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Man it’s hot. Seriously, this is bad. I can’t live like this. The “heat index” had us dancing around 108 over the weekend. 108! By comparison, Seattle is endured a high of 72 and will suffer through a week that will see the thermometer hover around 68. On the bright side there are a bunch of fantastic shows coming up. First up MIEARS has a pair of shows to wrap up a month that has seen her take her unique sound to New York and back. June 29th will find her in Austin at Cheer Up Charlies for a bill that also features Memory Keepers,Read More →

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Mornin’! So I saw Paul Simon over the weekend! As far as I’m concerned Paul Simon is on a very short list of the greatest American songwriters…greatest songwriters ever. Being roughly 15 feet away from someone like that is always quite surreal. The show itself was mostly a quiet review of Simon’s incredible songbook. While there were nods given to his 60s work with Art Garfunkel, This show, at least in my eyes, was designed more for fans of “Paul Simon” and not just fans of “Simon and Garfunkel”. The crowd was mixed with at least three four generations of fans in attendance. Many wereRead More →

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So I thought it would be a fun exercise to make a list of “My Beatles Songs”. You know…the songs that really mean something to me, whether because of the lyric or because the song was linked to a specific moment or feeling in time but I gave up a few minutes into the process when by the time Rubber Soul came along I had listed about 90% of preceding albums’ tracks and then instead of just listing songs from Rubber Soul and Revolver I just wrote the album titles. haha No matter how far I stray into more “modern” artists I always come backRead More →

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I’m not sure it will be a weekly thing but I’ve decided to start putting pen to paper about all the things that pop in my head throughout a given week that maybe aren’t fleshed out enough for a full article but that I believe are worth mentioning. I’ll throw out upcoming shows or give head’s up on new album releases or just random musings from the Cathedral.  Here we go…. Fake Believe – All This Waiting David Elbert, also of the Glass and the Apple Scruffs, heads up Fake Believe and released their new record, All This Waiting, a few months back. This recordRead More →

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So last week I found myself doing something I had not done in quite some time. After a long day at the office, I raced home to change clothes, pack up a couple of guitars, my amp, cables, music stand, and headed to spend the evening in front of a packed house. Butterflies swirling, sweat beginning to bead on my forehead, pulse picking up a bit, I toiled away at soundcheck hoping to get things set up before the crowd filed in…most performers know that feeling we get just before the lights go on and we hit the stage. There was that minor panic whenRead More →

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In: Friends of the Cathedral

This is the latest in a series of articles about some of Houston’s most fascinating female members of our music community. I’m not sure I meant for it to become a series but what began with wanting to showcase people who live lives in and around our community, juggle responsibilities, manage what often seem like conflicting goals, led me to the women you’ve read about here at Cathedral Records. I’m inspired by people who live with their feet firmly planted in different worlds; musician and parent, spouse and business owner, band member and athlete, songwriter and business executive. That duality and those seemingly diametrically opposingRead More →

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I’ve been listening to Michelle Miears a lot lately. Her new album is stellar and I’m looking forward to publishing a piece on her soon. I recently wrote a piece on Tessa Cole of PuraPharm and she did an incredible job performing our national anthem at a recent Houston Dynamo match. Simultaneously I’ve been digging back through Juliana Hatfield’s catalog as her new record is about to drop. I adore her music and she’s written several songs that are cemented in my life’s mix tape. All this feminine energy got me thinking about all the incredible women songwriters and bands that have been such anRead More →

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There’s something happening here What it is ain’t exactly clear… Perhaps it’s the gentle shift from Houston’s brutal and persistent summer to the crisp chill we woke up to these last two mornings but there’s definitely a new energy in the air. What started with a Houston Press blog written by He Who Shall Remain Nameless led to an inspired and spirited discussion on Facebook after Sarah Hirsch of Jealous Creatures shared it among her friends and fans. Sure, the threads had plenty of heated criticism of the blog in question but what was more striking, and reassurring, was the spirit of collaboration, of community…there wasRead More →

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A recent Facebook discussion really helped me focus and frame this post that has been percolating for some time now. Cathedral Records was born out of a desire to help cultivate and support the music community and to this point that has taken the form of championing bands, venues, retailers, photographers, and other members of the scene here in Houston as well as around the region. The biggest debate in our music community has always been about the viability and vitality of our scene. Do we have one? If so is it any good? Is it getting better or is it on the decline? IsRead More →