Email Author Darryl Smyers

2008 Stories by Darryl Smyers

• Crushed Stars Frontman Deals With Unemployment, Recognition

  published February 28, 2008

  For an unemployed father of twin 7-year-old girls, Todd Gautreau seems relatively cheerful and calm. Maybe that's because his band, Crushed... More >>

• Apes

  published February 28, 2008

  One can't help but wonder how much a rock band can rock without a guitar player, but Washington D.C.'s Apes are out to disprove the common... More >>

• Dan Dyer

  published February 28, 2008

  Even though Dan Dyer was born in East Texas and now resides in Austin, his musical roots are firmly set in his former residence of Missouri,... More >>

• Salvation Blues Saved Former Jayhawk Mark Olson

  published February 21, 2008

  Speaking from his tour bus just outside Seattle, Mark Olson sounds revitalized and downright giddy. Things are good at the moment for the... More >>

• Danny Schmidt

  published February 21, 2008

  Born and raised in Austin, country/folk singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt parlays an aggressive acoustic guitar style and a yearning, yowling... More >>

• Nada Surf

  published February 21, 2008

  There's always been something comforting about the music of Nada Surf. Hipper than Coldplay and less distant than Death Cab, band members... More >>

• Sonny Burgess

  published February 21, 2008

  Born and raised in Cleburne, Sonny Burgess was always surrounded by the customs commonly associated with traditional country music: growing up... More >>

• Barton Carroll

  published February 14, 2008

  Seattle-based musician Barton Carroll has toured as a member of and also served as an accompanist with Azure Ray, Delorean and Micah P. Hinson.... More >>

• Clutchy Hopkins

  published February 14, 2008

  The recluse with mental illness has always had a bizarre place in the annals of popular music. Every decade or so a few tortured souls fade in... More >>

• Molotov

  published February 14, 2008

  A few years ago, I was in Mexico and saw Molotov perform in a cockfighting ring in Juarez. The crowd was 90 percent male, a wild combination of... More >>

• Mahteo

  published February 7, 2008

  Brothers Raul and Rene Espinosa have been involved in the Dallas music scene since the mid-'90s, first as key members of the post-punk band... More >>

• Shelby Lynne

  published February 7, 2008

  Dusty Springfield's continued influence on country/soul is as warranted as it is overused. Dusty in Memphis, Springfield's acknowledged... More >>

• UNT FMLA presents V-Day Benefit Show with The Demigs, The Cut*Off and others

  published February 7, 2008

  UNT's chapter of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance hosts this benefit show (with proceeds going to V-Day, a global movement to stop... More >>

• Drew Glackin Memorial Show With Brent Best, Scott Danbom and Matt Pence

  published February 7, 2008

  Drew Glackin was an obscure bass player for an obscure alt-country band from New York. A few weeks back, though, he passed away suddenly due to... More >>

• Dirt Finds New Ground

  published January 31, 2008

  Being the director of your own music school can have its positive results outside of work, especially if you front a band in your spare... More >>

• Bob Mould

  published January 31, 2008

  Despite his best efforts to sway opinion to the contrary, Bob Mould will always be defined by his work within Hüsker Dü. The... More >>

• Taunus

  published January 31, 2008

  Formed in 2001 by Berliner steel string guitarists Jan Thoben and Jochen Brisen, Taunus started as a fairly conventional jazz combo with... More >>

• Holy Diver, Mic the Tiger

  published January 31, 2008

  Lee May, singer/guitarist of local psychedelic rockers Holy Diver, is adamant that his band is not, nor ever will be, a tribute band to Ronnie... More >>

• Malcolm Holcombe Is King of the Hills

  published January 24, 2008

  Along with his backwoods drawl and folksy demeanor, singer and guitarist Malcolm Holcombe displays an alarming and plainspoken intensity that... More >>

• For Every Day

  published January 24, 2008

  For Every Day is a quartet of really young guys from Flower Mound whose music contradicts both the members' ages and their faith-based... More >>

• Michael Holland

  published January 24, 2008

  North Carolina native Michael Holland has been an Americana sensation for more than 15 years, both as a solo performer and as a member of the... More >>

• Wheatfield

  published January 24, 2008

  In the '70s, when Austin City Limits was just getting off the ground, Craig Calvert and Connie Mims brought Wheatfield to the Hill... More >>

• Hotel Brotherhood

  published January 24, 2008

  Ross Cashiola, leader of the fascinating unit known as Hotel Brotherhood, splits his time between Chicago and, of all places, Marfa. But one... More >>

• Backtrackin' for Country Comforts

  published January 17, 2008

  From Texas to Canada, even from beyond the grave, traditional country music endures across decades, borders and genre reclassifications. These... More >>

• It is Well

  published January 17, 2008

  Even though he recorded most of the songs in 2006, Dallas' own John Sprengler, the one-man band behind the name It is Well, keeps remixing and... More >>