Carlos Santana

Rotation: Out Today

Upcoming Concerts

Port Vale -- Norma Zenteno and Raised By Wolves -- Trish Murphy

Reservation Blues

Indigenous's rock springs from the deepest roots in North America

Aftermath: Latin Grammys at Toyota Center, Pt. 1

Carlos Santana backstage at the Latin Grammys/ Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez Is music really the universal language? There was no better place to test that ragged old saw than at Thursday’s Latin Grammys at Toyota Center. As one of the few (if not the only) non-Spanish-speakers in the buildi ... More >>

Aftermath: Latin Grammys at Toyota Center, Pt. 2

Gloria Estefan meets the media/ Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez The woman of the hour Thursday night was unquestionably 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Gloria Estefan, whose “Mi Tierra” was big, brassy, jazzy, horn-heavy and as Cuban as a fine Cohiba cigar. So was “Oye Mi Ca ... More >>

Live Shots

Gloria Estefan meets the media/ Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez The woman of the hour Thursday night was unquestionably 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Gloria Estefan, whose “Mi Tierra” was big, brassy, jazzy, horn-heavy and as Cuban as a fine Cohiba cigar. So was “Oye Mi Ca ... More >>

Jazz Reconsidered

Gloria Estefan meets the media/ Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez The woman of the hour Thursday night was unquestionably 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Gloria Estefan, whose “Mi Tierra” was big, brassy, jazzy, horn-heavy and as Cuban as a fine Cohiba cigar. So was “Oye Mi Ca ... More >>

Everything Festival

Gloria Estefan meets the media/ Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez The woman of the hour Thursday night was unquestionably 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Gloria Estefan, whose “Mi Tierra” was big, brassy, jazzy, horn-heavy and as Cuban as a fine Cohiba cigar. So was “Oye Mi Ca ... More >>

It's Been 50 Years Since the Music Died

Fifty years ago today - February 3, 1959 - the world lost three of its early pioneering rock and rollers in a fiery plane crash over Clear Lake, Iowa. Texan Buddy Holly, Chicano rock godfather Ritchie Valens, and Sabine Pass-born disc jockey/songwriter J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson all lay ... More >>

Broadcast Power

What can a little radio play do? It can make you a star. Just ask Vallejo.

Impure, and Proud of It

What can a little radio play do? It can make you a star. Just ask Vallejo.

Static

What can a little radio play do? It can make you a star. Just ask Vallejo.

Sleight of Head

What can a little radio play do? It can make you a star. Just ask Vallejo.

Rotation

What can a little radio play do? It can make you a star. Just ask Vallejo.

Punk en Español

The heavily Hispanic roots — and present — of Houston's punk scene

Andy Vargas, David de la Garza

The heavily Hispanic roots — and present — of Houston's punk scene

Rodney Crowell, Forever the Houston Kid

Gasoline Dreams

Making Scents of the Stars

A buyer's guide to celebrity fragrances

Buddy Guy

Saturday, December 3, at Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas, 713-225-8551.

Allman Brothers Band

Sunday, September 25, at Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas, 713-225-8551.

Cr�e Cuts

On the phone with the M�tley bunch

Last Night at the Alamo

A Grammy party at a local theater turns into quiz night down at the local pub

Cope With This

Finally, someone figures out how to craft an interesting rock/hip-hop blend

San Francisco Treat

Catching up with League City's Greg Ashley in that other city by the bay

A Thin Line...

Introducing the most hated men in rock (besides Sting)

The Power of Tri

Mexico City's El Tri gives its all to the fans -- literally

Seven Come Eleven

After crapping out with Arista, Patrice Pike hits the creative jackpot with the Blackbox Rebellion

Memo Re: Borders

Memo Villarreal isn't afraid of the corporate bookstore or the Rio Grande

Money Mark

Change Is Coming (Emperor Norton Records)

Death Rap

Heart attack survivor Everlast stares down the Grim Reaper on his latest

Pepper Shakers

Los Hombres Calientes take jazz into booty-shaking territory

Native Talent

Indigenous Americans blow blues-rock smoke

Rotation

Indigenous Americans blow blues-rock smoke

Westheimer Block Party Listology: Bright Men of Learning Remember Their Parents' Favorite Music

All this week, Rocks Off is previewing Saturday and Sunday's Westheimer Block Party by asking WBP performers to fill out a list from Lisa Nola's Music Listography book we're so fond of. It's not too late for your band to be up here, either; just email chris.gray@houstonpress.com by noon Thursday if ... More >>

The Way He Sees It

To Raphael Saadiq, music is music and Yeasayer is all right with him.

FAIL: Carlos Santana, Anniversary Songs, Skynyrd Covers

​That's Enough, Carlos Santana: Carlos Santana has to be one of the most overrated rock artists of all time. Never once has his noodly, choogly brand of boring stoner-rock managed to ignite even the tiniest spark of interest for Fails. Yeah, the guy's got some serious guitar chops. But as any ... More >>

Soul City: The Amazing Jazz Crusaders

Black History Month is always a great time to recall some of Houston's greatest musical innovators and leaders. Rocks Off will highlight some of them during the remainder of February. "Hey, let's get back to that down-and-dirty old-school chicken-shack sound" mosaicrecords.com​While Houston ... More >>

Everlasting House

House of Pain reignites Celtic pride that once had nation jumping around.

Shot In The Dark: The Ones Who Got Away (So Far)

UPDATE (3:23 p.m.): Promotional video by Monica Fuentes added after the jump. Jay LeeLittle Joe Washington at the Continental Club's 10th anniversary, July 2010​Slowly but surely, Rocks Off has been getting ready for our "Shot In the Dark" photo exhibition at Warehouse Live's Studio next Thur ... More >>

Smokey Robinson

UPDATE (3:23 p.m.): Promotional video by Monica Fuentes added after the jump. Jay LeeLittle Joe Washington at the Continental Club's 10th anniversary, July 2010​Slowly but surely, Rocks Off has been getting ready for our "Shot In the Dark" photo exhibition at Warehouse Live's Studio next Thur ... More >>

Buddy Guy

UPDATE (3:23 p.m.): Promotional video by Monica Fuentes added after the jump. Jay LeeLittle Joe Washington at the Continental Club's 10th anniversary, July 2010​Slowly but surely, Rocks Off has been getting ready for our "Shot In the Dark" photo exhibition at Warehouse Live's Studio next Thur ... More >>

Saturday Night: Maná At Toyota Center

Photos by Marco Torres​Maná Toyota Center July 2, 2011 It takes a special combination of hype and talent to sell out a concert, let alone two in a row. In recent memory, only two other artists have been booked to perform on consecutive nights at Toyota Center: Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Me ... More >>

Saturday Night: Santana & Spearhead At The Woodlands

Photos by Marco Torres​Santana, Michael Franti & Spearhead Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion September 10, 2011 Timeless. Classic. Legend. OG - all classifications that tend to be distributed loosely in the music industry these days. Yet for Carlos Santana, the skinny Mexican kid who played at ... More >>

Top 20 Throwback TV Theme Songs Part 1

​We grew up on television. Whether it was Saturday morning cartoons, afternoon re-runs, Sunday Disney and Wild Kingdom or Thursday night "must see" TV, we saw it. We noticed that on November 2, 1985, the Miami Vice soundtrack went to number one on the Billboard charts where it would stay for ... More >>

14 Notable Female Rock Drummers

girlscantwhat.com​Last week, we rounded up a list of our favorite female rock bassists. We'd like to continue the trend of honoring rock's finest females, by next recognizing 14 notable female rock drummers. As usual, we will focus on the live-performing, touring drummers over time, rather tha ... More >>

Y'all Musta Forgot: Le$'s Luminescent Settle 4 Le$ Vol. 2

​"I gotta stay paid 'cause I like fly shit." -- Le$, "Gangsta" There was this time where, on Twitter, Le$ remarked that someone -- a street tough, presumably- had told him that his shoes were ugly. He Instagramed the right one. It was an Ice Cream sneaker, an explosion of colors and ideas fr ... More >>

Singing "Souleros" - A Conversation with Santana Band Frontman Andy Vargas

Photos by Marco Torres​Andy Vargas wears many hats. He is one of two lead singers for the The Carlos Santana Band. He is the son who followed in his father's footsteps by choosing music as a career. He is a dedicated dad to his 16-year-old son. He is part of an effort to replace music equipmen ... More >>

Five on Five: Fender vs. Gibson, Who Had the Better Players?

​For guitar players, it's an age old question: are you a Fender guy or a Gibson guy? Over the years since both companies became popular in rock music, many other guitar manufacturers have made inroads, but none have been able to surpass the power and tradition of these two giants in the guitar ... More >>

Last Night: Los Lobos At Dosey Doe

Photos by Marco Torres​It all seemed very dream-like: a band from East Los Angeles, playing rock and roll classics and Mexican corridos, inside of a 150-year-old barn in The Woodlands, all while I ate my dinner. Yet I wasn't dreaming, I was just at the Dosey Doe (25911 I-45 North). The intimat ... More >>