By Jason Cohen
Texas Music News
Special Larry King Edition--Early AugustMy four cents ('cause two just isn't good enough for you, the gentle reader. I mean, maybe it is in Brooklyn, but this is Texas)
Austin soul-poppersStoryville released their first album for Atlantic a few weeks back. Singer Malford Milligan's voice is so powerful yet soothing that I'm planning to pop it in the old Walkman during my next quadruple bypass.
I wouldn't call it acting, butIan Moore has a role as a guitar player in the upcoming film "Some Call It a Slingblade." The chisel-cheeked Moore, fresh from his TV hosting gig onVH1's "Route '96," joinsVic Chesnutt,Dwight Yoakam and Col. Bruce Hampton in the film's fictional band.
There was never another group in the world exactly likeShoulders, so it's good news to discover that the excellent Austin cabaret-pop band has reformed. A new album, "The Fun Never Stops," should be out in September.
John Croslin can finally go back to being a producer, as Spoon have found a new bassist, one Scott Adair. But are his backing vocals any good?
How come Michael "Corky" Corcoran feels compelled to mention my name in theAustin American-Statesman so often? Just returning the favor.
Y'know, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get ya.
Michele Solberg's Web site has moved to the following URL:http://micsol.hf.utexas.edu.
Houston goth-pop band The Hunger are winning fans at radio and clubs all over the country. At least, that's what their press release says.
I'm so old, I can remember when theSex Pistols were good. Now they're "fat, 40 and back," and they play Dallas August 2 and Houston August 3. Their "Filthy Lucre" live album is already out, though it probably took longer to mix than their original studio material.
How the mighty have fallen: former H.O.R.D.E. tour headlinersThe Spin Doctors are out on their own this summer, and they aren't exactly playing amphitheaters. They'll be at Liberty Lunch in Austin August 6 and Jones Plaza in Houston August 8.
Eddie George has the Heisman and the first-round hype, but I'm rooting for little Mike Archie to make the Oilers as a third-down back.
A zillion years later, ZZ Top are still cool. But will they be appearing in a club near you some time soon? I'm not telling (mainly because I haven't the slightest idea).
If the boys in Austin ska-punkersGal's Panic can't agree on whether the band has broken up or not, they ought to submit to binding arbitration. Perhaps in front of my good friend (and frequent guest on my TV show) Judge Richard Posner of Chicago.
Tripping Daisy will be back in their home state next week as the openers for Def Leppard. The shows are in Dallas on the 2nd, Austin on the 3rd and Houston on the 4th. The Trips are also featured, with their cover of Public Image, Ltd.'s "Rise," on the soundtrack of the upcoming movie "Basquiat." Though if you ask me, I'm still not sure about this graffitti-as-art thing. I mean, if it isn't good enough for the National Gallery.
People who rememberPoi Dog Pondering as a dippy, sunny college band will be surprised by the strange, joyous and percussive outfit that's been germinating in Chicago the past few years. The Pois return home to Austin August 8 at Liberty Lunch.
As football practice approaches, I gotta say that anyone who doesn't think the best college backfield in the country wears burnt orange must be an Aggie. Or, since we've got the Big 12 now, a Cornhusker.
Austin'sStarfish are the latest band to grab an opening gig with theButthole Surfers. If the Butts ever break up, Gibby should seriously consider a permanent job as the host of "120 Minutes".
Did anybody notice guit-steel masterJunior Brown's appearance in "A Time to Kill?" It comes in the form of a handbill, pasted on one of those old Mississippi buildings. And I gotta say, Brown's two-dimensional cameo made for one of the film's more evenhanded performances.
Congratulations toWill Taylor and the Jazz Menagerie for their fine critical notice in a recent issue of "Entertainment Weekly." The violist's "Live from Austin" CD, featuring saxophonist Elias Haslanger, is out now on theCymekob label.
I've been meaning to check out theUgly Americans brand new album "Stereophonic Spanish Fly," but when you've been married as many times as I have you don't need the help, if you know what I'm saying.
If there's a better band in Texas thanThe Instruments, my name's not Larry King. Well, okay, it's not, but the Artists Formerly Known As The Texas Instruments are still the tops, and now that they've recorded a new four-song demo perhaps a CD will be imminent. It would be if I owned a record label.
I gotta tell ya, the reason cliches are cliches is because they're mostly true. And I can prove it. After all, I wrote this column.
