William Michael Smith
Houston Press
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Past articles by William:
Cleveland Not Horrible Fest Reunites Houston Punk Rockers Crime Wave
Proving once again that many Houston bands have life after death, hardcore punks Crime Wave are rising from the grave for a one-off performance at the Not Horrible Festival in Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday, May 28. Crime Wave’s resurrection precedes a much anticipated reunion of Houston grind-core princes Insect Warfare later... → Read More
Gurf Morlix To Tour Most of 2016 As Production Work Dries Up
Gurf Morlix lived in Montrose in one of its most creative heydays. He first laid eyes on Houston when he left Buffalo in 1975. He bounced around couch-surfing in Austin and Houston for a bit, but by 1978 he was living in Montrose with songwriting genius and wild-drinking Blaze Foley,... → Read More
Frog Hair Enlists Veterans For New Recording
Frog Hair is a relatively new rock project by four grizzled Houston scene veterans: Pedro Yruegaz (drums), J.J. White (guitar), Scott Ayers (guitar, lap steel) and Michael Haaga (bass). Begun a year ago as a two-piece guitar and drums experiment, Yruegaz and White eventually asked former deadhorse guitarist Haaga to... → Read More
Brian Whelan's "Americana" Is Not a Middle Finger to the Lumineers
It might seem like career suicide to write a scathing tune about the very genre you operate in, but that’s exactly what former Dwight Yoakam sideman Brian Whelan has done at the beginning of his second solo album, Sugarland. “Americana,” which the Houston Press is premiering today, is a jet-blast critique... → Read More
California's Andre Thierry Is High on Houston's Zydeco Scene
Interview with California zydeco accordionist and bandleader Andre Thierry in regards to his two shows in Houston this weekend at Cafe 4212 and Big Easy. → Read More
San Antonio Chicano Fusion Band Los Nahuatlatos Invade East Houston
Los Nahuatlatos, who play Friday night at the D&W Lounge on Houston's near east side, are one of the key cogs in the roots-music renaissance happening these days in San Antonio. The band, part two of a San Antonio invasion that began Wednesday night with Los Texmaniacs at Under the... → Read More
For Los Texmaniacs, the Search For Authenticity Never Ends
Although Max Baca, leader of San Antonio Grammy winners Los Texmaniacs, was raised in Albuquerque, N.M., he’s been at the right place at the right time to become one of the keepers of that unique Sir Douglas Quintet San Antonio sound. A beautiful marriage of conjunto, rock and roll, bajo sexto,... → Read More
Willie Nelson's Advice Pays Off Big for Kinky Friedman
Former candidate for governor and agriculture commissioner Richard “Kinky” Friedman comes to the Mucky Duck tonight on the heels of a slew of wonderful reviews for his first album of fresh material in 37 years, The Loneliest Man I Ever Met. When we recently caught up with him at his... → Read More
Backyard Band Sisters Morales Return To Mucky Duck For Two Shows
Longtime Houston Chronicle columnist Marty Racine once wrote that Sisters Morales, who play two shows at Mucky Duck Saturday night, were one of those “backyard bands” that people tend to stop going to see. By backyard band, Racine meant a great act that plays in your area so much and... → Read More
Dallas Singer-Songwriter Max Stalling Plays Mucky Duck Friday
An interview with Dallas singer-songwriter Max Stalling regarding his longevity, his approach to the music business, and how the audience is changing. → Read More
Denver-Based Yawpers Make A Big Noise With Acoustic Guitars
Texas-born Nate Cook of Denver trio the Yawpers brings his band to Rudyard’s Thursday night in support of their hard-rocking second album, American Man. While the band’s debut, 2012’s Capon Crusade, was a self-release, the latest effort has been picked up by Chicago-based alt-country label Bloodshot Records. The album was... → Read More
World Premiere: Blackie Farrell's "She's One of Those Kind"
Not many people — maybe no one — wait until they are 68 to record a debut album, but Kevin “Blackie” Farrell isn’t just anyone. No, not by a long shot. While he is widely unknown, for the cognoscenti Farrell goes back to the wild-and-wooly drug-crazed Cosmic Cowboy glory days... → Read More
Remembering Texas Blues Wildman Long John Hunter
Bluesman Long John Hunter, onetime running buddy of Houston’s beloved Little Joe Washington, passed away Monday at his home in Phoenix, Arizona. Hunter, 84, was born in Ringgold, Louisiana, on July 13, 1931. Hunter grew up in Arkansas and Texas. He was working in Beaumont when, at age 22, he... → Read More
Holland K. Smith Brings the Dallas Boogie to The Big Easy
With 30+ years of road-dawg blues in his rearview mirror, Holland K. Smith has seen about everything when it comes to gigs, recordings, and booking agents. “There’s barely enough money out there to keep artists going,” Smith growls over the phone from Arlington, “but you’ve still got all these people... → Read More
Rap-Inflected Single Caps James McMurtry's 'Complicated' Year
It’s hard to believe it’s been 26 years since the where-did-this-come-from release of James McMurtry’s Columbia Records debut Too Long in the Wasteland , produced by John Mellencamp. His latest effort and the twelfth of his career, Complicated Game, made a ton of 2015 year-end best lists, but I could almost... → Read More
Shinyribs Brings That 'Cosmic Coonass' Vibe to Historic SugarHill Studios
Kevin Russell’s post-Gourds project, Shinyribs, has had one of the most successful 2015s of any band, ballooning its audience way beyond its original confines of hippies, slackers and music connoisseurs. This year Shinyribs finally broke through with the Ballcap Nation/Texas music crowd that normally prefers songs about pickup trucks or... → Read More
Spider Stacy and the Lost Bayou Ramblers Are Poguetry In Motion
Unlike his elders in the Pogues, the most popular Irish trad-punk band in the world, Spider Stacy still wants to make music at a high level. A New Orleans resident for the past five years, Stacy has recently begun working with top-shelf Louisiana Cajun roots band Lost Bayou Ramblers. This... → Read More
Mariachi El Bronx's Joby F. Ford May Be "The Whitest Guy In the World"...or Not
Joby F. Ford, multi-instrumentalist musical visionary behind several bands including The Bronx, Mariachi El Bronx, Pounded By the Surf and the Drips, describes himself as “the whitest guy in the world.” “I’m really just this nerdy Colorado guy with flaming red hair and a beard,” Ford jests from his home... → Read More
Dave Alvin: "I'm Just a Blues Guitarist." (Don't Believe Him.)
Dave Alvin, who rolls into the Continental Club with brother and Blasters front man Phil Alvin for a late show tonight at the Continental Club, can’t believe Country Dick Montana has been dead 20 years. “Man, when I saw that yesterday it blew my mind,” says Alvin over a first... → Read More
Bluesman Johnny Nicholas Fans the Flames of a Second Career
Bluesman Johnny Nicholas, who plays Mucky Duck Thursday night, is enjoying quite a career resurgence at 67. Nicholas grew up in Rhode Island, where he formed a band while still in high school that included Duke Robillard and one-time Fabulous Thunderbird Fran Christina. After a brief stint in San Francisco... → Read More