Exodus: Movement of Jah People!
posted by Ramon Medina - LP4 @ 11:50 AMIs it me or is this a year of exodus for great musicians from Houston? Earlier Danny Mee of the Jonx moved to Austin and Jenny Westbury also announced her imminent departure to Seattle. Now word comes down the line of a continued talent drain.
First Iram Guerrero of Young Mammals (aka The Dimes) is down to his last three shows before he leaves Houston. That's a huge blow given that he's one of the premier drummers in Houston and a defining part of the band's sound. Then, Papermoons announced that after their upcoming tour, they too will also be leaving Houston. Oh wait, but it gets worse because Sabra Laval has also announced her departure from Houston. Man, that's a rough year and we're just past the halfway mark.
So, just so you know, here may be the last few times for you to see these artists in the near future as they will be seen a lot less frequently 'round these parts.
Papermoons
Friday July 11
CD Release/Tour Kick-off w/ B./The Sour Notes /Phillip Forshee
@ The Backroom (behind the Mink)
Young Mammals
Saturday July 12
W/ Wicked Poseur, News On The March& Hard Place
@ Artstorm/Caroline Collective
Sunday July 13
W/ Hard Place & Wicked Poseur!!!
@ The Backroom (behind the Mink)
Sunday July 27
The Houston Press Music Awards
Sabra Laval
Monday July 28
w/ Warren Jackson Hearne & Admiral David
@ Notsuoh
The Jonx
Friday August 1
w/ Sharks and Sailors (CD Release Party) & UME
@ Walters
Labels: "Sabra Laval", "Young Mammals", Jonx, papermoons
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10 Comments:
Opie Hendrix and Carrien Ann Bucannan also left for the Austin area this year.
See that's what I'm talkin' 'bout.
Yeah, that is a bit of the drag about Houston, all the really good bands head to California or Austin. It's a bummer.
You forgot Derek and Evan Dunavan from Penny Royal; the actress Morgan McCarthy; the poet Lucas McClure seriously if you charted out where every talented artist or cool person moved to you would have a list of "the coolest places in the country." We're a guppy pond, once people feel that they've accomplished all they can they split. It's nothing new and it happens every year.
gahhhh there's still tons good music here man!Between this one and the recent Houston Press article its getting really redundant hearing over and over how bad our scene is.EVERYONE knows that.Maybe if the local blogs would write something about other than the same 10 bands people would have more options...
for example less about these folks:
papermoons
elaine greer
Studemont Project
wild moccasins
piano vines
riff tiffs
mc kenzies
the dimes
the jonx
karina nistal
and more about maybe these folks:
H.I.S.D
Fat Tony
The Umbrella Man
Krystal Hardwick
The American Masquerade
Satin Hooks(i guess their press comes with new music)
Television Skies(those guys are ridiculous live by the way)
Windsor drive(when they're in town)
Brains for dinner(even though the riff tiffs drummer is in there)
I'm basically just saying:
We get it!The above bands are great not just because I've seen them all live but also because you guys mention them ALL the time. Maybe if you branched out and looked into some of the acts around town and not just the inner loop bands, more bands would stick around because they felt as though they were getting some kind of notice for all the work they do.Not to mention, maybe the bands you mention all the time would work harder because they'd have some competition taking up space among the printed compliments they always receive.
Just an opinion of one of the last non-musician local music concert go-ers,
Jake
P.S I want to know who you guys think is bad too before I go wasting my money on some of these people.I've been to a few press promoted events where I thought I was going to get my money's worth and in return got shit.Come on that Shina Rae show at numbers????gimme a break!
Hey Jake,
Speaking just for myself and what I do here, let me address some of your points,
"its getting really redundant hearing over and over how bad our scene is."
*I think you misunderstood the point of the blog. The point wasn't to bemoan the scene but to bemoan the loss of these artists, express the fact that I thought that they added a lot, and let people know that this may be the last time that they can catch tem for a while. The clump of shows was kind of optimal for a piece like this.
"Maybe if the local blogs would write something about other than the same 10 bands people would have more options...for example less about these folks…and more about maybe these folks:"
* I think that my Friday preview covers a lot of bands beyond 10 but also keep in mind that my articles run once a month. At one band per month it's not going to cover every band out there.
*You mention HISD. I've mentioned it before; I don't have the vocabulary to write about Hip Hop any more than I have the vocabulary to write about Classical. I think to write about a genre you have to have more than a casual relationship otherwise it ends up being sounding ignorant and even disrespectful. So for better or worse I have a limited scope and don't make any bones about it.
*I take your point on the inner loopiness of bands I cover but that's not always true. I think for example Gold Sounds are amazing and they are from Deer Park. My second article was on Blades who were from Pasadena and Buxton (whom I love though they don't play out that often) I also believe are outside the loop.
*As for venues outside the loop? Well, that's a practicality issue. Limiting my geography means limiting the amount of time spent doing a preview blog which can take hours and hours of going through bloated MySpace pages.
*The final comment I have on this can be taken totally wrong but it's not meant to be snotty. So when I say "Write a blog to fill in the gaps." I mean it. Write a good blog and I'll add it to our links.
I want to know who you guys think is bad too before I go wasting my money on some of these people
OK that's a good question and here is the answer in three parts:
1) My recession Thursday Blog is always going to be hype. Think about it - Omar invites these bands to play. It'd be pretty shitty of me to write or ignore a band that we invited to play. So consider that a Press Release for all intents and purposes if it wasn't apparent from the get-go.
2) My Friday Preview has shows that I recommend (based on one simple question – “Would I consider going if I had time and money?”) or at I at least think deserves a mention for some reason. My Monday reviews are in the same vein.
3) This begs the question of who I hate. I just don't mention who I hate. If the show is something that I think sounds boring or horrible based on what I have before me then I will just not mention it. That goes as well for my reviews where if a band bores me, I'll likely not mention them.
I hope that addresses all you points.
Thanks
I hate to be nitpicky, but the Young Mammals show on July 12 is "technically" at ArtStorm, although we do cohabit the same office building as the Caroline Collective.
Oh sorry I thought they were one in the same. My bad. I fixed it to read Art Storm/Caroline Collective as people may know where one is but not the other.
Well, I got one for you Alan Harrison, bass player for Welfare Mothers/guitarist for the mirrors will be heading off to Korea.
sad sad sad!
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