Artist, photographer and videographer Hal Samples has helped document, promote, inspire and nurture up-and-coming talent in the community for nearly a decade. So, when he needed help, it was no surprise local bands and artists pulled together for a benefit show. Seems Samples has fallen on some hard times in…
With one last gasp of summer remaining, this two-day, two-stage fest, organized by Sundress’ Ryan McAdams, is one of the best we’ve seen so far. Focusing on up-and-coming Texas psych and punk acts, McAdams’ band joins True Widow, Holy Wave, Cozy Hawks, Ringo Deathstarr, Darktown Strutters, Soviet, Skeleton Coast, Blood…
For the past couple years, Fort Worth singer-guitarist Clint Niosi has been quietly recording the follow-up to his striking 2008 debut, The Sound of Dead Horses Beaten Against Cold Shoulders. That album mined the darker corners of folk music, and his new one, For Pleasure and Spite, tunes up those…
Marry a Stranger, Dallas duo Smile Smile’s third and latest album, finds keyboardist Jencey Hirunrusme and guitarist Ryan Hamilton in a different place than 2010’s Truth On Tape. That album traced and psychoanalyzed their broken relationship, but the Salim Nourallah-produced Marry a Stranger comes out of the bag feeling a…
It’s hard to believe we’ve been living in a world without Frank Zappa for almost two decades. I still remember the day — December 4, 1993 — when I was driving back to Fort Worth from Denton, heard FZ’s music on KERA-FM 90.1, and thought, “Uh-oh.” Between 1974 and 1978,…
The Smoker’s Club first formed in March of 2010 as a SXSW showcase at The Firehouse Lounge, which hosted Devin the Dude and a supporting cast of emerging hip-hop artists who all had reefer in common, including Jayrock, Big K.R.I.T, Curren$y and Smoke DZA. It wasn’t yet the club it…
Around one in the afternoon on a Thursday in July, young ladies and gentlemen walk into Dan’s Silverleaf dressed elegantly in black suits and formal dresses. All of the windows and doors are covered by dark blankets and sheets. Avoiding the dancers, Warren Jackson Hearne walks into the bar fresh…
See also: Polyphonic Spree’s Jessica Jordan debuts My Name Is Moses The latest installment of Violitionist Sessions features Dallas musician/producer Ross Edman, aka Datahowler, performing three compositions on the floor of Violitionist HQ. It’s an interesting look at the process Edman uses to make his music, as well as beats…
In the last few months, research for a project has taken me across the state and, more recently, into Mexico. It may be something sentimental in me, or this weird notion that road trips are meant to be soundtracked by where you are and not by a list you cultivated…
The Virgin Wolves recently took time out to discuss their backgrounds with the blues, their first shows, and The Song Remains the Same. Catch them Friday at Andy’s Bar and Saturday at City Tavern. Which came first for you: hearing a blues pioneer play the blues, or a band interpreting…
BY REED FISCHER See also: What your Lollapalooza outfit says about you Are you ready for some GIFs? To quote Ozzy Osbourne, “I can’t fucking hear you!” I said, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME GIFs?! This past weekend’s running of Lollapalooza in Chicago was intense. The heat, the monsoon-like storm…
As we mentioned last week, Lights All Night has announced its December dates and expansion to three nights in Fair Park. Tickets go on sale today, even though the lineup has not yet been announced, but we’ve heard there will be something called “DJs” there…
See also: T. Tex Edwards on John Fahey, the Hangmen We’ve started poking around in locals’ iTunes, iPods, Spotify playlists, CD players, cassette decks, turntables and brains with one question in mind: What are you listening to? We don’t even care if it’s good, we just want to know what…
See also: The top 10 North Texas blues albums See also: The top 100 Texas songs The Telefones, Vibration Change Released in 1980, this album is more punk in spirit than execution. Songs like “Rocket Rocket” and “The Ballad of Jerry Godzilla” fuse punk rock’s oomph with a new wave…
With one last gasp of summer remaining, Stella Fest, a two-day, two-stage fest, organized by Sundress’ Ryan McAdams, is one of the best lineups we’ve seen so far. Focusing on up-and-coming Texas psych and punk acts, McAdams’ band joins True Widow, Holy Wave, Cozy Hawks, Ringo Deathstarr, Darktown Strutters, Soviet,…
Team Tomb Dan’s Silverleaf Saturday, August 4 Even though this was Team Tomb’s “digital release show,” and one of the few shows they’ve performed so far, the vibe at Dan’s on Saturday night was familiar. That was due in no small part to the lineup of Team Tomb, which consists…
KISS, Mötley Crüe Gexa Energy Pavilion Saturday, August 4 See also: The fans of KISS First up on Saturday night were the “newbies,” Mötley Crüe. Their set-up was as bewildering as it was impressive, the stage dominated by what can only be described as a kind of rollercoaster for Tommy…
Dirty Projectors, Wye Oak The Kessler Theater Friday, August 3 Dirty Projectors, and David Longstreth particularly, are incredibly adept musicians that wear their musical smarts on their sleeves. But idiosyncratic arrangements and vocals that, while not jarring are hardy mellifluous, can make sitting through an entire album more of a…
Photo by Erik Hess BY ERIK THOMPSON The 2012 installment of Lollapalooza has thus far brought the requisite extremes, in terms of performances and potent weather. A two-hour delay cut through the middle of Saturday’s entertainment at Chicago’s Grant Park, and a good many people were wishing they had just…
Photo by Erik Hess BY REED FISCHER Now more than ever, Lollapalooza is a mélange of different fashion decisions to accompany the varied musical offerings crammed together throughout Chicago’s Grant Park. When EDM butts up against metal, alt-country, and whatever the hell you’d call Die Antwoord, there’s really no wrong way…
