Monday 27 February 2012 - The Great Nostalgic * Blackie Dammet * The Bear

The Great Nostalgic (Austin, TX)
http://www.thegreatnostalgic.com/

Austin’s The Great Nostalgic, living up to their name, make shimme- ring narrative pop with staying power. Jangling guitars, nimble bass lines, pulsing rhythms, and mysterious yet catchy vocals nod to past decades of rock and roll, but fresh arrangements and smart lyrics snap us to the present.

While the band continues to showcase a knack for storytelling, driving melodies and percussive instrumentation reign supreme on this sophomore release, Hope We Live Like We Promised (King Electric Records, April 2011). For this record, TGN tracked with Stuart Sikes (The Walkmen, Cat Power, Modest Mouse) and Justin Douglas (Austin’s Shine Studios).

 

Blackie Dammet (Houston, TX)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blackie-Dammett/164233786997297

Darin Lee (guitar & lead vocals)
Adam Bogard (bass & vocals)
Michael Lisenbe (drums and vocals)
Sounds like when they dropped that rock on Piggy…except you’re Piggy, and the rock is Blue.

 

 

The Bear (Sorry, no verifiable information on-line at this time)

Saturday 25 February 2012 - Down Fi * Chelsea Hotel * Dead Roses

Down Fi (Indianapolis, IN)

Craig Bell is the original and current bassist for Rocket From the Tombs, the
legendary proto-punk band from Cleveland, Ohio in the mid 1970’s. He continues today to record and tour with the band.

Lately, however, The Down Fi claims the lion’s share of Craig’s attention. The band is a stripped own power trio that delivers dense, intense, and explosive rock and roll.

With Craig on bass and vocal, Sam Murphy on
guitar, and Blane Slaven on drums, no sounds are sacrificed in this tightly packed lineup.

Recordings and performances showcase Craig’s songwriting new and old (the infamous, Final Solution, Muckraker and America Now) as well as selected blasts from the last century’s punk past.

The Down Fi is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN but is happy to get in the van and go anywhere they might be needed!

 

Chelsea Hotel (Houston, TX)

This Houston, TX band is fronted by Robert Conn on guitar and vocals. Conn was one of the original members of The Pagans and Defnics from Cleveland, OH. Robert was also on The Plague “Just Say No” classic thrash punk album….. Conn maintains his raw edge “punk n’ roll” style of writing with Chelsea Hotel…..Bass duties are handled by Jewels. This Houston girl knows how to rock with the best of ‘em, and she’s all about playin’ some kick ass Texas rock n roll!!!…. Curt DeGidio is on 2nd guitar. He is a great addition to the lineup. Curt hails from Cleveland, OH and did time with The Chrome Kickers as well as other projects… Drums are handled by Houston’s own Andy Chaos who just kills a drum kit with the power he puts out!! This is a rock n roll lineup you don’t want to miss….. The band has had Robb “Dog” Loughmiller on drums, former Junkyard man Max Gottlieb on guitar, Billy Kenner on drums and a brief time with Lonnie Vincent of The Bulletboys who sat in for a few gigs and practices in late ’08/ early ’09. Thanks to all who have passed through this band we call CHELSEA HOTEL, for that very reason!

 

Dead Roses (Houston, TX)

“We’re not just a band…..we’re a fucking tragedy” – with these immortal words, they launched into their debut set on Valentine’s Day of 2004, and H-town’s infamous DEAD ROSES were born. Since then, they have played shows with notable acts such as the DEMOLITION DOLLRODS, GLASS CANDY, DEAD MOON, BOBBY CONN, LOST SOUNDS, LES GEORGES LENINGRAD, FATAL FLYING GUILLOTINES, MEAT PUPPETS, and DIRT BOMBS. Heart broken, sleep deprived, glam damage is this group’s forte. Their formidable line-up includes former members of the LEPERS, INTROVERTS, CULTURCIDE, PAIN TEENS, TRUTH DECAY, VULGARIANS, NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE, THE HAUNTING ALLURE OF ELKE PALLENBERG’S VOID, SWARM OF ANGELS, HIGH ALMOND CONTENT, NTX PISTOLS, DISCOMFORTRON, BALACLAVAS, FUTURE BLONDES, DIAMONDS AND PEARLS, AFTER PARTY, UNGARISCHE DEUTSCHE FREUNDSCHAFT, DOTS, MYSTERY FLAVOR, and BRIDE OF PINBOT to name a few. DEAD ROSES have recorded and re-recorded their epic first release nine times, but refuse to put it out until it absolutely meets their impossibly high standards of excellence. Other activities/interests include socializing with international superstars, needlepoint, speaking with fake foreign accents, experimenting with eyeliner, and getting kicked out of ALICE COOPER concerts.

 

 

Friday 24 February 2012 - Tiziano Dominico * Sara Von Buskirk * Georgia’s Horse

Tiziano Dominico (Houston, TX)

Singer/Songwriter
Outsider, Loner,
Idiosyncratic,
Psychedelic,
Rock

 

 

Sara Von Buskirk (Houston, TX)

“…a commanding presence…
Marc Brubaker - The Houstonist
“…is elegantly ragged Americana”
Sara Cress - 29-95.com
“Tough As Nails, Likes Whisky Neat”
Craig Hlavaty - Houston Press

Georgia’s Horse (Houston, TX)

“I’m breathing a sigh of relief on this one; when I finally downloaded a track or two from the band’s MySpace site, I was utterly bowled over…only to discover that they’d broken up not long before. Ah, crap… Luckily for me, they appear to once again be back together, which is very cool, because otherwise yours truly would’ve never gotten the chance to see one of the best damn bands out there right now.

Despite my Texan-ness (okay, so I was born outside Seattle; I’ve lived in Texas longer than the President has, so if he counts, so do I), I’ve never really taken to most of the country-ish bands doing their thing around this city. It’s sad, I know, but I grew up with country and have hated it, more or less, ever since. We’ve all got our crosses to bear, folks… With Georgia’s Horse, though, us Houstonians have been blessed with the kind of “country” (uh, kinda) that I happen to enjoy the hell out of. This band (which is basically a lady named Teresa, it seems) is no bunch of Brooks & Dunn wannabes, but rather aim for the folky, delicate, melancholy side of the country spectrum. The music’s often minimal and bleakly sad, with somber, low-key guitars and cello swaying and drifting along in the background while Teresa (sorry, Melly was apparently the cello player) manages to cover the middle ground between Lucinda Williams and Cat Power’s Chan Marshall (with a little Hem thrown in).

The closest analogue I’ve come across is probably The Last Town Chorus, but that probably isn’t going to mean much to you (although it should; they’re very cool in their own right), so just skip my pathetic attempts at describing ‘em and listen to the songs up on their MySpace page. This is country that walks barefoot down the backroads at midnight with a bottle of bad whiskey and a hellhound on its trail, like a Cormac McCarthy book come to life.

Never having been able to track down an actual hard-copy release, I’ve been (and still am, somewhat) confused as to what all’s out, but there’s at least one Georgia’s Horse full-length out, 2007′s Mammoth, and another, Weather Codes, is on the way now. The new stuff’s a bit different from previous GH stuff, I have to say — it’s a little spookier, a little more ambient, and even more somber, if that’s possible, than before. Listening to it, I can’t help but think of Beth Gibbons’ Out of Season album with Rustin’ Man; it’s that bleakly alluring. And best news of all? Georgia’s Horse is actually playing again. Holy crap…I sure hope Teresa keeps at it.” - Space City Rock

This Thursday, Feb 23rd-Belgium Beer Dinner with Joe Apa

There’s still a few spots available for this months’s beer

dinner featuring an all-star line-up of Belgian microbrews:

Wittekerke

Bière Du Boucanier Red

Poperings Hommel Bier

Piraat Ale

Troubadour Obscura

All of these will be paired with 5 courses of

deliciousness……don’t wait…sign up today.

Call 713-521-0521 and reserved your spot!

Tuesday 21 February 2011 – Bootown Presents: Grown Up Storytime #44

Bootown – (Houston, TX )

You send us stories, we pick the best WAIT NO THIS MONTH IT’S DIFFERENT.

This time around we’re getting a little weird and have asked some of you expert story tellers to recount your own stories. This is only the second time we’ve done this, so…we hope it goes okay.

See you there!

$5

 

Grown-up Storytime: a late-night event that takes place the third Tuesday of every month at Rudyard’s British Pub, a bar and venue located in the heart of Montrose. You send us stories, we pick the best ones, and assign them to a rotating crack-squad of expert story readers who show up the night of and wow our socks and/or pants off. It’s on a Tuesday – what else are you going to do?

Interested in submitting a story or reading someone else’s story?!? Email us at [email protected]​rg