We are not the only ones who miss the late, great Robot Monster Weekend (“Geek Out,” September 4). If we were, well, we wouldn’t be surprised. The group wasn’t really around long enough–and didn’t play in front of enough people–for that to happen. But that doesn’t matter to some: “They…

On the back cover of the CD booklet that accompanies Richard X’s first full-length is an anti-piracy statement from EMI Music (Astralwerks’ parent), a polite but strongly worded missive reminding listeners about the danger of the Internet, CD burners and the like. Bit strange, really, since that’s pretty much how…

In the military, they call it a debriefing. In other circles, it’s an exit interview. Three of the people at this table at Sol’s in Deep Ellum work as animators, the other is an architect and, until recently, all of them played in the same rock band. So it’s probably…

Is the Mermaid Purse a supergroup? Sort of. All the members of the band are in other bands: singer-guitarist Eric Shutt (Doosu), guitarist Justin Wilson (Red Animal War), drummer Dominic Weir (Flickerstick), bassist Jason Jones (the Feds) and recent hire Mike Graff (Halls of the Machine) on guitar. That’s one…

Many of you know Jeff Liles, either from his frequent contributions to these pages, his various local bands (among them: Decadent Dub Team, Group Six, Animal Chance and, of course, cottonmouth, texas), his work behind the scenes at a variety of Deep Ellum nightspots (Theatre Gallery, Club Dada, Trees and…

“What in the world is going on?” Midlake’s Eric Nichelson is speaking into the phone, but he isn’t talking to the person on the other end of the line. He isn’t talking to anyone, really, just a somewhat confusing computer screen that’s putting a hitch in his giddy-up as he…

Little point to picking up the Hulk soundtrack, unless you feel like owning another Danny Elfman score for a comic-book film adaptation that sounds exactly like every other Danny Elfman score for a comic-book film adaptation. Tacked onto the end of the disc, however, is “Set Me Free,” the debut…

“Never thought I’d still be doing this,” Charlie Gilder says, laughing a little. On July 9, it’ll be 20 years since Gilder and his partner, Steve Asbeck, opened the Twilite Room at 2111 Commerce St., sandwiched between Deep Ellum and downtown. The building is actually about 20 yards from where…

There was a time, maybe 30 years ago, maybe longer, when a guy like Joe Pernice had a chance. He didn’t need a big label, didn’t need big money behind him. He didn’t need a sure-thing single that the boys in the promotion department could take to radio, didn’t need…

Contrary to this paper’s title–and this column’s, as well–we are not always observant. For example, it took us awhile, as these things tend to do, but we finally realized that the building at 3510 Commerce St. was not actually abandoned. We drive past the spot every day on our way…

On their fourth album, Clem Snide shows they have a Soft Spot for the other side of summer, the mellow melancholy that creeps up on you at the end of a lazy backyard barbecue or the ash-end of a bonfire at the beach. It’s a narrow window of time when…

The timing couldn’t be any more perfect, really. A week after Eisley’s high-profile tour with Coldplay, the band will headline Buzz-Oven’s pair of all-ages shows at the Ridglea Theater (June 21) and Trees (June 28). For Aden Holt, Buzz-Oven’s boss, it can’t get much better than that. (If you’re wondering…

In the May 29 edition of Scene, Heard, we related a story we’d heard a few days earlier involving Josh T. Pearson and Andy Young of Lift to Experience and a well-worn boot. We’ll let Young provide you with a recap: “This is it folks. Your chance to own a…

In February, we wrote a story about the Deathray Davies. It was titled “Group Sounds,” and in it we made the following point, neatly summed up by the subhead: “The Deathray Davies used to be John Dufilho. That’s not true anymore.” We came to this conclusion because the group had…

A year or so ago, maybe two, England was losing its collective shite over Denton’s Lift to Experience and the band’s ambitious debut, The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads. We’re talking five-star reviews and second-coming salutations all around, not unlike what happened when Uncut and NME picked up on what the Polyphonic Spree…

There’s history and there’s what people remember, and usually they don’t have much in common. Childhood memories often don’t match up with the home-movie version of the same events; the sets change, the wrong characters say the right words, the plot twists unexpectedly. It’s unfortunate, but it happens. Hard facts…

For now, for the next few months, the Dismemberment Plan lives on. There is a pair of North American tours to wrap up, as well as the Washington, D.C.-based band’s hometown farewell, at Fort Reno on July 28. Then there are a few dates in August in Japan, a surprising…

Finally caught the Pernice Brothers a year or so ago at a club in Memphis, a first-time-caller-longtime-listener visit written in pen and underlined on my to-do list as soon as they opened a “Clear Spot” in my head and heart on 1998’s Overcome by Happiness. But the show wasn’t quite…

Last week we talked a bit about local musicians doing it themselves, creating their own shots the way Nick Van Exel does at the end of tight games. Or, actually, pretty much all the time. We were speaking specifically about some groups that didn’t wait for an opportunity but, instead,…

Watching Game 3 of the Mavs-Kings series (or as we refer to it: The Best Basketball Game Ever) the other night reminded us of the local music community. Specifically, one player’s performance in the two overtimes put the thought into our heads. Walt Williams–“The Wizard,” they call him–had been languishing…

Maybe you grow up backward when you start to play music. Running comes before walking; loud and fast come before slow and quiet. When you pick up a guitar, you have to learn how to turn it up before you can turn it down, have to see how far you…