Email Author Greg Barr

1996 Stories by Greg Barr

• Memories of the Blues

  published October 17, 1996

  Asking Clifford Antone to pick the best performance he ever heard at his club is like asking Troy Aikman to select his favorite touchdown pass;... More >>

• Jerk Rock

  published October 17, 1996

  It's gotten to where Peter Steele is running out of people to piss off. The singer/bassist for Gothic sludgemongers Type O Negative has had... More >>

• Fast Living

  published October 10, 1996

  In a more honest world, Speedball Baby would be providing the Top 40 soundtrack to a society coming unraveled at the seams. Few bands are better... More >>

• No More Mush

  published October 3, 1996

  Last month, Details magazine crowned Imperial Drag "Spacehog without the gags," an assessment that was meant to be a compliment -- though it's... More >>

• No More Same Old, Same Old

  published September 26, 1996

  You won't find too many guitar heroes on the phone at 9 a.m. At that time of day, a lot of them are just calling it a night. Yet on this... More >>

• Buff Boys

  published August 29, 1996

  Granted, Canada's Barenaked Ladies don't have one of the more startling names in the annals of rock and roll. Compared to, say, Scraping Foetus... More >>

• Break's Over

  published August 15, 1996

  I have this enduring image of Tracy Chapman. She's up on-stage, alone with her guitar in front of 60,000 people at a stop on an Amnesty... More >>

• Sounds Like a Winner!

  published August 8, 1996

  Houston music fans are nothing if not reliable. Year in and year out, they stick by their favorite local artists; for evidence, just take a gander... More >>

• Def Defying

  published August 1, 1996

  Forget all those inspirational, made-for-TV tales of athletes overcoming hardship on their way to Olympic glory. For a real understanding of grit... More >>

• Houston Press 1996 Music Awards

  published July 25, 1996

  Thirty-six categories. More than 100 nominated bands and performers. You want proof that there's a lot of music to be found in Houston? Well,... More >>

• Fishing for Insight

  published July 18, 1996

  Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament, the marquee talent behind Three Fish, claims he didn't so much assemble his new trio as imagine it into existence,... More >>

• Rotation

  published July 18, 1996

  Beck Odelay DGC Beck Hansen's 1994 breakthrough lo-fi single "Loser" begged an interesting question: one-hit wonder, or new... More >>

• Straight Forward

  published July 11, 1996

  "Sorry, you'll have to keep it short; Vinnie's running behind." It's the sort of notice a journalist hates to hear down the phone line from... More >>

• Rotation

  published July 4, 1996

  Butthole Surfers Electriclarryland Capitol There are CDs in the Butthole Surfers' catalog that are overpowering in their... More >>

• Souls Revival

  published June 27, 1996

  The Plimsouls reunion might have seemed a wee bit more momentous if the band's demise in 1984 had been more of an event. But few were looking on... More >>

• Cult Survivors

  published June 20, 1996

  Here's a quiz: when singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy of the Cult parted company last year, they did so on somewhat less than amicable... More >>

• Rotation

  published June 20, 1996

  Clandestine The Ale Is Dear Clandestine Houston's Celtic-music community may be approaching critical mass. Sooner or later, a... More >>

• Tori's Story

  published June 13, 1996

  Plenty of songwriters draw upon low points in personal relationships to churn up their creative juices. Tori Amos, however, tends to take it a... More >>

• Not the Same Old Junkies

  published June 13, 1996

  It's been a while, but the four members of Cowboy Junkies can actually say that they feel like a band again. For a long time, the instrument... More >>

• Where Ya Been, Ms. Lynn?

  published June 6, 1996

  Get ready to file another early June weekend under "Only in Houston" when the Juneteenth Blues Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary. On... More >>

• Rotation

  published June 6, 1996

  Magnapop Rubbing Doesn't Help Priority If Rubbing Doesn't Help sounds looser and more scatterbrained than its... More >>

• Playing Dumb

  published May 30, 1996

  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand Atticus Finch. The Houston quartet's songs aren't all that complex; their post-grunge... More >>

• The Name Game

  published May 16, 1996

  In rock and roll, being first matters. Austin's Little Sister found that out last month after signing a sweet deal with Arista Texas. The ink was... More >>

• Same Old Sir

  published May 16, 1996

  Why the Sir Douglas Quintet has never managed to carve itself a permanent position at the top of the charts is one of the mysteries of the musical... More >>

• Really Super

  published May 9, 1996

  If the supergroup concept seems a tad stale, it's probably because few bands have lived up to that billing. And if a "supergroup" inflatedly... More >>