Introduction
Yep, it's the new issue of SCR, out just in time for all of us to sober up from the holiday festivities (of whatever variety you subscribe to) and mourn the loss of eggnog for yet another ten months out of the year, and it's time for some introductory blather. We've been working hard on Issue #8 and we're darn pleased with it. This time around, we SCR folks have somewhat turned our standard formula on his head, in that fully half of the interviews are with local folks (namely, Blue October, Clouseaux, and Hollister Fracus)... [more]

Making The One: Blue October
So, in typical girly fashion, I'm late to the Blue October show. Running across the street and getting in line, I hear music coming from the doorway of The Engine Room that I don't recognize. I checked out the bands online before coming out to the show to have an idea of what sounds would be happening, and what I've heard doesn't mesh with what I'm hearing now... [more]

Coming Down the Mountain: A Chat With Denali
As you may or may not know by now, Denali has unfortunately called it quits. That's a tragedy, if for no other reason than that this was a band who could tour with Rainer Maria and the Deftones and hold their own with both. We sat down with Denali on the Houston date of what was to be their final tour -- if you never got the chance to see or hear them, here's what you missed out on...and why you should care... [more]

Mouse on Mars: Artists Venturing Beyond the Norm
This means war! A triumphant shout is sounded against all authoritarians who would claim that one band must confine themselves entirely within the walls of the small, closet-sized room of any one specific genre. Mouse on Mars has successfully gained recognition across the globe while refusing to cater to the masses but at the same time attempting to provide an almost spiritual light in the dark to the souls of all open to the artistic presence emanating from their style of prose and sound... [more]

Clouseaux: A Musical Earthquake in the Bayou City?
I love Houston; really, I do. I have to admit, though, that for all of the good things about this big, sprawling, messy city, I've never thought that tropical hipster cool was one of its charms. I can recall, in fact, hearing about the new band ex-Suspects vocalist Thomas Escalante had stepped into after the demise of H-town's ska heroes, and thinking, "What the hell? He's now in a band with a couple of the guys from punk/funk/ska/weirdo band Middlefinger, it's named after the detective from the Pink Panther movies, and they're playing...lounge music? Yeah, right; like that'll fly in this town..." [more]

Bad Times Are Good for Dancing: VHS or Beta Rocks the House
So, you've probably noticed that dancing is in again. And not in the likely locations either, mind you. Nope, kids are dancing at rock shows once again. We haven't been having this much fun since New Order and Duran Duran were jamming in the early to mid-'80s. I personally don't think it's so much due to a "scene" but more to do with the times. Skinny white kids were dancing in the early to mid '70s as the Vietnam War was hitting it's peak. Skinny white kids were dancing in the early to mid '80s as Reagan was preparing us for nuclear attacks from the Russkies. And now skinny white kids are dancing again as we wait out the next terrorist attacks... [more]

Hollister Fracus: Rev Your Engines
The throbbing pulse of the hard rock music that Hollister Fracus was playing exhilarated anyone entering the Jones Rd. club, Forgetta'Bout It, on the last hot Saturday night of July, exciting those who crowded the stage, heads banging, feet jumping and hands waving in the air. Lights flashed on the stage and radiated out over the fans to reveal eyes glued to these heavy rock musicians, a band who definitely knew how to entertain their audience... [more]

Live -- Do Make Say Think/Midlake
Absolutely the best musicians I've heard in a while. Everybody (except drummers) switched off between saxamaphones (doh!), guitars, basses, and keyboards before, during, and in the middle of songs without missing a beat; impressive. You don't often see a left-handed drummer, and yet these guys had two. The intensity was amazing, and these guys just got all up in your bones, with that low-end shaking loose stuff you didn't even know was there... [more]

Live -- Lonestar Pornstar Does Dallas
On Sunday, August 29, Houston band Lonestar Pornstar went on their first road trip. At 10 A.M., I hopped into a 15-passenger van to ride with this party band and their friends up to Dallas. The owner of the Jones Rd. club Forgetta'Bout It followed behind them in his own car with his companion. I thought of the Pantera video which showed their road trips (though this one was not at all destructive) as the party surrounded me on my very first trip to Dallas, Texas... [more]