Cosplay, short for "costume play," is the art of normal, everyday people going balls-out to depict themselves as their favorite fictional characters from comics, movies, video games and television. It's hugely popular, thanks to ComicCon and our obsession with all things pop-culture. Cosplayers gat ... More >>
2013 marks the first year that the Austin City Limits Music Festival -- Texas' other large outdoor music festival, never to be confused with Houston's own Free Press Summer Fest -- expands to two consecutive weekends with identical lineups. At this point the lineup for the festival, scheduled for Oc ... More >>
If you have seen and heard Paul McCartney's collaboration with the surviving members of Nirvana this past week, then you no doubt have entertained the thought of a tour or at least an album by the super group. As of now of course, they have only publicly released one track, "Cut Me Some Slack", whic ... More >>
Glen Campbell's long slow goodbye has been going on now for a little more than a year, since he announced he was suffering from Alzheimer's. "A Better Place" is the second video from Glen Campbell's 2011 album Ghost On The Canvas, and it's a tearjerker. It's the goodbye. Featuring Queens of the ... More >>
Great bands are a dime a dozen. How often has a great band broken up, only to have the individual efforts of the ex-members lambasted by critics and public alike? Sometimes the chemistry of a band, collectively, makes them great, but sometimes it's "The Talent," a singular musical force. When I sp ... More >>
The Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion April 24, 2012 It's hard to find an honest-to-Jesus, meat-and-potatoes (and possibly bourbon-soaked) rock show in 2012. Enter the Black Keys and the Arctic Monkeys last night at that lil' ol' shed in The Woodlands, who delivered nearly ... More >>
Rocks Off has always had a soft spot for Rick Nelson. Although our oldest memory of him is probably hearing about the plane crash outside Texarkana that killed him, his band and his fiancee on New Year's Eve 1985, we're also old enough to remember actually his songs like "Hello, Mary Lou," "Lonesome ... More >>
It started as a simple question: What albums would you leave your unborn children, if you knew you were on borrowed time and may not be around to show them the way. At first I asked for albums for sons, but then it grew broader, not out of needing to pacify the PC-thug in me, but to make sure everyo ... More >>
The Texans are in first place (for now), the Texas Rangers may become the Lone Star State's first-ever World Series champions tomorrow (ouch), and early voting for the November 8 mayoral/City Council election started Monday. The Houston Press Music Awards showcase is less than three weeks awa ... More >>
Lemmy, Josh Homme, Keith Richards, Marc Bolan, GG Allin, and Billy Fucking Gibbons - that's just a sampling of the rock stars that Rocks Off wishes he could be. The list goes on and on. Today though is the birthday of a one of the most special rockers to ever high-kick on this mud ball called Earth, ... More >>
Photos by GroovehouseKyuss Lives!, The Sword Warehouse Live September 29, 2011 The reason Aftermath always liked Kyuss was because they sounded sure of themselves, almost arrogant. They weren't timid, but cocksure. Every record we have ever owned from them, all of them, from Wretch, Blues fo ... More >>
tonkoorevaar.beTuesday, Paste reported that director John Scheinfeld will be adapting Elvis: Still Taking Care of Business, the memoir of Elvis Presley confidante Sonny West, who was one of the King's bodyguards for 16 years. West was a member of the "Memphis Mafia," Elvis' merry band of bone ... More >>
Arctic Monkeys, Version 2011This past decade, 2006 was one of the better years in music, with a ton of debuts, great albums and catchy singles. It was also the year this member of Rocks Off started putting his musical critiques into a computer, joining the great circus known as the music indu ... More >>
This week of new releases brings a Mark Ronson-produced Black Lips album, the country debut of psychobilly idol Nick 13, an inventive career-spanning set from Randy Travis, and another Arctic Monkeys album, continuing their interesting progression from Brit garage brats into muscular rockers ... More >>
This past weekend was magical, what with Rocks Off finally getting to see Foo Fighters play songs from Wasting Light and all. You may remember that we have been wanking over Light since it came out in April, but it's really good. Best rock album of the year? Maybe, unless Jack White or Josh H ... More >>
It's back to the usual grind for Rocks Off after last night's late-night Austin City Limits Festival lineup announcement. Sadly, we will not be seeing the Foo Fighters play songs from Wasting Light in Austin come September. And yes, still playing it, along with a steady diet of Guns N' Roses. ... More >>
The masterminds behind Aqua Teen Hunger Force have relocated the fast-food crew to Seattle and changed not only the name, but also the structure of the show after deciding that they were unhappy with the pilot. They even made a new theme song, recruiting Queen of the Stone Age Josh Homme and ... More >>
Craig HlavatyRolling Stone magazine surely knows how to throw a showcase, bringing forth Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis, Mini Mansions, and Black Angels to open for a reinvigorated Queens Of The Stone Age on Wednesday night. Every band on the bill coalesced with each other beautifully and succinctl ... More >>
As you may have heard, there's a teeny-tiny little music festival going on in Austin later this week. Some of the early birds on team Rocks Off are either already there or well on their way, as a matter of fact. With more than 2,000 artists playing the official part of SXSW alone, trying to ... More >>
Rocks Off Sr.'s choice for 1991's best album.1991 was one of the biggest years in modern music. It was when metal went pop, radio country ruled, grunge went mainstream, and rap began its climb to chart dominance, even if it was spearheaded by a white candy rapper from Dallas. There were man ... More >>
Photos by Marc BrubakerMiss the bands in Austin this weekend? See as many as we could squeeze into our handy slideshow. Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin is on the cusp of change. A renovation to its home base, Waterloo Park, is due within the next year, so come next November the festival more than ... More >>
David Fincher's Facebook creation tale The Social Network has been the No. 1 film in America the past two weekends, and no doubt it will continue that streak this weekend, barring an assault by Jackass 3-D which comes out today. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone is already hailing Network as a ... More >>
Universal Music GroupAs far as Rocks Off knows, everything is hunky-dory for Hole's show at House of Blues this evening. Courtney Love and friends are scheduled to play from 9:45 to 11:15, which Rocks Off is interpreting as they could go on anywhere from 9:45 to 11:15. As Hole's rambling, sl ... More >>
With Mother's Day fast approaching, we can't help but recognize all the hot rocker mamas out there making music and babies. It can't be easy to write the next great pop song and have a tiny human being inside you sucking nutrients from your body, in the process girding their loins for making you ... More >>
Craig HlavatyThe Sword at Free Press Summerfest 2009This Sunday night, Austin's The Sword pulls into Warehouse Live to lay waste to our city's collective eardrums. The band was in town last August for Summerfest and was shit-hot, coming right off of an opening slot for Metallica over in Europe. T ... More >>
[Ed. Note: For the next two weeks, Rocks Off will be looking back at the many, many, many shows we reviewed this year. Trust us, we've long since lost count. We'll start with this past January, as ever a slow month on the live-music front, but things picked up soon enough... trust us. Enjoy.] Chris ... More >>
www.myspace.com/aerosith"If this is a consular ship, where is the ambassador?": Aerosith Since the release of the first Star Wars in 1977, through the subsequent sequels and disappointing prequels, pop culture has been awash in Force-related mania. People name their children Luke and Leia, family ... More >>
Photos by GroovehouseJust weeks after the release of their new Humbug, the Arctic Monkeys hit the AMD stage at mid-afternoon with a newly grungy sound reminiscent of Primal Scream and somehow, hairy period Kinks.
Photos by Mark C. AustinRocks Off saw Them Crooked Vultures a little less than twenty-four hours after their pulverizing set at Stubb's on Thursday night. It was the same setlist, just harder and Grohlier. Meaning that Dave Grohl was seemingly taking out his demons on his drum set. John Paul Jone ... More >>
Photos By Craig HlavatyJust a few short hours ago Aftermath saw the rock world's newest supergroup in action as Queens of The Stone Age's Josh Homme, ex-Nirvana drummer/current Foo Fighters helmer Dave Grohl, and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones took the stage at Stubb's in Austin for a warm- ... More >>
Photo by Mark C. AustinSchool of Seven BellsBefore we start discussing the great music we heard yesterday, we would like to take time to thank the Gods Of Rock for blessing Day One of the Austin City Limits Festival (ACL) 2009 with an amazing afternoon and evening of weather. Anyone who has ... More >>
It always happens: you and your friends toss back a few beers and the talk turns to what celebrities and models you find attractive. At first it starts out innocent enough, arguing the merits of Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, Marissa Miller or Paula Deen. Well that last name is actually just our ... More >>
Photos by Craig Hlavaty Seeing that Aftermath is childless (we hope), it's a rare occasion for us to see something be birthed before our very eyes. Sure, we have probably unwittingly been around for some conceptions, but never a full-on screaming mama genesis like we saw and heard Friday night at ... More >>
[Ed. Note: Here's Web Editor Katharine Shilcutt's top 10 picks for baby-makin' music. Now it's the boys' turn.] 1. Ryan Adams, "Come Pick Me Up": This has to work, because it shows vulnerability and warmth. It tells her you are the kind of guy who will be the one to get out of bed to get the Wet On ... More >>
Frederic Vincent/ Wikipedia In Houston, June 21 comes and goes with very little fanfare. While technically it's the first day of summer, anyone can tell you summer around here started about two months ago. Nonetheless, it seems like a shame to leave all the celebrating to the pagans; why, they don't ... More >>
Is there any file more flannel-y than that of Screaming Trees - a hard-rock band with long hair from Seattle, influenced by the sounds of the '70s and '80s, whose career began to take off in the early '90s but was brought down by substance abuse and infighting? Tom Moon, in his very cool book 10 ... More >>
Impeach My Bush
Jesse Hughes proves too sexy for his band, too sexy for his band
Wednesday, October 19, Toyota Center, 1510 Polk, 713-758-7200.
Anything (Palm Pictures)
Heavily hyped L.A. punks the Distillers jump to the majors with a highly guarded new album
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