Q&A: Dove Hunter on Recording and Flying Scorpions

Bring on the flying scorpions, guys! (Lee Setty) Dove Hunter has been slowly gaining a reputation as one of the Dallas area’s best new bands, despite having only a few unmastered demo tracks on its MySpace page. But with members hailing from defunct-but-still-beloved local acts like Mandarin, Doosu and Sub…

Over The Weekend: DJ Shadow, Sundance, Gothica Fashion Show

We want to know Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?Sure, we did our normal local rounds this weekend, including seeing DJ Shadow’s latest project over at the House of Blues, but we also had a staffer out at the Sundance Film Festival (actually, he’s still there). Dive in:…

Last Night: DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist at House of Blues

The Hard Sell? Only a little. (Jessica Walker)DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist Jan. 19, 2008 House of Blues Better Than: When I drink too much Shiraz and play classic ’80s records for my friends for hours and hours and hours… Wand-ed down once again for another live music extravaganza at…

St. Vincent Has No. 61 Video from 2007

A DC-9 reader alerted us to a list of the Top 79 Music Videos of 2007 over on Shots Ring Out. While it’s clear the music blog heavily leans to indie, folky and artsy bands, some of our favorites made the list. Plus, at No. 61 is Dallas’ own St…

Last Night: Michael Ian Black at House of Blues

Michael Ian Black at Dallas’ House of Blues Thursday night. (Angela Berg)Michael Ian Black House of Blues January 17, 2008 Better than: Tivo-ed American Idol premier featuring our proud Dallas wannabes. He has one of those faces that makes you scratch your noggin and say, “I know that guy…what has…

Win Foo Fighters Tickets

Foo Fighters. (Ben Watts) Probably not a surprise, but we’ll be at the January 23 Foo Fighters show at American Airlines. Want to be there, too, (and not spend any cash)? E-mail me by 3 p.m. with the subject line “Foo Fighters Tickets.” We’ll draw two names at random and…

Get to Know Sara Bareilles at Good Records

If you enjoy those daily marathons of America’s Next Top Model on VH1, you’ve probably been prone to the relentless airing of the channel’s You Oughta Know bits. Profiling artists on the rise, they pretty much shove new musicians down your throat at every commercial break. And if you know…

How to Be a Good Cover Band

If you’d asked two years ago, I would have said that the only reason for a cover band to exist is to make money and watch the crazy shit that goes down at weddings, and that’s coming from someone who’s been in one. Yeah, I admit it—the Ronnie Dobbs Band…

Handicapping the Grammys with a Foo Fighter

It’s hard to believe that anyone, let alone a member of the Foo Fighters, takes the Grammy Awards seriously. But bassist Nate Mendel says he’s honored that his band has been nominated. And he’ll be damned if Kanye West wins Album of the Year. At the 50th Annual Grammy Awards…

Backtrackin’ for Country Comforts

From Texas to Canada, even from beyond the grave, traditional country music endures across decades, borders and genre reclassifications. These four releases went sadly unnoticed in 2007. Here’s hoping that the new year will bring them some overdue recognition. Gram Parsons called what he did “Cosmic American Music,” and when…

It is Well

Even though he recorded most of the songs in 2006, Dallas’ own John Sprengler, the one-man band behind the name It is Well, keeps remixing and adding new songs to this debut EP, basically reissuing it at his discretion, usually whenever a performance is on the horizon. Since Sprengler hit…

The Roches

It’s been more than a decade since Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche released a new album together, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to Moonswept. The sisters’ distinctive harmonies still lock together so precisely that a younger listener might naturally assume them to be a result of technology as…

Back Door Slam

Although the name induces thoughts of hardcore porn of the anal variety, Back Door Slam are actually the newest in a long line of British boys infatuated with the blues. Consisting of teenagers Davy Knowles, Ross Doyle and Adam Jones, the band’s 2007 debut, Roll Away, has drawn quite a…

Lupe Fiasco

Though some believe Chicago’s Lupe Fiasco is too smart for mainstream rap, that’s not exactly true. Most of the lyrics on sophomore release Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool are pretty basic, clichéd stuff, right down to the CD’s opening monologue: “They thought it was cool to tear down the projects and…

Catfish Whiskey CD Release Party

Fort Worth’s Catfish Whiskey has been around since 2003 but did not start recording the band’s studio debut, Blood & Bones, until last year. Honing their swampy mix of blues and psychedelic-tinged country during the interim, Keegan McInroe and the rest of this quartet are now ready for, and deserving…

Q&A: Denton’s Fishboy Knows Where to Get Good Tacos

The quirky men of Fishboy.Fishboy has piqued our interest with its loopy tunes and out-there lyrics ever since the band’s Little D CD release in 2005. Almost a multimedia experience as opposed to rock band, the four Denton dudes pull off everything from music to comics to videos and a…

Follow the Rules for Jonas Brothers Tickets

Tweens get ready. Or maybe, parents should, because the Jonas Brothers are heading your way. Yay. Fun times. The adolescent rockers are coming to Nokia Theater February 28 and with the frenzy they tend to cause with tickets, Nokia decided to lay down some rules. So parents, take notes, mark…

Rock ‘n’ Rumble: Black Tie Dynasty vs. Black Tie Vendetta

Black Tie DynastySorry for the lapse in rumbles. Things are finally settling down enough to concentrate on the next round. Clearly, Lovie was the favorite in the last match-up against The Valentines…er…The Fieros. Not sure if it was name confusion or growing buzz about Lovie, but people commented big time…

Rock ‘n’ Chomp: House of Blues

Outside the House of Blues. (Jonathan Finley)Went to see American Werewolf Academy, the King Bucks, The Backsliders and Boys Named Sue Saturday at Dan Aykroyd’s shrine to commerce and “blues” and I gotta tell ya: It was an experience in vittles, incense and two totally different sound guys. As far…

OneRepublic Show Sold Out and Delayed

So here’s some concert bad news and inconvenient news. In case you haven’t heard, the OneRepublic show at the House of Blues is now sold out. Sorry bubs, you missed out. For those with tickets, you’re going to have to wait a couple more weeks. House of Blues peeps mentioned…

Over The Weekend: Haste The Day, Eleven Hundred Springs

Haste the Day. (Solid State)We’ll admit, this weekend was a lot of working for us. We’ve got big things coming on this blog in the next week or two – and guess when we were meeting with everyone? Yep, this weekend. Below are the two shows we loved from this…