Two Star Symphony (Houstron, TX)
https://twostarsymphony.com/
Two Star Symphony is Houston’s most unusual music ensemble. Composing and performing all-original music in quartet and octet configurations, Two Star brings modern instrumental music to a wide range of audiences, from classical music enthusiasts to first time listeners.
Two Star Symphony’s dark, distinctive sound is a result of the writing style they employ and the instruments on which they perform. The band works differently than most classical ensembles in that every member is also a composer. Songs are written and arranged live as a group, with each player responsible for his or her own parts. By the time the songs are finished, the music is memorized. Two Star does not create or use sheet music, so the player is free to focus on the other members and overall sound of the piece.
The instruments Two Star Symphony compose and perform with were built as a matched set by Master Luthier Anton Krutz. Read more about the instruments and Mr. Krutz here.
Two Star Symphony is known for collaborating with other artists and mediums. In that spirit, Two Star has created original works with American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre, BobbinDoctrin Puppet Theatre, and many others. Under commission from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Discovery Green Park, Two Star Symphony created and performed a series of original scores to classic silent films. In 2007, The University of Houston School of Theatre & Dance premiered Two Star’s original musical soundtrack to Bertolt Brecht’s Good Woman of Setzuan. In 2008, Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre premiered Two Star Symphony’s first full-length ballet score to an original production of Titus Andronicus. In 2008 and 2010, Rice University partnered with Two Star to create the two-part Synesthesia series – an exploration of light and sound, featuring an array of lighting-systems paired with live music and performance. In spring 2011, Two Star Symphony partnered with hip-hop artist Fat Tony for a crossover performance that benefited Red Cross of Japan, and in November 2011, Two Star partnered with DJ Spookyfor a live performance celebrating the launch of Origin Magazine.
On December 10, 2011, Lionsgate Films released Psychic Experiment, a horror feature scored by Two Star. In January 2012, The Houston Chronicle named Two Star’s Titus Andronicus the best local album of 2011. In May 2012, Two Star received a Houston Arts Alliance Established Artist Grant, and in September 2012 Two Star partnered with The Mitchell Center and Aurora Picture Show to perform the U.S. premiere of the award-winningHeart Chamber Orchestra by European artists TERMINALBEACH. Also in September, Two Star performed onstage with Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra. October 2012 saw Two Star perform their new original score live alongside the premiere of “Silent Shadow of the Bat-Man”, a film by Andre Perkowski, who attended and introduced the event in person.
Two Star Symphony won “Best Indefinable Band” at the Houston Press Music Awards in 2009 and 2010, performed at the 2010 and 2011 SXSW Music Festival, and were featured speakers and performers at the 2010 TEDxHouston conference. Also in 2010, PBS broadcast a national feature about Two Star Symphony in conjunction with the SXSW appearance. In 2008, The Greater Houston Convention and Business Bureau named Two Star Symphony one of 15 reasons to visit Houston. In January 2012, The Houston Chronicle named Two Star’s Titus Andronicusthe best local album of 2011. In November 2012, Two Star was honored by the Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts (TALA) as their Artists of the Year. They have received coverage ranging from the Houston Chronicle, Houston Press and Austin Chronicle to the Huffington Post, New York Times and Spin Magazine.
Letters To Voltron – (Houston, TX )
https://www.letterstovoltron.com/
From the future form the past, Letters to Voltron began their quest to conquer the world through auto-erotic musical stylings and homemade macramé. Shortly after being introduced into modern society Robert Callicotte and John Wayne Comunale, and Marty Eck abandoned the macramé and started their own internet company at the age of twelve only to have it fold after six and a half months. Leaving thousands of disgr…untled shareholders in their wake the three pressed on with their sex crazed Robot to take on several other musical endeavors, including being loosely associated with Taint Magazine for a very short time. Now, under the Omega Prophet umbrella L2V are poised to take their endeavors into the 10th dimension.
Tody Castillo (Houston, TX)
https://www.todycastillo.com/
Steve Earle first heard Tody Castillo’s music when shopping for producers for Townes, his recent tribute to Townes Van Zandt. One listen to Castillo’s songs gave Earle enough confidence to hire Houston producer Steve Christensen, who helped produce and engineer the recording of Windhorse. Born out of personal tragedy, yet teeming with hope, the songs on Windhorse show Castillo’s depth of songwriting. They range from the dreamy lullaby to all-out rock-and-roll anthems. Castillo played most of the instruments on the recording, as well as being the only writer and singer. His beautiful voice has range and depth rarely found in today’s rock scene. This work maintains the cross-genre appeal that helped his 2005 self-titled release find a broad audience, earning the musician Houston Press‘ Best Unsigned Act award in 2005 (along with nominations for Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Best Rock/Pop). The album was also the top-selling release at Cactus Music and Video in 2005, outselling even the likes of Coldplay.
“This record unique for me because I’m such a different person,” Castillo says. “I released the first record in February 2005, a few months after I got married. A few months after that, I lost my brother due to an accident. That kind of thing is devastating. My wife then lost someone close in her family as well at the end of 2005. We joked about that year as being ‘the year of the death.’ The following year while playing and promoting the first record, my first son was born. So I lost a brother, and became a husband and a father all around the same time. This record is about that.”
Recorded during coffee-fueled sessions at The Treehouse, the Houston Heights garage apartment studio of Steve Christensen, Windhorse is a series of intimate snapshots into Castillo’s life. The heartbreak over the death of his brother and the joy of becoming a father echo throughout this work. Musicians Eddy Hobizal, Chris Masterson (currently with Son Volt), Steve Brown, and Ryan Biddle helped the duo by adding their skills to the piano, guitar, bass, and percussion on several songs.
Album highlights include “The Shape Of My Heart,” “Spoken Up Sooner,” “The Other Side of Love,” “Hearts On A String,” and “Mustang Island”.