Dd at NX35 || March 6, 2009

Not sure when NX35.com will be throwing this blurb up on their site, so to the eight of you who still reload my page, here's the scoop.

The Internet Thinks Your Scene Sucks
Friday, March 13, at the Denton Civic Center (estimated start time: 4 p.m.)

With new media comes fewer barriers to entry--and that simple fact changes everything. That simple fact also happens to be olllld news, but hyper-local, artistic interests are still struggling to make sense of it. How is a geographically limited music and arts scene supposed to thrive amidst the growing glut of global content aggregation? And what does this have to do with newspapers and magazines dying left and right? Former Dallas Observer music editor Sam Machkovech has thoughts on the important relationship between local media and local artists, and how to make the most of that relationship to survive the Internet's heartless, ever-expanding belly. With him will be current Quick music editor Hunter Hauk to (hopefully) disagree with everything Sam says.

See y'all in a week.

D Nuts || December 11, 2008

Was just back through town last week to visit family and such. A few thoughts.

ITEM: Dallas' public smoking ban apparently passed through city council yesterday. Its April '09 launch couldn't be stopped by panicky resistance from people with money: bar owners, restaurant owners, people who can afford to smoke.

I call BS on the "15 foot rule"; if you want an indoor smoking ban, pick a realistic distance from front doors and patio entryways. (Really, you expect people to walk further than Julius Jones could run in a typical Cowboys rushing play?) Otherwise, it'll be interesting to see if Dallas' music-friendly spots stick to the ban. I certainly hope so, because after only two nights around Dallas, I found myself hawking up black gunk.

As I've always said, secondhand smoke is the crap even smokers don't want. They exhale it for some reason, I assume. But it'd cost too much to get landlords to get any airflow through the ramshackle holes that most bands perform in. And let's not forget, the only major cities with good music scenes and no smoking bans are Dallas and... what, Birmingham? I don't even know.

Enjoy reducing your chances of random, inexplicable cancers when you turn 43, folks. The music isn't going to die.

ITEM: Though you'd think so walking through The Door and The Prophet Bar. I caught a few bands at the latter last week--showed up just in time to miss the dandy Denton duo RTB2, thanks to a show that started on real time, not Dallas time. The fuck, Russell Hobbs?

In case you missed it, the Gypsy Tea Room's two sides are open again. The big room is the new home of The Door, and it's kinda eerie in there if you knew the GTR ballroom well. The bar in the middle has been gutted, presumably to station a cream soda tap for the kids, and a second stage has been hoisted up so acoustic teenagers can croon between headlining screamo bands (still ca-raaazy after the move all the way down Elm St). The Prophet Bar, meanwhile, is the old small room mostly intact, save the old posters and Blind Lemon Jefferson photo behind the stage. And the sound guy. The Theater Fire and Dove Hunter sounded like half of what they are, because that's all we got in the audience--kiss any sense of range or vocal levels goodbye while Danny Douchebag's working the knobs.

Seems like the space is lining up big-name shows, but what's the point? That DART light rail line, still under construction, will open in a few years with round-the-clock stops around the ghost town that Deep Ellum has become. No biggie for me; the place was best when it was a warehouse district, anyway, right? I stopped at Campagna's art gallery while down there, which had a badass freak-jazz explosion happening at the time. No yuppies or cruisers in sight. Just the people willing to chop through the thicket and find a gem in the deepest of Elms.

ITEM: You know who's pretty promising? Daniel Folmer. I'm late to the game, assuredly, but the kid's still 23, so I say there's no rush. The Carrolton native is pulling off a beautiful sort of country-tinged codeine overdose that passed out between The Promise Ring and early Bright Eyes. I'm sure he'd kill me for putting him halfway twixt those, but even if it's not quite accurate, it's a compliment. His songwriting is attractively earnest pre-emo, and his ear for rigid, memorable songs is strangely unique around town these days. Folmer's gig at the Cavern on Monday night started off boring, but he grew a pair by set's end and began earning the heartbreak his lyrics strive toward.

ITEM: Baptist Generals' new record could be done soon? So sayeth Chris Flemmons, who I ran into in my three hours in Denton last week. (Didn't you hear? He's the town cryer; greets all dishonorably discharged music writers when they approach the Denton Square. That'd be cool, actually.)

Says he scrapped previous recordings of the band to work 'em all out again, but this time--THIS TIME, indeed--the band's on the home stretch. Five years have gone into this record, a piddling number in the face of Axl Rose's November 2008 rain, but it's been an eternity for the Sub Pop dudes down the block from my current home base. He expects any finished product to be held for a Fall '09 release. Until he sends me the full album, I will not believe him. I hope this threat is bait enough.

But I have a bit more faith in the claim, because Flemmons also snuck me a copy of the new Bosque Brown record--whose completion, he says, has been the spark behind gaining traction on the BG disc. He says BB lead singer Mara Lee Miller agreed to have Flemmons on board as producer for the band's second full-length because "I told her that they wrote great, beautiful songs, but they were fucking boring." The band was fine with the assessment, apparently, and took the opportunity to try new things on Baby, which should see release this coming March...ish. Didn't get a confirmed date. But I can confirm that the disc is a treat, a fine mix of the band's traditional approach, some sparking experiments, and a three-part series of miniature, a capella songs that continue to fill my ears when I'm outside and everything else is silent. Dear Lord, friends.

Flemmons also went on about NX35, the "conferette" that will be held in Denton the weekend before SXSW this year. I'll wait until that fest nears to hype it, but suffice it to say, Flemmons has friends near and far that should turn pre-SouthBy into a veritable coup for the northern half of music-loving Texas.

ITEM: Speaking of hopeless faith in local music, I hear people still read this site. To the few of you, know that I miss writing about Texas music, but it's a bastard to do this so far away. I hope you understand that I prefer silence from my distant post over tired retreads of the same seven bands... if barely. Thanks for reading.

D Nuts || September 29, 2008

Funny the things that slip by when you're outta town for so long--like, uh, a new band spawning from the mouth of Baboon. Turns out The Boom Boom Box has been percolating since at least the beginning of this summer, spearheaded by Baboon's original founders Mike Rudnicki and Andrew Huffstetler. Dd's Jasun Lee reports that other band members include guitarist Ean Parsons (Pinkston) and drummer Clay Stinnett (Ghostcar)--I guess it's 1998 all over again? Their site reports an EP release around the same time as their live debut: October 18th at Lola's in Fort Worth.

It's hard to gauge whether this band is continuing the Baboon legacy of old or striking out on a new path--but it's not hard to appreciate the band's debut song, posted this morning. Certainly more of an opening salvo than a hit single, "Henry the Skunk" drags Huffstetler out of his usual role as an anthemic chorus screamer; the only chorus is a a repeating guitar blast, fueled by Stinnett's ridiculous drumming and a dark hat-tip to Joy Division. Cool.

Wuz this mean for Baboon, though? No shows are listed at their site, and the band's been generally quiet since releasing their self-titled stunner in 2006. Baboon fans, don't expect to unsheath your whistles any time soon.

Toadies Deliver || May 9, 2008

News has been trickling out of the Toadies camp ever since they self-leaked footage of a new album being recorded a few months ago. The news has ramped up recently as well--they're performing at an upcoming Stars playoff game, they're starting their own music fest at Possum Kingdom Lake, they're announcing more tour dates... the next step seems obvious.

Wedged into today's Dd spam folder, right between "Keira Knightley Stunning photo!!!" and "Now You Can Enhance Your Sex Life at the Lowest Prices," was an anonymous tip with just the word "Toadies" in the title.

The new Toadies album will be officially announced to the public on Monday, May 12, 2008.

The new album will be called No Deliverance and will be released on August 19, 2008.

There will be a new website for the album, www.nodeliverance.com. It will be up and running on Monday.

Site's not up yet, but an Internet whois on nodeliverance.com shows that Kirtland Records, the band's label, has snatched the name up, so this seems to check out. Additionally, the anonymous e-mail had this to say:

The Toadies are playing Lollapalooza this summer. The show will be officially announce [sic] on Monday, May 12, 2008.

Details to come.

So there you have it--1994 is back at Lollapalooza (NIN, Rage Against the Machine, Radiohead). The e-mail also included a statement about how the Toadies street team is supposed to keep these bits of news private, but, well, the street team isn't that hard to sign up for. None of this is entirely shocking; the Toadies, in only a few "comeback" concerts, have already outpaced the Burden Brothers in terms of crazed fans and interest, and the band's previous hang-ups about record labels have to seem irrelevant and petty this many years later. If they're happy getting the band back together, good for them, and good for DFW music--you can't tell me that renewed interest in the area's biggest mid-'90s mainstream rock success is a bad thing. It's not the local music breakout dream for some, but the Toadies are a big-deal gateway drug. Bring it on.

The only question that remains: Who's the new bassist? The team had a notice on their MySpace page asking if people wanted to be the guy/gal "playing those catchy bass lines," but that blog post has since vanished. We know Lisa Umbarger's never playing in a band with Todd Vaden Lewis, but is Baboon's Mark Hughes not returning? I guess we'll find out at Game Three of the Stars/Red Wings series.

d Nuts || April 2, 2008

Another casualty of not being anywhere near town--I totally miss the boat on stories like this. The Pitchfork story, strangely, doesn't make any mention that ear woundee Josh Baish runs Rubber Gloves in Denton ... uh, yeah, it does. Though I totally glossed over the blurry photo. More information, of course, can be found at Denton Rock City.

While I'm here, I might as well send an apology to those who happen to reload this page on a daily/weekly basis, expecting more commentary or reviews or what-have-you about North Texas music. It has to be obvious by now that the semi-consistent posts of old are done. The area's music coverage is something that cannot be phoned in from this many miles away, and I figured the site would fade once I left and finished out the fresh coverage I still had handy around the time of my move. But I get why people still come to Dd--Dallas music coverage is rough. We Shot JR, the ultimate in local blogs, often steers too hard in the underground direction, which would be fine if the other side of coverage wasn't depressingly brief (Quick) or depressingly uninformed (Observer). Instead, local music and arts coverage ambles on with the kind of vacuous, beer-shilling swill that leaves people indifferent and uninspired--and we wonder why Dallas' arts-friendly districts get plowed over by an uncaring city's development and gentrification!

It drives me so nuts, I get tempted to start blogging about North Texas music again....... but, again, can't fly into town that often. I'm not killing the site, but understand that this slowdown will be the norm for the foreseeable future. Thanks for reading Dd, y'all, both then and now. -SM

D Nuts || February 29, 2008

Music writing for a local paper is tough enough without being new to the town in question. The job is naturally social--you go to smaller shows, become a familiar face in venues, get to know the people making things happen. That can cloud judgment enough as it is; what if you've got the added burden of taking everything you hear in a club at face value? When you're new to a music city, you might wind up believing the shit you hear or see.

Pete Freedman, newest music editor at the Dallas Observer, did not overcome this hurdle in his first notable, opinionated column since moving to town a month or two ago. His review of last week's Melodica Festival could've been good if the guy wasn't so wide-eyed. Biggest problem? Looks like he just met Mwanza Dover, the dramatic, excitable and polarizing organizer of the show. It would take someone fucking crazy to organize a fest like Melodica--to get the fricking Silver Apples to play a one-off gig, to attract a decent number out-of-town art bands to bad-rep Dallas, to convince so many Exposition Park bar owners to be a part of a fest without any advertising budget. I'm not hesitant to call Mwanza fucking crazy--and with fests like this, his overzealousness and flair for the exaggerated are downright necessary.

Of course, had the new music writer in town been familiar with Dover (or read the umpteen articles about him in his office's archives), Freedman might've taken everything he says with a grain of salt. Instead, Freedman decided to make Dover's banter the central chunk of the story while the rest of us filtered it out, going so far as to call the fest Dover's "Bar Mitzvah." And as a young writer new to town, it's tempting to write down every weird or over-the-top thing Dover has to say and run with it.

As a result, the kid caught hell, and not just your usual "what about my band?" hate mail. Some really substantial posts can be found in the article's comments thread, particularly three--yes, three--club owners' well-reasoned defenses of what the festival was about. (And as an aside......dude, you pissed off Club Dada's love-everyone Amanda Newman. How the hell did you do that?) I agree with most of it, but that doesn't mean I don't get Pete's motives here. Beyond the desire to whip up some potentially incendiary copy, he wants to say, "Quit beatin' yer chest and do something to expand Dallas music to a greater audience," and it's the kind of thing someone who hasn't played music in Dallas for roughly 15 years would say. Shit don't work that way, Junior. To be fair, maybe that kind of naive perspective will prove valuable at some point, but what's disappointing is that, unlike Freedman said, Dover wasn't blowing an opportunity--he was really on to something here. Planting seeds of interest and new community, striking while Internet promotion is hot and proving that grassroots operations can make something out of nothing.

I know Pete could care less whether or not Melodica placed an ad in the Observer, but more than a few folks in the neighboring sales dept might've. Maybe that's the interesting story here--one Pete would've picked up on if he were familiar with the Wall of Sound Festivals thrown by Spune Productions. They've tried the same thing that Pete wished happened with Melodica--expensive multi-day passes, mix of locals and nationals, attempts to really ignite the mainstream Dallas interest in local music, a serious marketing push. It. Didn't. Work. I love the Wall of Sound Festivals, but honestly, it sounds like Melodica was way more sensible with its approach. I'll agree that to some extent, the choir was preached to, but when the choir builds momentum and steam with an organized, compelling fest like this, converts show up in a slow, staggered manner. From the sound of Melodica's crowds, there were more people at the fest than the 20 anons who bitch on We Shot JR's comment threads.

And that can be the best part of the music editor job, Pete--making sense of who these people are in the crowds, what draws them out to a show, and why an outsider would want to get excited about what's going on. Maybe having your judgment clouded by getting social with these folks, rather than calling them nose-in-the-air hipsters, would do you some good.

Melodica || February 22, 2008

Made plans to attend this weekend's Melodica Festival in Exposition Park? Don't know what it is? Head to Stereo On Strike for details about schedule, ticketing and so on, or go to We Shot JR for great info (such as a really solid interview with Silver Apples founder Simeon). Find a nice parking spot, hang out, and see the wide variety of crazy and forward-thinking music that Melodica has to offer all over Expo Park this weekend.

Remember that Sloppyworld will be alcohol-free to make the space all-ages friendly this weekend, so if you have a booze urge, plan accordingly by hitting nearby bars (which, of course, are serving up bands as well). The multi-day pass is $25, but this mix of locals and national acts looks to be worth it and then some. Enjoy it. -SM

d Nuts || February 21, 2008

I was sad to hear about the dissolution of Denton's Current Leaves over half a year ago, though I always wondered what would happen with the final album lead singer and songwriter Aaron White had touted back in August. Lucky us, he decided to leak the band's sophomore Parsons-pop album in a post on Denton Rock City, and you'd be a fool to pass up these eight songs in convenient, free, ready-for-iPod format. I haven't even given the thing a full listen-through just yet, but I can at least assure you that track 3, "Tk Kerr," will reopen any wounds that old fans had when the band announced its breakup. Goddammit, it's pretty. -SM

D Nuts || February 15, 2007

You'll be seeing a little more of me around these parts for a bit, thanks to this.

You should go to the Double-Wide tonight. Bridges and Blinking Lights headline tonight's solid showcase, and if you haven't heard their record from last year (which will receive a shit-ton of praise in the oft-delayed Dd 2007 Local List), you are missing out on one of the most refined, bewildering and complete rock bands the area has seen in some time. Go! Enjoy! -SM

--edit from Jasun--
Thanks to some info from the lovely hobo Chelsea Callahan, we are told that B&BL are actually playing first on this solid bill that also includes Doug Burr and Dove Hunter.
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