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Check out the new YouTube video by the Down N Dirty Entertainment crew.

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There’s a lot of games you can play with iTunes and winamp players and whatever. There’s magic iPod. There are those Myspace-type questionnaires that everybody fills out and forwards but nobody reads. And there are those “What’s on your iPod” features that are everywhere these days. But I think I’ve found the most revealing variation – the “What are the top ten songs in your ‘Most Played’ folder?” angle.

I’m gonna be putting a few local music luminaries to the test with these over the next few months and weeks. For our inaugural edition, I enlisted Michael Haaga, the former thrash-metal singer-guitarist in dead horse and Demonseeds. Most readers of this blog and paper will know that thudding stuff is no longer his bag, and as this test shows, he really means it when he says he is all about the pop these days. -- John Nova Lomax

So away we go – Mike Haaga, tell me what’s on your chart:

Photos by Dana Donovan

HouStoned Rock's first Artist of the Week is bluesman Tony Vega, of the Tony Vega Band (TVB). Fresh off yet another successful Eurpean tour, Vega is currently hard at work promoting his latest CD, Glorybaby. The current TVB line-up includes Vega on guitar and vocals, Jeremy Pierce on drums and Brad McCool on bass. Former TVB members Mighty Orq, Preston Hubbard, Kevin "Snit" Fitzpatrick, Jessica Will.

Vega is a veteran of the Houston Press Music Awards, having been nominated in the Best Blues/Best Contemporary Blues category every year since 2001 and winning in 2001, 2002, and 2004. He's up for three awards in the 2007 race, Best Blues, Musician of the Year, and Best Male Vocalist.

The TVB discography includes:

* Glorybaby (2007)
*Then & Now (2006)
*Tastes Like Love ( 2004)
*Yeah You Right! (2003) (Available digitally only)
*Dear Sweet Goodness (2001) (Available digitally only)

(Most TVB CDs are available at the band's live shows, except for Dear Sweet Goodness and Yeah You Right! which are available only digitally. All TVB CDs are available online at CDBaby and I-tunes.)

To hear "Dixieland" and "Send Me" from Glorybaby, click on the Listen button.

Upcoming TVB shows:

May 26 Sandbar, Kemah
June 2 The Big Easy, Houston
June 9 Dr. Rockits, Corpus Christi
June 15 Main Street Crossing, Tomball
June 16 Woody's, Galveston
June 22 Sullivan's, Houston
June 23 Cosmos Cafe, Houston
June 29 Sandbar, Kemah
June 30 Howling Coyote, North Houston

For more information about Tony and the Tony Vega Band, visit TonyVegaBand.com or MySpace.com/BandOfTonyVega online. For booking information, contact Tony at 281-974-1197 or TonyVegaBand@Yahoo.com. - Olivia Flores Alvarez

Photographer Dana Donovan was at the Houston Press Music Awards nomination party last Friday (where were you?), and she got these great shots of Ghostland Observatory. - Olivia Flores Alvarez

Assistant Music Editor Olivia Flores Alvarez had a few questions for Future Clouds and Radar's founder Robert Harrison. First, a couple of questions about Tippy Feldman, the group's number one fan. Here's a little backstory from the band's website: "Once there was an intrepid motel nightwatchmen named Tippy Feldman who became so keen on Future Clouds and Radar that he began attending most of their shows, often appearing stageside with cold and frothy beverages for all. He fantasized about Robert falling off the stage and him (Tippy) taking over as the singer guy. He longed to be welcomed into their weird little Utopia where his birthday would be properly acknowledged- even celebrated. But sadly, when Tippy follwed the band to Canada he was stopped at the border crossing and taken into custody for a failure to show proper documentation. (this really did happen) the end.")

Houston Press: What happened to Tippy Feldman? Where is he now and would you consider falling off stage on purpose just to make Tippy happy?

Robert Harrison: Tippy wasn't really good for any of us and I'm glad he was apprehended by the authorities- he is NOT missed! I have fallen off stage before but that usually had more to do with ill-timed scissor kicks and such. So far so good with Future Clouds and Radar on that score. As for Tippy maybe he can find someone on the Canadian pokey to project his adolescent fantasies upon.

For the rest of the inteview and to listen to Future Clouds and Radar's "You Will Be Loved," turn the page ...

Alice Cooper has great advice for you, whether you’re a golfer or a rocker: “Surround yourself with the most interesting and talented people you can – celebrities, pros. Whoever plays better than you. Whoever inspires you.”

For me, one of those people was Alice Cooper. In the early 1970s, Alice became, literally, my dream mentor, the person from whom I sought advice as I slept and dreamed. Dream: Alice and several other musicians were in my room at my parents’ house, sitting around jamming on guitars. I had a burning question I wanted to ask Alice. He was busy, and I could tell from his expression he didn’t really want to be bothered, but I asked him anyway. “For the past couple of years, for me, it’s always been Alice Cooper,” I said, “Now it’s Roxy Music.” I was troubled. I was asking if it made sense to him, because I felt a massive sea change coming on. Alice, my mentor, indicated that yes, it followed, it made sense. Alice inspired me.

And Alice certainly followed his own advice. While I lay in front of my parents’ stereo console in 1968 listening to Hendrix and Joplin and realizing that these were the only people who understood me, Alice was newly come to Los Angeles from Phoenix and actually hanging out with them, them and Jim Morrison, John Lennon (a big Alice fan), Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, all the best musicians of the day. Alice’s genius was recognized by people like Groucho Marx, who became a good friend. Alice was the only rocker ever honored by the Friar’s Club.

Alice Cooper, Golf Monster alternates chapters between Alice Cooper, the rocker, and Alice Cooper, the fanatical golfer. It tells a tale of coping with addiction, trading alcoholism for golf addiction. Though Alice admits he was as womanizing as the next guy in his early years, he married and has, by all accounts, been faithful to his wife of some decades. Now, normally, I would take any musician mentioning the word “faithful” with a grain of salt, but I was fortunate to meet Alice a couple of times in the eighties, and he made a point of letting people know he was married and faithful to his wife. He did it in kind of a perverted way, pulling out a gold handcuff and quipping that he won’t say where the other one is, but he did it, nonetheless.

Alice’s book will be hugely entertaining to you and offer plenty of celebrity anecdotes whether you are a rocker or a golfer, or something in between. Alice reveals himself to be a fascinatingly complex, driven, focused, hard-working and hard-playing individual. According to the book, a couple of SNL skits were likely written in the bathroom at his home. Although he never considered himself to be a hippie, when he and that amazing original Alice Cooper line-up arrived in L.A. from Phoenix, they were the longest hair in town. It’s just that some people can’t be confined to a classification. Alice Cooper is and always will be Alice Cooper. - Paula Brown

Kevin Russell, a former Houston boy who has gone on to great things with his band The Gourds, will be doing a free solo show at Under the Volcano Wednesday. Russell has always had a loose, open muse working, and never more so than on his solo album Buttermilk and Rifles. Click here for a review I wrote at the time that explains it all. - William Michael Smith

Kevin Russell performs on Wednesday, May 16, at Under the Volcano, 2349 Bissonnet, 713-526-5282.

The 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards honored its own last night with former "American Idol" Carrie Underwood taking home a couple of tropheys.

Underwood, who had five nominations, won Best Album for "Some Hearts" and Best Video "Before He Cheats." She was also up for Best Female Vocalist, Song of the Year and Single of the Year but it was George Strait who took home Song of the Year for "Give It Away."

Brad Paisley snagged Male Vocalist of the Year , while the Rascal Flatts took Best Vocal Group and Kenny Chesney won Entertainer of the Year for the third year in a row.

Turn the page for a look at the complete list of winners.

Bob Schneider at Warehouse Live, Friday, May 11.
Photo: Dana Donovan

With the fragrant aroma of leather and cigarette smoke, Caleb Followill and his gang of brothers (and one cousin) sauntered onto the stage at Warehouse Live to testify. The Tennessee gentlemen kicked off Saturday night’s performance with “Charmer”, the lead shrieker off the new record “Because of the Times”. With its Blur-influenced guitar line and the manic wind-shear off something from The Pixies’ “Doolittle”, it’s a pure shot of nervous adrenaline and booze.

Anyone still trying to lump these guys into the quasi-Strokes ghetto, or still labeling them southern rock would be hard pressed to find evidence after these past two albums. Sure their first record had them sporting hirsute faces and doing Skynyrd lycks, but they have grown musically and physically before our eyes since. The median ages on their 2002 debut were barely nineteen in some cases, even though they looked like Stillwater from “Almost Famous”. The touring grind and the ever-inviting temptations of smoky-eyed girlies in scuffed cowboy boots wielding full bottles of the devil’s lubricant, the sound was inevitably going to turn a bit jaded. But they make jaded and heartbroken sound so cool. - Craig Hlavaty

Ne-Yo has the number one slot on the Billboard's 200 chart with Because Of You. The Def Jam release sold a reported 250,000 copies during its first week out.

Michael Buble's Call Me Irresponsible enters the chart at the number two spot with Rush's Snakes & Arrows debuting at number three.

After three weeks on the chart, Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing is down to number four after peaking in the number one spot.

Tori Amos' American Doll Posse and Miranda Lambert's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend both debut at number five and six, respectively.

Daughtry's self-titled release is still in the top ten after five months on the chart and Blake Shelton's Pure BS comes in at number eight.

NOW 24 by various artists hit the number one spot, but after six weeks on the chart is down to number nine.

And Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts is holding down the number ten slot, after 77 weeks on the chart. - Olivia Flores Alvarez

Back Door Slam, (l to r) Ross Doyle, Adam Jones, and Davy Knowles

Back Door Slam's front man Davy Knowles spoke to Houston Press Assistant Music Editor Olivia Flores Alvarez recently about the group's first ever American gig (SXSW), the death of founding member Brian Garvey, and stealing from the masters. The Isle of Man (England) trio has a Houston show coming up, Monday, May 14, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, 713-225-5483.

So, Verizon Wireless has backed out as sponsor of the Gwen Stefani tour. Seems the problem isn't Ms. Stefani, but Akon, one of her opening acts (the other is Lady Sov). Akon was filmed dancing in a suggestive manner with a 15-year-old fan last month, the whole R. Kelly-ness of it gave Verizon cold feet and they bounced.

They were onboard for the Houston stop of Stefani's tour though, with hundreds of text messages from fans being shown on the giant screens at each side of the stage during each intermission. Fans in the audience were texting (at 99 cents a pop) messages trying to get Gwen's attention and win two front row tickets.

Akon seemed pretty PG during his part of the show; there was no dirty dancing in Houston anyway.

Here's a look at some of the new CDs dropping today.

Houston rapper Mike Jones made a splash in 2005 with his major label debut, Who is Mike Jones? The CD went platinum and topped the rap/hip-hop charts, so there are high hopes for The American Dream.

Bjork's new release, Volta, features Timbaland, Antony Hegarty, Brian Chippendale and an all-female Icelandic brass section. Ah, okay.

Originally released in 2001, this deluxe edition of Love Makes the World features over 40 minutes of new bonus material, a behind-the-scenes video and five more tracks.