Lean In Real Close, Cuz He’s About to Scream
Poor Dan Hawkins. The man is under a lot of pressure. The team he used to coach — the Boise State Broncos — capped off an undefeated season with a win over Oklahoma in one of the most exciting bowl games ever played. Hawkins’s new team — the Colorado Buffaloes…
Lean In Real Close, Cuz He’s About to Scream
Poor Dan Hawkins. The man is under a lot of pressure. The team he used to coach — the Boise State Broncos — capped off an undefeated season with a win over Oklahoma in one of the most exciting bowl games ever played. Hawkins’s new team — the Colorado Buffaloes…
Lean In Real Close, Cuz He’s About to Scream
Poor Dan Hawkins. The man is under a lot of pressure. The team he used to coach — the Boise State Broncos — capped off an undefeated season with a win over Oklahoma in one of the most exciting bowl games ever played. Hawkins’s new team — the Colorado Buffaloes…
Get Your Immigrant Hands Off Our Armani!
This angry missive arrived in our inbox the other day: I have a story idea that I find enraging. I work at the Galleria and monthly they send out a bulletin about sales figures and events. Well on the list of events they list 7 Mexican Holidays (including Mexican Independence…
Another Bush Slips in the Polls
Last night’s installment of the “Movies Houstonians Love” series at the MFAH was a big success. Apparently it was the first time the event has sold out, meaning Bun B beat out both Larry Dierker and Barbara Bush in terms of attendance. We’re not sure exactly what that means, but…
Click It
Daniel Kramer The Houston Press is looking for the next Peter Parker, so we’re having a little contest to showcase the area’s best up-and-coming photographers. Every month for the next year, all Houston-area high school students are encouraged to send us three samples of their photojournalistic work. Once the snaps…
Catfish Reef: Truckin’ With Albert Collins
Welcome to the inaugural installment of Catfish Reef, Houstoned Rocks’s ongoing exploration of Houston’s rich musical history. Once a week, we’ll rifle through the crates in the Bayou City’s collective trash can and dust off a record you really ought to hear and why you ought to hear it. We’ll…
Catfish Reef: Truckin’ With Albert Collins
Welcome to the inaugural installment of Catfish Reef, Houstoned Rocks’s ongoing exploration of Houston’s rich musical history. Once a week, we’ll rifle through the crates in the Bayou City’s collective trash can and dust off a record you really ought to hear and why you ought to hear it. We’ll…
Rotation: Lex One
Lex One No Respect for Pedestrians Lexicon Here’s a hip-hop artist who knows how to poke fun at himself. Lex One doesn’t seem to take life seriously on No Respect for Pedestrians, the shit-talking, party-rocking album from this Hollywood-based MC. The music here is reminiscent of early ’80s comedy-style hip-hop…
A Grassroots Effort
A letter is going out to all Houston area friends of soccer urging its recipients to join the campaign to convert the city-owned Gus Wortham golf course to a youth soccer complex and practice field for the Houston Dynamo. The news that the city was considering converting the East End…
A Grassroots Effort
A letter is going out to all Houston area friends of soccer urging its recipients to join the campaign to convert the city-owned Gus Wortham golf course to a youth soccer complex and practice field for the Houston Dynamo. The news that the city was considering converting the East End…
Re: The Curious Incident of the Frog Head in the Diet Coke
Photos by Monica Fuentes Shepherd resident Mario Lopez dropped by the Houston Press offices today to show us the now infamous bottle of Diet Coke in which he says he found a frog’s head. First things first: We’d like to apologize for our snark in this post. We had no…
Lee Alexander
And now we present the last of our video offerings from the HouStoned Rocks stage at Mardi Gras Galveston. You can see the entire series here, but for now here’s Lee Alexander…
An Evening with Bun B
“The people in Style Wars weren’t conscious of the fact they were starting a movement,” says Bernard Freeman, a.k.a. Bun B. The Houston rapper chose the 1983 documentary, which chronicles the rise of hip-hop from the urban underground of New York, to introduce at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s…
Sperm Warfare
And now for today’s bizarre story: UPI reports that Army 2nd Lieutenant Brian Smith, killed in Iraq in 2004, is the proud father of a seven-month-old boy. Smith was from McKinney and opened a law practice in Austin before he joined the Army in 2003. His son, Benton Drew Smith,…
Playbill: Jim Brickman
Get a jump on Valentine’s Day romance tonight with the man The Washington Post calls “America’s New Romantic Piano Sensation,” Jim Brickman. He’ll be performing with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and before you get all “The symphony isn’t romantic,” remember that Brickman has a trademark on smooth Adult Contemporary music…
HouStoned Rocks Mixtape
And now HouStoned Rocks presents the first in a series of mixtapes, organized by our very own Dusti Rhodes. Since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, she figured the theme should be “Songs To Break Up To,” and, um, we’ll let you draw your own conclusions from that. After the jump, see…
What Is Hip, aka Tejano Knights
In this interview from Mardi Gras Galveston, Alex explains why the band has two names…
Just a Taste
In this week’s Chef Special, Sylvia Casares-Copeland, chef and owner of Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen, answers a few burning questions, including: What are you sick of? “People who put down Tex-Mex! I grew up in Brownsville. And I am proud to be cooking the food that I grew up eating. When…
Just a Taste
In this week’s Chef Special, Sylvia Casares-Copeland, chef and owner of Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen, answers a few burning questions, including: What are you sick of? “People who put down Tex-Mex! I grew up in Brownsville. And I am proud to be cooking the food that I grew up eating. When…
O Captain, My Captain
Courtesy of Domy Books Although primarily known as a musician, Daniel Johnston has made waves as a visual artist in recent years. After holding exhibitions in Paris and London, Johnston cemented his footing in the art world by landing 30 originals in the 2006 Whitney Biennial. He brings some of…
Don’t Remind Us
Still searching for that prefect Valentine’s Day gift? If your significant other is an Astro fan, we can pretty much say: Don’t buy this item. It’s a baseball being auctioned on eBay (bids are up to $175 right now), a baseball signed by both Brad Lidge and Albert Pujols. Perfect…
We Got Your Daddy Right Here
Everyone seems to have something to say about Anna Nicole’s death, but we’re betting Lisa Marie Nowak can’t get enough of the coverage. After all, the passing of America’s favorite hussy was just about the only thing that could get a diaper-wearing Astronaut off the front pages. Case in point:…
Heavy Lifting
Someone’s looking out for the big dog. A mystery humanitarian has popped up in Galveston County offering to pay for free spaying and neutering for dogs weighing 40 pounds and more, and their puppies. All they have to do is live with a low-income human family and the canines in…
Sun Machine
As you can hear in this interview at Mardi Gras Galveston, drummer Joe Devadanam thinks the goal of Sun Machine is to hit everybody. We’re pretty sure he’s talking about the band’s music, but otherwise somebody needs to file a restraining order against that guy…
Okay, That’s It. We’re Calling Bullshit.
Houston apparently has dropped to number six on the annual Men’s Fitness list of the nation’s fattest cities. 1. Las Vegas 2. San Antonio 3. Miami 4. Mesa, AZ 5. Los Angeles 6. Houston 7. Dallas 8. El Paso 9. Detroit 10. San Jose As usual, the mag uses an…
LoneStar PornStar
LoneStar PornStar, keepin’ it clean for the kiddos, but never for Wal-Mart…
Don’t Cover Me
Daniel Kramer For much of its existence, Sports Illustrated magazine has dealt with its famed “cover jinx” — players or teams featured on the cover one week often end up falling flat on their face the next. Does the Houston Press have the same evil mojo going? Ask Rice’s baseball…
Don’t Cover Me
Daniel Kramer For much of its existence, Sports Illustrated magazine has dealt with its famed “cover jinx” — players or teams featured on the cover one week often end up falling flat on their face the next. Does the Houston Press have the same evil mojo going? Ask Rice’s baseball…
Chango Jackson
Chango Jackson tore up the HouStoned Rocks stage on Saturday at Mardi Gras Galveston. Interview: Polka: Dog:…
Dog Men Poets
Here’s an interview with Dog Men Poets, slam poetry integrators, funk music players. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any video from the band’s performance, so here’s a little hula hoop action, complete with dizzying spins and gyrating hips. Check back tomorrow for more from the HouStoned Rocks stage at Mardi Gras…
The Umbrella Man
Here’s an interview with the Umbrella Man, conducted by our very own Olivia Flores Alvarez. Be sure to listen for the lowdown on where the band got its name, not to mention what the heck is going on with that fiddle. And here’s the band live on the HouStoned Rocks…
Rainchild
Here’s an interview with Rainchild before the band took the stage on Saturday night at the HouStoned Rocks stage at Mardi Gras Galveston. The voice behind the camera is HouStoned’s own Abrahan Garza…
Truck
Here’s some more footage from Friday night at the HouStoned Rocks Stage at Mardi Gras Galveston…
Auteur Cinema
There’s still time to hop in the car and head down to the HouStoned Rocks stage at Mardi Gras Galveston. You can get there in time for Lee Alexander, The Umbrella Man, What Is Hip (aka Tejano Knights), Dog Men Poets and Rainchild. Still not sure what to expect? Let…
Fondue Monks
We’re gonna have to have a little talk with the guys from Fondue Monks. We don’t have any problems with their chops and jammy, crowd-wiggling style. It’s just that, as you can tell from the first of these two videos from last night at the HouStoned Rocks stage, the guys…
Snit’s Dog and Pony Show
Snit’s Dog and Pony Show rocked the HouStoned Rocks stage last night. Here’s a taste: We’ll be posting more videos throughout the day. Be sure to keep checking back. Or even better: Get off your ass and head down to G-town for tonight’s acts. Saturday, February 10, Saengerfest Park 3…
Action!
This weekend, HouStoned Rocks will be filming live at the Houston Press stage for Mardi Gras Galveston. Be sure to come out — we’ll make you famous. Here’s the lineup: Friday, February 9, Saengerfest Park 7 p.m. Million Year Dance 8 p.m. Truck 9 p.m. Snit’s Dog and Pony Show…
That’s Cool, That’s Trash
As some of you know, I like to walk. Since Houston is not a particularly scenic city and I have lived here for most of my life, I don’t really waste much time looking around. What I do instead is keep my eyes on the ground. And I find stuff…
Oyster Outing Update
Forgot to mention that Gilhooley’s Raw Bar in San Leon absolutely positively will not admit children. — Robb Walsh…
Oyster Outing Update
Forgot to mention that Gilhooley’s Raw Bar in San Leon absolutely positively will not admit children. — Robb Walsh…
Oh!
This little riff just came in from a friend of Brett Koshkin (in other words, he’s not claiming it). This just in: Doctors have confirmed that Anna Nicole Smith died of food poisoning. Apparently she got a hold of an 80-year-old wiener…
The “Send” Button Strikes Again
The always feisty blog Kiss My Big Blue Butt is offering a good tale about Terriann Carlson, the public information officer for the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office. Carlson apparently thought she had a really, really humorous bit of Internet magic. It was a slide show purporting to demonstrate how…
He Wouldn’t Want to Be Part of Any Club That Would Accept Him
Upon reading Ken Hoffman’s column about the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau looking for “cool” people to help pimp the Bayou City, we were salivating over just who was on the list. After all, Hoffman described the group thusly: [The] list also contained people I’ve never heard of, so…
Re: Yeah, We Watch The View. So What?
Here’s a clip of Rosie’s rant against Anna Nicole hours before the former Playmate died. According to Access Hollywood, it appears the buxom bombshell might’ve gone the way of Jimi Hendrix. — Keith Plocek…
Oysters al Fresco in Scenic San Leon
Nicky the Patio Barmaid We took advantage of the recent sunny weather to drive down to Gilhooley’s in San Leon and sit outside on the patio beneath the salvaged marine artifacts which hang from the trees there. The patio bartender, a feisty young woman named Nicky, told us her life…
Oysters al Fresco in Scenic San Leon
Nicky the Patio Barmaid We took advantage of the recent sunny weather to drive down to Gilhooley’s in San Leon and sit outside on the patio beneath the salvaged marine artifacts which hang from the trees there. The patio bartender, a feisty young woman named Nicky, told us her life…
Book Her
Now that didn’t take long. New Braunfels true-crime author Diane Fanning has won the sweepstakes to sign the first book deal out of the diaper-dandy astronaut escapade, according to Radar Online. Citing publishing-industry websites that are not for non-subscribing plebes like us, Radar says the deal was signed yesterday. Fanning…
Yeah, We Watch The View. So What?
Rosie O’Donnell’s battle with foot-in-mouth disease continues. This morning on The View, a couple hours before Anna Nicole Smith’s death topped the headlines, Rosie ranted: “If I have to see Anna Nicole Smith one more time on television…that woman and her paternity test…and she can hardly even speak now. She…
Re: The Curious Incident of the Frog Head in the Diet Coke
Last week we hipped you to the tale of Mario Lopez, a Shepherd resident who claimed he’d found a frog head in a bottle of Diet Coke (and who, for the record, is not the same guy as this fellow). We’ve just received photos of the alleged frog head. As…
Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About
That jaw. That haircut. Those determined eyes. Can you really blame the gal? Astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak wore a diaper out to Florida and a cloth coat over her head when she returned to Houston this week. Space flights returning to Earth haven’t received as much coverage as her hometown…
SXSW Lineup Announced
After plenty of outside speculation, South by Southwest has finally released a list of performing bands. Here are the folks from Houston who made the cut: Amplified Heat Ceeplus Bad Knives Chingo Bling Billy Cook Devin the Dude DJ Chill Presents Young Samm, Short Texas, Kenika, Lil Boom, 2 Deep…
Anna Nicole Smith Dies
At this point, we can be sure of two things: Anna Nicole Smith died today, and she’s dead. We’ll let you know more whenever we read it somewhere else. — Keith Plocek…
Catch Our Street Team
Still don’t have your weekend plans together? Why not catch up with our street team? They’ll be at these locations this weekend: Thursday, February 8 The Donna Loren Fashion Show The Cotton Exchange Bar & Lounge 202 Travis Friday, February 9 Mardi Gras Galveston The Houston Press Stage Saengerfest Park…
It’s a Glass
Our favorite Houston-based, Texas-wide, online visual arts journal has finally made good on its promise to slip into something a little more comfortable. You can check out the new Glasstire here. New tweaks include a comments section for reviews and a new blog by Bill Davenport, both of which should…
Julie Doiron
With her literal lyrics and minimal musicianship, Julie Doiron has often been considered a musical emperor wearing no clothes, which is odd, considering the endless love for Doiron’s old band Eric’s Trip, a droney folk-rock outfit that was the first of several ballsy Canadian signings for Subpop. And even odder…
PPT
For years now, it seems that if someone uses the words “Texas” and “hip-hop” together, they’re referencing some sort of Dirty South sound. Listening to Dallas jazz-rap group PPT (an acronym of the three members’ names — Pikahsso, Picnic and Tahiti), it’s good to know there is more versatility to…
The Shins
Sub Pop
I Am Ghost
For I Am Ghost, the natural order of things is a little off. The six-member band became Long Beach hometown favorites, recorded a popular EP, got signed to a label, re-released their EP and sold 20,000 copies over the Internet, all before they had performed five live shows. That’s right,…
Kevin Carroll
Guitarist-for-hire Kevin Carroll has earned his keep playing with Charlie Robison and Jimmy LaFave. But fans might be surprised to know that on the soon-to-be-released Tourmaline, the kinky-haired Austinite delivers some deeply layered pop songs that have a strong affinity for the music stylings of the late George Harrison. “Give…
Bruce Robison
Bruce Robison is one of the classiest acts in the Texas music genre. The tall father of four could probably have a much higher-profile career if he wanted to, but he and mate Kelly Willis both seem determined to find a balance between performing and personal lives. By all accounts,…
Explosive Fits
One must enter the strange world of Robert Montgomery’s Subject to Fits with some care, for all manner of absurdity — both beautiful and hideous — flies in from the rafters (sometimes literally) over the course of the evening. Called “A Response to Dostoevsky’s The Idiot” by the playwright, the…
Message Bored
What could be scarier than yet another PG-13 creepfest serving up pasty, staggering ghouls with stringy hair? Why, the same PG-13 creepfest set against the high-tension backdrop ofsunflower farming! Sorry, fear fans, if you were expecting a Ferry-Morse catalog of floral fright from The Messengers, the latest Hollywood derivate of…
Capsule Reviews
Barefoot in the Park Neil Simon’s idea of bohemian is ordering a princess phone for a new fifth-floor walkup apartment — remember, this is 1963 — and dialing the weather report. Stylish and elegant, newlywed Corie Bratter (Lauren Bigelow) is a far cry from Haight-Ashbury, but she’s game enough to…
Our top DVD picks for the week of February 8
Alfred Hitchcock: The Early Years of the Master of Suspense (Lions Gate) All Quiet on the Western Front (Universal) Anything but Love: Volume One (Fox) Arabian Nights (Universal) Best Picture: Academy Award Winners Collection (Paramount) Boynton Beach Club (Sony) Charmed: The Complete Seventh Season (Paramount) Cinderella III: A Twist in…
Career Cred
A year ago, the artist collective Otabenga Jones and Associates (Dawolu Jabari Anderson, Jamal Cyrus, Kenya Evans and Robert A. Pruitt) and photographer Amy Blakemore were preparing their work for the “2006 Whitney Biennial: Day for Night,” curated by Chrissie Iles and Philippe Vergne. Getting into the Whitney Biennial is…
Capsule Reviews
“Brooke Stroud: New Drawings” and “Michael Petry: In the Garden of Eden” There are two new exhibitions at Devin Borden Hiram Butler Gallery — one is subtle, the other subtly subversive. Brooke Stroud’s colored pencil drawings on gray cardboard have an Agnes Martin vibe to them. The cardboard looks like…
Boney James
You’d think he’d get tired of the question, but no, nü jazz saxophonist Boney James is happy to retell the story of how he got his nickname, Boney. “I was on tour and the per diem wasn’t very much. I kept running out of money, so I told somebody, ‘Man,…
Mustache Ride
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Wii
Price: $49.99
ESRB Rating: E+10
(Everyone 10+)
Score: 9 (out of 10)
Too Late, Baby
For all of its 80-odd years of existence, the Houston Zoo pretty much operated on its own — using city funds, ticket revenue and private donations to operate and build new facilities. A little over a year ago, though, they decided to finally hit up Uncle Sam in a big-time…
Hand It to Him
The Science of Sleep (Warner Bros.) Feature films are to video directors what sitcoms are to stand-up comedians, and for every David Fincher and Seinfeld, there are dozens of artists who should have stayed in the field they know best. Michel Gondry, who made his name directing fantastic videos for…
The Flat Head
“This must be the tiniest nightclub in Houston,” Conchita whispers to me as we step into The Flat (1701 Commonwealth, 713-521-3528). True enough, it is pretty small. The room is long and narrow, with lots of artwork hanging on the painted cinderblock walls. Most of the paintings are from the…
Eyes on the Prize
The extremely charmed baseball life of Bellaire’s Joe Savery crashed headfirst into reality last April 2. Sitting in a dugout on the New Orleans campus of Tulane University, the Rice sophomore experienced something completely new and utterly strange, something that had never happened from his tee-ball days in Bellaire until…
The Chopstick Senator Sent Me
The shrimp in mayonnaise sauce at Chinese American Restaurant on Bissonnet were enormous. The succulent white shrimp coated with thin mayonnaise sauce looked like clouds floating on a sea of chopped iceberg. They were topped with walnuts that had been dipped in honey and roasted. I speared a shrimp and…
Margie’s Ordeal
Baloney: This case should make everyone sit up and take notice [“Whose Best Interests?” by Todd Spivak, January 25]. Margie Hill goes into the hospital for breathing problems, and the next thing she knows, she’s lost everything — her life, her liberty, even the right to complain. This unnecessary and…
Either Way, You Win
Whether you order the naughty cake or the jolt cake ($8.49) at Spencer’s for Steaks and Chops inside the Hilton Americas Hotel (1600 Lamar, 713-577-8325), you’ll get the same thing: a hockey-puck-size chocolate-lover’s dream. We don’t know why this is so, and we don’t care. The exterior looks a lot…
The Anti-drummer Drummer
Here’s a multiple choice question for you: VietNam’s four members A) all live together in a musician’s commune-type loft, B) all love Texas, C) all have fuzzy beards and long hair, or D) are having a great time on the road with the Lemonheads. Answer: All of the above. Oops,…
Cavatore Italian Restaurant’s
Our city has seen its fair share of heroes and legends, from its namesake, famous general (and general drunkard) Sam Houston, to Beyoncé Knowles and Justin Furstenfeld, to Marvin Zindler. And now we can add to this list yet another icon: a man known only as Michaelangelo, the much-celebrated piano…
The M Word
Mayor Ken Corley, the esteemed chief of Brazoria, Texas, called for a measure last month making the uttering of the N-word an offense, punishable by a hefty fine. As expected, this decree never got off the ground. Something about amendments, the Bill of Rights and other general uselessness. Well, we…
Fadin’ Renegade
On that magic March night in 1994, new country sensation Doug Supernaw had the whole world at his feet, damn-near literally. This was the era of the blockbuster country music show, when Garth Brooks flew around the stage like Superman, and nobody could out-Superman Supernaw. He hatched a plan to…
Zero to Fifty
Red Star of the Solar Federation was founded in 2005 as a sludge rock instrumental band. After some lineup changes, the group eventually added vocals. Red Star recently spoke with the Houston Press about their six-track self-titled EP. Musicians Jimmy Carpenter, Chris Jenkins, Brandon Beard and Roy Martinez, along with…
Why don’t Mexican girls swallow?
Dear Readers, Gracias to all of ustedes who submitted pictures for my racist Mexican restaurant logo contest — they were all muy bueno. Winners will be announced in a couple of weeks. In the meanwhile, say a spicy bienvenidos to readers of Las Vegas CityLife, the latest paper to carry…