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Wild Moccasins, LIMB

Wild Moccasins: Zahira Gutierrez's Top 10 New Wave Songs

Have you seen the Wild Moccasins? Rocks Off is starting to get a little worried. Just kidding. Houston's favorite indie-pop quintet has been strangely scarce recently, working their day jobs and getting ready to head out for a month of dates with Michigan don't-call-them-emo crew Saturday Looks Goo ... More >>

Anita Baker? Grandfather Child's Lucas Gorham Unloads His Influences

Local music fans are all waiting intently for Grandfather Child to drop their self-titled debut on New West Records some time in early June, so this Big Star Bar gig is the best chance for you newbies to see what all the fuss from the cool kids will be about this summer. We've tried to wrestle an ex ... More >>

Grandfather Child

Local music fans are all waiting intently for Grandfather Child to drop their self-titled debut on New West Records some time in early June, so this Big Star Bar gig is the best chance for you newbies to see what all the fuss from the cool kids will be about this summer. We've tried to wrestle an ex ... More >>

Vinyl Gets Another Spin

Showing it has more lives than a cockroach, vinyl has been reborn, resulting in some beautiful music. But sometimes production values in records and turntables are lacking.

The Mastersons

Showing it has more lives than a cockroach, vinyl has been reborn, resulting in some beautiful music. But sometimes production values in records and turntables are lacking.

SXSW: Tom Morello, A Vigilant And Emphatic Nightwatchman

Besides Music World Gospel, New West Records is probably the most locally connected sub-major record label, and owner/partial Houstonian George Fontaine has long worn his heart on his sleeve about local music in general and recent New West additions the Wild Moccasins, Robert Ellis, Buxton and Grand ... More >>

Houston Acts Stage Own SXSW Invasion

Sixteen Houston acts will play an all-day free show during SXSW from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, March 16, at the Gypsy Lounge, 1504 E. 6th St. The party is sponsored by The Convoy Group, the company run by Houston promoter and sometime Rocks Off photograher Mark C. Austin, who announced the party ear ... More >>

Buxton

Sixteen Houston acts will play an all-day free show during SXSW from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, March 16, at the Gypsy Lounge, 1504 E. 6th St. The party is sponsored by The Convoy Group, the company run by Houston promoter and sometime Rocks Off photograher Mark C. Austin, who announced the party ear ... More >>

Cactus Releasing Buxton's Strange Five Days Early At Tonight's In-Store

Houston's own Buxton gets their moment in the sun in the next few weeks as their debut album for New West Records, Nothing Here Seems Strange, gets wide release. But the band's home store, Cactus Music, will be releasing it tonight five days early during the band's in-store, set for 7 p.m. In addit ... More >>

Saturday: Chris Gray Day at the Continental Club

Photo by Marco TorresChris with the officers that saved his life.​Click here for a slideshow of the bands and here for a slideshow of the crowd. "I didn't know Chris was a celebrity." Chris Gray's mother told a rapt audience from the stage on Saturday afternoon that she was "overwhelmed" by ... More >>

Old 97's

Photo by Marco TorresChris with the officers that saved his life.​Click here for a slideshow of the bands and here for a slideshow of the crowd. "I didn't know Chris was a celebrity." Chris Gray's mother told a rapt audience from the stage on Saturday afternoon that she was "overwhelmed" by ... More >>

Your Houston City Limits Music Preview For 2012

For the past few weeks I have been asking local acts to tell us about their 2012 plans, be it touring, recording, breaking up, or just gigging around town. You would have thought more rappers would have chimed in sense they are veritable promotion machines, but I didn't get much back. OK, Twenty Ele ... More >>

Robert Ellis, Hayes Carll Honored by American Songwriter Magazine

Photo by Marc Brubaker​If one understands the historical depth and context of the singer-songwriter tradition in Houston -- and it was flourishing here long before it migrated to Austin or before a few (mostly Texan) outlaws started up a movement in Nashville -- it shouldn't come as much of a ... More >>

Grammy Nomination Fantasies

​Once again all the Grammy nomination razzamatazz has fired up, with local label ZenHill Records of course leading the charge with its recent press release, "ZenHill Artists on the Long List for a Grammy." One of our editors took a couple of incoming email shots from a so-called "reporte ... More >>

Buxton: "Not Everyone Is Going To Love You"

Photos by Marc BrubakerBuxton at Rudz in August​Lonesome Onry and Mean has been spinning local sensation Buxton's upcoming release Nothing Here Seems Strange for almost two weeks now. And we're sorry, but we still don't get it. Maybe we are old and jaded and out of it, but to us it sounds l ... More >>

Four More Years

After 1,661 days (and counting) of immersion in the Houston music scene, a look back.

Last Night: Robert Ellis & The Boys At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Jim Bricker​Robert Ellis & the Boys (CD release), Jonny Corndawg Fitzgerald's July 6, 2011 See more Photographs from Ellis' homecoming in our slideshow. Robert Ellis' record release show last night wasn't short on thrills, from the openers to the closing moments from Ellis and his ... More >>

Top 5 Musician Novelists

Ted Barron/New West RecordsSteve Earle: What's up, Doc?​Despite what our paychecks and sometimes even our diplomas say, the perception persists that music journalists are not "real" journalists. Similarly, no matter how literate their lyrics, some folks think musicians could not possibly put p ... More >>

Photographic Memory

Robert Ellis heads into the great wide open on his first New West LP.

Out Today: Bon Iver's Bandwagon Bait, Weird Al Goes Gaga

Greetings From Bon Iver Land! Now, grab a rifle. It's almost dinner time.​In the next few weeks, you may be reading about the new Robert Ellis album, Photographs, so we are just giving you fair warning. It's a stunner through and through, and goes nicely with early morning traffic. Have you ev ... More >>

Ponderosa Gives House Of Blues A Mouthful

Photos by Jason Wolter​Rocks Off is usually ambivalent, at best, about restaurant shows. One of the few times we're not interested in live music at all is when we're eating, and we imagine we're hardly the only person who feels that way. Strolling violinists and mariachi groups especially get ... More >>

Out Today: My Morning Jacket Back In Form, Vedder's Ukulele Slays

​This week brings a new My Morning Jacket album, an Eddie Vedder ukulele outing, the umpteenth Dave Matthews Band live collection, and Ozzy's past barks at the moon. We are just now hitting the busy summer release period, so these blogs in the next few weeks will be getting jam-packed. In th ... More >>

Raging Moderate

Between Facebook rants, David Lowery juggles Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven and a solo project.

Saturday: New West Records Showcase At Cactus Music

Photos by Jim BrickerRobert Ellis & the Boys​New West Records showcase feat. Buxton, Robert Ellis & the Boys, Wild Moccasins Cactus Music April 16, 2011 Although they had a myriad of opportunities Friday night to make themselves bleary-eyed and drag-tailed - Aftermath chose The Wagoneers, and ... More >>

Record Store Day: If You Take A Dump, Don't Tell The Staff

Marco TorresCarlos Hernandez and Los Skarnales' Felipe Galvan at Cactus Music's "Day of the Dead" opening last year.​Today is Tax Day (boo), but it's also payday for a lot of people, which comes in handy because tomorrow is Record Store Day. In a few short years, RSD has become one of the bigg ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Condition Critical

"There are rules for policemen. I mean, critics."​While looking for ways to avoid writing about Charlie Sheen again researching topics for today's column, I found myself going through Roger Ebert's web site over at the Chicago Sun-Times. Christ, but that guy writes a lot. He was fairly prolif ... More >>

The Mastersons Fly South To Familiar Territory

Photos via The Mastersons on Facebook​Chris Masterson and wife Eleanor Whitmore may live in Brooklyn these days, but like many New Yorkers, they are avid snowbirds. So much so, their new album will be titled Bird Fly South. "We're like migratory birds, we always head down to Texas for the Chr ... More >>

SXSW: Local Band Makes Good, A Wild Flag, DJ Quik & A Witch

Photos this page by Marc BrubakerBuxton​Marc Brubaker: For Rocks Off, sometimes SXSW isn't about seeing new bands or drinking until Sixth Street becomes a blurry swath of humanity. It's nice to check in with our hometown boys and see how they are received by the ears and arms of the masses in ... More >>

SXSW With LOM: French Rockers, Free Tequila And MXMW

Photos by Amy PrasadInspector Cluzo, aka The French Bastards​So we're checked in and we're on the way up to the room. Who's in the elevator with us? John Popper from Blues Traveler. In person, he looks like a cartoon character, something waxy and a bit spooky about his motel tan. He's all effu ... More >>

Houston At SXSW: Where & When The Bayou City Invades

​In the coming week, legions of Houstonians will trek northwest to descend upon the city of Austin, blessing it with our mere presence during the madhouse that is SXSW. Heck, some of Houston is already there. Our delegation is not limited to SXSW attendees, however. A host of Houston bands, r ... More >>

2011 South By Southwest Supplement

Buxton takes its bump to the roots-rock big leagues in stride.

Saturday Night: Wild Moccasins Tour Kickoff At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Wild Moccasins, Young Mammals Fitzgerald's February 12, 2011 Houston has seen Wild Moccasins plenty of times before, but that doesn't stop the throngs of fans from packing out show after show to see the band's catchy brand of indie pop-rock. The story was no different ... More >>

Wild Moccasins

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Wild Moccasins, Young Mammals Fitzgerald's February 12, 2011 Houston has seen Wild Moccasins plenty of times before, but that doesn't stop the throngs of fans from packing out show after show to see the band's catchy brand of indie pop-rock. The story was no different ... More >>

Has The Houston Music Scene Turned Things Around?

​It's hard, if not impossible, to argue that Lee Alexander is one of Houston's most celebrated musical sons. If his Houston Press Music Awards were stacked on top of each other they would be taller than he is. Like many of the solid veteran names in Houston, Alexander has occasionally felt the ... More >>

Instant Crunk: All The Local Music News You Can Handle

​It's that time again! We've slogged through Twitter streams and RSS feeds just to bring everyone up to speed on Houston's prolific music scene. So let's get down to the business of getting down, starting with our soundtrack for the week: a 49-minute mix from DJ Sun, performing at The Flat. I ... More >>

Buxton, Wild Moccasins Join New West Records

Here at Rocks Off, we try our best to cover all the local music news, both large and small. Where else are you going to read that you can play Slim Thug on Words With Friends? It is reasons such as these that we trudge the war zones of RSS feeds, seeking out crucial tidbits of information. Buxton o ... More >>

Ten Country Covers That Top The Pop Originals

​Our copy must still be in the mail, but Rocks Off figures we have heard enough songs from Jamey Johnson's new album The Guitar Song on Sirius/XM's Outlaw Country to know that we like it a whole lot. But none that we've heard so far are our favorite new Johnson song. It's close. No flies on G ... More >>

Cactus Music/New West Partner Investing In Local Musicians

Jay Dryden/ Wild Moccasins on FacebookWild Moccasins on the Cactus Music in-store stage​Local businessman George Fontaine is another music-business player who is suddenly very high on the Houston music scene. And Fontaine is putting his money where his mouth is by investing in up-and-coming lo ... More >>

Tim Easton

Jay Dryden/ Wild Moccasins on FacebookWild Moccasins on the Cactus Music in-store stage​Local businessman George Fontaine is another music-business player who is suddenly very high on the Houston music scene. And Fontaine is putting his money where his mouth is by investing in up-and-coming lo ... More >>

Uprising

2009 wasn't a great year for albums, but songs were a different story.

Corb Lund

2009 wasn't a great year for albums, but songs were a different story.

Saturday: Tim Easton at Cactus Music

I first encountered Tim Easton about five years ago at a New West Records South By Southwest party. It was a hot day at an outdoor stage. I felt the presence of someone moving up beside me and saw from his name tag that it was Michael Corcoran, longtime music critic for the Austin American-Statesma ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: R.I.P. Stephen Bruton

Photos courtesy New West Records Stephen Bruton, one of Austin's great pickers, songwriters, and good citizens, died Saturday of throat cancer, which he had battled for years, according to a press release by his label, New West Records. The 60-year-old Bruton came out of the school of influential Fo ... More >>

Return to Radartown

"Credibility Scare" alumnus Mark Germino plugs in after seven years.

Drive-By Truckers, A to Z

Alabama Ass Whuppin'

The Return of Cactus Music and Video

A beloved local institution returns from the grave

Randall Bramblett

A beloved local institution returns from the grave

Rotation

A beloved local institution returns from the grave

Cheating the Reaper

Vic Chesnutt died 20 years ago. Catch him live this week.