Blogs

Dove Hunter, trying out for Pants Off Dance Off. (Lee Setty)

Two Stuart Sikes-produced local discs were showcased at The Barley House on Friday night when Dove Hunter and Fort Worth's Calhoun shared a bill, playing to a fairly packed house.

The big news wasn't the performance, though. Rather, it was in the news the bands shared that night.

Calhoun's disc (which also boasts album art from Sikes' wife) is finished, and though the band was selling copies of the as-yet-not-officially released album at its merch table, guitarist/keyboard player Jordan Roberts says the band won't officially release the disc for at least a little while. Currently, they're testing the independent label waters, waiting to hear back about potential deals that could be out there for them. Not a bad plan when you've already got a Universal distribution deal to fall back on. We'll keep you posted there.

Dove Hunter guitarist/vocalist Jayson Wortham, meanwhile, says his band's disc should be ready for release in a month or so. The band just finished recording and mixing the disc and, at the moment, it's off getting mastered somewhere. We here at the Observer are hotly anticipating this disc, so we'll keep you posted here, too. -- Pete Freedman

Lots of Youtube uploads of shows that happened around DFW this past weekend. Didn't get a chance to go out yourself? Well, watch these and maybe you act the part to your friends.

Mount Righteous' Spree-like "throw a ton of people on stage and just be a visual spectacle" gag started the night of right at the Granada Theater on Friday...

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...although the News does report that Kings, who was found dead in Austin on Thursday night/Friday morning, was...

- 17 years old, not 19.
- a percussionist.
- supposed to perform at 9 a.m. the next day.
- recently awarded a four-year scholarship to attend the Manhattan School of Music.

The article also points out that there were four parents and two teachers accompanying the group and that "police and Dallas school officials were questioning them about how James ended up by himself." Still no answers yet, although officials now seem to believe that no other students were with Kings at the time of his death. -- Pete Freedman

Black Tie Dynasty at the Ridglea Friday night. (Jonathan Finley)

Burning Hotels, Black Tie Dynasty at Ridglea Theater

We drove on over to Fort Worth Friday night to catch Burning Hotels, Black Tie Dynasty and Odis at the Ridglea. As always, Burning Hotels put on a fully entertaining show. Our photographer snapped shots of all three bands, so don't think we skimped on Odis.

Spring Indie Fest at The Door

A handful of DdFW indie rock bands kept plenty o' fans in constant dance mode during this Saturday show. Highlights? Gazelles, Artist vs. Poet and Homer Hiccolm for starters. Plus, as promised we got to hear some new Hey Hollywood.

PlayRadioPlay! at Good Records

I caught a smidge of PlayRadioPlay!'s performance at Good Records on Sunday afternoon while taking pictures nearby. His soft voice definitely caught my attention – and that of the 20 or 30 others in the store. I'll admit, he flubbed a little, but I figured it was just a warm-up for his show later that night at the Granada with Yellowcard. Anyone see him later that night? Was it better?

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James Dante Kings, who was either 17 or 19 (we've got conflicting reports...) and a member of Booker T. Washington's Latin Jazz Ensemble, was found dead on I-35 in Austin last night at around 2 a.m. after what authorities believe was a hit-and-run.

According to a report by ABC CBS-affiliate KEYE in Austin, witnesses "saw a person lying on the southbound lanes on the lower deck of 2600 N. I-35...When passerbys stopped to assist the person, they discovered he was dead."

Dallas' FOX 4 adds to that, reporting that Kings was in Austin on a field trip with 24 fellow student musicians to perform in a concert. The FOX 4 report also notes: "It's not clear how Kings was able to leave the students' hotel without supervision."

Sad news, for sure. You've got to feel sad for King's family and fellow students right now.

But we don't get it, either, FOX 4. What was Kings doing on I-35 so late at night? Was he alone? Where were the supervisors?

I get the feeling we'll hear more about this matter by the time Monday rolls around. -- Pete Freedman

Shooter Jennings is country royalty, folks.

Plan your weekend well and you could have yourself a stellar, varied slew of music performances to take in this weekend. Here's a head start.

Dove Hunter, Calhoun
10 p.m. Friday, March 28, The Barley House

I'm making a beeline to The Barley House tonight to catch this show. I'm sure the bands on the bill won't mind if you join me. Calhoun's nice, yes, but I'll be there specifically for Dove Hunter, who--I just figured this out--sounds like a more daring Rocco Deluca and The Burden to me. Join me in begging them to finish their record. There's strength in numbers.

Shooter Jennings, The Drams, Miles From Nowhere
9 p.m., Saturday, March 29, at the Granada Theater

Am I crazy or are Brent Best and The Drams playing gigs anywhere and everywhere lately? That's not a bad thing, necessarily. Just an observation. Anyway, tonight The Drams find themselves sharing a bill with country royalty offspring Shooter Jennings (you might know his pop, Waylon?). Call it alt-country, call it country rock, call it southern rock, call it whatever you want. This should be a fun time--if you're into beer and whiskey and good times and songs about beer and whiskey and good times. Uh, who isn't?

Yellowcard, The Spill Canvas, Secondhand Renegade, PlayRadioPlay!, Treat of Paris
9 p.m., Sunday, March 30, at The Granada Theater

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Word over on the dfwhiphop.com message boards is that Lil Wil's "My Dougie" got played on BET's "Rap City" show on Wednesday afternoon.

(We clued you into this video about a month back.)

Say what you want about the track itself, but if that airplay rumor is true, it's a HUGE coup for local hip-hop. And this isn't even the first round of national props Lil Wil has earned. In January, when Soulja Boy actually came through town (instead of, uh, canceling), the hip-hop sensation actually performed the song alongside Lil Wil and his crew. Then Soulja Boy even hopped on the "My Dougie" remix (you can watch a fan-made video for the remix here).

Given hip-hop performers' knack for shouting out their hometown's name in their tracks, if Lil Wil continues to gain strength on the national scene, it's possible some buzz could spill over onto other Dallas acts. And it'd certainly be more of an immediate spillover than, say, if an alt-country act from the region were to quickly rise into the national ether.

So we'll keep you posted on "My Dougie" and Lil Wil's progress. -- Pete Freedman

Rhett Miller wanted to talk today -- with, yup, a clarification regarding his recent comments to Billboard, to which we paid some attention earlier this week. Because, see, Rhett doesn't want anyone thinking 2004's Old 97's album Drag It Up wasn't up to snuff because "I took a total step back," as he's quoted as saying. Not at all. Because, see, that wasn't the case, he insists. That's not what he said. That's not what he meant.

What Rhett says he was trying to do was discuss, at some length, how hard it was making Old 97's albums after he'd begun releasing solo albums. (Drag It Up came two years after Rhett's first solo release, The Instigator.) Quite simply, in '04 he was having difficulty discerning where Solo Rhett began and Old 97's Rhett ended, and how to divide his attention and his material. Only, the quotes read like, well, the last 97's record wasn't any good because he didn't participate like he shouda. Which bums him out. Because, yeah, he knows "the whole thing was my fault." Still ...

"I just shouldn't offer subtle, nuanced musings about the inner workings of a band with fucking Billboard," he says today. "It was just me thinking out loud about the process of making those that record, which was difficult, and making the new one [Blame It on Gravity], which we all love, and I don't need to do that with Billboard. I was just trying to say I didn't bring my A game the last time around, and I did for this record."

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This is Soulja Boy. This is not Flavor Flav. This is not another Public Enemy post.

Don't get the header for this post? Well, you're clearly not down with the kids these days.

Or with Soulja Boy, who, as it turns out, will not be playing Dallas anytime soon. The Internet hip-hop sensation (note the 20.5 million views earned by the video on that link) has canceled his 21 & Under tour--and thus the Wednesday, May 7, date at the House of Blues.

Per the press release from the House of Blues people: "Soulja Boy is going back into the studio to record his new album and the tour will be rescheduled upon its release. Refunds available at point of purchase."

Well, that's a shame. No really! This tour actually featured an interesting act. No, not Mr. Crank That; Lil Mama, whose summertime hit "Lip Gloss" is still "poppin'" through my head from time to time.

Oh well. Count me among the couple hundred thousand tweenagers across the country actually a little upset by this. -- Pete Freedman

In a dated suit and a bad comb-over, Hamburger is the comedic persona of Gregg Turkington. The idea is very Tony Clifton, but at least he was funny. Hamburger is so not funny, which might be where his genius lies… or his idiocy.

He quietly walks on stage as the crowd follows him almost in curiosity rather than as fans. Apparently, his signature is the gross hacking he does loudly into the microphone (there was a little too much of this.) His set isn’t typically anecdotal. Delivered with uncomfortable abrasiveness, his set is merely how, what and why questions answered with a zinger -- make that “zinger.”

“What do you get when you cross Sir Elton John with a saber-toothed tiger?
I don’t know, but you better get it away from your ass.”

Ho-hum.

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Matthew and the Arrogant Sea has just posted three new songs on its MySpace. All are from the Denton band's new album, Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian. The new tracks are "Marry me Annie," "Pretty Purple Top Hat" and "Mock Origami."

Below is a video from the writing of the new album. Admittedly, not the most exciting writing session video I've seen. I'm betting I'm not alone there. Luckily, the finished product is much more engaging. -- Chelsea Ide

Ethereal psych-rock band The Orange is experiencing a wicked state of euphoria these days. After three years of exploring its musical purpose, the Dallas group has finally reached a blissful peak with the release of its new EP, A Sonic Collection of Short Stories from La La Land, and upcoming New York tour dates. The Orange will celebrate this accomplishment with an extravaganza of music and “surprises” tonight at the Curtain Club. (Get a taste of the new album at the end of this post.)

Scott Tucker and Aaron Berkes are guiding The Orange’s journey and have come full-circle from their adolescent days of sneaking into Deep Ellum venues to watch their favorite bands. Creating music together for more than half their lives, Tucker and Berkes possess a distinguished bond anchored not only by their shared musical vision, but also by an innocent curiosity to explore the full potential of their creative bursts.

After a touch-and-go experience in the much grimier version of themselves, Special Edword, the friends stripped themselves bare (literally, according to tales of Tucker’s late night cemetery crusades) and began the reconstruction that lead them to this moment.

Surrounded by shiny, vintage rock equipment and headless mannequins, we sat in The Orange’s Arlington practice space to dig a little deeper into the orphic energy of the 25 year-old bandmates.

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Oddball indie-poppin' Denton act Fishboy has been getting some legit blog love of late. For the second day in a row, the eclectic act, which is signed to HHBTM Records out of Athens, Ga., has found itself mentioned on aggregation blog The Hype Machine's radar.

Today, the Another Form of Relief blog offered a downloadable mp3 of the song "Halftime at the Proper Name Spelling Bee." And yesterday, the i guess i'm floating blog hosted an mp3 of the track "Parachute (Using The Ghost Of Buddy Holly As A)" for download.

Why the recent love for Fishboy's 2007 release, Albatross: How We Failed to Save The Lone Star State with the Power of Rock and Roll? Well, as i guess i'm floating points out, because the band recently released a new music video for "Parachute (Using The Ghost Of Buddy Holly As A)". Check it out (after the jump):

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What? Wrong Sue Ellen?

It seems to have been fairly quiet over in the Cedar Springs strip since we mentioned their apparent identity crisis. But our buddy Rick Espaillat over at Caven just gave us the heads about our favorite lesbian bar, Sue Ellen’s. (Don’t worry, Buddies II, we love you, too.)

According to his press release, “Dallas’ most successful lesbian nightclub, will close its doors at the end of business Sunday night, April 13,” and then “move to a new location at 3014 Throckmorton Street and will open to the public at 10pm on Thursday, April 17.”

The new Sue Ellen’s has upgraded from a mid-sized bar to a two-story spread with a new outdoor patio, a larger dance floor, game room, and a separate performance space. He also boasts about a state-of-the-art audio and video to create the nation’s biggest and most versatile lesbian nightclub.

Now, we’re just waiting for the happy hour specials. -- Rich Lopez

In case you haven't been paying attention to Unfair Park of late, Wilonsky's been gettin' all amped up about a blog he came across that's been hosting some lost live bootlegs of old Bedhead sets (which, Robert points out, includes early versions of some The New Year songs). Head on over and check them out; they're worth it, if only for remembering a talented band from Dallas' recent past. -- Pete Freedman