Waylon Jennings

Christmas Past: 15 Odd Christmas Gift Ideas for Musicians

While we celebrate the holidays, Rocks Off is resurrecting a few of our best Christmas-themed blogs from the past few years. (Wait... resurrecting is Easter. Never mind.) This blog originally appeared November 21, 2011. As the timeless tale of the Little Drummer Boy reminds us, there is no greater ... More >>

Who Should Play RodeoHouston In 2013?

On October 30, just a few days from now, RodeoHouston will announce its first round of performers for the 2013 edition of the star-studded, yeehawin', nearly three-week event at Reliant Park. The booking the last few years has been getting more adventurous, with the likes of Kid Rock, KISS, Mary J. ... More >>

7 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: A Fistful of Soul, Waylon Tribute, Etc.

Houston's favorite happenin' soul/funk/R&B/rocksteady/ska DJ night, A Fistful of Soul, returns to the Big Top about 10 p.m. this evening. Free. Say happy birthday to DJ Wes Wallace, who has been named "Best Dance Club DJ" by this publication more than ten times, at "Classic Numbers" this evening.

5 Artists Whose Second Acts Surpassed Their First

Rocks Off has always had a soft spot for Rick Nelson. Although our oldest memory of him is probably hearing about the plane crash outside Texarkana that killed him, his band and his fiancee on New Year's Eve 1985, we're also old enough to remember actually his songs like "Hello, Mary Lou," "Lonesome ... More >>

John Mayer, Cowboy?: 6 WTF Moments Of Musical Reinvention

Oh, you hadn't heard? At some point between his extended hiatus from singing and the recording of his newly announced album, Shadow Days, ol' big-mouth Mayer seems to have stumbled on some old Willie Nelson CDs and raided the nearest Cavender's in a transformation Rocks Off can only assume as bein ... More >>

Seven People Nearly Killed by Runaway Cart at Cowboys Stadium (w/ CRAZY Video)

Rise of the machine.​There are certain buildings in sports that are seemingly jinxed. Since the Red Sox finally got off the World Series schneid a few years back, Wrigley Field immediately comes to mind as the current titleholder for "bad luck mecca" as the Cubs haven't made a World Series in ... More >>

15 Odd Christmas Gift Ideas for Musicians

​As the timeless tale of the Little Drummer Boy reminds us, there is no greater gift than the gift of music. But what about those on your Christmas list who already have plenty of music in their lives? Buying gifts for musicians is no easy task -- most of them already own the entire Rush disco ... More >>

Staying Sane at Owl Bar

​The best thing about Owl Bar is that it doesn't feel like it belongs. A couple of years ago, when Mugsy's occupied the same space, it would have been a little more at home in its neighborhood. Upper Kirby has since come up in the world, though. Standing on Owl Bar's narrow patio on a Tuesday ... More >>

Top 20 Throwback TV Theme Songs Part 1

​We grew up on television. Whether it was Saturday morning cartoons, afternoon re-runs, Sunday Disney and Wild Kingdom or Thursday night "must see" TV, we saw it. We noticed that on November 2, 1985, the Miami Vice soundtrack went to number one on the Billboard charts where it would stay for ... More >>

Wednesday Open Mike at Blanco's

The seating area next to the dance floor and stage. ​Guitarist Chet Akins, the Country Gentleman, would describe the Nashville sound by jingling some the change in his pocket and saying, "It's the sound of money." Mainstream country's lucrative turn toward pop in the late 1950s eventually blos ... More >>

Top 10 Texas Movie Soundtracks

​This weekend, as the rest of the world catches Harry Potter mania for (perhaps) the final time, Houston gets a serious dose of Urban Cowboy nostalgia. Theater Under the Stars' production of the Tony-nominated 2003 musical - which The New York Times called "a conclusive demonstration that it's ... More >>

RIP Pinetop Perkins: Blues Legend Dead At 97

Ralph Mooney, former Waylon Jennings steel guitarist, also dies Steve Azzato/pinetopperkins.com​Legendary multi-Grammy-winning blues pianist Pinetop Perkins has died at his home in Austin, according to his Web site. Perkins, who was part of Muddy Waters' band for years, was 97. No cause of ... More >>

Mickey Newbury: Houston's Forgotten Genius

"Hank Williams' pain songs, Newbury's train songs/ And 'Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain' - Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings, "Luckenbach, Texas" ​Lonesome, Onry and Mean was sitting around having a few cold pops the other night when we put on The Best of Mickey Newbury. It wasn't long before the ... More >>

Monnalisa Smile

Upscale suburban bars used to be a nightlife myth. Not anymore.

Rocks Off's Rodeo Concert Guide: N'Sync Backstreet Boys O-Town Rascal Flatts

Date: March 10 Name: Rascal Flatts AKA: "No Talentt Ass Clowns" Genre: Pop-country Best Known Song(s): "What Hurts the Most," "Bless the Broken Road," "I Want it That Way Key Demographic: Hannah Montana fans looking to butch up their image, people who've never heard the name "Waylon Jennings" Previ ... More >>

He Said She Said: The Sweet, Sweet Sounds of Revenge, Part 2

​For someone who wears motorcycle boots and carries a knife, the bald(ing) He Said rightfully looks like he should be one of the most vindictive cats in the world. But in reality, the only revenge we have ever taken has been of the emotional variety, and that's probably much worse than any windows ... More >>

Misery and Gin

Country music, faded stardom, liquor, and age in Crazy Heart.

New iPhone? Rocks Off Has an App for That.

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray​ We know a ton of you got iPhones over the holiday break. Well, good news: Rocks Off has spent the last few months developing our own iPhone applications (or "apps," as the urban kids are saying) and we're thrilled to debut them here. All inquiries, critici ... More >>

Hit the Road, Jack: 10 More Notable Musical Deaths From the Past Decade

​ Looking back, this past decade wasn't too kind to rock and roll as a whole. We lost plenty of people who weren't exactly disgustingly huge as Michael Jackson or as monolithic as Johnny Cash. This decade took its share of people who were massively influential and iconic, but not on the grand worl ... More >>

Billy Joe Shaver

Steve Forbert: The Place And The Time

www.steveforbert.com

It's Been 50 Years Since the Music Died

Fifty years ago today - February 3, 1959 - the world lost three of its early pioneering rock and rollers in a fiery plane crash over Clear Lake, Iowa. Texan Buddy Holly, Chicano rock godfather Ritchie Valens, and Sabine Pass-born disc jockey/songwriter J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson all lay ... More >>

Mail Call: Post-AC/DC Edition

AC/DC may be gone (sniff), although the ringing in several of Rocks Off's friends' ears (and his own) lingers on, but the mail goes on... Waylon Jennings & the .357s (Littlefield/Nashville, R.I.P.), Waylon Forever (by request): "'I'd been playing my dad the music I was inspired by at the tim ... More >>

Can't Get It Out of My Head: "Ain't Livin' Long Like This"

Waylon Jennings, "Ain't Livin' Long Like This," live in 1980 Rocks Off is a big musical-phase guy. It's not unusual for him to get stuck - if "stuck" is indeed the proper word - listening to an artist or genre for weeks or months at a time. This summer it was Tom Petty (which he's still& ... More >>

Songs Not To Play At Intercontinental Airport's New Karaoke Booth

So now there's a karaoke booth at Intercontinental Airport. According to the Houston Chronicle, travelers can choose from "hundreds of titles."We got to wondering this morning about what's in their song selections there and more to the point -- what isn't.We imagine that the management of IAH's kara ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean Extra: Billy Joe Shaver Indicted for Aggravated Assault

Willie Nelson: One Hell of a Ride

MySpaced Out: A MySpace Mixtape

Give Us a Hand

The Other Man in Black

Waylon Jennings, Nashville Rebel

Funtime Is Over

It's the end of the road for AstroWorld

Tony Joe White

Friday, September 30, at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk, 713-528-5999.

White Trash

There's nothing good about this remake of an awful ol' show

Shooter Jennings

Put the O Back in Country

Defending the Dirty Thirty

And coping with Yankee slander

Everything Old Is New Again

What do punks the Dropkick Murphys have in common with soulful Norah Jones? More than you think.

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Billy Ray Reynolds

Whole Lot of Memories (Compadre Records)

Larry

Among Friends (Lauan Records)

Billy Joe's Blues

Billy Joe Shaver has known great blessings and great curses

Playbill

Steve Young

It's a Family Affair

Willie Nelson brings along his pals for his annual musical picnic

Urbane Cowboy

Lyle Lovett is smart, funny and wears Armani. That's right: He is from Texas.

Rotation

Static

Same Old Waylon

The most rebellious thing Waylon Jennings has done is not change

Static

Rotation

Static

Rotation