Email Author Craig Hlavaty

Awards

• 2012 - Best of the West/First Amendment Funding, Inc., published February 10, 2011

  "Getting Past the Bouncer"

• 2009 - Lone Star Awards

  "Metallica at Toyota"

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2009 Stories by Craig Hlavaty

• SXSW: Oak Ridge Boys at Lone Star Lounge

  published Mar 20, 2009

  Yes, the Oak Ridge Boys are back. We caught them at the Lone Star Lounge in the Austin Convention Center. They were a little grayer, way beardier, and still just as down home.... More >>

• SXSW: Garage Rock Madness with Black Lips and King Khan

  published Mar 20, 2009

  Within the span of an hour we braved a VIP- and booze-addled Black Lips show at the Cedar Street Courtyard, and we fought off a drunken old lady brandishing a plastic lighted sword outside of the Ki... More >>

• SXSW Trade Show: Pressing Records from Pellets

  published Mar 19, 2009

  Jay Millar from United Record Pressing had a booth at the SXSW Trade Show, where he showed us how vinyl goes from handful of vinyl pellets to a trendy slab of tunes. Records start as pellets that ar... More >>

• SXSW: American Apparel Factory Flea Market

  published Mar 19, 2009

  This afternoon off Fourth and San Jacinto, venerable hipster outfitter American Apparel hosted an outdoor flea market. All manner of humanity came out to rummage through the inventory, most of which... More >>

• SXSW: Justin Townes Earle at SESAC Lounge in Austin Convention Center

  published Mar 19, 2009

  Justin Townes Earle ran through a short set on Thursday of new material from his recent Midnight At The Movies album. ... More >>

• Seen at SXSW: Matthew McConaughey

  published Mar 19, 2009

  The star of such films as Sahara and Fool's Gold was spotted at the Billy Bob Thornton show last night.... More >>

• SXSW: Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters at Smokin' Music

  published Mar 19, 2009

  We caught Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters set last night at Smokin' Music, a venue appropriately sponsored by American Spirit cigarettes. His brand of "mod-country" is ridiculously catchy. It'... More >>

• SXSW Snapshot: Glasvegas at Vice

  published Mar 19, 2009

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• SXSW Snapshot: Hello, Officer Badass

  published Mar 19, 2009

  People talk about cops being arrogant cowboy types who only wanna shaft the little guy, but damn if I wouldn't want to cover up a crime with this guy, for real. We need more Houston cops to take the t... More >>

• SXSW Gallery: Random Wednesday Photos

  published Mar 19, 2009

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• SXSW Day One: Absinthe to Auerbach

  published Mar 19, 2009

  It's official: This author loves absinthe. Or whatever it was that they were serving at the Music Gym off 6th Street that they were calling absinthe. Who the hell caresr It was free and it opened ou... More >>

• Justin Townes Earle: Midnight at the Movies

  published March 19, 2009

  Opening with the lonesome, Randy ­Newman-esque title track, Justin Townes Earle's sophomore effort Midnight At The Movies sees... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Aftermath: Darius Rucker at RodeoHouston

  published Mar 17, 2009

  Aftermath always wondered what it was like to not be known to the public by your birth name, but by the name of your band. In the beginning, some club owners thought that David Lee Roth's name w... More >>

• Aftermath: "Beatdown" at Baybrook

  published Mar 16, 2009

  Friday, Aftermath ran over to Baybrook Mall after work to catch the guerilla acoustic show in front of the Hot Topic, pitting Friendswood's own "Christian death metal" band Hematidrosis a... More >>

• Feuding Friendswood Bands to Throw Down at Baybrook Mall

  published Mar 13, 2009

  Rocks Off been so far removed from mall culture that we had almost forgot that Hot Topic existed. Not that we ever meditated on where on 14-year old girls get their "Twilight" shirts and metal gau... More >>

• Suckfest - Sorry, Buzzfest - XXII Lineup Announced

  published Mar 13, 2009

  In the midst of getting our collective Rocks Off panties in a twist over SXSW next week and the impending sweat-stained Westheimer Block Party, it's easy for us to forget what it's like on the o... More >>

• Spring Concert Series at Discovery Green Announced

  published Mar 13, 2009

  Susan Cowsill, "Just Believe It" Cut from the same cloth as Party on the Plaza comes this year's concert series at Discovery Green. If you haven't visited the downtown park since it opened last Apri... More >>

• Spring Concert Series at Discovery Green Announced

  published Mar 12, 2009

  Susan Cowsill, "Just Believe It" Cut from the same cloth as Party on the Plaza comes this year's concert series at Discovery Green. If you haven't visited the downtown park since it opened last Apri... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Aftermath: Reba McEntire at RodeoHouston

  published Mar 12, 2009

  Reba McEntire is the closest modern country will ever get to the artistic heights of its pioneering female vocalists. Sure Tanya Tucker had her run but the booze, powders and Glen Campbell took ... More >>

• How About Some SXSW Day Partiesr A LOT of SXSW Day Partiesr

  published Mar 10, 2009

  We here at Rocks Off are only about a week away from chafed inner thighs, weird Japanese punk bands puking in hotel pools and sweating out our morning mojitos while walking to an art space off 4th... More >>

• Bayou City Buzz

  published March 12, 2009

  The overall number of Houston artists performing at SXSW may be a little down compared to the past few years — for official showcases,... More >>

• T.I.

  published March 12, 2009

  With smash single "Whatever You Like" racking up almost 140 million plays on T.I.'s MySpace page since last summer, one would think the Atlanta... More >>

• Tonight: Toby Keith at Reliant Stadium

  published Mar 10, 2009

  Just think, if not for September 11, Toby Keith would probably still be as bland as dry toast and just as exciting. The horrific events of that day, and our nation's rapid retaliation, sudden... More >>

• RIP Bob Dylanr

  published Mar 05, 2009

  At first, when Rocks Off saw this flyer (right) come over ye olde MySpace, we didn't really give it much thought. It looked like a decent night of tunes from a bunch of dead rockers - maybe some "... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Rodeo Food: Wurst Kabob and Deep-Fried Oreos

  published Mar 04, 2009

  Sure, I love all the cowboy junk inside the exhibit halls and the wicked-ass carnival rides at the carnival. I don't even mind teenaged FFA members screaming at me to buy a program. But by far, the be... More >>