2014 has been a great year for High Rollaz, the hip hop duo consisting of Word Life and Accomplice. Aside from playing a host of shows around Dallas, they also played gigs all around the country, including at SXSW in Austin and A3C Festival in Atlanta. They’ve also shared bills…
It’s been more than two decades since Warlock, the godfathers of Texas metal, dominated stages at places like Rascals, The Ritz and Tombstone Factory. But this year marked their return with a reunion show at Diamond Jim’s Saloon in August. Now, with a new CD in the works, the band…
Corey Adamson, aka RCA, is a true soldier of the ever bustling, forever hustling Dallas drum and bass scene. It’s a scene that is still going strong for well over a decade. His DC9 mix pays heavy tribute to the earliest jungle roots of drum and bass, a tastefully old…
2014 has been a pretty good year for Dallas music. It’s a bit of a cliche for the members of any music community to say their scene is “on the rise,” but around here it’s pretty hard to argue with. Bands have signed to labels, venues have opened, festivals have…
Understandably, life is a bit crazy for the fast-traveling members of Seryn right now. Even after driving for hours on end following a sold-out show in Telluride, Colorado on Sunday night, making the choice on where to have dinner Monday night wasn’t a completely easy one. Most of them wanted…
Every week, Free Man owner John Jay Myers and his band, the Free Loaders, play a gig at The Standard Pour, and every week he makes the same joke: “If you like what you hear, put $100 in the tip jar. If you don’t like what you hear, $20 will…
For most of the year DJ Santa Claus is better known for his infamous day job, but in his off time he plays secret gigs under fake names to the delight of many club and festival goers. The popularity of his mixes influences people’s listening habits every winter. Although he…
Improvisation is a bold tool of the trade that some live performers would just as soon leave to jazz musicians or comedy troupes. Abandoning rehearsal and preparation for spontaneity could expose one’s true creativity, or lack thereof. But Kenny Withrow, guitarist of North Texas’ prominent Grateful Dead tribute act, Forgotten…
Being immersed deep within in a music community is not as glamorous as people make it seem. The connections you make with people are often not very deep and sometimes flimsy. People come and go so quickly that it is a never-ending revolving door of personalities. Sincerity and authenticity, despite…
A balmy August evening. Civil Recording studio in Denton. The unthinkable has happened to Denton band Power Objects: Lucy the cat has gone missing. Vocalist and guitarist John Gillespie describes it as, without a doubt, their darkest hour. But Michael Briggs’ notorious feline assistant was thankfully found. And Power Objects…
After weeks of nearly getting cut, then getting cut by his own coach, and then another stealing him back, Craig Wayne Boyd won season seven of The Voice Tuesday. Born in Mesquite, Boyd performed “The Whiskey Ain’t Working” during his blind audition, prompting coaches Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams to…
There are veteran DJs and then there are guys like Michael Todd. Todd has been a constant force in the Dallas DJ community for 26 years. At one point or another, he has played almost every spot you can play in DFW thanks to a variety of guest slots and…
For Aviation Cinemas co-owner Barak Epstein, the Texas Theatre is an integral part of the Dallas film and music scene. And he has a pretty damn good point: The historic theater screens 35mm prints of cult-classic films, has a full-service bar that serves movie-themed drinks complete with a safe-room art…
The band is called Narrow Head. You probably haven’t heard of them yet. You will. Formed in 2013 by guitarist and vocalist Ryan Hughes, bass player Jay Chary, Houston’s guitarist and vocalist Jacob Duarte and drummer Keaton Khonsari (since replaced by Houston resident Carson Wilcox), Narrow Head has become a…
15 years ago, Chad Davenport and Simon McDonald were working at the old Muddy Waters on Greenville Avenue and wanted to start a charity. It was near Christmas time, so a toy drive made sense. That first year’s event, which was held at Muddy Waters, was a success, and in…
We know what you’re thinking: “Stop writing about St. Vincent.” “She doesn’t live in Dallas.” She’s not even from here.” Well blah, blah, blah. Annie Clark cut her teeth as a musician here in North Texas, she identifies as being from here and even still splits her time between here…
How’s this for an album release party? A band records a concept album about an elephant that was killed by Thomas Edison, and releases an accompanying “wordless graphic novel” that helps fill out the poor creature’s story. The band then decides to celebrate the release not at, you know, a…
Rungs of records balance on every flat surface, coils of electronic cables stretch every which way, threatening to snatch at your ankles. A studio’s worth of musical gadgetry frames the room, flirting with certain free fall. But I’m more concerned with what hangs on the wall. I try to shake…
Brain Gang, Dallas’ premier rap collective, has received a lot of press for their rowdy presence, charisma and ambition. Boasting eight members, its ranks were loaded with talent and the drive to make a real impact in the music world. 2014 has been a banner year for members of the…
Blake Ward is one of the busiest DJs in Dallas, with four different weekly events and recently taking up the management of his new Four Four Booking agency. He has a longstanding Saturday night Glamorama gig at Beauty Bar, plays every Friday at Boxwood or Zaza, hosts a newish party…
There you have it, folks. Yet another Dallas Observer Music Awards has come and gone, and hopefully it was a memorable one. We laughed, we cried, we even had a prom. Between the crowning of our prom king and queen and the ambush performance of the End of the World…
I stumbled on Avant Age in the unlikely hip-hop haven of a coffee shop open mic. That may not sound very promising to some, but bear with me here. The space was rife with comedians and folk-oriented musicians working to carve out a space for themselves in the Denton music…
