Email Author Rick Koster

1997 Stories by Rick Koster

• Rory in the sky

  published November 27, 1997

  "Are your Irish friends coming to dinner?" My mother, stuffing a turkey on a rain-drenched Thanksgiving day in 1976, was wondering if I was... More >>

• Goin' through them changes

  published October 9, 1997

  Ordinarily the idea of being privy to a rock legend's private home recordings is intriguing, but when that legend is Buddy Miles--singer,... More >>

• Unlikely hybrid

  published October 2, 1997

  Liquor and country music are as connected as Siamese twins. Sure, George Jones is sober now, but his hallowed liver--crusted in a bell jar in a... More >>

• Rave new world

  published August 28, 1997

  History abounds with the sort of mythical real estate that inspires song: Oz, Atlantis, heaven and hell, even Atlantic City. Unto each has been... More >>

• Out Here

  published August 21, 1997

  Gone so long Didja Miss Me John Nitzinger ITR Records It's always been a mystery to me why John Nitzinger wasn't as big as... More >>

• Extrapolating rhythm and blues

  published August 14, 1997

  When she's not on the road, Marcia Ball--the white-chick R&B pianist with Tina Turner's legs and Professor Longhair's fingers--divides her time... More >>

• Roadshows

  published July 17, 1997

  Border crossing Literature has always been a prime source of inspiration for musicians, although--like films made from novels--the results... More >>

• Life is a carnival

  published July 10, 1997

  Citizen Lane may well slay audiences with their three-ring-circus approach to music and performance--incorporating ska, white-boy funk, salsa,... More >>

• Mouths to feed

  published June 26, 1997

  That a solo, acoustic singer-songwriter will open Friday night's Cowboy Mouth/Sister Hazel concert at Trees is a bit incongruous. After all, The... More >>

• Out Here

  published June 26, 1997

  Like a fox Shelley Carrol with Members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra Shelley Carrol Marchel Ivery Meets Joey DeFrancesco ... More >>

• Out There

  published June 19, 1997

  To tell the truth Sound of Lies The Jayhawks American Recordings Their performance at South by Southwest put to rest any... More >>

• Roadshows

  published June 12, 1997

  Dream team In an age of commercialization, wherein big shots such as U2 undergo Lon Chaney-into-Wolfman transformations in calculated... More >>

• Horn of plenty

  published June 5, 1997

  What with Radish, Quindon Tarver, and LeAnn Rimes clogging the arteries of the music press these days, it's often overlooked that North Texas'... More >>

• Out Here

  published May 22, 1997

  Eat or be eaten Picnic Robert Earl Keen Arista Austin Records It's always an iffy proposition when a much-loved indie cult... More >>

• Young Country repellent

  published May 8, 1997

  Rodney Crowell is one of those guys who was probably never meant to be a Nashville high-roller in the first place. Sure, he's penned huge hits for... More >>

• The 1997 Dallas Observer Music Awards

  published May 1, 1997

  I wandered around the Dallas music scene lonely as a freelance cloud, the Dallas Observer Music Awards were about as interesting to me as a... More >>

• Out Here

  published April 17, 1997

  Service with a smile Satellitely Quickserv Johnny Rainmaker Records Quickserv Johnny, to paraphrase the Tom Hanks character... More >>

• Lip service

  published April 17, 1997

  For much of the '90s, rock 'n' roll scenesters--from Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson to Alex Chilton and Peter Buck--have moved to New Orleans,... More >>

• Lunar eclipse

  published April 3, 1997

  The Moon Festival churns out an impressive brand of vintage pop music, but, apparently, they can't dance. At least not the delicately timed ballet... More >>

• Pop mart

  published March 20, 1997

  If you live in Austin, it's easy to grow weary of that town's annual South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference: Downtown becomes impassable,... More >>

• Out Here

  published March 13, 1997

  Hit and mess Come And Get It -- A Tribute To Badfinger Various Artists Copper Records Do Me Baby! Austin Does Prince ... More >>

• The Will Rogers of shred

  published February 13, 1997

  The concept of the Guitar Hero has left a bad taste in the mouths of critics and music fans ever since punk stressed feeling over technique.... More >>

• Ain't life pop?

  published January 30, 1997

  Tim Locke, felled by the season's latest and nearly ubiquitous strain of flu, still manages to sound excited through the coughing and sniffling.... More >>