Houston - Rocks Off - Playbill: The Von Ehrics

Playbill: The Von Ehrics

By William Michael Smith in Playbill

Thursday, Jan. 25 2007 @ 2:57PM

For all of its occasional Marlboro Man look-alike stodginess, the Texas music scene in Dallas has always made room for a few bands that go way beyond the limits of country (as long as they occasionally mumbled somethin' about Merle and Wille, by god). The Von Ehrics are a hell-for-leather cow-metal threesome reminiscent of another well-named Dallas outfit, Speedtrucker, and they place way more emphasis on playing hard, playing loud, and playing fast than on any too-pretty melodic lines or gonna-make-you-love-me poetry.

Their 2006 release The Whiskey Sessions is scratchy and thrashy, built on macho attitude, meth-augmented testosterone, and clouds of cigarette smoke tainted with that sweet smell of homegrown. They've recently completed an ambitious tour that took them from Austin to Atlanta to Philly and back down through the Midwest, and even staged a CD release show in l'il ole New York City at Hank's Saloon. They're regular openers for the likes of Reverend Horton Heat and Supersuckers, and songs like "Rock Track for the Kids," "Tallboy," "East Nashville Softshoe," and "Dirt Track Race Car Driver" make it easy to see why. - William Michael Smith

The Von Ehrics perform tonight at Rudyard's, 2010 Waugh Drive, 713-521-0521.