Critic's Notebook

God and the devil are still raging inside of Cody ChesnuTT. He’s just making more thoughtful decisions these days. The crowded lobby of the boisterous Belmont hotel is loud with end-of-happy-hour-chatter. Cody ChesnuTT is offering me a plate of hummus and artisan flatbread that neither of us would even touch…

Dallas is home to one of the richest religious music scenes in the country. Over the summer, we’ll be attending services, both big and small, of many denominations, as well talking to musicians , directors and pastors. Plano’s only conservative synagogue, Congregation Anshai Torah (located at 5501 West Parker Road)…

Kidd Kraddick, the Dallas radio host who became a national morning fixture, will have a public tribute next Thursday outside the American Airlines Center. Kraddick died suddenly of cardiac disease in late July while attending a fundraising golf tournament for his Kidd’s Kids charity. The “Tribute to Kidd,” at AT&T…

Undeniably one of the most influential rock bands of the last thirty years, The Melvins roll through Dallas again this weekend, bringing their skull-crushing double drummer sludgey rock with them. Seeing them at Trees this Saturday night is a must. Before they made it to town, I managed to grab…

Denton’s Midlake is preparing for the early November release of its fourth album, Antipthon. The album will be the band’s first without former singer Tim Smith, and, in their new bio, vocalist and guitarist Eric Pulido describes what fans can expect from the new stuff…

Bob Schneider is one of Texas’ most singular songwriting voices. He’s a deft ballader and an occasionally unsettling wit, an artist with a discography sampling nearly every style of music his home state is known for. His most recent album on Dallas-based Kirtland Records, Burden of Proof, comes with an…

Independent internet radio station Deep Ellum On-Air prides itself on contributing positively to the entertainment scene now in the music-rich neighborhood, and finds its purpose in supporting local musicians, comedians, and the businesses. This independent internet radio station isn’t without its struggles, however. Lack of funding has taken a toll…

Last night, Josh Venable broke the news in a Facebook status update: He’s coming back to radio in a couple of weeks, but not in Dallas. He’ll be in Tulsa at Z-104.5, The Edge as the new program director and afternoon DJ. And with its alternative rock format, Venable is…

Randy Ebright of Molotov certainly stands out. Born in Michigan, Ebright ended up in Mexico City due his dad’s job as a DEA agent. Once there, he quickly connected with the local music scene and joined Molotov. Twenty years later, the guy is still drumming for one of the most…

On the afternoon of Saturday, August 3, some of the young favorites of the local hip-hop scene gathered at Revive, a pool bar on the roof of Glass in Uptown (1899 McKinney Ave.). The event included music from multiple DJs, appearances by various local rappers, drinks, hookahs and, of course,…

In 1970, twelve Christians gathered at a Dallas home to form a new church. Forty-three years later, that church, now known as the Cathedral of Hope, has about 4,400 members and around a thousand weekly attendees. The church, with about 85-90 percent of its congregation being part of the LGBTQ…

You could hear it from the sidewalk, salsa, disco and funk seeping through the Cavern’s grimy walls, wrapping itself around your legs and jarring your equilibrium out of its drunken stupor and back to it’s natural positioning. This was The Cool Out in the mid 2000’s, when a night out…

When John Lennon penned the lyrics to “Help!” on a small piece of paper, he probably didn’t think that generations later, people would frame it in a glass case and send it across America on a 12-city tour. But neither did Buddy Holly probably think his wallet with its business…

Music Critic Mario Tarradell is resigning from The Dallas Morning News today. “I want to explore other opportunities at this time,” says Tarradell in a phone conversation with DC9 at Night. He has been a music critic at the paper for almost 20 years. Born in Cuba and raised in…

Let me guess. You are clicking around the vastness of the Internet, procrastinating some pending deadline or starting that Thursday wind down before you check all the way out on a Friday, right? Well, we have treats! Actually, some Dallas artists have treats and we gathered some of the goodies…

At 6 p.m. last night, The Heart Hospital Baylor announced it had discharged Randy Travis. He’s been there since July 7, first with complications from a heart condition, which lead to a stroke about a week later. In a statement on his web site, his fiancée Mary Davis says, “Thanks…

Over the years, you may have seen Sean “Baggins” Bailey alongside artists like The Agitators, Hagfish, REO Speedealer, Reverend Horton Heat, The Soup, The Toadies, Burden Brothers, The Beautiful, Bowling For Soup, The Red Bean Guys, Lone Star Trio, Cool Christine, Why Am I, Radied X, Grand Pricks, The Nervebreakers,…

Although the Goo Goo Dolls gained most of their fame via slick, syrupy ballads such as “Name” and “Iris,” the band actually began life as a rather snotty punk/metal outfit way back in 1985. But after drummer Mike Malinin joined in 1995, the music of the Goo Goo Dolls became…

The plethora of beatmakers, producers and DJs in Dallas are bussin’ the local music scene wide open. We here at the Observer wanted to showcase that talent through bi-weekly mix’s made by the best in the business, and made especially for DC9 at Night. So stream, download and share this…

Ever since Mike Scaccia and Dimebag Darrell broke on through to the other side, many Dallas metal fans have been longing for someone to step into the limelight and accept the legendary guitarslingers’ mantels and inspire a whole new generation of headbangers. Never fear true believers (hey, didn’t someone else…

Dallas is home to one of the richest religious music scenes in the country. Over the summer, we’ll be attending services, both big and small, of many denominations, as well talking to musicians , directors and pastors. The Hills Church of Christ’s 8:30 a.m. service is now their only a…