Vinyl records are an interesting phenomenon. Those who are into collecting vinyl are especially passionate about it. And Bill’s Records, now in its fifth year on South Side on Lamar, is one of the few places in Dallas where vinyl-philes can find rare recordings. “[Bill]’s got almost a million pieces…
It appears that Drowning Pool bassist Stevie Benton is fully committed to his new post as owner of The Boiler Room in Deep Ellum.When we spoke to him a few weeks ago, just after he had reopened the Deep Ellum bar, he told us he’d basically opened for business the…
…says Billboard, at least. This week, the Disney starlet, from straight outta Grand Prairie, took over the No. 1 slot on the trade magazine’s launched-in-December “Social 50” chart, which combines all sorts of web-centric information — Twitter followers, Myspace listens, YouTube views, etc. — into some sort of tangible thing…
In case you haven’t heard, Google is trying to take down the Facebook empire with its new Google+ social networking site. (Seriously, though, if you haven’t heard, it’s really time to get out from under that rock). Because social networking sites have become an integral part of music promotion, we’ve…
For the third time in its four-year history, Denton’s four-day, pre-South by Southwest music festival will have a new name in 2012.A press release sent out this morning confirms that, after changing its name from “North by 35” to “35 Conferette” in advance of its 2011 edition, the festival will…
This past Sunday night in Deep Ellum, the folks behind Dada officially opened their side-room space, which had been previously used as the venue’s green room and by the previous owners as “The Listening Room,” as a new dive bar concept called The Red Door. The soft, unannounced opening took…
FYI: The Hard Rock Cafe totally still exists. Believe it or not, we actually have one here in Dallas. And, on Saturday, the chain dedicated to rock ‘n’ roll history, iconic t-shirts and overpriced bar food is celebrating 40 years in the biz. According to the note we just got…
Most musicians who make it big had to start somewhere. For every sold out arena show or big festival slot, there were at least a couple of open mic nights in empty, seedy dives. For many area rock stars and former rockers, those dives were on Elm, Main and Commerce…
For almost two months now, we’ve been waiting patiently for the chance to hear some music out of Preteen Zenith’s camp — you know, it being the new band from Polyphonic Spree and Tripping Daisy mastermind Tim DeLaughter and Secret Machines member Philip Karnats, and also featuring members of The…
Alt-country singer-songwriter Rod Picott writes songs about the working man because, well, the guy is the embodiment of the working man. For over 20 years, Picott held down a day job hanging sheetrock. At night, to perfect his songwriting, he would hit whatever coffee shop would let him play. Such…
Back in January, Stickybits co-founder Billy Chasen registered the domain name turntable.fm. Earlier this month, the previously alpha-tested music-sharing site made its debut as as an invite-only beta site, the only prerequisite being that new users had a Facebook friend with an already registered profile. By last week, the site…
On July 8, actor Michael Rapaport’s directorial debut, a documentary called Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, will earn its release theaters in New York City and Los Angeles. Later that month, on July 28, the film will begin a run locally at Dallas-area Angelika…
Back in October, Sore Losers was on top of the world. The duo of Vincent Brown and Brandon Blue had capably established themselves as a local force to be reckoned with, a post-Boogie duo worth hyping, a creative source of inventive “New Dallas” hip-hop, a shining example of both what…
When we heard that a fire in Exposition Park had damaged the building that houses Jimmy’s Guitar Repair and Rob’s Chop Shop, we expected the worst. DFW has seen several historic buildings damaged or destroyed by fire in the past few years, including last year’s fire that destroyed an entire…
Portland’s Priory only recently issued its debut effort, but main songwriters Brandon Johnson and Kyle Dieker have been collaborating for several years. It just took getting a couple of other band members in place for the band to finally hit the studio with its plethora of material. It explains a…
Got a whole grab-bag of local music notes to pass along today, but none is bigger than this: Yesterday, Paste announced its list of the year’s best albums so far, and coming in at No. 4 on their list was Denton’s Own Seryn’s album, This Is Where We Are. The…
Confession time, y’all: I’ve been watching The Voice on NBC all season long. Kind of loving it, too. And why not? It’s like the perfect blend of American Idol and Made. (Speaking of Made: I highly recommend trying to catch a re-run of Play-N-Skillz’s recently aired episode of that show,…
Arizona’s Authority Zero has been making music for going on 20 years — but not without some roadblocks. Various battles with record companies and management types have resulted in lineup changes that would have permanently crippled most bands. Somehow, though, singer Jason DeVore has kept some form of Authority Zero…
Ron Artest’s new name has nothing on some of the odd names in music.
Pop quiz, hot shot: Name all the artists who’re currently honored with murals depicting their likeness in Deep Ellum.Hmm. Tough one. Off the top of my head, let’s see: Erykah Badu, The Reverend Horton Heat, Rhett Miller, Ronnie Dawson, and, as of 2009, The O’s. Probably forgetting some others. Anyway,…
Deep Ellum is about to get yet another addition to its growing list of restaurants and music venues. The Free Man, which will open as a Cajun style cafe in the space formerly occupied by Sol’s Taco Lounge, will serve as both a restaurant and a venue.The Free Man’s owner,…
One of the better bars in Dallas to feature live music came to a sudden close last night. Well-located in Oak Cliff, just between the Oak Lawn and Kessler Park neighborhoods, Jack’s Back Yard, a re-purposed complex of buildings that formerly housed an auto repair center on West Commerce, Jack’s…
