Houston Music Blog

Up until about three or four months ago, Black Congress had been rather reclusive. The veritable indie supergroup, made up of scene vets Roy Mata, Chris Ryan and Bret Shirley, with Dann Miller and singer Bryan Jackson from the Jonbenet, had only played a handful of shows since Black Congress's inception early last summer.

The group released a split-tape with Muhammad Ali early this year that blew Rocks Off's black socks off and made us have to drive back to Mom's house to dig out our old Walkman cassette player.

There's just something undeniably likeable about compilation rap tracks. They're great. That feel-good one from the early '90s where Eazy-E was walking through a playground, talking about not gangbanging or something, was actually one of our first favorite songs. (Right along with the one about the Ninja Turtles, by Vanilla Ice. A lighthouse for taste, we were.)

It's the reason we were so amped when stumbled across "Welcome 2 Houston," a Mr. Lee-produced - we're assuming it's Mr. Lee, but if it's not it's someone who does a damn fine impersonation of him- compilation featuring no less than 13 hometown MCs - Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, UGK, Lil Keke, Z-Ro, Trae, Rob G, Lil' O, Big Pokey, Mike D and Yung Redd.

Beyond the novelty of the situation, it's a thoroughly mellow synth-heavy effort. Even Paul Wall manages to hold his own, a fact we hesitantly admit. At just under nine minutes, it's a little too long to just listen to, but it is an ideal soundtrack for gettin' throwed, sitting in traffic near the Galleria and getting a lap dance in a strip club. We swear those wily DJs are in cahoots with the dancers and spin the albums just a little bit faster than they should.

Houston electro-rock quartet the Watermarks was kind enough to allow Rocks Off to post a couple of tracks from its brand-new Thoughts Like Bombs EP, which you can download for free on the band's Web site. To us, "I Used to Be Your Rock n' Roll" sounds like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's chocolate got in LCD Soundsystem's peanut butter, while "Face The Wall" might have been left off Depeche Mode's new LP Sounds of the Universe.

But maybe that's just us. Either way, nice job, guys.

www.dullkniferecords.com

Well good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today Rocks Off is proud to present "Shot In the Head," from legendary Houston noise crew Rusted Shut's forthcoming LP, Dead. If your computer is within range of about 60 feet of any co-worker, time for those earphones, unless you're feeling extra Fight Club and just want to pick a fight with H.R., in which case more power to ya.

Rocks Off thinks it sounds catchy, in that syphilitic way where when you sneeze, half your brain tissue flies out your nostrils. In other words, we love it.

Reminder: Bands, musicians, etc., mail your MP3s (and artwork) to hprocksoff@gmail.com.

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The folks over at ArtStorm Records were kind enough to send Rocks Off a few selections from the Summer Exposure compilation that will be formally released Saturday at the Mink; doors open at 4 p.m. (More information here.) Might as well go to the crawfish boil next door in the Continental Club's backyard before that, but that's just a suggestion. $10 cover includes a copy of Summer Exposure.

Here's practically brand-new local glam-rockers BOLT...

...deceptively sunny neo-folkies News On the March...

...and a pair from Wilco-loving young Turks Buxton. Enjoy!

Attention Houston musicians: you too can have your MP3s posted - if we think they're decent enough - by sending them here.

Austin gutbucket blues maven Scott H. Biram has long been a favorite of Rocks Off, both personally and musically. The dude's songs go down like a shot of Turkey and a drag off a Marlboro Red, and he helps wash away your own demons by letting his own loose.

Biram's latest album, Something's Wrong/Lost Forever (Bloodshot), comes out next week and sees the man hitting a playful stride. His crusty howl has now mellowed into a sort of Nashville Skyline Dylan wheeze, but the album still comes complete with the requisite tape hiss and swamp-ass drumming that has been soothing savage Biram fans since his debut almost a decade ago.

Above is Something's "Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue," which will no doubt sound way better spinning on a turntable in your garage on a Saturday night while you kill off a 12 of the Beast than leaking out of your computer's speakers. But enjoy it, because according to his Web site, Biram won't be coming back around Houston for a while.

We thought we'd try something a little different here at Rocks Off today. We're usually gone for the evening by now, but we figure a lot of wait until you get home from work to surf the Web for the day you deserve a reward for your productivity.

What? What do you mean you don't? Oh, hell.

Anyway, above is Bob Dylan's song "If You Ever Go To Houston" from his brand-new album Together Through Life. Since you've got all this time on your hands this evening, give it a listen or two and let us know what you think in the comments. We'll even go first.

 

Photo by Craig Hlavaty

The fruits of Hungry Villagers' labors have seemingly paid off. Today, while perusing the concert industry website livedaily.com, we saw the Houston indie-pop group has today's free download of the day, new track "Tree Full Of Ghosts." Further investigation led us to the music blog for influential Seattle indie station KEXP 90.3 FM championing the band, describing them as a "burst of hope and fresh spring air."

Hungry Villagers consists of three Houck brothers - David, Jacob and Abe - and drummer Ferrick Hallaron IV. Jacob and Abe both share vocal duties and remind us, respectively, of Leonard Cohen and Arcade Fire's Win Butler. Their shadowy sound falls somewhere between that of the aforementioned Arcade Fire, spindly Britpop like Echo & The Bunnymen and Fleet Foxes' wintry blasts of folks. No wonder KEXP is so enamored.

Dethmyname

We hope we aren't in the minority here at Rocks Off in saying that Marilyn Manson is the last living active rock star. True, Jagger and Bowie are still kicking around, but no one ignites tempers and soothes dark hearts like Brian Warner. Plus, the dude can't hide his pop sensibilities, no matter how many baby skeletons and hobo-skull goblets litter his kitchen. Looking back, 1996's "Beautiful People" was just as catchy as "Hey Ya!"

Manson reunited with longtime bassist Twiggy Ramirez (aka Jeordie White) after a 2002 falling out and has been recording a follow-up to 2007's blandish Eat Me, Drink Me. That album saw Manson stray dangerously close to conventionality with love songs and, sadly, power ballads.

Fresh off harassing teen metal bands and Lemmy-fying suburban ice cream shops, Friendswood freak-punks 10th Grade Cutie booked time in a San Antonio studio for a demo session.

This new track, "Flying on the Wings of Love (In Space)" was recorded in less than an hour and features singer Rex Ronan crooning like one of Sebastian Bach's bastard tour children over a lamenting saxophone and power-ballad piano lines. It pretty much sounds like it was recorded before these boys were even born and could have very well been the theme song to a 1987 C. Thomas Howell movie.

Windsor Drive

Bridges EP

www.myspace.com/windsordrive

The second EP, Bridges, from local indie darlings Windsor Drive (currently signed to Ping Pong Music) drops this Saturday at what promises to be a spectacular show. Luckily, Rocks Off managed to snag an advanced copy in electronic form so you readers can know just what to expect.

Produced by Stephen Short, who has worked with artists ranging from legends like Queen, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Paul McCartney to emerging artists like Augustana and This World Fair, Bridges calls to mind the soft, warm waters of indie-rock's bygone glory days. If anything, it reminds Rocks Off of the days when U2 was a real band, the calculated condescension still years from being present in Bono's voice.

Head Hickoid and longtime Austin scenester Jeff Smith has forwarded some MP3s of San Antonio's In and Outlaws, whose upcoming album marks Smith's first foray into producing and engineering. Smith, owner of the Saustex and Sauspop record labels in San Antonio, has long been known for deconstructing country classics and turning them into full-on, hell-for-leather punk songs. (Their take on the Green Acres theme is legendary in the annals of Texas cowpunk.)

Smith's collaboration with In and Outlaws seems like a perfect match, as "Danger Danger," from the upcoming release, shows the In and Outlaws to be coming from that same patch of Capt. Kirk Twang-warp that has always propelled the Hickoids.

Asylum Records

Who is Mike Jones? Well, not long ago, he was Trae's punching bag at the Ozone Awards, which at least reminded people he was still alive. Well, Jones has a new single, "Next to You," from his forthcoming album The Voice (due April 14), and it's probably not going to enhance his 'hood reputation a whole lot either. Or the line "I love to cuddle up" won't, anyway.

Obviously geared toward the ladies, "Next to You" finds Mr. Jones extolling the virtues of a shorty who, among other things, likes to shop at malls (whoa), drive his Jag and throw away his phone while they're being intimate because she "don't like interruptions while we goin' strong."

Fair enough, but if Jones wants to scale the Houston rap totem pole, he's going to have to come with something a little stronger than this. The acoustic-guitar hook is more or less a retread of TLC's "No Scrubs," and Rocks Off just listened to this thing seven or eight times in a row and couldn't find a single memorable lyric in the whole thing. 

Local/Chicago one-man noisenik Room 101 isn't letting a silly thing like the economic crisis stop him from releasing music - he's just decided to give it away. Email him at robface1@hotmail.com and he'll send you a copy of his brand-new four-song 7", complete with artwork by Winston Smith, who doctored up some Dead Kennedys covers real nice back in the day.

Mr. 101 was kind enough to send Rocks Off MP3s of two songs from the EP, squawking blues "In Uniform" and narcotic daydream "The Blackwater Surprise." (Think maybe there's a political message in there somewhere?) The songs are also available as free downloads on his MySpace page.

Noted local music scene provacateur Jacob Calle, who is fond of bicycling down Westheimer or strolling hurricane-tossed beaches in a bear costume (above), as well as many other semi-hazardous activities, is once again stirring up trouble in a most hilarious fashion - although, it should be pointed out, he's not exactly the instigator this time. According to Rocks Off's undercover source, whom we trust implicitly, a certain singer for a certain local noise-punk band swiped Calle's crate of LPs at Calle's new AutoTune- and ass-obsessed group Balls Deep's debut show last Friday night at The Social.

Early this morning, the LP bandit posted the following message under the heading "Dear Jacob" on the Hands Up Houston message board:

Yet another funny bit Rocks Off discovered via the time-wasting miracle that is Twitter, via the Boston Phoenix's blog - our new president impersonating a foul-mouthed old friend in the audiobook version of his autobiography. As far as Rocks Off can tell, it's legit - and freaking hilarious. Feel free to sample/remix to your heart's content. We're here to serve.

Complicated Shit

Ain't My Bitch

Ignorant MFs

Guy Ain't Shit

Metavenge are a gaggle of teenagers in faded Slayer shirts from the Friendswood/Alvin area, but they sound like they opened for Metallica on the Ride The Lightning tour. Ever since we first heard them back in the fall, we have been blasting "Time To Kill" on our iPod as we foolishly attempt to run at the gym.

The dudes are brutal, as any guy worth his leather gauntlets will tell you. The boys recently flew to California to work with producer/guitarist Keri Kelli, who currently plays in Alice Cooper's touring band, during Christmas break. The mastered tracks we have heard are disgustingly awesome, and don't sound like they were made by dudes who were probably conceived to the strains of "Nothing Else Matters."

There is more coming, with a proper EP in the works for the summer. Down and The Sword are cool and all, but we wouldn't have minded seeing Metavenge opening for Metallica back in November at Toyota Center. But they were probably in the crowd headbanging their impressionable young brains out, just like we were.

Photos by Mark C. Austin

Houston mash-up master Dave Wrangler recently remixed Animal Collective's "My Girls," from the Brooklyn buzzmongers' brand-new Merriweather Post Pavilion, for German Web site Byte.fm. It's something of a hit - "Since I put it out, I've had numerous inquiries for DJ bookings all over the country," he reports.

Check it out below, plus his inspired pairing of Hercules & Love Affair and Ludacris' "Stand Up!"; both tracks appear on Wrangler's forthcoming Heads Up Houston mix CD; He climbs behind Boondocks' decks February 13 and the HUH release party February 20. Wrangler also saddles up his turntables for the monthly Vinyl Ranch hoedown at Leon's Lounge February 6.

America is now basking in the glow of our new President and his hottie of a First Lady. That is if you aren't Sean Hannity, Michael Berry or John McCain, we guess. The whirlwind inaugural festivities and musical performances are slowly fading from memory as the new administration gets its bearings.

As Rocks Off watched the ceremony Tuesday afternoon, ignoring our daily Rocks Off chores for a few minutes, we heard the trill rhymes of Rev. Joseph Lowery's stirring benediction and, just like the entire world, became inspired. Also inspired by local boogie monsters Glasnost, we thought of no greater way to commemorate our nation's entry into a more promising age by having a remix contest using the oldster's motivational rapping.

So here's the sound file from his benediction for your creative use (right-click to download). If you think you can make something headbanging out of this, have at it. If you wanna chop and screw the thing, or record ten minutes of grindcore over it, you can. Send them here, and we'll post your tracks in the next few days.

We saw this come over the Hands Up! Houston message board on Monday morning and it took us a good 48 hours to fully digest it. It's the Homopolice covering - or, more accurately, eviscerating - the Wild Moccasins' "Bottom of the Chain" in only the way the leather boys know how: Leatherly. Hearing the angelic cooing of the Moccasins' Zahira Gutierrez buried under a pile of noise and sweaty men is the stuff dreams are made of.

It sounds like someone being violated in the back alley behind Ripcord. This was knocked out in a studio one drunken debauched night, and the results were soon shuffled onto the Internet. Both parties are mulling over a possible split release covering each other songs, and studio time is being hammered out now.

We are breathlessly waiting for the Moccs' delicate take on "Violent Homosexual." Because that will be the day that Houston music will swallow itself like a black hole, and what comes out the other end will be (in our best "dude" voice) "Sweet, brah."

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com.

How else to say this than with bold, forthright honesty: we thoroughly enjoy campy R&B. It's shameful, we know. But while Z-Ro, Trae and The Last Dragon dominates our references, sweet R&B calls forth our sincerest vocal efforts, free from restraint or judgment. We're quite certain we can go word for word with anybody re: an R&B love song from 1992-1998. (A handy talent, to be sure.)

We could write a thesis on why Jodeci's "Come And Talk To Me" was better than Tevin Campbell's "Can We Talk." We wore a nearly exact replication of the jacket/tie/blue jeans outfit that Boyz II Men wore in "End of the Road" to our middle-school dance. We still dream of candy-coated rain and continue to refer to acts of infidelity as creepin'.

We have accepted the fact that we're never going to get En Vogue's love. So after we poked around R&B songstress Coline's MySpace page a few weeks ago, her inclusion into the fraternity of badass that is the Artist of the Week camp was a no-brainer. After the jump, read about why Jesus plays such a prominent role in launching so many R&B careers, whether or not Michelle Williams should be kicked out of Destiny's Child in lieu of herself and what it was like to actually work with Paul Wall versus anonymously bashing him over the Internet.

In this week's installment of Noise, Rocks Off's bass-playing friend and neighbor Nick Gaitan talks about how our building inspired his song "I've Found My Weakness in You," and how his boss Billy Joe Shaver liked it so much he decided to record it. Part of our conversation veered into Shaver's experiences in the Bayou City, but first, the song...

Rocks Off: I was wondering how much time he's spent here.

Nick Gaitan (smiles): He's always talking about how rough it is.

RO: What does he say about Houston?

NG: He always talks about it just being rough, like 'Oh, be careful down there,' kind of like you'd hear in a Leadbelly song. Or he introduced me to this lady one time - he said, 'This is Nick, he's from Houston. He's got Houston written all over him.' He has his own version of Houston in his head.

RO: I bet he's got a bunch of ties to this area.

NG: Oh yeah. Billy has his own Houston, because he's been here a lot. 

Hard to believe it's been 20 years since gangsta rap went overground with N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton. Through Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg to Tupac and Eminem, it launched most of hip-hop's biggest stars for a good decade, but these days even artists like T.I. and Lil Wayne have sacrificed serious street knowledge for bizarre metaphysical narratives and crossover-friendly celebrations of the high life (both kinds).

Which makes sense. People just aren't as easy to shock as they were in 1989. Lyrics that sparked suburban-parent outrage back then would barely raise an eyebrow today - probably because an awful lot of suburban parents now grew up on Ice Cube and Tupac themselves.

But from out of the Piney Woods north of town, a trio of "prison city playas" calling itself Huntzville, mentored and produced by former Geto Boy Willie D, may be about to raise a ruckus with its debut single, "Backpack Fulla Gunz." The track peers not into the mind of a lunatic, but the pre-and mid-rampage thoughts of a high-school student all set to go Columbine on his classmates and teachers.

Rocks Off would like to thank Dallas Observer Music Editor Pete Freedman for hipping him to this little nugget: the White Folks Get Crunk blog has chosen DJ Shade's splice job welding Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" and ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" as one of 2008's top five mashups (it's No. 4). Check it out...

Pretty cool, although if Rocks Off were Kanye, he'd lay off the Vocoder just a little on his next album. But he's not, so he has to use both names when referring to himself. "Love Lockdown" is currently No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Sharp Dressed Man" is no doubt playing on either the Arrow, the Point or Jack FM as we speak.

Oh, and the "What You Know About a White Wedding" mash-up pitting T.I. against Billy Idol, as blended by DJ Geometrix, is pretty dope too. Do the kids still say dope? - Chris Gray

The Clique, “Splash 1”

How massive was the influence of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators on Texas musicians back in the day? Big enough that many groups tried adding their own electric jug player, and every single one was a dud (at best).

Other groups like the Clique settled for covering some of the Elevators’ finer material like “Splash 1.”After the demise of the band Lavender Hour, the majority of its members reformatted their sound from pop/garage/punk outfit to an assortment of late-‘60s psychedelia. They went on to record a slew of singles and one album for the White Whale label in the very early ‘70s; none of which, unfortunately, were as good.

I would like to hate this group for writing the song “Superman,” of which, unbeknownst to them, R.E.M. went on to record a dreadful cover on 1986’s Life’s Rich Pageant. But the fact remains that on “Splash 1,” the Clique managed to do the Elevators justice where everyone else’s attempts fell flat on their faces. The song was released on the local Cinema and then Wand labels, followed by a national release on Scepter – none of which garnered much attention.

Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies.

Single of the Week

Lower Life Form’s “Small Town Talk”

Wire to Wire

As reported by Chris Gray, this little Houstonian Yao Ming-ed his way to a free trip to the Olympics.

Don’t front: You jam Slim Thug, too.

Rappers to auction jewelry for charity. Somehow, this is ironic. (And honestly, we never would’ve pictured Biz Markie as the jewelr- wearing type. The braces type? Definitely).

Mark Putney, "Today’s Man"

Every now and then you stumble onto a song that blows your mind. That was the case when I first heard “Today’s Man,” and unfortunately all my hopes of discovering other 45s by Putney were squashed when I learned this was his solitary release as a solo artist.

“Today’s Man” is the perfect mix of the incredible, though shamefully uncredited TSU Toronadoes and Putney’s passionate vocal stylings. With the primitive-sounding vibes and horn blasts, it sounds more Motown than distinctly Houstonian.

Putney spent most his time just out of the spotlight instead of in it - early on he was one of Archie Bell’s Drells, though how long remains unclear. Just goes to show, even though “Today’s Man” may be one of the finest soul singles to ever come out of Houston, sometimes good records aren’t enough in the music business.

Houston’s own Solange Knowles has some choice words for the music industry. I’m not sure if I can repeat them verbatim, but here’s a hint: Pick up your hand, raise your middle finger, and wave it around.

On her personal blog, The Hadley Street Journal, Solange vents about her frustrations with the music industry, then drops a link to a track entitled, “F*@k The Industry (Signed Sincerely).” The obviously mild-mannered composition lifts from Kanye’s “Everything I Am,” and features the would-be heir to Ray-J’s siblin-stardom throne uttering lines like, “I’ll never be picture perfect like Beyonce.” Check it out below.

Speaking of Beyonce, maybe you really shouldn’t. It seems to really irk her sister.

If looks could kill, that poor British interviewer who repeatedly calls Solange “Beyonce’s little sister” would be dead six times over. As for the industry kiss-off, you can download the track from Solange's blog as well. Hopefully, she'll record an ode to nepotism in the near future. - Michael Arceneaux

The Moving Sidewalks, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”

It would really be screwed up if I kept on writing this column on Houston psych and garage 45s and didn’t show some love to the Moving Sidewalks. So here’s everybody’s real favorite little ol’ band from Texas.

Long before those beards began to sprout and songs with a ridiculous amount of sexual innuendo were written, Billy F. Gibbons was already a Houston psychedelic deity. Formed in 1967, the Moving Sidewalks were one of the - if not the - premier psych bands in the Bayou City scene, thanks primarily to their ridiculous single titled “99th Floor” on the local Tantara label; it became a regional hit and was picked up for national distribution by the Wand label soon thereafter.

If you’ve heard one Sidewalks song, it’s probably that one. But Slip Inside This House’s goal is to highlight some of the darker corners of local psych and garage, so although “99th Floor” is a damn good 45 and one of my favorites, how about an insane psychedelic version of a Beatles classic instead?