In the words of the great, would-be time traveler Kip Dynamite: We “love technology.”And we do. Let’s be honest: Music fans of today have it a bajillionty times better than the generation previous to this current, wireless point in time. Blogs, mp3s, iTunes, Myspace, Facebook and even email blasts from…
The recent Big Four shows featuring thrash-metal kings Metallica, Megadeath, Slayer and Anthrax were massive, epic spectacles that were barely contained by the huge venues they were performed in — legendary spots such as the Coachella-approved Empire Polo Club and Yankee Stadium, and some European locales as well. The genius…
Flo Rida has only become more and more interchangeable and average since he transitioned from R&B party music like 2008’s “Low” to poppish party music like 2009’s “Right Round.” At this point, he oughta change his name to Cam Ofloj. Or something similar…
Tom Rush The Kessler Theater October 26, 2011 Better than: sitting at home waiting for it to stop raining in St. Louis. At 70, Tom Rush is the elder statesman of the singer-songwriter era that began in the late 1960s. Known as the person who introduced audiences to the songwriting…
Soundgarden, Mastodon Verizon Theatre October 26, 2011 Better than: VH1’s I Love The ’90s. 2011 has been a pretty big year for grunge music. As this year marks the 20th anniversary of albums like Nirvana’s Nevermind, Pearl Jam’s Ten, and Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger, there seems to be a bit of a…
Ryan Thomas Becker is hardly a new entity, having long been a cherished North Texas product thanks to his solo efforts and his work with Grady Don Sandlin in the revered RTB2. And all this is saying nothing of his other collaborations with such acts as Eaton Lake Tonics, The…
Missile put the pedal to the metal on City Animals, their in-your-face, five-song EP that clocks in at just over 13 minutes. That’s not much time, but Missile jet through it quickly, conjuring up rock ‘n’ roll imagery of fast Saturday nights with songs about neon signs, Camaros and “livin’…
Before the likes of A.Dd+, Sore Losers, Killa M.C. and The Mohicans each started staking their claims as the would-be torchbearers of the Dallas hipster-hop scene, there were Damaged Good$, an off-the-wall duo backed by insanely inventive, electronica-indebted beats. Seems like forever ago, but, alas, it was just in 2009…
CSS is the São Paulo-based pop outfit that lifted its moniker from a Beyoncé quote (their name is the Portugese translation of Beyoncé’s “I’m tired of being sexy” quote) and gave us the catchiest iPod jingle ever — yes, that “music is my boyfriend” hook that got stuck in your…
Los Angeles and San Francisco are tied as America’s capitals of sin and triumph — at least for Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers, who fashioned a “soundtrack” for both cities with their debut collaboration, Translucent Blues. Manzarek (L.A.) is best known as The Doors’ organist and producer of the first…
Dubstep proclaims itself to be the bass music of the future. But if file-sharing-friendly producers such as wobble-bass pioneer Bassnectar are any indication, the future might damn well be now. Technology blog Techdirt recently ran a feature about Mr. Nectar (born Lorin Ashton), exploring the artist’s stated download policy when…
Zach Condon’s backstory, in which he left a small city to travel around Europe with his older brother, absorbing the indigenous music of the eastern part of the continent, reads like something that might have happened 50 years ago at the height of the early folk scene in Greenwich Village…
Facing the oncoming traffic on the southbound side of Interstate 35 just south of Denton is a billboard that features the wide-eyed face of an innocent little boy. Next to him is a rather blunt statement: “Not everyone can avoid secondhand smoke.” Clearly, the sign worked on Dan Mojica, owner…
After five years of performing, Burning Hotels have just wrapped the biggest show they’ve ever played. As they leave the Dada stage in Dallas, the club is still packed, and in a private corner on the back patio, singer Chance Morgan divvies a pack of Parliaments among the rest of…
In many ways, Mary Timony is just now learning the tricks and pleasures performing live. The guitarist and co-vocalist of the all-female punk rock supergroup Wild Flag is two decades into a fairly successful career as a professional rock musician at this point. Her claim to fame is her lead…
In the hot-as-balls summer of 2009, three dudes from New York City — rappers Himanshu “Heems” Suri and Victor “Kool A.D.” Vazquez, and hype guy Ashok “Dapwell” Kondabolu — banded together under the vaguely ominous moniker Das Racist, made some beats, spit some rhymes, smoked way too much weed and…
Speaking of breaking festival news, there’s some big news today out of Highland Entertainment’s camp today: The people who are bringing the ballinous, two-night, EDM-heavy New Year’s Eve affair Lights All Night to the Dallas Convention Center this year have announced that, in addition to the already-announced two stages featuring…
From any way one might look upon them, The Sheepdogs of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, are living the dream of being rock stars on the rise. Earlier this year, the band became the first unsigned act to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, and it didn’t take long for the band…
Well, we knew that this year was going to bring on some changes to the festival now known as 35 Denton. And, after the name change was announced back in July, we’re now starting to see some. Today, 35 Denton announced its first round of performers — a total that…
At 54, Johnette Napolitano sounds like she has much creative drive as people half her age. Full of energy and desire with her work as a solo artist, a collaborator and the lead singer of Concrete Blonde, listening to her is quite an inspiration. While her power was out at…
Musicians are undoubtedly influenced by the music they listen to. And an artist’s musical selection at any given moment can sometimes even foretell what a next album might sound like. So if you’ve ever wondered what the artists who grace your stereo are getting funky to, here’s your chance to…
For three decades, Anthrax has been one of the most consistently interesting bands to emerge from the thrash metal heyday of the early 1980s. Founded by guitarist Scott Ian, Anthrax has always stood out among the sweaty throng. The band was one of the first metal bands to incorporate rap…
