M BAR
4 p.m.
Name: Casino
Nominated in: Best Traditional Rock
Web site: www.casino-official.com
Personnel: Ron Rushing (drums), Mike Gogola (bass), Damon Murrah (vocals, guitar)
"Sparkling rumblings and jumping jacks" is how Casino identifies itself; if that's a little vague, their list of influences should help clarify things: It includes the Stones, the Kinks, the Faces, Humble Pie and T-Rex. If you're thinking maybe these guys are Anglophiles, you've got your head on straight. But that doesn't mean they don't rock.
5 p.m.
Name: Zipperneck
Nominated in: Best Female Vocalist (Mel Hell)
Web site: www.myspace.com/zipperneck
Personnel: Josh (drums), JD (guitar), Mel Hell (vocals, bass)
Old-school punk meets older-school country in this Frankenstein's monster of a band led by ferocious redhead Mel Hell. Or, as they put it, "a trainwreck between the Clash and Loretta Lynn." These Texas punks are equally at home on punk bills, rockabilly hootenannies or roller derby shindigs -- or anywhere you might otherwise get a bruise.
6 p.m.
Name: Drop Trio
Nominated in: Best Jazz
Web site: www.droptrio.com
Personnel: Nuje (drums), Patrick Flanagan (bass), Ian Varley (keys)
Two-thirds of the Drop Trio used to call Montrose home, but now Ian Varley lives in Austin and Patrick Flanagan is in Fort Worth. A big change geographically, but not musically. Admittedly, the group's focus has changed some (no one moves to Austin without being changed by it, and Fort Worth does have its own, uh, sound), but Houston remains the group's home base and best audience. They've released three CDs of their self-named "spaceship jazz," the latest one was the 2005 Cezanne (Live), but the quality is a little uneven --even they admit they never want to listen to their first album again. While the group wouldn't mind making it to the big time and opening for bands like Rush, they steadfastly refuse to get a singer. Of course, this are a group of guys who wish they had written "The Super Mario Bros. Theme Song" and don't mind starting fights ("Those jerks at Humidity. You guys wanna step?"), so that might not be the best thought-out decision.
7 p.m.
Name: Dune*TX
Nominated in: Best Male Vocalist (Chris Sacco)
Web site: www.dunetx.com
Personnel: Sacco (guitar, vocals, theremin), K-Rus (bass, vocals), J. (drums, vocals)
It's hard to be humble when you've been called both "the best band you've never heard" and "Houston's most overlooked band." But they might just have a point. Their mildly psychedelic garage power pop recalls both the Stone Roses and Fountains of Wayne. Their problem is they don't really belong to any one scene locally. Their sound is indie rock, but their onstage vibe is good ol' boy. That shouldn't matter -- and it won't when you go raise some sand with the Dunesters.
8 p.m.
Name: Opie Hendrix & the Texas Tallboys
Nominated in: Best Roots/Rockabilly
Web site: www.opiehendrix.com
Personnel: Opie Hendrix, Warren Martens, Matt Meeks, "Sugar" Don Chachere
Opie Hendrix & the Texas Tallboys say they're "too wild to tame, too stubborn to stop." How does that translate musically? Well, it's fun, funny and very danceable Texas rockabilly. The group has been a repeat winner in the Best Roots/Rockabilly category, taking home the prize in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Will they make it four in a row? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Opie and the boys are going to keep raising hell and making music. The newest Opie CD is Chupacabra. And we think any CD named after a wild cow-eating, baby-snatching, Mexican monster deserves a listen.
9 p.m.
Name: Chango Jackson
