Email Author Darryl Smyers

2007 Stories by Darryl Smyers

• Dallas' Best Music

  published December 27, 2007

  In the pages that follow, our corporate overlords provide an alternative to gratuitous music writer geekdom and end-of-year lists, but being... More >>

• Warm Up with the Summer Releases You Missed

  published December 20, 2007

  With the weather so frightfully cold—at least when it's not oddly warm—now might be time to inject a bit of summer cheer into... More >>

• Richard Lloyd

  published December 20, 2007

  Minus the terrible cover art and the aberrant jock rock boogie of the opening track, "Monkey," the remainder of Richard Lloyd's most recent... More >>

• Randy Weeks Lands in Texas to Find His Muse and Room to Move

  published December 13, 2007

  "It's much easier getting around Austin than Los Angeles," says singer-songwriter Randy Weeks about his recent move to the Hill Country. "It's... More >>

• Ludo, Edison Glass, Treaty of Paris and Deas Vail

  published December 13, 2007

  This crowded bill of emo (under various guises) features Long Island's Edison Glass as its headliner, but it's Ludo from St. Louis who makes... More >>

• Gerard Dirkx

  published December 13, 2007

  Nearly 30 years ago when he was known as Jerry, Gerard Dirkx led The Telefones, one of Dallas' first and best bands to fall under the ominous... More >>

• John Lyle Williams

  published December 6, 2007

  Hailing from a small Oklahoma town just north of the Red River, John Lyle Williams makes it into the metroplex fairly consistently, performing... More >>

• Frontier Brothers, Calhoun, The Barons and Collin Herring

  published November 22, 2007

  Now hailing from Austin (always the hippest and most malodorous Texas locale), the Frontier Brothers started out in Fort Worth, where they... More >>

• Love Minus Zero

  published November 22, 2007

  Led by brothers Milind (Mel) and Neil Parekh, Love Minus Zero is another band that is just sort of local. Mel's daytime job is in Dallas, and... More >>

• Aging Musically

  published November 22, 2007

  It is hard to believe that Deborah Harry, new wave's original diva, turned 62 this summer. Yet her advanced years do little to diminish her... More >>

• Money $hot (CD release), Dirt & Earthy Vibes

  published October 25, 2007

  An unusual and interesting local bill that features some playfully obnoxious metal and an electronica-fueled tribute to Cream. Money $hot are a... More >>

• No Love for Lyle Lovett

  published October 11, 2007

  Since his people turned down my interview request and firmly declared that there would be no complimentary tickets, I am left to only imagine... More >>

• Rudder, Oso Closo, Snarky Puppy

  published October 11, 2007

  Although the headliner, Rudder, is a highly regarded quartet from New York City, it's the local boys who are the real stars of this triple... More >>

• The Domino Kings

  published October 11, 2007

  Missouri's Domino Kings don't add a lot to the traditional honky-tonk and rockabilly that are the band's inspirations, but they don't have to.... More >>

• Backtrackin'

  published September 20, 2007

  Although readers of No Depression would say otherwise, the genre commonly referred to as alt-country never attained the popular status... More >>

• An Old Softy?

  published September 13, 2007

  Known for his chiseled physique, countless tattoos and blustery personality, singer/actor/writer Henry Rollins is a surprisingly painless... More >>

• The Prodigal Daughter

  published September 6, 2007

  Well, we guess that's the sort of stuff that can happen when you let your kids wander off to Los Angeles—they come back with all sorts of... More >>

• Urizen, Sonata Artica

  published September 6, 2007

  Happy to identify themselves as a Fort Worth band, Urizen have been around for the better part of a decade, honing their songwriting and... More >>

• Deep Purple

  published August 23, 2007

  For better or worse, Deep Purple forever changed the path of hard rock music. Deceptively simple and painfully loud, songs such as "Highway... More >>

• No Business Sense

  published August 23, 2007

  Looking satisfied but weary, local singer-songwriter Dylan Sneed sits in a coffee shop near his home in Lake Highlands and talks about his escape... More >>

• Big D's Great Roar

  published August 16, 2007

  The Godzilla theme of this year's Dallas Observer Music Awards can be interpreted in many ways. Godzilla could represent the... More >>

• Backtrackin'

  published August 9, 2007

  In his brilliant analysis of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, legendary critic Dave Marsh wrote that quality music could never come simply by... More >>

• Dylan Sneed, Collin Herring and Slider Pines

  published August 9, 2007

  At a recent performance, Fort Worth's Collin Herring announced that he was picking up his newest CD from the pressing plant in a matter of... More >>

• Painful Memories

  published August 2, 2007

  If ever there were a band that represented the popular heights and resounding depths of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, it's Badfinger. Coming... More >>

• Three Inches of Blood

  published August 2, 2007

  Refreshingly retro, this Canadian sextet makes old-school metal that should thrill those mining their (foggy) teen years for memories of Iron... More >>