Email Author Hobart Rowland

1997 Stories by Hobart Rowland

• Plugged In

  published August 21, 1997

  Prodigy's number one debut notwithstanding, music industry watchers remain leery of electronica's potential for success -- as they should. So far,... More >>

• Here Comes the Sun

  published August 21, 1997

  As countries go, Suriname is tiny. Its smallness is particularly apparent when measured against the enormous size of Brazil to its south and the... More >>

• Rotation

  published August 14, 1997

  Slobberbone Barrel Chested Doolittle Whiskeytown Strangers Almanac Outpost It's long past the point where... More >>

• Talking the Talk

  published August 14, 1997

  It takes the cojones of a seasoned matador to emerge from near obscurity and proclaim right off that you're the man. Reputation, after all, is... More >>

• Rotation

  published August 7, 1997

  Echo and the Bunnymen Evergreen London Even by the drastically reduced standards of your typical reunion release, Echo and the... More >>

• Hip-Hop Down Under

  published August 7, 1997

  New Zealand singer/songwriter Pauly Fuemana -- a.k.a. OMC -- is widely known as a hip-hop artist. It's a label Fuemana, who grew up in a tough... More >>

• Static

  published August 7, 1997

  Sobered by reality... It was the year that wouldn't end. At least, that's the way local singer/songwriter Tony Vila looks back on 1992: 12 months... More >>

• Funk Flashback

  published July 31, 1997

  Getting to the heart of that dirty and devilish genre known as funk can be somewhat akin to searching out nude pictures of Martha Stewart on the... More >>

• Static

  published July 31, 1997

  A new era at HMC?... For the last few months, local producer/indie label entrepreneur Darrell Clingman has been going on about what he'd do to... More >>

• All-Terrain Vehicle

  published July 31, 1997

  Not long ago, a certain Houston club manager came to the following conclusion about one of his favorite Texas acts: "The best thing about Old 97's... More >>

• Fresh Focus

  published July 24, 1997

  Wakeland makes pop music for wimps -- love songs, if you will, for those of us lacking a spine. With a near-childlike take on the world around... More >>

• Beyond the Stars

  published July 24, 1997

  Rock history generally suggests that talented lesser-knowns can benefit from the coddling of a proven commodity, if only for the most obvious... More >>

• Rotation

  published July 24, 1997

  Radiohead OK Computer Capitol Radiohead's OK Computer isn't easy to cozy up to. It's a marathon listen, a muddled,... More >>

• Static

  published July 24, 1997

  Young in vibes... Coming up on his 70th birthday, jazz vibraphonist Harry Sheppard says he's never felt better. "I have more energy now than I had... More >>

• Color of the Blues

  published July 17, 1997

  Dallas guitarist Smokin' Joe Kubek was playing obscure, backroom blues circuit gigs before he could qualify for a driver's license. A few years... More >>

• Rotation

  published July 17, 1997

  Brave Combo Group Dance Epidemic Rounder What Pavement said about Smashing Pumpkins was mean but true: Too much popular music is... More >>

• Static

  published July 17, 1997

  Copeland remembered... True, it wasn't much of an acceptance speech, but it meant everything. Standing by the podium at the July 7 Houston Press... More >>

• Bite This!

  published July 10, 1997

  It wasn't by accident that youth figured so prominently in this year's Houston Press Music Awards. An overhaul of the nominating committee to... More >>

• Classic Touch

  published July 3, 1997

  A connoisseur of classic rock might argue that, in his prime, Steve Miller was about as innovative an artist as, oh, the Guess Who or Peter... More >>

• Static

  published July 3, 1997

  Tape head... You could easily argue that Houmidity: Bad Weather, Bad Attitudes isn't much of a documentary on the Houston music scene. And it's... More >>

• Rotation

  published July 3, 1997

  World Party Egyptology The Enclave World Party's Karl Wallinger has his drawbacks. First off, he's not much of a singer. True,... More >>

• All Grown Up

  published June 26, 1997

  Sometimes, musical maturity takes a while. In the case of saxophonist George Howard, who recorded his first CD in 1982, it took a decade and a... More >>

• Houston Press 1997 Music Awards Preview

  published June 26, 1997

  At times, we must admit, putting together the ballot for the Press Music Awards engenders a touch of deja vu. Familiar names (can you say Carolyn... More >>

• Young Punks

  published June 26, 1997

  "Come support the future of trash rock." Willie Dunivan, the haggard, 35-year-old lead singer of Pure Rubbish, is plugging the band's... More >>

• Static

  published June 26, 1997

  Honor thy dinosaurs... In a music scene so often intent on undermining tradition, paying tribute to one's rock and roll forefathers has never been... More >>