Email Author Hobart Rowland

1998 Stories by Hobart Rowland

• Static

  published April 23, 1998

  Raves and wave-offs... Technically, Island Romance, the new CD from Houston's Irie Time, could be considered a rerelease -- that is, if its... More >>

• Static

  published April 16, 1998

  A rose by any other name... Granted, it was an inane moniker. Hell, even the band members knew how juvenile it was: Pull My Finger, a name that... More >>

• Rotation

  published April 9, 1998

  The Mavericks Trampoline MCA Mavericks lead singer/songwriter Raul Malo has always harbored ambition as soaring as his gorgeous... More >>

• Static

  published April 9, 1998

  Quality time... "It was absolutely fantastic," gushes Texas Johnny Brown, one of the more immovable veterans dotting the Houston blues landscape.... More >>

• Rotation

  published April 2, 1998

  Semisonic Feeling Strangely Fine MCA In the increasingly disposable world of '90s pop, Dan Wilson is a hooksmith without peer,... More >>

• Static

  published April 2, 1998

  Ego run amuck?... It had to be the easiest $1,000 Houston's Ezra Charles ever made. Hired by oldies station KLDE/94.5 FM to open for creaky... More >>

• Clubland

  published April 2, 1998

  Richmond Strip entertainment mogul and City Streets owner Jeff Meineke has been keeping plenty busy. He recently presided over the massive image... More >>

• Tangled Web

  published March 26, 1998

  The phone call finally arrives around 6 p.m., four hours late. The connection crackles and hisses as if it resents the human intrusion; Tito... More >>

• Static

  published March 26, 1998

  SXSW '98: Taking it as it comes... Griping has always been part of the South by Southwest Music Conference, where for five dizzying days in... More >>

• Conference Kudos and Crud

  published March 26, 1998

  Best Hollywood Cameo: Director/sometime guitarist Robert Rodriguez jamming like a man possessed with Tito and Tarantula at Waterloo Brewing... More >>

• Sparking Interest

  published March 19, 1998

  When David Rice finally got down to work recording greenelectric, his debut CD for Columbia Records, he couldn't have been farther from his... More >>

• Static

  published March 19, 1998

  Hole lotta litigation... It's become mighty tempting to assume that Houston's Manhole doesn't exist anyplace but in court documents. After all,... More >>

• Rotation

  published March 19, 1998

  Van Halen Van Halen III Warner Bros. The loss of a charismatic frontman usually spells trouble for any band, but resilient... More >>

• Tough Customer

  published March 19, 1998

  Her phrasing is reminiscent of Billie Holiday; her deep range brings to mind Sarah Vaughn. She's won several awards and made classic contributions... More >>

• Static

  published March 12, 1998

  More than a one-trick pony... Any band that aims for greatness needs a steadying element -- an authority figure, if you will. For Houston's... More >>

• Rotation

  published March 12, 1998

  Robbie Robertson Contact from the Underworld of Redboy Capitol There must be a few folks out there still pining for the simpler... More >>

• Starved for Respect

  published March 12, 1998

  The drive from downtown Houston to the Hunger's office-park rehearsal facility is only about 15 minutes. But as far as the Inner Loop's hipster... More >>

• Static

  published March 5, 1998

  Girlie man... As he's gotten older and bolder, Johnny Goudie has become less afraid to flaunt a certain sexual ambiguity. Lately, the Austin... More >>

• Rotation

  published March 5, 1998

  Eric Clapton Pilgrim Reprise Records To those for whom the '60s are less a memory than a myth, to those who believe yesterday... More >>

• Static

  published February 26, 1998

  Slippery Sam... Back in spring 1996, Sam Taylor was brimming with big ideas and grand intentions. The onetime producer/manager/ guru to Katy's... More >>

• Smells Like Holy Spirit

  published February 19, 1998

  It's 7:15 on a weeknight, and the auditorium at Houston's First Baptist Church is rocking to high heaven; God's children are whipping up a polite... More >>

• Well-Raised and Confused

  published February 19, 1998

  For Justin Furstenfeld, getting away was the only solution. Plummeting into drug addiction and other varieties of self-destruction, the... More >>

• Well Aware

  published February 19, 1998

  Think of Aware Records as the little label that could. For better or for worse, the Chicago-based imprint -- with brief histories in Boston, Vail,... More >>

• Static

  published February 19, 1998

  The other brother... Performing is in the blood. That would explain why Baytown's Philip Rodriguez started playing piano and violin at a young... More >>

• Rotation

  published February 19, 1998

  Goldie Saturnz Return London/FFRR Imagine you're at a rave. All the components are there: the guys wearing fluorescent colors... More >>