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Performing at Opening Bell tonight with Salim Nourallah will be Noted Regional Comic (if that title isn’t on his business card, it should be) Dave Little. The pairing makes perfect sense, of course. Who better to open for a heart-on-his-sleeve roots-rocker than a dry-witted smart-ass comic?

Really, the combo makes a little more sense than you’d think if you only knew Little from his stand-up comedy performances. Little is in the middle of recording at Nourallah’s Pleasantry Lane studio, at least when the Old 97’s aren’t in the way. His Nourallah-produced 2006 CD Uncomfortable Moments has songs with the comedy he’s known for, but also includes a few (mostly) serious songs. His third album (possible title: Critically Ignored) will have the same split personality. We spoke with Little before a recent Section 8 performance to find out more about his musical endeavors, uncomfortable sex and why he hates punchlines.

Were you a musician before you went into comedy?

I was kind of writing songs, and they just kind of turned out funny. So that’s where I went. If I do a comedy song, it’s a funny bit. If it doesn’t have four or five or six laughs, why do it at, say, The Improv? So I just started writing all these other songs. I hang out with musicians more than comics -– Danny [Balis] and Salim, Carter [Albrecht], Ward [Williams], Chris Holt and those guys -– and I’ve always thought music and comedy is a great mix. It really opens up the audience and makes for a really good show. What I like to do now is the songs I wouldn’t normally do at the Improv. I’ll talk a little, but won’t do any stand-up per se.

Some of your songs are not totally serious, but definitely not comedy, and others are comedy songs. Why mix the two on one CD?

I think it’s natural. I would just write songs, and even my serious songs--I love John Prine, one of my favorite songwriters, and Randy Newman, guys like that, Loudon Wainwright III--even when they’re singing about something serious, they’ll have a dark lyric in there or something. It’s just my personality.

Denton rockers Brake! Vegas took some time with DC-9 to answer some earth-shattering questions prior to their show tonight at The Door in Dallas. Why them? For me, it was the name alone. I just like saying it with that exclamation point. Not to mention they have some T-shirts with some snazzy logos. However, our Web Editor Chelsea is all about the band for its traditional, straightforward rock 'n' roll riffs. Either way, we like 'em.

Band members Kyle Juett and Justin Wilson gave us these insights to B!V as well as showing us who the yin and yang of the group are. They also say ‘ass’ a lot.

What's the name about?

KJ: Well we can thank Adam Schultz (lead guitar) for that one. He’s no stranger to the Vegas, and never missed the opportunity to slam on the brakes and party the night away in Sin City.

Does the song title Mutatis Mutandis refer to a new species of mutant the X-Men should be concerned with?

KJ: Marvel Comics has been bugging us for a long-ass time now, I don't think they are looking for as much a new species that the X-Men can just walk all over in another one of their sequels, but more the "end of days" mutant sent to destroy all that is mutated.

JF: Mutatis Mutandis is Latin for "what needs to be changed has been changed," which refers to the songs narrator, who is stuck in a not-to-distant future and has realized the coming apocalypse has nothing to do with an imaginary, invisible, all-knowing super-intelligence, and everything to do with the world's insane jihad against each other for political and monetary gains.

How'd you land on Oliver Peck's Van's Warped Tour webisodes?

Austin-based Famecast is in its third season and asking Internet denizens to vote for the next band/singer/comedian that will possibly maybe get its 15 minutes. In the rock section, Dallas has some representation with the band End This All making the final five. The pressure is on this Saturday because the band needs to step up and perform before a live audience and (gasp!) "judging panels consisting of today's most preeminent A-list music and entertainment writers and industry insiders."

While Famecast doesn't promise fame, it offers some fortune with the winner receiving some fat cash to the tune of $10,000. Good luck to the locals, but they should probably watch out for New Jersey band Akora who has a bit more (read that again, BIT MORE) inspired sound and the most interesting of the videos (after the jump).

The winner will be announced December 10. Pins and needles, huh? -- Rich Lopez

Pikahsso seems to be whipping out videos faster than a pack of dogs on a three-legged cat. He's just announced the world premiere of his latest video, Faleyuh, directed by Walter J. Archey. We love Pik's ambitious artistry not only for the videos but for his willingness to evoke Pee Wee Herman up in this piece. Check it. -- Rich Lopez

“I don’t consider what I do as work, but more of a driven obsession,” says Michael Terry, assistant manager and booking coordinator of Uncle Calvin’s Coffee House. Set inside the fellowship hall of Northpark Presbyterian Church, the area landmark of acoustic music has become a haven for musicians and audiences looking for a laid back but engaging concert experience for a quarter century.

“What makes our shows so special is an appreciation of lyrical content joined by some good melodies,” says Terry, whose unbridled excitement over November’s month long 25th anniversary celebration belies his gray hair and years of experience in the Dallas music scene. “The music and the setting are just beautifully uplifting,” he adds.

Sitting in a different coffee house closer to his Lake Highlands home, Terry’s exuberance is contagious as he recounts attending his first show at Uncle Calvin’s in 1987 (Sara Hickman) and his commitment to volunteer (for as many as 80 hours a week) in 1989.

“It’s all I’m doing,” says Terry, “much to my wife’s chagrin.”

After 33 years working at Southwestern Bell, he found the music of the Kerrville Folk Festival spoke to him and decided to take early retirement in order to become more involved in presenting music. He found that opportunity in the halls of a church.

Reverend Trey Hammond started Uncle Calvin’s in 1982. Hammond (now pastor of Albuquerque’s La Mesa Presbyterian Church) had the original idea of providing a relaxed listening room for acoustic music, free of smoke and alcohol. Starting with some candles and a borrowed sound system, Uncle Calvin’s opened in the church’s old location at Park Lane and Central. (It moved to the current site on Walnut Hill in the early '90s.) Except for a performer-friendly, updated sound system, Uncle Calvin’s has strayed little from Hammond’s original vision.

Uncle Calvin’s has featured some of the brightest singers/songwriters in folk and country. The Dixie Chicks, Patty Larkin, Martin Sexton, John Gorka, Tom Paxton, Darden Smith and Butch Hancock are just a handful of the performers who have brought packed audiences to the 220-capacity hall every Friday evening for the last 25 years.

According to this, the Love and War in Texas benefit show for Rusty Wier was a success. With a heavy lineup of bands and singers including Eleven Hundred Springs, Darryl Lee Rush, Max Stalling and a heck of a lot more, the show was able to raise just more than 10K for Wier's medical expenses. The Austin-based country crooner was diagnosed with cancer earlier this month and the Health Update on his Web site states that he started chemotherapy in mid-November.

The sentimental night was also the unveiling of Love and War's first Lifetime Achievement Award honoring notable Texans "who spends their life time contributing positively to Texas." Befittingly, the first award went to Wier. A video of the ceremony is supposed to be here, but my computer wasn't having much luck with the link. So instead, we couldn't resist posting this video of his song "The Pussy Ain't Worth the Pain." Don't be offended. He says it's about a cat. -- Rich Lopez

Like you, the DC-9 crew spent the holiday weekend in a fairly traditional manner -- turkey with the family, shopping with the masses (though, we didn't pull that 4 a.m. crap at Kohl's) and taking advantage of TV marathons.

Texas vs. A&M

Of course, we didn't miss the rivalry game. Heck, we sent a photographer. But despite the close score, we were crushed as the Longhorns lost. All the Aggies' fans will certainly enjoy our slideshow from the game, though. -- Chelsea Ide

Once again, the weather is spotty in Tarrant County for the weekend. Best guess: Icy roads are preventing funny from rolling into town. Stay warm and dry with comedy goodness in Addison and Dallas.

Friday

I didn't know Robert Hawkins was local because he's too damned successful to hang around Dallas with us losers. Hawkins was a writer and actor on Titus, he's got a Comedy Central special and you've seen him on Conan, too. He's back home for the weekend at the Addison Improv. Local up-and-comer (and semi-finalist in the HBO Las Vegas Comedy Contest) Justin Foster opens.

But maybe 45 minutes of some guy doing an Austin Powers impression sounds more like your idea of a good time. If so, Hyena's Fort Worth has Steve Hirst, a Dallas transplant originally from Manchester, England, whose headshot includes the full on velour suit and coke bottle glasses. Somebody please write in and assure me that he does more than the Powers thing.

Saturday

I don't know how many times I have to tell you, but I'll never get tired of it: The Backdoor Comedy Club's lineup of star locals is the best way to kill a weekend evening. They're at the Double Tree Hotel on Caruth Haven, and the show's at 9 p.m.

Got an early date? Head over to the Pocket Sandwich Theatre for late night comedy with stand-up/sketch mish-mash Seven Layer Burrito Cake. Show starts at 11:15 p.m., and it's $10 on the cheap.

Sunday

Come party with the bikers and the hottest bartenders in town at Reno's Chop Shop in Deep Ellum. You never know who's going to show up, but it's always a good time. Show gets rolling around 7:30 p.m., and the chances are excellent that you'll see a naked breast or two. It's just that kind of bar. -- Andrea Grimes

Blues fans have a chance to help those railroaded by the justice system this Saturday at the Innocence Project of Texas’s DNA Blues Ball, a concert to raise funds for crucial DNA testing related to Innocence Project cases.

DNA tests can cost $2,000 to $5,000, says Innocence Project President Michelle Moore, and the non-profit organization relies on donations to pay for tests. About six men are lined up for testing, she says.

Blues was an obvious music choice for the concert. “It seemed appropriate,” Moore says. “Here we’ve got these guys that have been in the pen for 15, 20 years for a crime they didn’t commit. What better music to represent that than the blues?”

Wanda King, leader of the Wanda King Blues Band and daughter of Dallas blues legend Freddie King, jumped at the chance to volunteer for the cause. As the founder of the Freddie King Blues Foundation, which helps blues artists struggling through financial or legal difficulties, she’s a seasoned volunteer and crusader. Part of that spirit came from helping her late father’s estate win legal battles tied to copyrighted material, but it’s also a trait she picked up from the man himself.

Fiction Plane
November 22, 2007
House of Blues

Better Than: Thanksgiving Postprandial Exhaustion

So. Fiction Plane played last night in the Cambridge Room at the House of Blues. Fiction who, you ask? Fiction Plane. A more appropriate spelling would be p-l-a-I-n. As in vanilla. Or very dry turkey with extra tryptophan. Ergh.

Well. So be it. That’s what’s the overpriced bar is for. I could happily end my review here and talk about my girl-crush on Natalie Portman. She’s unusually hot. But…

Fiction Plane is a three piece rock band from the U.K. The group just wrapped up a world tour opening up for The Police. The Police? That’s a great gig! How did some young insipid band score that gig, you ask? Well, Joe Sumner, the lead singer, is the son of activist/musician Gordon Sumner. Gordon who? Sting. That’s who. And Fiction Plane is quite often (to the members' rumored irritation) referred to as “Sting’s Son’s Band.” Trust me, if Sting’s Son’s Band weren’t riding high on music industry nepotism, it would most likely be playing in Sting’s Son’s garage. Trust me.

Compared with other holidays, Thanksgiving hasn't inspired bards all that much. There are no traditional hymns, no instantly identifiable music associated with the day, save possibly various football broadcast bumpers.

Nevertheless, here and there we find certain songs that -- in lyric or in spirit -- fit the theme of the day. We've hunted down five such songs for your Thanksgiving listening pleasure. (If you think we've missed an important one, please let us know via comments.)

5. Adam Sandler's "The Thanksgiving Song"
Before Adam Sandler's magnum opus about Hannukah, there was his fractured effort about Turkey Day. Performed on Saturday Night Live with a brief assist from Kevin Nealon, Sandler's silly song may be the first holiday hymn to mention both Mike Tyson and venereal disease -- though hopefully not the last.

4. William Burroughs' "A Thanksgiving Prayer"
Feeling thankful? Got a warm sensation of fellowship with other human beings? Smiling after watching the Sandler video? William S. Burroughs can take care of that for you. OK, it's a spoken-word piece and not a song. If Kurt Cobain had lived longer, I'm sure he'd have performed musical accompaniment to this the way he did Burroughs' "The Priest They Called Him." Sadly, Cobain killed himself, possibly after listening to this concentrated burst of depressing.

For the sake of hard-hitting journalism, last night I put my wits and pride to the test on my first game show. Well, make that “game show.” And while dreams of winning the ultimate prize of $500 battled against my moral dilemma of ethically accepting the cash, I really just needed to prove myself.

Mickey’s has revived its game show “Are You Smarter than a Drag Queen?” on Tuesdays with both a happy hour edition at 6:30 p.m. and the popular prime-time version at 10 p.m. At the latter, the little shiny bar on Cedar Springs houses a bevy of competitive pop culture trivia buffs and their entourages of drinking buddies partaking in some of the cheapest drinks around town. Personally, I felt satisfied I could smackdown any fifth grader, but a drag queen? My curiosity was in overdrive.

The bar doesn’t hold back with its setup. It's complete with stage, snazzy distinctive buzzers, digital scoring boards, LCD flat screens clearly displaying questions and too-concise timing to prevent know-it-alls from buzzing too early. But the centerpieces are hostesses Wayne Smith and Ivana Tramp. In surprisingly restrained demeanor yet still hella hilarious, the queens move the show along with precision worthy of Pat Sajak.

The game breaks down like this: Three contestants play a round, repeat twice and the three winners of each round compete in a semifinal. Repeat all that to narrow the field down to the winner of each semifinal and those two take on Smith in the final round. Winners each week are called back for an ultimate final for a cash prize of $500.

My name was called for the second round of the first set and the nerves kicked in. I throwdown on game shows but that’s usually in the safety of my own home. I was certain I would freeze. Thankfully, I had a posse of coworkers and friends come out to root me on. Or maybe they just couldn’t figure out how to pass the time any other way. With questions all over the pop culture map, I managed to buzz my way into first place, but not without a wise use of a shout-out lifeline to Justin who saved my ass by helping me name Barbara Mandrell’s song “Crackers” (I think we actually said “Crackers in my Bed,” but don’t tell anyone).

Hidden in a rural niche in Denton is a russet, brick office building that looks vacant. The only identifying feature is the oversized 2408 above the door, but even that is brown and uninviting. But as any after-school program will tell you, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, and on the other side of the unlit, unimpressive front is a cutting-edge sound studio with more flashing lights than a ‘70s sci-fi flick.

The studio -- ReelTime Audio -- is home to Eric Delegard, who has been laying down tracks in Denton since ’86. He’s recorded more artists than any other two Denton studios combined and without a penny spent on advertisement. Delegard’s hallway boasts his accomplishments with DFW bands; records from groups who landed on major labels and movie soundtracks line the walls. And the Grammy quietly shining beneath his 32-inch LCD computer monitor is proof he’s not just another joker with an 8-track. He finds the stuff that sells and puts in on wax.

But if the idea of Grammy nominations, hobnobbing with rockers and working your own hours sounds like sweet deal, Delegard will be the first to tell you not to quit your day job and blow 30 grand on recording gear. From the day he came to college in Texas back when Metallica still had long hair, he’s been paying his dues. Starting with a reel-to-reel recording rig set up in an old church converted into a duplex.

Now in the unassuming building at 2408, the days are long on average and “hell” on occasions when bands from out of town come to get their stuff done in three or four straight days of recording. The only thing that could make a 17-hour work day worse is if the band is crappy. Luckily, he has the luxury of turning down the crap bands.

With 400+ clients, including North Texas mainstay Brave Combo, who has been featured on countless movie, commercial and T.V. show soundtracks, business would seem to be booming, right?

Club Dada’s Amanda Newman just gave me the official word for her club's New Year’s Eve plans. In fact, she was so excited about it that I’ll let her tell it herself:

"So...after lots of back and forth and phone calls...New Year's Eve at Dada will feature a two-hour set from Fever in the Funkhouse. The lineup will include original members Nick Brisco, Chris Clairidy and Bryan Wakeland (Polyphonic Spree). A yet to be named local bass player will be filling the shoes of original bassist Jim Holbrook."

It's appropriate for Dada to celebrate with a band that was alongside the New Bohemians and Ten Hands in the late '80s and early '90s music renaissance emerging from Deep Ellum. Newman adds, “I wanted to do something special this New Year's to pay homage to Dada's history, a blending of the old guard and the new guard, if you will.”

Although familiar with Funkhouse's music, I was a little shaky on its history. So Brisco took some time out with me this morning to give me the lowdown via phone from Chicago.

As Brisco was getting his day started, he remarked how the miracle of MySpace has landed his latest band, Café Antarsia Ensemble, a deal with Innova Records. With his future set with his new band, Brisco graciously revisited his past as frontman for Funkhouse.

“We came into Deep Ellum at a good time back in 1989. It was a real nurturing scene. Good place for local bands to create something new,” he starts. Four young guys from the suburbs who saw Dallas as “a reality of a music scene…something we could get into.”

Apparently, local musician Darlington likes to sleep around. At least he admits that in Monday's Washington Post article about musician mom, Barbara Jones.

If you’d like him in your bed, ask him this Friday at the Darkside Lounge where he performs with Greyskull, Poster Boy Material and Responsible Johnny where they’ll celebrate Thanksgiving a day late with their Holiday Keg Party offering free beer for “from the keg til it floats!” -- Rich Lopez