Kool & The Gang

Radioactive Duo

Classic-rock station 93.7 The Arrow yanks controversial morning DJs Walton and Johnson off the air.

Rocks Off's 10 Biggest Musical Disappointments of 2012

Everyone's mother once told them, or should have, that life is not always going to be a puppy mill full of unicorns and rainbows. Remember why all those puppies are there. Sometimes life -- and especially pop music -- doesn't turn out like you were expecting, so now we present Rocks Off's Biggest Mu ... More >>

The Texas 30: The Second Runners-Up, Albums 50-41

On our computer, Rocks Off has been looking at that damn Texas 30 spreadsheet so long our eyes are frosting over. Monday we said about 400 different albums were spread across the ballots we received from almost 25 music-media wags across Texas. We looked at the sheet again after that and it was actu ... More >>

Inside The Niceguys' Dark, Earth-Shattering James Kelley Listening Party

Rewind: The 2012 Houston Press Music Award Winners Meet the Niceguys Monday night in front of a small gathering of hand-picked compatriots and friends, The Niceguys allowed their recording home of Wire Road Studios to turn into an open house. The multi-million dollar recording palace rolled out it ... More >>

30 Seconds With mewithoutYou

I have a hard time adequately describing mewithoutYou's music... imagine if King Missile and early Butthole Surfers collaborated. Even then you'd be missing a lot of the nuances and brilliance. I caught up with drummer Richard Mazzotta to see what I could learn about the amazing percussionist in 30 ... More >>

Last Night: Van Halen and Kool & the Gang at Toyota Center

Van Halen, Kool & the Gang Toyota Center June 24, 2012 We're two songs into last night's sold-out Van Halen show at the Toyota Center when lead singer David Lee Roth spots three comely ladies in the front row of the house with cameras. In the span of three seconds, he turns into the Diamond Dave we ... More >>

Kool & the Gang: "Houston Better Be Ready"

With more than 70 million records sold, the men of Kool and the Gang stand as some of the most commercially successful funksters of all time. Born in Jersey City, N.J., the band was essentially just a group of friends with a jones for Miles Davis and James Brown. But they hit the big time in 1973 wi ... More >>

Van Halen

Great GIFs of Van Halen & David Lee Roth

Van Halen's first new set of material in 14 years, A Different Kind of Truth, is better than it should be. The guys could have slacked off on this and coasted on their legend -- however tarnished it may be in the eyes of fair-weather fans -- but Truth is no cash-in lightweight or mere excuse to sell ... More >>

The Journey Agents: Flamboyance, Chops & Soul At Summer Fest

The Journey Agents can be described in one word: Funky. When we say funky, we mean like early Red Hot Chili Peppers. If you listen to their 2011 release, All Up In It!, you will either want to dance or turn the bass up to the max level. Rocks Off caught up with St. Clair and Brandon Miles of the Jo ... More >>

2012 Summer Guide: It's a Scorcher

A summer concert season to melt your face off.

Tickets For Van Halen's Houston Date Go On Sale Next Saturday

You have all been asking, and now LiveNation is telling. Tickets for Van Halen's June 24th gig at Toyota Center go on sale next Saturday, January 289, and 10 a.m. Tickets will be available online at LiveNation.com or toyotacentertix.com. You know the ticketing drill. A few weeks back LiveNation to ... More >>

Van Halen Set To Hit Houston's Toyota Center June 24

blabbermouth.netDavid Lee Roth and Wolfgang Van Halen on Thursday night at NYC's Cafe Wha​Just minutes after pictures from Van Halen's Cafe Wha? club show in New York City hit rock blog Blabbermouth, industry site Pollstar added a June 24 date at the Toyota Center for the band. Kool & The Gang ... More >>

Intergalactic: A Playlist For The Space Shuttle's Last Flight Home

NASA/Hair BallsNo more cool pictures like this for a long time :(​If you're an astronaut, you recently might have awoken you from a sound night's rest on the space shuttle to the sounds of U2, Beyonce, Electric Light Orchestra, Aaron Copeland, or even some old Coldplay. On those more unlucky d ... More >>

Atlantis Wake-Up Music So Far: Ranking The Good, The Bad & The Ugly On The Last Shuttle Trip

What's with all the damn Coldplay?​NASA, always on the lookout for good publicity, has made a cottage industry out of the wake-up music it uses to rouse crews orbiting the earth. They recruit artists to record messages that are played after the song, because the first thing you want to hear ... More >>

Dark Side of the Moon: Best Blockbuster Album Ever?

​Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd's seminal album about mental illness, the inevitability of death, and anxiety born of living in modern society, turns 38 today. It remains one of the most successful... Wait a minute? DSotM is 38 years old? How is that possible? It seems like just yesterday ... More >>

Like the Obamas Wanted to Go to Your Stupid Royal Wedding Anyway

The invite the Obamas -- and you -- didn't receive​Despite having cast off the shackles of the British monarchy over 230 years ago, our great nation has yet to free itself of the embarrassingly colonial obsession with all matters concerning the Royal Family. A cursory scan of Google News yest ... More >>

Rolling Blackouts Were Made For Baby-Making Music

​So the Chron says Texas' Arctic blast-enabled rolling power blackouts are over for now, although more might be on the way later this evening and tomorrow. Obviously, there are only three things to do with no electricity in sub-freezing temperatures: Shiver; Snuggle up; Knock boots. R ... More >>

Ten Songs We Are Sick Of Hearing At Football Games

Take that Crazy Train right on out of here, Ozzy. Thanks.​That sound you heard Sunday was the collective shattering of the playoff hopes of thousands of Houston Texans fans as the team suffered yet another home loss, this time against the hapless San Diego Chargers, bringing their record to 4- ... More >>

Bill White's Election "Party" Stumbles On, Even As Networks Crown Perry

Aaron SprecherThis podium is about as empty as Bill White's watch party.​If you can get to the Americas Hilton ballroom tonight, it'd be well worth it: less than an hour after the polls have closed, the Bill White election watch is nearly deserted, which means there is no wait to get your paws all ... More >>

Aftermath: How Many Bodies Washed Up At Our Washington Shore Party?

Photos by Son LamTonight's the Night: The fist-pumping contest got pretty heated.​Well... zero, in traditional New Jersey cement-shoes terminology. But despite the miserable weather, which did its part to create a proper Jersey Shore atmosphere, Rocks Off's Washington Shore party filled the Washin ... More >>

Dave Wrangler Is Under The Influence... Before Our Washington Shore Party

Album art by Wyatt LittleRocks Off mentioned this right after Houston's main man on the mash-ups, Dave Wrangler, agreed to DJ tonight's Washington Shore party (8 p.m., rain or shine) at the Washington Avenue Drinkery, but it's worth repeating. Wrangler's got a new 18-track collection of mix-n-match ... More >>

Game Time: At That Moment, Jerry....I Tell You, The Texans WERE A Playoff Team!

"So I started to walk into the water. I won't lie to you boys, I was terrified! But I pressed on and as I made my way past the breakers a strange calm came over me. I don't know if it was divine intervention or the kinship of all living things but I tell you Jerry at that moment I was a marine bio ... More >>

Get Lit: The Pitchfork 500

Goodbye, Chango Jackson. Hello, Chango Man and Yoko Mono

Out of the ashes of Chango Jackson come two new denizens of the primate house

“Mustang Sally”: White People’s Mating Call

If It's Not Scottish, It's Crap!

Wack puts this whole Franz Ferdinand thing into context

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Flickering into the Future

A new exhibition redefines "art house"

Training Day

Light rail's first day brings one high after another

Hip-hop, Tejas

Latinos take on rap music and make it their own

Bring Back the Funk

Lee Fields and the Sugarman 3 prove it's all about the groove

Best Franchise Owner

Mark Rice, Houston Marshals

Listen In

Clandestine -- Dave Nevling and the Blues Kats -- Tommy Dardar and the Sheetrockers

Utility Bassist

Christian McBride can do it all, and do it well

Superflies

R&B royalty roll out for Budweiser Superfest

What the Funk?

Rotation

Shake Your Sheilas

Rap Gets Puffy

Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs fathers a return to hip-hop pop

Rotation