Brent Best

The 10 Greatest Alt-Country Bands Ever

With Jay Farrar and Son Volt playing at the Sons of Hermann Hall this weekend, it seems a good time to evaluate the entire Alt-country semi-movement. For all practical matters, Alt-country began with Uncle Tupelo's album No Depression in 1990. Shortly thereafter, the magazine of the same name was pu ... More >>

The 14 Best Unofficial 35 Denton Shows

If for some reason you find yourself in Denton this weekend sans the shiny wristband required for entry into 35 Denton, the town's four-day, walkable music festival, don't fret! There's still plenty of cool shit to do and excellent music to see that costs absolutely nothing. Below is a list of the b ... More >>

Terminator 2, Lechuguillas, Bludded Head - Rubber Gloves - 4/10/12

Denton label and all-around art/music enthusiasts Gutterth put together a furiously energetic noise show last night at Rubber Gloves. Brent Best of Slobberbone fame and Batey Ray of popular Denton punk trio The Swedish Teens were drink-slinging behind the bar, handling the packed house with an antit ... More >>

Fearless Leader: Rubber Gloves' Josh Baish

Welcome to Local Music 'Mericans, where we get to know the people behind the scenes in Dallas/Fort Worth music. Josh Baish is the head honcho at Denton's Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, perhaps one of the most important venues in DFW's music scene since opening in 1997. Baish owes its success to ... More >>

This Week In Dallas Music History: Erik Thompson Is a One-Man Lo-Fi Chorus

​Back before the quirky rock act known as Lo-Fi Chorus moved down to Denton and become a duo, Erik Thompson, the formerly Denton-dwelling man behind the moniker, found a creative well in an unlikely place. In this edition of This Week In Dallas Music History, in 1999, former Observer contributor C ... More >>

Tonight, Tonight: Ralph White at Dan's and Mechanical People at Poor David's

Just a couple of interesting musical options this Monday evening as the music conferences have been all packed up and put away until next year.

Show Announcements: True Widow, 35 Conferette Schedule, The Hope Trust, Bill Frisell, KT Tunstall, Portugal. The Man, Black Label Society, Slobberbone & More!

Steve VisneauTrue Widow​It's been three years since local slow-grinding act True Widow released their self titled debut album to local acclaim. But their debut grabbed the attention of Kemodo Records, who signed the band just last year. And now they are poised to release their follow up, the ridic ... More >>

This Week In Dallas Music History: Chris Flemmons Finally Moves Upstream With His Band, The Baptist Generals.

​In a few weeks time, established Denton songwriter and Baptist Generals frontman Chris Flemmons will kick off his third annual Denton music festival, now known as the 35 Conferette. Twelve years ago, though, Flemmons was just a newcomer in the Denton music scene -- even if it didn't take long for ... More >>

For Your Listening Pleasure: The Gourds (and Pogues, Snoop Dogg and VU) at Barleypalooza

​Amazing the things you find when you're not looking for them. Take this morning's accidental stumbled-across, for instance: The Gourds recorded in the old Barley House parking lot on June 1, 1997, during the third then-annual Barleypalooza musical marathon on N. Henderson. (Here's some video, for ... More >>

Tonight, Tonight: Toy Drive at The Libertine, KC Turner at Opening Bell, Dave Semans Combo at Lakewood Bar & Grill and Owen Obel at the Absinthe Lounge

Not the craziest Monday night ever. But, considering that it's Christmas week, there's still a nice selection of musical options this evening -- including a cool touring duo and four dependable local acts.

Tonight, Tonight: Sam Adams at House of Blues, Aaron Neville at the Lakewood Theater and Micah Schnabel at Dan's Silverleaf

A few interesting musical offerings in our area this Tuesday evening. Ought to be something to catch your ears and eyes in this collection...

The colliding past and presents of local music.

Good Friday: Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Music Festival, Autolux, Designer Drugs, Sarah Jaffe, Dave Matthews Band, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Nick Cannon, Lyfe Jennings, Guitar Shorty, Paramore, Tegan & Sara, Rigor Mortis, Jonas Brothers & more

​This weekend is stuffed with some pretty big shows, but the biggest one coming to town this weekend might be Saturday's Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Music Festival at Superpages.com Center with Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, our own Hellyeah and many more.Maybe getting all jacked up on repackaged ... More >>

Show Announcements: Sufjan Stevens, Interpol, Yells At Eels, Video, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Wolf Parade, Will Johnson, More.

Denny RenshawSufjan Stevens​Sufjan Stevens didn't get too far in his attempt to write an album for each state in the US. Of the 50, he completed two--and then he kind of disappeared for a few years after the release of his Christmas album in 2006. Maybe if he hadn't put more than 20 songs on each ... More >>

Giveaway: Three Pairs of Tickets to Tomorrow Night's Slobberbone Show at the Granada

Saturday night's kind of crazy-filled with shows from locals-done-good: There's the Toadies (with support from The House Harkonnen and The Burning Hotels) celebrating Feeler at the Palladium; there's Pleasant Grove (with support from Mike Graff and Derek Rogers) at the Kessler; and then there's a li ... More >>

Good Friday: Brent Best, Telegraph Canyon, Greg Schroeder, Bob Log III, Brave Combo, The Hold Steady, The Whigs, True Widow, Dove Hunter, The O's, Rodeo Ruby Love, Mini Kiss, Second Saturdays and Others!

Larry Brown​American writer Larry Brown was born and grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. His works caught the eye of Alejandro Escovedo, who often played back-up for Brown during his public readings. Brown passed away in 2004, but Brent Best, Chris Welch, and Isaac Hoskins will celebrate his birthday ... More >>

Good Friday: Fourth of July Edition

​Pool parties, cookouts and cold ones--probably the best way celebrate the Fourth of July around here. And, as we mentioned earlier this week, the Double Wide will have all of those things on Sunday night. The pool party starts at 7 p.m. and the concert, which features Bruce Springsteen, Replaceme ... More >>

Show Announcements: The xx, Slobberbone, Speedealer, Electric Six, Local Natives, Forever The Sickest Kids, Blue October and others

​When the British indie/new wave/minimalists, The xx released their debut album X last year, the ripple that formed in the blogosphere was somewhat polarizing. But, love 'em or hate 'em, they're bringing their turntables and Dieter's Dance Party haircuts to the Granada Theater on Friday, October 8 ... More >>

Josh Alan Friedman to Offically Christen the Resurrected Kessler Saturday Night

​Old friend, guitarrista, author and one-time Observer contributor Josh Alan Friedman stopped by the office yesterday to drop off a copy of his long-in-the-works "autobiographical novel" Black Cracker, which has been available for der Kindle since May of last year. (As Josh summarizes, it's the st ... More >>

Yesterday at NX35: Slobberbone at Dan's

Mattie StaffordIt was a crowded affair at Dan's Silverleaf​Band: Slobberbone Venue: Dan's SilverleafTime: 12:05 a.m. Slobberbone, the reigning godfather of local alt-country acts, hit the stage just a smidge past midnight and proceeded to play all of the band's "hits" to a blissfully inebriat ... More >>

Show Announcements: Buck Pets To Rock Trees Once Again, More

Yet another reunion show recalling Deep Ellum's glory days is in the works as The Buck Pets, whose history Jeff Liles tackled in Echoes and Reverberations last year, will play Trees Saturday, April 10. We haven't heard any kind of formal announcement yet, but the calendar on the Trees MySpace page c ... More >>

Good Friday: Brent Best, Bridges & Blinking Lights, Days of the New, Babyface, Pitbull, Doug Burr, All That Remains, Binary Sunrise, Rhett Miller, RTB2, Saboteur, The Sounds, Shinedown

​The weekend's here, which is good news for anyone hoping to catch up on sleep and boost their immune systems so they don't catch that darn H1N1 virus going around. And good news for music fans, too, as there's enough rock going on to melt both your face and all potential germs it might be keeping ... More >>

Gig Alerts: A Busy Musical Thursday Across North Texas

Jeff Hanson plays Rubber Gloves in Denton tonight.Judging by the amount of quality acts performing in and around our fair city tonight, you might think it was the week before SXSW. Well maybe not quite, but you get the idea: There's a lot more going on than the sure-to-be-emotional Carter Albrecht C ... More >>

Good Friday: Starhead, Lucky Tubb, Mustache Pageant And Not Much Else

If you can overcome the dreary weather, Black Friday shopping exhaustion and post-Thanksgiving hangover, there are a few noteworthy shows to choose from this weekend. First, a reminder of what we've already mentioned. Tonight, you can catch Gojira, 36 Crazyfists, In Flames and All That Remains at ... More >>

Rhett Miller and Brent Best To Perform At Cystic Fibrosis Benefit Show

Denton's Strawberry Fields is the New DIY Venue of Choice

Good Friday: Dove Hunter, Shooter Jennings, PlayRadioPlay!, Spector 45

ASCAP Can Cripple Small Venues

Denton's Rubber Gloves was told to pay up more than $8,000 to the industry giant

Best Bets for New Year's Eve Concerts

Two Cow Garage

Sunday, June 10, at AllGood Café

Backyard Tire Fire

Vagabonds and Hooligans (o.i.e.)

Pinebox Serenade, George Neal

Saturday, September 23, The Doublewide

Best City Ever

If you think Dallas' music scene is slipping, then you're obviously missing the shows

Robert Deeble

Sunday, June 19, at Gypsy Tea Room

Odds & Ends

Midlake on The Late Late Show; enter The Drams; and say bye-bye to Sara Radle

Letters

Sorry You Missed It Eyes Wide Open in Frisco

Rodney Parker

Blow the Soot Out (Double Xxposure)

Bye Bye Barley

A favorite musicians' haunt moves locations. Let's hope its spirit stays intact.

Odds & Ends

Frequently asked questions; Slobberbone says farewell

Good Vibrations

Changes at Good Records, plus news on the Polyphonic Spree and a royalmea culpa

Milton Mapes/Milton Mapes-Nate Fowler/Deadman

The State Line (My Aunt Jane's Recordings)/Sway (Neighborhood Recordings)/Cuatro Canciones (Self-released)

Hijinks at Trees

Long-overdue debuts

Best Band Comeback

Union Camp

Check this out

Union Camp tries to change minds with a new name and album

Corporate rock sucks

Or: Bobgoblin and Centro-matic prove why you should never sign to a record label, big or small

Out Here

Rock bottom

Tucked away in the cellar of a Denton pizza shack is a club that offers punk rock bands a place to re-discover why they make music in the first place

Roadshows

Out Here

Out Here