Heartless Bastard Erika Wennerstrom on Finding Her Voice

Austin’s Heartless Bastards recently released their latest LP, Arrow, solidifying their reputation as a damn fine band. For those who didn’t hop on the bandwagon after 2009’s The Mountain, there aren’t very many seats left. The four-piece makes a stop at Lola’s on Friday night. Wennerstrom talked a bit about…

Our 34 picks for 35 Denton

Read more: 35 Denton Cleans Up Its Block and Rebrands Itself THURSDAY Bleached The Labb, 11:30 p.m. San Fernando Valley sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin formed California beach-punk band Bleached after their previous group, Mika Miko, dissolved in 2009. Bleached combine sun-soaked, carefree rock with a tinge of late-’70s punk…

Lucero Continue to Evolve

For Lucero’s Ben Nichols, the development of his band’s sound has been a matter of mere evolution, not a purposeful attempt to piss off longtime fans who wish they would play the same songs on every tour stop. The change began with 2009’s 1372 Overton Park, which introduced a horn…

Preview: Heartless Bastards at Lola’s Saloon

With the release of their second album since moving to Austin, the self-assured Arrow, Erika Wennerstrom’s Heartless Bastards should be able to forever laugh off the asinine thought of them being musical carpetbaggers. After the triumph that was the group’s 2009 album The Mountain, Cincinnati transplant Wennerstrom used her voice…

Consider That Myth Busted

Quirky, curious quasi-intellectuals, gird up your non-ironic berets: Stuff’s going to get busted. The Mythbusters themselves, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, will again show audiences how they too can seek truth from clichés (aka “myths”). Maybe the stars of the Discovery Channel hit will bring a good ol’ Texas bull…

Flogging Molly – House of Blues – 3/4/12

Flogging Molly House of Blues Sunday, March 4 Sunday night’s Flogging Molly show more or less served as the triumphant closing ceremony for what might have been the most Irish-intensive week in recent Metroplex history. Last Monday, Boston shamrockers Dropkick Murphys kicked things off, while the North Texas Irish Festival…

Watch: Saille Branch & the Big Benders’ “29 Days”

Back in 2010, I was privileged to be a regular judge for that year’s edition of the Shiner Rising Star contest. The band that won the very first round I helped judge, Saille Branch and the Big Benders, went on to convincingly win their second round match-up and almost took…

The Boxing Lesson’s New Drugs and Desert Island Album

While Roky Erickson and the Black Angels get proper credit for being ambassadors of Austin psych past and present, let us consider the Boxing Lesson. Mixing swirling, soaring guitars with synth instead of bass, the trio is looking to expand minds beyond the boundaries of what other psych rock bands…

GIVE UP PUNS FOR LIN-T

Whether it’s Mark “The Bird” Fidrych from the ’70s, or William “The Fridge” Perry from the ’80s, we can not get enough of athletes that seemingly come out of nowhere. Before the season finally started, a game with the New York Knicks would’ve been circled on the calendar for the…

Grant Jones at the Magnolia Motor Lounge

Regular readers of DC9 and regular drinkers at just about any North Texas honky-tonk are likely familiar with Grant Jones & The Pistol Grip Lassos by now. Between celebrating a great victory in the 2009 Shiner Rising Star Contest (where they won a recording contract) and suffering unimaginable loss when…

Dropkick Murphys – House of Blues – 2/27/12

Dropkick Murphys House of Blues Monday, February 27 A Dropkick Murphys show isn’t one to hold surprises, nor is it one to attend when you’re just looking for a decent night of music. Don’t get me wrong, the beloved Celtic punk band’s performance last night at House of Blues was…

Buxton’s Top Five Movies That Make Us Feel Terrible

If it seems as though we’ve been discussing emerging New West Records signees or inventive bands who know how to artfully blend folk, rock and country together lately, it’s because we have. So why don’t we continue that trend right here, yes? OK, good. Buxton, a five-piece from Houston, has…

Have Gun Will Travel Wants to Be Exiled While Stranded

One of the better young acts excelling in rootsy chemistry is Florida’s Have Gun Will Travel. While their current album, Mergers & Acquisitions, is the band’s strongest to date, the quintet’s last LP, Postcards From the Friendly City, was an excellent example of their talents as well. For those who…

Preview: Dropkick Murphys at House of Blues

At the end of the 2005 movie Sideways, Paul Giamatti’s character Miles decides to create a special event by drinking a bottle of high-dollar wine on a less than extraordinary day, instead of waiting for a cork-pop-worthy occasion to magically occur. Now, apply the same line of thinking to a…

Bring It On! They Need Our Help.

Look. We can’t all bring it on. We can’t all sit in the back of the bus with the football studs. Some of us have to haul the water bottles and sweaty uniforms and then sit up front with the coach and his spit cup. Lucky for those of us…

Mixmaster Chats With Roz Savage, 2010 Adventurer Of the Year

Reigning MVP, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Hart Trophy Winner, and J-Lo’s current boy toy: These are a few of the more coveted titles in the world of pop-culture today. None of them, regardless of the spoils that come with such a victory, sound anywhere near as cool as Adventurer of the…

Local Singer-Songwriter Ronnie Fauss Signs With New West

There have been some notable record deals inked among North Texas artists in recent years — Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights on Atlantic and Midlake on Bella Union pop to mind — and as of February 10, Dallas-based singer-songwriter Ronnie Fauss joined the ranks of regional artists with serious…

Scott Kelly Strips Down to His Vulnerable Core

To apply the term “hardcore” in describing the sounds and vibes of Bay Area titans Neurosis is to miss the point. Whether the Scott Kelly-led outfit writhes with more recent ambient tones or pummels with the punk of their late-’80s beginnings, there’s a legitimate sense of emotional heaviness that can…

Savagely Adventurous and Thoughtful

In a day when a Kardashian is deemed multifaceted for having her own perfume, while allowing cameras to follow her to lunch, it’s especially impressive to gaze upon the resume of someone who’s multitalented. The UK’s beautiful advocate for environmental care, Roz Savage, is multiremarkable. After leaving her corporate job,…