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...

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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a two-page letter outlining how things went sour between him and his label and why he was frustrated with the label’s outdated business model.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Records, haven't heard of it, you should check it out), Island records simply wouldn't depart from their sluggish, outdated, and clearly flawed corporate model of trying to 'break' a new artist.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

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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...

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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.

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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.

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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?”

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