Email Author John Nova Lomax

2005 Stories by John Nova Lomax

• Freshen Up, Freshen Up

  published May 12, 2005

  Talk about dedicated devotees -- one dormant Houston band has not one but two regularly updated fan sites, even though they haven't played a note... More >>

• The King and I

  published May 12, 2005

  Picture yourself at the end of a long working day. You're standing on the light rail platform at the Downtown Transit Center, more or less... More >>

• Codeine Country

  published May 5, 2005

  On Sunday, April 17, the centerpiece story in the Arts and Entertainment section of The New York Times was a story about how, via... More >>

• Who Is Mike Jones?

  published May 5, 2005

  If you have even a passing interest in local hip-hop, you already know the answer to the following question: "Who is Mike Jones?" And you also... More >>

• Mouth of the Dirty South

  published May 5, 2005

  Last year OutKast hosted BET's Top 25 Artist Countdown, a show wherein today's hip-hoppers play and talk about their favorite videos of all... More >>

• Restless Pam

  published May 5, 2005

  The new millennium was shaping up pretty badly for club pioneer Pam Robinson. After a long dispute with a couple of NIMBY newcomers to her 'hood,... More >>

• Nouvelle Vague

  published April 28, 2005

  The problem with most postpunk music, for me anyway, is that it was utterly sexless -- a miasma of cold monotone vocals, frigid synths, gloomy... More >>

• An iFest Fan (and Former Music Programmer) Responds

  published April 28, 2005

  Dear John, As you know, I have not been associated with the Houston International Festival since the 2003 festival honoring Mexico. I am... More >>

• This Week's Houston International Festival Highlights

  published April 21, 2005

  Beyond the ill-fated Flamingo Gardens Houston Showcase stage (see Racket, page 63), there is still a fair bit of quality music to see and hear at... More >>

• Earl Gilliam

  published April 21, 2005

  With criminally little fanfare, Austinite Eddie Stout has been cutting some of the finest blues records in America during the past five years,... More >>

• The Sick Old Man of the Festival Circuit

  published April 21, 2005

  Dear Houston International Festival Foundation Inc., It was with great anticipation that I clicked over to your Web site to check out this... More >>

• Shooter Jennings

  published April 14, 2005

  Can't think of a time when I've heard a country CD as, well, postmodern as this one. By postmodern country, I don't mean KILT-friendly schlock... More >>

• The Heavenly States

  published April 14, 2005

  If you are a touring musician or have ever known any, you no doubt are familiar with tales of woe from the road, which to hear most musicians tell... More >>

• David Olney

  published April 14, 2005

  "Anytime anyone asks me who my favorite music writers are, I say Mozart, Lightnin' Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Dave Olney. Dave Olney is one of the... More >>

• Karachi Rock

  published April 14, 2005

  Say what you want about rock deities like Bono and Bob Geldof -- call them pretentious and full of themselves and demand to know who the hell they... More >>

• Make Mine a Guinness

  published April 14, 2005

  I have always longed to have exotic ancestry. Apparently, so did my ancestors. Back in the 19th century, some of my forebears convinced themselves... More >>

• Who's Your Daddy?

  published April 14, 2005

  Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley, Danny Villarreal had heard the stories from his grandparents. His ancestors, it was whispered, had come to... More >>

• Los Skarnales

  published April 7, 2005

  A year or so back, I called Los Skarnales the Dropkick Murphys of Houston, a band that drew on its ethnicity, its working-class roots and its home... More >>

• The Bolivar Kid Strikes Again

  published April 7, 2005

  And sometimes I can't believe I did all that for a song / Hey I'm glad I came just wish I hadn't stayed so long. So sings Hayes Carll... More >>

• Where's the Beef? Right here in H-town

  published April 7, 2005

  Well, Houston, at last we've arrived as a hip-hop city: We've finally played host to physical combat between two rappers with national... More >>

• The Return of the Band of Rhythm and Pleasure

  published March 31, 2005

  Fifty or so years ago, a local columnist described Houston as a "whiskey and trombone town," to distinguish it from Dallas, where the socialites... More >>

• Elf Rock

  published March 31, 2005

  It's no surprise to learn that, as a child in Montana, Decemberists front man Colin Meloy wanted desperately to be an elf. And it follows... More >>

• Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey! Bands, Bands, Bands!

  published March 24, 2005

  Thursday, March 17: My friends and I roll into Austin around 2 p.m. to the majestic strains of the Arcade Fire's "Wake Up." After... More >>

• I Love Me

  published March 24, 2005

  Joseph Arthur appears Friday, March 25, at the Rhythm Room, 1815 Washington Avenue, 713-864-6962. Polly Paulusma opens. More >>

• John Davis, with Sam Ashworth

  published March 17, 2005

  After winning a lengthy battle with the bottle, ex-Superdrag front man John Davis has found God, but you could have fooled me, at least where his... More >>