No Fold

Record Hop (self-titled), cover art by local artist Nevada Hill

Record Hop finally releases their long awaited self titled album tonight at Dan's Silverleaf. The cover's $7, and if you pay to get into the show you can also pick up a copy of the cd for a measley $5. And let me tell you, the music is awesome but the packaging alone is well worth the cash.

Show starts at 10, also appearing are Tre Orsi and Last Men, plus video by Martin Iles.

Strawberry Fields (2310 West Oak, 9pm, FREE)

Deep Snapper (one of my favorites)
Admiral David V. (Woody Guthrie meets Woody Allen)
Delmore Pilcrow (Bob Dylan meets Bob Dylan)
The Heartstring Stranglers (Art Neuvo meets that Indiana Jones scene where the guy pulls the other guy's heart out & it's still beating)

(note: I posted this yesterday (tuesday), meant for it to go up today)

I don't know if I've ever talked about it here, but I'm not much of a fan of modern "punk" music.
If you were british and skanky in the 80's you might have talked me into going to your show (back then). There might have been a pretty good chance you were in the last good punk band. But if you're from a suburb (and sorry, Denton counts here) and you're donning a preppy coiffure on your recently bathed little head I'm just not gonna buy that you're "rising up against the man". Sorry. It's nothing personal, my own hairdo is looking pretty respectable these days, so it's not like I'm running off to do a three-chord-symphony any time soon, either. You're just gonna have to find a more intricate genre if you're gonna vent to the rest of us.

Ok, now that I've made my little speach, there's at least one way to side-step the poser-factor in punk rock - you can be Japanese and wear silly costumes. Actually, now that I think of it, if you're Japanese and wearing a silly costume you pretty much get a pass from me across the board. Or of any nationality, really. I just like silly costumes.

Enter Peelander-Z.

Here's the official promo "blurb" for Peelander:

Peelander-Z is a Japanese punk band based in New York City. They bill themselves as a "Japanese Action Comic Punk band hailing from the Z area of Planet Peelander".

They perform on stage and appear in color-coordinated costumes, which they state are not costumes, but their skin. The costumes range from Power Rangers-style sentai suits, to kimono, to rubber wigs that make them look like Playmobil figures. Another aspect of their routine is their on-stage antics such as human bowling (diving head-first into toy bowling pins), pretending to hit each other with chairs in imitation of pro-wrestlers, and mid-performance piggyback rides. They often allow audience members on stage to join in on the fun, and often dive into the audience as part of their act. Peelander-Z's music, performances, and antics are all in the sake of having fun.

The show starts around 10 at Rubber Gloves.
The Last of The Interceptors, playing in the middle of the bill, actually have my attention.. but no offense to openers The Lash Outs, I don't think I'll be there early.. just not my thing.

So it's SXSW week, and I have to tell you as a musician that isn't playing anywhere near Austin this week I feel a little like I'm sitting in some kid named Gerald's basement playing Dungeons and Dragons and eating pizza rolls while all the cool kids are off at prom.
The one consolation is that Denton sits right on the main artery that carries bands from all over the world down to Austin, which means the weeks surrounding SXSW are prime time for catching great bands right here at home when they make a quick tour stop in "little d".

Tonight's big payoff is Corn Mo, a Denton ex-pat that's been spreading the message of love, inspiration, and the fact that he's not Gary Bussey around the country for years now.

The show's at Dan's Silverleaf, and probably starts at about 10. I'd get there a little early, Corn Mo shows tend to get packed really quick - and with an intimate setting like Dan's Silverleaf there's a good chance of a sold out show.

Here's a taste of his talent, and I suggest poking around YouTube for more videos:

Wish I could have made it down there... maybe we'll work something out next year.
In the meantime there are two great shows going on tonight.
First, there's Dust Congress at Dan's Silverleaf. Dust Congress started out as a one man show with Nick Foreman playing guitar, banjo, a small drum kit, and a pair of maracas (sometimes just about all of them at the same time), but it has since evolved into an intimate little group of very talented musicians. Check the link above for songs, I recommend "My Name is David".

A few blocks away there's also Bridges And Blinking Lights at Hailey's. Their recent album Standing on the Same Stick went largely unnoticed by critics (not that there are many reviewers left in the greater DFWd area these days), but they've garnered quite a bit of attention on the inter-webs, even landing a deal for providing the background music of a web commercial for a jewelry retailer.
My favorite song from the link above is "One of Us", I could see it as a score for a montage from "John and Mary", playing in the background while Dustin Hoffman throws his best moves at Mia Farrow.
Hmm. I thought it was gonna be a normal Wednesday morning, then I had to go and break out the random Hoffman reference.

Rubber Gloves (411 E. Sycamore, 10pm, $5)

Tame... Tame and Quiet
Handbrake

The original headliners, This Will Destroy You had to bow out due to an unnamed medical emergency, but don't discount Denton's own Handbrake, who are among my favorites right now. Tame... Tame and Quiet is a skilled trio (and quartet starting tonight, if the rumors I hear about Pat Ferguson of Deep Snapper/Birth to Burial fame joining in on bass are true) hailing from Ft. Worth-ish waters and are frequent faces in the Denton crowd.

Even without the headliner this is my pick of the night.
Lots more coming up this weekend, so stay tuned.

So you should probably focus your energy on voting in the Texas primaries today.
I don't care who you vote for (well, I do but it's none of my business), just be sure to vote.

You can find more info here: http://elections.dentoncounty.com/go.asp?Dept=82&Link=975