PAPERMOONS TAP BDM FOR BOON BOPPER!

File this under collaborations hotter than a Brangelina offspring (yes we did, in fact, DVR Mr. and Mrs. Smith on FX last night), Mr. Benjamin Davis Murphy (Bright Men of Learning, Panic in Detroit, Lucky Motors, etc etc etc) is going to be playing some of his sweet solo pop jams next Monday with the able assistance of Matt Brownlie (Bring Back the Guns) and the old kings of the new Rhythm and Blues, the Papermoons. bdm, as he is known in situations where provisions have been made for only three-letter naming schemes, will play some songs to open the show, before turning over the stage for the ‘Moons for their non-stop body rock of gentle jams.

And we’ve got the inside scoop on the setlist for this rare instance of the King of the Murpheltones playing some of his solo penned material! Yes, none other than the Skyline Network’s Chief Audio Engineer did some session time with the Emperor of Gearswaps in the vaunted Skyline Network World Recording Laboratory Emporium Studio 1a loading some “do not try to reproduce live” audio snippets onto a sampler hilariously still equipped with a Zip Drive. We won’t give away all the Sport Beans on this one, but we can say that fans of last year’s bdm Grey Ghost won’t be disappointed.

Paaarty call me.

As for the Papermoons, well, if we were Bette Midler, it’s a fair bet to say that the song we might sing about them would not be From a Distance, cause we’ll be right up front. You're the Rose babies, the Rose.

Catch Papermoons with special guest BDM Monday, Feb 4th at Boondocks. Free Show. 21+. Peep the wicked flyer.

MR. CASTILLO GIVES US A FIVE YEAR LOOK AT HIS ART OF ROCK

Ah the rock poster. You are trusty and informative. Sometimes you are brilliantly designed. Sometimes you are nay legible. Sometimes you are penned by patient hands. Sometimes you are scribbled out quickly in MS Paint. Sometimes you draw upon a shared set of attributes and iconography sufficiently to wrap a broader visual narrative blanket around a scene. Here in town, we are fortunate to have quite a number of designers and artists whose promotional prints move from mere information to collectible art. Arguably, none have been more prolific in the past several years than one Mr. Castillo.

Interminably old-school, as evidenced by his trend-transcending style, wardrobe, and prodigy email address Dan “Mr.” Castillo in unveiling a retrospective of some of his (and ours, coincidentally) favorite works at the Proletariat this evening.

“At first I was going to focus only on the Proletariat, but as I began sorting through my files I realized that many of the people I have worked with have moved on to other things and many of the venues have closed down,” Dan commented in an email conversation he hopefully did not intend to remain private. “Hell, in the case of Link Wray, Poor Dumb Bastards and Guitar Wolf, some people have actually passed on. I thought that with the closing of the Proletariat it would be a good time for me to display what I have contributed as well as try to make some sort of a visual commentary on the scene itself.”

Love it. When asked to pick a few of his favorites (and, as the totally incomplete collections on gigposters.com and his MySpace attest, there is a metric-ton to choose from), he mentioned one for Sparklehorse with Danny and the Nightmares a few years back (which you will just have to go to see).

Five Year Run opens tonight at the Proletariat, which is also the final Rockbox, by the way, and runs until the club shuts her doors Friday night.

DO YOU DEMAND SHREDERTAINMENT?

HEY! Were you looking for a reason to hit up the Shady Tavern during the week? By this we mean, we've become rather fond of the North Heights joint via the increasingly whips Saturday Secret Shows (last weekends was perhaps the best lineup to date, and flickr is littered with images of the literal whos who of folks in attendance), but were needing something just a wee bit more to bump us over the edge for a second weekly trip. How about the option to try your hands at one of our favorite 2007 jams on a massive TV? Word? WATCH AND BE DOWNTRODDEN AT YOUR FAILURE TO MEASURE UP! CAN YOU EVER MIMIC THE MASTERY OF BY THE END OF TONIGHT'S WEST SIDE BORING:

PROLETARIAT: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Well, it is upon us now. So few days away and The Proletariat will close her doors for good. We are not stoked, but we must tear ourselves away from scouting out marketing communications channels in Belize for a few minutes to talk about it. We've all had plenty of warning, but yet, like a giant thundery Regan-era soft metal epic, we knew it was coming. How then shall we, we lucky few, spend our final days together. Take a look-see:

WEDNESDAY: Over Sea Under Stone, Geisert 8 and Antarctica Starts Here
The final commune music is true to form. Excellent bands just under the local radar, without an easily discernible musical thread connecting them, but when rolled together just make sense.

THURSDAY: ROCKBOX
It's safe to say that this will be a blowout bash from what has evolved into a combination dance party and hip-hop showcase. Scheduled to appear include past headliners and regular DJs Gracie Chavez, Squincy Jones, Witness and Dayta, plus the ever present surprise guest MCs.

FRIDAY: FATAL FLYING GUILLOTEENS, WHOREHOUND, O PIONEERS!!!, COP WARMTH
We are surprised anyone thinks the building will still be standing after this show.

SATURDAY: THE FIREY FURNACES, THE DIMES, ELAINE GREER, HEARTS OF ANIMALS
Hell of a final lineup. What can we say. We can't say anything.

SUNDAY: THE FINAL DAY
We spoke to Denise about this night. We have to say, it sounds like a perfect end. What band or bands could possibly top the previous two lineups? Instead, the club is going out quiet, with a last chance at the jukebox, followed by a pair of mystery DJs in the final two hours. Go. Relax. Reflect. Refresh.

So that's that. We'll have more to say, and more of your thoughts once all is said and done.

TODAY

GO. One of the Jonx is stuck in Spokane, so they won't be able to make it.

THE MONOCLES INVADE DOMY BOOKS!

QUICK! TO THE DOMY CAVE! If you go now, before John Sears drops off the next Grey Ghost, you'll be able to walk right in, sit right down and buy not one, not two but three releases by members of the Monocles. Yep! In addition to their Blood Sucking Freaks GG, which is as solid as it is seriously limited edition and limited time only, you'll find their brand spanking new 7" and a solo CDR by vocalist Pope Jon PPPP. Dang. Thats three. Thats three more than the number of Will Boone artwork price sheets that they had last time we were there. Thats alot.

We'll spend some time delving into the specifics of their seven inch in the near future, but what we can say about Freaks we feel like we need to do quickly before it's lost to the ether and your chance to pick it up is gone forever. Imagine early Mudhoney, with a bit more prediction for the garage than the Ranier Beer factory, with fewer songs about being dogs and being sick, and more about bones and blood. There's a little less humor, and a little more grit - but we are struck by how much this release had us longing for the days when Superfuzz Bigmuff was our tome of love, and Mark Arm the Tom Petty of our locker. Go buy it. Prove us wrong.

Catch the Monocles Saturday night at Rudyards as they wind down their tour with Something Fierce. Born Liars and Canyon of the Skull are also on the bill. Or, if this weekend doesn't provide you with enough of the near-sighted peanut mascot accessory fix, you can go see them play next month at the engagement party of Monocle Jonathan Benjamin Patrick to ALARMA! bassist April 5k Bren. Awe. Band Love.

LOOK AT THIS CHART OF THIS WEEKEND!

DAAAAAANG! LOOK AT THIS WEEKEND. IT’S LITERALLY OFF THE CHART! YOU CAN’T SEE THE TOP! DAAAAANG!

Oh hai. It’s nice to be back. And what good timing to be able to do so. We won’t bother you with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that kept us away. And we won’t even promise that it won’t happen again. So get while the getting’s good – and as though doing some sort of bizzaro version of the weather, the next couple days, are gonna be hella fine like Chilean wine. Check it.

FRIDAY
KA-NIVES, THE DIMES, AMERICAN SHARKS @ CROCKER HOUSE
CHHHWHAT? Is Crocker House the new Faegen House?! No. To our knowledge, Bobby DJ has never taken off his shirt there in anger. Neither has Erik Bogle shot anyone with a BB gun because it’s hilarious. BUT, they are doing a more than respectable job of hosting some top notch live entertainment. And COUP of ALL COUPS has got to be having The Ka-Nives play your home in their first Houston show in a year. Good work. Now we don’t know exactly where Crocker House is, and actually, it’s rumored to be an apartment. BUT – we can give you the hint to head on over to Crocker Street, and go to the place in the middle of all the parked cars lining the street. Or ask someone who knows. This is an EARLY house show, cause we know the Police don’t like house shows. Don’t expect anything to be happening after 10. Seriously. UPDATE: OUR BAD. THIS SHOW STARTS AT 9:30. GO GO GO!

SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS @ WALTER’S
This show is SOLD OUT its so off the charts (CHARTS!!!). There won’t be any walk-up tickets sold either. SBT! You already know if you’re gonna go, and hopefully you already picked up your suit from the drycleaner. If you’re on the list, here’s a helpful video to show you what you are missing.

SPAIN COLORED ORANGE, PARIS FALLS, HEIST AT HAND @ THE PROLETARIAT
So begins the final countdown. Your last chance to see any of these three at the Prolo before she shuts her doors for good. We’ve seen many a SCO/PF bill on that stage, including a few we helped put together. Weepy are the eyes. What can we say, this is a solid lineup, and the night will be hot, bumpin’, and busy. Good to see Heist at Hand is still playing shows, by the way. OH ALSO – Bug Paris Falls for a copy of their forthcoming Vol II. It’s Whips.


SATURDAY
SATURDAY SECRET SHOW @ THE SHADY TAVERN
OH MAN GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE CHART! We wish we could tell you the lineup for this show, rumored to be The Ka-Nives, The Dimes and Bright Men of Learning. But that would be not in keeping with the spirit of the Saturday Secret Show. Cause if The Ka-Nives, The Dimes and Bright Men of Learning play, this will be the most next-level SSS ever. And you know that, if the line-up was, say, The Ka-Nives, The Dimes and Bright Men of Learning, that it’s gonna be packed and you are gonna wanna bring a JUG of your own cause the lines are gonna be off the chart (HEY GO LOOK AT THE CHART AGAIN) is the bands playing are The Ka-Nives, The Dimes and Bright Men of Learning. Bands start at 2, at the Shady Tavern. Bring Five bucks, we’ll have Skyline Shirts for sale, especially if the lineup is The Ka-Nives, The Dimes and Bright Men of Learning.

Sole and The Skyrider Band, Telephone Jim Jesus and GIANT PRINCESS @ THE PROLETARIAT
WHO? WHO CARES! JUST GO! HOW MANY MORE SATURDAY NIGHTS DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE HERE? ONE MORE, IT TURNS OUT! Actually, we’ve been meaning to catch Giant Princess; they’re fun, melodic, driving and could be a sleeper candidate for one of the best new acts this year. Good for fans of the Dimes, we think (they even have a song called Delilah. Oops). ATTN TELEPHONE JONES: Putting “Jesus” in your band name is not shocking.

EAT GRAPES, MLEE MARIE, ELAINE GREER @ NOTSUOH
CRAP! WE THOUGHT THIS WAS NEXT WEEKEND! OUR APOLOGIES! PLEASE DON'T HATE! CAP! LOOK AT THE CHART, HOW COULD WE POSSIBLY GET THIS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!

BORN LIARS, SOMETHING FIERCE, CANYON OF THE SKULL, THE MONOCLES @ RUDYARDS
WOAH! TURN DOWN THE CHARTOMETER! ITS WRECKING THE RAFTERS LIKE WILL ADAMS AT A COMEDY SHOWCASE! Fresh (as in, hopefully showered) off their Teenage Mustache Tour, The Monocles and Something Fierce will tear it to tours. Born Liars don’t take their name very seriously when it comes to bringing the rock. It’s really not fair that all this stuff is the same weekend. SPACE IT OUT PEOPLE!

LADIES NIGHT OUT TOUR FEATURING BEL BIV DEVOE, TONI, TONY TONI, KEITH SWEAT AND GUY @ RELIANT ARENA
Um….. ladies night out? MORE LIKE EVERY PARTY PERSON IN THE HOUSE NIGHT! THAT GIRL IS POISON! TONI TONY TONE HAS DONE IT AGAIN! Seriously could be the only show that could ever possible follow an afternoon with The Ka-Nives, The Dimes, and Bright Men of Learning, if they happened to be playing the Saturday Secret Show.

HEY! GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE CHART! WERE WE RIGHT OR WHAT?!

ATTN OUR DAYJOB: EASE OFF IT A BIT, WON'T YOU

OH DANG! We're totally drowning in work. And not the fun, rewarding work we would prefer to be doing writing and rickrolling about the goings on in our fair town, but the actual paying gig that we have during the daytime. Seriously relentless right now. We'd show you the powerpoints, but then we'd have to convict you of insider trading. Please don't give up on us, we'll be back soon.

-EDITORS

ATTN THIS WEEKEND: PLEASE BE EFFECTIVE AS YOUR PACKAGING, ZICAM

Oooh man does it stink to be in day two of a cold. It's the day when you can't pretend like you don't have it and that it might skip you by. Nope, you've got to put your head down, bone up on the liquids, and take it. We don't like taking it. But for the rest of you hopefully well enough to get out of bed and face the lights and sounds, here is where we wish we could be with you.

FRIDAY
Sharks and Sailors, UME and Camp X-Ray @ Rudyards
S&S has totally finished recording their next release. Yuss. All it needs now is to be mastered. Come clear your sinuses to their now slightly more 'swirly' thunder. Former locals UME are to the kleenex what Camp X-Ray is to the hot tea.

The Monocles and Something Fierce @ Walter's on Washington
So begins the "Teenage Mustache Tour", with these local purveyors of time, love and tenderness tearing it up around the country just in time for flu season and each of their releasing a new EP (MORE ON THAT SOON!) Catch-em before your forehead gets hot.
Rescue Mission, Death Is Not a Joyride, Audio in the Pregap, Voidmate @ Notsuoh
For the love of Tussin, PLEASE take hand sanitizer.

SATURDAY
Secret Show @ The Shady Tavern
Hey. The show organizer sent us a riddle about who is playing. We love riddles. Of course, after enough Cold n Flu meds, even a television remote is a riddle. Check it: this week you will be Awoken by music, there will be a band named after a bird that eats dead people, a rapper who once was in a rap band/maybe still is? i dont know. and a band from detroit that is on tour and needed a show.

SAUNDAY
DEATH

She's A Rebel

Another ACES interview for The Skyline Network by our occasional contributor Anna Garza. Horray!

If you reside in Houston and listen to the radio, go to shows, shop for records and read the Hands Up Houston message board on a regular basis; the chances are extremely high you have seen and / or heard of Rosa Guerrero. Her presence in our "scene" infiltrates every aspect that her contributions (big or small) are undeniable: as DJ co-host of the Mutant Hardcore Flower Hour on KTRU, organizer of shows, photographer and champion of the underdog. Most recently, the latest title to add to her impressive resume... zine editor. The first issue of Ditch Water fanzine is a collection of photographs taken by Rosa from the various live music shows she has attended over the years. It is currently available at Sound Exchange and the word on the street is there are very few copies left. Buy a copy now. You will kick yourself if you don't. Trust me.

-Anna Garza

Tell me about Ditch Water. What was your impetus to publish a zine? And how long did it take for you to compile the photos?
I learned to develop and print my own photos back in January of 2006. Almost all of the prints in the zine were shot in 2006. Actually I have a TON more but I haven't had a chance to print them since I haven't had access to a dark room for awhile now. And as far as a zine goes, well I have affinity with tactile media, so a website wasn't going to satisfy me. A zine seemed like the only way to go.

As a veteran of the punk / DIY scene, what are your thoughts on the current state of music (national and local)?
Veteran? Am I that old? Ha! Same as it ever was: the local scene is underappreciated or ignored by those in their own backyard. Houston is losing venues due to gentrification. We're losing young, talented musicians because they grow up and leave the nest. Local musicians who "make it" commercially STILL suck. Music labels are still trying to figure out their niche to survive. Oh, I do have a new beef though: bands that don't put out records. Myspace tracks do not a recording make. Starve for your art, I say.



Do you have any opinions on being a latina female in a white, male dominated scene?
Artistically I guess it should be noted that I hang out in different scenes - indie, garage, punk, grindcore, hardcore, metal, rockabilly, politico, queer... they all have their different cultural/ethnic/sexual make-ups. But no matter what the context I hope that people's perceptions of what a Latina is might include someone like me.

I have noticed there aren't many girls / women involved in music – playing music or behind the scenes – in our "scene". Why do you think that is?
True there aren't as many women as I'd like to see. And every time we lose one I bite my lip until it bleeds - Jana Hunter, Liz Molina and KJ (hardcore promoter) come to mind from this year alone. But there have always been a few strong female personalities that keep the wheels turning. Female editors, writers, band members, business owners, photographers, managers, radio djs. Is this starting to sound familiar?

I do, quite frankly though, think this is an excellent question for the men.

Being married & a mom, how do you balance your home, work & social life?
I have a really short, hierarchal list of priorities. And Ramon's priorities are identical. So it makes balance easy. Time, on the other hand...I look at it like this, I have from 6:15am to 2:am to get done what i need/want to get done. If it doesn't get done, it wasn't for lack of trying. It was for lack of time. And that's okay by me.

What's playing on your turntable / cassette deck / cd player / ipod currently?
Turn table in the living room = Bruce Springsteen Darkness on the Edge of Town. Ramon bought me tickets for Christmas! Turn table in the kitchen = King Khan and the Shrines' newest record. I just bought the latest issue of Mojo so we're jamming over-the-top indulgent 70s rock tunes in the car. That Pretty Things track is pretty sweet.

Name your top 3 favorite shows you saw this past year.
Top three shows, oh gosh...well I can think of three that totally took me by surprise: the Future Blondes at Jet Lounge, Nymph at Jet Lounge, and just this past Sunday Frank Davis stole my heart and then Tom Carter stole the show at Notsuoh. Wow. Other great 2007 shows: Kable/Jana/Hearts of Animals show at Diverse Works. Born Liars at the Axiom. Radio Birdman. Roky Erickson. OK I'm just gonna stop right there.

Do you play any instrument? Have you been in bands before?
I can play the heck out of three chords on guitar. And I've been kicking around band ideas with friends that'll never happen but I like to dream. Well I should mention that me and my 5-year-old have a band. We're called 'Hugs and Kisses' but we spell it x,o,x,o...


Do you have any upcoming projects you would like to discuss?
I've got some tricks up my sleeve. More photography exhibits, more zines, more shows, knock on wood...if I said anymore, I'd jinx them. Besides, no one knows what's right around the corner, right?

What are you looking forward to the most in 2008?
My kids' birthday party in January. He likes to party. I like to party. Good tymez. I mentioned the Bruce Springsteen concert - looking forward to that. I have some prospects on possible darkrooms - that would turn 2008 up to "11"! Oh! And Terrastock in June. That will be one sweet family vacation.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE SAMMIES

But first, an apology and a thanks; Our deepest and sincerest to everyone that we had to turn away from the door at the Hootenanny Saturday night. We knew that this evening of kick out the jams Halloween-style fun would be well received, we just didn’t expect it to be such a runaway. Most likely, if we had had this same lineup (and the supporting publicity) and the bands had played as themselves, we would have had to similarly harsh so many mellows at the door. If you were turned away, please, get in touch with us, we’ll make it up to you.

But also, THANKS to everyone: the bands, Mark and everyone else at the Mink, Jenn, Dunnock, Chris Ryan and especially bdm and Anna, who did big things to make it all happen. And thanks to everyone who attended, with a special woop woop to those of you who took pictures, as can be seen online here, here, here, here and here (plus in patented Ramon Medina dark-o-vision video here – look, he also shared some thoughts on non-Alignment Pact and The Free Press Blog).

One thing we heard a few times about the HOOTENANNY! was that it is the first great show of 2008. But for us, it really served as the culmination of an amazing 2007 – a year in which we madly, truly and deeply fell in love with the music of this town and the people behind it. Year-end best-of lists are as much a music-journalism cliché as they are a necessity, as though all 365 days were funneled into a bottle, and then the cork is popped at midnight to celebrate. We’re certainly guilty of this, though we generally consider each piece we pen to be a celebration. Aside from the 50 tracks we enjoyed most during the year, it was genuinely hard to decide where our compass pointed most strongly. In our greatest cop-out to date, we turned to you to play favorites, and we thank those of you who voted.

So now, a little removed from the tedium of all those lists, with less turkey on the eyelids and fewer engagements to stress about, we are pleased to present YOUR picks from 2007. Ladies and Gentlemen: The Sammies

BEST RECORD
Jana Hunter – There’s no Home
As with the next two categories, the voting was tight. You can probably guess what the other two were based on the similarly broad and favorable coverage they received nationally. Though she is no longer based here, There’s No Home is a solidly Houston record. Recorded while Hunter still lived here by a Houstonian with a cadre of guests from bands we know and love. If there was such thing as a ‘scene’ and further into the fantasia a record that captured it, this wholly atypically 713 release would be the one. We miss you Jana, and wish you the best.

BEST BAND
Golden Axe
It is somewhat of a relief to know that a band whose mastery of their craft makes us Mayberry giddy is a favorite to others as well. Though they’ve yet to put out more than a two-song Grey Ghost, and haven’t ever toured, it’s hard to imagine this duo not striking a guitarminous chord with audiences everywhere. Golden Axe is fun, pure and simple, and we love it when fun wins.

BEST LIVE SHOW
Fatal Flying Guilloteens
Do we really even need to comment on this? Maybe it was the record, but for whatever reason, in 2007 Guilloteen shows went from being a half-comedic half-terrifying binge of sloppy anger to a bonafied must-attend event. Without loosing any of the danger or the flirt, they figured out a way to excise the out-of-tune frustration and replace it with a honed encapsulation of why they are tremendous and ready for a bigger by-line.

BEST THING EVER
Day of the Jug
Granted, a certain amount of coaxing and band-wagoning brought the infamous DAY OF THE JUG to the top of this heap (and by a landslide, it should be pointed out), but we don’t think that necessarily minimizes the significance of it. Named for the five gallon container of impromptu front-porch punch that fueled the all-day shenanigans, this post-Noise and Smoke celebration had nothing to do with music. But at the same time, it had everything to do with this site and what we cover. Some might bemoan that there is no “scene” in Houston; but we saw it with our own eyes that day. People, friends, players in bands, supporters, notorious locals – a group of people all interconnected coming together spontaneously to do something together. A community that ebbs and flows and lives and breaths throughout the year – something captured in a thousand snapshots, and entirely legitimately in the Day of the Jug.

So many people contributed in so many ways to make 2007 one of the most whips on record, even beyond the people playing in bands. Think of it: Grey Ghost, Saturday Secret Shows, the Mutant Hardcore Flower Hour – the list could go on. And it will. Rumors fly that 2008 will finally be the year when Houston gets the sort of legitimate left-of-the-dial music festival it has long deserved, with acts of Pictchfork and Montrose pedigree alike. We’ve had a peek at the lineup, and we wish we could tell you about it – but we can’t yet. There are a Santa’s sack slate of releases for 2008 in the pipeline, with recordings for Spain Colored Orange, Satin Hooks, Golden Axe, Antarctica Starts Here, Sharks and Sailors, Paris Falls, American Sharks, Buxton and a slew of others headed our way. And as long as we can keep hold our day-jobs at bay, we expect to be right here, soaking it all in and spitting back out as much as we can. Stoked.

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING THE HOOTENANNY

NICE. You may recognize Wittles (Crucial Beach Crew) and Bogle (Bring Back the Guns, Fatal Flying Guilloteens) from the commercial for 2007's Feel Good Hits of The Summer Fest. Speaking of the Guns, they will most assuredly not be playing Saturday night's food-raising benefit at Numbers, nor probably any fund raiser associated with Shelby Kelley, once they read the somewhat nasty little note she sent us earlier in the day:

Subject: a "tip"
Hey runners of Skyline.Net--- I know you guys are all on the up and up with whats going down in the Houstons music scene and all but for a show thats been flyered and promoted like crazy --- you guys sure have managed to neglect to post anything about the Free Press sponsored show going down at Numbers Saturday--- What is shameful about this is that it's a benefit--like no money to nobody but jedi causes---- everything you guys have posted is "an easy 5 bucks"---money is not easy anymore so you should use your sway over the masses to teach them something good to do with it other than put Bring Back the Guns in another local music review.

Now, here is a tip for you Mrs Kelley, and everyone else running a worthy non-profit cause asking for help from someone: Don't be a dick. There is nothing shameful about what we choose to write about or leave to the much larger circulation numbers of the publication sponsoring your event. Also, we have promoted your show now. You're welcome, but obviously we can't recommend that anyone go since Bring Back the Guns aren't playing and this is clearly the only band we care about. Also Also, we have nothing but love for the Free Press, its writers and especially the man behind the mad magic, Omar, and are hopeful that Mrs. Kelley's insinuation that we are somehow heartless selfish bastards has nothing to do with the paper itself.

TOMORROW IS THE DAY: HOOTENANNY!

OH MAN. How great is vacation. We are totally still enjoying ours. Do you know what the best thing about All Inclusive is? It doesn’t include watches, alarm-clocks or BlackBerry chargers. Seriously next level. So you know it’s gotta be something spectacular spectacular that would cause us to fire-up the wireless internet in the exclusive white-sand beachside fully attended and stocked Skyline Network Cabana. Yes, you see, tomorrow is the day when your 2008 gets STARTED RIGHT, with the swim-up bar of all things wonderful that is HOOTENANNY!

We are so stoked about this little shebang that we are taking time off from our blue-water view marathon back massage and SAMMIE WINNER writing session to parachute directly to The Mink’s Backroom for Saturday’s Show. Here, men, women and primitives, is the FINAL LINEUP:

DOWNSTAIRS
8:30 – John Sears as Sam Cooke
9:00 – Papermoons as Pedro the Lion
10:00 – The Jonx as nomeansno
11:00 – Something Fierce as The Clash
12:00 – Awesome! as Weezer

UPSTAIRS
9:30 – Panic in Detroit as Jawbox
10:30 – Mathletes as Talkinig Heads
11:30 – The Dimes as The Pixies
12:30 – Blades as Foo Fighters
1:00 – Indian Jewelry as Depeche Mode

FREAK OUT! That lineup is as beautiful as a Chardonnay sunrise, and as cool as a sangria breeze. Can you believe it? Doors are at six, so come on early and don’t miss those early treats. The whole show is all ages and is a mere $5. Woah – now THAT’S what we call all inclusive.

Still not convinced? Don’t take our word for it, check out the coverage from The Free Press, Space City Rock and Houston Calling, or The Houston Press’ write up and chat with the bands involved.

(PS: Earlier posts talked about both LAWS and Satin Hooks taking place in this epic night of rock and rickroll. Sadly, a member shared by both groups has been injured, and is chell, but unable to play. We wish him all our best and a speedy and full recovery. We tell you this so there won't be no rumorz).

(PPS: Shameless Plug - our merciless and word-inventing supreme editor is flying back a day early to shore up his tax shelters and do a DJ stint at Vinyl Ranch tonight, the epic monthly Hoe-Down at Leon's Lounge. Should be Jersey Wicked in the 3:10 to Yuma style).