Taller and pinker than the Statue of Liberty, the gigantic Energizer Bunny Hot Hare Balloon is only one of the dozens of rainbow-colored hot air balloons at the DFW Summer Balloon Classic in Midlothian, Texas, this weekend. The “Aviation Extravaganza” (or so it’s billed) will also feature precision skydivers and…
As the buzz of neon lights replaces the heat of the blazing sun after a hard day’s work, it’s reassuring to know that the voice cryin’ from the jukebox about rocky romances, tough times and lasting love isn’t just another product of the machinations of the recording industry. Born a…
Over the phone, Josh Jones doesn’t whisper and then suddenly break into fits of maniacal laughter like he does on Evangelicals’ first two gloom-pop albums. It’s a bit surprising. After penning the songs on The Evening Descends, a cinematic album bursting with skeleton men, bizarre religious visions, ghosts, bats, a…
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve watched Dazed and Confused, man, I’d be loaded. My friends and I watched it over and over, incessantly quoting our favorite lines. Initially released on fewer than 200 screens, Richard Linklater’s flick about coming of age in the summer of 1976…
Thanks to an endless flood of import singles, live albums and re-releases, it’s hard to believe that The Cure’s next album, which is due in September, is only the gloom-rockers 13th full-length effort. Maybe that’s ’cause when The Cure does release a disc, Robert Smith and Co. want to make…
The bear with the gooey, honey covered paws will always eclipse A. A. Milne’s other creations. Like his lighthearted play about…bigamy. Yup. Bigamy. Written five years prior to the first Winnie-the-Pooh story, Mr. Pim Passes By’s simple plot unfolds with Mr. Caraway Pim ambling into the lives of a happy…
From Hillary’s recent self-deprecating sniper-fire jokes to McCain’s farcical announcement on The Daily Show that The Office’s Dwight Schrute would be his running mate to Obama’s, um, dancing on Ellen, presidential candidates are aware of the important role silliness and charade play on the tollway to the Oval Office. In…
Two words: polka festival. Either you’re already rollin’ your eyes, or you’re hearing the music and envisioning a kolache in one hand and a Pilsner Urquell in the other. This Memorial Day weekend Ennis, Texas will host the 42nd Annual National Polka Festival. Located 30 minutes south of downtown Dallas,…
As any frequent peruser of dusty discount record bins knows, there are a handful of record albums that you’re constantly flipping past. A few of the usual suspects, like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, are noticeable not for the dazzlingly impressive art work, but because of the sheer numbers of copies. But…
Back in the 1970s people were naïve and paranoid. They thought wiretapping was a bad idea. I mean really, wasn’t the whole Watergate thing and those subpoenaed tape recordings by Nixon one big misunderstanding? Come on, who hasn’t eavesdropped on a private conversation or bugged a few people’s offices before?…
Remember that grizzly old actor who played Whistler the vampire hunter alongside Wesley Snipes in the Blade trilogy? Well, in case you didn’t know, he’s a singer-songwriter too. Starting out his recording career in Nashville working as a janitor at Columbia’s Music Row Studios in 1966, Kris Kristofferson was cleaning…
Grab a foldin’ lawn chair, a six-pack of Natty Light and some chicken-fried whatever because the first national tour of The Great American Trailer Park Musical opens tonight in McKinney. Described as “South Park meets Desperate Housewives,” the off-Broadway musical production promises adulterers, agoraphobes and pink flamingos galore. Sure, you…
Whether Johnny Cash is singing an old spiritual or a song by Trent Reznor, there’s something sacred and sincere in his raw, earthy voice that makes me feel like everything is gonna be all right. And, at first, the idea of a jukebox musical featuring 38 of the Man in…
J. Paul Slavens holds his stoic composure as he takes a seat behind his Casio keyboard for his weekly residency at Dan’s Sliverleaf. After taking a nip from his whiskey and water on the rocks, Slavens leans closer to the microphone and starts crunching. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. The slow, rumbling…
