For nearly twenty years, the Finnish heavy metal band Children of Bodom has done the symphonic, melodic death metal thing with passion and power to spare. Long considered one of Scandinavia’s best metal outfits, Children of Bodom have never resisted change. Proof of such is the band’s recently issued album…
We’ve talked about the wonderful Girls Rock Dallas plenty of times on DC9 in the past few years. The volunteer-run, non-profit offers something that no other music camp can provide for females aged eight to seventeen: a chance to learn instruments, form a band, play a show, and most importantly,…
Our boys over on Elm Street, Oliver Peck and the Reverend Horton Heat, have really outdone themselves this time. Fresh off the success of last year’s greatly expanded festival, the guys have somehow arranged for Black Flag to visit Deep Ellum. Starting on June 11 at Three Links, the festival…
It might have been the Christmas spirit or a feeling of a quarter-life crisis creeping up on me, but whatever the reason, I decided to volunteer. I ended up teaching some local kids everything about hip-hop dancing. Before you glance up at my name or Facebook stalk me, I am…
Organizers of the March Madness Music Festival have announced headliners for the Dallas block party, and you’ve probably heard of a few of them: The free Dallas shows, which will take over the former site of Reunion Arena during the first weekend in April, will include performances by the Killers,…
Known for forming and fronting 7 Seconds, one of the seminal American punk rock acts of the 80’s, Kevin Seconds has always been one of the hardest working guys around. Even today, besides occasional 7 Seconds reunion shows and his solo work, the guy is involved in at least six…
It all started with one tweet. Nice! Not even MY “entire”family are big fans. A few are like,”meh”RT @paginaskinner:seeing you in concert Sat.My entire family are big fans— Brad Paisley (@BradPaisley) July 25, 2013 As I was performing my usual pre-concert routine of listening to the artist’s entire collection, I…
When Jeffrey Brown of King Camel Productions opened up shop last year, he used a tried and true formula for success. He was getting into booking shows around Dallas last year, and started hitting the streets of Deep Ellum to do a little research. What he found was an opportunity…
Although Santa Cruz’ The Expendables play an energetic hybrid of rock, ska and reggae. Its members themselves take pride in being way laid back, and that’s what led to the band’s most recent offering: the all-acoustic Gone Soft. Speaking from Tallahassee on a day off from the tour and in…
There are album releases and then there are collaboration and then there is The Versus Project. The cliff notes version is that Austin’s Borrisokane decided to put out a new album, and then they decided to share the process with six other Texas bands. On April 25, Oscillation Records will…
At 39, Jonathan Wilson has already accomplished more than many people twice his age. As a musician, he has worked with everyone from Jackson Browne to Dallas’ own Erykah Badu. Wilson has also produced recording sessions for the likes of Glen Campbell, Dawes and Father John Misty. And as a…
Replacing a lead singer is no easy feat. Just ask Matty Mullins. Born and raised outside of Seattle, Washington, Mullins became the second frontman for Dallas’ own Memphis May Fire back in 2008. Since then, the band has continued to expand its fan base while maturing and incorporating new themes…
With his deep, southern drawl and plainspoken nature, Chris Knight’s first impression is not one of a literate singer/songwriter. But for over 15 years, Knight has produced some of the finest songs in the Americana genre. Tough and to the point, Knight’s weary tales of losers on the wrong side…
Talking to Hospitality’s Amber Papini is quite the experience. The highly talented songwriter is an idiosyncratic thinker, whether it’s discussing the influence of the ocean on her songwriting or her love of gas station food. And that is reflected in Hospitality’s truly distinctive music. Speaking from her home in Brooklyn…
If I close my eyes tight enough, I can almost still picture it, even though it’s almost been a decade. I am fifteen years old and feeling very close to heat stroke, so I lean against the wall. Even that feels labored, because I’m standing on such a sharp incline…
Not many musicians can make the claim of being a clinical psychologists and a singer. As a matter of fact, Lucy Kaplansky may be the only one. Hailing out of New York, Kaplansky has been making quality folk music since 1978. Yet after making initial commercial inroads, Kaplansky went back…
It has been 10 years since Mike Schoder took over ownership of Granada Theater on Greenville Avenue. The club — one of the biggest in Dallas — has endured changes in the neighborhood and the fickle nature of music to become one the most celebrated venues in town. To celebrate…
We’re bringing Ludacris to this year’s St. Patrick’s Day proceedings. Now, Ludacris is one of those people whose personality has loomed so large as to occasionally obscure his actual music, so by way of reminding you what it actually means to go to a Ludacris show, allow us to list…
This week 10 years ago, an anxious producer from Chiraq (Chicago), Illinois had just released his debut into the rap arena, College Dropout. Heavily manipulating the hip-hop scene musically, stylistically, and socially even at the time, a far more subconscious Kanye West went on to gain international acclaim, travel through…
At the end of February, I’m leaving the Dallas Observer to take over as the music editor for Denver’s Westword. The move brings me and my partner back where we came from and where we hope to stay, and it’s really as simple as that. Working at the Observer has…
If you arrived in Dallas from Mars and wanted to pick one place to learn about local music, a smart tour guide might send you to the Crown and Harp on Lower Greenville. There, you’d find an increasingly dense schedule in the pub’s two unassuming rooms of North Texas artists…
St. Patrick’s Day in Dallas is a quiet celebration of our Irish heritage and Catholic faith. Just a couple friends wearing matching outfits and standing in the street. No reason you wouldn’t remember last year, but just in case you have it looked sort of like this. To these proceedings…
