Have you ever wished to pour gravy all over someone? Love or hate the person, you have a desire to do such? Well, right before Thanksgiving cooking begins this year, you have the chance if you’re still in the Dallas area on Tuesday, Nov. 22. As a joint show between…
Matt Haag is a perfect example of the hardcore music nerd primed for the ritualistic music selection behind deep-crate DJ-ing. Armed with a breadth of knowledge that stretches from the outer regions of techno to the primal thump of punk to the downtempo vibes of trip hop, Haag has led…
The 28th annual Dallas Observer Music Awards are less than a month away, and the real fun is just getting underway. Voting for the awards’ 40 categories has been open for more than a month, and the dates have been set for the showcase and the awards ceremony. Now it’s…
Mike Burkett, known as Fat Mike since he was in college, has been busy for the last few decades as a singer and bassist for NOFX and co-owner of independent record label Fat Wreck Chords. In that time he’s played all over the world and affected millions with his love of…
Last week an employee of the Texas Musicians Museum told us the museum may not be long for this world due to lack of traffic. But after talking with Tom Kreason and George Gimarc, two of its founders, and looking around at its expanded exhibit on a sunny Saturday morning,…
The green room is generally a mystery to concertgoers, but these spaces — where an artist or band can relax before or after performing — are essential to any good music venue because musicians often spend hours on the road each day. Here’s a peek inside the green rooms at some of…
Dallas-Fort Worth started with five, but now we’re down to one contestant from left on The Voice. Austin Allsup calls himself a “country boy but rock ’n’ roller at heart.” He sang “Wild Horses” during his blind audition and he and coach Blake Shelton chose each other — more accurately, Shelton…
On Sunday, Dallas producer-impresario Sikwitit premiered his highly anticipated documentary #DallasUp to a bustling audience of musicians, press and tastemakers. The viewers filled two theaters at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar Street. The film follows Sikwitit as he assembles 13 Dallas-based producers from his Sound Collectiv group — including Blue, the…
The three-day Free Underage Cool Kids Fest got underway in Denton on Friday, with the mission to engage an oft-neglected demographic: teens. For many involved, it was their first foray into the world of local music — for the attendees and organizers. The inexperience showed. For starters, noise complaints beleaguered the event…
Well, it’s been a hell of a week, Dallas. While the country continues flinging mud via social media regarding President-elect Donald Trump (and while we ALL get used to saying, and typing, “President-elect Donald Trump”), maybe disconnecting for a night or two will do us some good. Because no matter…
Live music at beer and food festivals is always a risky proposition because the primary focus is on sampling stations. Attendees are often overwhelmed with options, so the performances can easily be relegated to background music that plays out over snack breaks. When the five-city Untapped Festival took over Fair…
An at-capacity crowd greeted Peter Hook’s visit to the Granada Theater on Friday night. Accompanied by his backing band, the Light, with Hook’s son Jack Bates on bass and harmony vocals, the show rolled into town almost a year to the day of his previous visit to the same venue…
Perhaps you’re a vet of the Dallas music scene and you’re looking to show us a thing or two. Or perhaps you saw Almost Famous in high school, and ever since you’ve been waiting to get a break like William Miller, who manages to embed with a rock band and learns…
Dallas rapper Nate Joubert, also known as Nature Nate, isn’t sure who laced a blunt he was smoking with PCP, and he’s really not concerned with finding out. The 20-year-old has his suspicions, but for the last nine months his primary focus has been regaining his mental health since inadvertently…
Sal Castaneda is riding the wave of vinyl resurgence under the nom de plum Flash45s. Over the past decade there has been more attention paid to the niche of the vinyl 7-inch format more affectionately known as 45s. The format is particularly inviting for DJs since it is a singles…
“I’m a high school drop out and a two-time art school drop out,” says Aaron Barker, the former guitarist for the Street Arabs. “I think that qualifies me to be in a punk band.” The Street Arabs disbanded this summer after five years together. Barker has now embarked on a new endeavor,…
North Texans really like beer. A short drive around these parts will reveal a plethora of independent breweries, craft beer stores and bottle shops featuring the best and latest creations being developed and issued. The only thing close to edging out our love of beer is our love of live…
Garrett Owen has grown used to hearing people say that his sound doesn’t match his look. “I’ve been getting this for years,” he says. “‘I looked at you and didn’t think you’d be very good.’ ” Owen is introverted, wears a Stetson hat paired with a member’s only jacket, and…
“How ya doin’, Rach? I’m worried about the dogs so I’m throwing rocks at ‘coons, trying to disturb the feral cats. But hey, let’s try to keep race out of this.” It’s accepted as gospel: This election is unprecedented, a radical departure from anything we’ve seen before. But for anyone…
His thick shock of hair, black suit and underlying white shirt gave Robert Darden the look of a musical composer as he walked into Starbucks carrying the wood-handled umbrella that shielded him from the day’s downpour. The former Billboard gospel music editor turned Baylor professor has spent most of his…
Where has all the time gone? It’s already a week into November, and that means the Dallas Observer Music Awards are less than a month away. With the showcase taking place on Dec. 3 and the awards ceremony three days after that, we’re nearing the home stretch. Which means it’s…
Weekends tend to attract a much bigger, older and better established crowd to Deep Ellum, and these descriptors were all true of the people crowding around the Bomb Factory stage for electronic/indie rock duo Phantogram on Saturday. Frankly, this bred an enjoyable sense of calm that has been uncharacteristic of the…
