The Hold Steady

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 >>

30 Seconds With Astronautalis

Rocks Off hitched a ride on a space whale in order to hook up with Andy Bothwell, also known as Astronautalis to see what we could learn about our biggest hope for rap in 30 seconds. paperocean​Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Astronautalis: "Love in an Elevator" by Aerosmith. ... More >>

Friday Night: Sublime at Discovery Green

Photos by groovehouse​Sublime Discovery Green April 1, 2011 Check out our slideshows from this weekend's Big Dance Concert Series: the bands and the fans. Aftermath has been listening to Sublime as long as we can remember. They helped define our childhood, but we never thought we would get ... More >>

More Local Music News Than Final Four Traffic Snarls

Buxton mixing their new album in L.A.​The Final Four descends upon Houston this weekend. Oh, if there were only four feeds we had to follow to bring all this lovely Houston music news to everyone. Instead, MCM crawls through more feeds than there are colleges in the NCAA, gathering up every bi ... More >>

Hold Steady, Panic!, Pat Green Round Out Big Dance Lineup

Allen HillLos Skarnales at Discovery Green, September 2010​This weekend Houston gets invaded by college basketball like never before as the Final Four takes over Reliant Stadium and Discovery Green for a slew of concerts and parties for the folks coming into town for the games and us locals al ... More >>

SXSW With LOM: Gourds Kill, Grandfather Child Wins, Candy Golde Shines

Donica ChristensenWhat the Gourds saw from the stage at Friday's Vanguard Records party​Day Two found Lonesome Onry and Mean at the Vanguard Records day party, where the label was intent on showcasing several of its newest acts. While Viva Voce may not be the best band name ever, the Pixies-is ... More >>

R.I.P. Phil Lynott: Top 10 Thin Lizzy Songs

​Thin Lizzy bassist and front man Phil Lynott passed away 25 years ago today due to drug and alcohol dependency in Salisbury, England. The hole Lynott, who was 36, left in the rock world has never been filled. First off, we should just post Lizzy's entire Jailbreak album right here to honor t ... More >>

Vinyl Junkie Joins Houston's Indie Record-Store Ranks

Photos by Neph Basedow​Considering the music junkies we are, Rocks Off couldn't wait to check out Houston's newest independent record store, the aptly titled Vinyl Junkie, which opened its doors November 1. Located at 4202 E. Canal in Houston's East End, customers might need to circle the blo ... More >>

Still Fun Fun Fun, Festival Is On The Cusp Of Change

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Miss the bands in Austin this weekend? See as many as we could squeeze into our handy slideshow. Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin is on the cusp of change. A renovation to its home base, Waterloo Park, is due within the next year, so come next November the festival more than ... More >>

The Hold Steady

Springsteen 2.0: Can Baby Bosses Cruise The Backstreets?

Daniel Kramer​This fall, Houstonians salivating for another touring run by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band don't have to search to hard to find bands heavily influenced by the man's sound and work ethic. Even though Springsteen and his merry band of musicians may be cooling their road ... More >>

Upcoming: Appleseed Cast, Deftones, Hold Steady, Usher, Etc.

​The Appleseed Cast, Ananlog Rebellion: Fri., Nov. 5. Fitzgerald's. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Os Mutantes: Sun., Nov. 7. Fitzgerald's. Barenaked Ladies: Wed., Nov. 3. Verizon Wireless Theater. "Best Of Houston Launch Party" With Robert Ellis & The Boys, The Zydeco Dots, Los Skarnales, ... More >>

Music's 15 Gnarliest Moustaches

​Moustaches are all the rage these days. From shirts to snow globes, rides, wax and tattoos, everyone wants a moustache or at least to support the cause. Rocks Off even has a moustache. When it was longer we combed it while driving or lounging, much to the chagrin of the people around us. Ce ... More >>

Rocks Off's Top 10 Favorite Story-Songs

​The Internet wants to kill Gordon Lightfoot - back in February, someone started a rumor that the Canadian troubadour was dead. Of course it started on Twitter, of all places, where an offhand remark about a celebrity death will be held as fact. Hell, the other night we killed Tim Allen and To ... More >>

Top Eight Bands That Sound Best When You're Drunk

​Some bands are great no matter what state you're in; some are terrible regardless of whether or not you could pass a breathalyzer test. Some bands, however, exist in a curious in-between zone, where what was merely decent, average or even uninteresting becomes enthralling with the simple addi ... More >>

Will The Real Fun Fun Fun Fest Lineup Please Stand Up?

Marc BrubakerMetallagher at Fun Fun Fest 2009​Lots of late-night intrigue in the Twitterverse, as anticipation for the announcement of the lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 builds to a boil. Late Wednesday, Austin blog Party Ends published a list including Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance, Ga ... More >>

Devo, MGMT, Mastodon, Devin, Black Congress Head Fun Fun Fun Lineup

GroovehouseMGMT at House of Blues in June​The official lineup for this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest, set for November 5-7 at Waterloo Park in the heart of downtown Austin, was released moments ago. In terms of firepower, this year's Fun Fun Fun roster arguably brings the festival within striking di ... More >>

Last Night: Silversun Pickups And Against Me! At Warehouse Live

Photos by Faith SilvaAgainst Me!​Silversun Pickups, Against Me! Warehouse Live July 20, 2010 Against Me! opening up for Silversun Pickups would be like the Replacements opening up for My Bloody Valentine in 1991. Except that Against Me! isn't on the wane of their career and Silversun has way ... More >>

Wild Moccasins Get CD Release Crowd A-Twitter

Jay Dryden via Wild Moccasins' Facebook​Between SXSW, the band's tour kickoff show last month and the interview in this week's print edition, Rocks Off has had plenty to say about the Wild Moccasins lately. So for the band's CD release of debut full-length Skin Collision Past Friday at Walte ... More >>

FAIL: The Temptations, Roger Waters, Fred Schneider

If you're reading this, you're either on the Internet, or else you've mastered multi-dimensional thought-projection processes that would make Michio Kaku cry like a little girl. We'll assume the former, and just in case you don't already know, the Internet has decided that the word "failure" is too ... 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 >>

Play Ball! Baseball Songs Even A Non-Sports Fan Can Love

​Sports aren't really She Said's thing, though she does like to watch games where there's a lot at stake emotionally (Super Bowl XLIV) and she nearly always roots for the underdog. Mostly, she really enjoys the speed of college basketball, and the nostalgia of baseball. She Said's dad is by no mea ... More >>

SXSW Aftermath: Freelance Whales And Local Natives Shine At French Kiss Records' Showcase

Photos by Brandon K. HernsbergerFreelance Whales​For as long as French Kiss Records has put on a showcase at SXSW, French Kiss Records has not dissapointed. The bands in their stable are a who's who of up and comers along with a number of indie mainstays that have remained in the public conscious ... More >>

Rid Of Me And Other Great Albums With Truly Hideous Covers

​MGMT's new album, Congratulations, comes out in April! We're excited. MGMT's 2008 debut album, Oracular Spectacular, was fantastic, and we can't wait to hear what they've got in store for the follow-up. We're positive it will be awesome, as those weird-ass kids are only going to get weirder as th ... More >>

Ghosts of Washington Avenue

Noise goes whistling through the scenester artery's music venue graveyard.

Walter's on Washington Leaves Its Namesake Avenue Behind.

Moving on up!

Walter's on Washington Closing In October; Club May Relocate

Bill OliveSilver Jews at Walter's on Washington, September 2008​Rocks Off learned this morning that Walter's on Washington, one of Houston's primary venues for local bands, indie-rock, hardcore and touring acts not yet on the radar of Warehouse Live and House of Blues, will close at the end of Oct ... More >>

Bouncin' Back: Songs for Survivors

Last Wednesday evening's positivity-ruining shootings at TSU's "Trae Day" block party were a fine example of how ignorance and violence can crash even the most uplifting party, but also of something else: Sometimes we get lucky (or blessed, depending on your theological viewpoint). In three separat ... More >>

Pump Up the Volume

St. Louis post-punks So Many Dynamos are ready for battle with The Loud Wars.

SXSW Snapshots: Strange Days Indeed

Beelzebun's: All Hell's About to Break Loose! Photos by Chris GrayThis guy hasn't slept in days.

How About Some SXSW Day Parties? A LOT of SXSW Day Parties?

We here at Rocks Off are only about a week away from chafed inner thighs, weird Japanese punk bands puking in hotel pools and sweating out our morning mojitos while walking to an art space off 4th Street. South By Southwest is now only a week away. It was all fun and games in December when we w ... More >>

The Year in Albums

Ben Kweller

Weekend Music: (Just Like) Starting Over

The Hold Steady: Stay Positive

Who Stole the Roll?

Bryan Adams's 11, 11 Times Through

Just Like "Heaven"

High Gas Prices Still Hurting Touring Bands

Notes toward a post-cheap-gas touring economy

Should Bruce Springsteen Be Forgiven?

Arguments for reconsidering the missteps on the Boss's otherwise impeccable track record

The Replacements: All Over but the Shouting, by Jim Walsh

A new oral history of The Replacements

Fatal Flying Guilloteens, Quantum Fucking

CD Review

Under the Volcano

Ducking Humberto at Under the Volcano

Confessions of a Classic Rock Whore, or One Man’s Journey

Crawdaddy! Is Back

The rock magazine returns

New Orleans Legend Al "Carnival Time" Johnson and a Guilloteen's Swan Song

McManus plays his last Houston gig this week, while a Big Easy piano-pounder plays his first

Independence Day

What's indie rock? Who cares? Here's ten great CDs that will blow you away, no matter your definition

Drugged and Disorderly

The Hold Steady keeps it cinematic

The Mae Shi

Saturday, October 22, at Mary Jane's Fat Cat, 4216 Washington Avenue, 713-869-5263.

The Hold Steady

Separation Sunday