Michael W. Smith is the George Michael of the contemporary Christian music scene. Well, maybe he’s more like the Phil Collins, but without the drums and the baldness. Nevertheless, he is a Christian rock god (no pun intended). His concerts are jam packed with holy rolling fans that would totally…

There is a long, checkered history of “one-man shows” and “performance art” dating as far back as Hal Holbrook, Karen Finley and the Fluxus art movement. Probably even further. It seems that the latest celebrity to throw his old-ass hat into the arena is the one and only Billy Crystal…

George Winston is a musician who seems to be sideswiped by each passing fancy and dives in with a deep, inspired passion. He first came to prominence in the early ’80s with a series of atmospheric, New Age-ish albums of solo piano music that painted moody soundscapes and conjured images…

As someone who has written several musicals based on great movies, I am happy when someone takes an awesome flick and turns it into an awesome musical. In these days of Sam Raimi as Hollywood mega-director, it behooves us to take a look back at where it all began with…

The Bride of Frankenstein is a demented classic of horror and camp and quite a pleasant surprise. Its interesting prologue–where Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and Mary Shelley (the author of the original Frankenstein novel) are discussing the merits of Shelley’s book–segues nicely into the final scene of the original Frankenstein…

The life of a stripper must be tough. Having to deal with being pawed by gaggles of slobbering, sex-crazed guys night after night ain’t no picnic. While some strippers see their job as a career, most probably just see it as a way to make some quick cash, planning to…

Does anybody remember when Chevy Chase was funny? At one point he was actually one of the funniest people in the entire universe. I’m serious. After he left Saturday Night Live in 1976, he made some very funny movies. His best role, however, was a few years later in Caddyshack,…

Pink started off as a charter member of the “girl singer” onslaught that trampled the pop charts at the turn of the century. She broke out a few years later, re-emerging as a tough, punkish upstart bending the rules of pop music by mixing elements of dance and hip-hop production…

The Webb Gallery has always had a soft spot for art relating to secret societies. Whether it’s Masonic aprons or hand-painted banners welcoming members of the Odd Fellows to a mysterious gathering, Bruce and Julie Webb are the caretakers of a hermetic clearinghouse. If you are lucky enough to visit…

The super-mellow sounds of the pop music sub-genre AM Gold reached a fever pitch as the 1970s came to a close. However, two of its biggest stars didn’t make their mark until the early 1980s, putting a musical exclamation point on the previous decade. Australia’s Air Supply was an unfathomably…

Ever since the first episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired on our own KERA back in 1974, the silliness has caught on like the plague. If you are one of the millions who can’t get enough Python, then here is an event that will do a silly walk all…

Her voice walks a full block ahead of her body, sort of comforting in the same way that Fran Drescher’s voice is a knife in your brain. But Wanda Sykes is a unique entertainer in many ways. Let’s forget about that little bugaboo at the White House Press Corps Dinner…

The tribute band’s goal is to bring the full concert experience of a “famous” touring group to a more intimate setting. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to see Ozzy Osbourne do a full effects-laden concert in a small nightclub, you are in luck. Dallas’ own Blizzard…

Since the heady days of the 1966 flower power uprising, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has been trucking along the country-rock highway. Starting like many groups of the day as a jug band, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band soon found its niche in the influential sub-genre of “country rock.” Its…

A lone, naked figure swims in the deserted ocean. The ominous, two-note score stalks the ears. The camera floats at the sea level. Then, sudden as a lightning bolt, the swimmer is jerked violently down. A shriek of terror fills the screen as she is mercilessly attacked by a…shark. With…

Women want him. Men want to be him. He can conjure any emotion with just a few notes on the keyboard. He is Yanni, the uber-king of “new age” music. His compositions have infiltrated television and radio airwaves for years, becoming indelibly linked to the Olympics and other sporting events…

When Mystery Science Theater 3000 was originally on the air, a group of friends and I used to begrudgingly view it and say, “Man, I could have come up with that, we do that anyway!” In case you missed it, MST3K would scour the dregs of the B-Movie vaults for…

Alfred Hitchcock’s twisted psychological thriller Vertigo is a strange and wondrous film, a bit of a departure from Rear Window and The Man Who Knew Too Much. In fact, most critics at the time called it “too slow” and were basically weirded out by the twisted and overtly sexual subject…

The timeless story of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is one of triumph and tragedy within a cruelly run mental institution. We are familiar with the film version. Jack Nicholson is superb in his role as the over-the-top McMurphy, a criminal who is hiding in the nuthouse rather than…

Master of blue-eyed R&B, Boz Scaggs has been laying down grooves since he was 12 years old. Raised in Dallas, he met Steve Miller (you know, “Fly Like an Eagle”) while attending St. Mark’s and they started rocking together. Years later, Boz achieved mainstream success with his signature style of…

The smell of turkey legs wafts through the air. In the distance you hear the tones of a hammered dulcimer conjuring hazy musical memories. The playful sounds of children surround your feet. You look down to smile at the young ‘uns but instead of a happy 8-year-old, you see a…is…

As lead singer for essential ’80s band Wall of Voodoo, Stan Ridgway carved a unique vocal groove into the pop consciousness. Often dismissed as one-hit wonders for their song “Mexican Radio,” Wall of Voodoo was a surprisingly original band. Their snakey spaghetti Western guitars and combination of drum machines and…