​I've had a bone to pick with the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon, and not because it blocks off streets in my neighborhood or benefits Susan G. Komen. It's because, unlike other marathons that happen throughout the year, there are awful cover bands playing at full volume on a fucking Sunday morning in my neighborhood.

On Saturday, when I received a flier in my mailbox about Sunday's race, I prepared for the worst, based on the past two years. As a musician, I know I should reap what I sow, but there's a reason why I pound the shit out of my drums at a rehearsal space in a warehouse district and play paradiddles on a practice pad at home. Lucky me, I live within earshot of a stage on the course. Previously, I had the displeasure of waking up to the sounds of a funk band covering Britney Spears and Weezer songs. My whole house rattled, especially the floor boards, all morning long. Earplugs were quite handy.

So, somebody in the neighborhood had to have complained over these past two years, right? Maybe not enough to get the stage's location moved, or table the marathon altogether.

More >>

Matthew Gray and Mike Kinsella

​I'm relatively new to town, and therefore just absorbing the news of Matthew Gray's Denton County Proper booking woes. So at first I wasn't going to even bother with this story, because a lot of other folks already have.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized after a decade-plus of covering and writing about live music, there's one thing I really cant stand: A shitty promoter. It's one thing if you're a nutcase, and many promoters are, as long as you get your job done. Sometimes a promoter needs to be intimidating, but that can also mean efficiency.

I've dealt with a full spectrum of shady, egotistical, vain and straight-up crazy characters in my musical travels. I think you have to have a touch of ego to be an artist, or want to hang out with them or write about them. But a promoter who is also a musician who is fucking other musicians out of money? Well, when you shit where you eat, you end up with a mouthful of shit, don't you?

More >>