In just two short years, Australia’s Gold Fields have gone from a relatively obscure new-wave influenced dance pop band to the precipice of something much bigger. When the band’s full length debut, Black Sun, hit the racks this past February, Gold Fields hit the States for a whirlwind four month…
For the better part of four decades, Lucinda Williams has been one of Texas’ best and most dependable songwriters and performers. Over the course of ten albums, Williams has moved from earthy blues and folk to jangly country/pop and has even dabbled in more contemporary sounds. What has remained consistent…
When the late Rozz Williams formed Christian Death way back in the early 80’s, the band was more of a campy, death-obsessed punk outfit than the gothic beast they would become under the guidance of one Valor Kand. Kand took charge of the band and brand name that would become…
As I walked out of the Verizon Theater in Grand Prairie late Saturday night, I commented that Steely Dan sure featured some good musicians. “Great musicians, you mean,” said my father-in-law. “Those guys were great.” And so they were. Some four decades after Walter Becker and Donald Fagen first decided…
Spanning fifty years, the musical career of John Mayall has been as fascinating and influential as just about anyone in the history of rock. In late 1963, Mayall formed the first incarnation of the Bluesbreakers, a legendary outfit that featured a revolving cast of players that included the likes of…
Although Joe King Carrasco has lived in Mexico for almost a decade, he will be forever linked with the Texas music scene of the ’70s and ’80s. This December, Carrasco (born Joseph Teutsch) turns 60, yet his remarkable mixture of Tex-Mex and new wave still sounds as fresh as it…
Twenty years ago, The Backstreet Boys were unleashed on an unsuspecting American public and the “boy band” phenomenon was officially under way. Inspired partly by the great doo-wop groups of the ’50s and partly by the R&B of the ’90s, Nick Carter and the rest of the boys were quickly…
Growing up in the late ’70s and early ’80s, bands like Heart were the bane of my existence. As a teenager, I cringed when hits like “Magic Man” or “Barracuda” were constantly coming from the radio in my dad’s car. Sure, both Ann and Nancy Wilson were easy on the…
Kim Lenz and the Jaguars play old school rockabilly with a fire and passion that is often missing from the hordes of retro-shtick, dress up cover bands that plague many music scenes. With a campy sense of humor and a ferocious persona, Lenz is a visual and musical magnet. Although…
Randy Ebright of Molotov certainly stands out. Born in Michigan, Ebright ended up in Mexico City due his dad’s job as a DEA agent. Once there, he quickly connected with the local music scene and joined Molotov. Twenty years later, the guy is still drumming for one of the most…
The age old dilemma of having one band on the bill you (kind of, sort of, used to) like and one you (pretty much) hate was thrust upon me Wednesday night at Gexa Energy Pavilion. Back in the early ’90s, I found the Goo Goo Dolls to have that same…
Over the years, the Vans Warped Tour has fascinatingly evolved to include a widely diverse collection of alternative rock acts. What was once simply a showcase for metal and punk now features rap, electronica, folk and bands in several other genres. This year’s Warped Tour may be the most varied…
Although the Goo Goo Dolls gained most of their fame via slick, syrupy ballads such as “Name” and “Iris,” the band actually began life as a rather snotty punk/metal outfit way back in 1985. But after drummer Mike Malinin joined in 1995, the music of the Goo Goo Dolls became…
Seeing both Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker on the same bill was a perplexing experience. On the one hand, it was two of my favorite bands, each one responsible for a (different) decade’s worth of quality alternative rock. On the other hand, since David Lowery fronts both bands, the show…
With singer David Lowery fronting both Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker (and with both scheduled to play the Granada Theater this Saturday), it is a good time to compare and contrast these two exceptional bands. Cracker has always seemed to get a bad rap because the band is not as…
From the very beginning,Living Colour broke boundaries and erased stereotypes. If known only for their breakthrough single, “Cult of Personality,” Living Colour’s place in rock ‘n’ roll history would be secure, but the band’s career is much deeper than that. From a tour stop in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in…
Way before the Pirates of the Caribbean films brought buccaneer chic back into vogue, various rock acts over the decades have mined this particular influence; some better than others. Here is a list of those who have been particularly ham-fisted, including one Adam Ant who performs this Sunday at the…
Formed in Austin nearly a decade ago, The Sword is one of the heaviest bands to emerge from that scene. Full of monstrous guitar riffs and typically bombastic sci-fi themes, the four Sword albums are intense, thought-provoking and filled with good humor. The band’s most recent effort, Apocryphon, is a…
Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs has one of most distinctive voices in rock. Equal parts David Bowie and Johnny Rotten, Butler’s jagged croon can convey the intensities involved with love and regret with the phrasing of a single syllable. Amazingly, after nearly four decades rasping out hits such as…
At 64, Marcia Ball could well be considered the queen of Texas blues. No other female performer has captured the transcendent mixture of swampy, New Orleans style piano blues and the more acoustic form exemplified by the likes of Lightnin’ Hopkins better than Ball. Over a career that has spanned…
Ryan Thomas Becker was David Byrne. At least for a few days he was. Seems Becker was fronting a Talking Heads tribute band this past weekend at the Kessler, part of a three-city mini-tour he and the rest of the ensemble had undertaken. “About a year and a half ago,…
Lynyrd Skynyrd | Bad Company | Slobberbone Verizon Theater July 10, 2013 A surprisingly loud and diverse crowd made their way to Grand Prairie last night to catch an oddly matched line-up of classic rock from the ’70s and ’80s. And Slobberbone was there as well. While in line for…
