Axl Rose

The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend

Scooter Brown Band Firehouse Saloon, January 4 Few bands on the Texas country circuit -- a scene largely made up of affable college dropouts -- can say that they have a true-blue U.S. Marine up front, but the Scooter Brown Band can. Lead singer-songwriter/Iraq war combat veteran Scott Brown chose ... More >>

Eyes of a Dreamer and Some Charles Manson, Too

It's a well-known fact that the majority of band names are gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we're working hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. Truth be told, which would probably be a first for this column now that I ponder it, Eyes of a Dreamer is not exactly my cup of tea. I've never r ... More >>

Bruce Kessler's Incredible Houston Concert Photo Archive

When the Voice Goes: 5 Rock Singers Who Have Lost It Live

Last week, this video of Guns n' Roses playing at the Bridge School Benefit in California surfaced on YouTube, raising a lot of eyebrows among music fans. It was an acoustic performance of "Welcome to the Jungle" which might sound like a confusing prospect in and of itself, but what has everyone tal ... More >>

Hate Axl Rose? Just Go See Slash Instead!

Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash is heading back to Houston and the House of Blues on September 9 with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, plus extra-special beautiful openers Foxy Shazam. Mr. Saul Hudson was last in town opening for Ozzy Osbourne at Toyota Center in January 2011. That night w ... More >>

Parental Advisory! Another Look at the PMRC's "Dirty 15"

In 1985, the Parental Music Resource Center was formed as basically a watchdog group over popular music. Essentially, their goal was censorship. However, there was one big problem: The group was made up of the likes of Tipper Gore (wife of then-Senator and future Vice President Al Gore), Susan Bake ... More >>

Corporate Rock Still Sucks

Rock of Ages posits Tom Cruise as a hair-metal god and hair metal as something un-awful.

Perry Farrell Is Doing Just Fine

Jane's Addiction and Lollapalooza mastermind on Bin Laden and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Gothic Council vs. Marilyn Manson

I was in high school when Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar came out, and yeah, I played it until everyone around me begged me to stop. Though I've grown to appreciate deeper and better artists, Mr. Warner has always had a place in my heart for introducing me to a darker world. I still think he ... More >>

30 Seconds With John Mills-McCoin

There is no one in Houston like John Mills-McCoin. The Rock 'N' Roll Circus that is scheduled to raise the bar on Houston shows this weekend was birthed from the depth of his brain's wackiness. We waded into to see what we could learn about him in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is worst song in the w ... More >>

Who Should Induct Axl Rose And Guns N' Roses Into The Rock Hall?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is coming up quick on April 14, and the presenters for the event have been announced, except for one artist. Just who will speak about and induct Guns N' Roses? Who is even qualified? Rapper Chuck D will induct the Beastie Boys, while funnyman Ch ... More >>

Your Biggest Fan: When Rockers Get Stalkers

cinemafestival/shutterstock.com​This past week a statement by pop institution Madonna helped put away one of her newest stalkers, Polish citizen Grzegorz Matlok, who broke into Madge's London home and the residence of her ex-hubby Guy Ritchie. Madonna submitted the statement to Southwark Crown ... More >>

Duff McKagan Remembers Guns N' Roses' First Tour

Former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan is now, among other things, a columnist for Rocks Off's sister music blog in Seattle, Reverb. This month Touchstone Books will publish Duff's memoir, It's So Easy: And Other Lies, and he agreed to publish an excerpt on Reverb. In turn, Reverb agreed to share ... More >>

Saturday Night: Stage Frights & Ending the Vicious Cycle At Numbers

Photos by Jef With One F​The Stage Frights, Ending the VIcious Cycle Numbers September 24, 2011 The Stage Frights are only on their fourth show, but between the husband and wife team of Larry Rainwater and Spleen there are decades of experience in goth musical excellence. Previously they've b ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "Collections: Annual HSPVA Juried Show" "Crafting Live(s): 10 Years of Artists-In-Residence" "Hayden Fosdick: Paper Compounds" Marc Swanson: The Second Story "Mitch Dobrowner: New Work" "R.W. Northcutt: Indigenous Genius" "Use Your Il

10 Albums Guaranteed To Blow Your Car Speakers

G N' R: Keeping Best Buy In Business Since 1987​It started innocently enough, leaving a friend's house in the Heights, when during one of our epic air-drum solos to the Foo Fighters' "Bridge Burning," we heard the speakers on the left side of our car, a hearse-like HHR, just pop and die, reduc ... More >>

Rock Of Ages: Big Hair, Big Fog, Big Cliches

Ed Note: Rocks Off and our sister blog Art Attack are conducting a "reviewer exchange program" for the '80s musical Rock of Ages. One of our "rock and roll" people will review the show soon, but the visiting team bats first. Dan LippittThe cast of Rock of Ages​The Setup: '80s Sunset Strip roc ... More >>

Solo Albums: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

​Tomorrow night, former Audioslave lead singer and (thankfully) current Soundgarden member Chris Cornell will be at House of Blues for a long-sold-out acoustic show. Recent set lists have included a number of Temple of the Dog songs, some solo work, the usual 'Garden and 'Slave tracks, plus a ... More >>

Top 20 Despised, Yet Wildly Popular, Bands And Musicians

Scott Stapp, lead singer of Creed (above), stops at House of Blues tonight on his current acoustic tour. More than likely you have already clicked off this blog, or at least already gone on auto-pilot to call him a fuck-ass in the comments section. We'll wait a sec for you to come back. OK, the ... More >>

Four Reasons Black Eyed Peas' Halftime Show Sucked

usatoday.com​The best part about Sunday night's Super Bowl halftime show was that people actually were surprised that it was bad, as if the Black Eyed Peas would pull it off without a hitch and we would all rush to our computers and download their entire catalog in converted reverence. Right w ... More >>

Guns N' Roses, Rolling Stones, Prince Coming In 2011?

Sind Axl und Slash wieder Freunde geworden?​Rocks Off is in the concert business for all intents and purposes. We scour Pollstar and other Web sites and almost hourly looking for new shows and tours to tell you about around the clock. In the span of writing this introduction we just listed Luc ... More >>

Seven Musical Marriages Sullied By Proposition 8's Repeal

​Just in case you're one of the very few people who hasn't yet been seized by government shock troops and forced to marry someone of the same sex, a California Supreme Court judge ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional Wednesday. This would be the proposition which officially defines marriage as ... More >>

Happy Anniversary, Appetite For Destruction

​July 21, 1987 began as a day like any other. The Reagan Administration told The New York Times that any discussion of presidential pardons in the Iran-Contra affair were "inappropriate at this time." Iran announced it would ignore the cease-fire with Iraq unanimously approved by the United Na ... More >>

The Top 10 Reasons We Love Ted Nugent

​Sunday, Rocks Off is going to the Pasadena Fairgrounds to see Ted Nugent and the Charlie Lucas Band headline a charity event to raise money to secure homes for wounded military vets and their families. It's for a great cause and benefits the Bay Area Home Builders Association's "Operation Fin ... More >>

Five Onstage Meltdowns Funnier Than Courtney Love In D.C.

Universal Music Group​As far as Rocks Off knows, everything is hunky-dory for Hole's show at House of Blues this evening. Courtney Love and friends are scheduled to play from 9:45 to 11:15, which Rocks Off is interpreting as they could go on anywhere from 9:45 to 11:15. As Hole's rambling, sl ... More >>

FAIL: Crystal Bowersox, Bee Gees, Dave Matthews, M.I.A.

​ American Idol Runner-Up: Kick Her While She's Fail: In case you haven't heard, Crystal Bowersox was kicked off American Idol when it was revealed that her entire career path had simply been one of Hurley's delusions while still locked up in the psych ward, and that Seacrest Island had never even ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Ten Musicians I Want to Have Sex With Less Than Lady Gaga

​I understand Lady Gaga's declaration of celibacy last month was something of a big deal, if only because most of us have a hard time believing everyone in the music business isn't vigorously fellating each other on those off days when they're not sacrificing puppies to Clear Channel or auto-tunin ... More >>

Hard-Rockin' Backslash Wins Our First High School Rock Off

Photos by Groovehouse / Click here for a slideshow​Houston's Backslash, none of whom were alive when Appetite for Destruction came out, won the first annual Texas High School Rock Off Friday night at House of Blues, taking home $500, a spiffy new trophy and the chance to open for a national ... More >>

Buyer Beware: Bands With Different Lead Singers Are Almost Never Up to the Original Standards

A few Saturdays ago, Rocks Off was in the grocery store a few blocks from our house, slumming around Oak Forest wearing sandals and an old Misfits T-shirt when a group of junior-high punk rockers approached and applauded us for our good taste. We got to talking about the band, and they remarked tha ... More >>

True Blood, Episode 10: Sister Gertrude, Bride of Christ, Soundtracks a Visit to the Vampire Queen

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. Though we're picking up midway through Season 2, from here on out as ... More >>

Stranger Musical Pairings Than Dancing With the Stars' Tom DeLay and Cheryl Burke

​Dancing With the Stars announced the pairings for its upcoming season Monday - like you care - and while some out there are no doubt crunching the odds of Debi Mazar and that Russian guy squaring off with Chuck Liddell and...that Russian chick in the finals, local interest is still focused on fo ... More >>

Aftermath: Scott Weiland at Warehouse Live

Photos by Mark C. Austin There has to be an unspoken rule from now on that solo albums from the lead singers of big rock bands should be studio-only affairs. These are meant to fulfill record-company contracts, and should never be passed off as an extra insight into the artistic machinations of ... More >>

Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demol ... More >>

Top Ten Metal Albums of 2008

In a year worthy of your rage, metal delivered in spades. What with the economy circling the drain and Sarah Palin coming down from the tundra and then refusing to go back, 2008's been the kind of year that really makes you want to smash your head into walls or punch random strangers in the face. Go ... More >>

Chinese Democracy's Liner Notes Upstage Axl Rose's Would-Be Magnum opus

Amuse Your Delusion

Joel Osteen Teams Up With Guns N Roses To Rock Your Face Off

Led Zeppelin Pulls a Van Hagar

A Boy and His Dog

The end of the world as conceived by Harlan Ellison, the “most contentious person on earth”

Highly Anticipated Albums of 2008

Our Favorite Albums of 2007

Panning for gold in an avalanche of 2007 releases

Sebastian Bach

Angel Down

Last Night: HorrorPops at Meridian

Lost Albums

CDs that deserve another listen

Tough Crowd

The Nightfly croons "Come On Eileen" to the roughest women in Montrose

A Thin Line...

Introducing the most hated men in rock (besides Sting)

Citizen Arcane

Broadcast mines Czech vampire films and French library music to create lush electronica

Royal Slash

Slash charms over a new den of snakes

Look Who's Losin' It

Amy Heckerling is clueless with her latest teen flick

Static

Monster Men