Guitar Hero

Christmas Past: 15 Odd Christmas Gift Ideas for Musicians

While we celebrate the holidays, Rocks Off is resurrecting a few of our best Christmas-themed blogs from the past few years. (Wait... resurrecting is Easter. Never mind.) This blog originally appeared November 21, 2011. As the timeless tale of the Little Drummer Boy reminds us, there is no greater ... More >>

Swedish Band Amplifetes Releases "Where Is the Light" as a Video Game

Swedish psychedelic pop band the Amplifetes has taken an innovative approach to releasing a single -- by making it available as a video game, and entering players in a contest to win a trip to the Arctic Circle. A while back we talked about Bjork releasing singles as apps, which is a similar concep ... More >>

15 Odd Christmas Gift Ideas for Musicians

​As the timeless tale of the Little Drummer Boy reminds us, there is no greater gift than the gift of music. But what about those on your Christmas list who already have plenty of music in their lives? Buying gifts for musicians is no easy task -- most of them already own the entire Rush disco ... More >>

The Score: Killa Kyleon 1, Fakes 0

Ah, Killa Kyleon. He is so Guitar Hero. At the moment, Houston is flush with guys that are underappreciated. And for the admiration his fan base chucks at him (watch his TL after he posts a new song, it's as busy as anybody's), he still has to be considered chief among them. Remember his "Make it ... More >>

Metro Etiquette

Five rules that should be added to light rail.

RIP Guitar Hero: 10 Songs The Game Gave New Life

​Thursday, Activision killed the musical video game Guitar Hero after six years of turning young ears into heshers, glammers, and classic-rock devotees. The debt that older bands like the Ramones, Poison, Black Sabbath and Rush owe to the game is immense. True, the kids (and drunk adults), wer ... More >>

Staffing The Ultimate Evil Record Label

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." - Attributed to Hunter S. Thompson ​The evil record label is a staple of the public's perception of the music ind ... More >>

Naked Rock Band = Parenting WIN (Semi-SFW)

​You know, as a person who spent ten years performing in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Rocks Off never thought he'd live to say this, but, "Put bloody some clothes on!" It's daytime, and your kids are watching. They're dressed! Do you know how hard it is to keep clothes on a 6-year-old? Maybe n ... More >>

Marisa Miller's Boobies Are Not Rated T For Teens

Back in 2008, supermodel Marisa Miller filmed this commercial for an edition of Guitar Hero, but it was deemed too sexy for television. Maybe it was the gratuitous cleavage and ass-shaking by a half-naked Victoria's Secret model that pushed the censors over the line or their sworn allegiance to t ... More >>

Top 10 Places to Eat in the Oak Forest (and Inwood Forest) Area

kshilcuttPetrol Station.​While the Heights boasts some well-known Houston favorites, those of us here outside the North Loop like to eat too. Here are some of the spots we think deserve a little recognition. 10. Petrol Station (985 Wakefield Drive) Good beer, great burgers (try the lamb), fri ... More >>

Rice Getting Plaudits For Teaching Video Game Design

Photo by Hallie JordanRice senior Giacomo Ferrari with his game Box Wars​Computer gaming--usually a top procrastination activity -- has landed Rice University a spot in the Princeton Review and GamePro magazine's top 50 schools for computer game design.Computer science professor Joe Warren star ... More >>

Texas High School Rock Off

Artist of the Week: Indie-Rock Video-Game Savants Days Drive - Russians Love 'Em!

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. ​ If we may be candid fo ... More >>

DJ Hero: A Review

​The geniuses that first let you rock 'n' roll with guitar legends in Guitar Hero decided to bring out a new instrument for gamers to party on. This time, Activision brought out the turntables for their newest title, DJ Hero. Available for the Playstations 2 & 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, DJ ... More >>

Master P

Fabio​Plinio Sandalio is the pastry chef at Textile Restaurant on 22nd in the Heights. He invited me into his kitchen for a short interview about all things Plinio. Eating Our Words: What would you say your signature dessert is that screams "Plinio Sandalio made this"? Plinio Sandalio: ... More >>

Random Notes from ACL: The Grass Is Always Greener...

Chris GrayIt's a little more crowded than this at Zilker now, but it was fun while it lasted.​ The grass is especially sweet at this year's ACL festival. The new turf at Zilker Park is nice too.Now we are in the media tent, surrounded by friends and family: Rocks Off's Austin Chronicle mentor (and ... More >>

Crüefest

Turning the Screw: Surreall, Asher & Cudi, Eminem vs. Mariah, Slum Village, Young Jeezy, Ghostface, Nas, DJ Hero, Guerilla Maab, etc.

Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "#1 Dame in the Game," Surreall Wire To Wire Kid Cudi continues his rapid ascension to stardom, scores ... More >>

HPMA Aftermath: MELOVINE, the Snake Charmers, LL Cooper, Peekaboo Theory and Buxton

Mark C. AustinThe Snake Charmers take a breather after bluesing up Martell's.​ It was hot as hell when the Houston Press music staff met up at the Flying Saucer ordering different shades of exotic beers and several different kinds of cheese. Bands were divided up between writers, and pretty much e ... More >>

The Return of Mystical Houston Rocker Tyagaraja

In 2006, Million Year Dance won the award for Best New Band in our annual Houston Press Music Awards, and followed the next year by winning Album Of The Year for Liberation. It seemed that the band and their enigmatic leader Tyagaraja (a.k.a. Jonathan Welch) would be Houston's next hope for nationa ... More >>

Aftermath: ZZ Top and Aerosmith at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Photos by Mark C. Austin Make all the Guitar Hero jokes you want. Whatever it is that's kept ZZ Top and Aerosmith in the public eye for almost four decades - video games or beards-n-babes videos, Back to the Future cameos or Michael Bay ballads, bee-stung lips or cheap sunglasses - they've never for ... More >>

Pasadena Strawberry Festival

Roses are red…hey, wait a minute — you’re not a rose!

Crash Into Me: Predicting the Economy's Impact on the Music Biz

GWAR more important than you might expect.

ZZ Top, Aerosmith Hit Woodlands July 17

Mark C. AustinMonday morning, word came down from Aerosmith and ZZ Top's respective camps, via Billboard, that the two boogie-rocking bands are teaming up for a massive world tour. After some digging, Rocks Off found out the tour makes its Houston-area stop Friday, July 17, at the Cynthia Wood ... More >>

THE USUAL'S THE USUAL

Paleontology Field Trip

Web exclusive!

Moments the Grammy Awards Would Rather Forget

Soy Bombed

Happy Epiphany, Everybody

"We Three Kings," a la Guitar Hero Time to take down that tree, y'all: Today is Epiphany, or Twelfth Night, the official end of the Christmas season. (It actually ended at midnight, so exhale... you made it.) Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the three wise men - or, in later translations of the ... More >>

The Year in Albums

Artist of the Week: Lamb to the Slaughter

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. We headed out to the Pit ... More >>

Local Rotation: Gold Sounds' Gold Sounds EP

The Gold Sounds' self-titled, debut EP is not an exercise in showoffery. There's no mind-bending guitar solos, no time signatures questioning standard musical notation and no quirky elements that smack of an effort to deny obvious influences. It's just four solid hard-rock tunes. True, it's easi ... More >>

Five ( 3) Spot: Christmas With Weezer!

Welcome back to Five Spot. Every week, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it's either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Because God loves us: Weezer, one of our all-time favorite bands, has recorded six Christmas covers, the greatest ... More >>

Welcome Back to Work...

So, the boss made you come in the day after Thanksgiving, huh? Yeah, and we're guessing there isn't a whole lot to do seeing as how everyone else's boss gave them the day off. (Luckily for us, the news never rests! ... or something.) Well, nod off not, Internet friends. Hair Balls is here with lin ... More >>

Metallica's Death Magnetic

Fade to Plastic via Guitar Hero III

My Guitar Hero Gently Weeps

They're not yelling "Bruce" this time. They're booing

Who Stole the Roll?

What Makes “Free Bird” So Damn Good?

Hero We Go Again with Guitar Hero: World Tour

Fake-instrument overload offers plenty to fret about

Graveyard BBQ

Winners of the 2005 “Be a Guitar Hero” contest, this four-piece dirtcore band features twang, sleaze and scantily clad dancers

Paging Freaks: Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008

Guinness writes the book on gaming, but doesn't shatter any records

What's the Problem Houston?

The city's skuzzy alt-rock scene thinks it is dying

Web Extra: Seven Magnificent Moments in Guitar Hero / Rock Band

Gamers Become Stars with Rock Band or Guitar Hero

Meet the newest kind of bar band

Rock Band

It's never been easier to start your own (fake) band

The Blank Tapes

Great Southern rock straight outta San Francisco…no, seriously

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

You wanted the best — you got the best: Guitar Hero III

Encore Performance

Don't fret. Guitar Hero II kills the opening act

Puddle of Fun

LocoRoco is the perfect one-night stand.

For Those About to Rock

Guitar Hero cranks rhythm-gaming up to 11