When Chris Johnson and his band Telegraph Canyon wrapped up their last album, he decided to hit the road — but his real travels didn’t have anything to do with touring. Johnson hit the road simply to see the world. That last record came out in 2009, and little could…
Within the first 45 seconds of his brand new album, over a greasy blues lick, Jonathan Tyler roars, “Hallelujah, Hallelujah, I’ve been saved.” That simple but revelatory line represents where Tyler’s head is these days in a number of ways as he nears the release date of Holy Smokes. The Tyler of 2015…
Ambition is the most important quality in a band. In an age of DIY music promotion, a band is unlikely to break out without massive record label support or an above average imagination. The minimum will never do. These Machines Are Winning, the brainchild of Dylan Silvers that’s equal parts…
The football teams at TCU and SMU battle over an Iron Skillet. The Texas Rangers contend with the Houston Astros for a silver boot. Clearly, sports rivalries are a big deal in these parts, but probably only in Texas would two teams duke it out over possession of a really…
Last Friday, many woke up to the devastating news that beloved local singer-songwriter Jay Johnson died on Thursday night. A Facebook post from Rebecca Scott, Johnson’s constant companion and biggest fan shared the sad — and to many, shocking — news that Johnson had taken his own life. As Friday morning…
Before there was any so-called Texas Country craze, dating back to the mid-1980s, Robert Earl Keen was packing honky-tonks and bars around the state with his brand of blended folk, rock and country. There’s little doubt that many Keen classics, primarily, the epic “Road Goes on Forever,” and the drunkenly…
The suits of the Music Row machine have been putting their shiny boots in their less-than-polished mouths in recent months. The most recent example occurred last week when, in an interview with Country Aircheck magazine, prominent radio consultant Keith Hill stated, “Trust me, I play great female records, and we’ve got…
As 1974 rolled into 1975, Autumn Sound was in serious need of business. The recording studio, operated out of an otherwise ordinary shopping center in Garland, featured a 24-track studio console — reportedly the first of its kind in Texas — and it had a secret weapon in the form…
Built to Spill, Wooden Indian Burial Ground Granada Theater Wednesday, May 20, 2015 In this age where reunions are commonplace for notable bands of the 1990’s, Idaho’s Built to Spill offer a different take on Generation X’s need for nostalgia-replenishment. Unlike fellow so-called “Indie” acts Pavement, the Pixies and even…
Over the course of the past three years, Untapped has found itself a prime niche here in North Texas. Actually, it’s spread well beyond that, with events not only in Forth Worth and Dallas but also Houston, Austin and even Nashville, each time offering up whats seems like miles worth…
On New Year’s Eve 2014, Joshua Fleming inadvertently made one hell of a New Year’s Resolution. He’d already had an eventful and tumultuous year with his band, local punk trio the Phuss, where he plays guitar and is lead vocalist. While he was in the Double Wide’s outdoor space selling…
Last night at Clark Park on the University of North Texas campus in Denton, country singer-songwriter Zane Williams performed for a dancing group of co-eds. Five days ago, however, the McKinney resident was making his debut on the hallowed stage of country music’s greatest stage, the Grand Ole Opry in…
Between 2003 and 2006, the Burden Brothers ruled North Texas rock. The band’s full-length debut, Buried in Your Black Heart, from locally based Kirtland Records, made a splash nationally, and songs like “Shadow” and “Beautiful Night,” the ocean-sized anthem that had a nice run on the Billboard Rock charts, became…
Dallas has the Deep Ellum Arts Festival, Fort Worth has its Main Street Arts Festival and even Grapevine has Main Street Days and Grapefest. These are all long-running, multi-faceted family events where drinks can be enjoyed, art of a million kinds can be purchased and, yes, bands can be heard…
Five years ago, Doug Burr was on a roll. The Denton-based singer-songwriter and former Lonelies frontman had cranked out four albums in seven years between 2003 and 2010, each seemingly better than the last. The last of those, O Ye Devastator, was devastatingly beautiful and easily one of North Texas’…
On a recent, sunny Sunday afternoon, dozens of youth soccer teams were engaged in some pretty serious competition inside Plano’s sizeable Russell Creek Park. Driving into the park, the scene wasn’t unlike the one thousands of families from across the Metroplex witness every weekend. Youth soccer has long been a…
North Texas simmers with artistic vitality in a number of colorful manners. Dance, music, theatre, sculpture and galleries showcasing all sorts of fine works are well-supported here. Of course, we can all love to benefit from an artist’s vision, taking in the aspects of an individual creation that resonate with…
Film adaptations of books have long been the saving grace of lazy students tasked with book reports — the old watch-the-movie-instead trick has exposed many a high schooler, and even George Constanza, as a non-reading fraud. Big D Reads, a partnership between D Magazine and Half-Price Books, has been aiming…
These days, we can send random thoughts, meaningless musings and politically charged invective to countless people with just a couple of clicks on our phones. But there was a time when the tales, thoughts and wishes that made their way from generation to generation had to have some serious meat…
Bat Lanyard will never release another CD again. Never. Mind you the band, which is the brainchild of Dallas singer Matthew Glenn Thompson, will continue to release music. But you’ll never be able to find a physical copy of it, and you’ll never find it on iTunes or Amazon either…
For generations, the works of Shakespeare have been lauded as tales and tragedies that will forever remain relevant. It’s impossible to argue with that when modern works of all media set in realms that seem to be worlds apart from the Globe Theatre heavily employ the storylines ol’ Will brought…
Those who’ve been waiting for an Alamo Drafthouse location to open up in the comfy Dallas-proper confines south of 635, out of fear of the northern ‘burbs and their wood-paneled minivans, have missed out on quality film-geek entertainment. This weekend is a great opportunity to face your fears and have…
