Music

2006 Houston Press Music Awards Supplement

Continued from page 5

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

Nominated in: Best Rock en Español

Web site: www.myspace.com/changojackson

Personnel: The Hermanos Jackson (Chango Van, guitar; Pancho, bass; Bud, drums; Mo, guitar)

This year is shaping up to be, as these bilingual rockeros insist, "The Year of the Monkey." Their long-awaited CD is finally on shelves and getting a good push on local Spanish-language TV; they're taking their ironic "Speak English" campaign to Dallas, Austin, Monterrey and Brownsville; and they're moonlighting as the Beatles at the Continental Club. They're one of the city's finest live acts -- expect their show to feature ferocious rock, costumes, wrestling and flying tamales.

MERCURY ROOM

4 p.m.

Name: Lee Alexander

Nominated in: Best New Act; Best Folk/Acoustic; Song of the Year ("Venus Rising"); Album of the Year (Out of Place); Songwriter of the Year

Web site: www.alexandersongs.com

Personnel: Lee Alexander (vocals), Steve Gibbs (lead guitar), Julian Samuels (guitar, vocals), Troy Griffin (bass), Mando Perez (drums)

Lee Alexander is one of those rare singers who can have a cry in his voice one minute and a laugh the next while somehow managing to make them both sound honest and heartfelt. His debut album, Out of Place, features smooth jazz ("My Sweet Addiction"), rock ("Fallen"), ballads ("Maggie") and something akin to coffeehouse pop. His singing is so smooth, he can get away with lyrics like "I told you, it's not you, it's me / but that's not true / it's not me, it's you," from "The Downside." That takes talent -- to tell a woman it's her fault but make her enjoy the telling. But as pretty as his singing is, it isn't without a political undercurrent. Even when his lyrics don't have any deeper message than "I love you / I don't love you," each performance has a political impact. A part of every show's profits go to Amnesty International, the Adopt-A-Minefield program and Pacifica Radio.

5 p.m.

Name: Lanky

Nominated in: Best Pop

Web site: www.myspace.com/lanky

Personnel: Lanky

Originally from Wayne, New Jersey, Lanky started a love affair with music while still just a child via John Denver and Kenny Rogers songs. Wanting to bring others similar joy (okay, let's remember Lanky was a child at the time, John Denver's and pervert Kenny's songs may have been joyful to an eight-year-old mind), Lanky spent hours on the guitar. Lanky bounced from band to band, even recording a CD with Darby Jones. But after a while, Lanky went solo and went on a cross-country promo tour for the self-released Inner Onwriter. These days, Lanky lives in Houston and tours the state with his acoustic solo act, although a band is in the works.

6 p.m.

Name: Arthur Yoria

Nominated in: Best Pop

Web site: www.arthuryoria.com

Personnel: Arthur Yoria (vocals, guitar, sampler), Matt Taylor (drums, percussion), Mike Poulos (bass), Ron Segura (guitar, keys)

Arthur Yoria is a man with simple wants. He wants to make soft rock that you, your children and your parents can all buy and enjoy. If he can also be worshiped and adored by citizens of various countries and make shitty songwriters want to retire, that would be good, too. But Yoria is a realist, and at this point he'd settle for a gig where there isn't a blender making a smoothie in the background. Originally from Chicago, Yoria is serious about his work but manages to keep it all in perspective. "This is pop music, not cancer research." Yoria's latest CD is called Something Must Be Wrong, and that very well might be true, but it ain't with his music.

7 p.m.

Name: Blaggards

Nominated in: Best World Music/Reggae

Web site: blaggards.com

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
Next Page »