Paris Green
Best Alternative Rock
Seven years
www.parisgreen.com
Northside alt-rockers Paris Green take their name from a "poison/insecticide," but their "aggressive R&B" is the opposite of deadly. On the contrary, people seem to thrive on it -- as the Press's Bob Ruggiero put it, "their extremely marketable and infectious blend of metal, punk, rap and scratching" has the potential to "make them yet another in a line of bands Œsure to break' out of Houston." The band has a couple of CDs, but they're best caught live, where, says Ruggiero, singer Matt Patin shows his "patented onstage thrashing vocal exorcisms that find his eyes rolling toward the back of his head while the band builds a cacophonic sonic wall behind him."
Chingo Bling
Mark Towns
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Chingo Bling
Best New Act, Local Musician of the Year, Best Latin Rap
Been in the game for 25 years, but not old enough to drink
www.chingobling.com
UGK, Los Tigres del Norte, Punjabi MC, Ramon Ayala and Bill Gates are among the diverse influences cited by this unique rapper, who adds, "Pinche Bill owes me $3." "Walk Like Cleto," the new video from the Tamale Kingpin, debuted on Mun2 this month, thus bringing this Ghetto Vaquero one step closer to his ultimate dream: "my own shoe endorsement." Meanwhile, his record label -- Big Chile Enterprises -- has gotten in the philanthropy game; it recently awarded college scholarships to two Chavez High School grads. "Stay in school and help outsmart la migra!" the rapper advises.
Faceplant
Best Metal/Industrial, Song of the Year ('Here I Am')
Going on eight years
www.faceplantmusic.com
Charlie Carlisle, drummer for Faceplant, reports that his band would be lost without music, but that perhaps an adequate replacement would be careers in "porn?" Not that they should be stocking up on the tubes of Sta-Hard anytime soon; the group says Song of the Year nominee "Here I Am" has moved more than 50,000 units. People "who care about their music," fans and others "in the business somehow that put up the effort to make the scene better" put a grin on Faceplant. They report that "bands that bitch and complain while they sit on their lazy asses and don't do anything" make them scowl, as does the misconception that the members of Faceplant "are rock stars.'"
The Hunger
Best Keyboardist (Thomas Wilson)
13 years
www.thehungeronline.com
"Album No. 6" is almost in the can for this band, which owns a club by day: the Scout Bar in Kemah. The industrial music pioneers -- 311 and Deftones fans, and a full-blown local institution -- love the diversity of the Houston scene but view with dismay the fact that "the bands don't help each other." "Support the local music scene," they urge. "When another band is successful, don't hate, appreciate! It helps us all when another local artist breaks out."
