He plays guitar like a robot

That's not necessarily true, but it's a great title for Ben Murphy's new cassette-only label. The Houston Press, who (lucky for us) seem to adore all things BDM-related have the scoop on our guitarist's new side project.

Finally recording again. Yay!

We had an abortive start several months ago, but this weekend we're finally starting our third record (counting our earlier CD, when we were called Chasmatic). We're recording with my wife's brother Jonas Wilson, who is an enormously gifted musician, producer, and …

Friday night at Rudz, we bring the Dad Rock.

We've got a small feature in this week's Houston Press promoting our show at Rudyard's this Friday night. It should hit the stands Wednesday, but you can read it right now online.

We're pretty excited to be playing with our pals in Fired for Walking. It's their CD …

Playing this Sunday at a "decent hour"

About a month ago we played at the Mink for the first time, and now we're starting to make it a habit. First, I played a short set of Rod Stewart covers. Now, this Sunday, we'll be throwing down with O Pioneers! and a couple of great bands who are visiting from …

Custom Drinker as Rod Stewart? Who?

So yeah, Twotenanny: Hootenanny Part Deux is going down next weekend. I'll be playing some Rod Stewart songs (with Ryan Hull from BBTG helping me out), and there are a lot of other swell bands participating as well. This video gives but a hint of the awesomeness to …

My favorite Tom Waits song?

The now-former Houston Press music editor John Nova Lomax asked me this question via Facebook the other day. He also posed the question to "tons of [other] local and national music figures" including people like Jesse Dayton, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, David Sadoff, Arthur …

FreePress gives BMOL some Free Love

When Ramon Medina left NonAlignment Pact, the fantastic hydra-like music blog he helped found, I didn't have to worry that he'd stop writing about music. He was pretty clear that he would now focus his output on Houston's own FreePress, where he appears in both the …

Learning curve, indeed...

We played a show last night, and I'd say things went awfully swell. Normally, I'd have posted here and on Myspace & Facebook before the show to give you a bit of warning. But I got married last Saturday, so you'll forgive me if I let things slip a bit.

Anyway, Chris …

John Lomax's local-flavored Muxtape

This week, recently returned Houston Press music editor John Nova Lomax featured BMOL on his all-local mix. Here's the tracklisting:

1. "Persistent Intermission," Spain Colored Orange
2. "My Best Routines," Arthur Yoria
3. "Ohio," Jug O'Lightnin'
4. …

Bike Bonanza Sunday @ Rudyard's

This Sunday we're proud and pretty damned excited to be playing the Rudz Bike Bonanza. What exactly is it? Well, it's a benefit show for a local non-profit bike shop and some recently injured riders trying to pay for their medical bills. There's a lot going on:

• bike …

A rare afternoon show...this Saturday

This Saturday afternoon, the Bright Men of Learning are playing outdoors at the Shady Tavern in the Heights. If, like us, you're kinda old and can't hang with the late night shows so much anymore, you should definitely come out. This rare afternoon show is a perfect …

The Houston Happy Hour Invitational returns

Remember when I was Custom Drinker? Remember when I used to invite my pals out to play early evening shows at the Proletariat? And the shows were free and didn't last all that long, so everyone could get their cheap drink on and hear the jams before heading home early?

Video: Far and Away (LIVE at The Proletariat)

Here is a video with surprisingly decent audio, which was the handiwork of Ramon Medina (Linus Paul Quartet, NonAlignment Pact, Free Press.) The song is our guitarmony-laced,

Our last show at the Proletariat

This Saturday, we're really pleased to be playing with our old, dear pals, Judas Bear (featuring Thane Matcek of All Transistor, Sad Like Crazy, Linoleum Experiment). But we're pretty bummed that this is probably our last show at the Proletariat.

You know the Prolo. …

BMOL featured in Pitchfork! (not really)

We're not sure why, but at the tail end of an interview with Jason Molina of Magnolia Electric Co., Pitchfork lists the Bright Men of Learning as one of the bands that will share the stage with Molina and Co. on their fall tour. This marks our first mention in the

Show this Sunday with Magnolia Electric Co.

It has been forever + a very long time since we've played a show. But we have a good reason. During our long absence, I've managed to graduate from law school, take the Texas Bar Exam, spend two celebratory weeks in Spain, and start a new job. No, I don't have the …

Entertainment News Headlines: Mrshl Sighting in Twin Peaks Cafe

Old man exits cafe when Mrshl begins to read leftover paper.

Custom Drinker's Instant Messages

I'm excited today to unleash a bunch of songs from the days when I was performing a lot of solo shows under the Custom Drinker name. Although Chasmatic and The Bright Men played several of these tracks live, only one of them (Girls in Love) ever made it onto one of our …

Bad news: We're not playing Feel Good.

Unfortunately, we're not going to be able to play the Feel Good Hits of the Summer Festival after all. We've had some pretty heinous scheduling conflicts arise, and it's just not worth killing ourselves to try and make the show.

The good news is, there are eight other …

This Saturday, the Bright Men of Learning will perform at the Proletariat as part of a day-long show celebrating some of Houston's best pop music. Organized by Gilbert Alfaro of Spain Colored Orange and Ryan Clark of the venerable Skyline.net blog, the show brings …