For about a decade, few musicians—gender be damned—could match the smarts or wit of Salt-N-Pepa. Formed in 1985, the trio—including DJ Spinderella, who now calls Dallas home—busted out of Queens with the scratchin’ street-funk of “Tramp” and its flipside, the sultry schoolyard-rap chant “Push It.” Later came the consciousness-raising “Let’s…
Responsible for more than 30 albums and EPs in the past 15 years—and that’s just his solo work—the dreadlocked Los Angeles-based rapper and Living Legends crew member Murs has undeniably established himself as a fixture in the annals of West Coast underground hip-hop. And though he briefly made the major-label…
Dan Bejar doesn’t consider music his “first calling.” He feels he’d be more suited for the monotony of career in data entry instead. “I think it seems soothing,” he says. A sense of jittery uneasiness with his chosen profession has led Bejar, who records and performs as Destroyer, to a…
For a singer-songwriter often associated with protest songs such as “Alice’s Restaurant” and “Coming into Los Angeles,” Arlo Guthrie comes across as anything but a protester over the phone. “Actually, I’m a registered Republican,” Guthrie says while speaking on his cell phone in a hotel room in upstate Ohio. “And…
A very eclectic mix of performers in our area tonight including a big-time hip-hop act’s reunion tour and a show from some old-school punks out of New Zealand…
Two weeks back at 35 Conferette (has it really been that long?), we finally went and caught a live set from Denton dream pop upstart Novaak, a band whose debut album, I Am, You Are, we’ve very much enjoyed. But you already knew that. Anyway, we’re happy to report, the…
Greetings citizens: I don’t usually do this, but at the request of our intrepid music editor, I’m compelled to give an account of my virginal visit to the phenomenon that is known as Flatstock. For those not as obsessed with design and poster printing as I am, Flatstock is a…
Today, over on the Good Records website, there’s a slew of newly announced in-store performances. The most interesting of them all, though, is one sun-dwelling cartoon character named Gustafer Yellowgold, who will be gracing the astro-turf stage on Saturday, July 23, at 11 a.m. Well, that’s not entirely true: He’ll…
Still a bit of post-SXSW spillover happening this evening as a Belgian act and a British act highlight a nice collection of area shows…
So here we were, sitting around DC9 HQ, talking about music as we tend to do, and, specifically, about our highlights from SXSW weekend. And, somewhere between my loving ramblings about Odd Future, Noah W. Bailey mentioned that, in his quick Austin sojourn, he’d caught an acoustic set from iconic…
When we first caught wind of tomorrow night’s House of Pain reunion show at South Side Music Hall, we weren’t sure whether to be shocked or bemused. Let’s face it: The group hasn’t had anything close to a big radio hit in nearly 20 years now. And, last we’d heard…
Welcome to My First Show, where we give bands a chance to talk about the first shows they ever attended — no matter how uncool and embarrassing those tales may be. Chris Bonner and his wife Kim Pendleton-Bonner have led The BAcksliders through four albums of sweaty rock ‘n’ roll,…
Texas budget cuts have been looming over the heads of teachers and school boards alike in recent weeks, and Booker T. Washington High School, the DISD magnet for performing and visual arts, is no exception. But, with less money rolling in, the prestigious school has taken a proactive approach to…
And then there was BRO FEST.For those who had SXSW hangovers that were too sharp, or got stuck in the biblical nightmare that was traffic on I-35 (where are you Third Man Records truck?), Parade of Flesh’s 2011 BRO FEST boasted, as Daniel Hopkins mentioned in this week’s print, its…
As is typical for this time of the year, SXSW backwash results in a nice slew of bands hitting our area tonight…..
I’m really torn with how we should be handling coverage of Spector 45 bassist Adam Carter’s recent suicide. Adam was a sweet guy, a great sound man, a heck of a musician (in addition to his role in Spector 45, he played in a number of other great bands, including…
A couple weeks back, you may recall, Eric Grubbs caught up with local “stonegaze” trio True Widow to talk shop and to talk a long, hard look at the band’s sophomore album, the obnoxiously titled As High As the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the…
In today’s edition of This Week In Dallas Music History, we turn the page back to 1998, as former Observer contributor Keven McAlester discusses Dallas’ most intelligent band, Bedhead, and their third album, Transaction de Novo.At the time, McAlester wrote that, rather than moving away from the medium of bass,…
Regrettably, we didn’t make it out to Paste’s Thursday day party featuring North Texas’ own Sarah Jaffe and Seryn (fellow North Texans Eisley played the magazine’s Wednesday party), and, to hear Paste tell it, boy, did we miss out: The venerable and regrettably now online-only music rag claims Seryn’s performance…
After the jump, you can watch the just-released music video from Oak Cliff’s Own Lil Twist, for his Lil Wayne-featuring song called “Love Affair,” which is set to be part of the 18-year-old’s upcoming debut Don’t Get It Twisted full-length.But, first, a word on the young rapper. Namely: What the…
Toro y Moi, Cloud Nothings, IshiClub DadaMarch 19, 2011Better than: rushing halfway across downtown Austin to cram into an at-capacity venue, club or the ever-popular Fader Fort for a rushed 25-minute South-by-Southwest-style set. With more than 300 presale tickets sold before Saturday’s show, Dada’s “Backyard” — lit by the “supermoon”…
Peter MurphyGranada TheaterFriday, March 18, 2011Better than: Staying in and watching The Hunger. Blue lights blinded the packed crowd at Granada Theater on Friday night as the King of Goth took his stance at front and center stage. The one-time Bauhaus frontman may be 53 years old these days, but…
