Photo by Matthew Keever

Aaron Lewis at the Verizon Wireless Theater in 2010.

​When Staind singer Aaron Lewis rolls into Verizon Wireless Theater tomorrow night, odds are he'll leave his mudshuvel back at the hotel. As modern rock radio turns to the next generation of angst, the former Fred Durst protégé is trying his hand at country. His debut single as a solo artist, "Country Boy," borrows some Nashville cred from legendary shitkickers George Jones and Charlie Daniels, so you know it's legit.

He might be the most heavily tattooed, but Lewis ain't the first thumper to try on a twang. Rocks Off has compiled the following list of rockers gone country to prove that sometimes the crossover works -- and sometimes it really, really sucks.

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​If you are lucky enough to have already gotten a Turntable.fm invite, and you work somewhere that is down with your listening to streaming jams, then right now you could be listening to the Stone Roses and Stereo MC's in Rocks Off's new Houston Press Rocks Off Spin Off on the social DJ site.

Naturally, the first song we spun on the site was the Rolling Stones' "Rocks Off," because you have to say a prayer to Keith and Mick before any major life decision is made, and this was no different.

We started playing with it yesterday after we got an offer to do a charity DJ set on the site and we were enthralled. It's a hell of a lot of fun, and the applications for the blog here are limitless. We can have our bloggers spin their favorite stuff, or go track for track with an artist they are interviewing. Can you imagine Shea Serrano and Slim Thug trading licks? Sounds good to us.

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Photos courtesy of Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

​Jason Aldean
Reliant Stadium
March 20, 2011

You can tell everything you need to know about Jason Aldean by looking at his steel guitarist's forearms Sunday.

First, he had a steel guitarist. Of the handful of Rodeo acts Aftermath saw this year, not everyone had a fiddle, but everyone except Kid Rock and Janet Jackson had a steel guitar. We won't go so far as to say this automatically makes Aldean country, but it doesn't hurt.

Before we go any further, one request: Entertainers, please introduce your band, and introduce them so the players' names can be heard distinctly. That may be one hurdle the Reliant sound engineers - who overall did a much better job this year - may not be able to clear yet, but still, it would be nice.

Like Steel Guy here. Those forearms were as heavily tattooed as any given member of your average alternative-rock band. Yeah, we know - tattoos on a musician. Big deal.

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Photos courtesy of Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

​Brad Paisley
Reliant Stadium
March 19, 2011

Aside from the fireworks, there was no grand entrance for Brad Paisley, who practically ran to the stage later than usual for a Saturday night at RodeoHouston. He had no time for chit-chat as he dove right into "Water" in his signature white cowboy hat and blue glittered guitar. Although strapped for time, Paisley performed 14 songs, perfectly balancing his ballads and upbeat hits with enough time for a few guitar solos.

After the opening song, he switched his guitar to an appropriately decorated red, orange and pink paisley electric for "Online," an amusing track about the anonymity of the Internet and how everyone is "so much cooler online."

Paisley is known for his satirical songwriting and sense of humor; even though the set felt a bit rushed, he managed to make us chortle quite a few times.

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Photos by Groovehouse

​Alan Jackson
Reliant Stadium
March 18, 2011

Friday night was Alan Jackson's 19th performance at RodeoHouston. For two decades, he's managed to maintain his status as a country music icon, and last night's performance only furthered his image, if that's even possible. Jackson is genuine and all about the simple joys in life, and his music is a perfect representation of that.

Appropriately, his performance began with "Gone Country," a lively ditty about the appeal of a trouble-free lifestyle. By the song's end, at least by Jackson's account, the whole world goes country. And if that means we get to eat Rodeo food year-round, we're all for it.

"I know we've got some country boys down here in Houston," Jackson said just before he and his band began to play "Country Boy," a celebration of small-towns, big trucks and, you guessed it, country boys. "Country girls, too!"

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Photos courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

​Zac Brown Band
Reliant Stadium
March 17, 2011

Only the Zac Brown Band could write an upbeat song about falling in love with a woman as she's walking away from you. Sure, we've all been there - falling for someone of the opposite sex who has lost or never had interest in you - but to write a cheerful song about it? That's magic.

It's this kind of ability to surprise those who might otherwise detest country music and enchant even their most fervent fans over and over again that makes the group's performances so satisfying. ZBB's members are vastly talented, and last night at the Rodeo, they didn't pull any punches - every instrument and each vocalist was given the limelight at one time or another as the band delighted 71,590 fans for a solid hour.

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Photo courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

​Miranda Lambert
Reliant Stadium
March 16, 2011

Shucks, ma. Our lil' ol' East Texas gal done all growed up.

Sugar and spice and definitely everything nice, unless you piss her off, Miranda Lambert is a different kind of crossover act. A rocker at heart and pop singer by trade, Lambert makes her material more country by the sheer force of her personality.

Wednesday night in front of 73-something thousand people at the Rodeo, she was the small-town girl done good.

"I've been playing bars since I was 17 years old," she told the crowd. "I played the Firehouse Saloon to seven people. This lil' Texas girl has come a long way - what do y'all think?"

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Photos by Groovehouse

​KISS
Reliant Stadium
March 15, 2011

We'll drive you wild with our photos from last night's show.

In Tom Snyder's 1979 interview with the original members of KISS, only two of which remain, he asked bassist Gene Simmons, "What would happen if you went out on stage for a concert and you didn't set off the fireworks, didn't break the guitar, and didn't have the smoke, fire, and blood?"

Simmons responded astutely, "It would still be a rip-roaring rock and roll show because...we don't stand still when we play our instruments. We run around and pretty much raise hell."

Over 30 years later, Aftermath wanted to test that theory, since we were aware of some of the stage restrictions at Reliant Stadium. There was no blood and not as much fire as we expected, but there were plenty of pyrotechnics for the group to put on a decadently distinctive KISS show, playing 12 songs in their entirety in just an hour.

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Photos by Marco Torres

​Kid Rock
Reliant Stadium
March 14, 2011

First things first: Yes, Aftermath got to Reliant Stadium with plenty of time to spare Monday. One embarrassing screw-up per Rodeo season is more than enough, thank you very much.

Besides, no way were we gonna miss Kid Rock's RodeoHouston debut, if not his first time to play the House That McNair Built.

"Remember that little thing they had here called the Super Bowl?" Rock asked the crowd after "Low Life." "We actually played that, but no one remembers because Janet Jackson showed her boob that night."

Long pause; big cheer. "Good."

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Photos by Marco Torres

La Leyenda

​Go Tejano Day feat. La Leyenda, La Arrolladora Banda El Limon, Mariachi Invitational Finalists
Reliant Stadium
March 13, 2011

Tejano is dead, at least at RodeoHouston.

Gone are the days of Selena, La Mafia, and David Lee Garza, who are now replaced with conjuntos norteños and bandas duranguense. This shift has created a divide among the Hispanic community, keeping many true fans of Tejano music away from the rodeo. Yet those sentiments did not discredit the robust performance of the two bands that played to a packed Reliant Stadium Sunday night.

La Leyenda brands itself as part of the nueva era of norteño music. The handsome five-piece band wore checkered shirts and cowboy hats, and played with the relaxed confidence that one might expect of the childhood friends from Monterrey, Mex.

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