric pseudo-jam bands over the years–Ten Hands, Billy Goat, Critters Buggin and Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade, just to name a few. Manhandling everything from bongos to marimbas since he was a wee lad of…
Lingering hangovers usually make for little motivation to leave the house on a Monday night, but local one-man arena-accordion-rock phenomenon turned New York sensation Corn Mo returns to Dallas to kick your Monday night’s ass. Since leaving for the big city in 2001, Corn Mo has been weaving his mystical…
Daughter of Billy Swan (known primarily as a sideman for Kris Kristofferson but who also had a wonderfully sublime ’70s pop-country hit with “I Can Help”), Sierra is a Kate Bush-inspired chanteuse who trades in confessional balladry and high-pitched theatrics, stuff that might send most reasonable sorts scurrying in search…
“So did he cry during the interview?” It’s the first question my friend asks after I spend the afternoon talking to James Hand. Uh, yeah, tears welled up in his eyes not once but twice during our talk. But then again, aren’t genuine tears the ultimate sign of credibility for…
