Every few months or so, it just so happens that someone will pop up on our radar and ask us how this here blog got its name. To be honest: We’re not quite sure who picked it. Our memories here in the music department tend to be hazy. Maybe it…
So, we’re already there again. Even now, in these solar temperatures, we’re gearing up for our big ol’ issue: Best Of Dallas. If the Rapture goes on as predicted, we’re looking at one of the last, great Best Of’s ever. So, naturally, we want your feedback. Maybe we’re in a…
I gotta tell you something, readers. I haven’t really followed The Voice, NBC’s singing competition show. It was never a conscious decision. I just haven’t really followed reality shows since the first couple seasons of Survivor. I guess, as a writer, I want to support my peers who work on…
When Jay-Z signed Robyn Rihanna Fenty to Def Jam Recordings in 2004 , he surely must’ve thought that her catchy dancehall demo “Pon de Replay” would outlive her untested talent. Others did: When Music of the Sun dropped, reviewers dismissed her as a pretty face cribbing Beyoncé’s style. And yet,…
She can’t sing, her dancing is questionable, her hooks are purchased and she has a documented crazy streak. And yet Britney Spears has still managed to make the comeback of the decade. She’s currently on her “Femme Fatale” arena tour, where she’s joined by the more-talented Nicki Minaj and where…
The two members of The Civil Wars, Joy Williams and John Paul White, were shocked when they learned that in only four months’ time, Barton Hollow, their February-released debut full-length, had sold more than 110,000 units. Given the dismal climate of the music industry and the relative newness of the…
Former Texan Steve Earle has managed to ascend the pop-culture ladder to almost legendary heights since he left Houston as a teenager in the 1970s. Judging by the quantity of his output alone, it’s easy to assume the formerly incarcerated, now-rehabilitated drug addict is merely displaying the obsessive zeal that…
Will Johnson is nothing if not prolific. Starting with the 1995 release of his first Centro-matic recording, Non-Directional Jetpack Race, which was released exclusively on cassette tape, he has put out 18 full-length titles either under the Centro-matic banner, its South San Gabriel doppelganger persona, his own name or, in…
As if Michael Briggs and Brent Frishman hadn’t already established themselves as the foremost curators of Denton music, they went ahead and took it a step further. The men behind Gutterth Productions, organizers of many a showcase and former hosts of the Gutterth podcast, changed the podcast in January into…
On a recent Friday night in a Lewisville sports bar, a former coach for the Dallas Cowboys beamed as he welcomed one of his favorite singers to the stage. The crowd before him buzzed with anticipation, sensing a unique event before it even began. The former coach and master of…
According to the people I follow on Twitter, today is International Kissing Day. How annoying is that? As if Valentine’s Day wasn’t bad enough, now we have International Kissing Day to annoy the pants off anyone who doesn’t have someone to smooch on. Apparently, Kissing Day was dreamed up as…
In case you haven’t heard, Google is trying to take down the Facebook empire with its new Google+ social networking site. (Seriously, though, if you haven’t heard, it’s really time to get out from under that rock). Because social networking sites have become an integral part of music promotion, we’ve…
We’ve seen this coming for quite some time now — that the Dallas-based, Grammy-winning hip-hop production duo of Play-N-Skillz was going to be taking things in a more electronic direction at some point.We saw it in the videos they’ve released, in their (highly successful) collaboration with David Guetta, and, well,…
For the third time in its four-year history, Denton’s four-day, pre-South by Southwest music festival will have a new name in 2012.A press release sent out this morning confirms that, after changing its name from “North by 35” to “35 Conferette” in advance of its 2011 edition, the festival will…
OK, so it wasn’t the trial of the century or anything. But with planking beginning to become passe, all the good sports either in their off-season or lockout, and no high-profile Robert Blake/Phil Spector/OJ Simpson murder cases going on, the Casey Anthony murder trial thing provided plenty to captivate America’s…
Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, The Colour Revolt, The New Regime House of Blues July 5th, 2011 Better than: having your first colonoscopy. One of the biggest complaints about venues that can hold more than 100 people is that the intimacy between band and audience gets lost. Those craving a connection…
Still fresh from the release of their new album I Am Very Far, Austin’s Okkervil River seems to be working quite hard to let everyone know about it. The album is quite solid, thanks in part to the production work of local producer John Congleton, who, just like Okkervil, seems to be…
This week 13 years ago, the members of Tripping Daisy were on the verge of giving birth to Jesus Hits Like The Atom Bomb, the greatest record of their career.In this edition of This Week In Dallas Music History, Robert Wilonsky visited the TD boys in their sweaty East Dallas…
The tunnels are long gone. But on Good-Latimer Expressway, near where they once stood, another entrance marker for quite some time welcomed visitors to the music-centric neighborhood just east of downtown Dallas — an old neon sign that, if a little rustic (and thankfully so), more than served its purpose…
Given her DJ nickname of Tigerbee, maybe it’s not surprising that Patricia Rodriguez is a very busy person. When she isn’t working on her artwork, she serves as one of the main people behind the theme-party DJ troupe, The Lollipop Shoppe. She’s also spent time playing bass with The Upside…
Willie’s PicnicBilly Bob’s Texas in Fort WorthJuly 4, 2011Better than: A real picnic out in the blazing heat all day, with fire ants and dirt and things. In a concession to July, Willie Nelson’s iconic Fourth of July picnic became this year an indoor/outdoor affair at Billy Bob’s Texas. It’s not…
Foster The People, Gardens & VillaThe LoftJuly 3, 2011 Better than: going to a dance party where the host played some Foster the People. A little better, anyways. There’s something to be said for bands that can reproduce their recorded sound faithfully, note for note, at their live shows. Making your live show…
