Lest we forget

Attention White People

We are winning. You are losing.

Tonight's Set Times

Inside

The Handshake 8-8:30
Robert Ellis 8:45-9:15
Young Ass Mammals 9:30-10:15
Golden Axe 10:45-11:30
Papermoons 11:50
Ceeplus Bad Knives

Outside

Juzcoz 8:00- 8:30
Woozy Helmet 8:45-9:30
Wild Moccasins 9:45-10:25
Fat Tony 11

FPH 7 Year Anniversary Celebranza Saturday!

How you like them apples, Ramon?

Rollins, Henry Rollins... at the House of Blues

By Anna Garza


Henry Rollins is the perennial Renaissance man: spoken word artist, poet, publisher, actor, radio DJ, talk show host, current lead singer of the Rollins Band and former lead singer of the seminal 80's punk band, Black Flag.

The last time Henry Rollins was in town for a spoken word gig, he captivated the audience with accounts of his world travels, celebrity encounters, awkward and unrequited crushes, etc. He spoke for nearly three straight hours too. THE MAN CAN TALK!

It is not classified information I am a huge Black Flag / Rollins fan;
so when the opportunity to interview ole Hank presented itself, I envisioned being regaled by tales of kings and queens, angry mobs, magical flowers and sunsets. After all, THE MAN CAN TALK!

Or so I thought.

Maybe I caught him during his time of the month. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe my questions were absurd.(Definitely the former and not the latter.) Whatever the case may be, one would assume a man who has made a career as a spoken word artist, poet, publisher, actor, radio DJ, talk show host, current lead singer of the Rollins Band and former lead singer of the seminal 80's punk band, Black Flag could give a proper interview. I would have even settled for a mildly entertaining one.

That being said, I will be the one hanging out by the tour bus after the show vying for a Rad Rich/Henry Rollins "20 Years Later" photo op.

FPH: Have you heard the Dirty Projectors' "remake" of the Damaged album? If so, what are your thoughts about it? (For the unfamiliar,the Dirty Projectors' Rise Above record was a "reinvention" of the 1981 Black Flag classic, Damaged, except remade from memory after band leader,Dave Longstreth, claimed to not have listened to the record for almost 15 years.)

Henry Rollins: I have never heard it. Black Flag is Greg Ginn's band,
I really have no attachment to it at this point.

FPH: I was in attendance for your last spoken word show at the Meridian, it was vastly entertaining. You definitely have the gift of the gab. What new topics are you going to discuss?

Henry Rollins: I will be talking about the places I have traveled to recently and about things that are happening in our beautiful America at present. There's a lot going on.

FPH: Are you familiar with the recent John Mayer Playboy interview controversy? What do you think about his comments concerning having a "hood pass", using the word "nigger" and calling his penis "a white supremacist"?

Henry Rollins: This kind of thing really doesn't register with me,
it's right up there with Tiger Woods.

FPH: You have performed countless shows in Houston as a member of Black Flag, Rollins Band and as a spoken word performer; do you have a favorite restaurant? Favorite pre and/ or post show hang out spot?

Henry Rollins: No. I do the show and get down the road.

FPH: Are you planning on releasing new records and/or books (your own
or from other bands) on 2.13.61?

Henry Rollins: We're just doing my stuff at this point. It allows us
to be very effective. With things the way they are in the marketplace,
it's risky to put out anyone's anything. My stuff does well, so we
stick with what works at this point.


FPH: You just had a birthday a week and a half ago, how did you celebrate it?

Henry Rollins: I was on the radio that night. I have a radio show and this year, I am rarely so it's rare that I can be live on the air. Not the most exciting story but I was happy to be at the station and working.


Tuesday February 23, 2010

Henry Rollins @ House of Blues – 1204 Caroline Street

Doors: 07:00 PM Show: 08:00 PM All ages

$15.00 - 4 Pack - General Admission $20.00 - Standing Room Only $25.00 – Balcony $25.00 - Reserved Floor

Get the Golden Ticket to Summer Fest!

Between 2/23 and 3/1, one lucky winner will be randomly selected through a diamond-calibrated Fibonacci sequence emulator to receive the Golden Ticket package with the purchase of a Summer Fest ticket.

Golden Ticket package includes:

2 Fancy Pants Weekend Passes
Backstage access
Food and Drinks
2 Official Summer Fest T Shirts
Autographed limited-edition screen printed posters

Ticket must be purchased online between February 23rd and March 1st.

Where Goes the Neighborhood?

by M. Martin



Recently, Free Press Houston received a press release for a project called Forever Garden. The purpose of this project was impressive: nothing short of transforming the 8 acres of scenic wasteland left by the demolition of Wilshire Village, creating community gardens and parkland. Unfortunately, almost as soon as this news was received a rumor surfaced from multiple sources that HEB had either acquired the property or penned some sort of lease agreement. Setting aside for a moment (we'll come back to it) the Forever Garden announcement, let's look at the HEB rumor--and at it's possible implications for The Montrose, particularly in light of other current and upcoming developments.

To begin with, this is only a rumor--but a pretty likely one. HEB briefly operated a Montrose location before, in the space currently occupied by Half Price Books ont Westheimer. The changing demographics of Montrose make it an increasingly attractive location for them. Additional credence for this speculation is the fact, as reported by Swamplot.com, that the holding company that owns the former Wilshire Village property has apparently been in default on loans used to acquire the property since last October (which probably explains the "For Sale" signs that went up on the property in mid-September). The company subsequently went Chapter 11 in early November. Add to this the tax liability on the property (diminished by turning it into a vacant lot, but still significant), and you have a lot of pressure to do whatever deal can be done... in what is rapidly becoming the worst business climate since the Great Depression.

If it is true, the cascade of resulting events could completely alter the nature of Southwest Montrose and speed the ongoing metamorphosis of the neighborhood at large.

Consider: the presence of an HEB-anchored commercial development on one corner of W. Alabama & Dunlavy would have an inevitable and detrimental impact on the existing Fiesta Mart-anchored strip center on the other side of Dunlavy--with the most likely outcome being a decision by Fiesta to close the store, and the most likely outcome of that decision being a decision on the part of the property owners to put the center up for sale. Should that happen, the most likely outcome would be to see the center demolished and replaced by more high-density apartment housing, comparable to what now exists at Westheimer and Shepherd, at Richmond and Kirby, and at Richmond and Dunlavy.

Consider also that Metro's plans for the University Rail Corridor on Richmond Avenue recently received a shot in the arm in the form of Federal approval of the preliminary engineering phase of the project. Consequently, Metro has released an extensive list of properties along Richmond Avenue that will either fully or partially be acquired under right of eminent domain--in other words, seized. Metro still plans to have The University Line operational by 2012, which means that construction can be expected to begin within the next year. Once light rail construction begins on Richmond, expect traffic to begin shifting to West Alabama. Consequently, expect that at some point Alabama will be expanded from it's currently three lane configuration between Spur 527 and S. Shepherd to a full four lanes--very likely resulting in additional property condemnations as well.

By the time construction is completed on The University Line, concurrent with an expanded West Alabama, an HEB-anchored shopping center, and yet more damned yuppie beehive housing on the ruins of Fiesta Mart, Southwest Montrose as it is currently known and loved no will longer exist. Currently, much of the area between Dunlavy, Shepherd, Alabama and Richmond consists almost exclusively of older and inexpensive multi-family housing, largely favored by students, artists, and lower-income (largely Hispanic) families. Even those properties that are not outrightly condemned will be subjected to higher taxation, once the presence of 'improved' transportation and nearby commercial real estate projects have caused them to be re-appraised. Expect more old properties to disappear, replaced by more condos and frat-rat rabbit warrens.

At that point, about all that will be left of "Old Montrose" would be a few blocks of land on either side of Westheimer and the fag bar ghetto on Pacific Street--at which point most of Houston will happily proclaim "Good Riddance"--it's not like the denizens of Mommy and Daddy Land ever wanted a local Greenwich Village/Haight-Ashbury equivalent in the middle of their city in the first place.

That's one vision for the future of neighborhood. Lacking a concerted effort and vision for an alternative, it's almost certainly what will happen.

The Forever Garden proposal offers a compelling such contrast. Instead of yet another bland and soulless mini-mall, the eight empty acres that formerly held Wilshire Village would be transformed into a collection of allotment gardens, community garden space, ponds, beehives, and park space, while reserving room for a farmer's market, a restaurant, and a community center that would offer, among other things, classes in yoga, nutrition, meditation, and alternative/preventative health practices. There would also be residential spaces for participants in residency programs in Visual Art, Writing, Music, and Horticulture.

Even though Forever Gardens founder Whitney Riley confesses to having been "crushed" when news emerged of the HEB deal (Ms. Whitney has sources of her own that lead her to believe the rumors are absolutely true), she has since bounced back-- and has current plans to present a scaled-back version of the Forever Garden proposal to whomever winds up developing the former Wilshire property, as well as plans to seek out other potential urban garden spaces.

If all this sounds idealistic, aspirational, and hugely optimistic...well, that's only because it is. But what's wrong with that? Even before he was sworn in, our current U.S. President started dialing back the aspirational and idealistic principles of his campaign in exchange for a more "realistic" governing strategy....which doesn't seem to have worked out all that terribly well. If you start out a negotiation by giving things up, you can't be too surprised if you wind up giving up everything.

The fact of the matter is that without a conscious effort at preserving the cultural, architectural, and social uniqueness of Montrose as a community, that community will simply cease to exist. This would be a shame, because the 'hood seems to be in the middle of one of it's periodic upswings, with more bands, more street art... more young people who have not yet accepted the dreary wisdom of becoming pointless replays of their parents. It would be a shame if they didn't have a place to go and congregate--didn't have a place to hold street festivals and hang out in coffee shops and go to crappy art openings and drink cheap wine for free. Absent Montrose, there doesn't seem to be anywhere else in Houston that really fits that bill. The downtown warehouse looked promising once, but has since wound up nothing more than scenester/cokehead bars and really crappy, overpriced lofts.

So...where goes the neighborhood? What exactly constitutes "The Montrose" five years from now? Do we fall down the drain of gentrification we're currently circling? Or is it possible to turn projects like Forever Gardens from hopeful pipe dreams into into viable community development options with real business plans and real support? It all boils down to the people who live in Montrose--as it is and has been-- making a commitment to their community, one that can be measured in dollars and time spent in community service.

In other words... it's up to you.

For details on Forever Gardens, check out their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=252695914732. For details on the ongoing saga of the former Wilshire Village, check out Swamplot's excellent continued coverage at http://swamplot.com/tag/wilshire-village/.

बेस्ट FWENDS

BEST FWENDS could possibly be the most raddest punk I-pod band there is in Texas. How about you be the judge when you see them live. Oh yes, like magicians they have many tricks up their sleeves.

the weekend smells like teen spirit

By Anna Garza

Young hearts: be free tonight, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life.

Friday February 19 @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian) D.R.I. will make their triumphant return to Houston since founding member Spike Cassidy was cured of colon cancer. What better way to kick off your weekend than to pump your fist in the air and scream along to "Violent Pacification". Look both ways before crossing the Thrash Zone.

Also playing - Sinister Minister, Cancer & Room 101

Wired Live: 1503 Chartres
Doors at 7pm Advance: $12 Day of Show: $14


The hardest working Soundsystem in the 713/281/832 are back for their monthly dance night at The Mink. A Fistful of Soul will make you want to dance like you have ants in your pants. Vinyl only. Spinning the best of soul, ska and everything in between. FREE. Fun starts at 10pm.

The Mink: 3718 Main St. @ Alabama

Saturday February 20th: DANNEURYSM is a Nirvana Tribute band featuring members of The Jonbenet, The Smoking Popes and Darkest Hour. Ok, why didn't any of these dudes inform a sister of this show waaaaay in advance? I would have put my Hole tribute band, Doll Parts, back together real quick just for this night. Talk about a match made in grunge heaven...or hell. Music starts around 12:30(am NOT pm).

Big Star Bar: 1005 West 19th St

On the same night but a hop, skip and a jump across town...The Caprolites, isawbloodsomewhere and ATX's the No No No Hopes will rock you and roll you until the last light rail train stops running. Don't just let my fingers do the talking. Click on the links I provided, go to the show and thank me on Sunday morning.

http://www.myspace.com/thecaprolitesfrompasadenatx
http://www.myspace.com/isawbloodsomewhere
http://www.myspace.com/thenononohopes

Notsouh 314 Main Street $5 All ages

Ang Lee at the RMC

Acclaimed director Ang Lee will appear at the Rice Media Center Friday night. The reception with Lee and subsequent weekend of films are free to the public. The films show Lee at the beginning of his career before such powerhouse movies as Brokeback Mountain or Lust Caution.

Friday, February 19th at 6:30 pm - Reception honoring Ang Lee
Friday, February 19th at 7:30 pm - Pushing Hands
Saturday, February 20th at 7:00 pm - The Wedding Banquet
Sunday, February 21st at 7:00 pm - Eat Drink Man Woman

FVH has fun with abortion!

Free Press Summer Fest 2010 lineup!

Be My Valentine: Balaclavas, Indian Jewelry and Dead Roses

By Anna Garza


Don't call it a comeback; I've been here... and there. Truth be told, I haven't been too excited about the recent batch of shows. Since this is my party and I will write about what I want to, I am here to inform you of a show tomorrow night you should not miss. What? You already have plans? Cancel them! You have a cold/flu? Chug some non-drowsy Nyquil and get your sniffling, sneezing, coughing, and stuffy head self to the Mink. The music of Balaclavas, Indian Jewelry and Dead Roses is just what the doctor ordered. And, no, not Dr. Kevorkian; I know what you are thinking!

Dull Knife Records are throwing a fête to celebrate the release of Balaclavas’ "Roman Holiday" LP. The record has received rave reviews with comparisons to Bauhaus and Nick Cave. Copies of the 12" will be for sale at the show. For those without a turntable, the album includes a download coupon for free high-quality mp3's. If you just so happen to blow all your money at the bar (something I have been known to do), the album will also be for sale digitally on iTunes and eMusic.

In between bands, DJ Chemical Mange née Domokos Benczedi will aurally assault your hearing from the 99th floor.

For information on Dull Knife Records: http://dullkniferecords.com/

Balaclavas // Indian Jewelry // Dead Roses

Saturday, February 13 @ The Mink Backroom. 3718 Main Street. (Backroom entrance on Alabama) $6. 18+

The New Temporary

- Genesis by Terry Suprean
- Vince Shlomi's Bidden Tongue by PERSUASION
- Planed Debris: Texas Noise and Ambient (environment #2)
organized by Chin Xaou Ti Won

the temporary space
1320 Nance
Saturday, February 13th, 7 pm – 11:30 pm
Performance begins at 8 pm
thetemporaryspace.com

READ MORE

Shut down the streets: SIGN THIS PETITION--BRING BACK WESTFEST!!!

Annise Parker has publicly committed to supporting the return of the Westheimer Street Festival--IF it's done right, and IF there's demonstrated support within the community. So get on board--it ain't gonna happen without you.

He's Heeeeeeeeeeere! Tom Green! Live at The Improv!

LIVE AT THE IMPROV!
THIS WEEKEND'S
HEADLINER!
TOM GREEN
Thurs - Sat, Feb 4 - 6

Before Borat... before Jackass...

There was the original prankster...
From:
*"The Tom Green Show"
*"Freddy Got Fingered"
*"Road Trip"
*"Late Show w/David Letterman"
*"Tom Green's House Tonight"
Now, hold on to your bum as Tom brings his unique brand of hilarity to the art of stand-up comedy. Experience one of the greatest comic minds in the field of entertainment, live and in person!