Dallas Music Blog

With our DOMA ballot online and ripe for your votin', we figured we'd give you some help: a daily breakdown of each category's nominees.

Best Folk/Acoustic Act:
Doug Burr
Sarah Jaffe
Glen Farris
Matthew and the Arrogant Sea
Collin Herring

This one's wide-open, really, and features some pretty intriguing match-ups.

Farris, for instance, plays in Burr's backing band. Jaffe and Burr, meanwhile, also find themselves with nominations in our Best Solo Act category, as well as in the categories for Best Female Vocalist and Best Male Vocalist, respectively. Matthew and the Arrogant Sea's also up for another award--Best New Act--and Collin Herring's got himself one hell of a whiskey-drenched comeback story. Let's dive right in...

Less than four months after the release of Texas, Aledo-based PlayRadioPlay is no longer affiliated with Island Records or the label’s distributor, Universal Music Group.

Dan Hunter, the man behind the bubblegum electro-pop, announced the release with a two-page letter outlining how things went sour between him and his label and why he was frustrated with the label’s outdated business model. More than anything, he sounds relieved to be able to go back to putting out records at his own pace.

“Not only did the time I spend with Island Records not benefit my career, it hurt it,” he writes. “Even for an artist like me, who gained interest from thousands of fans in a completely new way (The Internet, if you, like Island Records, haven't heard of it, you should check it out), Island records simply wouldn't depart from their sluggish, outdated, and clearly flawed corporate model of trying to 'break' a new artist.

“Major record labels, due to their lack of ingenuity and their fear of change, are going the way of the cassette tape (and cassette tapes SUCK, vinyl lives!). And for that reason, major record labels deserve every multimillion dollar loss that they suffer. Music is not dead, the industry is.

(Although sometimes the music I see on TV makes me think otherwise...)”

Shortly after the announcement, Hunter began answering fan questions on an absolutepunk.net bulletin board thread. After the jump are a couple of questions and answers about how well Texas has done and whether the split was Island’s or Hunter’s call. Hunter’s entire unedited announcement follows the questions. --Jesse Hughey

Somebody's Darling is a somewhat recently formed local alt-country/pop quartet led by vocalist Amber Farris and guitarist David Ponder. Farris and Ponder spent two years in a Dallas band called Raleigh, releasing an EP and an LP before lead singer Josh King bolted to Austin.

Recruiting bassist Adam Carter and drummer Nate Wedan, Farris and Ponder decided to head in a more alt-country direction and Somebodys Darling was born. The song “Farewell” will be featured on an EP slated for release in the next couple of weeks, and it’s a gem--kind of like if Old 97’s were fronted by Katrina Leskanich.

Bonus mp3: Somebodys Darling -- "Farewell"

You can catch the band at Aparicio’s in McKinney on July 5th or save on the gas and wait until July 12th to check them out in Dallas at the City Tavern. At both of these shows Somebody’s Darling will open up for Hymns, a talented New York act with local ties. You'll have little luck finding a better bill of country--alt- or otherwise. --Darryl Smyers

This weekend was a buffet of techno delight. A glow sticks salesman’s wet dream. There was enough ecstasy to get Amy Winehouse high. Well, at least, according to what's on Youtube.

Yes, it was “Meltdown: Summer Edition” last Saturday at the Lizard Lounge, and if you like techno beats--and I think ya’ do--this is going to rock your world: Seven different musicians (I use "musician" loosely) spun it out, including Chicago-based Green Velvet. Enjoy.

And we know this is a weekend-before-last event, but when Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett and the rest of the True Colors Tour come flying through your town, I guess you cover it. Or post a Youtube clip of it. That, or you run the risk of facing the wrath of one Ms. Lauper. So here are some special selections from their show, Saturday-before-last, at the Smirnoff Music Centre...

Just for kicks, 'cause No Age is playing the Palladium tonight, an interview John Iskander or Parade of Flesh sorta-conducted with No Age (and the band's merch guy?) when the band played Hailey's in Denton with Liars in February...

...and, yeah, that's "Eraser" they play at the end of the clip. Oh, the joys of Youtube. --Pete Freedman

Centro-matic, The Kadane Brothers and The Theater Fire
Granada Theater
June 28, 2008

Better than: Um...a lot of things, really.

Y'know, when he wants to, Will Johnson can really work a crowd.

Sure, this night was, for all intents and purposes, Centro-matic's night: The band's riding high on the release of its split double-disc release Dual Hawks (with Centro-matic kinda-side-project, kinda-not South San Gabriel), and its performance on this night at the Granada was being filmed for a live concert DVD. And, sure, it was Centro-matic who was headlining the evening. And, yeah, it was Centro-matic who invited the other bands on the bill to open.

But, really, it was one hell of a bill. The Theater Fire and the Kadane brothers (of The New Year and Bedhead), both of which are on the verge of new releases themselves? C'mon, folks: We even went on record as saying that this show might have been the best all-area bill this town's seen all year. Despite the filming, despite Dual Hawks and despite the headlining slot, it could've been easy for Centro-matic to possibly, maybe, kinda, sorta get lost in the shuffle.

But no. Not tonight. No freakin' way. Centro-matic, as weird as this sounds, stole its own show. And then some.

We're RTB2 fans, OK? Get it yet?

We already told you about a bunch of shows tonight (The Party, Will Johnson, Shearwater in Fort Worth, Shearwater in Dallas, and Boris), Saturday (Doug Burr, Lymbyc Systym/Her Space Holiday/Florene and maybe the show of the year) and Sunday (Stone Temple Pilots/Black Francis). Here's the best of the rest...

Dove Hunter, History at Our Disposal
9 p.m. on Friday, June 27, at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton
We wrote about Dove Hunter's big CD release party at The Double Wide last week, and the show hardly disappointed. Hell, the place was packed. Tonight's Denton CD release show might not be as jammed, but should still be a darn good tootin' time.

What you might've missed this week on DC9 as you mourned the loss of a comedic giant...

- We checked out Tom Waits at the Palladium, and wondered what the crap was up with the venue that night?
- We celebrated the return of our favorite day-time weekend activity.
- We congratulated a local icon on taking home a BET award.
- We, uh, smile smiled at Freddie Prinze Jr.'s acting abilities.
- We ambushed West Village with some No Age.
- We marveled at the amount of national press our little burg earned this week.
- And we announced our nominees for this year's DOMAs. (So, uh, go vote already!)
- And we gave you a few free mp3s for download, too...

New Science Projects -- "Wet Sights"

No Age -- "Eraser"

Patty Larkin -- "Hallelujah"

...and that was your week. Coming up soon: Your weekend. --Pete Freedman

Saturday night's show at the Granada might be the best bill of the year--we said so in print already--so, yeah, we're pretty excited. Better yet, we've got two pairs of tickets to give away for the show.

First two people to email me with "Centro-Kadane Fire" in the subject line win 'em. Go!

Update: Contest is over. Congrats to our winners! --Pete Freedman

Denton’s beloved independent music, books, movies and more store, Strawberry Fields, reopens tonight at its new location next to Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio.

Last month, a rent hike forced the venue out of its former Oak Street location, which had been the home of many a DIY rock show. The store will no longer hold shows, but promises to expand its selection of merchandise. From 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. tonight, you can see how the new joint (located at 411 E. Sycamore St.) compares to the old place. Plus, every purchase will include a chance to win a copy of Denton Deluxe. --Jesse Hughey

...Finally.

So, time to put up or shut up: The 2008 Dallas Observer Music Awards ballot is now up and running online.

You know, vote or die. And all that jazz. --Pete Freedman

Just got word from Good Records' C.J. Davis: Shearwater's running a bit late and won't go on for its in-store performance until 6 p.m. today. So, while you can still feel free to ditch work early and head on over to Greenville, you can now take your time in doing so. --Pete Freedman

Proof that the '90s are truly back: Rolling Stone gives the Toadies some love on a blog post today and Spin continues showering the Toadies with hype, this time filming some exclusive acoustic rooftop sets in Manhattan with the Fort Worth boys. --Pete Freedman

Doug Burr, with Glen Farris in the background. (Robert Hudson)

Next week's paper will feature a running diary of sort from Dave Sims in his weekly Denton-focused North of the Dial column. The piece focuses on a recent weekend-long recording session from Doug Burr, his band members and a few other friends, in which the group wrote and recorded a number of psalms Burr had put to music. The recorded sessions will be put out as an album, but Burr band member Glen Farris warns that its not so much a follow-up to Burr's phenomenal On Promenade record--it's more of a side project.

Anyway, you can read all about it next week. In the meantime, though, you might want to mark down Burr and Co.'s Saturday night AllGood Cafe performance on your weekend to-do list. This performance, Farris explains, will be the only time that the group will perform the tracks all the way through...uh, ever. --Pete Freedman

The Party rock the party that rocks the body. (Matt Hawthorne)

Having dominated Dallas' dance floors for two years with their unique approach to “party rock”, The Party continues to roll deep with an entourage of loyal jitterbugs.

Celebrating the two-year anniversary of the creation of their wildly popular DJ collective, Markus Underwood (Nature) and Will Rhoten (Sober) rap to us about the past, future and what it takes to make people wiggle. And The Party, in true form, is throwing themselves a raucous birthday bash at the Zubar tonight--you know, just to remind their fans what makes their music so damned fun.

OK, so, when humans celebrate their second birthdays, they're still considered fledglings. How does The Party rate their own evolution in the last two years?

Rhoten: We’re fully developed.

(Laughter)

Underwood: We’re still getting going to a certain extent. When we started, it was just a night--actually, it was a night in Denton in 2006. Two or three months later, it was me and Scott (Scott Quinn, aka $elect) starting to do parties out here. A month after that it was me, Scott and Will. And when we started getting together as a trio, we set a whole list of goals--big ones. We wanted to do a party here and a party there--all across Texas and tie in this and that. We had a lot of long term goals and I think that, two years down the line, basically, everything that we set out do on paper, we’ve accomplished…and more.

The Party entertains in Dallas, Houston and Austin. Is there a future plan of “world domination?”

Dallas' Play-N-Skillz, a duo of half-Venezuelan, half-Argentinian brothers who both rap on their own songs and produce tracks for others, aren't exactly newcomers to the national hip-hop game--they produced and co-wrote Chamillionaire's huge hit "Ridin'", and they're the beatsmiths behind "Got Money," one of the sure-to-be hits off Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III.

So it doesn't really come as a huge surprise to see that the most recent issue of The Source--the magazine that bills itself as "The Bible of hip-hop"--took some time to meet up with the duo in Dallas for a full-page spread in its most recent issue. Play and Skillz showed off their favorite Dallas hotspots to the mag for its "Whut's Really Hood" feature. Check it out after the jump. --Pete Freedman

Surely, you saw Jesse Hughey's review of New Science Projects' new album, Crocodile, in this week's print edition of DC9.

And, surely, you raised an eyebrow when he crowned the disc's "Wet Sights" as having the Line of the Year in area music: "You can come in my mouth, don't you get near my heart."

Well, here's the track in all it's glory, for you to own...

Bonus mp3: New Science Projects -- "Wet Sights"

..and there you have it. Pretty awesome song, to boot. --Pete Freedman

Oh, to be that guitar!

I never imagined this job would ever lead to opportunities like interviewing a former Hillary Duff tourmate and Seventeen cover boy, but Teddy Geiger was kind enough to tell us about upcoming Peter Cattaneo film The Rocker.

Starring Rainn Wilson, Josh Gadd, Emma Stone and Christina Applegate, it tells the story of a hair-band reject who gets a second shot at glory while drumming for his nephew’s rock band. Judging from this trailer, at least, the movie looks hilarious.

Geiger told us about acting, the similarities between the movie and his real life, and his unorthodox method of letting fans choose which songs will be included on his upcoming album, due out in September.

What was it like on set with all those comedians [including Will Arnett, Fred Armisen and Aziz Ansari]? Were they always “on,” trying to crack each other up, or did they chill out between shots?

They were always on, always joking around with each other. I was kind of the only non-comedian there, so whenever I would try to make a joke, it would go completely silent.

Christina Applegate plays your mom in the movie. She’s somewhat young to be the mother of someone your age, and is still really hot. Was that tense, to have to act like someone that attractive was your mom?

This week, in the blazing afternoon sun, Aural Ambush trudged around West Village on the hunt for citizens who would don our headphones and listen to “Eraser” by No Age. The song is the second track on Nouns, the Los Angeles-based band’s newest album, and its first record on Sub Pop (well, other than the 7-inch-single for “Eraser” that preceded the full-length).

Most of the songs on the album are fuzzed-out, thick-as-gravy and take repeated listenings to appreciate. And, knowing that, we still decided to discover what people on the street had to say. Not surprisingly, their takes varied...

No Age performs on Monday, June 30, at 6 p.m. at Good Records, and later that night with Abe Vigoda and Infinite Body at The Loft.

And if you like the track and you want to hear it again, feel free to download it below for, um, free...

Bonus mp3: No Age -- "Eraser"

And, while we don’t have tickets to give away for the band’s show at The Loft, well, you don’t need tickets to stop by Good Records for the free in-store. --Daniel Rodrigue

We always appreciate it when visual artists and musicians collaborate, whether it’s by putting on a big event, holding a concert in a gallery or museum, or complementing live music with interesting visuals.

But we don’t want to overlook the smaller ways in which visual artists and musicians work together, or the visual artwork created by the musicians themselves. That’s why we're highlighting show flyers in this weekly feature.

A comedy show ought to have a flyer that makes you laugh. And when the show has a name like “Altercation” and bills itself as “Punk Standup Comedy,” it only makes sense that the poster be somewhat confrontational as well.

Enter the Poster of the Week, advertising tonight’s comedy/rock combo platter at The Double-Wide featuring comics J.T. Habersaat, Chris Cubas and more, along with local bands The Dutch Treats, The Hack And Slashers and Stag Film.

This poster looks like the work of Dutch Treat John Freeman, though I haven’t heard back from him about it just yet...

Update: "I believe it was Slacker from the Hack & Slashers," writes Freeman. --Jesse Hughey

As if tomorrow afternoon's event, with Mayor Tom Leppert running a town hall meeting in Deep Ellum, wasn't a little weird to begin with, there's this: Frankie Campagna of Spector 45 will be opening for the mayor.

In other news, I'm gonna be auditioning bands to open for all of my future public appearances, as well. Sure, the pay's crap, but the perks? Eh, they're crap, too. Still, any takers? --Pete Freedman

In case you were curious about what Smile Smile's scene was like, or if you've been wondering if Freddie Prinze Jr.'s acting chops have improved since She's All That, we present the following clip from Jack and Jill vs. The World:

...and your answers are: "Brief!" and "No!"

Still, Smile Smile's been on something of a roll of late: The band was selected as a featured artist by clothing company Diesel earlier this week.

Which I guess means Smile Smile's about to be huge in the Freddie Prinze Jr.-loving, expensive jeans-wearing world. --Pete Freedman

Thanks to the Friend of DC9 who pointed this Pitchfork review out to us before we got around to our own daily surfing this morning.

It's a review of Denton's Pyramids' debut, self-titled record. And according to the 'forker who wrote this piece, the record's, oh, a 6.5 (which, case you forgot, means it's not quite Dual Hawks). This, despite the generally positive tone of the review.

Funniest thing 'bout Pyramids, though, is that, despite being signed to Hydra Head, and despite supposedly calling Denton home, no one seems to know who they are. Plus, they apparently refuse to play live. --Pete Freedman

Two weeks ago, The Cavern began hosting a new weekly Wednesday night series that showcases visual artists and DJs alongside live music performers.

Called Detour, tonight's take on the event features Black Tie Dynasty performing an acoustic set, local photographer Sally Glass showcasing her works on the venue's walls and DJ Schwa spinning records during the dead sound spots. (Glass will also put her musician hat on and return two weeks from now to perform as Fancy Fist on Detour's July 9 date.)

Oh, and by the way: The series is free to attend.

After the jump is a full lineup for the series, provided by the man behind the Cavern’s soundboard and the series, John Mudd. --Jesse Hughey

Seems like the former Talking Heads frontman is working with a Richardson-based robotics expert on an art exhibit currently on display in Spain. Wilonsky's got the story over on Unfair Park. --Pete Freedman

I doubt anyone will mistake the straight-to-DVD release Jack and Jill vs. the World as a great movie (the above trailer certainly doesn't imply as much), but that's not why I bring it up. This is: You'll find Dallas indie pop act Smile Smile's sweet little ditty "Anymore" (a choice little track, by the way) on the film's soundtrack.

Better yet, the duo's song was given some pretty amazing placement.

"We actually got REALLY lucky," writes guitarist and vocalist Ryan Hamilton. "It's at the end of the movie during the climax/turning point of the film. Girl (Taryn Manning) leaves, Boy (Freddie Prinze Jr.) finds out where she's going and hurries after her. During all of this you get to hear a verse and a couple of chorus's of 'Anymore,' which fades into a song by the band Stars (the movie has a great soundtrack)."

...and I'm sure that's his objective opinion. --Pete Freedman

Let's say a) you're lazy and haven't run out to your nearest Observer pickup spot yet, or b) you live in one of the more outlying areas of our circulation and you won't get your copy of this week's paper until later today (or early tomorrow)--and yet, despite this, you still want to know the nominees for our 20th annual Dallas Observer Music Awards.

Well, here's your answer (...well, OK, it's actually after the jump). --Pete Freedman

Sneed's taking off. (Wade Griffith)

Local folk singer/songwriter Dylan Sneed says he's had enough of Dallas. So, at the end of August, he plans on relocating to South Carolina.

After spending most of the past year touring with Kristy Kruger, Sneed was getting set to record the follow-up to 2007’s No Worse for the Wear EP, which was one of last year’s best local releases.

Shame to lose such a talented songwriter--and Sneed’s interesting take on Christian themes in pop music makes the loss especially painful.

The Disney Channel musical Camp Rock (as seen in the above trailer)--which features tween sensations the Jonas Brothers and potential Disney star-in-the-making Demi Lovato and focuses on the happenings at a music-centric summer camp--raked in a whopping 8.9 million viewers on its Friday night debut, making it the second-highest Disney Channel movie debut of all-time (behind the juggernaut that was High School Musical 2).

So, maybe it's not exactly a shocker then that Disney's execs have already started working on the project's sequel. And that's good news for Colleyville's Lovato, who Billboard reports has been confirmed to take part in the project, again in a starring role.

Update: Opps--almost forgot to mention that the Jonas Brothers and Lovato will be hitting the Superpages.com Center stage on Wednesday, July 9, as part of a joint tour. Given that their movie franchise is current booming, it's actually pretty surprising to see that there are still tickets available for this show. But considering that the best available options at this point are lawn seats, I'm guessing that changes in, oh, about five minutes. --Pete Freedman

...and, in turn, the album draws a 6.9 rating. Which is...OK by Pitchfork standards, and far more than a sentence like "Dual Hawks is, for lack of a better word, a double album" (as seen in the review) would itself merit, considering that, even in the writer's usage, "double album" is not so much a word as a two-part term.

But, I digress. It's actually a pretty fair review and, aside from that small, petty, already-mentioned gripe, it's pretty well-put critique. Better than most, I'd say, eh, Idolator?

Update: Once-upon-a-time Dallasites The Secret Machines also get a nod from the 'fork today, but only in one of those "Hey, we just got a press release about an upcoming tour" items. (But, for the record, some of you might be pleased to know there's a Dallas date on there: Friday, August 1, at House of Blues). --Pete Freedman