Okay. Over time, this shit has gotten so complicated and annoying that we now have to have some ground rules, so people know how this site works. Consider this our handy little SCR FAQ (at least with regard to the Houston stuff), and read this before you send off that irritating "You don't like the Cranky Weasels? You suk!" e-mail, 'cause it wastes your time and ours. Here goes...

1. This is all our collective opinion.
You don't like it, fine; heck, you can even e-mail us and let us know. Just don't expect us to necessarily change our minds.

2. We only put bands we like in the "Bands Worth Seeing" section of the "Bands" page.
And y'know what? We're very picky people; picky, opinionated, and judgmental. If we don't like your band, then no, we're not going to write anything about you, because that'll just piss you off more, guaranteed. Recommending a band to SCR is fine, but trust me, e-mailing us and calling us fuckheads because we don't like your band or some band you like really isn't going to help your cause. However, just because a band isn't up there as "Worth Seeing" doesn't mean that we hate 'em. We are but mere people, and there're a lot of bands in this town that we haven't seen or heard, some of which may well be absolutely fantastic -- but we can't say that unless we've actually seen them, right? So if your band isn't up there, don't take it to mean we think you suck and should be destroyed (although it is a possibility). Got it?

3. This site is about Houston bands only.
We'll usually bend the city limits to include places like Spring, Lake Jackson, The Woodlands, or Galveston, but we're not going to put a band from San Antonio or New York or Denver up here, sorry. For out-of-town stuff, check the "Links" pages, 'cause for right here, Houston or the surrounding environs is it, kids -- we also sometimes bend that rule a bit for zines & labels, but only if they somehow focus on Houston, and bands that have members who live elsewhere but come back to play are fine (as long as everybody doesn't); that's it, though. We'll put anybody from anywhere on the "Upcoming Shows", as long as they're playing here, but that's as far as it goes. Capish?

4. We don't like cover bands.
Sorry, but we don't; if that's what you do, then more power to you, but we're not going to put anything up about you here unless you guys play at least some original songs (and we think you're good). We only rarely put cover bands in the "Upcoming Shows", either, partly because of the above and partly because we just can't keep up with 'em. We'll gladly link them under "Other Houston Bands", though.

5. "Other Houston Bands" have to have a web page to link to.
Can't link to it if there isn't one, right? And while we're slowly putting up small pics of bands we like, we're not putting up a picture or bio about somebody and no webpage link.

6. There are types of music we're not going to cover much on here.
There are things we don't like, and things we're generally ignorant of, and it wouldn't do anybody any good if we tried to say something about them -- we could ruminate over the hip-hop scene here in Houston...except that none of us know anything about it, so we'd be lying through our teeth. If you've got some specific knowledge of a certain type of music or a certain group of bands, and you feel like writing about 'em, then let us know, and maybe you can join the oh-so-prestigious SCR team of elite writer-geeks. Whoo-ah.

7. Feel free to send stuff.
We love getting CDs, tapes, zines, whatever -- just send 'em to Space City Rock at P.O. Box 541010, Houston, TX. 77254. If it's something reviewable, we'll do our best to review it; please be patient, however, because we get a lot of CDs in here, and we've got lives just like Real People^TM. However, if you're a local band, and we listen to your CD and don't like it, we're not going to post the review unless you specifically ask us to. Mama always said that "if you can't say something nice" deal, and well, it stuck. If we listen and we like it, we'll put it up, but if we don't like it, we're not going to kick you around, 'cause you probably get enough of that just being a struggling Houston band. (We'll still gladly e-mail/snail-mail you with what we think of it, though, even if we all hate your CD and are just saving it for that cool blue flash you get when you microwave it a few seconds...)

8. Do NOT e-mail us attachments.
Seriously -- we know when you send that MP3 file of your band's coolest song that you mean well, but it only pisses our poor overworked selves off, and we rarely listen to them anyway. We're not trying to be mean about this, but please don't do this; a lot of the time we check the e-mail from home, over a crappy phoneline and dinky modem, and downloading a several-hundred-K+ sound file, picture, Word document, or what have you can eat up a good half-hour. Honestly, we usually just delete messages like that, unread. So no offense (and we're not talking about anybody in particular here), but don't e-mail anything other than text or HTML. If you want us to hear your band, well, send a tape, or put us on your mailing list and let us know when you're playing next. Speaking of which...

9. We can't be everywhere.
Again, we do have lives, petty though they may be. So if you invite one of the talented, charming folks from SCR to your latest soirée and none of us show, well, we're sorry, but...it happens. Frequently. It's not a judgment on you, just that something else came up. Like with the reviews, please be patient.

10. We don't know everything.
Said it before, will probably say it again -- the staff here at SCR are, contrary to what you may have heard, not all-knowing savants about music in Houston. You may well know things we don't. Feel free to tell us about 'em; we'll gladly listen & learn. Criticism is welcomed, as well -- but don't expect it to make much of a difference unless it's well-thought-out and polite. E-mailing us to tell us we're all dickheads, without giving any reasons behind that blinding revelation, is only going to make us think you're a dickhead and want nothing to do with you (which translates to "we probably won't be inclined to go see you play or listen to your shit"). So please, don't think we should know it all, don't think we think we know it all, and be polite.

Anyway, that's it for the moment. Trust us, if folks try to follow those rules w/regard to this site, everybody (SCR people included) will end up a lot happier. Thanks.