Formed in the Texas border town of El Paso, The Dirty River Boys are an anomaly. Going against a rising tide of heavy metal acts, singer and guitarist Marco Gutierrez said the band didn’t find its home until it relocated to Austin. While he believes it was a “change that needed to happen,” the band […]
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Kings of Leon — Mechanical Bull
Contrasting the band’s first two albums (Youth & Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak) with their last two (Only by the Night and Come Around Sundown) is like comparing the Rolling Stones to One Direction. Where there used to be cunning bite, there is now mawkish arena rock, and not even the good kind. The “Southern […]
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’Live and well
It’s a common occurrence within urban sprawl: Historically thriving neighborhoods succumb to Father Time as new developments arise, businesses relocate and the activity of city-dwellers inevitably shifts from one area to another. Until recently, Oklahoma City’s Plaza District — the mile-long strip along 16th Street between Classen Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue — was merely another […]
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Grooms — Infinity Caller
Through these changes, Johnson remained steadfast in his approach, hammering away at a sound that pays homage to his roots and influences while, at the same time, retaining a distinct individualism. Now, with two albums released on two separate labels behind them, Grooms sound rejuvenated on their third proper full-length, Infinity Caller, their most intricately […]
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Music Made Me: Mike Hosty
Photo: Mark Hancock Leon Redbone, Double Time (1977) I stayed up late and watched Saturday Night Live and saw Leon Redbone sing “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” At first, I thought it was a joke, but there was something about the song and the delivery. His finger-style playing technique led me to discover Blind Blake, Jimmie Rodgers and […]
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Barling — Barling With a “B”
Whether it was cheap truck-stop cassette tapes of Freddy Fender or just turning up Ricky Skaggs’ “Honey Won’t You Open That Door” just a little bit louder, it was what I learned to dig, mostly because it was all I had and it was better than nothing. That said, I used to think most new […]
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The gospel according to Sean
“It was a record by Sam Cooke that really got me into music,” Johnson said. “It was his voice. There is literally no one who sounds like Sam Cooke. He can sing anything and it’ll be great. You go back and listen to some of the songs and they weren’t overly wordy, it wasn’t extremely […]
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Oxford karma
As odd and eccentric as Dent May’s sun-soaked soul tunes might read, they are firmly planted in pop territory — just not the one most of us are accustomed to. “When we are on tour, we only have the radio. It’s either oldies or contemporary pop radio, and I’m an FM pop junkie. In my […]
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Heavy cargo
Dean DeLeo — guitarist for veteran alt-rockers Stone Temple Pilots — has played all over the world. But only in the Sooner State can he get pancakes served by a fellow freak rocker and petroleum jelly enthusiast. “I love coming to Oklahoma. I love coming to Oklahoma City. I love when Wayne Coyne cooks […]
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Tallows — Memory Marrow
When Tallows’ two-song demo surfaced on their Bandcamp site last November, expectations mounted in anticipation for a proper full-length. This was understandable, given the promise exhibited by these four fresh-faced locals on both “Soft Water” and “Small Talk” (the aforementioned demo), songs that were staggering in their conceptual ambition. Nine months later, we have Memory […]