Run. The Police Are Coming.

The Police. Lookin’ a whole lot younger. So, the Starplex has another announcement. Hot on the heels of all this Radiohead stuff that has you all so hot and bothered, we just caught wind of another sure-to-be-a-big-deal show coming ’round these parts: The Police, with “special guests” Elvis Costello and…

Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Local American Idol Angle…

His name is Jason Castro and he calls Rowlett home. You might recognize him from the MTV show Cheyenne, in which he played love interest numero uno to Frisco’s Cheyenne Kimball. (This is a growing trend, apparently, that has a lot of AI viewers calling bullshit on this season–a whole…

MySpace Stalking Dallas Music

Before we get too deep into our budding relationship, Dallas—me being your new music editor here at the Observer and all—and before I start telling you guys just how much of a must-see Local Act A is or just how much tighter Local Act B would be if it took…

Remembering DJ Frantic

Fran “DJ Frantic” Erck’s first club gig wasn’t supposed to happen at all. He’d only started spinning records two years earlier, after he’d grown bored of his videogames and after his friend Pat “Phat-1” Johnson had persuaded him to get a secondhand set of turntables. Johnson tried to convince the…

Getting Crunk With Liars Frontman Angus Andrew

Just months after opening for Interpol during its fall 2007 tour, Liars is back on the road, despite singer/guitarist Angus Andrew’s painful back injury, which has the frontman mostly seated during recent shows. (Andrew says he was just “tidying up” and reaching for a cushion when his back gave out.)…

It’s Too Late for OneRepublic to Apologize

I go way back with the now ever-present pop-rockin’ guys in the super-clean, Timbaland-tested, mom-approved OneRepublic. I mean, we both rep Colorado Springs, and I’ve spoken to the members a few times over the phone. OK, so we only spoke once. But it was for a cover story on how…

Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow used to put out a good bit of songwriting. Looking back at the dates, though, those gems come distinctly from 1996 and 1998. There is no bluesy “Redemption Day,” no solid pop of “The Difficult Kind” and certainly no incredibly soul-baring “Crash and Burn” on her latest scattered…

Bon Iver

Perhaps no album of 2007 had a greater sense of place than Bon Iver’s (pronounced “Bohn Eevair”) For Emma, Forever Ago, set for re-issue on Jagjaguwar this week. Recorded by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon over four months in a northwestern Wisconsin hunting cabin, it’s quintessential winter listening (in fact, Bon Iver…

Barton Carroll

Seattle-based musician Barton Carroll has toured as a member of and also served as an accompanist with Azure Ray, Delorean and Micah P. Hinson. So his bluegrass/alt-country credentials are fairly strong. As a solo singer-songwriter, however, Carroll evokes ’70s archetypes James Taylor, Jim Croce and Cat Stevens, presenting sensitive tales…

Clutchy Hopkins

The recluse with mental illness has always had a bizarre place in the annals of popular music. Every decade or so a few tortured souls fade in and out of view, retreating to apartments or studios to piece together their peculiar visions, recording their neurosis for others to deconstruct. Clutchy…

The Paper Chase, Micah P. Hinson and Shiny Around the Edges

Hopefully you’re smart enough to take one look at this lineup and know that you should have acquired your tickets to this thing already. If not, get on it. Chances to see The Paper Chase seem increasingly rare, and the openers—both of whom have recorded with Paper Chase mastermind John…

Rose County Fair, Folly Fandango

Rose County Fair, John Pedigo’s post-Slick 57 band, has dropped the rockabilly influence of his previous group but kept the contrasting elements of vintage punk and Americana. “Falcones,” from 2007’s The Overture (and available on its MySpace site), is a good example of the band’s catchy pop leanings, with Pedigo’s…

Dove Hunter, Doug Burr, Bridges and Blinking Lights

Bridges and Blinking Lights delivered one of last year’s best local albums in Standing on the Same Stick, a collection of taut, jaunty indie rock reminiscent of Built to Spill, Centro-matic and mid-period Flaming Lips. B&BL guitarist Marc Montoya also pulls double-duty in local folk-Zeppelins Dove Hunter, who—fingers crossed—will deliver…

Molotov

A few years ago, I was in Mexico and saw Molotov perform in a cockfighting ring in Juarez. The crowd was 90 percent male, a wild combination of metal heads and goths. Loads of leather, makeup and alienation filled the rest of crowd. Molotov, basically a Spanish-language version of Korn…

Pot, Kettle. Kettle, Pot.

There’s a quick little Dallas dig buried deep in this online MTV News round-up piece (mainly about Aretha Franklin not being so into Beyonce’s Grammy performance). In an item about the upcoming Radiohead tour, the piece reads: “The last confirmed venue/date is May 18 at the awesomely named SuperPages.com Center…

Surely, Andrea Grimes Would Be Proud…

From the inbox: “A couple of months ago, the Observer ran with the cover story about the $30K millionaires roaming Dallas, or a better descriptive title, ‘Douchebags.’ This video explores this concept.” Courtesy of local hip-hoppers The Triggermen comes… French Cuff CityAdd to My Profile | More Videos Funny, sure…

Best Event Picks for Valentine’s Day

Whether you’re hitched or single or indifferent, taking someone to Greg Behrendt perform is a good idea. So, it’s Valentine’s almost weekend. And while for some that means a celebration of love and romance via kitschy American Greetings cards and sinful cornucopias of chocolate and nougat, for us Valentine’s Day…

Colorado Sprung

Rakim said it best: “It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.” And, on that note, starting after this, my second-ever post to DC-9, you’ll be getting fed a steady streamline of Dallas music news/notes/anecdotes/whatnot from me on this page. But, for now, a little history. As you may…

Lovie Opening for Vagina Monologues

Lovie will be the opening act for a special benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues. The UTD Rat PAC (their student performing arts collective) and the Galerstein’s Women Center are presenting the play with proceeds benefiting Victims Outreach, an agency that provides services for battered women. Andrea Roberts from The…

Radiohead Tickets On Sale Thursday

So, as of three minutes ago, we know where and when Radiohead will play locally: at the Starplex Amphitheatre on May 18. (Fine, the Superpages.com Center — like you’ll ever call it that.) And, courtesy Radiohead’s PR reps, we also know when tickets go on sale: this Thursday at Radiohead’s…

Rock ‘n’ Rumble: Gloomadeers vs. the Latter Day Taints

Sleezus Fist and the Latter Day Taints. (Tricia Kay Photography)Rock ‘n’ Rumble Episode 3 led us to a surprise. We have to admit we didn’t have much stock in rockers Black Tie Vendetta. Nothing against the band either. BTV just seems to register with a lower blip on the local…