Billed as a night of “horror scores and terror synths,” DJs Gabriel Mendoza and Gavin Guthrie will be on hand to screw and chop (or hack and slash) the soundtrack to your nightmares. You can probably expect a lot of John Carpenter fare, a little Dario Argento and maybe some…
Austin fiddler Carrie Rodriguez gets around with collaborators, and always manages to make it seem like more than just a fling. She made half a dozen albums with “Wild Thing” scribe Chip Taylor and a 2010 EP with Romantica frontman Ben Kyle. “Steal Your Love,” from 2010’s solo LP Love…
When he’s not railing against the odiousness of Axe Body Spray or espousing the gastrointestinal dangers of Taco Bell on Twitter, America’s Funny Man Neil Hamburger is actually performing live in clubs. He returns to the Texas Theatre, site of his 2010 New Year’s Eve blowout, to crack wise (and…
If you’ve ever seen Mean Girls, you may have caught a reference to Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but the South African vocal group is much more than a punchline. They’ve been around in one form or another since the early ’60s, influencing Paul Simon, with whom they collaborated on Graceland, standing…
The first time I saw Langhorne Slim in concert, I’d only heard one song: “Restless” off his 2006 EP, Engine. My instincts did not fail me, and neither did his stage presence or the sheer force with which he performed his folky repertoire. Every song was delivered with passion, as…
Sluggish after a night spent driving from Portland, Oregon, to Oakland, California, Starfucker’s lead singer, Josh Hodges, was still happy to talk about his electro-dance trio’s unique vision and provocative moniker, one that’s gone through quite a few changes in just the last year. “The name didn’t come from that…
There’s one thing Mwanza Dover wants to make abundantly clear about The Black Dotz: It’s not Dover’s band. Sure, he’s the lead singer of the quartet, but this is a band. Sitting in Dover’s living room, the other three members — guitarist Greg Prickett, bassist Ross Boyd and drummer Ross…
What other musical family is so entwined in each other’s output that both their grindcore and jazz projects can realistically be reviewed in the same space? For Resurrection and Life, trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez and his sons Aaron (contrabass) and Stefan (drums) once again collaborated with legendary New Orleans drummer Alvin…
Do a Google search for “Wu-Tang Clan members” and you’ll get all sorts of infographics to help sort out the NYC hip-hop group’s 10 personalities, as well as their lesser-known members (Noodleneck, Dr. Bloodclot). As the years wear on, those members have gone on to do solo projects or star…
After a merciful summer and fall without The Black Eyed Peas, the group announced they would take a hiatus. My first reaction was relief. However, my second reaction was wordless dread. This means Fergie and Will.i.am’s egos are no longer contained by editorial buffers Apl.de.ap and Taboo. Will is releasing…
Mind Spiders excellent sophomore album, Meltdown, comes out February 21 on Dirtnap Records and already promises to be one of 2012’s best local releases. Mark Ryan knows his way around a pop song, as “Wait For Us” and much of Meltdown proves, but he also isn’t afraid to experiment. The…
In the days leading up to Friday night’s How The Edge Stole Christmas, KDGE 102.1-FM The Edge’s annual holiday music festival at Grand Prairie’s Verizon Theatre, the radio station talked up a big concert announcement that was to be made sometime during the show.Turns out it was a pretty big…
It’s been eleven years since Stephen Malkmus released his self-titled debut with The Jicks, and on that first tour, during a stop at the old Gypsy Tea Room (on the big side), he made good use of the musical elbow room his new band allowed him, ripping solo after solo…
Arlington trio Flatworld recently hit the studio, and the result of those sessions is Ether Sunday, a 14-song full-length that features a wild mix of punk, garage rock and folk. In anticipation of Flatworld’s headlining gig this Saturday night at the Prophet Bar, the band was kind enough to offer…
Usually with this column, we might interview one or two people from a band. With Darstar, all five members were kind enough to share the first shows they saw and played. And, if you wanted a reminder of how effective Smashing Pumpkins were in their heyday, listen to what Lisa…
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra Plays The Legend of Zelda Music The Meyerson Symphony Center Tuesday, January 10 Better Than: Playing the games in 1998. Also, the childish “in your face, in your face!” chant I’m going to throw at my mom later for all those years she limited me to…
A few years ago, Black Tie Dynasty were one of the biggest bands in DFW. The band broke up, but former lead singer Cory Watson wasted little time jumping into his next project, Mon Julien, which also features former Black Tie keyboardist Brian McCorquodale.Today, the Mon Julien project comes to…
It’s a windfall for local festivals today. 35 Denton’s latest announcement brings L.A.’s leather jacket-clad Dum Dum Girls (who get teased in the video below, soundtracked by Denton’s own Dim Locator), as well as drone specialists OM, The Hood Internet, Oberhofer, El Ten Eleven, Class Actress, Woodsman, Bleached, The Romany…
As we excitedly mentioned last week, the Observer’s inaugural Triple Play series, brought to you in part by KKXT-FM 91.7 and the Kessler, goes down this Friday, January 13. The idea is to showcase emerging acts from Dallas, Denton and Fort Worth; Hunter Hendrickson, Spooky Folk and Exit 380 rep…
While the demo tape-carrying waiters and baristas of Nashville fantasize about hitting it big as a session player, songwriter or performer, Darrell Scott has been a key figure in each of those realms for some time now. After getting noticed for his solo albums, Scott had a fortuitous streak of…
With the release of Coachella’s lineup yesterday, we decided to ask our resident curmudgeon and “good old days” music expert, Indie Grandpa, what he thought of the annual desert festival, which has now expanded to two weekends. What do you think about Coachella’s lineup? First of all, morning everyone. Second,…
More acts are trickling out for Bro Fest 2012, which happens March 18 at Club Dada. In addition to the Handsome Furs, Cerebral Ballzy and Coliseum, seven more acts have been announced, including Irish janglers And So I Watch You From Afar; Atlanta badasses The Coathangers; West Coast punks Crystal…
