Critic's Notebook

So apparently the suburban dream isn’t dead. It’s just that it’s moved from Plano to Irving. Last week, fans of the Suburbia Music Festival, which enjoyed a respectable and generally promising first year at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve in Plano, were dealt a blow when it was announced…

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, isn’t it? No, we’re not talking about the holidays, although those are OK too. We’re talking about the 26th annual Dallas Observer Music Awards, which kick off with a showcase this Saturday in Deep Ellum followed by the award ceremony and concert…

‘Tis the season for locally crafted holiday compilation records. That’s how it goes, right? Er, never mind. Dallas label Hand Drawn Records just put out a holiday-themed compilation album, The Holiday Record, that’s been getting more clicks than a Cyber Monday flash sale. Hand Drawn Creative Director Dustin Blocker organized…

This week’s mixtape brings the focus onto scene vet Josh Kynd. As a DJ, producer, promoter, label owner and vinyl retailer, he has been a cornerstone of the Dallas scene for two decades. Along with his partners Jason Ramirez and Johnny Leake, he runs the Our House Collective, which has…

It’s late on a Thursday evening in early November, and as the setting sun fills the sky, an old gray sedan glides down Interstate 35. Tiny Texas towns whisk by: Abbot, Milford and, home of the oh-so-famous kolache heaven Czech Stop, West. Get lost scrolling through your favorite social media…

In just a few more days, it all happens: The 26th annual Dallas Observer Music Awards. This coming Saturday, we’ll round up more than 60 of our favorite bands from North Texas and cram them all into venues around Deep Ellum for the Chevy Music Showcase North Texas Presents the…

One of the most challenging periods in the development of any musician is known as “the plateau.” It’s when the musician’s initial approach to his instrument leads to a dead end, a dearth of inspiration and progression that can be extremely frustrating. Some musicians get so fed up during the…

Tonight the Kessler Theater plays host to small bit of North Texas music history as Centro-matic embark on their last together as a band. As things stand, it’s set to be their final appearance in Dallas, and for the Kessler’s artistic director Jeffrey Liles it’s an important occasion, a bit…

If you spend much time at Crown & Harp these days, chances are you tend to associate the place with Moody Fuqua. He’s there pretty well every night, and while his job is technically general manager and talent buyer, you can often catch him slinging drinks behind the bar. Over…

Jason Vasilas has been mixing it up on the decks under the alias JV for almost a decade and a half. With over 20 releases, all on vinyl, JV is another local vet with a significant body of work, but who is known and played mostly far outside of the…

Is the suburban dream already over? For festival organizers in Plano, it’s certainly become much more of a long shot. After only its first year, the Suburbia Music Festival, held last May at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve, has lost the support of festival organizer LiveNation. It’s a blow…

Going to a hockey game is fun for a lot of reasons: The breakneck pace of the game, the physical game play, the fights, the goals and the music. Let’s face it: Hockey has always had a bit of a leg up on the other North American sports for music…

Brass Tacks is a new barbershop in the heart of the Bishop Arts District that people actually enjoy waiting in. Grab a stool or relax in one of the ridiculously comfortable chairs, have a hot or cold beverage and watch a fun ’90s film on the TV, something like Desperado…

There is something almost magnetic about a good sad song. According to science, that irresistible attraction to songs that make us a little teary eyed comes from our brains’ penchant for nostalgia. When we hear sad songs, we think of better times, and in turn actually end up happier than…

There is an undeniable American fascination towards New York City, and perhaps from the world, where everything and anything could be a cultural metaphor. For better or worse, the pulse of this metropolis continually re-kindles creativity in everything from cuisine to art to fashion. And music. One such band with…

Problem Dogg is an anti-band. They take every chance to challenge the audience by using multiple bass lines, hosting frantic shows and unleashing a terrifying energy on listeners. Continuing this trend, the band released a 49-song anthology album last week, collecting all the tracks the band has written in the…

Eight years ago, Rhett Miller’s brother, Ross, also a musician, felt compelled to figure out how he and his famous brother could help a friend of his. A wife of one of Ross’s friends was battling cystic fibrosis, so the two Millers got to work on a plan that would…

Being in a band is a full-time job. Anyone who has played in one will tell you this. Between jams to write music, rehearsals, recording and gigging, it is exhausting and taxing. The trouble with playing in a band is that musicians see very little from it, aside from a…

On Thursday night, the Deep Ellum on Air show Local Over Everything began its second season. The show’s hosts Rodney Blu, Mo the Bear and Simon Phoenix brought in Dallas rapper Blue, the Misfit to mark the occasion. The show has done well with its unconventional, but authentic program format…

Seal Bass is part of an extreme minority amongst Dallas DJs. He plays techno in its purest form. While he’s not so well known in the regional DJ circuit, Seal Bass has over 20 years’ experience behind the decks. He still plays vinyl and his breadth of knowledge of classic…

Since early Saturday morning, the people of Dallas are momentarily retiring their auxiliary cables and tuning into not one, but two new radio stations, both specializing in a virtually untested format. As we reported Monday, both Boom 94.5 FM and Hot 93.3 FM made an unprovoked about-face early Saturday morning:…