Mike Hardin

Top 20 Things We Need to See at SXSW Next Week

Next week the Rocks Off Action Team goes to Austin for Ess Ex Ess Dubya for another four days of fun, sun, eavesdropping, and live music. And swag, of the free kind, not the kind that Justin Bieber is still trying to make happen. This year at SXSW we're looking forward to many, many things, includ ... More >>

The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend

Down Warehouse Live, January 11 Long-running sludge daddies Down are still riding high from last year's six-song EP, Down IV Part I - The Purple EP, and rightfully so. The effort was one of 2012's best releases, making it onto plenty of year-end lists and satisfying Down fans' hunger for new materi ... More >>

Roky Moon and The Kiss Goodnight

Last Night: The Sword at Fitzgerald's

The Sword, American Sharks, Gypsyhawk Fitzgerald's December 18, 2012 I'm glad that bands like The Sword still exist to lead impressionable metal kids down endless paths of boogie and stoner-rock. Since they started coming to Houston -- playing the now-shuttered Walter's on Washington, mostly -- I h ... More >>

Roky Moon & BOLT's Mike Hardin Speaks Out On The Band's Breakup

Monday afternoon, Houston music fans discovered that Roky Moon & BOLT! were breaking up this coming summer after five more shows, ending a three-year reign as one of the most party-ready and beloved bands in town. Surely one of the most popular ones here at Rocks Off, and the most fun to cover. Mi ... More >>

RIP Roky Moon & BOLT! 2009-2012

According to a Facebook post by Roky Moon & BOLT lead singer and songwriter Mike Hardin, Houston's beloved glam-punk-rock-Broadway group is no more as of this year's Free Press Summer Fest. The statement reads as follows:

Deep Thoughts

Benjamin Wesley follows a gig with the renowned Jandek with his own CD release.

American Sharks Unleash WeedWizard At Fitz Saturday

facebook.com/americansharks​Houston knows the blistering stoner-jamming American Sharks as the other band fronted by Mike Hardin, a.k.a. Roky Moon of Roky Moon & BOLT!. The latter band, our own backyard Broadway/Bowie/Meatloaf bouillabaisse, has been Hardin's main focal point for the past few ... More >>

American Sharks

From The Mink To Mango's: Dust Settles Some After Wild Weekend

Photos by Marc BrubakerIn the Club: Former Mink bartenders (and Roky Moon & BOLT bandmates) Aaron Echegaray and Mike Hardin at Mango's​While much of Texas is on fire, some of the smoke has cleared after a rather turbulent weekend. What began with last Thursday's sale of The Mink and continued ... More >>

The Honey Drippers

How much is too much? Glam-rock heroes Roky Moon & BOLT! haven't found out yet.

Houston Musicians Recall Their Own Rock and Roll High School Days

​Tonight Rocks Off is hosting the first annual Texas High School Rock Off, with local bands from area schools fighting for a grand prize of $500 and bragging rights around town. This past week we have profiled the seven bands in the running: The Paperwaits, Useful Information, The Handshake, Livin ... More >>

Electric Warriors

Life's a gas for local glam-rock sensations Roky Moon & BOLT.

Previewing the Year Ahead In Local Releases

​ 2010 looks like it's going to be a banner year for music in general. We can look forward to a new Arcade Fire opus, another Spoon outing, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and a Beach House record that is already getting Animal Collective-like buzz. Rocks Off is chomping a ... More >>

Hodad's: Nation's Best Burger?

​Some say Hodad's in San Diego has the best hamburger in the country. Just before I flew out to California, I was watching the Jay Leno show. That night Leno did a Top 10 list with Guy Fieri, the spiky-haired star of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Leno asked Fieri to name the No. 1 burger in the ... More >>

Aftermath: Basses Loaded's Second Last Show Ever at Mango's

Photos by Craig Hlavaty​ There are lots of awesome things about the beginning of the holiday season. Reconnecting with far-flung relatives, old friends coming home to visit their parents and intermittingly sneaking off with you to run up a bar tab in between family excursions, and ungodly amounts ... More >>

Aftermath: More Free Press Summer Fest at Eleanor Tinsley Park

Photos (except where indicated) by Craig HlavatyB L A C K I E and friends​ "How is this Houston?" "How the hell is this Houston?" Aftermath couldn't stop saying that phrase over and over again to whoever we found ourselves walking with the past two days all over Eleanor Tinsley Park at the inaugur ... More >>

You Should’ve Been There: The American Sharks at the Proletariat