Jimi Hendrix

Last Night: Ryan Bingham at House of Blues

Ryan Bingham House of Blues March 10, 2013 It's tempting to label Ryan Bingham a "throwback," because nothing he does is especially modern. The former rodeo cowboy's brand of classic rock, country-blues, and flatland boogie feels like it blew in from out of the past, like a dust storm from out beyo ... More >>

Oh, You Mean There Is Actually A Game During NBA All-Star Weekend? (Plus, Can You Name The Rappers In Our Courtside Photo?)

After a weekend of human gridlock at the Galleria, traffic snarls, bottles poppin', and all the parties you could handle, NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston came to a close on Sunday with the Western Conference defeating their Eastern foes 143-138, the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul getting the game' ... More >>

An Animal Roars Again: The Eric Burdon Interview, Part 1

As lead vocalist for the '60s British Invasion band the Animals, Eric Burdon fronted what was perhaps the toughest R&B-influenced group from the era (sorry, Stones fans), and had a second incarnation exploring psychedelic music. In his collaborations with War, Burdon pushed the boundaries of impro ... More >>

Last Night: Sir Paul McCartney at Minute Maid Park

Sir Paul McCartney Minute Maid Park November 14, 2012 Seeing Paul McCartney live is a lot of things. It's communing with a spirit that touched millions and will touch millions for as long as humanity lurches forward. It's hearing the old schmaltzy bedrock anthems and the proto-everything blasts tha ... More >>

The 10 Greatest Summer Concerts I Never Saw

Well, kids, summer has arrived. If you have ever noticed, all the good concerts seem to come during the summer -- with May being more like a pre-show. My parents, when I was younger, took me to many concerts at some of these venues, mainly Contemporary Christian concerts. I myself had only been to ... More >>

Summer of Love 45th Anniversary

Rest Of The Best: Houston's Top 8 Jukeboxes

Along with pickled pig's feet and a steady supply of Slim Jims, a good jukebox is a prime element for any great bar. But, like dinosaurs, jukeboxes are a vanishing breed. Unlike digital jukes, iPods or DJs, jukeboxes require love, care and maintenance, as well as -- among the truly great ones -- som ... More >>

Playing for Keeps: Vinyl Essentials

Here's our must-haves if you're kick-starting a record collection.

Bobby Womack

No More "Wild Thing" For the Troggs

​Lonesome, Onry and Mean was sad to learn via Chuck Prophet's Facebook page this morning that Reg Presley, lead singer of Sixties proto-punkers the Troggs, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. The Troggs are known primarily for their 1966 hit "Wild Thing." LOM was a sophomore in high school ... More >>

Show Me Your GIFs: Great Classic Rock 'N Roll GIFs Galore

It seems to me that musical history is made up of fragments of indelible images, good and bad, that inform each person's experience. Then there are the swatches of tunes that grab you by the heart strings or the throat, making you a fan for life. But it's those moving pictures that you first remembe ... More >>

Flying High Again: Five-ish Guys That Made the Flying V Famous

There are few instruments more distinctive than the Flying V. It's odd that a guitar this funky looking has been commonly used by a wide range of guitar players from country and blues to rock, but it has. Over the years, particularly in the '80s when "the weirder the shape the better" and "splotched ... More >>

Last Night: Atmosphere & Evidence At House Of Blues

Photos by Jody Perry​Atmosphere, Evidence House of Blues September 22, 2011 Aftermath is pretty sure that this indie/hip hop genre is the next big thing. Here's why: Firstly, it's much catchier and original than most of the rap you'll hear on the radio; secondly, it incorporates live musician ... More >>

Last Night: Bootsy Collins At Warehouse Live

Photos by Groovehouse​Bootsy Collins & Funk U-Nity Warehouse Live June 16, 2011 See more fabulous funksmanship in our slideshow. Funk is good for the soul. There's no denying it. After 12 hours at the office Thursday, Aftermath entered Warehouse Live clenched tight as an oyster. A whopping t ... More >>

Billy Bob Thornton Producing ZZ Top Biopic, Sources Say

Craig HlavatyBillys Gibbons (left) and Bob Thornton at Fitzgerald's, December 2009​How how how how will this not be Rocks Off's favorite movie of all time after it comes out? If the rumors coming out of Hollywood and last month's SXSW conference are true, the story of that Lil' Ol' Band from T ... More >>

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

Flying V Hall Of Fame: Saluting One Rockin' Guitar

thestoneband.com​Today is the 53rd birthday of the Gibson Flying V, which since its debut has become synonymous with metal and hard rock of all stripes. The image of that V-shape is as iconic as the power chords it generates. Rocks Off has seen reverse V's and even bass V's in our time, and ha ... More >>

Friday Night: ZZ Top At The Woodlands

Photos by Jim Bricker​ZZ Top Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion September 24, 2010 People talk all the time about the depleting ozone layer, melting polar ice caps, melting polar bears, ravaged rain forests, shortages of crude oil, but that can all go to Hell. When ZZ Top is gone from this Eart ... More >>

Going Platinum: Artists We'd Pay $10,000 To See - And When

​It started one night on the patio of Big Star Bar in the Heights; over Lone Star and cigarettes, a handful of Houston music wags debated the shows they would pay top dollar to see from lartists, iving or dead. We argued the aspects of an At the Drive-In reformation, seeing Sam Cooke in 1963, ... More >>

New On DVD: This Is A Radio Clash, From Pirate Satellite

​Out on DVD today is Pirate Radio, staring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy. So, walk right by Woody Harrelson's Defendor, Lauren Holly's The Final Storm and unless you're just a die-hard fan, Robert Englund's Nightmare on Elm Street collection. If you've got kids (or fond childhood memories) ... More >>

Waiting Room: The Brand-New Health-Care Package Needs Its Own Soundtrack

​This past week, the health-care reform debate reached an end, as the bill was passed by Congress Sunday night and signed into law by President Barack Obama on Tuesday. At stake was the health and well-being of millions of uninsured Americans who now stand to be covered by socialized governmen ... More >>

He Said She Said: Fire In The Earhole!

thestarceleb.com​He Said began his week by watching a Houston landmark and one of his favorite restaurants of all-time go up in flames. We covered the Mai's fire most of Monday morning for Hair Balls, taking pictures of the smoke and flames as they got progressively worse and began engulfing the s ... More >>

Inquiring Minds: All Along The Watchtower With Ex-Traffic Cop Dave Mason

​Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason has certainly had a storied career: Founding member of Traffic, guest appearances on records by Hendrix, the Stones and various Beatles, a solid solo career, stint with Fleetwood Mac, and writer of at least one Classic Rock Warhorse in "Feelin' Alright." And ... More >>

The Great Green Room In the Sky: The Grim Reaper's 2009 Musical Roll Call

​Thankfully, 2009 was a sorry year for the Greil Marcus Rock Death Meter. Aside from the not terribly unexpected (but still weird) demise of the King of Pop, few bona fide legends went on to the Great Green Room Beyond the Sky. The Rock Death Meter rates rock deaths on a ten-point scale in three c ... More >>

Tonight: Houston Filmmaker Raymond Gale's Electric Purgatory at Domy Books

Electric Purgatory screened almost two years ago at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, but Rocks Off still hasn't seen Houston director Raymond Gayle's film about the plight of the black rocker. We're gonna miss the next screening too - tonight at Domy Books - due to Thanksgiving travel, but we are ... More >>

Jimi Hendrix's Brother Has Got His Own World To Look Through

Photo by Renee McMahonBeing Jimi Hendrix's baby brother is a rough gig. And Leon Hendrix doesn't make it any easier on himself.He's lost battles over his brother's estate, he's been a drug addict and crook, he's scratching out a living playing his brother's songs before small, bored audiences, but h ... More >>

Tonight: Back Door Slam at Warehouse Live

Michael Winslow

A noise man turns up the funny and heads back to stand-up

Do We Have to Play the National Anthem Before Every Single Sporting Event?

The U.S. vs. John Lennon

David Leaf’s documentary shows the giant steps the feds took against a cultural icon

Michael Winslow

The man with ten thousand noises comes to Houston

Drenched In Blog: Sealed with Kiss

Downloading Music

Linking you to the best in legitimate, artist-approved exclusives

We Knew It Was the Cubans All Along

Idol Chatter

Glaude Be with You

Rock and Roll Never Forgets

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

Guit With It

Turning a pedal steel into a trombone, and other tricks of Junior Brown's trade

Various Artists

Recorded Live at the Second Sacred Steel Convention (Arhoolie)

Motivational Motörhead

Lemmy: Heavy metal's F-bomb-dropping answer to Anthony Robbins

The Strokes

Thursday, January 24

Look Ahead

D.A. Pennebaker doesn't make history, but he's captured so much of it

Six Strings Under

Unlike many of his rock guitar god peers, Joe Satriani has yet to flee to audiences overseas

Native Talent

Indigenous Americans blow blues-rock smoke

Letters

Rotation

Night & Day

November 12 - 18, 1998

Funk Flashback

Dj Vaughan