Hidden Tracks: Future Clouds and Radar
Assistant Music Editor Olivia Flores Alvarez had a few questions for Future Clouds and Radar’s founder Robert Harrison. First, a couple of questions about Tippy Feldman, the group’s number one fan. Here’s a little backstory from the band’s website: “Once there was an intrepid motel nightwatchmen named Tippy Feldman who…
Alice Cooper: Golf Monster
Alice Cooper has great advice for you, whether you’re a golfer or a rocker: “Surround yourself with the most interesting and talented people you can – celebrities, pros. Whoever plays better than you. Whoever inspires you.” For me, one of those people was Alice Cooper. In the early 1970s, Alice…
Bonds Not So Bad
Barry Bonds is in town. I know that I am supposed to write bad things about Barry Bonds. That I am supposed to show him my utmost contempt. But I will not do that because I do not hold Barry Bonds in any kind of contempt. As was stated way…
Playbill: Kevin Russell
Kevin Russell, a former Houston boy who has gone on to great things with his band The Gourds, will be doing a free solo show at Under the Volcano Wednesday. Russell has always had a loose, open muse working, and never more so than on his solo album Buttermilk and…
Carrot Hot Dog
Houston Press Art Director Monica Fuentes was having her lunch when she came across this little oddity. Looks like a hot dog, doesn’t it? – Olivia Flores Alvarez…
Country Music Awards
The 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards honored its own last night with former “American Idol” Carrie Underwood taking home a couple of tropheys. Underwood, who had five nominations, won Best Album for “Some Hearts” and Best Video “Before He Cheats.” She was also up for Best Female Vocalist,…
Cheap Criminals
My fool-proof plan failed. I figured if (there’s my downfall right there), if I had credit so bad no one in their right mind would give me a new credit card and if, (another flaw), I kept no more than $37 in my bank account, surely no one would bother…
The Texans and Suns Still Have Hope (But Not Much)
This glass is half full, at least for today. The Houston Texans begin OTAs (Organized Team Activities) this week, so in the spirit of fresh starts and unbridled optimism, I’ve decided to jump on board and purge my soul of five years worth of ill will and negativity generated by…
Wednesday Astros Update
Let’s get to the important news. Carlos Lee hit two home runs last night. The second one came in the bottom of the tenth inning to give the Astros the win, 6-5, over the San Francisco Giants. Another important matter: the Astros have returned to the .500 mark with a…
Art Car Photos
Take a look at a couple of Art Car Parade photos taken by Houston Press staffer Abrahan Garza. Do you have any photos from this weekend’s parade? Send them in and we’ll post them here. (JPGS only, please, via e-mail to Olivia.Alvarez@HoustonPress.com) – Olivia Flores Alvarez…
Treasure Island
Alley actors get to play pirates An Alley performer fulfills every actor’s secret dream Photo: Joel Peter Johnston Here’s a secret about the world of drama from Alley Theatre artistic director Gregory Boyd: “Part of the reason a lot of [actors] got into the theater, besides the free drinks, was…
Jesus Breaks the Story…Four Years Later
I’ve really been trying to ignore the Chronicle’s Jesus Ortiz – blood pressure issues and all of that. But the guy’s “Baseball Notebook” column this weekend had some good information. For instance, Billy Wagner was traded after the 2003 season because he dared to call out Drayton McLane. Apparently, Drayton…
Wooing Lord Voldemort
Old Age Hasn’t been kind to Larry Brown Love him or hate him, Jeff Van Gundy’s tenure as head coach of the Houston Rockets will almost certainly come to an end this week. Is it a done deal? No. But where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire, and absolutely no one…
Live Shots: Bob Schneider
Bob Schneider at Warehouse Live, Friday, May 11. Photo: Dana Donovan…
Live Shots: Kings of Leon
With the fragrant aroma of leather and cigarette smoke, Caleb Followill and his gang of brothers (and one cousin) sauntered onto the stage at Warehouse Live to testify. The Tennessee gentlemen kicked off Saturday night’s performance with “Charmer”, the lead shrieker off the new record “Because of the Times”. With…
Astros Update
The Astros won 2 of 3 from the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. The record’s now 18-19, and they have moved to within 7 games of the Milwaukee Brewers, and are in a tie with the Cubs for second place. The big news from the weekend was the demotion of Chris…
On the Pot
Damn. Looks like former UT stud Ricky Williams tested postive for pot. Again. — Keith Plocek…
Rudy G Comes Out in Favor of Killing Unborn Babies (In a Good Way, Of Course)
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani was at Houston Baptist University this morning, talking tough (“A good defense is a strong offense”) and kissing babies (“I am a politician”). The crowd was star struck – after all, this was the guy who appeared in that one Seinfeld episode about nonfat yogurt,…
Camera-phone Frenzy
The May photo contest for Houston-area high schoolers is in full swing. The topic is camera-phone photos. Click here for more information. And click here to vote for your favorite sports photo from April. – Keith Plocek…
Friday Astros Note
Just one week to go… For some reason, Phil Garner decided to bat Orlando Palmeiro lead-off, yesterday. And, since Palmeiro went 0-5, I guess Garner’s idea was to make us all long for Craig Biggio. And, seeing that Palmeiro’s average is now .174, that strategy almost worked. But being as…
Turns Out Sisyphus Actually Had It Pretty Easy
In our never-ending quest to report all the news that happens within one block of our building, we now present a photo essay by Abrahan Garza, documenting what has to be the City of Houston’s fifth or sixth attempt to repair a grate across from the Houston Press building…
Chart Check
Ne-Yo has the number one slot on the Billboard’s 200 chart with Because Of You. The Def Jam release sold a reported 250,000 copies during its first week out. Michael Buble’s Call Me Irresponsible enters the chart at the number two spot with Rush’s Snakes & Arrows debuting at number…
And So It Begins
An e-mail blast from Sarah Gish of www.saveourlandmarks.org warns that the process of tearing down the River Oaks Shopping Center has begun in earnest. Weingarten Realty filed paperwork with the city Monday as a first step towards demolishing the curved part of the center (think Three Brothers bakery). There are…
No Bolitar? No Thanks.
One of the great recurring characters in modern American mystery writing has to be Myron Bolitar, the sports agency owner who frequently finds himself detecting on the side in murders most foul. He’s smart, he’s funny, and he finds himself in all kinds of messed up situations. And he has…
Re: Putting His Foot in His Mouth After Wearing a Bloody Sock
Well, Curt Schilling decided the best way to settle the Barry Bonds issue was to apologize. Which, yesterday, Schilling did, stating that “it was absolutely irresponsible and wrong to say what I did. I don’t think it’s within anyone’s right to say the things I said yesterday and affect other…
Take Five: Back Door Slam
Back Door Slam, (l to r) Ross Doyle, Adam Jones, and Davy Knowles Back Door Slam’s front man Davy Knowles spoke to Houston Press Assistant Music Editor Olivia Flores Alvarez recently about the group’s first ever American gig (SXSW), the death of founding member Brian Garvey, and stealing from the…
Kwoutable Kwoutes
So some people are a little ticked that U.S. Rep Ted Poe quoted Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first Grand Wizard of the KKK, in a speech before the House Monday. But the Houston Press obtained a rough draft of the speech with other quotes he considered, and we feel Poe…
Three in a Row
It looks as if Woody Williams figured that there was only one way that he could guarantee he would ever get a victory as a member of the Astros, and that was if he did it himself. So, he drove in the game-winning run himself. Hey, kids, the Astros have…
Mexican-American Culture
Dear Readers, I’ve done mucho national press due to the interest in my book — the list so far includes Talk of the Nation, FOX News Live, Paula Zahn Now, The Tom Leykis Show, The Glen Beck Show, BBC and Reuters. E-mails have invaded my inbox as a result, which…
The Hero Factor
A Southern-rock inspired band from the Midwest turned indie and introspective? It’s true. Once a garage band from Tulsa, Oklahoma (can a Midwestern band really start as anything but a garage band?), The Hero Factor reinvented its sound after co-founding members Eric Arndt (vocals and bassist) and Matt Fisher (guitarist)…
Lousy Hustler
Publisher: Conspiracy Entertainment
Platform: PSP
Price: $29.99
ESRB Rating: M (for Mature)
Score: 2 (out of 10)
The Rapture
Few bands spawn a bidding war for their first album, but after the release of the Rapture’s Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks EP on Sub Pop in 2001, that’s exactly what happened. When record execs saw how New York-based Rapture was leading the charge to reexamine and…
Hitchcock on Holiday
To Catch a Thief: Special Collector’s Edition (Paramount) Starring Cary Grant as a cat burglar and Grace Kelly as a hot-to-trot heiress, this is easily one of Alfred Hitchcock’s slightest films, especially coming on the heels of Rear Window; indeed, its idyllic setting on the French Riviera suggests it was…
Stars of Track and Field
There seems to be an unwavering trend for polished, non-offensive rock these days. Bands like Coldplay, Keane, Starsailor, Travis and Snow Patrol have gone from being budding Brit rock stars to making decent livings churning out Grey’s Anatomy-worthy tunes that embrace the mainstream and aim for even higher, radio-friendly heights…
Top DVDs
Because I Said So! (Universal) Breaking and Entering (Weinstein) The Bridge on the River Kwai: Collector’s Edition (Sony) Cagney & Lacey: The True Beginning (MGM) The Caine Mutiny: Collector’s Edition (Sony) Catch & Release (Sony) Deliver Us From Evil (Lionsgate) Dirty Dancing: Twentieth Anniversary (Lionsgate) Donnie Brasco: Extended Cut (Sony)…
Bob Schneider
Like the Energizer Bunny, Bob Schneider just keeps bouncing back. He’s survived a childhood in Munich, Germany, Sandra Bullock, drugs and spells as a sensitive singer-songwriter and faux rapper, only to return with The Californian, a rocking, deep-bottomed record that echoes the Black Keys or maybe Schneider’s old band, The…
Gays, censorship, alligators, mobsters, Houston Texans
Laura Baumbach is a mother, a nurse and an author. An author of hot, sweaty, man-on-man “romance” novels, among other works. And she learned recently that we don’t take too kindly to such things here in Houston. Baumbach flew in from western New York state to attend a romance writers’…
Priestbird
Until this past year, Priestbird was known as Tarantula A.D., but due to a legal battle with a Portuguese power-metal group, they were forced to make a name change. The story gets foggy here; some people say they actually broke up, then decided to get back together. The way the…
Kings of Leon
After several days and nights of waiting to hear from someone, anyone with a Kings of Leon pedigree, I finally get a last-minute cell phone hookup with Matthew Followill, cousin to Caleb, Jared and Nathan Followill, guitarist and one-quarter of the Kings of Leon. The Tennessee-based Kings are in Glasgow,…
Five Wines That’ll Blow Your Mind
Why drink wine this time of year anyway? Why not just stick with beer? We asked Backstreet Café and Hugo’s wine guy, certified sommelier Sean Beck, for his take on the subject. Sean Beck: Wine is capable of leaving an impression so distinct that, years later, you still remember where…
Confessions of a Hilary Duff fan
We don’t look like Hilary Duff fans. I’m a twentysomething tattooed white guy and my girlfriend Elizabeth, also twenty-something, is an art student specializing in surrealistic pop art. But we are die-hard Hilary Duff fans — as in, fanatics. Most of our conversations are either leading to a Hilary reference…
28 Weeks Later
Four years after “Mission Accomplished,” 28 Weeks Later reminds us that the mission, whatever the hell it was to begin with, is now officially, apocalyptically fucked. The story thus far: Seven months have gone by since the Rage virus passed from chimp fang to British bloodstream in an animal-rights intervention…
A Guide to Being Cool
Pertinent Journalism Hey, thanks for your detailed Coachella reports, everybody. God dammit, I wasn’t there, so who gives a crap, garrrrhrhrhhhh. New Frontiers in Narcissism Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz cracks People magazine’s Most Beautiful People 2007 list. Suggested wise-ass song title: “Finally, Halle Berry and I Are on the…
Georgia Rule
Three noisy women and a worn-out premise rattle around trying to make contact in Georgia Rule, an incoherent dramedy of rampant parental insufficiency from director Garry Marshall. Marshall’s broad comedy has always made him a soft target for critics, but along with his duds (Beaches, Runaway Bride and Raising Helen…
The Upside of MySpace
MySpace can be more than a little soul-sucking: I’ve seen it consume lives, World of Warcraft-style. But as nefarious as it can be, it has undeniable upsides. Foremost, it’s a wellspring of untapped talent — and I’m not talking about trolling for trollops (although, come to think of it, some…
Away from Her
In the superbly tacit chamber piece Away from Her, intolerable pressure is brought to bear on the 44-year marriage between a college professor and his homemaker spouse after she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Grant Andersson (played by veteran Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent) and his wife Fiona (an artfully wrinkled…
What the hell?
Who’s the crazy guy eating fried crickets? That’s Kris Racer. He’ll be performing at Sunday, May 13, at Notsuoh, 314 Main, 713-237-8220. Joe Mathlete also performs…
Mail Call
Sickening: Shame on the Chronicle for allowing such offensive trash [ “Out on the Edge,” Hair Balls, April 26]. Although he is a “comedian,” David Reyes is not at all humorous, and he should be ashamed of trying to make fun of the Virginia Tech massacre. There is nothing amusing…
Drag Queen Bingo
Jeff, be nice. It’s for charity,” my bartender, Corey, tells me as I look around a half-empty JR’s (808 Pacific St., 713-521-2519). I’m here for Drag Queen Bingo. Drag Queen Bingo is just like regular bingo, except all money raised goes to charity, and instead of having some old man…
Houston Radio Still Sucks
Yeah, yeah, we know. It’s an iPod/choose-your-own-adventure/satellite radio world. Old-school terrestrial radio is dead. Who wants to mess around with presets on a car dial when you can run 7,000 songs through your iPod-infused cassette deck or DVD player, or tune in to the satellite radio station microprogrammed for your…
Home of the Brave
War is hell, says Home of the Brave, and if you’re Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, so is acting. Fiddy gets a leg up from typecasting as Jamal Atkins, one of four demoralized veterans of Operation Enduring Fuckup, home from Iraq to a world of pain. How to handle back problems,…
The Sea and Cake
As Pitchfork Media once said of the group Silkworm, consistency without spectacle can make for a tough sell. This axiom also applies to Sea and Cake, but it has been mitigated somewhat by their danceability, which came to a head on 2000’s Oui and 2003’s One Bedroom, as the band…
The Clean House
Truly fine in so many ways, Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House is thrilling, surprising and artful. The lovely comedy/drama actually lives up to all the hype it’s gotten since it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. And the Alley Theatre has created a moving, inventive production that’s one…
Various Artists
According to at least one mainstream music rag, gypsy rock is the next big thing. Yet the 11 artists on Putumayo’s latest collection of intoxicating international rhythms eschew clichéd guitar riffage for squeezeboxes and syncopated swing beats. As the title suggests, Gypsy Groove is full of interesting musical juxtapositions —…
Doug Supernaw
Even by his own standards, which have grown increasingly bizarre over the past ten years, the show Doug Supernaw was putting on in an April pretrial hearing in Brazos County Court at Law No. 2 was pretty strange. The one-time country star, whose early 1990s run of hits included the…
Stage Capsule Reviews
Cunning Little Vixen Although a friend of fellow countryman Antonin Dvork, Idiosyncratic Czech composer Leos Jancek remained unfazed by European musical trends, influenced mainly by Moravian folk melodies, sounds of nature and the musical tonality of speech. His music is unlike anyone else’s — certainly not primitive or amateurish, as…
Neil Young
Recordings of this Toronto performance have been widely bootlegged over the years, but the official release is still essential because the sound is impeccable, lending a cavernous depth to Young’s singing and playing. This can be attributed to the late David Briggs, Young’s longtime producer, who also did the sound…
Kasra Persian Grill
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays; noon to 10 p.m. Sundays.
Hummus: $4.50
Lamb shank and eggplant: $11.49
Shrimp kabob: $13.49
Kubideh: $7.49
Barg: $13.49
Sultani: $14.49
“Robert Rauschenberg: Cardboards and Related Pieces”
Just inside the gallery, a young man stood stroking his beard as he pondered a cardboard box hung on the wall. The scene looked like a mid-century cartoon about modern art. The cardboard box was a work by Robert Rauschenberg, part of “Robert Rauschenberg: Cardboards and Related Pieces” at the…
Redman
After a six-year recording hiatus, Redman returns to the mike with the engaging and stimulating, yet not particularly memorable, release of Red Gone Wild. Delayed and pushed back for more than a year, this album is plagued by the same poor promotion that delayed other recent label releases from the…
UNDER THE VOLCANO’S
“Now those are some nice tits!” the customer to my right says, sounding like a pirate on Viagra. The rack he’s complimenting belongs to our spunky barmaid, who laughs hysterically as she walks up to each customer, unbuttons her jean jacket and gives them a quick flash, nipples and all…
Art Capsule Reviews
“Carlos Cruz-Diez” Sicardi Gallery presents an exhibition of work by the 83-year-old veteran of optically kinetic art. Carlos Cruz-Diez’s low-tech optically kinetic work is made with thin stripes of color, painted or silk-screened, separated by slender strips of Plexiglas to conceal and reveal shifting colors as the viewer moves past…
Ellis Paul
Don’t automatically cast Ellis Paul into that Nor’easter folkie bin where your Tejas chromosomes probably tell you he belongs. No, despite his Boston ties, Paul is one of those sophisticates whose tunes have moved beyond the often cheesy platitudes of Yankee folk toward the heartfelt cotton candy platitudes of pop,…
“Forgers, Fakes and Pirates: Faking the Book”
The Museum of Printing History is displaying original copies of the Texas Declaration of Independence, checks signed by George Washington and autobiographies by people including Adolf Hitler and Charles I of England (this one allegedly written on the eve of his execution in 1649). The collection of these and other…
