Courtesy the artist

Music is a part-time gig for Ronnie Fauss, but "Built to Break" is a great record all the same

This week, Dallas-based songwriter Ronnie Fauss released Built to Break, his second full-length effort for the New West Records imprint Normaltown. Of course, that total doesn't include the handful of killer alt-country EPs Fauss delivered before his 2012 Normaltown debut, I Am the Man You Know I'm Not. Since 2009, Fauss, who was raised in Houston before moving to town years ago, has been as reliable of a source of solid roots-rock as there is to be found in North Texas. This new album successfully continues an impressive streak of simply offering up one enjoyable collection of songs after another.

The tunes on Break often deal with folks living less-than-ideal lives, which, in reality, accounts for most people walking the earth. But instead of simply stopping with general themes and greeting card-style blanket statements, Fauss deals in specific details. Just as the artists he looks up to such as Todd Snider and John Prine have done for years, Fauss exposes the individual crevices in relationships and intimate inner-thoughts.

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Mike Brooks

There's no place we'd rather be this weekend than Fun Fun Fun Fest

The ninth incarnation of Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest starts tomorrow, and the growth of the festival shows no signs of slowing. It's a festival that feels loved, that feels like an awful amount of care and attention has gone into it and that is booked by some sort of all-knowing being. (Well okay, it's just Transmission Events, but whatever.) On a related matter, and more importantly, it's the best music festival in Texas. It's also happening this weekend, from Friday, November 7 to Sunday, November 9.

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Courtesy the artist

TWIABP have moved tonight's Dallas show from the Prophet Bar to Club Dada

Tonight was supposed to witness Connecticut band the World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die visiting Dallas for a show at the Prophet Bar. But as of last night, that is no longer the case. Show cancellations are commonplace -- Ms. Lauryn Hill's scheduled appearance at South Side Ballroom Tuesday night was postponed at the last minute, for instance -- but in a more unusual twist TWIABP have opted to move the show to a new location, Club Dada, under the promotion of Parade of Flesh.

The change of plans came abruptly in the wake of abuse charges leveled against an employee of the original event promoter, Third String Productions, which have played out publicly on social media over the past few days.

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Mike Brooks

"Hey Mom, yeah, we're just trying to figure out which shows to see at Fun Fun Fun Fest this weekend"

Fun Fun Fun Fest hits Austin hits this weekend, and for many of Texas' most devout music heads, it's the music festival of the year. That's because, unlike many of the nation's biggest fests that cannibalize lineups from one another and rarely deviate from the norm, Fun Fun Fun rewards its audience's eclecticism a truly well-curated roster of bands. Only at Fun Fun Fun can you see some of the best in hardcore punk, metal, indie rock, rap, electronica, and comedy in the same weekend.

But Fun Fun Fun Fest requires a game plan with three days of music spread across three distinct stages. To help make life easier for everyone heading south this weekend, we've put together a day-by-day, stage-by-stage guide of who to watch out for.

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Erin Rambo

Daniel Markham (left) with bandmates Grady Sandlin, Ryan Thomas Becker and Tony Ferraro

Daniel Markham is in the midst of a pretty serious addiction. Now 33 years old, the Denton-based singer-songwriter has managed to live an exceptionally lengthy time without tumbling into the otherworldliness of one of the most popular escapes of the past three quarters of a century. The drug he can't kick is one that millions of people from basically all over the world have fallen victim to and have subsequently spent their remaining years on earth all shook up.

The culprit? The King. Elvis Presley.

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Evan Chronister aka Captain Groovy Rest in Peace

Every Music scene has that guy who has seen it all. He's the guy you always run into at influential shows, record stores and DJ nights from as long as you have been going to shows. Evan Chronister, known to many as Captain Groovy, was one of those guys in Dallas. There are not many like him left to continue the oral history of this city's music scene and history -- be it recounting how the Nervebreakers blew the Sex Pistols off stage at their infamous visit back in 1978, or the story of a young U2 opening for a wet T-shirt contest. Unfortunately, Chronister passed away in a tragic scooter accident last week.



For years Chronister would make mix CD's for the 60s themed Lollipop Shoppe party. For this week's mixtape we are posting Chronister's final mix for the upcoming Lollipop Shoppe Anniversay party. Instead of the usual Q&A we reached out to a few of Chronister's Fellow music nerds to share a music experience they shared with the infamous Captain Groovy.

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Lesley Keller

Pageantry playing in Manhattan during CMJ in October

By Roy Robertson

At the end of October, Denton's Pageantry traveled to New York City for the annual CMJ Music Marathon. We invited singer and guitarist Roy Robertson to reflect on the band's experience there -- their first time attending the convention -- and its potential value to Texas musicians.

We applied to CMJ earlier this year through their online submission form but hadn't really planned on getting in. We thought we might have a chance since we'd done SXSW back in March but we still weren't sure how much clout that would bring to our application. We went ahead and had almost finished booking a West Coast tour for the end of October when the invitation came to play in August. Doing the festival meant we'd have to reschedule our tour and fly up north instead of tour; it was so close to the festival's start date that finding enough shows there and back would be tricky.

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Though he hasn't officially released music in five years, for many of us in North Texas Jack Ingram hasn't gone away. For starters, he performs around here a lot; he's hit Plano, Dallas and Fort Worth in the past two months alone. And more importantly, he's built up an impressive catalog of songs over his 19-year recording career -- a career which started here in Dallas, for the uninitiated.

This past weekend, Ingram appeared on a new episode of the popular syndicated television show Texas Music Scene with Ray Benson. And, wouldn't you know it, he had a new song to sing. Given that it's been a whole half-decade since his last album, new Ingram tunes have popped up during his shows from time to time, but this specific song, "It's Always Gonna Rain," lends a hopeful, refreshing glimpse into what he has in store for us. And, wouldn't you know, Ingram's long-awaited album is finally slated to see the light of day early in 2015.

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Mike Brooks

Step into the ring with A.Dd+'s Slim Gravy and learn about DOMA's Best Rap/Hip Hop Acts

It's that time of the year again when artists and creatives of the Dallas-Fort Worth area vie for honors in the annual Dallas Observer Music Awards. The polls are open and votes are being cast everyday for the city's most celebrated acts. To prepare you for the festivities -- the showcase takes place on Saturday, December 6 in Deep Ellum and the awards ceremony on Tuesday, December 9 at Granada Theater -- we're taking the opportunity to highlight the 2014 DOMA hopefuls.

One of the most consistently exciting and talked-about DOMA categories for the past few years has been the Best Rap/Hip Hop Act. Many local rap enthusiasts have watched these artists develop right before our own eyes: From the humble beginnings of open mics and opening sets for national artists to headlining showcases, release parties and festivals. Picking a winner may be extra tough in this category, but we'll help break it down for you with some background of each nominee.

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Mike Mezeul

Slipknot were in "costume" at Gexa for Halloween on Friday

Slipknot
With KoRn
Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas
Friday, October 31, 2014

Music is weird. It has a way of sticking around in your life, or coming back when you thought you'd left if behind. I first heard KoRn when I was nine years old when my little brother got a copy of Life Is Peachy. My first show ever was KoRn at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in March 2000. By then I'd also been introduced to Slipknot, who were everything a socially maladjusted teenage kid could ever want in a band: They were vulgar, abrasive, heavy on the theatrics and masochistic like no other bands. I watched Slipknot's Welcome To Our Neighborhood VHS hundreds of times, taking in every detail about the band. I even went so far as answering fan mail on fansite Slipknotweb.com.

So the prospect of attending the Prepare For Hell tour with both KoRn and Slipknot (on Halloween, no less) was an especially intriguing prospect for me. I hadn't listened to either band in over a decade. Going to Gexa Energy Pavilion last Saturday was like heading out in search of my youth.

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