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A U G U S T 2 0 0 9 • 3

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Guns 4 Roses rocks the House of Blues Cambridge Room with the Hair Ballad All-Stars.

Tickets available at Ticketmaster for $7.50 and $10.

Time: July 9 from 8pm to 11:45pmLocation: House of BluesStreet: 2200 N. Lamar Streetwww.guns4roses.comhttp://www.dallasmusicwire.com/events/guns-4-roses-the-ultimate

Guns 4 Roses The Ultimate Guns N’Roses Tribute ExperienceWe are excited to announce that the Lakewood Bar & Grill has asked us back for the Wed. night gigs in July! We’re taking the first Wed. off to give us time to work up some new songs. But after that, starting on July 8th, Emmeline and Waiting For One will be performing every Wed. in the month of July! Other bands to be announced.

Time: July 8, 2009 from 8pm to 11:45pmLocation: Lakewood Bar & Grill

Street: 6340 Gaston Avenuehttp://www.dallasmusicwire.com/events/waiting-for-one-back-at-the

Waiting For One back at the Lakewood

Bar & Grill!

4 • M u s i c W i r e | www.dallasmusicwire.com

Dallas MusicWire Featured Story

Every year the Dallas Observer puts on the aptly titled Dallas Observer Music Awards. A ballot is cast of many local bands, venues and bloggers alike, nominated under listings that include best album, best band and best music

advocate. The events are pretty special this year, Being the 21st year for the music awards to take place, and the competition is fierce with the nominee selection. b y L a c y R a d c l i f f

J U L Y 2 0 0 9 • 5

Dallas MusicWire got on the phone with the multi-nomi-nated, as well as the multi-talented The O’s Taylor Young, Kim Pendleton of THe BAcksliders and music blogger Chris Mueller of the Ghost of Blind Lemon to discuss their nomina-tions and the Dallas music scene.

Chris Mueller of the Ghost of Blind lemon wants to set the record straight: he did not name his blog after the 90s grunge band, Blind Melon. Instead, Ghost of Blind Lemon pays tribute to Blind Lemon Jefferson, the 1st major blues musician to play in Dallas and Deep Ellum, according to Mueller. But the blogger is not implying that his internet reviews are a nod toward the blues; he likes to make sure his internet streams and weekly shows at the Lakewood Bar and Grill do not discriminate any genre of music, as long as it’s worth his while.

On being nominated, Mueller is glad to have a hand in trying to help revive the local music scene, something that seemed to have its go in the 90s and unraveling slowly as the years went by. He compares venues that once thrived 20 years ago with constant rotations of new and upcoming bands to now, where places like the Curtain Club host mostly emo or metal bands.

“I think we sort of hit rock bottom. But having said that I think that with hitting rock bottom, the only thing you can do is go up,” he said.

Mueller believes that in order to get Deep Ellum back on its feet, which is where he thinks the core of the music scene was, is and should be, is to focus on four essential elements:

• Form more music clubs

• Create more of an art scene

• Have more emphasis on the unique restaurants and store you can visit; make Deep Ellum prime for walking the streets before and after you’ve left a music venue

• Promotion, promotion, promotion

The Ghost of Blind Lemon blogger believes that Dallas MusicWire is such a good meeting ground for people who share a passion for live music. He says it’s not just a an internet site that you sit down and look at every night. This is a social network that gets the word out on bands and their shows, which is what his blog is renown for and why he is up for a nomination as “Best Music Advocate.”

the BAcksliders have made their presence in the local music scene for years now. With the new rock steady album “Thank You” out, the band plans to promote it with a tour outside of Texas towards the end of summer.

Kim Pendleton, lead vocalist of THe BAcksliders, would like to see Dallas as a less centralized music scene, but more spread

out with venues all over the different areas of the city, not unlike Los Angeles. Pendleton offered up the south side area of town or perhaps Oak Cliff as places to spread the scene.

The singer also noted that THe BAcksliders do well in small towns, but funny enough, when they played shows in New York they received major hype. She says that it could be because bigger cities are more open to check out different music from other places such as Dallas, Texas, which would be reversed 15 years ago.

Pendleton is nominated for “Best Female Vocalist,” and the band for “Best Hard Rock Act.”

THe BAckslider’s drummer, Taylor Young, is also apart of the o’s, a band that has been causing a recent stir in the Dallas music scene. The band is nominated for five listings: Best Group, Best Album, Best Song, Best Country Roots and Best Folk Act.

When asked how was the pressure of playing in two well-known bands as The O’s and THe BAcksliders, Young said at first he was a little nervous, but as of right now it really hasn’t been a problem scheduling wise; he rarely has a Friday or Saturday night off, which is not too shabby for a full-time musician.

The drummer has been ensconced in the local music scene since he was about 15 years old and has played in 10 or 12 bands, so one could say that he has a pretty good knowl-edge of how the way things run.

“A lot of shows The O’ have been playing and ones that I’ve attended have been fantastic,” Young said. He also said that attendance for these concerts have been well received than in the past 3 or 4 years.

“Instead of their being like a focused place, everything is more spread out now; I don’t know whether I like or hate that,” Young said, when discussing Deep Ellum and whether it will be an certain area of Dallas that could breathe more life into local music.

Young says his favorite venues to play are the Granada, House of Blues, and of recent, The Liber t ine on lower Greenville.

The ever busy drummer also appreciates that the music magazines are still representing local music in their reviews, and that Dallas MusicWire is a great source to catch who’s playing in town and hopefully do their duty as a support system for the music scene.

The Dallas Observer Music Award’s showcase on July 18th at a couple of different bars on lower Greenville Avenue, and the awards ceremony will be hosted at the Granada Theater on July 21st.

MusicWire eMagazine is published monthly by DallasMusicWire.com. Opinions expressed in articles or advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. MusicWire eMagazine is not responsible for omissions or information that has been misrepresented to the magazine. Advertisers and its agencies assume all liability for advertising content. No part of this publication may be transmitted without the permission in writing from the publisher.

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Jeff Kauffman, Jr.Donny StevensLacy Radcliff

It is July, and that means it is time for the Observer awards. If you read this month’s featured article then you know there are several DMW members nominated. Please, show your support for our friends and vote them to victory. The URL below will take you to this year’s ballot. And! Don’t forget to make it out Saturday, July 18th for the Awards Showcase on “Lowest Greenville.”

http://www.dallasobserver.com/microsites/music-awards-2009

http://www.dallasobserver.com/microsites/music-awards-2009-showcase