Email Author William Michael Smith

2007 Stories by William Michael Smith

• Tori Amos

  published July 26, 2007

  When Tori Amos does a concept album — and hers are all concept albums — she goes all-out, but seldom more so than on the 23-track blast... More >>

• Roger Foster

  published July 12, 2007

  Atlanta sculptor Roger Foster’s “Objects of Ritual” is a series of sculptures in stone, wood, steel and brass that comes from his... More >>

• Katherine Veneman

  published July 12, 2007

  In her first-ever Houston exhibition, “Adaptation,” local artist Katherine Veneman’s paintings offer a subtle commentary on change.... More >>

• Side Show

  published July 12, 2007

  Tony Award-nominated Side Show is local boy Kent Arneson’s first U.S. production with his newly formed company Arneson Productions.... More >>

• Holocaust Museum Houston Lecture Series

  published July 19, 2007

  The Holocaust Museum Houston presents an outstanding series of lectures dealing with current and historical aspects of anti-Semitism,... More >>

• Gulf Coast Jam

  published July 19, 2007

  Local legends the Boogie Kings are playing the Port Arthur Gulf Coast Jam. What started out as a three-piece jam in a Eunice, Louisiana, kitchen... More >>

• Mary Cutrufello

  published July 19, 2007

  Mary Cutrufello hasn't moved back to Houston, but we should be seeing a lot more of her. After a three-year performing hiatus to take care... More >>

• David Olney

  published July 12, 2007

  David Olney can probably thank his irascible nature for keeping him from being a much bigger presence on the national roots-music scene. A... More >>

• Jesse Malin

  published June 28, 2007

  I like his music, but what is it with Jesse Malin's gawd-damn hair? I mean, really, when did it become necessary for artists to wash their hair in... More >>

• B.B. King, circa 1970-something

  published Jun 20, 2007

  ... More >>

• B.B. King

  published June 21, 2007

  Living legend is an overused phrase, but not in the case of Mr. Riley B. King. Not just one but two generations of blues and rock players have... More >>

• Patty Larkin

  published June 14, 2007

  Patty Larkin is usually tagged a folkie, but she is much more. A fine guitarist, stellar singer and bold lyricist, Larkin takes her music all over... More >>

• Pep Torres

  published May 24, 2007

  Los Angeles has a long tradition of Latino rockers, and the jumpy retro act of Pep Torres comes straight out of that Richie Valens school of early... More >>

• Tower of Power

  published May 24, 2007

  Now in its 40th year, this Oakland group has become an institution. With a huge horn section and deep grooves, the Tower of Power sound is one of... More >>

• Playbill: Kevin Russell

  published May 16, 2007

  Kevin Russell, a former Houston boy who has gone on to great things with his band The Gourds, will be doing a free solo show at Under the Volcano Wednesday. Russell has always had a loose, open muse ... More >>

• Diana Jones

  published May 17, 2007

  Part of the Austin songwriting community in the mid-1990s before migrating back East, Diana Jones reemerged from a performing hiatus in 2006 and... More >>

• The Valentines

  published May 17, 2007

  It's a sad equation in indie rock that “rowdy” often equals “not very good.” But this is the beauty of Dallas's The... More >>

• Alternate Routes

  published May 17, 2007

  Stephen Brower, marketing director for Vanguard Records, and I used to write for a defunct online music magazine called Clink. Despite my... More >>

• Loudon Wainwright III

  published May 17, 2007

  If Knocked Up, the spinoff from Steve Carell's wildly successful 40 Year Old Virgin, follows the same type of script and joke... More >>

• Bob Schneider

  published May 10, 2007

  Like the Energizer Bunny, Bob Schneider just keeps bouncing back. He's survived a childhood in Munich, Germany, Sandra Bullock, drugs and spells... More >>

• Ellis Paul

  published May 10, 2007

  Don't automatically cast Ellis Paul into that Nor'easter folkie bin where your Tejas chromosomes probably tell you he belongs. No, despite his... More >>

• Five Times August

  published May 3, 2007

  Okay, Houston, are we just the last to know? Dallas native Brad Skistimas, a.k.a. Five Times August (he was born on August 5 and assumed no one... More >>

• Son Volt

  published May 3, 2007

  Jay Farrar, who has always preferred to let his music do his talking, formed Son Volt following his highly publicized split with Jeff Tweedy and... More >>

• Los Straitjackets with Big Sandy

  published April 19, 2007

  Surely one of the strangest Nashville musical outfits ever, the Mexican-mask-wearing Los Straitjackets have been wowing audiences with their... More >>

• Tret Fure

  published April 12, 2007

  Tret Fure is a one-of-a-kind force of nature. While she once had a major label deal and was putting out records with the likes of Little Feat's... More >>