Houston Music Blog

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We finally have a winner in Rocks Off's photo contest for those Live Nation Club Passports we started giving away back when George W. was president. Not really, but it seems like it. Congratulations to Houston's Mitsy Parsons, whose shot of her with NYC up-and-comer Ryan Star at September's Collective Soul show at House of Blues (above) was our popular choice. (You can tell Star hasn't had a whole lot of media coaching yet, because his eyes are closed.) Enjoy!

This week's Live Nation "No Service Fee" promotion, by the way, is something called the "Ultimate Access Triple-Play Wednesday," which was good enough for three exclamation points in the press release. Hey, this has been going on a while - they have to do something to keep it interesting.

Anyway, everyone who buys a ticket for pretty much any show at House of Blues or Verizon Wireless Theater (see here, because we're too lazy to go back and list 'em all again) will not only be exempted from those pesky service fees, but be entered to win an "Ultimate Access Pass" that gets them into any show at that venue throughout 2010. Starts at midnight; as always, see www.livenation.com for further details and to purchase.

And finally, we have another winner for the Club Passport: Andrea "Mrs. Oldies" Greer, whose shot of her, Banana Blender Surprise's Gerard Choucroun and late Who bassist John "The Ox" Entwistle was so sweet and prize-worthy we convinced the LN folks to give us another pair of Passports. (Thanks, y'all.)

Choucroun also emailed us with even more background about the photo last week, some pretty juicy stuff Entwistle told him and Greer about Paul McCartney stealing Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman's date one evening in Monaco, and lots more. See what he had to say after the jump.

​Come on Houston, start your Halloween week off right with us, the mighty he-men of Rocks Off and Beatles Rock Band. Yes, it's been just over a month and a half since we saw all of your faces at Coffee Groundz (2503 Bagby) playing our newish toy, and we miss you so very much. Seriously, no kidding, you all smell better than most of the folks we usually hang out with, and that's saying something.

The fun starts at 7 p.m. and runs till 11 p.m. when the venue closes. It's also a costume-friendly event, so bring on as many slutty Dorothy Gales and zombie Billy Mays as you can. There will be limited edition Rocks Off T-shirts available, only at this event. We heard somewhere that they are how you say, sexy?

Either way, we need you all there to validate our existence and to see us one last time before we commit unspeakable acts before the Pogues concert on Thursday night. Hopefully in the meantime you have been practicing the art of smoking a cigarette while drumming and drinking in between guitar parts like we have been. We have melted way to many plastic guitars to admit.

See you guys in a few hours at Coffee Groundz, and don't forget to tip your bartenders and baristas!

[Note: While we're on the subject of House of Blues shows, please note the Goodie Mob/Scarface concert scheduled for tonight has been rescheduled for Thursday, January 14.]

www.drivebytruckers.com

​Once again Rocks Off allowed ourselves to get distracted and nearly forgot we've got this Live Nation "Club Passport" to give away. Hey, we're busy. But we need to get this thing passed along to its proper owners, whoever they may be, like, NOW. In case you forgot, it gets the winner and a guest into any non-sold-out show at House of Blues (such as Drive-By Truckers, above) until the end of the year, so there's still a good two months of live music fun to be had.

So anyway, we asked readers to send in photos of themselves backstage or anywhere else with rock stars (or at least musicians besides their friends and loved ones, preferably from out of town). We got six entries, and one guy sent in three photos, but since we didn't say "one per customer," any one is fair game. The way we're going to decide this is simple, and y'all all get to help us: Vote for whichever photo you like the best in the comments.

We'll give you until 6 p.m. Tuesday, then go over the results and announce the winner Wednesday morning. See the entries after the jump...

www.drivebytruckers.com

Hey, any excuse to run a Drive-By Truckers photo is OK with us...

​Sometimes Rocks Off gets distracted and forgets stuff, but better late than never. Live Nation is offering a "Club Passport" good for admission to any show at House of Blues until the end of the year - provided the show is not sold out - for the low, low price of 50 bucks. (Reminds us of Bo Diddley in Trading Places: "In Philadelphia, it's worth 50 bucks.") That's Black Crowes, Drive-By Truckers, Pogues, Tragically Hip, Peaches, Queen Latifah and maybe one or two more. Live Nation is also offering single-show tickets for as low as $10; see www.livenation.com for more information on both offers.

Even better, the LN folks were kind enough to give Rocks Off two of these here passports to give away, so here's how that's going to work: If you've ever met an artist backstage, say, or in front of their tour bus - or hell, in the "20 Items or Less" lane at Randall's - we know you had 21 items and assume you had a camera, so we'd like to see the pictures. Send them to chris.gray@houstonpress.com, and we'll give the passports to the best photo. You have one week unless, you know, we decided to extend the deadline. But just go ahead and send them now.

Cary Godshall

Well, it wasn't a very crowded field, but we have a winner in our ZZ Top lookalike contest: Cary Godshall, who sent in this picture of a friend of his. (Bonus points because he looks like ZZ Top today and not circa Tejas.) Cary wins a four-pack of lawn tickets to Friday's ZZ show at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion with Aerosmith. Congratulations!
• Speaking of, today's Live Nation "All In" special is expanding last week's package of lawn ticket, parking, service fees, hot dog and soda (still no beer) for $29.99 to select reserved seats at $49.99. Next week's should be interesting, because Live Nation wants you, the fans, to choose what it is. See www.livenation.com.

• A major overhaul of KPFT's (90.1 FM) programming starts next week. Most significantly, the station is bringing back longtime Houston DJ Roark Smith to spin two hours of non-Arrow-like classic rock from 10 a.m. to noon weekdays. Several KPFT programs, including BBC News, Democracy Now! and its local news/public-affairs programming, are switching time slots. Rocks Off will have more in a few days.

Courtesy Tom Degler

Rocks Off is a little disappointed we haven't gotten more response to our call for ZZ Top and Steven Tyler lookalikes - we are giving away a four-pack of lawn tickets to Friday's ZZ/Aerosmith show, after all. Yes, it's a little hot for all that facial hair, but we're fairly sure the show is going to kick all kinds of ass too. (A possible Billy Gibbons/Joe Perry duet on "Last Child" or "Back in the Saddle"? Sheeeeeit.)

We figured we'd give y'all 24 more hours, because as it stands right now, these guys above stand a pretty good chance at winning. The beards may not be their own, but hey - at least they're creative.

Email your pictures to chris.gray@houstonpress.com or hprocksoff@gmail.com, and please include a name.

Rocks Off enjoys ribbing House of Blues about its penchant for booking tribute acts from Michael Jackson to Guns 'N' Roses, but we also enjoy a good dance party as much as the next guy. That's why we suspect tonight's tribute offering might be the best one yet. It's Very Disco, a duo from Athens, Georgia, enamored of Kanye West-approved, helmet-clad French dance-floor kingpins Daft Punk. Since the actual Daft Punk comes to Houston, like, never, tonight is probably your best chance to get down to "One More Time" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" all year.

Better yet, it won't cost you a dime - Rocks Off has a whole heap of free tickets to the show in the Press lobby at 1621 Milam (at Pease, downtown). Come get some.

Live Nation has come through with a four-pack of lawn tickets to the classic-rock show of the summer, Aerosmith and Houston's own ZZ Top July 18 at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, and Rocks Off sure as hell ain't gonna give this away for some cheap-ass trivia question. Naw, this time we're gonna make it real interesting.

Here's the deal: if you look like either Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler or one member of ZZ Top, or know someone who does, email a picture to chris.gray@houstonpress.com or hprocksoff@gmail.com. (Jpegs work best.) For Steve, it's the lips we're interested in; as for ZZ, naturally it's the facial hair - but since we don't want to leave drummer Frank Beard out, we're interested in mustaches and beards. Any Houstonian with half a brain cell ought to know what ZZ looks like (but just in case), and get a good gander at Tyler's smackers here. Oh, and please include your name or the name of the person in the picture.

Rocks Off is starting the month-long (or nearly month-long) countdown to the Houston Press Music Awards today, and our dear readers get to reap the benefits. Starting today at high noon sharp, we'll post a HPMA trivia question on both the Houston Press and Rocks Off Twitter pages every day. The first person to direct-message the correct answer will win a brand spanking new 2009 HPMA T-shirt. Anyone who tweets us the correct answer will also be automatically entered in a weekly drawing for four passes to the HPMA showcase held in several downtown venues July 26.

So that means if you're not following us at @houstonpress or @hprocksoff - preferably both, of course - you better hurry up and do it. Good luck!

As part of Live Nation's all-day $24.99 lawn-ticket sale for shows at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, they've kindly offered us a pair of lawn tickets to the June 30 Kid Rock/Lynyrd Skynyrd shred-off to give away. But of course, we're not just going to give them to you.

If you want them, just answer this trivia question: What other song besides "Sweet Home Alabama" did Kid Rock sample for last years super-mega jam "All Summer Long?" (Hint: it's the piano part at the beginning.) The first person to leave the title, artist, album and year of release in the comments below wins.

Please also leave an email address so Rocks Off can get ahold of you. And, for God's sakes, don't enter if you're not going to be able to go. Good luck!

Rocks Off knows we make it look pretty easy down here, but it's really not. Case in point: On his way to cover Balaclavas' SXSW showcase in March - that's right, bands were there from all over the world and we're checking out the locals; that's how much we love you - Rocks Off first lieutenant Craig Hlavaty's bike encountered an especially disagreeable curb, and Craig fractured his elbow.

And still covered the goddamn show.

It's a veritable tribute band meltdown at the House of Blues this weekend, and we have a handful of free tickets up here at Rocks Off HQ to get you into three sure-to-be drunken shows starting this evening. Come pick 'em up at the front desk at 1621 MIlam, Suite 100, until 6 p.m.

On the bill tonight is California-based Led Zeppelin tribute band Zoso, who pull off Robert Plant and company's monstrous mythic blues-rock scarily accurately. The band has been plugging away on the Zep tip for 14 years. That's actually two years longer than the actual Zep lasted until John Bonham took over the drummer's chair for Jimi Hendrix's band in Heaven.

If you'd like to come to the annual Houston Press Music Awards Nomination Party Friday, May 15, at Meridian, email chris.gray@houstonpress.com by noon tomorrow, and please put "nomination party" in the subject line. Taking the stage for your entertainment will be Southeast Texas' own albino shredder Edgar "Frankenstein" Winter.

Rocks Off has a whole heap of free tickets for Friday's Spring Break Reggaefest at House of Blues. Since he's headed off to SXSW, he stashed them at the front desk of the Press, 1621 Milam, Suite 100 downtown. Come get some. Performing for your irie pleasure will be Idiginis, the Suspects and Dr. King Cobra. Remember, no smoking inside... cough cough.

For more information call 888-402-5837 or see www.hob.com/houston.

Betcha thought Rocks Off forgot about our new little guess-that-local-band contest, huh? Actually, we kind of did, so thanks to HTH founder and head noose-wielder Nicholas L. Hall for the reminder.

Anyways, after careful consideration - and thanks to so many of the Blaggards' loyal (and possibly tipsy) fans for storming our comments section - Rocks Off has decided on a winner. The person who came up with the best answer to Hall's question "What would you do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning?" is our man "Johnny," who had this to say:

"Last time there was a drunken sailor in the house it was my roommate's girlfriend's brother, and we drew all over him, shaved his head and sent ransom messages to his wife."

It's not every day you hear a cellist bust out socially aware, Randy Newman-esque pop yarns. Kentuckian Ben Sollee sings plaintive, soulful slices of song like the kind that made Newman famous and so very influential in the '70s. Sollee is only 24 years old, yet he somehow bridges the generation gap with his own Jack Johnson-croon while maintaining an ear to the classicism of older and milder generations.

His "Only A Song" echoes so many young guys feelings of bewilderment in our utterly harrowing and harried times, singing about driving through ghettoes and feeling ashamed of growing up in safe quiet suburbs.

Photo by Jay Lee

Blaggards frontman Patrick Devlin

Well, despite being so easy Bob Ruggiero a caveman could do it, it appears as if the world premiere of H-Town Hangman still couldn't manage to deliver on the prize front. Or, rather, the first Hangman winner didn't stick around long enough to claim his(?) spoils. Rocks Off is a good sport, though, and the Blaggards really want to give away some shit, so we're going to give this a second go.

Same deal as last time - leave your answers in the comments, along with your T-shirt size (Hmmm...wonder what the prize could be?) It might also be a good idea to throw your email address in there, too, so we can actually get your spoils to you. If you're feelin' squirrelly about your digital digits being out there for all to see, get over yourself (you're not that interesting), or at least follow along to see if you've won, then follow Chris' directions like a good boy. Now for the "work" part...

Charlie Robison has been around. He was born right here in Houston, but grew up alongside equally (if much differently) gifted songwriting brother Bruce in the South Central Texas ranching town of Bandera. In the '80s and '90s, he spent time in two of Austin's best-known and longest-running country/roots ensembles, Two Hoots and a Holler and Chapparal. By the end of the latter decade, Robison had landed a major-label deal with Sony Nashville on the strength of songs like "Barlight," which a lot of regulars at Austin's Continental Club can probably still recite verbatim.

Then, at 1999's Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, he gave a roomful of radio programmers looking for a reason to put him on the air just the opposite: "I'm the greatest thing you're ever going to see," he said from the stage, "but you probably won't play me because you're too fucking stupid." Label and radio support for his next album, 2001's Step Right Up, was minimal. Imagine that.  

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.

These fine-looking gentlemen are Le Freak, the Metroplex's premier disco-era cover (or, sorry, "tribute") band, sort of like Houston's Disco Expressions with better wigs and fewer personnel. They and their North Texas buds the M80's - aka Molly and the Ringwalds with Bowie wigs and no women - are taking time off from rocking D/FW-area hot spots like Cape Buffalo, the Glass Cactus and 8.0 Bar to play House of Blues tonight at 7 p.m.

Conveniently, the Press has a stack of free tickets thicker than Neil Bogart's money clip - that's the dude who founded primo disco label Casablanca Records, btw - at the front desk, so come and get 'em. Office closes at 6 p.m.