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Hands Up Houston

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Hands Up Houston

We booked shows and ran the scene when you wouldn't. 2000-2005 Houston, Texas The line up was Port Vale, Freedom Sold and Modulator.

alright, i was at one point gonna write some long winded, old-dude, back in the day kinda jam but f**k it. I'm old and busy and tired so you get this instead:

On March 10, 2000 Hands Up had their first show at Oven (now it's..., whatever, it's still the Oven). Over the course of the next 5 years we put on so many shows we lost count, made some money, lost lots of money(sorry the dog ate your mon

ey Chavez), had awesome times, had terrible times, went to waaay too many meetings, lost jobs, sleep, patience, sanity, significant others(but most of us did gain weight, thank you late-nite Spanish Flower), made friends, made enemies, made flyers and posters, made asses outta the naysayers, made asses outta ourselves...but most of all, we made what seemed the impossible possible. We made Houston a f**kin to rad place for people to see shows and for bands to come to and play. So to all the Hands Up alum, i raise my glass(yup, it's still filled with cherry coke). I may have wanted to kill all of you at one time or another, but i wouldn't trade that time for anything. THANK YOU:
Jason Colburn
Russell Etchen
Ryan Chavez
Lance Scott Walker
Anthony Calleo
Eric English
Rawn Hall
Kevin Moore
Andrew Morgan
Alex Hughes
Anna Garza
Bobby Lane
Blythe Tucker
Melissa Lonchambon
Rebecca Bush
Mike McAloon
honorable mention to E.Casey Leydon

f**k i'm probably forgetting somebody, but there ya go. Thanks to all the venues and owners who let us ruin their spots and put them outta business:

the Oven
Club Last Chance
Urban Underground
the Mausoleum
Helios
Metropol
Oberholtzer Ballroom
UH Towers Common Area
Zelda's
Fitzgeralds
Notsuoh(upstairs)
Mary Janes/Fat Cat's
Silkys
Walter's on Washington(aka Pamland)
Engine Room
1908 Binz
Grand Hall at Rice
Sammys at Rice
Lyle's at Rice
the Proletariat
Diverse Works
Numbers
the Axiom
Student Video Network
SMOM
MECA

Props too to everybody else who got inspired and picked up the torch, whether for 2 shows or 200, you made Houston better. Word up:
Willow(Hate Tank)
Jacob(Third Grade Rules/Pizza)
Stewart & Erica(Friends Forever)
Nathan & John(Always Summer)
Jagi(Pegstar)
Eric(iheartu)

except for OMG Booking. You guys just sucked and we all still hate you. JOKEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ>

- Bucky Thuerwachter

04/15/2026

No. 006 — 04/08/00: Aloha / The Guns of August at The Mausoleum (411 Westheimer)

The Mausoleum—still standing today as Avant Garden—is a creaky, stale, wacky old house on a musically vital stretch of one of Houston’s busiest streets. It sits next door to its sibling venue, then called The Oven (later Mango’s), and is a short walk from the legendary Numbers Nightclub.

In 1999, Ohio’s Aloha began circulating through word of mouth and record bins, their debut 7” on Westside Audio Laboratories catching ears. Their sound—recalling the quieter moments of Braid with vibraphone woven in—left a lasting impression. In 1999, they released a CDEP on Polyvinyl expanding on the 7” and steadily growing their following.

On the cusp of their debut LP That’s Your Fire (released May 16, 2000), the band toured the U.S. and came to Houston. The show was unusual—a two-band bill, almost unheard of at the time, but practical given the venue and the contrast between Aloha’s intricate setup and a louder band sharing the night. Also on the bill were Houston’s own The Guns of August, fresh off a short West Coast tour. Featuring members of Cedar of Lebanon and Injury, they played a muscular Midwest emo style with vocals reminiscent of Grade or the Afghan Whigs. With two well-received 7”s out and growing crowds at their shows, there was a sense they were on the verge of something.

Posters and handbills followed the DIY ethos—stark tree imagery, Letraset, and tall, narrow layouts with most of the space left blank, then punctured with star-shaped cuts so each felt unique and slightly handmade. A small gesture toward making the mundane feel personal.

The show now blurs into memory. Not long after, The Guns of August disbanded. Aloha continued on, releasing their most recent album, Little Windows Cut Right Through, in 2016.

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Aloha was Cale Parks, Matthew Gengler, Eric Koltnow, Tony Cavallario

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The Guns of August was Dwayne Cathey, Jason Morris, Scott Barnett, Todd Barnett

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Flyer by Bucky Thuerwachter

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Photo by Christopher Rosales

Do you have memories, photos, or videos from this show? Reach us at [email protected]

03/06/2026

No. 005 — 03/19/00: Elizabeth Elmore / London Girl at Club Last Chance (House Show)

“At 17 I heard Sarge (Elizabeth Elmore’s first band), and I immediately felt a sort of cosmic connection to her lyrics, her angelically sweet voice, and her punchy, fun chord progressions. Over the next few years, I think I saw Sarge 4–5 times all across Texas, and I was lucky to get to stay after shows and share conversations, snacks, and time with Elizabeth and the band. I was there at Zelda’s when a sold-out crowd sang “Half as Far” so loud that the band stopped playing, and we all kinda cried and sang together. It was magical.

I interviewed her for my zine the year they knew they were breaking up. I cried the last time I heard “Distant” at Emo’s in Austin, and I mourned that this show was it.

Fast forward a year, and I was in my own band, London Girl, and Lance from Hands Up Houston called and asked if we would play a show with Elizabeth Elmore! I think Lance said something like, “You know of her, right?”—immediate squeals of joy. We couldn’t find a venue, so we ended up throwing the show in the garage apartment that was London Girl’s practice space, which we ended up calling Club Last Chance. It was such an amazing time to get to open for her and hear her new and old songs played stripped down with just her voice and her guitar. I remember we all sat in front of her on the floor and sang along. There was something just so raw in the way she tells stories with her lyrics—so much honesty and such beautiful melodies. It is still one of my favorite memories.

03/04/2026

No. 004 — 03/18/00: Lucky Motors / VI Foot Sloth / Larry Yes at The Mausoleum (411 Westheimer)

Lucky Motors was a short-lived indie rock band in the vein of Sloan, Guided by Voices, or XTC. The band was fronted by Ben Murphy (who had previously—and subsequently—played in other great Houston bands: Pop Deflation, We’ve Got Airplanes, Port Vale, Panic in Detroit, Bright Men of Learning, and Brand New Hearts), with bass duties handled by Melissa Lonchambon (of Panic in Detroit, Sharks and Sailors, Omotai and, for a time, a member of Hands Up), and anchored by the beat of Jeff Senske (who would later join Ben in Brand New Hearts and Bright Men of Learning).

This show was likely already booked by Lance by the time we kicked this all off, as it doubled as the record release show for Lucky Motors’ only known output on wax to date. (Though there are plenty of people who would welcome, at the very least, a digital discography—especially since the 7” remains entirely absent from YouTube. You can, however, grab the single for a steal on Discogs as of this writing.) The record was released by the Houston- (now NYC-) based label OJET, and the evening’s support reflected a kind of reciprocal exchange, as OJET band Port Vale had previously shared bills in Portland with VI Foot Sloth and Larry Yes.

Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the flyer for this show, so if you have it, we would be ever so grateful to recover it and officially kick off our inevitable Lost Flyers Found series…

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Lucky Motors was Melissa Lonchambon, Ben Murphy, and Jeff Senske

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VI Foot Sloth was The Jed, Amanda Mason Wiles, Heather Peyton, and Cherry Sprout

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Larry Yes is a musician from Portland, Oregon

Do you have memories, photos, or videos from this show? Corrections to the band lineups? We hope to compile this history in a to-be-determined format. Reach us at [email protected]

02/20/2026

Show List: March 17–May 2, 2000

In those early months, this was likely the first of many, many show lists we would produce as handouts at shows, record stores, and coffee shops. Mark Twistworthy used to run the electronic and physical Texas Show List zine, and to this day someone continues to run a list of upcoming shows in Austin at https://austin.showlists.net.

We started booking so many shows so quickly that handing out, in this case, eight flyers was just not reasonable. The more economical and affordable option (affordable — we definitely were not paying for these copies) was running off stacks at Kinko’s (now FedEx Office), which would, in time, often reflect shows that didn’t happen. I think we even started including other shows we were jealous we didn’t book.

Even harder to keep a complete archive than flyers, show lists were much more ephemeral by nature. If you happen to have a stash of HUH show lists, we would love to see them.

Do you have memories, photos, or videos from these shows? Each post is part of an effort to collect the oral history of the few years we worked on this project. We hope to compile this history in a to-be-determined format. Reach us at [email protected]

02/06/2026

No. 003 — 03/17/00: Ann Beretta / American Steel / London Girl at The Oven (403 Westheimer)

Our third show was likely already booked by the time we decided to brand it as a HUH show. Why American Steel isn’t listed on the flyer is a mystery. We’re also not sure which members of the touring band played these sets—if you know, let us know and we’ll adjust.

Today we’ve asked David Ensminger, writer, musician, and punk historian (and drummer for London Girl), to talk about the band’s origin:

“In early 1999, I walked into a Jimmy Eat World show in Houston—downstairs at Fitzgeralds—where the band ate lukewarm pizza at a promo event and I saw the future of pop music not in those boys from Arizona, but in two young women dancing as the gig unfurled, loving the clash of guitars and sweat-soaked intensity.

Around the same time, I walked into a garage practice space in the immigrant Harwin section of Houston and again saw the future—not in the hard-working TV repair guys next door, but in a blond kid who loved Bowie and Royal Trux, and a redhead from Kansas humming David Bowie songs, dreaming about the love life of The Go-Betweens.

That was then.

London Girl melded the clunk and clatter of punk with the wooing breakdowns of Motown. We knew why the Go-Go’s mattered, why Devo made perfect sense. We believed in Casio SK-1 hallucinations, Yoko Ono’s eccentricity, cheap drumsets, blunt low-tech attack, and a tender, primal voice—riot grrl roots gone pop-mad.

We embodied the sound of Pop-O-Matic, stirring up Fitzgeralds, Instant Karma, the Oven, Buffalo Exchange, Mary Jane’s, Rudyard’s, and more. We toured the West, got stopped by cops twice, recorded two rambunctious DIY albums, and made crude flyers galore.

It was its own kind of heaven.” —David Ensminger

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Ann Beretta was Leer Baker, Robbie Huddleston, Danny Vandiford, Russ Jones

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American Steel was John Peck, Rory Henderson, Ryan Massey, Scott Healy

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London Girl was Vickytron, David Ensminger, April 5000, Erika Thrasher, Seth Thrasher

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Flyers by April 5000

Do you have memories, photos, or videos from this show? We hope to compile this history in a to-be-determined format. Reach us at [email protected]

01/28/2026

No. 002 — 03/15/00: Alkaline Trio / The Honor System / The John Sparrow / O’Doyle Rules at Urban Underground (3505 Almeda)

A3’s second show in Houston—the previous year opening for MU330 / Blue Meanies at Fitz—was booked at Urban Underground, run by Kenya, formerly of the Pyramid Shop where Tristeza played their first Houston show.

In an earlier era, Houston’s Third Ward was a hub of blues culture during its 1960s and ’70s heyday, home to ballrooms, clubs, and barely legal juke joints—one of which operated out of a split-level house at Crawford and Holman. That space eventually evolved into ClubSafeParking (run by Graham LeBron (schrasj, Jessica Six, Rogue Wave), and later became Urban Underground, carrying the DIY spirit of its earlier incarnations. Bands like Bane, The Stereo, Atom & His Package, and more came through. Occasionally, Kenya would request a local hip hop or reggae act as well, and notably hosted showcases that included Big Hawk and Big Pokey.

The age of Fitzgerald’s had passed, and bands skipping Houston was something we could only get used to. There were no all-ages venues for bands like this. The week before Alkaline Trio, the By the Grace of God incident happened—Kenya was jumped after asking kids to respect the space and came back out with pistols, clearing the street.

When A3 arrived and heard about the gun, they almost left. Matt & Dan sat in their van, asking us if they should be worried. We told them Kenya had been peaceful, just shell-shocked and trying to protect himself. By 6 p.m., there were already 75 kids waiting for doors at 8—a night where you looked around and didn’t recognize all the faces, but it felt like something was happening.

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Alkaline Trio was Matt Skiba, Dan Andriano, Mike Felumlee

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The Honor System was Dan Hanaway, Rob DePaola, Nolan McGuire, Chris Carr

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The John Sparrow was Kevin Richardson, Dwayne Cathey, Ryan Chavez, Michael Tran

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O’Doyle Rules was Scott Doyle, Denny Rasberry, Matt Hone

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Video by Jacob Calle

Do you have memories, photos, or videos from this show? We hope to compile this history in a to-be-determined format. Reach us at [email protected]

01/27/2026

No. 002 — 03/15/00: Alkaline Trio / The Honor System / The John Sparrow / O’Doyle Rules at Urban Underground (3505 Almeda)

A3’s second show in Houston—the previous year opening for MU330 / Blue Meanies at Fitz—was booked at Urban Underground, run by Kenya, formerly of the Pyramid Shop where Tristeza played their first Houston show.

In an earlier era, Houston’s Third Ward was a hub of blues culture during its 1960s and ’70s heyday, home to ballrooms, clubs, and barely legal juke joints—one of which operated out of a split-level house at Crawford and Holman. That space eventually evolved into ClubSafeParking (run by Graham LeBron (schrasj, Jessica Six, Rogue Wave), and later became Urban Underground, carrying the DIY spirit of its earlier incarnations. Bands like Bane, The Stereo, Atom & His Package, and more came through. Occasionally, Kenya would request a local hip hop or reggae act as well, and notably hosted showcases that included Big Hawk and Big Pokey.

The age of Fitzgerald’s had passed, and bands skipping Houston was something we could only get used to. There were no all-ages venues for bands like this. The week before Alkaline Trio, the By the Grace of God incident happened—Kenya was jumped after asking kids to respect the space and came back out with pistols, clearing the street.

When A3 arrived and heard about the gun, they almost left. Matt & Dan sat in their van, asking us if they should be worried. We told them Kenya had been peaceful, just shell-shocked and trying to protect himself. By 6 p.m., there were already 75 kids waiting for doors at 8—a night where you looked around and didn’t recognize all the faces, but it felt like something was happening.

–
Alkaline Trio was Matt Skiba, Dan Andriano, Mike Felumlee

–
The Honor System was Dan Hanaway, Rob DePaola, Nolan McGuire, Chris Carr

–
The John Sparrow was Kevin Richardson, Dwayne Cathey, Ryan Chavez, Michael Tran

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O’Doyle Rules was Scott Doyle, Denny Rasberry, Matt Hone

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Flyer by Russell Etchen

–
Photos by Josh Young

Do you have memories, photos, or videos from this show? We hope to compile this history in a to-be-determined format. Reach us at [email protected]

01/19/2026

No. 001 — 03/10/00: Port Vale / Modulator / Freedom Sold at The Oven (403 Westheimer)

The summer of ’99 found Bucky and Russell spending a lot of idle time working out ideas for a scene report zine called Hands Up! Who Wants to Die? (from The Birthday Party’s “Sonny’s Burning”). But there were so few bands coming through to interview, and even among the ones that did, some got a raw deal—like the time Rainer Maria almost didn’t get paid for a barely promoted show. They traveled to Austin for the good shows. The Houston scene had changed: more kids were showing up, but nothing really seemed to hold it together, and they were getting tired of it.

Gradually, the idea of the zine shifted toward booking shows. Interviews felt less important than getting bands to consider Houston a viable tour option. Jason was around—making zines, playing in bands—and had been bugging Bucky about doing shows again. He’d done them in Georgia and had booked at least one here early on: Casualties, Lower Class Brats, with Short Hate Temper and P**s Poor jumping on the bill. This was also around the time they were coordinating record/zine fairs, a precursor to what would later become the Punk Rock Garage Sales.

Ryan and Lance were recruited soon after, since they were already booking shows, along with Anthony. At first, it was the core six. Meetings—hammering out ideas and a loose framework—were held at dorms, apartments, the future HUH House (aka Lamar House), and the courtyard at St. Thomas. Lance wisely suggested dropping “Who Wants to Die?” and including the city. They applied the concept to a show Lance was already planning for March 2000.

• Port Vale was Lance Scott Walker, Ben Murphy, Bret Shirley, Dan Smith, John Adams

• Modulator was Julie Omran, Thomas Lively, Steven Burnett, Jennifer Mergele, Randy Zamora

• Freedom Sold was Kwame Anderson, Arthur Salazar

• Flyer by Lance Scott Walker

Do you have memories, photos, or videos from this show? Each post is part of an effort to collect the oral history of the few years we worked on this project. We hope to compile this history in a to-be-determined format. Reach us at [email protected]

09/11/2025

Twenty-five years ago we started booking underground punk shows in Houston when we looked around and saw band after band skipping our city for the hipper shores of Austin, Texas. So we did something about it.

An argument can be made that we made an impact, and now we’re regrouping in an attempt to not necessarily be nostalgic—though that will inevitably follow—but to create an archive of ephemera, images, and stories.

If you’re already following us here, it’s quite likely that we will crosspost from the new profile over on Instagram, but it’s also quite likely that we won’t.

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