If you were to ask the average Joe on the street who his favorite guitar player is, you’d probably get an answer like “Jimi Hendrix” if you’re lucky, “Dave Matthews” if you’re not. But if you were to ask someone who really knows the possibilities a guitar presents, you’d probably…

As a kid I read lots of weird books about Texas–full of ghost stories, roadside oddities and the like. My favorite was probably the story of Ol’ Rip–the horny toad entombed in the cornerstone of the Eastland County Courthouse in 1897–who was found, alive, when they renovated the building 31…

When you think of the things produced by our fair city, several immediately spring to mind, and you can put most of them in your mouth–Mrs. Baird’s bread, frozen margaritas, Fletcher’s Corny Dogs, 7-Eleven, fried Coke, fried guacamole bites, etc., etc. (Can you tell we’re getting amped up for the…

Joe Rogan, like many comedians, is a pretty strange cat. On the one hand, he’s publicly called out Carlos Mencia and Dane Cook for stealing jokes, which is awesome. On the other hand, he and Doug Stanhope drove The Man Show into the ground almost as soon as they took…

So, we’re five years into this dash for oil we call the Iraq War, and it seems at least a portion of the public finally seems to be catching up with the facts–there were no WMDs, no credible link between Saddam Hussein’s regime and Al Qaeda has ever been established,…

Those of you who’ve seen Beyoncé Knowles’ fine, fine, fine acting work in Dreamgirls and Austin Powers in Goldmember might have missed out on her first feature-length offering–Carmen: A Hip Hopera–which hit the little screen in 2001 on MTV. Co-starring ER’s Mekhi Phifer as a cop, Mos Def as a…

Author Rhys Bowen’s A Royal Pain falls squarely in the comedy-of-errors tradition of classics like Mrs. Doubtfire, Dave, and uh, King Ralph. It’s a book, though. Gotta read it; can’t watch it. See, this chick Georgie is the cuz of King George V, slummin’ it undercover as a maid in…

Since June 27, HCG Gallery has proudly displayed the work of Michael Ledoux and Shane Pennington (No relation to Chris or Chad…as far as we know, anyway. ) in an exhibit entitled 2 Nights, 2 Artists, 2 Openings, which we are henceforth retitling 1 Night, 2 Artists, 1 Opening, since…

Sculptor Margo Sawyer’s work takes inspiration from the work of Piet Mondrian and the De Stijl movement (Not just a Jack White-led garage rock trend, turns out) and can be seen all over the State of Texas, from her outdoor sculptures at Houston’s new Discovery Green park to the installation…

I don’t know if you guys have noticed yet, but it’s July again. That’s right, sports fans, it’s every Texan’s favorite time of year for to run a little foot race — if you’re completely insane, that is. Come on, folks, it’s f’n hot out there. If you must, however,…

I have a confession to make. Ready? Back when I was 13 or so, I had a major boner for the Gin Blossoms. Not an “Oh my god, they’re so hot!” boner, but rather a good, old-fashioned man-crush boner. And while I can’t say I’ve given New Miserable Experience a…

I never took an art class after middle school, and looking back I’m super bummed about it—it would have been nice to graduate from pasta art and magazine collages into something a little more interesting, like say, sculpture or photography. I suppose I could still take classes at Brookhaven, UTA…

Twenty-one was a damned good age, ripe with artistic possibilities, so one would think an art show called Twenty-One might explore some of these classic coming-of-age staples: your first legal drink, college parties, young love, cramming for tests about stuff you’ll forget in a couple short months, young lust, student…

I’ve always hated musicals, so naturally I’ve also always been highly suspicious of other forms of entertainment marketed to the same audience, be it Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil or Riverdance. So as a high school senior back in 1999, I was naturally perturbed when my girlfriend decided she…

The Dallas CityArts Festival is a noble endeavor indeed, aiming to showcase “the incredible cultural, performing, visul and culinary arts of Dallas and the region.” Note that they don’t say anything about being current, however, which explains why they snagged The Reverend Horton Heat to headline the first night of…

Apparently if you believe some modern art aficionados, “painting is dead,” to which Chicago artist Howard Fonda says “suck on these brushstrokes, fools!,” or something to that effect. You Go Your Way & I’ll Go Mine features several of his works, produced in one sitting with all the brushstrokes and…

Photographer Nell Dorr was best known for her explorations of the relationships between mother and child, capturing enduring images of newborns and the women that spawned them. She was no one-trick pony, however, also dabbling in moody pictures of cowboys and abstract light experiments. Nell Dorr: From Everlasting to Everlasting…