The Cult (Band)

Upcoming: Icona Pop, The Cult, HIM, Carolyn Wonderland, etc.

All Stars Tour 2013 featuring Every Time I Die: With Chelsea Grin, Veil of Maya, Terror, Stray From The Path, Capture the Crown, IWRESTLEDABEARONCE, For All Those Sleeping, Ice Nine Kills., Sat., Aug. 10, 2 p.m., $22.50. House of Blues, 1204 Caroline, Houston, 888-402-5837. Amy Lavere: Thu., June 1 ... More >>

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 >>

Black Dahlia: 5 Songs for a Famous Murder Victim

Sometime between this day and January 15 in 1947, a young woman named Elizabeth Short was brutally murdered in Hollywood. She was nicknamed The Black Dahlia in the papers, who portrayed the 23-year-old aspiring actress as a midnight-party prowler who brought about her own demise through her wanton w ... More >>

ShipRocked: A Storm From Five Finger Death Punch, and the Weather

A few weeks ago, Rocks Off's Kevin Ramer shoved off on the 2012 edition of ShipRocked, which bills itself as "the ultimate rock music cruise vacation." These are his reports. Thursday, November 29, the passengers of ShipRocked woke up to a pleasant view of the beautiful Bahamas capital city of Nass ... More >>

Against Me!

Revisiting Gaslight Anthem and Other "Baby Boss Bands"

This past year and a half was a pretty Springsteen-centric one for me. It was just last summer that we lost The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band's mascot and longtime saxophonist at the age of 69 due to stroke complications. Rewind: Springsteen Stumbles On Pedestrian New Album Wrecking ... More >>

Is There Any Chance the New Thin Lizzy Album Won't Suck?

This week, Rolling Stone and NME got wind of the fact that '70s hard-rock heroes Thin Lizzy will hit the studio this fall to record their first new album since band founder/leader/icon Phil Lynott's death 26 years ago. The news was actually broken by HotPress.com last week, but it took a while for w ... More >>

Hubcap Grill's Hangover Burger vs. Jus' Mac's Hangover Mac & Cheese

The much-touted, often dubious "Hangover Cure" has existed for almost as long as the hangover itself. In fact, the first hangover cure is said to date to the mid-17th century, when two frat boys at The Sorbonne tried eating salted honey, plum rinds and tree bark to get rid of a vicious Natty Bo han ... More >>

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2012: A$AP Rocky, De La Soul, PiL, Santigold, X, Turbonegro, Etc.

This morning Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest, the best music festival in Texas that isn't Free Press Summer Fest, announced their full 2012 lineup after months of teasing us and leaking a handful of names at a time -- and then hip-hop legends Run-D.M.C Tuesday morning. Scheduled for November 2-4 at Audit ... More >>

Last Night: The Cult & Against Me! at House of Blues

The Cult, Against Me!, The Icarus Line House of Blues June 19, 2012 Before I begin this review, I must let you all know that someone took a dump on the floor of House of Blues' balcony Tuesday night. That's not really pertinent to the action onstage itself (Failed vision quest? Babysitter canceled? ... More >>

The Cult’s Weapon of Choice

Ian Astbury talks touring with a transgendered singer and addresses his new-media critics.

RIP Ray Bradbury: 5 Musicians Who Love the Sci-Fi Author

Sci-fi fans across the world were saddened when prolific author Ray Bradbury died Tuesday, Wired magazine reported. The typewriter-loving Bradbury was 91 and lived in Los Angeles. Bradbury was best known for writing that set the standard for post-WWII science fiction such as Fahrenheit 451, The Mar ... More >>

2012 Summer Guide: It's a Scorcher

A summer concert season to melt your face off.

Ian Astbury Talks The Cult's Upcoming Tour With Against Me! & Laura Jane Grace

This afternoon, Rocks Off talked to The Cult's Ian Astbury as his band readies to go on tour with Against Me! and the Icarus Line at the end of the month. The month-long summer jaunt that stops at House of Blues June 19 was seen as a masterful juxtaposition of disparate sounding groups. Rocks Off th ... More >>

Last Night: Buckcherry & James Durbin At Warehouse Live

Buckcherry, James Durbin Warehouse Live April 25, 2012 I confessed I walked into Warehouse Live last night solely for the purpose of hearing Buckcherry play "Lit Up" and "Crazy Bitch", two of the biggest songs of a career that has now reached a decade and a half. There was a time in 2006 when you c ... More >>

30 Seconds With The Boxing Lesson

Progressive psychedelia is an acquired taste... acquired by being awesome that is. Austin's own Boxing Lesson may be one of the best modern practitioners around. If the Legendary Pink Dots teamed with the Cult you might get somewhere near the throbbing frontal lobe fuck of their work. Seriously, "He ... More >>

Upcoming: Joe Cocker, The Cult, The Lumineers, The Slackers, Jason Mraz, Etc.

Blind Pilot: Sun., July 15. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. The Bouncing Souls, The Menzingers, Luther: Sat., June 23. Fitzgerald's The Bright Light Social Hour: Fri., May 25. Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Houston. Broncho: Thu., June 28. Fitzgerald's Cassandra Wilson: Sat., Oct. 20. C ... More >>

Alert: SXSW Coverage Ahead -- 50 Cent And Much More

"What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area." -- Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive You don't have to spend much time at South By Southwest to know that all of the above building ... 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 >>

Gothic Council Debates Great Gothic Album Cover Art

​Gothtopia would like to firmly bitch-slap an old adage, that being the warning about judging a book by its cover. The lesson we are supposed to draw from that is that we should look deeper inside than just the surface in order to better appreciate the true character of whatever the subject is ... More >>

Ray Manzarek & Robby Krieger of The Doors

This Just In: SXSW Announces First Round Of 2012 Showcasing Bands, Including Fat Tony and Something Fierce

Photo By Marco TorresFat Tony at a day show at SXSW '11​Sweet lord, it's not even Thanksgiving yet and South By Southwest is making us excited for March in Austin already. Today the industry festival announced a few bands coming to the capitol city next year, and a few Houston names and Rocks ... More >>

Saturday Night: Stage Frights & Ending the Vicious Cycle At Numbers

Photos by Jef With One F​The Stage Frights, Ending the VIcious Cycle Numbers September 24, 2011 The Stage Frights are only on their fourth show, but between the husband and wife team of Larry Rainwater and Spleen there are decades of experience in goth musical excellence. Previously they've b ... More >>

2 Become 1: Musical Match-Ups We'd Like To See

​Kanye "Hitler" West and Jay-Z released their (overused music writer word alert) epic Watch the Throne album this week, to mostly great reviews. This fall the first fruits from the recently announced Lou Reed/Metallica collaboration should be on the store shelves, which still sorta weirds us o ... More >>

Loch Ness Radio: The Wind Cries Nessie

It's a well-known fact that band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we're trying to find meaning in the oddest monikers. ​Well friends and enemies, your faithful name-gamer is back after spending some time locked in a windowless room being questioned by three guys with ... More >>

Erland And The Carnival Map Modern Man In New Video

Vanessa Galvin​When Rocks Off wants the lowest of the lowdown on good new music that isn't centered here in the Lone Star State, we always turn to Mick Cullen at Subterranean Radio. His three hour program has become a Thursday night ritual with us as he guides us through some of the most excit ... More >>

What's in a Name? Fired for Walking

Photo by Kimberly Fernandez​It's a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we're trying hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. Well, Rocks Off can't say we haven't been to an opium den anymore. Our own Fired for Walking is a loud and thor ... More >>

The Seven Ages Of Goth

​This is not meant as a complete history of goth, as that would be a huge book. Instead, we're aiming to give a simple overview of the musicians, songs and albums that have most defined the genre. Many deserving artists have been left out, and some that we're sure some people feel are not wor ... More >>

The Worst Local Crowds Of 2010

Jason Wolter​Editor's Pick: I am so sick of complaining about Houston crowds, ill-behaved as they are, but I will say to whoever decided it would be funny to take Bobby Bare Jr.'s glasses off the stage at Hayes Carll's Warehouse show Tuesday night and put them on: That was not cool. Neph Bas ... More >>

Rivers, The Dead Revolt

The Top WTF Moments Of The Year

Editor's Pick: WTF doesn't have to mean "bad," you know. About a week ago - a week exactly, as a matter of fact - En Vogue's "Free Your Mind" came on the PA at Fitzgerald's. I have been in a musical fog for a few months, where nothing was really connecting, but this song snapped me right out of it ... More >>

What Is Classic Rock Today?

​What is classic rock in 2010? 15 years ago, it was was the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, anything Eric Clapton touched and every band your dad played in his car while he was making out with the girls he met before your mom. That's how we know classic rock: Big riffs, big voices, in ... More >>

Friday Night: Social Distortion At House Of Blues

Photos by GroovehouseFor more photos of Social D and friends, see our slideshow here.​Social Distortion House of Blues November 19, 2010 In its 30-year lifespan, the impact Social Distortion has had on its audience is easy to tell. Friday night at a packed House of Blues (more on that later), ... More >>

Sam's Place

Lightnin' Hopkins finally gets his own historical marker.

106.9 FM Gets In The Zone, Misses The Point?

​Another Houston radio station has changed formats, or "flipped," although early reaction from some listeners is that the change is so slight it's hardly a change at all. Cox Communications has rechristened its property at 106.9 FM from "The Point" to "The Zone." It's not a sports station, al ... More >>

Based On Music Scene, Houston May Be U.S.'s 4th-Dumbest City

​Sooooo... The Daily Beast has compiled its second annual list of the dumbest cities in America. Houston came in fourth from last (out of 55), just ahead of our neighbors in San Antonio. The list is compiled through a great many things, such as the number of libraries, cultural investments and ... More >>

Friday Night: The Cult At House Of Blues

Photos by Groovehouse​The Cult, The Black Ryder House of Blues October 1, 2010 See photos from the Cult's leather-clad performance in our slideshow. So it goes that as the years pass, a band's worth and status gets continuously reevaluated. For the past week, Aftermath had been pondering The ... More >>

Open Tab: Time To Hit The Patio! And Not Each Other!

Photos by Craig Hlavaty​Thanks, God! The weather this week has been more hospitable than the past five months of hell you put us through, making it easier to drink and smoke outside without our sweat putting out our cigarettes. It's always nice to know you got our backs, except for the whole d ... More >>

The Black Ryder Growing A Cult Of Its Own

The Black Ryder on Facebook​Hayden Scott, whom we met recently when he was drumming for Gram Rabbit at Last Concert Café in August, emailed Lonesome Onry and Mean to say that he's playing drums with The Black Ryder, the Sydney, Australia rockers who are opening The Cult's current tour. Accord ... More >>

Candy Flip

Gram Rabbit's psych-disco twang

He Said She Said: Fire In The Earhole!, Part 2

​To be honest, She Said can't really remember the last time she stepped foot inside Mai's. It was definitely several years ago, before she left Houston and then came back again, and it was probably with this guy, probably after a show. She Said probably had some Thai curry and hot tea, but she can ... More >>

Bulls On Parade: Our Favorite Songs About Livestock

​It's almost Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo time again. Our annual celebration of sub-par country music and pissed-off bovines stomping poor fools' nuts in the dirt kicks off March 2 and runs for almost three weeks. During which Houstonians will enjoy traffic-delaying wagon trains and more dou ... More >>

Which Hard-Rocking Northern Irishmen Might Blow AC/DC Off the Stage Sunday? The Answer Is The Answer

​Rocks Off is about as excited about Sunday's AC/DC show as we were for the Black Ice ballbreakers' show 11 months ago, but for a much different reason. Last time it was because we hadn't seen AC/DC since 1996 at Austin's Frank Erwin Center; this time it's because we're itching to see the band beh ... More >>

Halloween Countdown: How Best To Go For The `90s-Nostalgia Look

Halloween is coming, and that means many, many costuming mistakes will be made by normally sane adults. To help stop this scourge, each Thursday we will be offering tips and analysis of what to avoid, or possibly what to do. Check out past entries here and here. If VH1 has taught us nothing else, it ... More >>

Butthole Surfers

The Cult

Rock The Bayou Is a Bust

Our Favorite Albums of 2007

Panning for gold in an avalanche of 2007 releases

Back in Black

Cult Survivors