Baroness, "Wanderlust," 2007
In the same way that Houston rarely inspires photos of snow flurries, people tend not to associate heavy metal with the South. But, if you look hard enough, you'll find a rich history of hard music with roots planted firmly in Southern soil.
In the '80s and early '90s, Louisiana produced sludge-metal bands such as Crowbar, Acid Bath and Down. Currently, Austin's retro-metal The Sword is gaining national attention by opening for Metallica, like they and Down did
Whoever said cutting-edge musicians don't come from Houston should meet Sarah Elizabeth Foster. The 26-year-old Houston native now lives in New York, owns a record label (Studio Sarah Records), and just released her debut EP, Gardening from the Ground Up Part 1.
Foster used the hotly debated Creative Commons (or "CC") license that allows listeners to share and remix her music for free. Although the EP is available for purchase online, Foster seems positioned to lose money. She is relative
...and so say all of us! - Chris Gray, Craig Hlavaty, Dusti Rhodes, Keith Plocek, William Michael Smith, Bob Ruggiero, John Nova Lomax, Ernest Barteldes, Brandon K. Hernsberger, Jef With One F, Michael Arceneaux, Linda Leseman, kris ex, Kathy F. Mahdoubi, Rosa Guerrero, Nick DiFonzo, Jason Ferguson and Shea Serrano
This list was damn near impossible to compile. The criteria: original holiday songs recorded after 1990. There aren't many tunes that qualify, and of the ones that do, few of them are worth listening to. Like fake marshmallow froth atop a cup of instant cocoa, here's the crème de la crème of the less-than-lame holiday songs.
5. Savatage, "Dead Winter Dead": Hails from the 1995 metal album of the same name, which also spawned the overplayed hit "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)." The latter i
Tom Waits, Jones Hall, June 22: "Us Rain Dogs fans had to make do with a spastic "Cemetery Polka" that was a fair representation of Waits' cross-pollination of beatnik jazz and guttural blues; whether or not he's your cup of bourbon, the man does have a unique sound."
Peter Murphy, Meridian, July 10: "The rest of the set was dominated by snaky, sexual rock similar to the Cramps, Stooges or Gun Club that also flirted with metal in patches. This sound hit its zenith on Murphy's 1990 hit 'Cuts
Rocks Off has managed to secure a copy of Beatles Rock Band, and because we're not selfish at all, we're inviting everyone to come play along with us at 7 p.m. next Wednesday at Coffee Groundz, 2503 Bagby. Pit your button-mashing skills against Rocks Off's house band, enjoy Beatles-themed drinks (what's in a "Polythene Pam," you reckon?) and possibly win some prizes, including a pair of KISS tickets.
Sunday afternoon, watch Rocks Off get tongue-tied as he tries to explain what makes the H
