Buckcherry

Turning 10, American Idol Struggles to Make New Stars -- But Mostly Misses

It's hard to imagine it now, just a shade less than a decade later, but at one time American Idol was able to crank out star after star in a succession of seasons. Most people couldn't name at least one of the last five winners of Fox's cash-cow pop show, even as ratings have remained healthy (if no ... More >>

The 8 Most Bro-Tastic Bands of All Time

"Hipster." The word is older than you think: it pops up in an old Seinfeld episode where Jerry refers to Kramer as a "hipster doofus." It even predates that by many years. A few years ago, it was convenient shorthand to refer to someone who overcompensates, who tries too hard to be unique and inter ... More >>

Girls, Girls, Girls At 25: Anatomy Of A Strip-Club Classic

Mötley Crüe, those depraved kings of '80s sleaze, took a major step toward strip-club immortality 25 years ago this week when the band released its fourth album, Girls, Girls, Girls.. Glossy, debauched heavy metal ruled the charts in the summer of 1987 -- Whitesnake, Ozzy, Bon Jovi and Poison all ... More >>

Avengers Assemble Soundtrack Butt-Rocks into the Future

Time was in the '90s that every big summer action movie came prepackaged with a great hard-rock soundtrack. As the industry went through growing pains it died off a bit, reducing a soundtrack to maybe one or two free downloads from a middling band close to the project. The heady days of hard-rock d ... More >>

Last Night: Buckcherry & James Durbin At Warehouse Live

Buckcherry, James Durbin Warehouse Live April 25, 2012 I confessed I walked into Warehouse Live last night solely for the purpose of hearing Buckcherry play "Lit Up" and "Crazy Bitch", two of the biggest songs of a career that has now reached a decade and a half. There was a time in 2006 when you c ... More >>

#1 Crushes: Our Favorite '90s Rock Vixens

Tonight House of Blues welcomes Garbage back to Houston after a seven-year hiatus. The group, lead by fearsome Scottish redhead Shirley Manson, has been sorely missed from the music scene. They are currently touring behind their upcoming album Not Your Kind of People, which hits stores May 14. Rock ... More >>

Upcoming: Jandek, Kaskade, Drake, Father John Misty, Soulfly, Etc.

Augustana, Greylag: Wed., April 11. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. Benjamin Wesley (Record Release), The Niceguys, Khruangbin: Fri., April 6. Fitzgerald's Béla Fleck: Sat., Sept. 22. Dosey Doe Coffee Company, 25911 I-45 N., Spring. The Boxer Rebellion, Canon Blue: Thu., April 12. Fitzger ... More >>

Last Night: Kid Rock At Reliant Stadium

Kid Rock RodeoHouston, Reliant Stadium February 29, 2012 Kid Rock is now ensconced as this generation's rap-soul-blues-rock-pimp for the next 40 years: Equal parts Rock N Roll Jesus, Bob Seger, Bocephus, and maybe all in that order. Whether he's attacking a pair of turntables with a glass of Jim Be ... More >>

Van Halen's A Different Kind Of Truth: A Track-By-Track Breakdown

First off, Van Halen's first album in 14 years, A Different Kind Of Truth is - in the words of my friend Lisa - "better than it should be." And I agree. The guys could have slacked off on this and coasted on their legend - however possibly tarnished in the eyes of fans - but Truth is no cash-in li ... More >>

The Astros May Be Changing Their Name? My 5 Suggestions

Yesterday afternoon, Astros owner Jim Crane built up more good will with the Houston community in about eight minutes than the team on the field has in the last six years when he announced that the 2012 season will feature cheaper beer ($5 beers!), cheaper tickets and permission to bring your own f ... More >>

Friday Night: Guns N' Roses At Toyota Center

Photos by Marco Torres​Let's get it all out in the open. Axl Rose, we've been told, is a head case who ran off Slash and Izzy and the rest of his former bandmates with his increasingly erratic and dictatorial behavior. The delays behind "Guns N' Roses" latest album, Chinese Democracy, became ... More >>

Rocks Off Is Giving Away Five Pairs Of Guns N' Roses Tickets On Facebook

​At 4:30 p.m. on Rocks Off's Facebook page, we will be throwing out five pairs of tickets to the much-anticipated Guns N' Roses show tomorrow night at the Toyota Center. That means you must "like" the page to have a chance to win. In order to win, be one of the first five people to correctly a ... More >>

10 Things You May Not Know About G N' R's Use Your Illusion Albums

For the past few weeks, the music world has been firmly entrenched in Nirvana nostalgia. Hell, even Rocks Off took a crack at it, looking up all the expensive memorabilia on eBay related to the band. But in September 1991, another album hit the store shelves that had a lot of impact too, for better ... More >>

Say My Name: Bands Named After Actual, Real People

Punk Rock Elite​This Friday would have been Z.Z. Hill's 76th birthday, but the popular Texas bluesman passed away in 1984 from a heart attack. Most people only know who the late soul crooner is through his connection to ZZ Top. The moniker of that little ol' band from where we are sitting righ ... More >>

Upcoming: Chromeo, Dawes, Kaiser Chiefs, M83, Etc.

​"The 94.5 The Buzz/Bud Light Weenie Roast" With Papa Roach, Buckcherry, Puddle Of Mudd, Crossfade, P.O.D: Sun., Aug. 28. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The Aggrolites: Sat., Sept. 24. Warehouse Live. Better Than Ezra: Thu., Dec. 29. House of Blues. Big D & The Kids Table: Sun., Oct. 16. ... More >>

Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx: The Rocks Off Interview

"I'm dying for rock and roll to become exciting again" ​Tonight, the grand rock and roll triumvirate of Motley Crue, Poison, and the New York Dolls pulls into the Toyota Center. Each band comes armed with decades of experience, great songs, and a boatload of modern influence, including the Do ... More >>

Never Mind Arcade Fire: Bands Who Fit Other Houston 'Burbs

Gabriel Jones/Merge Records​Tonight's the night. Win and Will Butler of conquering indie heroes Arcade Fire finally return to the town that indirectly won them a Grammy, The Woodlands. On last year's The Suburbs, the Butlers and their Canadian compatriots reflected on the brothers' restless M ... More >>

Notable Bar & Venue Closures Of 2010

Craig HlavatyAgora: Not reopening for a while.​Houston had quite a few bars close down in 2010. They were your favorite places to drink, mingle, talk to a conquest, bum a cigarette, and spend money you didn't have, and they all mostly left with whimper, or in one bar's case, about a dozen fire ... More >>

Top 12 Sexiest Christmas Album Covers

​Above is the cover of the new Christmas single by once-popular barroom grunge act Buckcherry. We have to say, we like it a lot better than we like their music. It continues a tradition of sexy yuletide album covers, which Rocks Off is proud to document for your ogling pleasure. We'll try to ... More >>

Locked Bar: Rocbar Goes On Hiatus

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Rocbar Houston, our city's fauxiest faux rock and roll bar, located above Verizon Wireless Theater and the Hard Rock Cafe in the Bayou Place complex, has shuttered its doors after four years in the game. The club, claiming it is temporarily shutting down for retooling, ... More >>

Upcoming: Chris Isaak, Dr. Dog, Misfits, Of Montreal, Slayer, Etc.

​Black Congress, Omotai, Side Arms, The Formations: Sat., Sept. 4. Walter's on Washington. The Bloody Beetroots: Sat., Oct. 23. House of Blues. Chris Isaak: Sun., Oct. 17. House of Blues. Corinne Bailey Rae: Sun., Aug. 15. House of Blues. Cory Morrow: Wed., July 28. Pub Fiction. Deniz Te ... More >>

Nickelback Coming Back Again; All We Can Do Is Shrug

Craig Hlavaty​Rocks Off would like to think we've pretty much inoculated himself to "bad music" to the point where nothing fazes us anymore. We can roll into an Insane Clown Posse show, no problem. Kenny G? We'll shake dude's hand and talk shop with him. But Nickelback is a different story. ... More >>

Top 10 "Girls Gone Wild" Music Videos

​Saturday night, Girls Gone Wild will be at Scout Bar in Clear Lake looking for the hottest talent the Bay Area has to offer, or something comparable. A camera crew will be out there filming an edition of the video series, looking for "The Hottest Girl In America" at the venerable NASA-area ro ... More >>

KISS Brings "Hottest Show On Earth" (Duh) To Woodlands

Jay Lee​ KISS returns to Houston for the second time in less than a year September 17. This time the monstrously monolithic classic-rockers will be gracing the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion for a tour they are calling the "Hottest Show on Earth." A local on-sale date will no doubt be announced s ... More >>

The 11 Stupidest Events from the World of Music, 2009 Edition

Hi there, 2009. Please have a seat. Are you comfortable? Would you like some coffee, or perhaps a cigarette? No? Okay, good. Let's just cut straight to the point, then. You suck, and frankly we're sick of your bullshit. You were an awful year, filled not just with economic collapse, scary right-wi ... More >>

Aftermath: KISS, Hotter Than Hell and Strutting Like Dinosaurs In Houston Rock City

Photos by Jay Lee​ KISS is a depleting natural and cultural resource. One day there will be no KISS left, and all the world will have is four garish black and silver suits sitting in some futuristic Smithsonian display. We have had KISS on this Earth for almost 40 years, and many people have never ... More >>

The Great Unmasking and Other Embarrassing Moments in KISS History

​ The Knights In Satan's Service are back, and they'll be rocking the Toyota Center Saturday night as ably as a couple of 50-somethings lumbering around on platform boots can reasonably be expected to. There will be blood, as Paul Thomas Anderson might say, and flames, and a couple of guys in "Spa ... More >>

A Few of Music's Biggest Tattoo Enthusiasts - Besides Rocks Off, Of Course

Don't act so surprised... As we can fatefully attest, rock and roll and tattoos go hand in hand. The first time Rocks Off saw a grizzled punk rocker walk by at Fitzgerald's back in the '90s with two sleeves full of tattoos and a chest full of nautical-themed art, we mentally pointed at him and said ... More >>

Distant Early Warning: Cobra Starship, Har Mar Superstar, KISS, Nitzer Ebb, The Used, etc.

​"3rd Annual Texas City Music Fest" With Jerry Jeff Walker, John Conlee, Texas Johnny Brown: Sat., Oct. 24. Nessler Park, Texas City. Bob Schneider: Fri., Sept. 25. Warehouse Live. The Bravery: Sat., Oct. 24. Warehouse Live. Cobra Starship, Boys Like Girls, A Rocket To The Moon, The Maine: Sun., ... 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 >>

Buckcherry's Sweet Success

Drinking and drugging with crazy bitches sounds like more fun than the law will allow, but playing in a red-hot rock band is not always an all-you-can eat orgy. "I think people realize there's a lot more to this band than just fucking and partying," says Buckcherry guitarist Keith Nelson. That r ... More >>

Think Buckcherry Has Mellowed? Crazy Bitch...

All Lit Up Again

Aftermath: Metallica at Toyota Center

Photos by Craig Hlavaty / Click here for more Fandom is a funny thing. It can make the stodgiest businessman a KISS makeup wearing teenager from 1975. It can turn your Mom into a wannabe groupie when she gets a little too close to Steven Tyler. You yourself may wake up one tragic morn and grasp th ... More >>

Rock The Bayou Is a Bust

Aftermath: Cruefest at Toyota Center

Monday Night: Ace Frehley at Meridian

Hinder, Papa Roach, Buckcherry

Another Bump

Ten of the best coke anthems, plus a shortlist for the Cocaine Hall of Fame

White Demons

Say Go

Wet Dreamer

Andrew W.K. is oozing with gratitude. Watch out -- you might get it on your clothes.

Hookers and Blow

Buckcherry says screw that PC crap, and take us as we are

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