Space and the City
Posts tagged Houston Press Music Awards
Five for Friday
Jul 24th
1. Writing in this format again. I missed this. I’ve been writing in it since the last century. The other day I was consolidating everything I’ve written online into a single place, killing the filler and just having a grand old time revisiting old thoughts and experiences. So, I thought I would start doing it again, just with far less intensity (and a different voice and a broader net-cast). Frankly, I miss tinkering with HTML too.
2. TA’s Cargo Club. A townie bar in an Oak Forrest strip center, just north of 34th on Mangum. Imagine the Shiloh in a world where it was important to keep up appearances and no one had invented methamphetamines; no Yelp listing, no Facebook fan page. Just a sunken bar, a non-internet jukebox and conventional height chairs with those wheels they have at Luby’s waiting to embrace you in their decidedly uncool arms. What could be cooler?
3. Earl-Jean – I’m Into Something Good.
4. Jeremiah. You know, I’m all about trashy post-apocalyptic visions of the future; no concept is too ridiculous for me to suspend my disbelief. Mass sterility? Check. Giant Comet? Puh-lease. Unexplained flash of light that transports Nantucket Island two thousand years in the past and changes the underlying properties of the universe, leaving the world left behind without access to the benefits of gunpowder, electricity or anything dependent on high energy physics? Into it. So when Netflix’s suggestion engine served up this 2003 Showtime series, I couldn’t help but add it to Watch Now and fire up the Roku.
Now, from the outset, don’t make the mistake I did, of thinking that something produced by Showtime would be on par with any series on HBO. And while I want to reserve judgment till I’ve finished its limited run, let me go ahead and say that if your show features Malcolm Jamal Warner and you have a character named Theo and MJW isn’t playing him you’re doing it wrong.
5. The Houston Press Music Awards Showcase. It’s this weekend. Downtown. While my muscle memory wants to launch into run-on-sentence-filled exultations, ruminations and prognostications, there is part of me that knows I will spend the day with friends (who in the past rocked it Rice Loft VIP) instead. However, you should definitely go.
TODAY IS BALLOT DAY!!! YUSSS!
Jul 2nd
UPDATE: 2:26 PM: Breakdown of the Ballot by Artist and number of nominations. Fatal Flying Guilloteens and Indian Jewelry come out on top in our cloud with four each:
- Fatal Flying Guilloteens (4) – Musician of the Year, Best Guitarist, Best Punk, Best Male Vocalist
- Indian Jewelry (4) – Best Album, Best Song, Musician of the Year, Best Unclassified Band
- Arthur Yoria (3) – Best Songwriter, Musician of the Year, Best Male Vocalist
- Black Math Experiment (3) – Best Album, Best Song, Best Unclassified Band
- Born Liars (3)– Best New Act, Best Drummer, Best Traditional
- Buxton (3) – Best Local Album, Miscellaneous Instrumentalist, Best Neo-Folk
- Spain Colored Orange (3) – Best Miscellaneous Instrumentalist, Best Keyboard Player, Best Indie Rock
- The Tontons (3) – Best Local Album, Best New Act, Best Female Vocalist
- Hearts of Animals (2) – Best New Act, Best Experimental
- Scattered Pages (2) – Best Drummer, Best Neo-Folk
- Sharks and Sailors (2) – Best Bassist, Best Indie Rock
- Balaclavas (1)– Best Indie Rock
- Bring Back the Guns (1) – Best Guitarist
- By The End of Tonight (1) – Best Experimental
- Golden Axe (1) – Best Metal
- Hell City Kings (1) – Best Punk
- Insect Warfare (1) – Best Metal
- Jana Hunter (1) – Best Neo-Folk
- The Literary Greats (1) – Best New Act
- The Mathletes (1) – Best Experimental
- Penny Royal (1) – Best Unclassified Band
- Poor Dumb Bastards (1) – Best Punk
- Something Fierce (1) – Best Punk
- Two Star Symphony (1) – Best Unclassified Band
- Whorehound (1) – Best Metal
UPDATE 1:56 PM: Born Liars are (oddly) in the Roots Rock category, while Buxton, Jana Hunter and the Scattered Pages all turn up in another new designation “Neo-Folk.” Arthur Yoria and Shawn Adolph (Fatal Flying Guilloteens) are both up for best Male Vocals, while The Ton Tons Asli Omar is in for the Female side of things. Everything else is just details and write ins! Phew what a rush!
UPDATE 1:52 PM: The Experimental category is unreal, with Hearts of Animals, The Mathletes, By the End of Tonight and The Wiggins all competing for the glory. Likewise Indie Rock with veterans Spain Colored Orange, Sharks and Sailors and Young Mammals being joined by newcomers Wild Moccasins and Balaclavas. Something Fierce, Hell City Kings, Fatal Flying Guilloteens and the Poor Dumb Bastards will all likely lose to Los Skarnales in Best Punk. The new category (we think) best Unclassified Bands sweeps up The Small Sounds, Black Math Experiment, Penny Royal, Two Star Symphony and Indian Jewelry. Metal has a tough call to make between Whorehound, Golden Axe and Insect Warfare.
UPDATE 1:46 PM: Moving into the instrument categories, Erik Bogle (Bring Back the Guns, Fatal Flying Guilloteens) is up for Best Guitarist, Shaun Lauder (Born Liars) and Andy McWilliams (Scattered Pages) for drums, Erik Jackson (Spain Colored Orange) and Jason Willis (Buxton) for Miscellaneous Instrument, Melissa Lonchambon (Sharks and Sailors) for Bassist and Gilbert Alfaro (Spain Colored Orange) for Keyboards.
UPDATE 1:42 PM: Best New Act is another full slate of our favorites: Born Liars, Wild Moccasins, The Tontons, Hearts of Animals and The Literary Greats. Arthur Yoria gets a nod for Best Songwriter, and is also up for Local Musician of the Year along with the Guilloteens and Indian Jewelry.
UPDATE 1:39 PM: Skyline Favorites sweep Best Local Album, with releases by Indian Jewelry, Buxton, Black Math Experiment and The Tontons up for nomination. BME and Indian Jewelry also up for best song with “Everyone is Gay” and “Swans”, respectively.
UPDATE 1:32 PM: Ok, Our sources indicate that the truck has arrived. Banner ads have started popping up on the Houston Press website with links to the ballot. We’re pouring over it now. We couldn’t be more excited. We’re huge dorks. From our initial look, it’s full of CONTROVERSY! For example: Neither Bring Back the Guns’ Dry Futures or The Fatal Flying Guilloteens Quantum F*cking are nominated for Album of the Year.
WOAH WOAH HOLD ON THERE VACATION – WE ALMOST FORGOT A THING. Yep, it’s our favorite day of the year – BALLOT DAY. Today, The Houston Press will unveil the candidates for this year’s Music Awards. Then the PR campaigns begin, including a bacchanalian showcase of showdowns (July 27th this year, when you will be no doubt recovering from your evening spent at HOOTENANY 2: TWOTENANNY!), and culminating in an awards show complete with musical performers, trophies, no-shows and Michael Garfield, the High Tech Texan! STOKED! It’s like Oscars season, just with different zip codes, somewhat smaller budgets and a much higher percentage of fixed-gear bicycle ownership.
SO – it being the start of the season, we have rushed back to Houston on The Skyline Network Most Extreme Party Call Me Of The Gods jet and touched down only hours ago, going full tilt on our Segways to the nearest Houston Press corner newspaper box only to discover…. LAST WEEK’S ISSUE!!! We messaged our most extremely secret contact at the Press, and they told us that there may be a problem with the truck delivering the papers, and that they weren’t out on the street yet. OH MAN WE NEED A NEW STORY GRAPHIC:
“TRUCK PROBLEMS” delivering the ballots?! Sounds kinda Mugabe to us!!! Don’t worry Houston – we will be sure to keep our eyes of the freedom eagle on this breaking story, and will post updates as needed. It’s good to be back home and we’re super stoked about today and the month to come. PARTY CALL US!!!
