Sunshine daydream Bombs & Butterflies Widespread Panic Capricorn Records There was quite a bit of foofraw when Phish released Billy Breathes a few months ago. Much was made of the jam-happy group’s most convincing foray into the realm of accessible song, but that’s a space that Georgia’s Widespread Panic has…

Local bluesman Pat Boyack has fully recovered from an unfortunate bit of confusion last summer when longtime Mike Morgan and the Crawl vocalist-harmonica player Lee McBee decided to stick with (actually, rejoin) Morgan & Co. rather than play with Boyack. Although Bruce Bowland, the vocalist he was working with immediately…

Pop goes the easel Non Pop-Specific pop poppins Carpe Diem Records It’s probably a disservice to the other guys in pop poppins to focus on Broose Dickinson, but he is the group’s hyper-creative frontman and guiding light. Pop poppins have always been the masters of an emotion-laden sonic flow, and…

You don’t know what you’ve been missin’ Popular strummer-about-town Colin Boyd–most recently the author of “Peggy Sue Went Surfin'”–is certainly haunted by Buddy Holly’s ghost, but the former Cricket’s shade also makes it over to Austin to spook around Monte Warden’s house. You could make a case for Warden as…

Green, green grass of home who to love and when to leave Mary Cutrufello Independent release By now the more obvious aspects of Mary Cutrufello have been reduced to filler fodder, but the contrasts inherent in an African-American female from the East Coast with a Yale education attempting to play…

Hot buttered soul Snoop may well be the Doggfather, but Isaac Hayes (pictured) is still one of soul music’s Godfathers. Few songs show up in both the form of parody and sincere tribute as often as his “Theme from Shaft,” and few rappers have personified Black Pride the way Hayes…

The red brick building sits on the high ground overlooking the intersection of Harry Hines Boulevard and Oak Lawn Avenue like a fortress, accessible only by a curving driveway that flashes past drivers almost before it’s perceived. For many it’s a phenomenon of the commuter age–something that’s seen every day…

Knowing where the lions are The Charity of Night Bruce Cockburn Rykodisc If 1994’s Dart to the Heart was Bruce Cockburn flexing the muscles he’d built up since the mid-’70s–his reputation and technique snagging T Bone Burnett as producer and a rocked-up sound heavy on horns–then The Charity of Night…

Singer-songwriter Trish Murphy feels a particular warmth for Dallas. “The Dallas music scene really brought me back to life,” she says. “When I was at school [at the University of Dallas], Deep Ellum was in its beautiful early phase, this amazingly fertile, creative environment. I remember living out in Irving…

When Rick Reid’s will-to-Zydeco–honed in earlier bands Zydeco Faux Pas, then the Zydeco Swamptones–collided with the pop/cover-band tendencies of the Joybangers last summer, a new and wonderful thing was born: the band Hippie Gumbo. Perhaps it was a reward for finally resisting the urge to put the word “zydeco” in…

The feminine mystique There are some people who are so possessed of a love for life–and for love–that they are virtually forces of nature, blowing through situations and scenarios like some emotional Tasmanian devil. No matter how much these folks vex you–or break your heart–somehow you can’t hate them, so…

As years go by 20th Century Blues Marianne Faithfull Reverso/RCA Records Berlin in the ’20s: no other phrase conjures up quite so complete a picture of decadence and doom. Denizens of the Weimar Republic had the hedonist’s perfect excuse, a traumatic past and a future that hinted at even worse,…

Old tricks, new dogs Texas Blueswomen Chonita Turner, Jav-Lyn, and Lady Lotion TopCat Records Apart from touring acts like Buddy Guy and local blues jams, there exists a whole group of R&B/blues clubs that see few white faces but are no less valid for their self-containment (perhaps even more so)…

Houston El Mover Say what you will about Joe King Carrasco, but he’s responsible for two enduring rock ‘n’ roll memories. The first was years ago, during the heyday of Austin punk, at Duke’s Royal Coach Inn. It was a red-hot night, both for the performer and the un-air-conditioned crowd…

Contrary to a report in Tuesday, January 14’s Austin American-Statesman, a recommendation to restrict the presence of anyone under 21 in establishments that sell alcohol is not a bill, but that still doesn’t mean that club owners, club-goers, and musicians shouldn’t take an interest in goings-on down Austin way. The…

He was an avatar of fusions to come, a trumpet man whose high-C-over-C wailings presaged the mix of rock heroics and jazz technique that would later give birth to such acts as Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago, and then a thousand more. When he plays, Maynard Ferguson is a…

It Happened One Night Holly Cole Metro Blue/Capitol Records Jazzy singer Holly Cole perfectly illustrates how cool warmth can be. Her live show is so affecting that she can make even a huge outdoor shed like Starplex seem close and intimate, so this album–songs from a single night in Montreal…

The face on the cover of Cafe Noir’s album The Waltz King was perfect for the eclectic classicist/jazzbo aggregation: lined and weathered, it bespoke not only many miles and countless rooms, but also wisdom; sadness too, yes, but leavened with the peace that comes from experience. From that countenance–the kind…

The long and winding road At long last, the Right Reverend Billy C. Wirtz–over-the-top satirical singer-songwriter, one-man floor show, living lampoon of all things musical–has straightened out. Well, sort of. “I’m glad you called when you did,” the Rev says enthusiastically. “I pulled a groin muscle the other day and…

How do you solve a problem like this introduction? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? 1996 was many things–a flibbertigibbet, a will o’ the wisp, a clown–but more than anything for music, it was a time of transition. With “alternative” rock still spinning off hundreds of…

!Don’t you step on my huaraches azules! The line that divides style and shtick can be razor-thin, and if you introduce the Elvis Dimension it can be buried completely beneath deep drifts of Velveeta. It would be a mistake, however, to lump Los Angeles artist El Vez (nee Robert Lopez)…

You don’t miss your water New Year’s Eve gigs are plums for musicians and bands. Banner business nights, they usually pay quite well, and the band that lands one close to home can usually minimize road expenses while spending most of the holidays with friends and family. So when Moon…