Bad Brains

The Ten Best American Hardcore Punk Albums

Seeing that a form of Black Flag is touring right now (and playing Trees on Friday), we thought it a good time to investigate American hardcore punk rock. For all practical purposes, the beginning of hardcore in the states happened in the early 80's. While many hardcore acts were inspired by the Sex ... More >>

How The Atomic Tanlines Went From Church Choir to Crawling Around in Broken Glass

The Atomic Tanlines received plenty of praise last year with their blend of punk, free jazz and soul. The Denton-based five-piece sat down with us at the Waffle House where they started to discuss their background in music. You can catch them this week at Le Bitch Manor on Thursday and at Dada on Sa ... More >>

Hamilton Leithauser of The Walkmen on Bad Brains, Fatherhood and Making Heaven

Early morning interviews are always a risky proposition. When I was told to call Hamilton Leithauser, lead singer for indie darlings The Walkmen, at 9 a.m., I feared either early morning grogginess or outright surliness. Instead, Leithauser, who was speaking with DC9 in anticipation of Wednesday's ... More >>

Twin Shadow's George Lewis: "I Understand Why People Say My Lyrics Are Poetic"

George Lewis followed up 2010's Forget with the recently issued Confess , mixing the classic sounds of new wave with a more modern R&B twist. Speaking from the tour van as it crossed the California desert, and in anticipation of tonight's show at Trees, Lewis spoke about the unusual path he has take ... More >>

Playing Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey for My Daughter

See also: Playing Fugazi's Repeater for my kids I have been graced with a 15-year-old son who loves punk and metal. What's a better bonding experience than sharing a moment listening to Iron Maiden or Bad Brains? But when it comes to my 12-year-old daughter, her boy-band, country-pop leanings leav ... More >>

A Not-So-Vulgar Discussion of Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power

In honor of the recent 20th anniversary reissue of Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power, two music writers sat around a kitchen table and talked about it. One is clearly older than the other one. Eric Grubbs: When that record came out in 1992, what do you remember, aside from grunge and Nirvana being ... More >>

The Black Dotz Are a Band, Dammit

Greg Ginn Talks Texas, Improvisation and the Legacies of Black Flag and SST Records

Greg Ginn​ If only known for his work with the seminal punk band Black Flag, guitarist Greg Ginn would still occupy a revered spot in the annuls of alternative music. His fractured, feedback-laced style immediately stuck out within the hardcore punk movement of the early '80s. But Ginn ... More >>

Q&A: The Black Lips' Jared Swilley On Rowdy Shows, Punk's Influence and Playing Antarctica

Atlanta's The Black Lips formed as teenagers, right before the turn of the millennium. Just a year or two later, while still in high school, the punk-influenced, retro-obsessed four-piece started touring. And they've never really looked back. Seemingly more comfortable on the road than at home, the ... More >>

SXSW 2011 Buzz Power Rankings: Kanye Is On Top For Now... And Pretty Easily, Too.

You can do it, put your stinger into it.​South by Southwest is a static thing -- both in theory and in practice. It's a chance for bands to fans to see the established acts they've been wanting to see and for new, up-and-coming acts to try and make names for themselves. And that latter part very m ... More >>

Q&A: Mike Watt Talks The Minutemen, The Stooges and How The Hell He Ended Up On A Kelly Clarkson Album.

If known only for his work with the legendary trio known as The Minutemen, bassist Mike Watt would still have his place in rock 'n' roll lore. But even after that band disintegrated following the death of singer/guitarist D. Boon, Watt pressed on and formed another acclaimed trio: Firehose. And, whe ... More >>

Five Things About Local Music to be Thankful For

Hey, we're still excited about the Old 97's new record being great.​It's turkey time once again, but there are many other things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. Here are five music-related items that North Texas residents should be thankful for having. ​ 1. The Old 97's finally ma ... More >>

Q&A: P.O.S. Talks the Doomtree Collective and Not Playing Your Standard, Dumb-Downed Rap

Stefon Alexander, better known by his stage name P.O.S., is a rapper, singer and founding member of the hip-hop collective known as Doomtree. And that nine member group of MCs, producers and DJs is currently out on tour together for the first time. Featuring the talents of P.O.S., Dessa, Cecil Otter ... More >>

Over The Weekend: Bad Brains at the Granada Theater

Bad Brains, Spector 45 and Here Holy SpainThe Granada TheaterFriday, October 29, 2010Better than: reliving my punk rock past at home listening to actual recordsBad Brains​Before a sizable, middle-aged horde, legendary Washington, D.C. punk act Bad Brains put on a formable display of full throttle ... More >>

Giveaway: Two Pairs of Tickets to See Bad Brains Tonight at the Granada Theater

Bad Brains​When a band's been around as long as legendary Washington, D.C., punk act Bad Brains has, its reputation tends to precede it. Darryl Smyers wrote at length about the band's reputation in this week's paper, when he caught up with bassist Darryl Jennifer in advance of the band's stop thro ... More >>

Good Friday: Halloween Weekend Edition

A Baptist General headlines We Shot JR is Dead​This weekend marks the end of an era: After a five-year run, the most critical critics in North Texas over at We Shot JR are calling it quits. We suspect it's only a matter of days until the comments on DC9 increase in anonymity and negativity, but, b ... More >>

Bad Brains' Punk Legacy Remains Untarnished

Tonight, Tonight: Robert Gomez at Dan's, Sarah Jaffe DJ Set at the Double Wide, Crystal Castles at House of Blues, Coliseum and Burning Love at Rubber Gloves

We're about to see a sudden void in daily show lists, so, from here on out, each and every Monday through Thursday, I'll do my best to point the readers of DC9 in the right musical direction for each particular evening.Oh, sweet Tuesday, the second step towards another blissful weekend. And actua ... More >>

Show Announcements: Bad Brains, Christmas Day at Trees With Hagfish, Robert Gomez, The Cult, All Time Low, Marc Ribot, Semi Precious Weapons, Harlem, Soft Pack, Rufio, The Riverboat Gamblers, Ugly Mus-tard, Chayanne, and more

Bad Brains​Just because we're barely on the other side of the triple digit heatwave doesn't mean that it's too early to start thinking about Christmas, right? The folks over at Trees don't think so, at least. They've gone ahead and announced the first Christmas show of the year: A performance from ... More >>

Titus Andronicus, Soft Environmental Collapse, Bizarro Kids

Tuesday, August 31, at Sons of Hermann Hall

This Week In Dallas Music History: Before Major-Label Debut, Hagfish Sets The Record Straight: Not Phonies, Not Fake, Not Green Day

When this article appeared in the June 15, 1995, edition of the Observer, London Records was just weeks away from releasing Hagfish's major label-debut, Rocks Your Lame Ass--which also means that the band was just about two years away from being dropped by London Records, and about three years away ... More >>

Staff Trax: Bad Brains, The Broken West, Humble Pie and The Cooper Temple Clause

​Welcome to Staff Trax, the weekly feature here on DC9 where we shed some light on the music we've been enjoying of late, regardless of the touring or album release schedules that tend to bear the focus of most of our coverage. Consider it a chance for you readers to get some more insight i ... More >>

Power Trip

Armageddon Blues EP (Double or Nothing Records)

Bonus MP3: Power Trip - "Armageddon Blues"

​Local punk/metal outfit Power Trip recently released its debut EP, a resounding roar of a record called Armageddon Blues. The band formed a couple of years ago and recorded a couple of demo sessions before getting serious with the new EP, which finds the youthful quintet channeling cool '80s punk ... More >>

Agnostic Front

Friday, January 22, at Trees

Metal Gig Alert: Mammoth Grinder, Power Trip, Harms Way and Wiccans Tonight at 1919 Hemphill.

...and an awesome logo, too.​Looking for something sweet and wholesome to do before New Year's Eve rolls around? Well, don't bother with 1919 Hemphill tonight then--because tonight's show at the Fort Worth DIY venue will rock your balls off.Although Austin's Mammoth Grinder (great name) is the he ... More >>

Echoes and Reverberations: At the Theatre Gallery, Capturing Lightning in a Beer Cup

Outside the Theatre Gallery in Deep Ellum a quarter-century ago.It was the summer of 1984 and the city of Dallas was in the midst of a serious makeover. The Republican National Convention was coming to town and Big D was trying to put a conservative foot forward as the media spotlight fixated on our ... More >>

Local Punks Warcola Release New EP

​Although it's been out a month or so, I'm just now getting around to the killer new EP from local punks Warcola. Parlaying punk of the old school hardcore variety (Minor Threat, Bad Brains), Matt, Oscar (no last names = real punks) and the rest of Warcola have been spitting on audiences for a cou ... More >>

Gig Alert: Vice Squad, Lower Class Brats Tonight at The Prophet Bar

Lower Class Brats open for Vice Squad at the Prophet Bar tonight.Beki Bondage (born Rebecca Louise Bond) helped start UK punk stalwarts Vice Squad way back in 1978. She left the band for an ill-fated solo career in 1982, but resurrected the name in 1997. Since, she and an assorted crew of sidemen ha ... More >>

Echoes and Reverberations: The Bad Sleep Good or Not At All.

They were loud, rude, bratty and obnoxious. They smoked pot, drank lots of beer, did drugs and slept in their clothes. If you were a guy who hung out at Theatre Gallery during the late '80s, chances are pretty good that one (or more) of them fucked your girlfriend. And they got away with it all be ... More >>

Echoes and Reverberations: Karen Finley and the Delicate Art of Disgust

In the summer of 1986, the Theatre Gallery was all about confronting the established aesthetic sensibilities of the comfortable arts patron. Basically, we loved to shock the shit out of people. Our venue existed to raise the bar on outrageousness and freedom of expression. Example: One of our ... More >>

Echoes and Reverberations: Anthony and Flea's Tube Sock Diaries

When you're 23 years old, it's all about smoking dope out of an empty beer can, having sex in the backseat of your car, and watching Soul Train the next morning with a hammer-to-the-forehead hangover. At least, it would've been for me, if I had actually owned my own automobile. That period of my lif ... More >>

Echoes and Reverberations: Dead Kennedys “Rock Against Politics”

Last Night: The Walkmen At House Of Blues’ Pontiac Garage

Line Up Set for Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest. Fun? You Bet.

Thorn vs. Side's Nowell Doesn't Hold Back in Our Q&A

First Impression

Poking around the new Deep Ellum W/W: Deep Ellum | Dallas Observer Losers Awards Show

Videos from Hell

Thorn vs. Side

Saturday, August 26, at Hailey's

Looking at America

Flogging Molly's Dave King left Ireland for a career in rock, but he couldn't escape his roots

System of a Down

Mezmerize (Sony)

Rockin' Around

Holiday gifts for the music lover in your life

The Negro Problem

More flamboyant than Liberace, Turbonegro has come to reclaim the States

Bottle the Spin

The "40 best artists making music right now?" Nah.

2003 SnoCore Tour

February 15

God Bless America

To Lamb of God, the New American Gospel is "pure American metal"

Live in Chicago, 1999

Luscious Jackson
Ben Lee

Out There

Bridging the gap

311 blurs the line between rock and rap