Email Author Bob Ruggiero

2002 Stories by Bob Ruggiero

• Brady Brock

  published December 19, 2002

  Though the Houston native and current New Yorker cut his teeth as the guitarist for punk rockers The Grimple Twins, his current incarnation is as... More >>

• Papa Mali and the Instagators, with Hi Ficus and Brother Luck

  published November 28, 2002

  The bastard son of a one-night stand between Dr. John and Tony Joe White who was wet-nursed by the Meters (forget what you learned in sex ed, just... More >>

• Pitfall Punks

  published November 28, 2002

  Don't tell anyone, but Mike Davenport, bassist-vocalist for the Ataris, once had a backroom fling with a seductive game system that was not... More >>

• Mud Boy

  published November 21, 2002

  "Houston, wow. I have the best and the worst stories on the road from Houston," says Chris Robinson, former front man, lyricist and... More >>

• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

  published October 31, 2002

  Though the accolades and mega-hype given Bruce Springsteen's The Rising have focused on the more serious tones of the material (much of... More >>

• Band of Brothers

  published October 31, 2002

  With much of America on edge amid daily reports of Al Qaeda sleeper cells, rampaging snipers and Iraqi chemical bombs, there's a premium on... More >>

• Pleasant Grove

  published October 24, 2002

  Named for the Dallas suburb that spawned co-vocalists/guitarists Bret Egner and Marcus Striplin, Pleasant Grove's music is no blissful drive... More >>

• El Guapo, with Kill Me Tomorrow

  published October 17, 2002

  Are they art punks? Avant-garde knob twirlers? This tough-to-categorize trio from the nation's capital specializes in minimalist sound collages... More >>

• Dickey Betts and Great Southern

  published October 17, 2002

  Even veteran classic rock fans used to frequent lineup changes were surprised when the Allman Brothers Band summarily ejected guitarist Dickey... More >>

• Various Artists

  published October 17, 2002

  Songs about bad men doing bad things for revenge have had a long history -- from Elizabethan/Appalachian murder ballads and "Stagger Lee" to... More >>

• Pasta, Wine and a Fake Leg

  published October 17, 2002

  Let's face it: Deep down, people who love mob shows kind of wish they were wise guys. After all, the position has great benefits: rich Italian... More >>

• Skeleton Key

  published October 10, 2002

  Talk about real industrial metal music. These New York-based "junk rockers" are just as likely to play a battered coffee pot, frying pan or Radio... More >>

• Seabrook Music Festival

  published October 3, 2002

  This, one of the region's fastest-growing festivals, is about nothing if not sonic diversity. The bigger names from the scores of acts scheduled... More >>

• 30footFALL

  published October 3, 2002

  Though they diss critics -- even those who give them good ink -- on their Web site, I'll go out on a limb and say that this is the best record of... More >>

• Queens of the Stone Age, with Peaches and ...And You Will Know Us By Our Trail of Dead

  published September 26, 2002

  Somehow it seemed wholly appropriate when, at an English club listening party for the Queens' new record, Songs for the Deaf, a befuddled... More >>

• California Dreamin'

  published September 26, 2002

  People of faith will tell you that they communicate with their deity every day, but not many encounters with the Almighty involve Him drinking a... More >>

• Babes with Beats

  published September 19, 2002

  Men? Bands? Who needs 'em? Not urban folk/pop priestesses Pi and Emily Zuzik. Pi (née Erin Lumsley) has the sweeter pop voice, adding light... More >>

• Witch Way Is Up

  published September 19, 2002

  Like the faithful of any belief, Cathy McNulty wants people to understand her religion. But unlike most, she has to deal with the popular --... More >>

• Pilot Radio

  published September 12, 2002

  Say you've had a tough day and want to get to sleep or just feel jittery and need to come down, but can't seem to locate that Tylenol PM. Fear... More >>

• The Meatballs Cometh

  published September 12, 2002

  It's a task that Connie Nagle doesn't take lightly, and one she readily admits seems "impossible" to accomplish. Thousands of people not only... More >>

• Groupie Grooves

  published August 29, 2002

  To paraphrase George Carlin, people love to accumulate "stuff." Through the years, lots of it accrues in dusty boxes, dark attic spaces and... More >>

• The Boneshakers

  published August 22, 2002

  After the demise of Austin's Storyville, there was really only one question: What about Malford? Mr. Milligan, the band's incredibly powerful... More >>

• Kick Out the Jammies

  published August 22, 2002

  It's 6:45 p.m. in the neatly kept Garden Oaks home of Sugar Shack guitarist Andy Wright and his wife, drummer Stefanie Paige Friedman. Their... More >>

• Deryl Dodd

  published August 15, 2002

  If it's true that the third time's the charm, then this Comanche, Texas, native and son and grandson of Pentecostal preachers should kickstart his... More >>

• The El Orbits

  published August 15, 2002

  Rock and roll has always been rife with rivalries: Beatles vs. Stones, Skynyrd vs. Neil, Leif vs. Shaun. But none measure up to the level of... More >>