Month: March 2015

Holder (Houston, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/HolderTX

Brand New Hearts (Houston, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/BrandNewHearts

“One was a quartet of guys from the teeny little town of Magnolia who called themselves Ultramagg. They were one of the best damn emo(-ish) bands this city had seen, in my humble opinion, and they played every show like they were destroying the stage at some arena-sized show in front of a jam-packed crowd of crazed fans. They were heavy, they were melodic, and they were awesome. Frontman/guitaristNathan Parsons wrote the kind of songs I wished I could’ve written, and it killed me when they stepped out of the limelight and put down the guitars and drumsticks.

Then there was Ben Murphy, who fronted or played with a slew of bands back in those days, from Pop Deflation to We’ve Got Airplanesand up through Panic in Detroit and Lucky Motors and beyond (and who most recently worked his magic in the sadly-defunct Bright Men of Learning). I can vividly remember watching Ben play guitar at one We’ve Got Airplanes show and feeling my jaw literally drop as I tried to figure how he was making the sounds that were coming out of the speaker.

Back in those early band days, we — like every band in this town — had trouble finding and keeping a drummer. We auditioned a ton of ‘em, honestly, and one of the few that utterly bowled me over was a guy named Jeff Senske. The man played like a hard-hitting metronome and was one of the best, tightest drummers I’ve heard before or since, up there with Sugar’s Malcolm Travis or Superchunk’s Jon Wurster. (Plus, he makes the best Drummer Faces ever.) Luckily for him, he came to his senses and demurred when we asked him to join the band, but we went on to be in damn near every good band that came after, including Trompedo and the aforementioned Bright Men of Learning.

Last but not least, there was Bring Back The Guns, aka Groceries, aka Gandhi in Evags, aka at least three or four more names I can’t recall. At one point, I’d pinned my hopes on BTTG to be The Band, the one who’d finally make the Music World At Large sit up and pay attention. The band’s skewed-yet-addictive brand of indie-rock was fun as hell but weird enough to make you scratch your head; in a lot of ways, looking back, they were about five years ahead of their time. And after releasing an EP, an album, and a couple of 7″s, they called it quits and went their separate ways, leaving myself and a bunch of other devoted fans sad and disappointed.

I say all this, by the way, both to set the stage somewhat and explain why I was so freaking excited to get word of the existence of Brand New Hearts a month or so back. I’d heard from Nathan Parsons back in the fall, when he nonchalantly mentioned he was trying to get a band together, and a couple of months later, BNH appeared, a band that boasted Parsons, Murphy, Senske, and Ryan Hull of Bring Back The Guns. It was damn-near perfect, at least on paper.

And, happily, from the snippets I’ve been able to hear so far, it’s damn-near perfect in reality, as well. The band comes off like the best elements of all the component bands/musicians, all mashed together into a glorious, rough-edged, insanely catchy whole, and I can’t wait to see ‘em live.” – Space City Rock

Slow Future [formerly Strange Weapons] (Houston, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/slowfuture

$5, doors 8:30pm, show 9:30pm, 21+

Acoustic Awesomeness featuring:

The Witherees (Houston, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/TheWitherees

The Witherees is a two piece band from Houston, TX. The band was officially founded in March of 2011 by Michael Castillo and Jimi Cavazos; but ran as a busking outfit by Castillo, for seveal years prior, along the gulf coast. The songs draws influence from daily life in Houston, heartbreak, happiness, old friends, and the like. Musically it’s a diverse act that pulls sounds from folk, singer/songwriter, punk, alternative, country, and pop.

D.B. Rouse from We All Shit (Austin, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/Danger.B.Rouse.Hobo

Phillip Alan Zimmerle ft. Geneva Gordon (Houston, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/phillipalanzimmerle

Gonzo Ryan (of Snow Indian)
https://www.facebook.com/TheSnowIndian

Doors around 8:00/ Music starts around 9:30
$8 at the door.

Thelma and the Sleaze (Nashville, TN)
https://thelmaandthesleaze.com/

We wouldn’t realize just how much greasy muck we’d be wiping out of our ears until Thelma and the Sleaze came on next. This trio of knockabout dames sound literally no less menacing than they look, taking their namesake much more literally than you’d expect. Combining the feminist onslaught of Sleater Kinney and the heavy pop crunch of Thin Lizzy, their sleazy, muscle-bound riffs oozed off the stage with a confrontational, disreputable tone. With the stage lit solely by a plastic, leg-shaped lamp (yep, like the one in A Christmas Story), the band’s lewdly androgynous stage presence — shirtless guitarists, black tape over the nips, etc. — ensured this was about the seediest rock show you can get without technically breaking any laws. The crowd had thinned considerably by set’s end, leaving only a hardcore row of females still pumping fists until the very last song and proving these ladies may have successfully trumped the Springwater in terms of legendary rack and ruin. - Nashville Scene

Giant Kitty (Houston, TX)
https://www.giantkitty.com/

Often described as a combination of Bikini Kill, L-7, and the Sex Pistols, Giant Kitty is breaking new ground in the world of all female punk bands. “I’ll tell you that I’m pretty sure Giant Kitty made my ears pop when I saw them play live, and they have this crazy stage presence that doesn’t occur nowadays, as often as it should. If you’re lucky, you catch their truly amazing cover of Devo’s “Gates of Steel.” says David Garrick of Free Press Houston. Giant Kitty lights up the crowd with a high energy stage presence, sense of humor, and hard driving sound. Lead singer and bass player Casey Waldner, and guitarist Cassandra Chiles are both former roller derby players who reunited after they retired from the game, with a shared love for music. Cassandra’s long-time partner Trinity Quirk filled in the role as drummer. “I have so many influences from new wave bands like Devo, to more obscure bands like Japan’s Shonen Knife it’s hard to say what direction we might end up going to in any given song,” according to Cassandra, “that’s what makes the process of creating art with other people so exciting.” “I believe in creating art to inspire art” is the credo of lead woman Casey. “It’s pretty amazing how far we’ve come, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for us,” says Trinity.

So the Giant Kitty Story eh? Three hard living, kick ass chicks from the world of hard knox decided to start an amazing all girl punk band. What isn’t to like? Founded in late 2013, we finally found the right mix of members in early 2014. All three members bring a cool personality and different set of skills to the band while also meshing together sonic vibes and generally amazing powding beats for the fans.

“That’s how this all female three piece rolls, they’re loud and in your face. It’s brash, unapologetic, and fierce rock that whips your neck back and forth with its intensity.” – David Garrick of Free Press Houston

“I’m pretty sure Giant Kitty made my ears pop when I saw them play live, and they have this crazy stage presence that doesn’t occur nowadays, as often as it should.” – FHP.com

“I expect you guys to kick ass out there, otherwise this world is truly f*cked up… You Kittens rock and that’s all there is to it” Mark White – Spin Doctors

The Bad Drugs (Houston, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/TheBadDrugs

Any good time, especially a Rock Revel, would start by taking a pop of The Bad Drugs. Their punk stylings are the perfect outlet for your angst. Come rock with these rebels in the battle against the City of Houston’s unscientific noise ordinance.