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April 2008 Archives

Is Industrial Boulevard Set To Become Stevie Ray Vaughan Boulevard?

Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 04:27:48 PM
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Maybe. Nothing's set in stone, but according to this Morning News report of last night's City Council meeting on the Trinity River project, Stevie Ray's name made it onto the list of 10 possible names for the new road. The full list?

•Ascension Drive
•Cesar Chavez Boulevard
•Eddie Bernice Johnson Parkway
•Post Industrial Boulevard
•Riverfront Boulevard
•Stanley Marcus Boulevard
•Stevie Ray Vaughn Vaughan Boulevard
•Trinity Lakes Boulevard
•Trinity View Parkway
•Waterfront Boulevard

I think you've gotta go with Stevie Ray given these options--although I'm sure the city's salivating at the thought of selling property on the sure-to-be highfalutin Waterfront Boulevard... --Pete Freedman

Category: Music News
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Jessica Simpson Writes A Song For Tony Romo? Apparently.

Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 03:03:12 PM
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Gossip site Showbiz Spy quotes the June issue of Glamour, revealing that Jessica Simpson is not only "in love" with Tony Romo--she's written a song for her man.

The song's called "Back in My Old Boots," and apparently it's about how "comfortable" Romo makes her feel...

Interesting.

Of course, this isn't the first time Jess has written a track for her beau of the moment. Remember this track? Had a very similar theme, didn't it? That worked out well for her, right?

Oh, and in other Showbiz Spy-Simpson family news, the site also has a fairly unsubstantiated report that Ashlee and her beau Pete Wentz, bass player for Fall Out Boy, might star in a new version of Jess' MTV show with Nick Lachey, Newlyweds.

This family really doesn't learn from past mistakes, does it? --Pete Freedman

Category: Music News
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Salvia + Roger Waters = Bad Idea, According to Minneapolis City Pages

Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 02:21:06 PM
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Even though this post from our sister paper in Minneapolis purports to be about salvia and whether it's a good idea to smoke the marijuana alternative while attending a Roger Waters show (specifically in Dallas, oddly enough), the whole thing seems more like a slap in our city's face than anything else.

Apparently, "Dallas is to bad vibes as Los Angeles is to superficiality."

Aw, thanks, guys! --Pete Freedman

Category: Music News
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Dallas-born Jazz Player Jimmy Giuffre Dead At 86

Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 01:40:36 PM
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Dallas-born jazz clarinet and saxophone player Jimmy Giuffre died late last week on Thursday, April 24, of pneumonia and complications of Parkinson's disease.

After learning to play the clarinet at the age of 9, Giuffre began performing in local bands. Later Giuffre was drawn into the big band world and eventually transitioned into jazz music with his self--named trio, with which he earned acclaim as an "adventurous" jazz composer and arranger. In his later years, Giuffre served as an instructor and teacher at New York University, Rutgers University and the New England Conservatory of Music.

The 86-year-old musician died just two days shy of his 87th birthday. --Pete Freedman

Category: Music News
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Video: Phil Pritchett at Granada

Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 08:48:23 AM

Get your morning music fix with this video of Phil Pritchett playing at the Granada last Saturday. We had other plans that night. If you did, too, now you know what you missed. -- Chelsea Ide

Category: Music News
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Local DJ Rob Viktum Remixes Hangar 18; Def Jux Offers Free Download Of Album

Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 05:22:06 PM
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See, it is about who you know: When the (pretty kickass) independent hip-hop label Definitive Jux--home to El-P, Aesop Rock, Dizzee Rascal, Del The Funkee Homosapien, RJD2, Mr. Lif and more--was looking for a DJ to remix the recently released album from rap trio Hangar 18, local DJ and beatmaker Rob Viktum was tapped to do the job. Mostly, according to the label's site, because Viktum and the H18 guys have been "friends...for a couple of years now."

Just released last week, Viktum's remix of Hangar 18's Sweep the Leg is a nice effort, one that really displays his talents--impressively, it sounds almost nothing like the original disc (which only really had one solid track on it by my count). But Viktum's efforts only add so much to the fun, but average, album; the disc is still pretty mediocre.

Although there is one nice perk: Def Jux is giving that sucker away for free. And that makes the whole thing a heckuva lot cooler. --Pete Freedman

Category: MP3s, Music News
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After Only Five Shows, Tiger Moth Is Rolling

Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 04:20:07 PM
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Tiger Moth's Myspace picture: neither a tiger nor a moth. Go figure.

Glenn Jackson, drummer for local rockers Tiger Moth, cannot believe the positive buzz his band is already generating.

“We are only five shows old, but the most common response from the crowd has been, ‘Holy shit!’,” says Jackson.

Along with brother Derek, Glenn was a part of Until They Arrive, a rather somber unit that broke up late last year. But the brothers decided to form a new band and turn up the volume.

“We both wanted to do something a little more rock 'n' roll, so we disbanded and started searching for a new singer,” says Jackson.

That singer turned out to be one Cheyenne Schweitzer, a 27-year-old Bible college dropout. (“We came across Cheyenne through a Myspace ad,” explains Jackson.) Completing the quartet was Ross Boyd, a bassist formerly involved with Chacka, Breaker and Magnificent Butcher.

Tiger Moth’s debut EP, which does a great job representing the band’s sweaty and solid stage show, was issued this month (the band is already recording a new single) and its CD release show at Dada this past weekend was enthusiastically received. Influences as diverse as Prince, Radiohead and even Led Zeppelin are mixed and cajoled in just the right ways, creating a sound that is refreshingly innovative.

“This is the best band I’ve been in,” says Jackson. “We definitely push each other.” --Darryl Smyers

Category: Music News
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Boris Talks About Finding Josh Baish's Ear After A Gig

Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 02:58:45 PM
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Talk about an earful! Zing!!!

Pitchfork's kinda been all over Japanese noise rock act Boris' new release, Smile, which is released stateside today. And Josh Baish of Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios in Denton keeps finding himself mentioned in the copy.

Why?

Well, the story goes like this: Baish went to a Boris show in Marfa, got into a tussle, had a piece of his ear chewed off by an assailant, and, in turn, lost the ear. Later, when Boris was putting away its gear, band members found Baish's missing flesh. And then they kinda sorta wrote a song about it. Seriously. True story.

Only now, the band seems kinda sick of talking about it:

Category: Music News
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Speedealer Among 7,874 Artists Not Getting Paid

Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 10:46:37 AM

Hey Speedealer: Looks like you're owed some money.

Well, you and thousands of other artists, according to this story. A Nashville-based entertainment lawyer says he's got a list of 7,874 artists that are owed money from Sound Exchange, a company that's supposed to collect royalties for artists, but claims it can't find the folks it has to pay.

Check the list. Your band could be on there, too. --Pete Freedman

Category: Music News
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Download Coldplay's New Single, "Violet Hill," For Free

Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 09:23:37 AM

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...just by going to the band's web site. You have all week. --Pete Freedman

Category: MP3s, Music News
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Denton Arts & Jazz Fest Looks Like It Was A Ton Of Fun, Huh?

Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 03:47:24 PM

Wow! Apparently there weren’t scores of noteworthy performances at this weekend’s 28th Annual Denton Arts & Jazz Fest--because so far the only performance uploaded to Youtube is this kid’s solo:

.

Slightly more entertaining, the video of the “Freeze Mob” organized by the Denton-based group United Aid:

Category: Music News
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Edgefest 17: It Actually Doesn't Look That Bad...As A Slideshow

Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 03:45:44 PM

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Sorry, guys, but there was no way I was heading to Pizza Hut Park yesterday to see Edgefest 17. A festival headlined by 3 Doors Down and Puddle of Mudd doesn't really tickle my fancy. And it wouldn't have in 2002, either.

Apparently, though, DC9 photographer Roger Caldwell didn't get that memo. He went to Frisco to take in the event, and actually put together a fine photographic collection of what the event was like. Seriously, check it out.

....then will someone please explain the draw of these bands to me? I'm all for trying to see the light on this one and having an open dialog here, but I just don't get it. Like, at all. --Pete Freedman

Category: Music News
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Don't Forget: Fuck Buttons Plays A Free In-Store Gig At Good Records Today At 5 p.m.

Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 02:47:23 PM

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Well, if this review from our sister paper in San Francisco is to be believed, tonight's Caribou/Fuck Buttons show at The Loft isn't to be missed, if only to see Fuck Buttons perform its "downright menacing" knob-twiddling in person.

And, just a reminder, in case you can't make it to the Loft tonight, Fuck Buttons is playing a free in-store at 5 p.m. at Good Records. So you got you some options. --Pete Freedman

Category: Music News
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Ab-NORML-y Good Music? Well, Maybe. For Once.

Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 02:15:42 PM
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High on music, man.

Maybe it’s a coincidence, but not long after we totally harshed on DFW NORML’s mellow about the terrible bands that perform at the organization’s events, they announced a party with music that approaches tolerability.

Well, at least it’s not rap-rock.

Reform-minded folks in more than 200 cities are participating in the Global Marijuana March on Saturday, May 3, and the Dallas chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is making a day of it. The group will gather at high noon (their pun, not mine) at the Earl Cabell Federal Building for the march. And, afterwards, they’re having an afterparty at Bar of Soap with performances by two provocatively named bands, The League of Fucking Decency and Pentagon Missiles.

Pentagon Missiles are a very sloppy, raw and angry punk band that will have to do some serious self-censoring if they plan to abide by Eisenberg’s “No Cussing” policy when they play there May 16. The songs on LFD’s site, meanwhile, have a pretty raw punk sound, too, but they add a bit more musicianship and humor to the mix. Unless, that is, lines like “I’m only happy when killer zombies are on the move” were meant to be taken seriously. –Jesse Hughey

Category: Music News
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Ghosthustler, As We Know It, Is Over

Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 01:25:14 PM

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The rumors ran rampant through the crowd at the Palladium Ballroom on Thursday night as people settled in to watch Ghosthustler perform the opening set at Quick's Big Thing awards show. Was it true? Was this the final time we'd see Ghosthustler perform?

Turns out, yes--to an extent.

The band's awkward performance, which found the Denton-based electronic trio on a stage far too big and a venue far too cavernous for its comfort level (and found unfamiliar crowd members asking if the band's sound was for real or if it was a joke), was, indeed, the final time audiences would see the current incarnation of Ghosthustler perform.

Alan Palomo, the band's frontman, confirmed as much when I asked him about the rumors after his band's performance, but he said he didn't want to go on the record about it until after he spread the word himself on Myspace.

Well, in a Myspace bulletin sent out the next day, Palomo did just that:

"For reasons both creat​ive and life chang​ing,​ I have decid​ed to leave​ Ghost​hustl​er and move on. Amids​t these​ circu​mstan​ces my bandm​ates have deeme​d it neces​sary to carry​ on without me; I wish them the best of luck.​ Expec​t great​ thing​s to conti​nue being​ relea​sed from the Ghost​hustler name and from my new proje​ct in the near futur​e.​"

Ghosthuster's story is an interesting one; aside from a 10'' vinyl recording, the band never officially released its debut. And yet it found itself a blogosphere darling, earning accolades from Pitchfork and the locally based Gorilla Vs Bear.

We can expect Ghosthustler to continue on without Palomo in some capacity, but to what extent, is tough to say. Will the band find a replacement for him, or go on without an official vocalist as so many electro-dance outfits do these days?

We can be certain, however, that Palomo, whose departure from the band coincides with his move to Austin to attend college next fall, will continue to produce songs on his own. And, though he didn't want to go on the record with any of his possible band names on Thursday, the ones he offered up as potential monikers sounded, well, fitting of Ghosthustler's sound.

I'll do what I can to keep you posted on this front; as I type this, I'm trying to hunt down Palomo--as well as Ghosthustler's remaining members, Grey St. Germain Gideon and Noah Jackson--to get official on-the-record words about their projects' futures. --Pete Freedman

Category: Music News
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