Tim Locke, felled by the season’s latest and nearly ubiquitous strain of flu, still manages to sound excited through the coughing and sniffling. Locke is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and main muse behind Grand Street Cryers, the Dallas pop quintet that’s enjoying the fallout of a magical bit of radio…
As years go by 20th Century Blues Marianne Faithfull Reverso/RCA Records Berlin in the ’20s: no other phrase conjures up quite so complete a picture of decadence and doom. Denizens of the Weimar Republic had the hedonist’s perfect excuse, a traumatic past and a future that hinted at even worse,…
The feminine mystique There are some people who are so possessed of a love for life–and for love–that they are virtually forces of nature, blowing through situations and scenarios like some emotional Tasmanian devil. No matter how much these folks vex you–or break your heart–somehow you can’t hate them, so…
When Rick Reid’s will-to-Zydeco–honed in earlier bands Zydeco Faux Pas, then the Zydeco Swamptones–collided with the pop/cover-band tendencies of the Joybangers last summer, a new and wonderful thing was born: the band Hippie Gumbo. Perhaps it was a reward for finally resisting the urge to put the word “zydeco” in…
Mirrors cover the walls of every room except the bedroom in Lou Barlow’s ancient Boston apartment house. Dark, wine-colored carpet and ornate woodwork line the new dwelling of the guiding auteur of lo-fi rock heroes Sebadoh. Their “Willing to Wait,” off of Harmacy–the band’s seventh album–is hitting on VH-1, and…
It Happened One Night Holly Cole Metro Blue/Capitol Records Jazzy singer Holly Cole perfectly illustrates how cool warmth can be. Her live show is so affecting that she can make even a huge outdoor shed like Starplex seem close and intimate, so this album–songs from a single night in Montreal…
He was an avatar of fusions to come, a trumpet man whose high-C-over-C wailings presaged the mix of rock heroics and jazz technique that would later give birth to such acts as Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago, and then a thousand more. When he plays, Maynard Ferguson is a…
Contrary to a report in Tuesday, January 14’s Austin American-Statesman, a recommendation to restrict the presence of anyone under 21 in establishments that sell alcohol is not a bill, but that still doesn’t mean that club owners, club-goers, and musicians shouldn’t take an interest in goings-on down Austin way. The…
Running on Ice Vertical Horizon Rhythmic Records I don’t know how you would define Vertical Horizon musically. The sound that Matt Scannell and Keith Kane make is too acoustic and soft for most contemporary pop rock; their plaintive lyrics suggest a country sentimentality, but without the rollicking fun–no sly steel…
Houston El Mover Say what you will about Joe King Carrasco, but he’s responsible for two enduring rock ‘n’ roll memories. The first was years ago, during the heyday of Austin punk, at Duke’s Royal Coach Inn. It was a red-hot night, both for the performer and the un-air-conditioned crowd…
She does not stick out in the dilapidated lobby of Los Angeles’ Farmer’s Daughter Motel on Fairfax, just across the street from the restaurants and product bins of the Farmer’s Market. Her famous long hair–black with road-map streaks of gray running through it–is tucked underneath a plain black baseball cap;…
Songs from the sound museum Songs from the Night Before David Sanborn Elektra Records The saxophone has a reputation for being one of the sexiest jazz instruments. This generalization has never held much sway with me; for romance, I’ll take a Chet Baker trumpet solo or a Nina Simone vocal…
The long and winding road At long last, the Right Reverend Billy C. Wirtz–over-the-top satirical singer-songwriter, one-man floor show, living lampoon of all things musical–has straightened out. Well, sort of. “I’m glad you called when you did,” the Rev says enthusiastically. “I pulled a groin muscle the other day and…
If you’re driving through downtown Terrell, you probably wouldn’t notice the small radio station between the travel agency and the clothing store on Moore avenue. The station–with its faded wood front and DJ booth facing the street (with a large window for passersby to peer in)–makes you feel like you’ve…
The face on the cover of Cafe Noir’s album The Waltz King was perfect for the eclectic classicist/jazzbo aggregation: lined and weathered, it bespoke not only many miles and countless rooms, but also wisdom; sadness too, yes, but leavened with the peace that comes from experience. From that countenance–the kind…
101 punks Pretty Ugly Mess Last Beat Records Cris Mess sings like a young, pissed-off Billy Idol (circa Generation X), but you can’t help noticing that this album sounds like it has been preserved in a time capsule for the last 20 years; the question of nostalgia arises like a…
!Don’t you step on my huaraches azules! The line that divides style and shtick can be razor-thin, and if you introduce the Elvis Dimension it can be buried completely beneath deep drifts of Velveeta. It would be a mistake, however, to lump Los Angeles artist El Vez (nee Robert Lopez)…
How do you solve a problem like this introduction? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? 1996 was many things–a flibbertigibbet, a will o’ the wisp, a clown–but more than anything for music, it was a time of transition. With “alternative” rock still spinning off hundreds of…
If 1995 was the year of the umpteenth British Invasion (Oasis, Blur, etc.) and the domination of the true underground by the amazing cross-pollinations of dance music, 1996 wasn’t far behind in brilliance. In ’96, the feeling that pop music still has the power to stimulate, instigate, and propagate remained…
As Eric Halfvarson savors his plate of beef mole at cvila’s restaurant on Maple Avenue, the Dallas-based international opera star ponders a dilemma: Although many bookings in the classical music business occur far in advance (he’s presently working out an offer for the year 2000), his immediate concerns are no…
Electra glide in blue Small Spinning Ginny Last Beat Records There truly is nothing new under the sun anymore, and to describe a band by placing it in a handy niche is no longer tantamount to calling it unoriginal, but the only way to deal with the staggering amount of…
Sound and fury… Test for Echo Rush Anthem/Atlantic The think-rock of Rush has always been problematic. Early masterworks like 2112 (1976) succeeded even if they are lyrical Cliffs Notes for college freshmen. (2112 is based on Ayn Rand’s Anthem; 1978’s Hemispheres explores right-left brain phenomena.) At worst, Rush is a…
