Rock Around Doc’s at Their Grand Opening

The new Doc’s Records & Vintage in Fort Worth has been open for a couple months now, but they’ve no doubt been letting all that vinyl smell settle in. Good news for record nerds and fans of that smell: They’ve finally set a date for their grand opening. On February…

Bro Fest Adds, Subtracts and Makes Us Do Math in the Morning

With the excellent addition of SoCal punk supergroup OFF! to the Bro Fest 2012 roster last week comes four more acts, these being of the hazy pop variety: Maps & Atlases, Gauntlet Hair, Hospitality and Netherfriends. The subtract part: The Entrance Band and Cerebral Ballzy have canceled their SXSW plans…

Pleasant Grove’s Bret Egner Needs Your Help With Medical Expenses

On Wednesday, Pleasant Grove singer-guitarist Bret Egner was involved in a bicycle accident near Red River in Austin, when he swerved to avoid two jaywalking pedestrians and hit the pavement. Sadly, the pedestrians he swerved to avoid didn’t offer help. Egner went into surgery today to repair a shattered collarbone,…

New Erykah Badu/Flaming Lips Track Samples Siri, Sounds Fucking Trippy

The saga continues: From the Internet ether comes the (partial) fruits of that Erykah Badu/Flaming Lips collaboration we talked about a few weeks ago. “Now I Understand” sounds about right coming from the left/right brains of these two. Ambient, heavy-lidded, soulful and it features a sample of Siri’s vocals. (The…

Anders Osborne Lives the Blues in Order To Play the Blues

For nearly three decades, singer/guitarist Anders Osborne has called The Big Easy home and the city’s musical heritage has had a profound impact on Osborne’s music. Funky and inventive, his blues are inspired by both John Lee Hooker and Doctor John, full of impressive solos and carefree spirit that goes…

So, Here’s Your Ringtone of Obama Singing Al Green

Last week, Obama sang the opening line of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” so of course it’s been everywhere online, but last night, Old School 94.5 told me what I really wanted to know: How I could get my own ringtone rendition of it. I think Obama needs to sing…

Lydia Loveless Kicks Over the Barstool In Your Heart

“Well if you really wanna raise your voice to me/ It’s gonna change how I feel about you, buddy, but it won’t change me.” Lydia Loveless’ “Can’t Change Me” is one of those perfect storms, a song that rips out your heart then gets stuck in your head. It’s a…

Smile Smile Still Smiling Even After Merch Was Stolen

Smile Smile’s big new-album-new-website-announcement today was unfortunately overshadowed by an unlucky occurrence over the weekend, when Ryan Hamilton and Jencey Hirunrusme lost all of their merchandise on Friday night. According to Hamilton, the two were reorganizing their merchandise inventory and put it into Hirunrusme’s car. She parked it in front…

A.Dd+ Plans a Texas Takeover With the Red Bull Skooled Tour

Local rap duo A.Dd+ continue their ascent, this time enlisting corporate support from Red Bull, who’s sponsoring an early February tour that will see them hit six Texas cities in the span of seven days. This will be a coming-out party of sorts, with A.Dd+ playing shows with some of…

Allen Epley of The Life and Times Talks Barbecue and Setting His Amp to 12

Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, trio The Life and Times makes a wonderful racket while creating dense, sonically challenging compositions — real rock songs hidden under waves of noise. Speaking from his home in Chicago and in anticipation of tonight’s show at Dan’s Silverleaf, frontman and guitarist Allen Epley spoke…