Tonight (Friday, 3.8.13) is Free Press Houston‘s 10-year “celebranza” at Fitzgerald’s, which is a sold-out event. Today is also the 10-year anniversary of the launch of Houston Calling (no, really), and while I’ll leave the celebrating to the bigger folks at FPH, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some of things I’ve enjoyed the most about covering Houston music and the people I’ve met and who have helped along the way.

First off, this site wouldn’t exist if not for fellow music lovers Robert Duffy and Chip Midnight (aka Atomic Ned), of donewaiting.com. I “met” Chip online as fans of the same band and did some writing for his now-defunct Swizzle-Stick music site. This led to Duffy asking me to develop Houston Calling as part of the Donewaiting family of sites, and the site eventually blossomed into its own.

Secondly, I obviously wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t a huge music fan. The local musicians that keep slogging it out and creating interesting and unique music make me proud to do my little part to help spread the word about their music. Some of the bands I fell in love with early on have come and gone (Flowers To Hide, Bring Back The Guns, The Jonx, Sharks and Sailors, Bright Men of Learning) but many of the same musicians are still making music, and it’s obvious that the spotlight has turned a little more toward Houston’s way over the past decade.

Experiencing songs by former Houstonians Tody Castillo and Arthur Yoria, and later by musicians like Benjamin Wesley and Chase Hamblin, has been a privilege. And watching young bands form and then work to branch out and attract new fans (Something Fierce, Young Mammals) is a continued pleasure. Seeing the scene morph into something people—even people outside of Houston—are excited about is thrilling, and it will be interesting to hear the new crop of local bands progress.

Those who have helped out Houston Calling over the years are numerous (and all are appreciated), but several instantly come to mind: Jeremy Hart/Space City Rock, John Nova Lomax, Levi Johnson, Matt Hammond, Tim Summers, Jody Schmal, Chris Gray, Matthew Wettergreen, Jeff Balke, Mark C. Austin, Logan Bosemer, Omar Afra, Quinn Bishop, Dan Workman, Andrew Dansby, and Adam P. Newton. Thank you.

And again, thanks to all the musicians who break their necks in an oftentimes thankless city to create and perform music that may not reach the masses but that always makes a difference. Please know that your work and sacrifice is appreciated.

I’ll leave you with this, um, timeless, video. You can also watch videos from local bands and read Houston Calling‘s inaugural post after the jump…

Something Fierce, “Empty Screens”:

Bring Back The Guns, “The Art Of Malnutrition”:

Arthur Yoria, “I’ll Be Here Awake”:

Southern Backtones, “Forever”:

Flowers To Hide, “Here Comes The Tide” (live at The Mink):

Benjamin Wesley (live at Cactus Music):

Co-Pilot, “Low Earth Orbit”:

The Answer Page, “Cold Blue Light (In Circles)”:

Tax The Wolf, “Korea”:

Young Mammals, “Dragon Wagon”:

Peloton, “My Life As A Sleep Study”:

Female Demand (live at Free Press Summer Fest):

Chase Hamblin & The Roustabouts, “Beautiful Things”:

Tody Castillo, “The Shape Of My Heart”:

The Rebecca West, “Here Comes The Rain Again” (live Eurythmics cover):

Pale, “Catastrophic Skies”:

Live From Sugar Hill, Episode 8 (featuring Two Star Symphony and Chase Hamblin)

Here’s Houston Calling‘s inaugural post from March 8, 2003.