Why? Well, it's all about the atmosphere. While anybody can open a wine bar, few can do so in a way that leaves you remembering the way the candlelight flickered and how the music seemed to sway right through you after that third glass the way La Carafe can. Besides globe-spanning documentaries, special anniversary screenings or sneak peeks at prestige Hollywood fare - last year's HCAF gave Houston audiences their first taste of Jackie and Best Picture near-miss La La Land - the festival curates its bill of fare with a keen eye toward regional interest, which could be a local premiere ( Honky Tonk Heaven, about Austin's storied Broken Spoke) or the annual CineSpace competition that invites aspiring filmmakers to cut together a ten-minute short from existing NASA footage. For several days in November (9 to 13 this year), Houston's movie houses come alive with more than 50 films, plus video installations, "Meet the Makers" interviews, workshops and frequent celebrity sightings guests across HCAF's decade-long run include Richard Linklater, Shirley MacLaine and Robert Redford. The Houston Cinema Arts Society brings Bayou City cinephiles a variety of programming all year long in the form of screenings, concerts and fancy multimedia events like the annual JULYDOSCOPE gala, but all that is still preamble to the Houston Cinema Arts Festival. Right now even greater things await - in July, Clements was chosen as one of 15 winners in skatewear outfitter Volcom's global #ThisFirst contest, which netted him $5,000 and six weeks with a pro mentor. Miller, Clements and Lara rebooted DDP on YouTube and ventured to Madness On Main and New Braunfels' Float Fest. Pressing pause after an episode with Silicon Valley's T.J. Mostly, though, the duo loves to talk Houston music, and since May 2014 has done so with dozens of stars like Kam Franklin, Gabe Bravo, Jon Black, Guilla, Handsomebeast, Devil Killing Moth and many more out-of-towners Warpaint, Dandy Warhols and Silversun Pickups have stopped by as well. Clements and Lara's long-form, uncensored chats touch on a host of topics, for instance MMA, comedy, social media and, in periodic special episodes labeled "The Drunk Table," booze and its side effects. folk rockers Dawes or music writers promoting new books but when a local band is on its stage and wowing, it’s a perfect moment where music leaps from alpha-ordered shelves and into our hearts.Mining Houston's creative community and the occasional extreme fighter for insight and laughs, the Dead Dialect Podcast duo of Brandon Clements (once a Houston Press music writer) and his friend Julian Lara prove that, with the right digital-age tools, the ancient art of conversation has lost none of its appeal. Sometimes the showcases draw national acts like L.A. For local musicians these spots have almost become mandatory for growing an audience or promoting a new release. Quite a bargain.Ĭactus’s in-store performance events are more than just a fun time where shoppers can sip a free Saint Arnold brew to live music. Recently, shoppers could claim a pair of tickets for shows featuring Social Distortion and George Clinton for every $10 spent in the building. There are books, T-shirts, coffee mugs, posters and assorted music merch on hand and the store sometimes teams with local venues to promote approaching concerts. Cactus stocks its racks with diverse music offerings including loads of vinyl for buyers eagerly pushing the medium’s resurgence. For one, it has name recognition built over 40 years of business here, giving it the same status as shops like Amoeba in California or Minneapolis’ famed Electric Fetus. Cactus Music’s diverse offerings form a blueprint for how it’s done. Record stores have found ways to remain alive and even thrive in entertainment’s digital era.
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