No Fold

NX35 is a four-day music "conferette" from March 12-15 that will consist of daytime music-related Q&A panels and music programmed at 9 venues at night, all right around the downtown square in Denton.

In the interest of full disclosure I am both volunteering for this event - helping out behind the scenes - and playing in a band on this list. Not that I get any money out of either, or for writing on this lil' blog, but just making it clear. I'm more excited about so many bands coming together for something like this, you certainly don't have to stick around to watch mine. Here's the first draft of the lineup (subject to change, I'm told).

>The A.M. Ramblers

American Werewolf Academy

The Angelus

beep beep

Bosque Brown

The Botticellis

Bridges and Blinking Lights

Centro-matic

Chameleon Chamber Group

Bart Davenport

Dead Twins

Delmore Pilcrow

The Diamond Center

Dirtfoot

Dust Congress

Electric Toy Danger

Ella Minnow

Febrifuge

Fishboy

Daniel Folmer

Laura Gibson

Robert Gomez

Grassfight

The Grey Company

Ham1

the Heartstring Stranglers

The Heelers

History At Our Disposal

The Hudsons

IDIGINIS

Mathias Isassi

KatsüK

LA GUERRILLA

Audrey Lapraik

Last of the Interceptors

Leatherwood

Like Trains & Taxis

Madeline

The Mad Scientists

The Make Believers

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea

James McMurtry

Mike Miller

Dan Montgomery

The Naptime Shake

The New Science Projects

The Odd Primes

Pinebox Serenade

Record Hop

RTB2

Shiny Around the Edges

The Show Is The Rainbow

The Silver Arrows

The Slow Burners

Claire Small

The Spectacle

Spooky Folk

Starhead

Stumptone

Sugar and Gold

Swedish Teens

Tame . . . Tame, and Quiet

Telegraph Canyon

The Timeline Post

The Theater Fire

Tomorrowpeople

Virgin Passages

Vortexas

Warren Jackson Hearne and the Merrie Murdre of Gloomadeers

We Are Villains

Young Mammals

Looking to duck out of work early and want something to do? You've got two choices today.

Soho Salon (913 N Locust) 5pm, Free
Glen Farris
Christmas Carolers

First, Soho Salon (913 N Locust) hosts "Soho On The Rocks", a free open house of sorts where they provide free entertainment and refreshments to current and prospective clients. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a sales pitch for a hair cut (though you probably need one). Soho is a pretty hip place and these are usually just as much about having a little fun as they are about getting new faces through the door.
Tonight it's Glen Farris (at 5pm) and a group of Christmas Carolers.

Dan's Silverleaf (103 Industrial) 5pm, Free
Silverleaf Arts & Crafts Festival
Bonnie & Nick Norris (6pm)

At the same time just across the square at Dan's Silverleaf, the Dan's crew is hosting their annual Silverleaf Arts & Crafts festival. A small army of artists and artisans will descend on the Industrial Street compound for the weekend selling one of a kind items that just might put you over the top in that weird unspoken sibling rivalry thing about who can buy dad the coolest and most original gift.
The artists scheduled to attend:
O'Bryan DeVille, Hal & Georgia Gibson, Leslie Kregel, Kay Rice, Kip Maley, Beth Klein, Donato Gonzales, Terry & Susan Lankford, Rosemary Cook, Barbara Morrison, Susan Kennedy, Richard Cimino, Conor Muldoon, Ken Carpenter, Richard Harrison, and Aaron & Diana Tate

I think what I'm really saying here is sneak out of work a little early and go have a drink.
You've earned it. And I've earned it, too. So what I'm really saying is buy me a drink. Where's your christmas spirit?

Music video contests have become kind of de rigueur these days, what with the proliferation of digital camcorders and editing software and good ol' YouTube. Still, quality stuff can emerge from that stewpot of competitive, low-budget creativity. Check out Denton residents Richard Card and Austin Trotter's winning video for Nada Surf's "Weightless."

The pair bagged $3,000 from Barsuk Records for their effort, three and a half minutes of dreamlike scenes assembled in a week and a half of sleepless nights -- fitting for Nada Surf's song with its repeated couplet of "That is a dream/It is what it seems."

A lot of the looks to be filmed in Dallas, but you'll catch quite a few Denton cameos -- like the lighted pecan trees on the courthouse lawn and shops around the Square (oh hi, Denton Florist sign!).

The scene-hopping couple winds up at Hailey's, which coincidentally or not is where Nada Surf is surfacing on Friday night for the band's first gig in Denton. (Been around since the 1990s and just now making it here? Well, they've paid their dues. Was the show lined up before or after the videomakers shot there?) The Brooklyn band is gearing up for the release of a box set for serious fans -- all five studio albums on vinyl, plus more goodies.

The Jealous Girlfriends and Delta Spirit open up Friday's show. Cover's $15 for those over 21, and $18 for the underage set.

For more on Nada Surf's video contest, check out Barsuk's site: www.barsuk.com/media/nadasurf/youtube.

So I've had a few fairly busy weeks with both work and my own life/music thing lately. Haven't had much chance to blog, but I've had a few experiences recently that I might share with you in later posts.
So the short of it is that it's October, and that's my favorite time of year in Denton. I never was much for Halloween as a kid, but since I've lived here I've grown to love it. The bands are working up their best cover sets, friends are scrambling for some fairly odd items to include in truly unique costumes, and retail stores are rolling out Christmas items..wait, what? Nevermind.. we'll talk about Christmas when it's closer, how 'bout we get to some rock'n'roll?

Tonight at J&J's on the Square (9pm, Free)

I'd include links, but if you're myspace savvy you can find 'em with little trouble.
Give me a break, would ya? It's my first blog post in forever.

Well, free if you're over 21, $5 if you're not. Either way, not a bad deal at all for such a decent lineup.

Doors open at 5, I suggest getting there early. Bob White and the F-Electrics would be my pick of the night.

Hailey's (122 Mulberry, 5pm, FREE)

DJ young doc gooden
Florene
Pepi Ginsberg
Make Believers
Grassfight
Bob White and the F-Electrics
Sydney Confirm
Kaboom

So it's no secret that this isn't my regular gig..
sometimes there's just too much going on and not enough time for me to tell you about it.
We're working on that. Look for some new music bloggers coming soon. Can't wait.

In the meantime, there's this interesting (and seemingly amicable) split between Strawberry Fields proper and those involved in both Strawberry Fields and the "Denton Deluxe" compilation discs, and apparently this means the Denton Deluxe folks are delving into all kinds of local art, not just music.
Tonight's the second in a three night run at Rubber Gloves for the Denton Deluxe Players, performing an original play by Chad Withers titled Graveyard Love.
I have no idea what to expect of this, but you can't beat the price and you're guaranteed something well thought out and entertaining.

So tonight I'm loading up in a car with some friends and heading to the Observer Music Awards. I don't venture out to Dallas much. Not that there's anything wrong with the Dallas music scene (though I could go on and on about parking.. maybe I'm getting old), I'm just comfortable in my "little d" world. We'll see how the night goes, maybe I'll venture out more often.

If you're staying here at home, I'd suggest this show (lifted from the RGRS site, html code and all.. Hey, it's a 5 o'clock post):

Rubber Gloves (411 E. Sycamore 8pm, $7)
Harvey Milk

Yells At Eels

Zanzibar Snails

So the first thing I would like to mention is the kick-off of the "Rolling Prarie Dog Tour", a gang of musicians based in Denton that are loading up on a big yellow school bus named Molly and heading all over the southwest during the hottest part of the year at the peak of gas prices. You've just got to REALLY want to go out on tour to deal with all of that.

They kick it off tonight at J&J's on the square. Here's a poster (created by Gigi Foster) with more details:

Other than that, I can't tell you much.
I know you should check out Bridges & Blinking Lights, opening up the show at Hailey's tonight - followed by Denton-turned-Austin band Faceless Werewolves. The Werewolves aren't really my thing, but I don't always like the best bands so don't take my word for it. (Insert Reading Rainbow joke here)

Just down the street a new contender appears - Andy's Bar has always been around, I just haven't always been too interested in the bands they were booking. Things have been looking up for the Andy's calendar lately. I don't know much about San Antonio's Dovelovers, but there's something about their sound that draws me in.
They've got the whole Desert Rock (read: Queens Of The Stone Age) sound down, though I'm not sure the vocals fit the style. That may just be an issue with the recorded version, I'd like to see what he does live. They also seem to shift gears from the stoner rock to the more laid-back Radiohead-esque ambient sound, reminds me of some of the late 90's Jade Tree bands like One Line Drawing (or various other Jonah Matranga bands. - you should look him up).

That's all I have for now.
Go do something. You're online WAY too much.

(poster by Nevada Hill)

Tonight's lineup (Rubber Gloves, 411 E. Sycamore, $5 over $7 under, doors at 9)

Strawberry Fields presents Denton Deluxe 1 with:
Nouns Group, Fight Bite,
J. Gray, Florene,
Verulf, Violent Squid,
Peach Street Gang, RTB2

Saturday Night's lineup (may start earlier than 9, I'm assuming same cover)

Strawberry Fields presents Denton Deluxe 2 with:
Kaboom!, Street Hassle,
Deep Snapper, Eat Avery's Bones,
Delphi, Zanzibar Snails,
The International

Not a lot else going on that I'm aware of tonight, unless you really like the Allman Brothers, then you can check out the Allmost Brothers - a pretty adept Allman Brothers cover band. Allthough I don't normally condone cover bands outside of the Halloween season, mind you.

The pick for tonight is Mariachi Inolvidable, rounding out a pretty big lineup for J&J's on a Thursday night. This show was put together by David Virden (aka Admiral David V.), who just woke up one day and decided he's going to start booking awesome shows all over town with a weird mix of bands. Most of these shows have happened on a night that coincides with a particular lunar event (new moon, pink moon, etc...), but some are put together in observation of a national "day", like Earth Day or International Workers Day (as is the case today). The show is usually free, but donations are collected for a related charity.
Another notable in this lineup is Mauve X, featuring Mauve Oed, originally one half of a then-duo act with Corn Mo.

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Andy's
Mount Righteous Talent Show hosted by Joey Kendall.
There's something a little hipster-ironic about Grapevine's Mount Righteous, but if you've seen them live you can't deny they're a lot of fun. I can't imagine what a talent show hosted by a band would be like, but good for Andy's for hosting what is most likely a not-very-normal show. The website didn't list a cost, but you can contact Andy's Bar at the link above if you would like to find out more.

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Rubber Gloves
Thu May 1 (Doors open at 9pm; $6)

Gazelles
Western Civilization
Broadcast Sea
Western Legend

I haven't really made up my mind about Gazelles yet. This is one of those cases where a band is really talented but I'm just not particularly interested in them for a live setting. I could see them as a soundtrack to an indie movie that's a little less trendy than Garden State but maybe a little less cool than Waiting. I'm not even sure what that means.
Regardless it would hardly be fair for me to not mention them just because I prefer to see live shows that have more sweat than sweaters.. they're a good band, and who am I to tell you what you should enjoy?

So much going on some bands are playing twice, even in the same night..
in one case they're re-arranging and playing a second set in the same place.
No way am I gonna even try to provide links to all of this stuff, this should be the
only link you need. Just put in the name of any of these venues or bands & the word "denton" and you're sure to find what you're looking for.

This is why I absolutely love this town:

Friday Night:

J&J's 8pm, free - donations to Relay for Life

Fire Nation
Ella Minnow
Machine Gun Hand

Rubber Gloves - day one of Concernathon (doors @ 7, $6)

Record Hop (w/videos by Martin Iles
Shiny Around the Edges
Bridges and Blinking Lights
Tre Orsi
White Drugs
Handbrake
Last Men

Dan's Silverleaf
Joe Ely, Mary Cutrufello - $20

Haiely's Club = 9pm, $12
Bob Schneider
The Lifters

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Saturday

Cool Beans
Beanstock (2pm, FREE)
Joe Tucker
Final Fight
Ghosts of Texas
The Lads
AM Ramblers
Boxcar Bandits

Hailey's - UFO Fest (6pm, $6)
Violent Squid
Zanzibar Snails
Mad Scientists
Will E Lee
Delmore Pilcrow
Heartstring Stranglers
Mauve X Experience

Dan's Silverleaf
Denton Hardcore Society presents:
Rock n Roll BBQ
featuring:

Lions
We Are Villains
Max Cady
Mescalero
Little Big Horn
Children of the Grave
(plus goodies from Meat Guns bbq)

Rubber Gloves
Concernathon, night 2 (5pm, $6)

Astronautalis
Mom
Haod
Single Frame
Sarah Jaffe
Gazelles
TT&Q
Florene
Grassfight

Strawberry Fields:

Brent Best
Starhead
Will E Lee
Ryan Thomas Becker
The Triggermen

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Sunday

Dan's Silverleaf (on the patio - FREE - 6pm)

The Lads
Mike McConnell & Chris Welch
Cody Robinson
Admiral David V.
Delphi
Sarah Alexander
Chris Garver

I borrowed this one from their myspace, if anyone knows who gets credit I will gladly give it

I'll admit that when I first moved to Denton ten years ago my decision was largely based on second-hand knowledge of the music scene here, most of what I had known at the time was the Dallas/Fort Worth scene, mostly the One-Ton Records acts such as Caulk & Doosu. Not to take anything away from those bands, but after being here for a couple of years a roommate took me to a Paperchase show - and it completely changed the way I looked at music. The sugary rock riffs of the Dallas scene at the time were fine, but I was raised in an area where the radio was all you have - I had never heard music as manic and deconstructed as Young Bodies Heal Quickly, You Know".

Over the years of seeing them live I've noticed moments of similarities with other bands, but musically there's just not much out there that would be on the same plane. I once told a friend they sometimes remind me of a live act of "The Wall" (the pulpit scene), only much angrier, precise, and demented.
I don't mean like dirty dread locks and crappy makeup demented, I mean the little clean cut guy in the cube next to you storing body parts in his mini-fridge for good luck. Like he suddenly jumped on top of his desk, waving his hands wildly, spewing half-sense and whole truths like they were daggers, making sure to aim them at every last person in the room.
There's a certain urgency in the music, like a frantic pen to paper missive, written in blood and partially running off the paper and written across the desk.
And unlike most bands I've seen in the past few years, every sentiment expressed in the lyrics are evident in his gestures and his face, from sarcastic to saccharine, from defeated to destroyer of worlds.

I could go a little deeper, but we'll just leave it at this:

Tonight (Friday April 11th)
Rubber Gloves (411 E. Sycamore, 9pm, $10_
the pAper chAse (also: fansite here w/music)
Faux Fox
Mount Righteous

Will Johnson
Sarah Jaffe
Dan's Silverleaf, 103 Industrial
Doors at 8

Miss Jaffe is the best thing to happen to Dallas music since DARYL's Ohio dropped, in mio opinione.

If you like Jesse Sykes' sultry country-folk and listen to a lot of torch singers, you should come out Friday.

If you don't ordinarily swing that way, watch the preview for this documentary produced by the Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer David Leeson of The Dallas Morning News. (Click "Trailer 2"in the Trailers section.) That's Sarah's song "Swelling" you hear over the footage.

Then come out Friday.

It'll be a nice night to stay warm and do the film-watching thing, and this screening is free.

Punk: The Early Years
Strawberry Fields, 10 p.m.
corner of Oak and Bonnie Brae

from All Movie Guide:

The initial shock of punk rock was beginning to wane in Britain, but the movement was still picking up steam and establishing itself as a genuine musical force when this documentary was shot in 1977 and 1978. Originally created for U.K. television, Punk: The Early Years includes interviews with musicians, fans, record-label executives, and rock journalists as they discuss the meaning and impact of punk rock. The film also features performances from the Adverts, the Slits, Generation X (featuring Billy Idol), X-Ray Spex, and Eddie and the Hot Rods. Among those interviewed are Siouxsie Sioux (from Siouxie & the Banshees), Marc Bolan of T. Rex, and early Sex Pistols associate Jordan.

For continued education, SF rents out The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder: Punk and New Wave. Big timers like Joan Jett sit in on a round table discussion; Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Patti Smith perform, among others. Check out Strawberry Fields' amazing online database for other rental ideas and good finds.