Email Author Darryl Smyers

2006 Stories by Darryl Smyers

• Half Lit

  published June 15, 2006

  "At the time I was as depressed as Nick Drake," singer-songwriter Richard Swift says about the recording of Walking Without Effort, the... More >>

• The Handsome Family

  published June 15, 2006

  Brett and Rennie Sparks have to be one of the most peculiar couples working in alt-country. She writes the lyrics, he handles the melodies and... More >>

• Kal

  published June 15, 2006

  In what remains of old Yugoslavia, what most folks call the Balkans, there exists a subculture, a group of wayward gypsies called Romani. Treated... More >>

• Electric Eel Shock

  published June 15, 2006

  Forget Hooked on Phonics; Japanese rock trio Electric Eel Shock claims to have learned English by listening to Black Sabbath and Judas... More >>

• Echo and the Bunnymen

  published June 15, 2006

  When Ian McCulloch said that his band's 1984 release Ocean Rain was the best record ever made, he wasn't joking. But unlike so many pompous... More >>

• Los Lobos

  published June 15, 2006

  As part of a '70s cultural exchange program with the former Soviet Union, the band selected as most representative of American music was the Nitty... More >>

• Slammin' Sammy

  published June 8, 2006

  Of all the infernal questions to have wormed their way into rock's subconscious, the merits of David Lee Roth versus Sammy Hagar as front men for... More >>

• Spector 45

  published June 8, 2006

  Spector 45 is a trio in their late teens who revel in the three-chord simplicity and silly, leather-clad fashion sense of the Ramones, but they... More >>

• Guy Forsyth

  published June 8, 2006

  Longtime leader of Austin's Asylum Street Spankers, Guy Forsyth might be too versatile for his own good. His latest solo effort, Love Songs:... More >>

• I See Hawks in L.A.

  published June 8, 2006

  California County, the third effort from this oddly named roots quartet from the sunshine state, is heavily indebted to The Flying Burrito... More >>

• Various artists

  published June 1, 2006

  Neil Diamond (who in his later years has come to resemble a Soho clothing retailer) has always been an unlikely lightning rod, bringing forth... More >>

• Three Dog Night

  published June 1, 2006

  Three Dog Night weren't exactly hip even in their late '60s heyday. Nearly dated before they formed, Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron and Cory Wells... More >>

• Sleepyhead

  published May 25, 2006

  With his nondescript, boyish appearance, local multi-instrumentalist/ producer Todd Gautreau talks about his music with a casual enthusiasm,... More >>

• Kumbia Kings

  published May 25, 2006

  In Spanish, the word for soap opera is telenovela. And as anyone with even a limited knowledge of the Latin music scene knows, the eight... More >>

• A-Trak

  published May 25, 2006

  When he was 13, Montreal's Alain Macklovitch [no relation, I swear -Ed.] used his bar mitzvah money to buy a used Technics turntable and a... More >>

• The Beatdown

  published May 25, 2006

  Aging heavy-metal acts might take solace in claiming to be "big in Japan," but DJ Tiësto (just plain Tijs Verwest to his parents) has... More >>

• The New Amsterdams

  published May 18, 2006

  "The Death of Us," the opening cut on The New Amsterdams' notable new release Story Like a Scar, is music so open and lonely that it almost... More >>

• Mono, Pelican

  published May 18, 2006

  Even with his hearing at risk, Pete Townshend would still go to shows by AC/DC, claiming the rush of sound and volume was an aphrodisiac, loudness... More >>

• 2006 Dallas Observer Music Awards

  published May 11, 2006

  Endure a few run-throughs of “Pomp and Circumstance,” make sure your tassel is on the correct side of your cap and ready your flask for t... More >>

• Spock´s Beard

  published May 11, 2006

  If the guys in Spock's Beard had gone to my high school, there is no doubt they would have received severe and painful admonishment for being the... More >>

• Come Rushing In

  published May 4, 2006

  Despite her fair skin and mostly bright disposition, dark is an apt word for Kristy Kruger. As the Dallas songwriter talks about her burgeoning... More >>

• Falling Forward

  published May 4, 2006

  When he was 30, Mark E. Smith, iconoclastic front man for the Fall, wrote "Living Too Late," an odd reflection on mortality where he sang of... More >>

• The Beatdown

  published May 4, 2006

  "My music is for both the mind and the body," says Osunlade, "but even more for the spirit." And why shouldn't it be? After all, the acclaimed... More >>

• Still Burning

  published April 20, 2006

  For anyone whose limited exposure to the music of Jamaica and West Africa has fostered the impression that reggae is one-dimensional, such a... More >>

• Pistolita

  published April 20, 2006

  Conor Meads, vocalist for this San Diego pop-punk quartet, has a fondness for the overwrought theatrics of Elton John and the late Freddie... More >>