Navigation
Support Us

Houston's independent source of
local news and culture

I support

Houston Press
Houston Press
Local
Community
Journalism
Support the independent voice of Houston and help keep the future of the Houston Press free.
Support Us

Best Battle DJ

Fast4ward

DJs in Houston generally don't get much respect on the national scene. Not including the late DJ Screw, you'd be hard-pressed to find a spinner from our fair city who has established a crowd outside its limits. Enter Fast4ward, a young, hip-hop-reared, experimental turntablist known for inciting near-riots of sound under his needles. Influenced equally by hip-hop forefathers like Afrika Bambaataa, today's turntable manipulators like DJ Craze, minimalist artists like John Cage and swooning, experimental rockers like Radiohead and Sonic Youth, Fast4ward takes music that, well, just shouldn't fit together and somehow makes it work. Oftentimes he'll come up with a whole new composition using nothing but found sounds from records. His "band," the Truth, is leading the new music revolution in Houston with a turntable orchestra of sorts, and when he's not cutting it up with them, you can see him performing with the Free Radicals, Studemont Project and Kwam from Freedom Sold. Quite often he's out of town, though, showing fools in other states how it's gonna be done in 2020, when the rest of the world catches up to him.

Best Retro DJ

DJ Mod Scott

Picture this: You're hanging out at a bar, guzzling down some cheap beers, getting just wasted enough to enjoy yourself. And then, the DJ plays a song -- not just any song, but a song that wakes you up, a song that makes you question everything you've ever known, a song that makes you stand up and testify, like someone at Sunday mass after a night of fornicating. That's what it feels like when DJ Mod Scott plays, say, a long-lost version of "All I Do Is Think About You," performed by Tammi Terrell and written by Stevie Wonder. A new and much-needed addition to Houston's DJ community, Scott is an avid collector of rare mid-20th-century soul, pop and reggae, and spends some of his nocturnal time playing his treasures at clubs and gatherings. Scott plays at Helios (411 Westheimer, 713-526-4648) on Tuesday nights, so head over there listen while he makes you realize that happiness is just one Stevie Wonder-penned song away.

Best Retro DJ

DJ Mod Scott

Picture this: You're hanging out at a bar, guzzling down some cheap beers, getting just wasted enough to enjoy yourself. And then, the DJ plays a song -- not just any song, but a song that wakes you up, a song that makes you question everything you've ever known, a song that makes you stand up and testify, like someone at Sunday mass after a night of fornicating. That's what it feels like when DJ Mod Scott plays, say, a long-lost version of "All I Do Is Think About You," performed by Tammi Terrell and written by Stevie Wonder. A new and much-needed addition to Houston's DJ community, Scott is an avid collector of rare mid-20th-century soul, pop and reggae, and spends some of his nocturnal time playing his treasures at clubs and gatherings. Scott plays at Helios (411 Westheimer, 713-526-4648) on Tuesday nights, so head over there listen while he makes you realize that happiness is just one Stevie Wonder-penned song away.

Best T-Shirt Designer

B-Boy Craig

It's his "Corporate Hip Hop Sux" shirt that has been known to start confrontations -- not because of its blunt statement emblazoned in six three-letter rows, but because everyone wants to say they were the first to wear it. Like an Astros throwback jersey, the "Corporate Hip Hop Sux" shirt is an article of clothing that causes heads to do double takes and tongues to wag. The following is an actual overheard exchange: "I was the first to buy that shirt!" "Oh, yeah, well I was the first to think about buying that shirt, so there!" B-Boy Craig (also known as BBC) has many other shirts up for grabs, which he sells mostly at rap concerts and hip-hop club nights put on by fellow Reprogram Music clique members (Ceeplus, Samplistik, Witnes). E-mail the designer at [email protected] to see where he'll be selling his shit-starting wardrobe next.

Best T-Shirt Designer

B-Boy Craig

It's his "Corporate Hip Hop Sux" shirt that has been known to start confrontations -- not because of its blunt statement emblazoned in six three-letter rows, but because everyone wants to say they were the first to wear it. Like an Astros throwback jersey, the "Corporate Hip Hop Sux" shirt is an article of clothing that causes heads to do double takes and tongues to wag. The following is an actual overheard exchange: "I was the first to buy that shirt!" "Oh, yeah, well I was the first to think about buying that shirt, so there!" B-Boy Craig (also known as BBC) has many other shirts up for grabs, which he sells mostly at rap concerts and hip-hop club nights put on by fellow Reprogram Music clique members (Ceeplus, Samplistik, Witnes). E-mail the designer at [email protected] to see where he'll be selling his shit-starting wardrobe next.

Best Music Gadfly

Guy Schwartz

A guitarist, songwriter, music journalist, record producer and bandleader, Guy Schwartz is omnipresent on the Houston scene. His New Jack Hippies "band" now boasts more than a hundred members, based on Schwartz's open admissions policy: If you jam with him once, you're a New Jack Hippie for life. Schwartz's recent collaborations and productions include the pro-marijuana compilation Texas Homegrown Collective, blues albums with Gloria Edwards and Little Joe Washington, a platter with honky-tonker Opie Hendrix and street poet Kool B, numerous columns in Houston Music News, weekly gigs and a variety of jam sessions. And that's not all: His remembrance of Lionel Hampton, posted to the "Music Thoughts" mailing list (groups.yahoo.com/group/musicthoughts/message/27806) was selected by Canadian rock critic Jason Weiss as one of the 25 best music-related stories of 2002, ranking Schwartz alongside The New York Times's Ben Ratliff and music-writing dilettantes such as Tom Waits and Roger Ebert.

Best Music Gadfly

Guy Schwartz

A guitarist, songwriter, music journalist, record producer and bandleader, Guy Schwartz is omnipresent on the Houston scene. His New Jack Hippies "band" now boasts more than a hundred members, based on Schwartz's open admissions policy: If you jam with him once, you're a New Jack Hippie for life. Schwartz's recent collaborations and productions include the pro-marijuana compilation Texas Homegrown Collective, blues albums with Gloria Edwards and Little Joe Washington, a platter with honky-tonker Opie Hendrix and street poet Kool B, numerous columns in Houston Music News, weekly gigs and a variety of jam sessions. And that's not all: His remembrance of Lionel Hampton, posted to the "Music Thoughts" mailing list (groups.yahoo.com/group/musicthoughts/message/27806) was selected by Canadian rock critic Jason Weiss as one of the 25 best music-related stories of 2002, ranking Schwartz alongside The New York Times's Ben Ratliff and music-writing dilettantes such as Tom Waits and Roger Ebert.

Best CD by a Local Musician

Houston Guitar Blues, Little Joe Washington

While the inimitable Little Joe Washington did make this CD in Austin, the man himself is Houston to the bone, as are the sounds on this CD. Little Joe's blues can put a hurt on ya, make you holler out loud and make you want to shake a tail feather, sometimes all in the same song. Those who've only seen him sit in with touring acts at the Continental Club or have only heard his numerous bootleg CDs owe it to themselves to see what the man can do in a recording studio. It will make you think it's still the glory days of the Houston blues.

Best CD by a Local Musician

Houston Guitar Blues, Little Joe Washington

While the inimitable Little Joe Washington did make this CD in Austin, the man himself is Houston to the bone, as are the sounds on this CD. Little Joe's blues can put a hurt on ya, make you holler out loud and make you want to shake a tail feather, sometimes all in the same song. Those who've only seen him sit in with touring acts at the Continental Club or have only heard his numerous bootleg CDs owe it to themselves to see what the man can do in a recording studio. It will make you think it's still the glory days of the Houston blues.

Best Radio Station

Star 790

Even though it's owned by an evil radio monolith, golden oldies station KBME manages to contradict every criticism cast the company's way. You say Clear Channel won't play local music? KBME does -- everything from Grady Gaines to the El Orbits. You say CC doesn't allow personalities to flourish? KBME does, as evidenced by local radio legends Paul Berlin and Ronnie Renfrow. You say CC has rigid playlists and sticks to prefab formats? Not so KBME, where the Beatles abut Louis Armstrong, where Bing Crosby follows the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Like the Muskogee, Oklahoma, of Merle Haggard's song, KBME is a place where even squares can have a ball.

Best Of Houston®

Best Of

California Privacy Policy California Collection Notice
Do Not Sell My Info
Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy The Houston Press may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ©2024 Houston Press, LP. All rights reserved.
Powered By Foundation