Creedence Clearwater Revival

The Best Shows at SXSW This Year

This year Rocks Off and DC-9 at Night, the music blog at our sister paper Dallas Observer, teamed up to bring you only the choicest moments from last week's SXSW madness. John Fogerty: Creedence Clearwater Revival survivor John Fogerty gets overlooked as a riff-happy rocker, with most people concen ... More >>

The Rocks Off 100: Beau Beasley, Organist For the End of Time

Who? For this edition of the Rocks Off 100, we reached out to Beau Beasley, of Houston grind legends Insect Warfare, The Homopolice, NO TALK, Born Liars, Reason Of Insanity, Knuckle Scraper, Machine Gun Romantics, Race Against Time, KG Beasley And the Leather Violence, and a host of other bands that ... More >>

Clockwork Angels

Veteran rockers Rush brought their steampunk-themed concept album to Toyota Center December 2.

RIP Dave Brubeck: "Take Five" Jazz Great Dies at 91

Dave Brubeck, the professorial jazz pianist and composer whose No. 2 album Time Out was a standard of the Mad Men era, has died at age 91, the Associated Press reported Wednesday morning. Brubeck's manager, Russell Gloyd, told the AP that Brubeck died of heart failure on his way to a cardiologist ap ... More >>

Happy Memorial Day: 10 Songs To Honor Our Veterans

Memorial Day, the last Monday of May is a federal holiday originated to commemorate our country's fallen soldiers. Yes, some view it as a work holiday and a good time to barbecue, but our veterans would have to disagree. To honor our vets, we put together a playlist this day in remembrance of those ... More >>

Presidents' Sons at War: 13 Service Records, from the Mediocre to the Ultimate Sacrifice

Being the parent of someone fighting in a war is no picnic, even if you're a president. In the modern era, several future or incumbent presidents had sons in the military in wartime. Some of those sons did much, some very little, one paid the ultimate price. Let's look, building up to that ultimat ... More >>

Summer of Love 45th Anniversary

You Got Served: The Top 10 Legal Battles In Rock History

Ten years ago last week, one of the most vicious legal battles in rock history took another ugly turn. Ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl found themselves in King County Superior Court over a dispute with Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, over the band's considerable royalti ... More >>

Coachella: The Worst Of Weekend 2

It couldn't all be great performances, decent recreational drugs, and pleasant weather at Coachella. Here are our writers' picks for their least favorite things from the festival's second weekend. People Not Here for the Music: If you're paying $300-$800 for a festival ticket, one might think you w ... More >>

The American Bandstand (Extended) Hot 100

Somehow it's hard to believe that Dick Clark was only 82 years old when he died after suffering a "massive heart attack" Wednesday morning in Santa Monica, Calif. (Since I managed to survive one myself, I've noticed that anytime someone dies of a heart attack, it's always "massive."). Despite his yo ... More >>

Children of Bodom

The Roots Of Jimbo Mathus: From Charley Patton To Charlie Parker

Jimbo Mathus's latest work, Confederate Buddha, was easily one of the most overlooked roots albums of 2011. Don't worry, we sort of slept through it too, but that just means you can make up for that with us by checking him out Saturday night at the Continental Club, with opening act Shinyribs. You ... More >>

Jimbo Mathus

Happy Birthday David Knopfler: 7 Lesser Known Rock Music Siblings

In the holiday movie Fred Claus, Vince Vaughn plays Fred, the bitter older brother of Santa Claus. In one scene, he goes to a group counseling session with the brothers of Sylvester Stallone, Bill Clinton, Alec Baldwin and others to vent his frustration. Today is the 60th birthday of David Knopfler. ... More >>

Sting

Keith Morris Sounds OFF! About His Dark Punk Party

Rocks Off: You desire a gig in Mississippi or Alabama. Why? I can barely remember the last time any of my other bands played in either of those states. Now, the excuse I keep getting is that they are very depressed states and maybe they are not doing very well financially, or just a whole list of t ... More >>

Saturday Night: Boz Scaggs & Michael McDonald At Verizon

Boz Scaggs & Michael McDonald Verizon Wireless Theater October 1, 2011 Now, Classic Rock Bob doesn't want to come off as some sort of out-of-touch curmudgeon ("What do you mean you don't sell cassettes anymore? Hey! You kids get off my lawn!"), but one of the reasons to love classic rock is very si ... More >>

Black Pistol Fire: The Austin Blues Duo's Favorite Bands

Black Pistol Fire whipping it on live​This week we talked to Black Pistol Fire, who headline tonight at Warehouse Live in the studio with Animal Farmacy. The Austin duo and proud transplants from Toronto are loud, aggressive and bluesy. Though they get comparisons to the Black Keys, they don't ... More >>

Rock & Roll's Top 10 Brawlin' Brothers

Note: Not real brothers. We just liked the picture.​Brothers share a link that is unique and special. Same DNA, same familial backgrounds, quirks, talents, and sometimes musical taste. They can also argue, get physical, try to overpower one another, and hold grudges over years that are hard to ... More >>

Who Are You? Songs Commonly Attributed To The Wrong Artists

​Last week, after the tragic, alcohol-fueled passing of Jackass hero Ryan Dunn, Rocks Off at Taco Cabana wearing a promotional shirt for The Hangover II that we stole borrowed from the office here at the Press. As we were loading our hands with condiment containers, a guy came up to us and sai ... More >>

Not A Drop Of Rain: 10 Modern-Day Dust Bowl Songs

Barry Sigman​Rocks Off just walked outside and saw something we almost didn't recognize: Rain clouds that look like they might, you know, rain. We'll believe it when we see it. Even if we do get some relief in the next couple of days, it won't be enough. Rocks Off forgets the exact number - w ... More >>

30 Seconds With Zoe Keating

Rocks Off sat down with the amazing one-woman orchestra they call Zoe Keating to find out what we could learn about the avant-garde cellist in 30 seconds. zoekeating.com​Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Zoe Keating: One person's pleasure is another person's poison, so let's j ... More >>

Set Your Sails

Dive-bar gem Three Sheets lies hidden in Westchase.

Rough Justice: Bloodthirsty Bar Greets Bin Laden's Death

ericalessandrini.blogspot.com​Osama bin Laden is dead. Following a late dinner at Van Loc Sunday, Rocks Off was a block or two away from Leon's Lounge when a friend texted us the news around 10 p.m. When we entered the bar, our buddy Lonesome Onry and Mean's daughter in the military had just ... More >>

Houston Texans: Five Possible 2010 Theme Songs

​If you haven't been able to tell by the depleted charcoal supplies and life-size bikini-model cutouts by the Miller Lite at your neighborhood grocery store (provided it's not Whole Foods), it's almost football season. Houstonians greet this time of year with the same unbridled jubilation they ... More >>

11 Songs Sean Hannity Won't Be Listening To Today

​Today Americans celebrate Memorial Day, honoring the military servicemen and women that have passed while serving our country. The holiday is definitely not as flashy or as popular as Independence Day in July, seeing that there are no Memorial Day fireworks or picnics. It's not stuck in November ... More >>

A Weird Pop Heaven Via Bay City's "Happy Radio"

​Along Rocks Off's various Texas travels, we almost never listen to an iPod or compact discs anymore. Anything we could pop in wouldn't match the rhythm of the road; the Stooges or Metallica don't really jive with Highways 59, 71 or 77. In today's world of satellite radios, streaming tunes on your ... More >>

Godsmacked: 27 Years Of Mouthwash Buzz And Birthday Shame

​This coming Monday, Craig's Hlist enters his 27th year of decadence and shame. One year closer to 30, with no signs of getting wiser or smarter. This year we have no clue as to what to do or where to go, other than see live music and drink too much. But that's a typical weekend anyway and will mo ... More >>

Five Great Cajun Songs By Non-Cajuns

​As far as He Said knows, he has zero Cajun blood in his veins. His family is pretty much straight-up Anglo/Scotch-Irish, settling in the Piney Woods of Newton County via Alabama in the early 1800s. However, although the Sabine-straddling area around Newton, Burkeville and Wiergate is about an hou ... More >>

The Explosives

Fast As You: Rocks Off's Playlist for Sunday's Houston Marathon

anythingaboutcars.comThe 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner. Please keep your drooling to a minimum.​ The drinking stops tonight. Rocks Off is joining 30,000 other crazy, hardy souls to run the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Half Marathon this Sunday. (We're running the half - it's only our second race ... More >>

Inquiring Minds: Deer Tick's Front Man Goes for That Chased-by-Alligators Sound

Providence, R.I., band Deer Tick may hail from "Up North" but their sound is purely steeped in grungey folk and rockabilly yelp. They, in fact, hear this description so much that the band has started to rebel against it by in fact upping the dosage on their new More Fuel For The Fire EP, which just ... More >>

The Forgotten Festival

The 1969 Texas International Pop Festival

MTV's Brand Of Birth Control: 16 and Pregnant

Okay, so this show makes me nervous about getting pregnant, and I'm 32.I admit that when I first saw the previews (yes, I'm in my 30s and watch 16 and Pregnant...don't judge), I was worried that the reality series -- which follows girls who are (guess what) 16 and pregnant -- would merely glamorize ... More >>

Eagles

Who Stole the Roll?

Mike Ness, with Jesse Dayton

Hootenanny

Give Us a Hand

Live Free or Die Hard

Even with the Mac kid at his side, John McClane is just...old

South By Southwest

Summer Camp

Demme's Candidate overhaul goes for the knowing giggle

Rock and Roll Never Forgets

Classic rock finds a new generation of fans and keeps on keepin' on into the new millennium

Baring Fangs

Heavily hyped L.A. punks the Distillers jump to the majors with a highly guarded new album

Acura Music Festival

N'Awlins goodness

Opening-Day Orgasm

Night & Day

July 1 - 7, 1999

Night & Day

July 30 - August 5, 1998

Out of the Swamp

Rotation