Texas budget cuts have been looming over the heads of teachers and school boards alike in recent weeks, and Booker T. Washington High School, the DISD magnet for performing and visual arts, is no exception. But, with less money rolling in, the prestigious school has taken a proactive approach to…
I’m really torn with how we should be handling coverage of Spector 45 bassist Adam Carter’s recent suicide. Adam was a sweet guy, a great sound man, a heck of a musician (in addition to his role in Spector 45, he played in a number of other great bands, including…
A couple weeks back, you may recall, Eric Grubbs caught up with local “stonegaze” trio True Widow to talk shop and to talk a long, hard look at the band’s sophomore album, the obnoxiously titled As High As the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the…
Don’t call it a comeback: Despite having been absent from performing in the hip-hop world for some time now, legendary rap originator LL Cool J has been around for years, rocking his peers and putting suckers in fear. And, at last night’s Red Bull Thre3style event at SXSW, after an…
Former Spector 45 bass player Adam Carter is dead of an apparent suicide. He was 27. Details are still trickling in, but those close to Carter confirm that he was found dead this evening, 77 days to the date after his bandmate, Frankie Campagna, also committed suicide.He’ll be remembered for…
Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys formed Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in 1978. Within a couple of years, the duo had grown into a quartet and released “Messages,” the first of several hit singles that brought the band fame and critical kudos. Yet, after seven successful albums, Humphreys left the…
On Saturday, March 12, Lower Greenville dive The Winedale Tavern would have turned 26-years-old. But, just days before its birthday, the bar’s owners shuttered the doors and closed for business. In three weeks’ time, though, the doors will be open again — and this time it will be called The…
There’s little doubting Atlanta duo Outkast’s place in hip-hop history. The twosome of Andre 3000 and Big Boi practically invented the southern hip-hop sub-genre, developing a crazy style to call their own — and something all their own, too. Even some 17 years after their 1994 full-length debut, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, few…
If known only for his work with the legendary trio known as The Minutemen, bassist Mike Watt would still have his place in rock ‘n’ roll lore. But even after that band disintegrated following the death of singer/guitarist D. Boon, Watt pressed on and formed another acclaimed trio: Firehose. And,…
Chaz Bundick’s chill. But he’s not that chill. Or so the 24-year-old from Columbia, South Carolina, and the man behind the Toro y Moi moniker is hoping to prove with his latest “organic” effort, Underneath the Pines, which was recorded in the small recording studio at Chaz’ house on drums,…
Leading up to this year’s installment of 35 Conferette, after hearing some pretty salty rumors about bands not getting paid in full in 2010, we were curious as to how the festival would be able to afford to pay this year’s acts. After all, this was the biggest festival yet,…
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the top record store in town has been affected by the phenomenon that is South By Southwest spillover. After all, now that The Cavern has gone from being a music venue to an English/Irish Bar (The Crown & Harp), Good Records pretty much…
Perhaps the most amusing thing of 35 Conferette 2011? The ubiquity of the performers — both scheduled to partake in the festivities and not — rolling around the festival’s venues and taking in the events as a whole.Almost every big name in local music, it seemed, was present — Jonathan…
A funny thing happened last week when Dallas pop-punk outfit Forever The Sickest Kids released their self-titled, second full-length album — namely, that the response to the album was huge, with sales figures placing the band’s album in the iTunes top 10 sales chart almost immediately. Even more surprising, though,…
Dallas-based hip-hop super-producers Play-N-Skillz have wasted no time making good use of their G4 Muzik label’s freshly created blog. Over the past few weeks, they’ve shared some new music, revealed that they’re shooting a music video with Bun B in town today, and, well, revealed some even bigger news, too.Most…
Traditional country music champion Marty Stuart hasn’t been a major force on the Billboard country charts for some time now. But don’t confuse that absence as a sign of Stuart having slowed down in the least. In fact, the man’s arguably more relevant today than he was during his wave…
Over the past three months, Denton resident Kevin McStravick has taken on a rather daunting project — finding and reviewing every single band that is playing at SXSW this year, which counts almost 2,000 acts, and ranking them on his website.For the project, which is called Operation Every Band and…
Anyone who has ever seen Midlake in concert knows that guitarist and harmony-man Eric Pulido is a pretty funny guy. In fact, at some shows, he lightens the mood by working what seems like a miniature stand-up routine into the set. So it’s safe to say that he’s earned the…
Some quick hits on the album release front to pass along this afternoon…..
Just back from the band’s first tour of Europe, Seattle’s The Head and the Heart are currently making their way across the U.S. opening up for The Walkmen. Interestingly, the two acts couldn’t be more dissimilar. But that dichotomy should mostly result in a beautiful blending of styles. Playing soft-spoken…
Perhaps, back on Monday, you caught my recap of last Saturday night’s Wanda Jackson show at the Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff? Yeah, y’know, the one I referred to as “a once-in-a-lifetime offering”? Uh-huh. That one.Well, now, courtesy of the folks over at KTCK-1310 AM The Ticket, and the lads…
Damon G. Riddick, aka DâM-FunK, is a modern funk producer and session musician from Los Angeles who stands as one of this generation’s most vocal champions for funk music. Ever the showman, his synthesizer-heavy live show and rare vinyl-heavy DJ sets have earned much acclaim from fans and critics –…
