A.Dd+ Plans a Texas Takeover With the Red Bull Skooled Tour

Local rap duo A.Dd+ continue their ascent, this time enlisting corporate support from Red Bull, who’s sponsoring an early February tour that will see them hit six Texas cities in the span of seven days. This will be a coming-out party of sorts, with A.Dd+ playing shows with some of…

Play Me Back Home: A Playlist For Rick Perry

After what literally felt like four years, Rick Perry has finally ended his campaign for President, thrown his support at Newty G., and is returning to Texas. He said it best himself: “I know when it’s time to make a strategic retreat.” Ah, but he’s given us so many amazing…

A Monday Night at the Slip Inn: Was It Real or Just a Dream?

“Did you hear about that guy on the news?” “Oh, yeah. But what do you expect when you have a gas-huffing problem? One day you’re going to absentmindedly light a cigarette and explode.” “You sure are. You got a light?” Strange things happen when you go out on a Monday…

Allen Epley of The Life and Times Talks Barbecue and Setting His Amp to 12

Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, trio The Life and Times makes a wonderful racket while creating dense, sonically challenging compositions — real rock songs hidden under waves of noise. Speaking from his home in Chicago and in anticipation of tonight’s show at Dan’s Silverleaf, frontman and guitarist Allen Epley spoke…

The Life & Times

No matter what night of the week it is or if the weather is terrible, The Life and Times’ spacey post-hardcore stomp is a galvanizing force. Long since removed from the shadows of past bands like Shiner, the Kansas City trio has a reputation that exceeds its lineup. Promoting their…

Erykah Badu & The Cannabinoids

Master your art and rise to the level of royalty. That’s what Erykah Badu did when she assumed the moniker “Queen of Neo-Soul.” While many would be satisfied with reaching the peak of a genre, Badu is ambitious enough to conquer new territory. These days her efforts are grounded in…

Eccotone, Fungi Girls

Another door-kicker of a night at Queen City Hall. Fungi Girls may have the distinct honor of being Cleburne’s best band. So good, in fact, Chicago’s HoZac Records put out the young trio’s sophomore LP, Some Easy Magic, last summer. It mines some of the same pop depths of forefathers…

Loretta Lynn

When we talk about feminist icons in music, why is it country legend Loretta Lynn rarely makes the list? The singer from Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, has shouldered five decades of ups and downs and still gets on stage in a goddamn taffeta gown to belt her heart out. The Winspear…

Thou, The Body, True Widow

A metal show in Sons of Hermann’s old bowling alley on a Monday night? Sounds like some spirits are gonna be rattled loose, especially with headliners Thou in tow. The Louisiana group’s output stays on the blackened to charred side of doom metal, and offers some great song titles (“Fucking…

Boxcar Bandits

Recorded throughout the month of April 2011, this live effort serves as the sophomore release from Boxcar Bandits, longtime stalwarts of the Denton music scene, following up debut Smells Like Grass. The band’s Monday night residency at Dan’s Silverleaf has become one of the better hootenannies in the area, and…

Jeff the Brotherhood smash their heads on the punk rock.

Jake Orrall, 26-year-old guitarist for Nashville duo Jeff the Brotherhood, is multitasking. Catching him at home in early January, he’s juggling interviews while pulling vinyl together for a DJ set later that evening. His younger drummer brother, Jamin, is hanging out with him. And really, catching them in Nashville is…

The Boom Boom Box fights against the robots

The passing of four calendar years since the release of their debut EP has not been lost on The Boom Boom Box. While you’ve been wistfully staring at your hourglass, wondering when they’d release a full-length, they’ve been doing, ya know, life stuff. “In the four years since the EP,…

A Monday Night at the Slip Inn: Was It Real or Just a Dream?

“Did you hear about that guy on the news?” “Oh, yeah. But what do you expect when you have a gas-huffing problem? One day you’re going to absentmindedly light a cigarette and explode.” “You sure are. You got a light?” Strange things happen when you go out on a Monday…

The Problem With… Train’s “Drive By”

When reviewing previous Train songs in my column, I imagined lead singer Pat Monahan as one of those guitar-playing guys on college campuses who hasn’t grown out of it. A few years later, I’m starting to understand Train’s target demographic might be the women who were captivated by these jerks…

Analog Rebellion and Yes Go Productions Make Lo-Fi Friends

This teaser for the upcoming documentary How To Be Lo-Fi With Friends appeared yesterday. It tracks the making of Analog Rebellion’s upcoming album, Full Frontal, and is a collaborative effort between the band and Yes Go Productions, the same folks who put on El Sibil’s semi-regular parties. Yes Go director/producer…

Watch: New Bravo, Max! Video For, You Guessed It, A New Song

After Bravo, Max! was nominated for a Dallas Observer Music Award this past year, the five-piece was suddenly reduced to a trio. And that wasn’t too long after the band released Dog’s Light, their impressive debut effort. Now, some might think a band going through such upheaval might not be…