Even after more than 20 years in the music business, Ronan Harris of VNV Nation still rambles on like a kid half his age. Enthusiastic and confident in the extreme, Harris believes (correctly) that the music he and partner Mark Jackson create is as important now as when it first…
Talking to Matthew Good can feel like being reprimanded by your high school history teacher. Opinionated, well-spoken and extremely blunt, Good never hesitates to delve into areas of interest not common to most singer-songwriters. The guy just happens to be a damn fine songwriter as well. Whether fronting his own…
Some bands just like to be mysterious. Take Houston’s Indian Jewelry for example. Although the band has been around for a little over a decade, very little biographical material is available. Various articles on the band list five members, but some list only two, and even then, pseudonyms are used…
Portland’s Nurses sound as odd as their moniker. Dracula, the band’s 2011 effort and second Dead Oceans LP, upped the ante considerably over former releases with its focus and poise. In anticipation of tonight’s opening slot for Steven Malkmus & the Jicks at the Granada Theater, keyboardist and vocalist John…
A little over five months ago, John Carbone of Gilded Splinters decided to move from Boston to Austin. Seems the trio felt the scene in New England was restricting the band’s chances of breaking out nationally, so they loaded up everything and headed South. Speaking from his new abode in…
As the leader of Soul Coughing, Mike Doughty made a name for himself as a songwriter with a penchant for jazz grooves and stream-of-consciousness poetry. Too bad feuding amongst Doughty and the rest of the band over songwriting credit and other issues brought an end to Soul Coughing after just…
Although Laura Gibson’s engaging and challenging music owes as much to jazz as it does to any notion of folk. La Grande, her recently released sophomore effort, is a collection that laces those sounds with a bit of atmospheric rock. Just waking up before the long drive from Marfa to…
Intense barely scratches the surface when talking about Suicide Silence. The California extreme metal outfit has been around for just over a decade, and in that time, they’ve created three of the severest slabs of deathcore to be found. Speaking from a Houston restaurant in anticipation of tonight’s show at…
In the early ’90s, Matt Hillyer and his band, Lone Star Trio, were packing venues with a rootsy sound about the same time that Rhett Miller and Murry Hammond were forming the Old 97’s. Since 1998, Hillyer’s fronted Eleven Hundred Springs, an old-school honky-tonk band that’s released several top-notch albums,…
In honor of Evan Dando and his band The Lemonheads being at the Prophet Bar tonight, I thought I might share with the readers of DC9 some of the pitfalls of being a music writer. Sure, there are tons of positives: free shows and CDs and access to cool people…
Since You Me at Six is already a major success in their home country of England, Josh Franceschi and crew have now set their sights on conquering America. To that end, the pop-punk five-piece recently released Sinners Never Sleep, their most mature effort to date. Featuring intense numbers like “Bite…
Judging by Jillian Edwards’ recently released sophomore effort, Head First, the Richardson-bred singer-songwriter shouldn’t have much trouble making it in Nashville. Tunes such as “No Other Plans” and “Mind Made Up” show Edwards wiser than her 23 years might indicate. Speaking from her parents’ home in Richardson and in anticipation…
Denton’s Boxcar Bandits have been playing their warped version of Americana for just over half a decade. In that time, they’ve played countless shows and produced two albums: 2008’s Smells Like Grass and the recently released Live at Dan’s Silverleaf. And while live efforts are often perfunctory product issued to…
Electro house musician Steve Aoki is much more than your run-of-the-mill remixer. Besides running the influential Dim Mak record label, Aoki also owns two restaurants, works with artists as diverse as Duran Duran and Drake, has a clothing line, invented his own brand of headphones and plays more than 250…
Bravo, Max! has been through a tumultuous few months. After releasing Dog’s Light, the band’s fantastic debut full-length, they suddenly lost two members. Johnny Beauford, Ben Gastright and Jonathan Jackson decided to charge ahead as a three-piece and, judging by recent songs such as “Sleepy Simon,” the move is already…
Listening to any effort from Eleven Hundred Springs, including latest Midway, is like having your cool uncle pull out his favorite albums. Matt Hillyer and crew have that old-school country sound down. When the band started up way back in 1998, some folks thought it was just guys imitating the…
Matt Pryor’s main gig is fronting The Get Up Kids, but every year or so, he decides to go the sensitive singer/songwriter route and bring a few friends along, including Bayside’s Anthony Raneri and Chris Conley from Saves the Day. They all play under the banner of Where’s the Band?…
A Lull is a relatively new band hailing from Chicago. In just a few years, they’ve developed a solid reputation for edgy indie pop and chaotic live performances. Currently on tour in support of Confetti, their impressive debut, A Lull seems primed for a larger audience. Speaking from his car…
For nearly three decades, singer/guitarist Anders Osborne has called The Big Easy home and the city’s musical heritage has had a profound impact on Osborne’s music. Funky and inventive, his blues are inspired by both John Lee Hooker and Doctor John, full of impressive solos and carefree spirit that goes…
2011 was an interesting year for Paul Meany, frontman for the indie rock quartet MuteMath. Not only did the band turn into a trio with the departure of guitarist Greg Hill, but Meany decided it was time for other changes as well. When work began on the band’s most recent…
Once the leader of Fort Worth’s Hillbilly Café, singer/songwriter Devin Leigh has been busy the last few years, most recently lending his guitar work to Austin’s Bleu Edmonson. But 2011 saw the release of Music for the Sole, and Leigh could finally get on with a solo career, which finds…
Hailing from Hamden, Connecticut, Wolves at Bay is a young punk band that’s venturing to Texas for the very first time, bringing with them a heady mix of metal and old-school punk that recalls the greatness of Hüsker Dü and Suicidal Tendencies. From a tour stop in North Carolina and…
