Uncle, I’ll toss a few things in the “pro” column of the 12:30 A.M. Dallas club arrival time. I knew you weren’t going to be out ’til late, so I opted to get a few chores done instead of getting irritated. I got a manicure, I went to the gym,…
Here’s hoping Dustin Cavazos doesn’t die before his funeral today. The Oak Cliff-dwelling, bike-riding rapper — who has one of the most sobering deliveries in local hip-hop — is filming a new video for his song “Bless the City” this afternoon at Calvario Funeral Home at 1 p.m. He’s putting…
As the queue of local artists itching to lay down covers forms to the left, our weekly feature Covering Tracks returns with a live performance from Ryan Adams.The mercurial former frontman of alt-country (remember that?) icons Whiskeytown is certainly known for genre-bending. In his solo career, he’s been a troubadour,…
If it seems as though we’ve been discussing emerging New West Records signees or inventive bands who know how to artfully blend folk, rock and country together lately, it’s because we have. So why don’t we continue that trend right here, yes? OK, good. Buxton, a five-piece from Houston, has…
When a vibrator mysteriously ended up in my mailbox recently, I got scared. I checked my apartment for video cameras and recording devices. I asked friends if they were pulling a prank on me. Had I “accidentally” ordered one in the early morning hours and “forgotten” about it? (Very possible.)…
One of the better young acts excelling in rootsy chemistry is Florida’s Have Gun Will Travel. While their current album, Mergers & Acquisitions, is the band’s strongest to date, the quintet’s last LP, Postcards From the Friendly City, was an excellent example of their talents as well. For those who…
When I saw Katy Perry last summer, one scene that stuck with me occurred during “Hot N Cold,” where Katy donned a number of costumes under a hula-hoop curtain. I think that represents Katy’s career: A series of cut-away costumes replaced behind a magical curtain. Katy Perry’s latest, “Part of…
Even after more than 20 years in the music business, Ronan Harris of VNV Nation still rambles on like a kid half his age. Enthusiastic and confident in the extreme, Harris believes (correctly) that the music he and partner Mark Jackson create is as important now as when it first…
Eric Grubbs talks with Mark Ryan of Mind Spiders about Meltdown and his first shows. I spoke with Aaron Barker about graduating from ice cream college. North of the Dial checks in with Denton experimental supergroup Violent Squid. Plus recommendations for Big K.R.I.T., Blackstone Rangers and Diamond Age, Texas Theatre’s…
It’s highly possible this year’s 35 Denton will be your last chance to see Ty Stamp lead his experimental supergroup, Violent Squid, on a sonic journey. He recently moved to Austin, and is driving up to play the March festival. This type of improvisational jamming can feel obligatory to witness,…
Around this time last year, while the metroplex’s roads were iced over for a week, Mind Spiders’ frontman Mark Ryan found himself stuck in his Fort Worth home. Ryan, whose day job as a behavioral specialist takes him around the area every week, was motivated and inspired to write a…
What was the first show you remember seeing? I don’t know which came first exactly, but I did see The Ventures when I was 12. They played at UNT. I think that was one of my first real shows, so that was a pretty awesome way to have a first…
Think the lineup for this all-local show sounds like a sci-fi novel? You’re not the only one. Headliners Blackstone Rangers are working their way to a new full-length, and the four-piece brings with them some rarefied distorto-pop, and possibly that riotous cover of the Breeders’ “Cannonball.” Diamond Age’s solo drone…
Mississippi’s Big K.R.I.T. hasn’t always been such a man of mystery. His acclaimed mixtapes have been available for free and he’s vying for valedictorian of the current DIY, next-big-thing hip-hop class. Dallas has seen a rash of his peers in the last few months, and K.R.I.T. himself put on an…
Yeah, I know there was that “attempt” at the World’s Biggest Soul Train line a few weeks ago, but anyone who has ever fantasized about joining a Soul Train dance line or studied its intricacies knows intimacy is the key. In honor of Black History Month and to commemorate the…
At the end of the 2005 movie Sideways, Paul Giamatti’s character Miles decides to create a special event by drinking a bottle of high-dollar wine on a less than extraordinary day, instead of waiting for a cork-pop-worthy occasion to magically occur. Now, apply the same line of thinking to a…
There’s a generation gap being bridged at the Kessler Theater. Jon Anderson, the former lead singer of one of the world’s first progressive rock bands, Yes, has traded in the big stage for a more intimate solo set. The show is billed as a “Storytellers” performance, in which Anderson will…
UPDATE: The After the Great Cupcake Flood of 2008 and the Cake Ball Frenzy of 2010, the baked goods wave seems to have slightly receded in Texas. There’s only so many times you can hear “red velvet cake” before you want to stab someone with a spork. However, among the…
After the Great Cupcake Flood of 2008 and the Cake Ball Frenzy of 2010, the baked goods wave seems to have slightly receded in Texas.There’s only so many times you can hear “red velvet cake” before you want to stab someone with a spork. However, among the many niche food…
Are people still using PlayStations? If the brand is looking for a charming accomplishment via their product, they need look no further than Big K.R.I.T. As a resourceful teenager, Justin Scott used PlayStation’s MTV Music Generator to form his first beats, and that entrepreneurial spirit guided him as he continues…
For decades, The Beach Boys have been a diluted version of their former selves, touring with the likes of John Stamos on bongos. Since Brian Wilson was fired in 1982, the band never really topped the greatness of 1988’s “Kokomo.” Rumors of bad blood circulated around the remaining band members…
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks Granada Theater Tuesday, February 21 There was a noticeable difference between the Jicks of last night and the reunited Pavement I saw at Stubb’s in Austin in 2010, mainly in that the Jicks looked happy to be there. Stephen Malkmus walked onto the Granada stage…
