2007 Houston Press Music Awards Showcase

Karina Nistal Nominated in: Best New Act, Best Local Rap/Hip-Hop, Best Salsa/Latin Pop www.karinanistal.com; www.myspace.com/karinanistal 9 p.m. Drawing inspiration from a broad palette of luminous ladies from Celia Cruz to Janet Jackson, Karina Nistal has been dropping rhymes with soul and style since 1997, both solo and with her beloved Rebel Crew. Recent gigs have included a Disco Donkeys le Funk date at Chaise Lounge and Frida Kahlo's 100th birthday party, but she prefers the dusky back room at Mink on Main. "The vibe is set just right with dim lighting," she says. "But there's still room to get up and groove." If she were a Houston street, Nistal chooses Interstates 10 and 45, "'cause my career is going far and wide."

RocBar 530 Texas 713-236-1100

Collective Hallucination Nominated In: Best Funk/R&B www.collectivehallucination.com 4 p.m. Like Mr. "Gloryhallastoopid" himself, George Clinton, Collective Hallucination is far too funky to put spaces between words. They started when they came together to vibe to some "funkyrockingsoulfultunes." Ant Boogie praises "Soul Diamond" Stacy Butler as "the bestbadassed vocalist in Houston." A recent gig at Scott Gertner's Sky Bar was "krazysexycool." With the joint "Between You and Me" due next year, Collective Hallucination dreams of hooking up with Prince for a fantasy-fulfilling tour. The Purple One did name them, after all. "He had no idea, though, until recently," admits A-Boogie.

Deadbolt Zen Nominated In: Best Pop www.deadboltzen.com; www.myspace.com/deadboltzen 5 p.m. "Godsmack should be opening for you guys!" So says one of Deadbolt Zen's many MySpace friends, and if it didn't quite work out that way earlier this month at the Verizon Wireless Theater, they may still be the heaviest group up for Best Pop Band in HPMA history. Close your eyes and concentrate really hard, and you'll definitely hear some melody filtering through the sea of guitars, but it's still way more Deftones than Kelly Clarkson. Which makes sense, as DZ added the three founders of Houston metal band Somber to their lineup last year, and saw near-immediate results when Garageband.com named their "Everything Changes" Song of the Day back in May.

Deep Ella Nominated In: Best Alt-Rock www.deepella.com 6 p.m. Sweeping melodies anchored by a sturdy spine, Deep Ella's music contains introspective, progressive elements similar to Tool and Incubus, and more agitated moments echoing Linkin Park and Shinedown. After a decade of musical chairs, the band has settled into a steady lineup; this spring, they released new album Empty Seas and Memories, which moves into harder territory than the ballad-heavy Last Year's New Thing.

Southern Backtones Nominated In: Best Traditional Rock, Best Bassist (John Griffin) www.southernbacktones.com; www.myspace.com/ southernbacktones 7 p.m. Last year's HPMA Traditional Rock winners hope to make their tenth year as a band a memorable one with a repeat. Since last year's win, they landed five songs in the documentary There Ain't No Surf in Texas, the UH basketball team advanced to the Conference USA tournament final using the U2-ish "Forever" as their theme song and Donewaiting.com scribe David Cobb named their self-titled third album his favorite Houston record of 2006, saying "the album is full of Britrock pomposity, a gothic undercurrent and addictive tunes reminiscent of Nick Cave, The Cult circa Love and David Bowie."

Glass Intrepid Nominated In: Best Alt-Rock www.glassintrepidband.com 8 p.m. Fresh off appearances at the Warped Tour's Houston and Dallas stops that sent their MySpace comments through the roof ("I even missed part of Bad Religion to see ya play"), Glass Intrepid has been making their way around the Texas alt-rock circuit for seven years, also appearing at Buzzfest XV and several well-received shows in Austin during SXSW '07. They recently released their self-titled third album, full of meaty guitars and sure-fire singles like "Til My Heart Stops" and "The Victim."

LoneStar PornStar Nominated In: Best Alt-Rock www.lonestarpornstar.com 9 p.m. Two-time defending HPMA alt-rock winners LoneStar PornStar aren't about to surrender their crown without a fight — especially since the Press also singled out LSPS for "Best Band Stage Show" in last year's Best of Houston awards. Remember? "Singer Greg David Stegman commands the stage, stomping from one side to the other, jumping and screaming (on key, of course) during the entire show. If the group sometimes starts a little late, it's because they've had to tie up the sound engineer backstage. That's the only way they can set the speakers to make-everyone-deaf levels."

Slainte 509 Main 713-222-1033