Music

2007 Houston Press Music Awards Showcase

Continued from page 1

Fondue Monks Nominated in: Best Funk/R&B; Best Bassist (Rozz Zamorano) www.fonduemonks.com 9 p.m. In a town where once every other band called themselves "funk-rock," only the Fondue Monks and precious few others remain standing. Maybe that's because the Monks were one of the few funk-rock bands that were then and remain now actually funky. The band's original lineup has now been together for 16 years, and that longevity, in addition to their rhythm section comprised of two brothers named Zamorano, gives us another reason to compare them to ZZ Top.

Grasshopper Lounge 506 Main 713-222-1442

Poor Dumb Bastards Nominated in: Best Punk www.poordumbbastards.fuzz.com, www.myspace.com/poordumbbastards 4 p.m. Still reeling from the June 30 drug-related death of guitarist Hunter Ward, the Poor Dumb Bastards say the show must go on. "It really sucks, and it really, really hurts, but at the same time we had a long talk as a band," says singer Byron Dean. "We said, 'Is this what's gonna kill us?' And the answer is no. We're gonna go out on our own terms, and this isn't our terms." So the "Texas Drunk Rock" Dean, "heterosexual life partner" Mike Porterfield and various other Bastards have indulged since 1991 will continue, as songs like "My Pussy Hurts" take on a new degree of poignancy. "We deal with things our own special way," says Dean. "We're not gonna let a little thing like death keep us from playing."

Kemo for Emo Nominated in: Best Punk www.kemoforemo.com 5 p.m. Kemo for Emo sends big ups to God. "Not the one in heaven but the cult leader who showed us the way to salvationÉand his Kool-Aid was kick-ass." Enron is their key local influence, while on the national front they were shaped by the likes of MxPx, Bad Religion and Straight Outta Junior High. The band loves to play Fitzgerald's Upstairs and then head for Rudyard's for post-show bevvies; Java Jazz, on the other hand, gets a collective gas face. "The crowd there was like Wonder Woman's invisible jet," they aver, and we don't think they mean it revealed a statuesque, raven-haired hottie in a skimpy costume.

The El Orbits Nominated in: Best Cover Band, Best Guitarist (Jim Henkel) www.elorbit.com 6 p.m. Still anchoring Monday nights at the Continental Club after all these years and several lineup changes, the El Orbits are nothing if not resourceful. "We were once late to a high-dollar gig in Sugar Land. Finally almost there, I realized I had forgotten my guitar," says Jim Henkel, now the Orbits' piano player despite his Best Guitarist nomination. "We had a Farfisa in the truck, so our first thought was for me to play that, but after imagining four hours of swing and Sinatra — the bulk of our repertoire at the time, and what the client expected — with a bass/drums/piano/Farfisa lineup, we sent bassist at the time Paul Beebe out to procure a guitar while we hurriedly set up for the gig. He returned about five minutes before we were set to start with a Stratocaster knockoff he bought for $150 at an H&H he found. I played that guitar for the next three years."

The Aqua Velva Nominated in: Best Cover Band www.theaquavelva.com 7 p.m. It's a cosmic thing. You wouldn't understand unless your antennae pick up the frequency of these local rock lobsters. In that case, you know that re-creating the sci-fi/surf/new wave sock hop of Athens's second-most-famous '80s export after R.E.M. is this El Orbits/Allen Oldies Band/Ringwalds offshoot's sole raison d'etre, rumors of a growing repertoire to the contrary. "We're not expanding past the B-52's, because there's no reason to," says Farfisa captain David Beebe. "But we are trying to learn their later stuff." Stay tuned to channel Z — the love shack is open for business.

O Pioneers!!! Nominated in: Best Hardcore www.opioneers.com; www.myspace.com/opioneers 8 p.m. Great guitar sounds and vaguely roots-rock structures underscore the invariably screamed vocals in this Spring "smegacore" duo. With many post-hardcore/screamo bands, you get the idea they are loud because they don't have anything else in their arsenal. Not these guys, not exactly; as a guitarist, the single-monikered Eric can swing a little and shows no fear of hooks or moments of real beauty on his whacked-out axe. If Two Gallants sounds like Maroon 5 to you, here's your new favorite band. Now if only Eric could sing, even a little bitÉ

Bring Back the Guns Nominated in: Best Indie Rock www.bringbacktheguns.com 9 p.m. Bring Back the Guns has been channeling their harrowing experiences riding bicycles in Houston's notorious traffic into some of the city's most interesting indie rock since 1998, though they think their music has become "more complicated and less popular." Even so, they've shared the stage with the Toadies and Peelander-Z, and dirtied up a hotel conference room at SXSW last year. "There was a mustard slip-and-slide, among other things." Hoping to release their album Dry Futures before the end of the year, the one thing Bring Back the Guns hopes Houston knows about them, they say, is "that we exist."

Hard Rock Café 502 Texas 713-227-1392

The Jonx Nominated in: Best Punk www.myspace.com/thejonx 5 p.m. "Frashitic," "risquous," "aeliaer" and "smabtabulatial" are just a few of the adjectives this madcap trio has minted to apply to themselves. (Drummer Daniel Mee is a Press contributor.) Mining the rich vein of jazzy modern rock Television unearthed, the Jonx claim to have been born as purveyors of "punk rock with some jammy stuff" that "one day woke up as a prog band." When not gracing the stage or greasing the barstools at fave hang Rudyard's, the band enjoys singing the praises of other prominent stars in their constellation: Really Red, Sharks and Sailors, God's Temple of Family Deliverance, Minutemen, NoMeansNo, Wire and the Jesus Lizard. Looks pretty "goobulist" to us.

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