Radio Broadcasting and Production

KACC: "Gulf Coast Rocker" Is Houston's Last Great FM Hope

Like a wound that never truly heals, the sorry state of commercial rock radio around here continues to be a sore point for many Houstonians. Not a day goes by that several people search for 103.7 FM on the Houston Press Web site -- almost two months after the station changed formats from Adult Alter ... More >>

Still Treating Em Right

After 50 years as one of Texas's top powerhouse entertainers, Roy Head calls son Sundance the real star in the family.

App of the Week: Pandora vs. iHeartRadio

If you haven't been paying attention, a very tiny little war has been brewing over access to the ears of people who like to listen to radio online or on their smart phones. I say it's a tiny war because, at the moment, it is. While many of us who love music and like to listen to it a lot will do wha ... More >>

Houston's thelastplaceyoulook Gets Into The Christmas Spirit With "Do You Hear?"

Photo by Groovehouse​Rocks Off is getting into the Christmas spirit, slowly but surely, and now that it's finally December, all your Facebook posts concerning your holiday plans have become much more tolerable. The music, classic though it may be, has needed an update for quite some time. In ... More >>

Memories Of "Crash" Collins Continue To Pour In

​Last Sunday's passing of longtime Houston radio personality "Crash" Collins and our subsequent blog about him brought in some interesting commentary from people who remembered Collins' long tenure at rock radio station KLOL-FM. Collins was one of the first disc jockeys to ditch the formalized ... More >>

Is Commercial Radio Fading Into Oblivion?

​How many times has this happened to you: You're driving home from work. A song comes on. Drums. Guitar strums. A wimpy voice: "Say, oh, got this feeling that you can't fight..." You've heard this same song three times in 30 minutes, and it bores you to tears. Unlike the imaginary audience th ... More >>

Face to Face

KGOW'S KAPOW KAPOW

1560AM weaves pop culture, locker-room humor and irreverence into sports-talk radio.

UC Radio's Mike Yusi: How To Succeed In Podcasting

"Traditional radio is as dead as Joey Ramone." ​Last year, Rocks Off's editor - who will be played by upcoming Celebrity Apprentice contestant Gary Busey for the duration of this article - hauled us into his office and said, "Dammit, With One F! This radio on the Internet thing is blowing up ... More >>

Trae Vs. The Box: No. 2 Local Music Story Of 2010

Rocks Off is counting down the Top 5 local music stories of 2010 this week. We have already covered Lightnin' Hopkins, Meridian and Fitzgerald's. ​In 2008, eight people were shot at Trae Day, a day sanctioned by the City of Houston to honor rapper Trae tha Truth's philanthropic work with the ... More >>

Train Keeps A-Rollin'

Aerosmith expects first album in nine years.

Confirmed: Trae And The Box Both Drop Lawsuits

Marco TorresBrandi Garcia and Trae at last week's Trae Day​Saturday, reports began popping up that Trae tha Truth, recent celebrator of Trae Day/Houston Press cover man/upcoming HPMA special guest, had dropped his suit against Radio One and The Box. Though no one from Trae's side has been avai ... More >>

Judge Denies Trae's Injunction Request Against The Box

​Simply put, the task before Trae seems illogical. No hip-hop artist has ever walked into a courtroom and essentially forced a radio station to play their music. Then again, no other hip-hop artist has a day named after him in his own city. Interestingly, it was the unfortunate events that occurre ... More >>

Trae Filing Suit Against 97.9 The Box Parent Company, Staff

​Publicists for Trae the Truth sent out a press release this afternoon with the news that the Houston rapper will hold a press conference tomorrow morning to announce he is filing a civil suit against 97.9 The Box parent company Radio One, as well as several staff members of the station, alleging ... More >>

97.9 The Box Declines Comment On Trae Situation

​After a couple of days of phone and email tag, Rocks Off was finally able to get in touch with Terri Thomas, program director of 97.9 The Box, regarding the highly rated urban station's reputed ban on everything associated with local rapper Trae tha Truth - songs, mixtapes, in-studio appearances, ... More >>

Fight for Your Right

Does the U.S. belong with the Axis of Evil?

Another Perspective on the Performance Rights Act

Wednesday, Rocks Off spoke with KCOH general manager Mike Petrizzo, who voiced his concerns about the financial hardships the proposed Performance Rights Act - which would compensate performers when their songs are broadcast on terrestrial radio the same way songwriters and publishers are - could po ... More >>

KCOH Up For Sale, But Staying Put

One of the more interesting bits of music-related legislation to come up recently is the bill known as the Performance Rights Act. Drafted as House Resolution 848, sponsored by House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and co-sponsored by a host of legislators including Houston Dem ... More >>

New Found Glory: Not Without a Fight

Can't Get It Out of My Head: David Allan Coe's "Whips and Things" (NSFW)

That lovable scamp Mojo Nixon just played this song on his Sirius XM Outlaw Country shift, and now only God knows when Rocks Off is going to be able to scrub his mind clean of "Pussy-Eatin' Pamela," "Suck-'em Silly Shirley" and a few others he can't bring himself to type. And, in case you are ... More >>

Layoffs At Clear Channel

Sneakily timing things to get overshadowed by the Inauguration, media giant Clear Channel is implementing what are expected to be big layoffs at its many radio stations across the country.A tipster tells us the ax has started falling in Houston, where 15 people have reportedly been let go, and there ... More >>

Houston Radio's Sports-Talk Battle Goes On

The latest ratings are out, and there's a bit of a surprise in Houston sports-talk radio -- the fledgling outsider, KGOW, has made a bit of a name for itself.As we wrote about a year and a half ago, Houston is -- very oddly -- the home of four sports-talk radio stations. It's odd because even when y ... More >>

Houston Radio's Sports-Talk Battle Goes On

The latest ratings are out, and there's a bit of a surprise in Houston sports-talk radio -- the fledgling outsider, KGOW, has made a bit of a name for itself.As we wrote about a year and a half ago, Houston is -- very oddly -- the home of four sports-talk radio stations. It's odd because even when y ... More >>

Houston Radio's Sports-Talk Battle Goes On

The latest ratings are out, and there's a bit of a surprise in Houston sports-talk radio -- the fledgling outsider, KGOW, has made a bit of a name for itself.As we wrote about a year and a half ago, Houston is -- very oddly -- the home of four sports-talk radio stations. It's odd because even when y ... More >>

GOP Party -- Not So Much

Sports talk radio stations fight for listeners in Houston

Jock Talk

Rogue Waves

A new report cuts through the static on the radio industry

Softy Supergroup

Blocked Signals

City, county officials silence a proposed radio station inside the Dome

The White Stripes

Get Behind Me Satan

How Long, Oh, Lord, How Long

Another outpost of crap plops onto the Houston dial, as this open letter reveals

Gary Stewart

Friday, November 29

Streamlining the Hit-Making Process

Clear Channel wants to cut the indies out of the deal

Racket

Clear Channel keeps the air free of insensitive songs

Platinum Dreams

Local Latium Records rides pop Latin wave to success

Pump Up the Volume

Mix Master

Who do we have to thank for Rod Stewart every hour on the hour? This guy, Guy Zapoleon.

Howard's End

Dallas ran Howard Stern out of town. Could Houston be any more hospitable?

Cloaked in Ambition

Houston's Drapes have more on their minds than simply getting by

Played Out

The secrets of radio success Repetition. Caution. Repetition. Caution. Repetition.