Jandek

Free Press Summer Fest: The Best Things We Overheard In the Crowd This Weekend

"I like the red douchebag tanks." "I know this song!" -- at the beginning of Paul Wall's "Smile For Me Daddy" "Fuck your fuckin' water!" -- a testy exchange in the Fancy Pants tent

Free Press Summer Fest: Saturday's Best Acts, 6/1/2013

Alabama Shakes I went into this expecting to enjoy the set by Alabama Shakes, but I didn't realize how it was going to set the tone for the rest of my day. I arrived under the overbearing sun, and struggled to catch glimpses of Japandroids. Festival frustrations threatened to make a bad scene. But ... More >>

UPDATED Free Press Summer Fest: This Year's Toughest Schedule Conflicts

This weekend's Free Press Summer Fest at Eleanor Tinsley Park is officially (way) sold out, so our readers who don't have passes at this point are sadly now forced to test their skills at the "secondary market." For those of you who are already in, this week Rocks Off will be bringing you our staff ... More >>

Notable Recluses: Five Musicians Who Almost Never Tour

Some musicians are just road rats. They can't get enough of life on tour. For others, it wears down on them to a breaking point. Many have been very vocal about how much they despise touring, especially as they've gotten older. Some, like Trent Reznor, have expressed fears of being a KISS-esque nos ... More >>

10 Signs Your Band Won't Make It at SXSW

Being a successful musician really has to be a slice of heaven. And of course the chicks are great. It's why from the beginning of time men (and women) have taken up instruments in the chance that they will be played in front of many, many others, some of whom could possibly want to have sex with ... More >>

The Rocks Off 100: Spike the Percussionist

Who? The man they call Spike is the rhythmic heart of Houston goth, with a resume of acts he's drummed with that is longer than an average person's arm. He's best known for his current work in Morgue City, but has also banged skins for the likes of Delicate Terror, Astrogenic Hallucinauting, Selk, C ... More >>

The Wiggins: The Myth of Man Is the Truth of Awesome Part 1

One thing that Houston has had for decades is an incredible avant-garde noise scene. Bands like Fiskadoro, Female Demand, and Black Leather Jesus all bring definition to the indefinable genre here in town, but the king of them all is Jon Read, better known as the Wiggins. He followed the evolution o ... More >>

Last Night: Jandek at Mango's

Jandek Mango's July 12, 2012 "So what do you know about tonight's set?" I ask Dunnock, stalwart soundman at Mango's, trying to play Jimmy Ace Reporter just minutes before Jandek walks onstage, close to half past 8 p.m. on Thursday night. Without a beat... "Um, it's Jandek Punk Rock Experience," he ... More >>

Jandek

Defying Ambiguity: Jandek & 5 Other Curious Cult Musicians

As a musician, there are many reasons behind choosing to remain an ambiguous character in the public eye as opposed to taking in all of the public attention one can. Choosing to remain ambiguous or elusive is sometimes a decidedly defiant statement, sometimes even a backwards-marketing tool, or is s ... More >>

The 2012 Houston Press Music Award Nominees

Already? Indeed. It's only been seven months and change since the 2011 Houston Press Music Awards, but that was enough time for more than 7,000 local music fans to nominate their favorites in some 40 categories, a figure well north of 200 talented Houston artists. So let's get to it. Here are your ... More >>

30 Seconds with Benjamin Wesley

Benjamin Wesley is one of Houston's greatest talents, and his new album Think/Thoughts completely redefined what I thought musicians were capable of in the realm of songwriting. I fired off an e-mail to my new audio-crush to see what I could learn and discern about his bearded majesty in 30 seconds. ... More >>

7 Cool & Cheap Things To Do This Weekend: Neuwave!, Iguanas, Jack Saunders, Etc.

One final reminder that Belgian electronic body music groundbreakers Front 242's show originally scheduled for tonight at Numbers has been cancelled (for some time, it looks like), but we're guessing Classic Numbers might toss in "Headhunter" or "Never Stop" anyway. If not, you'll hear EBM and every ... More >>

Forget Kraftwerk, 5 Acts We'd Like To See In Houston Museums

Next week, German electronic-music pioneers Kraftwerk will perform eight of their albums in their entirety, from 1974's Autobahn through 2003's Tour de France, at New York City's Museum of Modern Art. The album that spawned the closest thing duo had to a "pop hit," the title track of 1977's Trans-Eu ... More >>

Last Night: Jandek At Big Star Bar

Jandek Big Star Bar April 1, 2012 The first time I saw Jandek live, I learned to leave whatever I had been expecting in another room. That was Rudyard's in April 2009, and I had been expecting (correctly or not) some kind of solo Bill Callahan-like avant-folk implosion, and got a trio playing a sol ... More >>

Deep Thoughts

Benjamin Wesley follows a gig with the renowned Jandek with his own CD release.

The Sound of Flight: 6 Local Musicians That Could Announce Flights at Houston Airports

On Tuesday, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport announced that they will be launching a new program to promote awareness of music native to their region, wherein famous musicians from the area will announce safety procedures and give informational speeches on the airport. In return, the airport wil ... More >>

Jandek Performing "Strobe Light"-Heavy Concert at Big Star Bar

Brad Moore, owner of Big Star Bar and Grand Prize, was driving through Roswell, New Mexico when his cell phone blew up. "It was Jandek, I shit you not," says Moore about the experimental musician who's traditionally an enigma around here, but has been in the public eye more of late. Moore explai ... More >>

Saturday Night: Jandek at the Menil Collection

Photo by Marc C. AustinJandek at Rudz in April 2009.​When Jandek took the stage in the Menil Collection foyer, what would he play? What would he do? What would he look like? Those were the questions buzzing through the crowd of art patrons, students, record collectors and weirdoes who assem ... More >>

Jandek Set To Kick Out The Funk Jams (Maybe) At The Menil On December 17

Photo By Mark C. AustinJandek at Rudz in April 2009​The Houston-based, heavily-adored, and altogether elusive Jandek will be performing at the Menil on December 17. Jandek's last show in here town, at Rudyard's on April 5, 2009, was by all accounts and visual documents, a straight-up funk thro ... More >>

The 31 Best Music Documentaries Of All Time

​Hands down, above all of these following music documentaries, Craig's Hlist's two favorite of all-time are The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2: The Metal Years, and The Beatles Anthology. We can watch both on repeat for days and not complain. That will probably all change once we see ... More >>

Houston's Best Gifts To The Music World

Ed. Note: Rocks Off is still in a holiday frame of mind... actually we meant to post this before Christmas, but they're just as true now. No refunds, no exchanges. ​Here is Craig's Hlist point of view: Houston has given so much to the world, from ZZ Top, Jandek, Beyonce Knowles, and everythin ... More >>

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: Puppet Wing

Photos via WikipediaTMBG​Ladies and gentlemen, Rocks Off is pleased as rum punch to announce that The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has (not) added an official puppet wing to that fine institution. What's even better, they have (not) given us the opportunity to nominate some of the finest felt fe ... More >>

Mission Accomplished: Your Buzzword Is My Band Name, Part 2

​We're getting closer to a midterm election that, more and more, is coming to resemble two dachshunds we had as a kid who would lose their little doggy minds over a chew toy and attack each other in a weiner-dog whirlwind of until separated by a garden hose. The attack ads are a-flying, and e ... More >>

Happy 32nd Anniversary, Rudyard's

Mark C. AustinJandek (right) at Rudyard's, April 2009​Sunday, Rudyard's celebrates its 32nd anniversary with an afternoon barbecue buffet and night of free music with sharp-witted singer-songwriter Teresa Kolo, holy terrors the Hell City Kings and the stuff Rocks Off's dreams are made of, an a ... More >>

9 Places We'd Send The New York Times

Mark C. AustinJandek (right) and trio at Rudyard's... who says we're not hip?​ As we may have mentioned, Rocks Off was none too pleased when we read The New York Times' most recent article on Houston in this past Sunday's travel section and found exactly zero mentions of anything music-related. Th ... More >>

Irlene Mandrell: Work Those "Thighs Of Texas"

​ Irlene Mandrell Texercise (1983) You already know the greats of Texas' recorded history. Roy Orbison. Lightnin' Hopkins. ZZ top. Jandek. But no Texas record collection is complete without this regional remnant of the exercise album craze, Irlene Mandrell's Texercise. Born in Corpus Christi, Irle ... More >>

Magnolia City Mixtape: Be Hollywood F.L.O.S.S.'s Pen Pal, Roky Erickson Okkervil River, New Something Fierce 7" and Dave Wrangler Mashup

​ Ever wish you had a pen pal like Hollywood F.L.O.S.S. when you were a kid? He's been sending out a mixtape called Art-or-Fiscal Intelligence to various bloggers around the U.S. You can listen online or download here, and read some of the props he's been getting. Austinites Okkervil River re ... More >>

Live with Me

The best Houston concerts of 2009: U2, George Strait, Kid Cudi, Jandek, Peaches and even T-Pain.

2010 Musical Resolutions

In which we advise our favorite people in the Houston scene on their goals for the coming year.

Bayou Beat: Cougars for a Cause at House of Blues, Mandy Moore Hearts Jandek, Bun B Orders Up Some PB&J, etc.

​Want to help fight breast cancer and possibly get pawed by some of Houston's hottest older ladies? Boy, is this the right weekend for you. Sugar Ray, pimping its new album Music for Cougars, headlines House of Blues' "Cougars for a Cause" show Saturday night with Austin power-pop heroes Fastball, ... More >>

Jandek, MV + EE

Aftermath: Jandek at Rudyard's

Photos by Mark C. AustinAftermath had literally no idea what to expect at Sunday afternoon's Jandek show at Rudyard's, the first-ever public performance in Houston by one of the world's leading "outsider" musicians (who just happens to live here). From the little he knows of Jandek's prodigio ... More >>

Jandek

Jandek Confirms April 5 Matinee at Rudyard's

Jandek's first album, 1978's Ready for the House.Reclusive Houston singer-songwriter savant Jandek will play a hometown gig - something that happens slightly less often than a full solar eclipse - 4 p.m. Sunday, April 5 at Rudyard's. Tickets are $4, and Rocks Off recommends getting ... More >>

Blog On Blog: The Skyline's Ryan Clark

Name: Ryan "adr" Clark Blog: The Skyline Network URL: www.theskyline.netStarted: Late 2006, early 2007Typical Topics: Local music - concert reviews, album reviews, gossipDay Job: I do marketing and communication for an oil gas company.Hair Balls: How did The Skyline Network enter the blogosphere? ad ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "Damaged Romanticism," "Juan Andres Videla: The Unsaid Word," "Liz Ward: Crazy Weather," "RADAR EYES," "A Time for Change"

Capsule Art Reviews: "Houston Collects: African American Art," "Indifference Personified," "RADAR EYES," "A Time for Change"

Capsule Art Reviews: "Houston Collects: African American Art," "Indifference Personified," "Lo-Fi No-Brow Folk Show," "RADAR EYES"

Indie Bands Skipping Houston

Grand Theft Auto X: The Screwston Chronicles

Overnight Express: Keep Houston Weird

SXSW Ephemera, Part Deux: More Random Notes from the Field

An open letter to Alanis Morissette

Blame Canada

This Just In: Houston Bringing It to SXSW

Grimm and Bare It

A reclusive (and bitchy) local musician debuts on stage at the Texas Psych Fest

Debt Releaf

Cigarette companies get crafty

Sound Check

Ray Stevens Lives!!!

Todd Snider's novelty tunes will tickle your jaded fancy