For the 25th year, The Dallas Observer will honor the fine work of North Texas musicians (and a few behind-the-scenes people as well) with the Dallas Observer Music Awards. We’ve asked experts of all stripes to help us compile a list of the area’s best talent in 40 categories, which…
Hunter Moore hasn’t technically been in business with the notoriously sleazy site “Is Anyone Up?” for some time. But he’ll forever be associated with the revenge porn site he maintained for years. Since the site shut down in 2012, Moore’s had more time to dedicate to traveling around the country,…
Jeff Whittington does not work on the most musically inclined part of your radio dial. Yet the executive producer of KERA’s Think with Krys Boyd and host of the long running Anything You Ever Wanted to Know, a concept started by the late Glenn Mitchell with whom Whittington worked as…
Even though Imagine Dragons have been playing music for a little over four years, the band’s meteoric rise to the top of the charts seems to have occurred over a much shorter time. Hailing from Las Vegas, the band plays unapologetically play infectious, radio-friendly alternative rock. From a tour stop…
If you have never been out to see Horror Remix and their spliced and diced versions of long-forgotten, campy and sometimes even scary horror films … well, then, put simply; you should go! Horror Remix’s hilarious plays on theme, puppet humor, and surprising film curation are reason enough. But tonight’s…
Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy hasn’t always had it as easy as he does now. After having a hit and miss high school career due to the effects of bi-polar disorder, Wentz played with several Chicago area punk acts before hitting the big time with Fall Out Boy. From…
Also known by his stage name, Honus Honus, Ryan Kattner has been leading the odd band Man Man for a decade. Speaking from his home in Philadelphia and in anticipation of tonight’s show at Dada, Kattner was equal parts affable and quick-witted. On the heels of Man, Man’s find new…
The grand opening of the Steven Alan store on Knox Street last night featured, among other things, an appearance by Austin weirdos White Denim. They were scheduled to perform outside, but of course Mother Nature had other plans. Namely the first big rain storm we’ve had in what feels like…
Kylie Rae Harris, a native of Wylie, has chosen a deliberate path to this week’s release for her new EP, the country-folk-pop gem Taking it Back. For those who frequent shows at Love and War in Texas, The Capital Bar, Hat Tricks, and venues like them, the supremely gifted Harris…
When things go horribly wrong and then keep going that way, there’s no better strategy to maintain your sanity than to think about the story you’ll have. Music writer Jon Niccum has collected a bunch of those stories from musicians and published them in a book called The Worst Gig:…
You love Mumford & Sons. You can’t believe they’re actually bringing their faces to Dallas on Wednesday, September 18th. Your favorite radio hit is that one where they play the flugelhorn really hard for like a full minute straight because it reminds you of how awesome Dave Matthews Band is…
Ward Richmond toured the country with rockabilly/Americana band Slick 57, which also includes The O’s John Pedigo. The band has opened for Wilco and Frank Black. In 2002, DallasMusic.com named Richmond Instrumentalist of the Year. Richmond has just sent me a text message from a rehearsal for the first show…
As the people who watched the 2013 MTV VMA’s this year know (and that was a lot of people), pop star Katy Perry closed the award show with a debut performance of her newest single, “Roar.” The single, which was officially released on August 12, has already topped the charts…
In just two short years, Australia’s Gold Fields have gone from a relatively obscure new-wave influenced dance pop band to the precipice of something much bigger. When the band’s full length debut, Black Sun, hit the racks this past February, Gold Fields hit the States for a whirlwind four month…
Update, 9/10, 3:50 p.m.: Josh Donnell happened to be passing by during last night’s couch fire at Good Records. He sent a few photos, including the one above, and two more below. Original post follows. When Jacob Douglas arrived for work at Good Records this morning, he hadn’t heard the…
Fort Worth’s fanciest metal band Pinkish Black has a new album coming out, and Pitchfork still loves them. Still loves them so much, in fact, that they’re offering a free stream of that album, called Razed to the Ground right now, a week ahead of its official release. You can…
This summer saw a bit of a kerfuffle around abortion in Texas. Emotions may run high on both sides, but we can all agree that Governor Rick Perry has taken a heavy-handed interest in the goings-on of Texas vaginas. It even caught the attention of noted gentleman-scholar Blowfly. The usually…
When the late Rozz Williams formed Christian Death way back in the early 80’s, the band was more of a campy, death-obsessed punk outfit than the gothic beast they would become under the guidance of one Valor Kand. Kand took charge of the band and brand name that would become…
The word “hippie” has been used to describe the sound and style of the indie music phenomenon Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros so often in reviews and profiles that it’s now a suggested search term on Google. Of course, it’s too narrow a description for the freewheeling folk rock…
R.L. Griffin is standing outside his Blues Palace, a squat beige building a few tattered blocks from Fair Park. A sign in the parking lot touts “Blues Palace II: Live Entertainment,” and without it there would be no way to tell from the street what you might find inside, unless…
Spanning fifty years, the musical career of John Mayall has been as fascinating and influential as just about anyone in the history of rock. In late 1963, Mayall formed the first incarnation of the Bluesbreakers, a legendary outfit that featured a revolving cast of players that included the likes of…
Better Than Ezra hits town on Friday at the House of Blues. Sure, they’ll play a usual set, but beforehand, they’re hosting a casino night in the venue’s Cambridge Room. There, you’ll find an open table and buffet, casino games and an acoustic set by the band. It’s a charity…
