The Houston Act We Most Wish Had Happened

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​Several years back, your Daily VJ attended an open-mike event at Hollywood that combined three of Houston's most oddly different, but perfectly suited personalities in a performance we have never gotten out of our heads.

Jeff Illescas is a Houston goth scenester known about town for being arrested doing GG Allin-inspired stunts. Unbeknownst to us, he also has a voice like Jesus doing phone sex. Jim Cahoon is a multi-instrumental master who used to run with a band called Benjamin Barrett's Barbeque Band - their "A Piece of Pie" is still one of the best songs ever written in our opinion - and runs the local Rocky Horror cast. Jim's young wife, Lauren, made her mark performing as a burlesque dancer and songstress in the Concrete Rose Cabaret.

As we sat in Hollywood, this ménage a trawesome took turns vocalizing an amazing set of covers set to Jim's strumming. We remember Illescas almost bringing the crowd to tears with T-Rex's "Cosmic Dancer," the incredible force and range Lauren showed doing Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" and Jim's upbeat and danceable rendition of Rocky's "Sword of Damocles." It was such a simple, yet utterly superb set that we sat back and waited patiently for the three to write up some songs and take over Houston music.

It never happened.

Illescas has since moved to New York, but we were pleased as bunch to receive this video of him singing "Wicked Little Town" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. More than that, we were pleased to see the video was also sent to Jim Cahoon. Maybe, just maybe it will still happen.