Email Author Darryl Smyers

2006 Stories by Darryl Smyers

• Hokum or Yoakam?

  published April 13, 2006

  With the recent passing of his chief influence and mentor, Buck Owens, it should prove interesting to witness Dwight Yoakam's mood during his... More >>

• Maria Taylor, Zykos

  published April 13, 2006

  At 29, Maria Taylor has experienced a musical passage equivalent to folks twice her age. While barely in her teens, Taylor was part of Little Red... More >>

• Safe and Sound

  published April 6, 2006

  "I can hear a collective rumbling in America." This line on "Be Good to Them Always," one of the best cuts on the Books' third and most... More >>

• Tommy Keene

  published April 6, 2006

  With his reedy voice, exceptional guitar chops and classic good looks, Tommy Keene should have been a star in the late '70s when his career first... More >>

• Eddie Money

  published April 6, 2006

  One-time New Jersey cop Eddie Mahoney stopped walking his hometown beat in order to pursue his dream of rock stardom. In the late '70s, he changed... More >>

• Sounding Off

  published March 30, 2006

  "The U.S. is more of a continent than a country," says Fredrik Nilsson, drummer of the Sounds, Sweden's latest attractive source of '80s new wave... More >>

• Freak Scene Revisited

  published March 23, 2006

  Last year's return of Dinosaur Jr.'s classic lineup was one of the least expected reunions since John Lydon reanimated the Sex Pistols. After... More >>

• Mott the Hoople

  published March 23, 2006

  In 1972, David Bowie gave Ian Hunter a song called "All the Young Dudes" and talked the reclusive, bitter Hunter into resurrecting the literate... More >>

• Jon Langford

  published March 23, 2006

  Whether a Mekon, a Waco Brother or solo, Jon Langford's three-decade commitment to the proletarian aesthetic of punk and roots has never wavered.... More >>

• The Appleseed Cast

  published March 16, 2006

  Rarely does a band continue to adjust its vision in more creative ways than the Appleseed Cast. After growing out of the confining emo genre, this... More >>

• Wade Bowen

  published March 16, 2006

  It's a long way from Lubbock to Nashville, but Wade Bowen has made the trip with integrity and roots unharmed. His latest, Lost Hotel, is... More >>

• Backyard Tire Fire

  published March 16, 2006

  Ed Anderson leads this Illinois alt-country outfit with the same kind of weary optimism that Brent Best once did with the late, great Slobberbone.... More >>

• Blackalicous, Lifesavas, Fatlip, Pigeon John

  published March 9, 2006

  With a deep appreciation for legends of jazz, soul and funk as well as a keen eye for contemporary talent, Timothy Parker (aka Gift of Gab) and... More >>

• Dogme 95

  published March 9, 2006

  Former Dallasite Nick Wright is the odd duck behind Dogme 95. Songs on his recently released thematic gem The Regal Beagle are the... More >>

• Too Long in Exile

  published March 2, 2006

  Van Morrison has been called many things: mystical poet, New Age guru, reclusive genius. Above all those, he's a guy who doesn't bother with the... More >>

• Slightly Stoopid

  published March 2, 2006

  Signed while still in high school, Slightly Stoopid's Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald were probably the "raddest" of all dudes "gnarly," smoking... More >>

• Looking at America

  published February 23, 2006

  Flogging Molly's "Screaming at the Wailing Wall" may be the best real punk song in half a decade. A blazing rush often accompanies the best... More >>

• Proficient Slackers

  published February 23, 2006

  "If I could make enough with this band to buy a house, some beer and a dog, I'd be happy," says Jake Webster, drummer of the Cut*Off, Cowtown's... More >>

• Kevin Fowler

  published February 23, 2006

  Amarillo native Kevin Fowler may look like a generic country bumpkin, and sometimes his music is just a brain cell above hayseed, but looks do... More >>

• Smoking Popes, Bayside

  published February 23, 2006

  After a seven-year hiatus, Chicago's Smoking Popes reunited and recorded the live album At Metro in November 2005. A gloriously loud and... More >>

• Calling Back

  published February 16, 2006

  Gerard Dirkx fidgets in his chair, dancing around any questions about his age. Obviously annoyed, he finally declares, "I'm 35 but extremely... More >>

• Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3

  published February 16, 2006

  Inevitably linked to the semi-legendary Dream Syndicate, Steve Wynn has spent the better part of two decades running away from the legacy of his... More >>

• Starlight Mints

  published February 16, 2006

  Norman, Oklahoma's Starlight Mints are a perfect example of why bigger isn't better. Beginning in 2000 as a seven-piece, complete with orchestra,... More >>

• 45 Grave

  published February 16, 2006

  Mary Sims (aka Dinah Cancer) formed this cheesy gothic punk quartet in the early '80s. Best remembered for the "Partytime" single that was... More >>

• Sonata Arctica

  published February 9, 2006

  You might expect a Scandinavian band to revel in the standard death-metal throes of unintelligible caterwauling, exaggerated tempo shifts and... More >>