Some people have wild stories on how they became band members. Others just grew up together. And some, like Freelance Whales, meet each other on Craigslist.And sometimes, that can make for the best results. Freelance Whales’ electro-pop debut album, Weathervanes, has garnered massive critical acclaim, along with the requisite comparisons…

Welcome to a new recurring feature here on DC9 where we talk to people of interest in the metroplex about their taste in music, including likes, dislikes, and guilty pleasures. We’re calling it Pedestrian Playlist — because, hey, everyone listens to music. From Philadelphia to the Philippines, Dallas has made…

Andy Warhol and The Dandy Warhols share more than just a similar name: Both artists have a history of having their art used in advertising. From The O.C. to Good Will Hunting to Mythbusters, this Portland-based post-punk outfit uses their signature sound to make a name for themselves on the…

or if YouTube is your flavor, click here… This week, we traveled to El Centro College in the heart of downtown Dallas to see how students felt about The Dandy Warhols, the popular post-punk band hailing from Portland.Although none of the participants were accustomed to this kind of music, all…

The Wu-Tang Clan is one of the most influential hip-hop groups in history, and their music has come to exemplify underground hip-hop to the point that, if you don’t know Wu-Tang, you don’t know hip-hop. Almost all of the original members have also moved on to successful solo careers since…

Los Angeles’ The Aggrolites are a reggae band that formed in 2002 as a combination of Vessels and the Rhythm Doctors. Starting out, they performed the duties of backing band for reggae icon Derrick Morgan. But after being satisfied with that venture, the band decided work more together and they…

Marget & The Nuclear So and So’s have been making their signature indie folk chamber pop since 2005, and although they have garnered critical acclaim and respect for their songwriting from us, they haven’t been so successful financially. Considering that they’re a seven-piece band that rides a self-bought school bus…

Israel’s Monotonix have been known around these parts to throw crazy concerts that really do  demonstrate just how crazy the Middle East can actually be. And we at DC9 have loved it, going as far as to calling the trio’s live shows “one of the best.” But that doesn’t mean…

Sadly, Analog Rebellion has canceled his appearance tonight at The Loft due to the passing of his grandfather. And though we were looking forward to seeing him perform at this show, this night’s still sure to be a great one, with The Appleseed Cast headlining the affair and The Rocketboys…

Trick or treat! It’s Halloween weekend, folks, and we have an extra special giveaway this time–to not one, but two shows. A real treat, for sure. Here’s the deal: There are two pretty awesome shows going on at the Gilley’s Complex on Halloween night, and the folks over there are…

When a band’s been around as long as legendary Washington, D.C., punk act Bad Brains has, its reputation tends to precede it. Darryl Smyers wrote at length about the band’s reputation in this week’s paper, when he caught up with bassist Darryl Jennifer in advance of the band’s stop through…

Right about now, over at the Palladium Ballroom, the stage is being set for tonight’s Red Bull SoundClash, featuring Talib Kweli & The Rhythm Roots AllStars and Ozomatli. The two groups spawned from vastly different scenes, but share a similar alternative hip-hop jam–and we were able to watch the two…

Last year, Red Bull brought its first SoundClash event to town, with Erykah Badu squaring off against Shiny Toy Guns in Victory Plaza. It made for a pretty cool event, with the two acts playing on stages set up across from each other and playing covers, then the other artist’s…

Portland-based indie-punk trio The Thermals are known for their heavy lyrics, from achieving a new platform of paranoia about Christian fascism with their critically acclaimed The Body, The Blood, The Machine to speaking about life through death with their 2009, John Congleton-produced Now We Can See. It’s been a year…

…or if Youtube is your flavor, click here.It’s that time again. Like clockwork, Aural Ambush has made a resurrection. If your not familiar with it, here’s how it goes: We grab a song from an act stopping through town, pick a spot in the metroplex where we’ll force people to…

Montreal-based Land of Talk is an alternative indie rock band with dreamy vocals provided by jazz trained vocalist/guitarist Elizabeth Powell. The trio formed in 2006 and provide an amazingly dense sound that is both clear in its soundscape and technically proficient in its execution. The group supported Broken Social Scene…

 Dream-pop act Azure Ray broke up in 2004 after three successful years that saw the band, among other accomplishments, collaborating with Moby. Recently, the duo of Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink got back together and released Holding Down The Moon, a dreamy collection that seems perfect for couples listening–or maybe…