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…
Local artist management/promoter The Convoy Group is co-hosting The Texas Margarita Mixer during SXSW this Saturday (3.9.13) from 12-5pm at Holy Mountain. This is a free event, which features music from The Tontons, Wild Child, The Couch, Frank Smith, Tyagaraja, and The Wandering Bufaleros.
Holy Mountain is located at 617 E 7th St. in Austin.
Last week, Free Press Houston released its line-up for this year’s Free Press Summer Fest, which will be held June 1-2, 2013, in Houston’s Eleanor Tinsley Park.
The Eastern Sea is one of those hard-working bands eager to make a name for itself, and seems to be faring quite nicely. From a successful Christmas album last year and a well-received second release, Plague–which was one of my favorite records of 2012–the group is constantly on the go. So far, 2013 doesn’t show the band slowing down. The band has been on a national tour with the Kopecky Family Band, and is set to play a series of shows during this year’s South By Southwest in its hometown of Austin before heading back out on the road.
Here’s the band’s schedule for SXSW:
Sunday, 3/10 Paste Magazine Party @The Blackheart (10pm)
Tuesday, 3/12 FROG Music Licensing Showcase @ Bar 96 (10pm)
Wednesday, 3/13 SXSW Official Showcase @ Esther’s Follies (10pm)
Friday 3/15 Uncorked @ The Wild Honeypie Beehive (12pm)
Houston’s The Linus Pauling Quartet (or LP4) have been making music for almost 20 years–an impressive feat in any city–and the group shows no signs of slowing down. Last year’s Bag Of Hammers (one of my favorite Houston releases of 2012) was followed by the three-disc anthology Assault on the Vault of the Ancient Bonglords.
The band was chosen to play at this year’s South By Southwest, which runs March 8-17, in Austin.
Here are a couple of videos from the band:
The Linus Pauling Quartet plays an official SXSW showcase Friday, 3/15, at The Parish Underground (214 E. 6th St.) at 9:20pm.
Fondue Monks and Herschel Berry & the Natives play at Dan Electro’s this Saturday (3.2.13). Dan Electro’s is located at 1031 E. 24th St. in the Heights. Showtime is 9pm.
In other Monks new, the Rozz Zamorano Trio (featuring Zamorano on bass and Monks guitarist Steve Olson) plays a daytime gig in the Garden Oaks/Oak Forest area this Sunday (3.3.13) at Cottonwood. The jazz combo starts at 2pm and plays til 5pm.
The line-up for this year’s Free Press Summer Fest, held June 1-2, 2013, in Houston’s Eleanor Tinsley Park, was announced today and includes Iggy & The Stooges, Social Distortion, Paul Banks, The Postal Service (duh!), Mavis Staples, Geto Boys, The Octopus Project, and many more (including such local acts as Young Mammals, American Fangs, Nick Greer & The G’s, and DJ Sun).
Pre-sale passes and the full line-up are available at fpsf.com. I highly suggest the “fancy pants” pass, which will get you a bit of much-needed air conditioning at the festival.
If you are unfamiliar with Caspian–a band from Beverly, MA–I highly suggest you check out You Are The Conductor, as well as watch this live video from the group’s Audiotree session:
Chase Hamblin & The Roustabouts are set to release VAUdeVILLE at the end of March. To celebrate, the band plays a free in-store show at Cactus Music this Saturday (2.23.13) at 3pm.
The CD release show is Friday, 3.29.13, at Fitzgerald’s. The Trimms and Bonneville Nightlife are also on the bill.
Music reviews and news ... From Houston, Texas and beyond.
In addition to Houston Calling, you can occasionally read David's thoughts on music in Space City Rock,
and Houston Press. He has previously written for All About Jazz,
Splendid, Swizzle-Stick, Envy, Free Press Houston, and Houston magazine.
He is a very happily married new father and his loving family indulges his varied musical tastes.
