If you look up the word “Ragonk” in the dictionary, well, you won’t get very far. That’s because Ragonk isn’t actually a word. In truth, it’s more of a meme. So what the hell is up with Trees hosting a concert this weekend (and one with a pretty damn good…
2014 was a pretty good year for Redwood Studios. The Denton recording studio, co-owned by Midlake members McKenzie Smith and Joey McClellan, played host to the sessions for some of North Texas’ biggest albums of the year, including Sarah Jaffe’s Don’t Disconnect and Bethan’s debut full-length, Time Gone By. And…
The first time I met Ryan Tharp was at Wingstock 2014. Amidst the chaos and buffalo wing sauce Tharp and his band were doing a soulful, yet somewhat experimental set — bluesy, but with a certain tinge of Radiohead. So when I managed to wrangle a preview copy of Tharp’s…
Today, millions of people know HeadKrack and his unmistakable voice from his syndicated radio show, the Rickey Smiley Morning Show. He and the show’s namesake have been hosting the program, which airs out of Atlanta, for the better part of a decade, and it’s a nationally recognized authority on hip…
And now the wait is over. After months of anticipation, this morning The Bomb Factory revealed the plans for its grand reopening party to be held this spring. Leading the way: Perhaps Dallas’ greatest living musical treasure, Erykah Badu, will play the historic Deep Ellum venue on Thursday, March 26…
Oliver Sheppard is a different kind of DJ. He’s more of a selector in line with radio DJ’s like John Peel or Allan Freed, but far more niche. Sheppard leans heavily towards the dark and gloomy side of rock music and, through his Wardance, Folk Division and Postpunk Happy Hour…
Bands with a classically trained composer often add an element of avant-garde flair to the mix. Well, Pansy Moon has four of them, and it’s readily apparent in the conceptual and nontraditional pieces of work they generate. By juggling melodic motifs, contiguous story arcs and thoughtful themes, the group creates…
We’re a few weeks into 2015 now and mostly settling into our post-New Years ruts. Er, grooves. We’ve either started following through on whatever resolutions we set for ourselves or already decided, “What the hell, I didn’t want to have to exert myself anyways.” Either way, good for us. But…
For years now, “Big Gus” Samuelson has been as busy a musician as can be found in North Texas. Whether he’s playing with his longtime band Swampadelic or flying solo, Samuelson, who also works as a DJ on KHYI 95.3 FM (we even gave him an award for it!), currently…
Legends come in many forms. For Shaka, it came as a three-round rifle burst of projectile vomit. It’s the kind of spectacle that stuns bar patrons and catapults you from a random out-of-town band directly to cult status. That level of infamy that causes a venue to beg you to…
Dallas and Houston have a bit of a rivalry going on. Montrose vs. Lower Greenville. Texans vs. Cowboys. Bla vs. Bla. Blah Blah. Who Cares vs. *Fart Noise*. Let’s get to the real matters of substance, the pressing questions, the logical debates. Simply put: Which city has a better hip-hop…
A few blocks down from the intersection of Washington Street and San Jacinto Road, outside Bryan Street Apartments, Donny Domino loiters on his phone. He’s speaking to Freddy Sans, the producer/engineer-directed singer, at the Dojo 45 recording studio. It is here that the Team From Nowhere sound is created and…
It doesn’t take anything more than a few people, a couple of instruments, and a little inspiration to put a band together. Usually, though, there is some vision, some guiding force like a genre or message that compels musicians to get together and start making music. In the case of…
Foley may be the most accomplished musician in Dallas that you’ve never heard of. He’s toured with George Clinton, Miles Davis, and performed with several bands on the 1993 Lollapalooza tour. He recorded albums for Motown and performed on countless talk shows and award shows. At 52, Foley, who grew…
Colin Theall is amongst the younger talents in the Dallas DJ scene to emerge in the past few years. Theall is very much a product of the newer generation of DJs. That’s not always an advantage, but in Theall’s case he has a gifted ear for solid floor tracks, tracks…
Sometimes, periods of inactivity and awaiting inspiration are the perfect breeding ground for an artist’s best and transcendent material. For the garage-punk energy of Oklahoma’s Broncho, their pop-laden fortitude lay dormant in tangible form for three years between the release of their debut LP, Can’t Get Past the Lips, and…
Amid the clatter of diner plates, Claire Morales methodically eviscerates her waffle into equal-sized square morsels, explaining that she’s trying to be a “cutting ahead” waffle person instead of a “cut as you go” type. As a graphic designer by trade, it’s definitely not the strangest habit she could have…
Google “police kill unarmed black man” and it garners about 3,560,000 results in 0.38 seconds. This is an issue that further divides America. Police are more or less one of the top three most trusted professions in the country. There are those who trust the police force unquestionably and unconditionally,…
Hey everyone, remember 2014? It wasn’t all the long ago. In fact, there were some really great records and songs that came out in 2014, and earlier this week New York’s The Village Voice put an exclamation point on matters with its annual music critics’ poll, Pazz + Jop. The…
With 15,500 square feet of floor space and 100,000 records, Josey Records is more affordable and less boutique than many other record stores. In fact, it’s already the most ambitious record store in Dallas. It has a DJ booth with a weekend DJ series, which has quickly made it a…
Rachel Gollay comes in out of the cold and into the lounge at the Live Oak Music Hall in Fort Worth’s trendy, gentrified Fairmount neighborhood. In spite of the cold, she decided to brave the trip on foot. Meeting Gollay, “rock star” isn’t the first thing that enters your mind…
John Bullard has been in love with music ever since he could remember. As a child, he grew up listening to such staples as Cat Stevens and James Taylor, music his father would play for him, nurturing his fledgling music appreciation. “I can’t play an instrument or anything, but music…
