Merle Haggard

Transcribing Is a Bitch: The Collected Craig Hlavaty Interviews

My last official day at the Houston Press is tomorrow, so these past two weeks I have been sifting through my body of work here at Rocks Off, almost seven years of words. I've been gleefully overdosing on nostalgia here at my desk, and I have (almost) no regrets. I'll have some more words on my depa ... More >>

Mama Tried: Backwoods Electric Country From the Wilds of South Houston

With a name like Mama Tried, you'd expect nothing less than the most quintessential sounds of Merle Haggard in his prime, but this South Houston five-piece is a scruffier, much faster version of the Hag. One look at Blake Plsek (banjo/harmonica) and Jason "J-Bone" White (dobro/guitar) and you'd ... More >>

Last Night: Merle Haggard at Stafford Centre

Merle Haggard Stafford Centre March 21, 2013 Thursday night at the Stafford Centre, I watched Merle Haggard play some of the greatest songs from arguably country music's greatest period while sitting next to Dr. Frank Mann, a retired veterinarian from Wharton . The elderly country pet doctor told ... More >>

Best Shows In Houston This Weekend: Rebelution, Graveyard, Every Time I Die, Walker Lukens, Etc.

Rebelution With J Boog, Hot Rain House Of Blues, Friday, 8 p.m., February 22 For a clue on just how much Rebelution must love ganja, beyond even the exquisitely explicit "So High" on its 2012 release Peace of Mind, consider that the Santa Barbara reggae-pop crew also issued acoustic and dub version ... More >>

22 Coots and Codgers Making the Rest of Us Look Bad

While the rest of the music business has been slow to awaken from its holiday slumbers, the biggest shows in Houston this weekend come from two artists who have been up a long, long time -- 87 years, to be exact: Bluesman B.B. King and country crooner Ray Price. (Actually, Price will turn 87 on Satu ... More >>

The Old 97's Rhett Miller: "Then the Stage Gets a Lot Bigger"

Music Feature: Streets of Where I'm From This is an exciting time to be an Old 97's fan. Out of nowhere, almost, the Dallas quartet is now one of the longest-tenured and most successful Texas bands of its generation. All four original members are intact, they never "took a break," and they've never ... More >>

2012 Summer Guide: It's a Scorcher

A summer concert season to melt your face off.

Last Night: Steve Earle & The Dukes At Stafford Centre

Steve Earle & the Dukes, The Mastersons Stafford Centre for the Performing Arts April 25, 2012 After three decades of music, mischief and critical accolades, it might come as a surprise to some to find Steve Earle performing at the relatively out-of-the-way (by Inner Loop standards) Centre for the ... More >>

Together Always: Country Duets for Valentine's Day

Maybe it's because I'm a Libra, but I believe that everything in life should be as harmonious as possible-love, especially. Duets might be the ultimate musical testament to such a theory. I'm not talking about the resonance that's created when a woman is vacuuming while her man watches television. I ... More >>

Father Figures: 100 Famous Musicians' Paternal Professions

If you're a Texan of a certain age, this week you've probably spent some time mourning the death of Jerry Haynes, the children's TV host better known as Mr. Peppermint. Haynes' show on WFAA-TV in Dallas, Peppermint Place, ran from the '60s to the '90s and was widely syndicated across the state, incl ... More >>

Top 5 Songs About Being Dead Broke

​Rocks Off caught a little of the coverage of the Obama adminstration and Congress' deadlock over the country's impending default on its debt this morning. We could barely make heads or tails of it, but the underlying message was fairly clear: Holy shit, are we ever fucked. We are already abo ... More >>

Ray Benson: "Before Keith Richards, There Was Bob Wills"

​Although he grew up outside Philadelphia, Ray Benson is the quintessential Texas musician. Somewhere in his rambling South Austin studio/office compound is a proclamation declaring him the 2004 official state musician, not to mention the umpteen Grammys he's won as front man and bandleader of ... More >>

Rocks Off's Fantasy RodeoHouston Lineup

Photos courtesy of Houston Livestock Show & RodeoGeorge Strait in 1996​If you walk through Reliant Center, hanging from the ceiling are banners listing almost every musical performer RodeoHouston has hosted since the '60s. The names reflect the hallowed history of country and fleeting fancies ... More >>

On The Seal Again: Willie Nelson's Fine Flippered Friend

Willie Nelson on Facebook​Rocks Off came across this picture of Willie Nelson shaking hands with one of his pinniped fans on the singer's Facebook page this morning, and immediately knew we had to share it. Little did we know that the Red Headed Stranger has long had an affinity for these ado ... More >>

Who's Too Old To Rock & Roll?

​It's entirely possible that the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney will each go on tour this year. With ages ranging from 63 to 69 among the four remaining core Stones, the band is obviously the oldest continuing touring rock act, capable of breaking ticket records almost 50 years into the gam ... More >>

Top Eight Freedom Songs For MLK Day

​Rocks Off sincerely prays that those of you with today off are at least peripherally aware of why you have today off. For our annual MLK Day reflection this year, we thought we'd leave the songs about Dr. King to Bono, and instead share a few of our favorite songs that set his dream to music ... More >>

Young Man, Older Woman: Top Ten Cougar Anthems

​Congratulations to Houston folksinger Glenna Bell. Her "The Cougar Anthem," from this year's Perfectly Legal: Songs of Sex, Love and Murder, was singled out Tuesday alongside Aaron Neville, Keith Richards, Norah Jones and Paul McCartney & Wings in USA Today's weekly "The Playlist" feature. I ... More >>

Upcoming: Buzzfestivus, John Mellencamp, Merle Haggard, Etc.

​Amplified Heat: Fri., Nov. 26. Rudyard's. Authority Zero: Thu., Dec. 2. Scout Bar Clear Lake. Belanova: Wed., Dec. 1. House of Blues. Born Liars, The Energy, The Mahas, Talk Sick Brats: Wed., Nov. 24. Rudyard's. "Buzzfestivus" with Smashing Pumpkins, Jimmy Eat World. Sun., Dec. 5. Verizo ... More >>

Died and Gone to Houston

City is ready for another honky-tonk close-up.

Died And Gone To Houston: A Honky-Tonk Jukebox

​Besides the whomping pullout section with brief thumbnail sketches of every artist playing Saturday's Houston Press Music Awards showcase on Washington Avenue, in this week's print issue of the Press you'll find a feature story Rocks Off was proud to co-write called "Died and Gone to Houston. ... More >>

Austin City Limits Festival Tickets On Sale Tomorrow At 10 A.M.

We're not saying Soundgarden is playing ACL, but you never know...​That's right. Now why would Rocks Off make something like that up? Hope you have $180 lying around and don't have any meetings or classes or anything like that tomorrow morning, because they're going to go quick. Better go ahead an ... More >>

Thanks, But No Thanks: See What Dallas Has to Deal With All the Time?

We know, we know... it's just too easy.​ Rocks Off would like to thank Force Field PR and, we suppose, Neon Indian for sending the above picture to our email this morning. It nearly made us spray coffee all over our monitor. We don't quite know where to start, except to venture a guess that if you ... More >>

Rocks Off Has Some Issues This Morning, But Not as Many as This Guy

​Rocks Off came into the office this morning to discover we had been beset by a bad case of the gremlins. One of our photographers' Web site was down, there was another mix-up with the Willie Nelson photos from Saturday night (which has since been fixed) and... well, it's just a Monday. However, w ... More >>

2009 Concert Rewind, March: Erykah Badu, Britney, Billy Joel & Elton John, A Baybrook Beatdown and A Whole Lotta Rodeo

Mark C. Austin​ Rascal Flatts, Reliant Stadium, March 3: "It's almost devious how much these guys sweetened and tune their songs up, close to the point of an almost automaton-like perfection. Each song is custom-built like a souped-up hot rod, with almost no flourish or guitar vamp going to waste. ... More >>

George Jones

Artist of the Week: Country Store Buffalo on Breast Implants, Beer-Drinking Bison and That Old Devil Cocaine

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com.​ You are in the enviable ... More >>

Wednesdays are Honky-Tonk Heaven In Houston, and Thursdays are Hillbilly Hell

Photos by Chris GrayRobert Ellis & the Boys, under the blue neon​ It's no secret Rocks Off is a big fan of the country music, which is why we're starting to get a little excited about the inner-loop honky-tonk scene that's taking root. Over the weekend, we caught Sean Reefer & the Resin Va ... More >>

Gary Allan

Listology: Honky-Tonk Man Mike Stinson Chooses His Favorite Drinking Songs

Markus Cuff​Honky-tonk man and recent Houston transplant Mike Stinson knows a thing or two about a bottle. Lonesome Onry and Mean asked him to list his all-time favorite drinking songs, many of which you will no doubt hear this evening at Under the Volcano. "So many classic drinking songs, I could ... More >>

George Strait Week, Part 2: Cajun George

After Tuesday's look at the shockingly Morrissey-like sentiments of the many George Strait songs where his love interest is either already gone or on her way out the door, Rocks Off thought today we'd take a look at a much happier - and, it should be said, significantly smaller - subcategory of Kin ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: John Doe & the Sadies' Country Club

Lonesome, Onry and Mean likes him some country music done right, so it was with considerable delight that we listened to Country Club by X bassist/singer John Doe and the Sadies. An L.A. rocker and a Canadian alt-country outfit seem like unlikely musical bedfellows, but Country Club works from the f ... More >>

Kelly Hansen Joins "Hot Blooded" Rockers Foreigner

Head games

Tonight: Blacktop Gypsy at the Firehouse Saloon

Not many acts on MySpace list as their influences Merle Haggard and Fleetwood Mac. Or George Jones and Sheryl Crow. But Dallas outfit Blacktop Gypsy does, and it doesn't take many listens to their music to get the connections. Certainly the template is country but with three women in the mix there' ... More >>

Santa Baby

What a few musicians want under their trees this year

Re-Scattering Willie Nelson's Stardust, 30 Years Later

Notable tour sponsorships in U.S. history

Take It On the Run

Snoop Dogg Goes Country, Y’all

Gene Watson, In a Perfect World

CD Review

Mercy Eventually

More than 20 years down the road, Mary Gauthier is finally an emerging artist

Radio Daze

One man, one jambox and four walls. For 24 hours.

Midtown Honky-tonkin'

Trains and the vintage sounds of the Swank Countrypolitans bring a time warp to the Continental Club

Best Radio Station

Star 790

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Billy Ray Reynolds

Whole Lot of Memories (Compadre Records)

Townes Van Zandt

Texas Rain: The Texas Hill Country Recordings and The Best of Townes Van Zandt (Tomato)

Best Place to Meet Single Men

Kay's Lounge

Real Deal

Rotation

Static