First hired in 1979 by Frank Zappa as a music transcriptionist, guitarist Steve Vai has just about done it all. Whether as a solo artist or playing with everyone from David Lee Roth to John Lydon, Vai’s sheer musical ability has never been questioned. Undoubtedly a hired gun, Vai’s career…
In 2005, Mitch McBain and Blake Myers, who comprises Houston-based band Rosehill, suffered a tragic loss when they were playing as a part of the group Texas High Life. Keith Binder, the band’s drummer, committed suicide, leaving the rest of group awash in hopelessness. Rosehill was formed in the wake…
Missouri’s Ha Ha Tonka is another one of those quality alt-country bands that always seems to grow away from the genre. Led by the talented Brian Roberts, Ha Ha Tonka have evolved into an indie rock act that loves mining traditionally alt-country subject matter (religion, racism and rural settings), but…
Although it’s been nearly five years since Idaho indie rockers Built to Spill have released an album, the band continues to be a solid concert draw across the United States. Led by the enigmatic Doug Martsch, Built to Spill have featured several different lineups and this year is no exception…
On January 26, A.Dd+ threw an album release party like Greenville Avenue had never seen before. For the debut of their highly anticipated sophomore album, DiveHiFlyLo, the Nawf Side of Dallas’ dynamic duo packed 776 people in the Granada. With supporting acts -topic, Tunk and Brain Gang rounding out the…
Eric Pulido sounds excited and apprehensive at the same time. His band, Midlake, is about to open some high-profile shows for Pearl Jam (including one last week at American Airlines Center) and there is also a new Midlake album, Antiphon, that hit streets a few weeks back. But it is…
Pearl Jam’s Lightning Bolt tour stopped in Dallas on Friday. It already had a fairly significant North Texas tie — Denton heroes Midlake are opening a string of shows for Pearl Jam, including this week’s hometown stop. But the local spotlight got even bigger during PJ’s second encore, when Dallas…
Ask three members of Denton country-rock outfit Rodney Parker and Fifty Peso Reward where the band name came from, and you’ll get three humorous, and ultimately, unrevealing answers. “Nowhere,” say bass player Brooks Kendall. “From drunk 22 year-old idiots.” Multi-instrumentalist Danny Skinner adds, “The story is really not interesting unless…
Saturday night, I will take stage with a band I’ve never played with before: Silver Saint Guitar Army, the brainchild of Wanz Dover, and I will be one of over a dozen guitarists. Dover still speaks highly of his time in New York with Glenn Branca’s guitar orchestra and he…
It’s no secret that Denton’s Robert Gomez is one of North Texas’ true artisitic treasures. Currently, he has a few irons in the fire that prove as much. As he tours with Sarah Jaffe as her guitar palyer, he’s also released an EP that is as unique of a concept…
Just ask any of the regular performers at the Dallas Comedy House or any long-form improv comedy center and they’ll tell you that scenes come and go in their head as fast as the last night traffic on the U.S. 75 overpass that runs over Commerce Street (during non-rush hour…
This year marks thrash metal’s 30th anniversary, and what better way to celebrate than watching one of the Big Four bands that helped to bring it to the masses? Tonight, Slayer will bring their pulse-pounding metal to the South Side Ballroom at Gilley’s in Dallas. It’s their first tour since…
Pleasant Grove were one of Dallas’ most treasured bands in the early 2000s. Their four albums earned them devoted fans here at home and a record deal with European label Glitterhouse. They earned the attention with a folk band’s command of melody and a psych band’s command of reverb and…
George Fuller and Maylee Thomas said their new concert space The Sanctuary is the result of a dream the two have had long before they first opened their music store in McKinney. They didn’t just want to build a stage where musicians could play. They wanted to create a place…
Update: Kanye’s LED pyramid has been righted. He’s just announced the modified tour route. Several cities have been rescheduled, a few have been cancelled altogether, but Dallas is right where it was before: December 6 with Kendrick Lamar as support. Original post follows… Shortly after Kanye West cancelled the Yeezus…
Incredibly, Japan’s Melt-Banana has been making a hell of a noise since 1992. The band’s experimental take on punk rock is made even more bizarre by the vocal antics of Yasuko Onuki. Shrieking in a maniacal sing-song manner, Onuki yelps out her English lyrics like a banshee randomly choosing words…
As we have every year for the last quarter-century, we present the Dallas Observer Music Awards. This year, our panel of music experts and industry veterans nominated 200 artists, venues and organizations. Over 4,000 people voted on those nominees, and their selections are the 40 winners listed here. They’re a…
There is no better music snob than the DJ. I have said it before: Keep your lead singers and your emotional bass players, stick me at a table with the DJs and I am in eavesdropping heaven. That’s where I was a few days ago, when some of our Best…
For anyone paying attention, the term “prodigy” has been linked to Sarah Jarosz for years now. Such easy labeling is perhaps fair when you’re an insanely talented teen or a college student with a fantastic album under your belt. But Jarosz, who grew up in Wimberley, Texas and now makes…
“Daniel Folmer is playing to a packed rooftop at Reno’s.” There’s always something going on in Dallas, so we thought it’d be fun to live vicariously through your adventures. Each week look for our #Dallas Instagram recap of people, places, events, food, and more. Usually, this post can be found…
The 2013 Dallas Observer Music Showcase came and went this weekend in eight hours of North Texas’ most interesting music. The unique thrill of this thing is walking from a delicate show by a singer-songwriter to the thrash of a punk band to the beats of an electronic act, on…
The good folks over at Dream Work Conquer Films have dropped a little hotness on your Monday morning with this behind the scenes look into the making of Eminem’s new The Dividends-produced track, “Bad Guy”. The Jeff Adair-directed clip gives us a look into the creative process of newly formed…
