Way Cooler than Chico’s
So we were watching Scrubs last night — hard to believe, but we do occasionally view things that don’t have anything to do with gays and Jesus — and we saw a bad-ass commercial for a local company called A Better Bail Bond. The spot had a great low-budget hip-hop…
Just Divine
The Donnie Davies ditty isn’t the only YouTube song that weighs in on the debate concerning religion and homosexuality. In one corner, we’ve got: “I want to get down on my knees and start pleasing Jesus. I want to feel his salvation all over his face.” In the other corner:…
On a Related Note
Daniel Kramer Marvin and Margie Hill. Just before Christmas we got a frantic phone call about an elderly woman trapped in a sterile nursing home and forbidden from leaving even to spend the holidays with her family. At the time, we didn’t know that Harris County had taken guardianship of…
Donnie Speaks!
In a special message to HouStoned (and, um, basically anyone else who also bothered to read his blog on MySpace) Donnie Davies says: Well friends, YouTube took down the video that Evening Service and I have worked so hard on. I don’t know what hurts more; being censored because of…
This Could Be a Donnie Davies Kind of Day
The question still remains unanswered. Is Donnie Davies — the alleged Houstonian and former homosexual we met yesterday — really, really for real or what? Via Queerty (thanks, Tim!) comes this video of Mr. Davies introducing himself to the world, looking mighty dapper. And heck, while we’re at it, here’s…
Holy Woofer, Batman!
Our friends Steven Reynolds & The Texas Two have some bad news to report. It seems they were struck by a ‘brazen, ballsy’ thief and got cleaned out of their new recording and sound equipment. The band was recording their CD at a local studio, but decided to buy their…
Houston Proud
Via Gawker comes one of the sweetest offerings from YouTube (with an emphasis on the Tube) we’ve seen in a while. The guy’s website says he’s from Houston. We sent him a message, and we’ll let you know how that turns out. The video’s so over the top, we can’t…
Jesus H. Christ!
Daniel Kramer Jose Luis De Jes�s Miranda is the kind of guy who gives and gives and gives. Then again, what else would you expect from a man who claims to be Jesus? Check out this video, uploaded yesterday, in which De Jes�s claims to be the Antichrist. He then…
Asia Minor
www.nakadate.net Yep, looks like art to us. She searches out lonely men, takes them home with her, slips into something more comfortable and videotapes what happens next. No, we’re not talking about a “working girl”; we’re talking about Laurel Nakadate, who playfully interviews single men in scant clothing — and…
Bad Hair Day
The creamy beige envelope had an impressive return address: Donald J. Trump. And it was addressed specifically to me. Inside, the card said “Special Invitation.” Opening it, two tickets fell to my desk. Donald Trump was smiling at me from them. Could it be that I was going to get…
Nice Asados
All photos by Robb Walsh When I reviewed a school bus selling Monterrey-style roasted chicken on the East Side, a reader named “Jason” recommended I try the blue school buses that sell roasted chicken on Long Point. El Norte�o is the name of the Long Point roasted chicken dynasty. And…
Nice Asados
All photos by Robb Walsh When I reviewed a school bus selling Monterrey-style roasted chicken on the East Side, a reader named “Jason” recommended I try the blue school buses that sell roasted chicken on Long Point. El Norte�o is the name of the Long Point roasted chicken dynasty. And…
Bummer
The great poet and dandy T.S. Eliot said April was the cruelest month. He might’ve been right — although Astros fans have always loathed that bastard month of October — but today is the cruelest day of the year, according to a British psychologist named Cliff Arnall. Call it the…
Soggy Socks, Anyone?
Hightower High School kids in Fort Bend County just can’t win for losing. Earlier this week, they along with all the other kids in FBISD, were the only Houston area (well except for Humble ISD) school district not to get off from school after the mini ice storm. Needless to…
Playbill: Sister Sister y Los Misters
It seems that, in Houston at least, Latin music, good coffee, and wifi are an in demand mix. Bohemeos owners Lupe and Sidonie Olivares are following a trend that has already taken hold at places from Salento’s in Rice Village to Cafe Soleil on FM 1960 (that’s an obscure super-uncool…
If You Can’t Say Anything Nice …
I got an angry-ish call from Javier Zenteno, brother and band mate of Norma Zenteno. Javier wasn’t happy that my review of Norma’s latest CD, Endulzame, was less than glowing. (Click here to read my review.) “You shouldn’t have written anything if you were going to write that. Why did…
Stars and Bars
We’re all for pride of place, but do Bo and Luke really need their own holiday? Just four days after enjoying a three-day weekend honoring Martin Luther King, Texas State Employees can take the day off work today to celebrate another breed of martyrs — our Confederate Heroes. That’s right,…
Idol Chatter
Seattle — what happened? I remember there was once a day not too terribly long ago when you heard no more about that rainy northwestern metropolis than any other large American city. It was a city with a decent basketball team and the perpetually mediocre Seahawks and Mariners. Maybe you…
Screw October, Revisited
Back in June, we expressed certain rather vehement and negative comments concerning Blue October, Houston’s most successful rock band since ZZ Top. In the article, I expressed my dismay at Justin Furstenfeld’s continuing use of guy-liner and described his herky-jerky stage manner, which, as I put it, “reminded me of…
Great Gonzos!
Click here to learn more about The Nuge’s patriotism. Why are people hatin’ on The Nuge? If there’s one thing every God-fearing man, woman, child, illegal immigrant and deer should know, it’s that Ted Nugent is the ass-kickingest, rock-hardingest, arrow-shootingest axe-man who ever walked the Earth. And there is absolutely…
After Eating, Wait at least 30 Minutes before Viewing
For fans of Texas high school football, last year’s state championship game is old news by now. But fans of vomiting received a special treat when this video popped up on YouTube last week. We can’t top this summary from Tom Kirkendall, so we won’t even bother trying: “This season,…
Pico de Gallo
Mark Graham For reasons I can’t really explain, I’ve always wanted to write a story about cock fighting. So when I heard that a man in Blanket, Texas was shutting down his cockfighting school I realized this was my chance. I went into the story with certain ideas about cock…
Exhumin’ to the Oldies
“You wanna do what to my body?” The Big Bopper — you know, the dead dude who sang “Chantilly Lace” — has been resting peacefully in a Beaumont cemetery for nearly 50 years now. But his son, who apparently performs as “The Big Bopper Jr.,” tells the A.P. he wants…
Imagine If He’d Been Any Good
Click here to see Lidge’s AlmostMySpace page. The Houston Astros announced Wednesday that they’d re-signed “closer” Brad Lidge, who actually didn’t do much in the way of closing last year. Six horrendously ugly blown saves, a 5.28 ERA — what kind of pay cut does that get you these days?…
Playbill: Johnny Falstaff
Johnny Falstaff CD Release Yep, that’s John Evans (l)jamming with Johnny Falstaff. Back when Proletariat was the Blue Iguana, Johnny Falstaff’s double bills with Greg Wood’s Horseshoe were the stuff of legend. There were nights when it seemed every off-duty topless dancer, bartender, and hepcat in town were crammed into…
Albert Hammond Jr.
The first of the Strokes to wander away from the smoking klatch of woolen military jackets and scarves tied just so, Albert Hammond Jr. seems set on making music that has a more folk-pop, Beach Boys-ish direction than the nuanced rock and roll of his superstar band. As guitarist for…
Craving Chocolate
A recent issue of The Food Institute Report highlighting top dining trends for 2007 predicts that chocolate will soon be appearing in many more forms on restaurant menus. Seems that the people at Tacos A Go-Go (3704 Main, 713-807-8226) are ahead of the curve with their chocolate taco ($1.25), a…
The Drams
Any discussion about the Drams must start with Slobberbone, the beloved Denton alt-country rockers who hung up their boots in 2005. When lead ‘bone man Brent Best formed a new group with his old bandmates, lead guitarist Jess Barr and drummer Tony Harper, it created lots of anticipation in the…
California Pizza Kitchen’s
I meet up with a sexy biologist on a Saturday night at California Pizza Kitchen (1705 Post Oak Boulevard #A, 713-963-9262), hoping by the end of the night she’ll be teaching me all about her anatomy. But it appears I’ve picked the wrong place to negotiate a tutoring session, because…
Grupo Fantasma
Don’t let the fact that you don’t speak Spanish keep you away from Grupo Fantasma’s show. The Austin-based group’s Latin dance/funk/rock/reggae/R&B/Afro-Cuban style translates really well. (If only they could think of a short name for it.) The 11-piece band has one mission: Make everybody dance! During the last six years,…
Master Cockfighter
“The Chicken Man?” the woman behind the counter asks. “Just go on up the road about a half-mile, like you’re fixing to go out of town. Take a left, then a right. You’ll see the chickens.” I’m at the Whistlestop General Store, the only business in Blanket, a Central Texas…
Lost Bayou Ramblers
>The first thing you notice about the Lost Bayou Ramblers’ Web site is that in order to enter, you have to choose between “English” and “Franais.” Once inside, click on the musical link to “Pine Island,” and the site offers up another huge dose of Cajun legitimacy: a chicken-scratching fiddle…
Reverend’s Lunch
Reverend Jeffrey smiled and waved when we walked in the front door of Just Like Moma’s, his new soul food restaurant just east of Highway 59, where Quitman turns into Liberty Road. My dining companions were shocked that the restaurant’s owner seemed to know me, since I usually give them…
Behind Enemy Lines
In the new Clint Eastwood movie, ordinary young men — husbands and fathers, artisans and aristocrats — are drafted into a war whose motives many of them do not fully understand. There, on an island called Iwo Jima, they fight against an enemy who has been demonized by wartime propaganda…
Car Trouble
In July 2006, I bought a new car. It was a big deal for me, and I floated along on a cloud of self-satisfaction for a couple of weeks. Life was grand. But when I went back to the dealer to pick up my official license plates, although I didn’t…
Golden Stage
On the surface, Urinetown, the Musical, Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis’s Tony Award-winning comedic tour-de-force, does everything wrong: There’s the utterly tasteless title, the bizarre premise that imagines a futuristic city where the citizens have to pay to pee, and, of course, the fact that the show takes several well-directed…
Sunny Side Up
The Washington Post rang the front-page alarm bells earlier this month with a story on San Antonio’s Jennalee Ryan, who runs the self-proclaimed “First Human Embryo Bank” where folks get eggs for baby-making purposes. The Post said Ryan’s Abraham Center of Life was raising concerns about “designer babies” because customers…
Capsule Reviews
Enter Laughing You’d be hard-pressed to find a play as sweet and family-friendly as this one. It’s as warm and cozy as your favorite old sweater, if a little threadbare. Based on a partly autobiographical novel by legendary comedy writer Carl Reiner (Your Show of Shows, Dick Van Dyke Show),…
Letters to the Editor
Dead Medium Walking The CD lives: I must say, as a self-producing musician, I was a little disturbed — yet intrigued — by the article [“DISConnect,” by John Nova Lomax, January 4], partially, of course, because after years, I’ve finally acquired the capacity to produce quality recordings at home. Now…
Belle poque
In 1912, two Peruvian dandies opened a photography studio in Arequipa, Peru, a historic city in the southern Andes. The nattily dressed Vargas brothers, Carlos and Miguel, wore top hats and spats, with Miguel even sporting pince-nez. Their studio would become a cultural center in Arequipa — the brothers hosted…
The Unusual Suspects
“How can a bad dream become such a bad reality? / I just want things back the way they used to be.” — “Amnesia” — The Suspects “I never thought we would ever play again,” says Bill Grady, the cofounding member and guitarist for Houston ska legends The Suspects, of…
Capsule Reviews
“DEAR Camp” “DEAR Camp” is Brian Neal Sensabaugh’s campy deer camp. For the installation, Sensabaugh, a gay Houston artist, took elements from his father and brother’s deer camp in Arkansas. Going into the woods is, by and large, a macho drunken endeavor. Sure, there’s hunting, but there’s also male bonding…
Idol Chatter
College football season has ended, and the Super Bowl is a few weeks away. Hockey and basketball are in their January doldrums of well-nigh meaningless mid-season games, and pitchers and catchers won’t report to their Arizona and Florida digs for another month or so. Luckily, for all of those who…
Brown, Proud and Sayin’ It Loud?
Dear Mexican, I’m a 60-year-old Chicano and proud. Why do young Chicanos keep imitating blacks? They dress like blacks, talk like blacks, listen to black music and hang with blacks. Aren’t they proud of their own culture? Why don’t they embrace Hispanic ways and learn about Hispanic history? Say It…
Honor Bound
In March, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will see the induction of Patti Smith, R.E.M., Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, along with the Ronettes. These blessed few will be inducted in an extravagant ceremony full of hirsute paunches, stale pot smoke and enough Bengay to…
Paper Tigers
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Platform: Xbox 360
Price: $49.99
ESRB Rating: E (for Everyone)
Score: 9 (out of 10)
Heptomaniacs
Few Houston bands bend and blend genres more than Heptic Skeptic. Here’s our conversation with three-fourths of the group — bassist Alex Guzmn, lead vocalist Kamerra Franklin and drummer Robbie Vanveghel. Lead guitarist Andrew May was missing in musical action. Houston Press: How did you start performing? Alex Guzmn: I…
He’s Really Doing That
The Protector (Genius Products) Thailand’s Tony Jaa has made clear his plan to take Jackie Chan’s crown as the king of Holy crap, did he just do that?! He’s about halfway there. Though Jaa is devoid of Chan’s charisma, his hyperathletic kickboxing style will make your jaw drop; here’s a…
Rich’s Redux
For those of us who came of age in queer Houston, this may come as a shock: Rich’s (2401 San Jacinto, 713-759-9606) is now straight. The club where I first danced with a man, where I had my first kiss with my first love, is no longer a gay club…
Our top DVD picks for the week of January 18
Clerks II (Weinstein) Council of the Gods (First Run) Die You Zombie Bastards (Image) Dreamland (Image) Employee of the Month (Lions Gate) Gridiron Gang (Sony) Grim Reaper (Lions Gate) Her Minor Thing (First Look) La Moustache (Koch Lorber) Lucky Number Slevin (Weinstein) Monroe: Class of ’76 (Image) Pulse (Weinstein) Rotation…
Snoop Dogg
Despite vapid lyrics, cover art that basically merchandizes the Los Angeles Crips gang (the CD proper resembles a blue bandanna) and an irritating tendency to oscillate between gangsta and playa personae, Snoop Dogg’s latest is a rousing success — certainly and emphatically the rapper’s best since Doggystyle. You just have…
Bob Seger
Diddy has yet to bastardize a classic rock riff from Bob Seger, which is great because I don’t care to hear Diddy’s rap tribute to James Brown slapped down over “Night Moves.” The Seger songbook is just too underrated for that kind of modern-day MTV molestation. Indeed, it seems that…
Norma Zenteno
From the music to the liner notes to the cover design, Norma Zenteno’s new CD Endulzame (Spanish for “sweeten me”) seems nice enough, but if you pay attention, you’ll notice there’s always something missing, a little something out of place. Zenteno, a multiple Houston Press Music Awards winner, is about…