Nothing says “American” like the electric guitar. For decades, the sculpted lines, illustrious finishes and unique tones of these instruments have inspired a variety of musical styles that have defined our culture around the world. Ultimately, nothing else truly epitomizes what it means to be “cool” like a sunburst Gibson…
Back before the quirky rock act known as Lo-Fi Chorus moved down to Denton and become a duo, Erik Thompson, the formerly Denton-dwelling man behind the moniker, found a creative well in an unlikely place. In this edition of This Week In Dallas Music History, in 1999, former Observer contributor…
It’s a good time of the year to be a sports fan. The NBA playoffs are under way, the baseball season has begun, and — yes! — the final season of Friday Night Lights is back on NBC.And, would you know it, two of those things showcased some local music…
Tomorrow marks one of our favorite days of the year: Record Store Day. If you’re still undecided on how to spend your day, check out our Record Store Day breakdown for more information. We’ll make the rounds, but, more than likely, we’ll park it at Good Records, which seems to…
Tomorrow, as you now doubt are well aware by now, is the fourth annual official Record Store Day, in which we all get together and celebrate the brick-and-mortar shops that have managed to survive through the economy and the Internet stealing all of the action.But, really, just how bad are…
Brand names popping up in hip-hop is hardly a new trend — see, for instance, “Pass The Courvoisier” or countless other tracks. And songs in hip-hop about shoes — and, specifically, Nike shoes — isn’t new, either.So maybe it’s not exactly a surprise that Dallas rapper Dorrough has jumped in…
As part of their ongoing strategy to make April the most hated month of the year, the U.S. government requires that you turn in your taxes on Monday. Yes, that’s right: It’s the time of year again where you have to strain your eyes and flip through your receipts, desperately…
Good news and bad news, True Widow fans. First, the bad news: A family matter is taking bass playing Nicole Estill out of town this weekend, thus forcing the band off of the bill for tomorrow’s Record Store Day and 11th anniversary celebration at Good Records. They’ve been replaced on…
British Sea Power, A Classic Education, ColourmusicThursday, April 14, 2011The LoftBetter than: being caught in a lightning storm anywhere else. When we spoke with British Sea Power lead singer Scott “Yan” Wilkinson earlier this week, he talked about the band’s lack of new fans. “I can’t really say we’ve got…
It’s a fairly packed Thursday evening of music tonight — one that features local, national and even international talent…
Titus Andronicus’ phenomenal 2010 release, The Monitor, is a fairly dense album — not necessarily because of its visceral combination of punk aesthetic with indie rock instrumentation, but because of its subject matter, which centers around the Civil War. So it’s quite fitting then, that the Andrew Findley of Asheville,…
It’s going to be a busy summer for local favorite Sarah Jaffe. The Denton singer-songwriter recently announced that she’ll be going on two different tours with long-established bands with from the region, the Old 97’s and Centro-matic. You’d think, with such a hectic schedule, Jaffe would want a break from…
Lil Wayne emerged from Rikers Island late last year. Now, owing to the terms of his probation, he must lay off drugs and liquor for three years or return to prison. And, by all accounts, he’s kept kosher. And yet something doesn’t quite sit right. For the man who once…
The last time British Sea Power toured the U.S., it was shortly after the release of 2008’s Do You Like Rock Music?, an album that took itself only slightly more seriously than its title. Now, three years and two albums later, the British band is back and touring the States…
Record Store Day — you know, the day when everyone puts down their laptops, logs off of Amazon or iTunes (or, uh, MediaFire), and heads off to support their local brick-and-mortar record store — is fast approaching. Just two days off now, even. In this week’s paper, Daniel Hopkins purveys…
Without a doubt, all of the depression- and suicide-related songs released in recent memory have meant well. Unfortunately, the singer-as-motivational-speaker thing is a but impulsive and contrived. Has been for some time, too: The late-’80s film Heathers even lampooned the trope with a hokey anti-suicide track called “Teenage Suicide (Don’t…
Lanky and perhaps too good-looking for his own good, singer-songwriter Pete Yorn was both blessed and cursed by having a successful debut album. Back in 2001, when he released Musicforthemorningafter, Yorn became an instant success story. Here was this charismatic and handsome guy, who wrote music that sounded as if…
Marina and The Diamonds, IshiGranada TheaterApril 14, 2011Better than: seeing Marina and the Diamonds a year from now, after touring with Katy Perry, when she’s playing to sold-out venues. “I’ve never been here before” Marina Diamandis, the mastermind behind Marina & The Diamonds announced to her crowd at the Granada…
Fans of catchy, nuanced local indie-pop got quite a jolt of bad news last year when Fort Worth’s Calhoun announced their impending breakup, or at least a long hiatus, complete with a “farewell show” and everything. But the disappointment was tempered only a few months later with the news that…
It seems like Soviet has been around longer, but the band first appeared on the scene only in January. Boy, did they ever make a splash upon arrival: With the release of their Forever Today EP, the lo-fi, garage-punk outfit, then a three-piece, filled the void left by the hiatus…
Robert Jason Vandygriff has led some form of The Von Ehrics for more than a decade now. In that time, the band has released four full-length efforts, the most recent being Two Foot Stomp. Despite various line-up changes over the years, Vandygriff’s solid songwriting has helped the band’s albums remain…
The next British Invasion? Not happening anytime soon. Just ask British Sea Power. They’ve tried everything they could think of to break out in the United States, with only moderate success. On their first record, The Decline of British Sea Power, the band blurred the lines between punk and indie-rock…
