Like most Smiths fans under 30, I think I heard about Morrissey being pissed off for some reason or another before I’d heard him croon over a single perfect Johnny Marr riff. He’s a self-consciously difficult figure to ignore once he’s wedged himself into the news, a stout British guy…
If you’ve found yourself at Beauty Bar on a Thursday night anytime within the last few months, you are already well aware that there is no one in the city of Dallas who can turn a party up like DJ Sober and Picnictyme can. Though Will Rhoten (aka DJ Sober)…
In what has become a yearly tradition, the Dropkick Murphys make their way through town just before St. Patrick’s Day. Their date in town is usually near to the dates of the Flogging Molly Dallas stop and to the North Texas Irish Festival. No one can ever claim that Metroplex…
You might not recognize Jeff Ryan’s name, but you’ve probably heard his drumming on a number of acclaimed releases in the past few years. Playing on albums by Sarah Jaffe, St. Vincent, Pleasant Grove and Crushed Stars, he’s also had time to do an ambient side project called Myopic. Myopic’s…
I don’t know how much else Madonna and Silvio Berlusconi have in common–her extremely visible fight against aging is going much better than his–but here’s one connection: This weekend Italy voted in an election that’s serving as a referendum on a decade of economic stagnation caused by, among other things,…
Junius used to be a band from Boston. That’s where they formed almost a decade ago. But then leader Joseph Martinez wanted to start a family, so he decided to go back to where he grew up. So for the past three years, Junius has been a Dallas band. Well,…
Mississippi native and former lead-singer for the successful Squirrel Nut Zippers, Jimbo Mathus, shows his true southern self on his latest, excellent album, White Buffalo. While his old band brought attention back to Swing music for a while in the late 1990’s, it’s now tough to imagine Mathus ever being…
New Dallas resident Lizza Connor is a mom on a musical mission. This former Nashville songwriter is branching out from her usual country and folk genre to write children’s music. Connor’s new album Commander Salamander contains 13 whimsical songs that encourage healthy lifestyle for children through good nutrition, physical activity,…
Besides learning that “begravningsplats” is Swedish for graveyard, talking to Axel Sjöberg, drummer for the Swedish rock band of the same name, was both fascinating and a bit unnerving. Not only does the guy sound exactly like Dirk Nowitzki, but just when I thought the language issue was going to…
Although the music of Ra Ra Riot has been described as baroque pop, it’s not nearly as pretentious as that might imply. Hailing from Brooklyn (by way of Syracuse), this intriguing five-piece has been making classically-tinged indie rock for the better part of seven years. And with each successive release,…
SXSW is bringing in their youngest performer ever; her name is Marlhy Murphy and she happens to be from the great city of Dallas. See her in action on Sonicbids. Murphy and bandmate Lydia Night came together to form their band Pretty Little Demons and will be playing this year…
For over 20 years, the Mother Hips have expertly offered a soulful, psychedelic sound that just seems to flow in the Northern Californian waters. Although it’s been a while since the band’s last album, the groove-tastic Pacific Central Dust, was released in 2009, word has it that a new album…
Against all odds, the 2013 Grammys are not irrelevant–or, if you believe they’ve always been irrelevant, they’ve not become more irrelevant. They haven’t become more relevant, either, to be sure; their recent attempt to rationalize the increasingly abstruse and parochial categories was worthwhile–I suppose we can do without Best Rock…
Holly Williams, the 31 year old granddaughter of the iconic Hank Williams, has grown into a formidable artist all her own. Unlike her off-his-rocker dad and her crazy-ass half-brother, Hank Williams III, Holly hasn’t really dabbled in the stone-cold honky-tonk sounds that her family has been making for decades. She…
Texas Country, or Red Dirt, or whatever one wants to call it, has become big business these days. So, it’s not really shocking that a couple of television shows dedicated to artists fitting into the Lone Star-loving realm have popped up and are shedding light on the talent all over…
Ladies, grab your instruments and put on your hottest Annie Lennox ensemble. Girls Rock Dallas foundation has announced its first year of Ladies Rock Camp, featuring area band The Chloes. They will be hosting a weekend-long day camp and fundraising event held February 22 to 24, which ends with a…
It’s pretty rare for a band to wait nearly three decades to release its best album, but that’s exactly what Testament did. Last summer saw the release of Dark Roots of Earth, Testaments tenth and most accomplished work. Melding the old school fire of the band’s previous efforts with a…
Mumford and Sons have just announced a second Gentlemen of the Road tour, and one of the three U.S. Stopovers is in Guthrie, Oklahoma, a small town 3 hours and 45 minutes north of Dallas. Here’s how these things work: Towns apply to be selected for the show, and it’s…
At 67, Homer Flynn is a cool, calm and rather coy customer. Over the past four decades, Flynn has consistently denied being a member of one of rock’s truly unique outfits: San Francisco’s The Residents. Even with many musical sleuths claiming otherwise, Flynn has always stuck to his story that…
Last night, local filmmaker Jonathan Buchner announced to the world the project he’s been working his ass off on: a documentary on Spector 45. Called 45, those who know the band’s story know how incredibly emotional and sensitive this is to tell, but Buchner has captured something that should see…
Hailing from Athens, Georgia, the garage rock trio known as The Whigs has been plying their craft for over a decade. In that time, they have released four amazing records including last years’ Enjoy the Company. Speaking from a tour stop in Los Angeles and in anticipation of Friday’s show…
Jessica Simpson’s TV show–that is, her new TV show, a sitcom set to air on NBC–is going to be about her life as a celebrity. You should immediately be able to spot the problem, here: Her life as a celebrity is already about her life as a celebrity. The first…
