7-Eleven and its cold-blooded broham, the Slurpee, have been looking for America’s next great rock band with a nation-wide Battle of the Bands. The competition has been narrowed down to 12 finalists, one of which is Arlington’s News Team Assemble. The alt-rock foursome, which apparently has indeed seen Anchorman once…
In a presumed attempt to prove that they do, in fact, deserve the recent MOJO award for “Best Live Act,” and, uh, the even more recent Dallas Observer Music Award for Best Indie Rock Act, Midlake has announced yet another world tour. This time they’ll be visiting three continents (North…
Your daily dose of national music news for Friday, July 23, 2010…A former contestant on Britain’s Got Talent is suing Simon Cowell for what basically amounts to Cowell hurting his feelings.Original hipsters Pavement feud with Pitchfork.The Dixie Chicks are recording again! Oooooh, with Steve Martin…
Your daily dose of national music news for Thursday, July 22, 2010…Most of the original Beach Boys are going to reunite for at least one show next year.Apparently Weezy loves that LeBron James is now part of the Miami Heat and old Charles Barkley commercials.Because all of America has been…
California’s The Henry Clay People have come a considerable way in just a few years. Currently out on tour with Silversun Pickups and Against Me! while supporting their ballsy new album, Somewhere on the Golden Coast, the quintet chose to go the route of compromise with not only the band’s…
Since The Scorpions didn’t reach great commercial success until the late ’70s and early ’80s, many people don’t realize that some form of the band has been around since 1965. 45 years later, and massive hits from the ’80s such as “Rock You Like a Hurricane” and “No One Like…
The collaboration we mentioned a few months back between our own Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and David Byrne appears to be moving along slowly but nicely. We just read this morning that one of the songs they’ve teamed up on (either called “The Movie” or “Two Ships”), will initially be…
Well, we made it through the madness. Many, many, many thank yous to everyone who attended last night’s awards ceremony and/or Saturday’s showcase. Both were shockingly well-attended, and both were, really, fun beyond our highest expectations.Also, real quick: A special shout-out to Observer marketing director Jennifer Robinson for all her…
Your daily dose of national music news for Wednesday, July 21, 2010…Tony Iommi and Ozzy have settle out of court over the rights to the name “Black Sabbath.”You would think Ice-T would get a break from New York cops since he plays one on TV. If you’re trying to decide…
Well, we’re about to close up shop here and head over to the Granada to take care of some last-minute preparations for tonight’s 22nd annual Dallas Observer Music Awards Ceremony. As we’ve told you before, tonight’s affair should be a pretty special one. In addition to handing out some 32…
National Public Radio has honored Sarah Jaffe twice in the past already, having named her songs “Clementine” and “Even Born Again” as songs of the day both this year and in 2008, respectively. Well, now comes even more of a spotlight from the nasally voiced set, with Jaffe having been…
Dorwin Demarcus Dorrough, the Dallas rapper known as Dorrough, who gracefully explained to us the allure of his national hit, “Ice Cream Paint Job,” in 2009, is set to drop his pretty highly anticipated sophomore album, Get Big, sometime this year. The title track and single from the new album,…
Darryl Smyers–as you can quite literally see–spoke with Vinnie Paul Abbott on Sunday night about the new HELLYEAH record and about next weekend’s Ride for Dime charity event, which is held in honor of Abbott’s brother, “Dimebag” Darrell.But what Vinnie Paul conveniently left out of that talk, it seems, is…
Andy Hummel, founding bassist of Big Star, longtime employee of Lockheed Martin and Weatherford resident, died yesterday at age 59. His death, after two years of cancer treatment, comes four months after the death of Big Star singer Alex Chilton turned a South By Southwest panel discussion and subsequent performance–it…
Your daily dose of national music news for Tuesday, July 20, 2010…Metallica now thinks that the movie that let us in on it’s completely dysfunctional life as a band was a big mistake. So was razzing Jason Newsted until he left the band, but, whatevs.Diplo doesn’t pull any punches when…
As Warbeast, Akkolyte and others had their way with Reno’s Chop Shop Saloon on Saturday night, those of us sardine-packed and sweating inside La Grange caught Glen Farris, The Naptime Shake, The O’s, Boys Named Sue, The Fox & The Bird and Seryn.For sheer boil-your-mercury heat, though, nothing compared to…
In the “Wikipedia Files” video series, the above episode of which was shot at this weekend’s Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, various bands are questioned about information found on their Wikipedia pages. It’s a pretty interesting project from the Chicago radio station, WBEW-89.5 FM Vocalo, and this most recent take…
Warning: This is not an official Dallas Observer Music Award. If it was, we might break it down into something like–Best Grimace, Best Contortion, Best Scream, Best “Stage Dump.” But that’s not what we’re not doing. No, we’re gonna countdown, without preference or bias, our favorite “stage faces” of the…
Rhett Miller, singer/songwriter extraordinaire and frontman for the Old 97’s, made a TV appearance last night as a legless, prosthetic-armed Al Queda member. No, really. The creators of Squidbillies, the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim staple about Appalachian squids, gathered folk rock’s best and brightest for their season finale entitled “America: Why…
If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to walk a day in rock star shoes, the folks at Alternative Press have you covered. As part of their “Warped Speed” Vans Warped Tour coverage, the magazine gave us less-famous folk a look at just that, following around Grapevine’s Own hook-heavy…
Your daily dose of national music news for Monday, July 19, 2010…Pink was hurt during an acrobatic portion of her show in Germany.Creed promises/threatens releasing a new song this summer. Devo has taken to the web with their own reality show…
The Secret Machines7:15 p.m.Outdoor Stage The sun had long since baked Deep Ellum’s concrete into a considerable second source of heat by the time the Secret Machines graced the outdoor stage at the DOMAXXII Showcase on Saturday. Knowing this and, like their counterparts on this stage, quick to point it…
