D Nuts || September 29, 2006
A few weeks ago, the Nuts section debuted with some major label speculation surrounding The Strange Boys. I've been suspecting big things about the group for some time, from their New York and California booking and management to the number of grey-haired rich dudes admiring their insatiable, Nuggets-perfect garage rock at SXSW '06 (and I knew these weren't their parents).
But upon hearing that last nugget of news, I didn't contact the band or its lawyer, Wofford Denius, hoping instead that they might find my little Web site and immediately respond. (I used to be a respectable journalist, I swear.)
Thankfully, while I was out of town, somebody with some information took notice, as I found this in my text message pool upon return to Dallas:
dude... little birdy told me strange boys signed to downtown / atlantic.
Soon called the unknown number; the tipster asked to remain anonymous but is a dependable (and prominent) enough Dallas music fellow, so I buy his story. The band and the tipster have a mutual friend in California who works for the William Morris Agency (and recently landed the Boys a sweet string of San Fran gigs, no less). WMA guy is a huge fan and three weeks ago, he reaches out to an A&R friend of his: "They're blowing up, you should nab 'em!" The A&R response: "Way ahead of you." Turns out that while in SF, the band had been courted and signed to Downtown, a subsidiary of Atlantic that has released records by Art Brut and Gnarls Barkley.
Damn, I guess I should give the band a call.
"The only thing I have to tell you is that we're in the studio right now [Palmyra Studios in Palmer, TX] recording for a full-length," bassist Phillip Sambol says, "but we're not in negotiations with Downtown or for that matter anybody. [The album]'s not really being financed by anyone."
Sambol says their friend who owns the studio is allowing the band to record the full-length for free...but no comment was made about any producers or engineers on the session. When I pushed for more information about where this label story came from, he only had this to add: "There's a whole bunch of things going on, but nothing is fully confirmed." He had a few more comments, but none on the record, and none that confirmed any actual contract or signed papers with Downtown (or any other label). As far as he's concerned, the band's unsigned...but don't go trusting me on that one.
In the meantime, the group has been in the studio "since the day we got back from California" and is working on roughly 13 songs. Judging by the average Strange Boys song length, the album will probably have a 15 minute runtime. Sambol's asked me to call him back in the near future; when the album's done, I'll have more to update. Was the story total bunk? Did negotiations fall through? Or is this just a calculated air of mystery? My vote...um...a combination of all three.
--
MySpace bitching and bickering is always good fodder for D Nuts, right? Of course not. I was alerted to this rant from a former Curtain Club/Clearview employee and, unfortunately, saw nothing new--inside politics and jackassery have reigned at that complex for many years (as is the case with your average independent nightclub). But I prowled around this kid's page and saw a more interesting rant--a look at recent Deep Ellum construction from the point of view of a meter-dependent employee. Honestly, I've never known where the hell club employees park down there--figured the clubs have lots of their own--but if the city is really displacing Deep Ellum employees, that seems like a grave concern. E-mail me if this guy's on to something (or if he's full of it, for that matter). -SM
But upon hearing that last nugget of news, I didn't contact the band or its lawyer, Wofford Denius, hoping instead that they might find my little Web site and immediately respond. (I used to be a respectable journalist, I swear.)
Thankfully, while I was out of town, somebody with some information took notice, as I found this in my text message pool upon return to Dallas:
dude... little birdy told me strange boys signed to downtown / atlantic.
Soon called the unknown number; the tipster asked to remain anonymous but is a dependable (and prominent) enough Dallas music fellow, so I buy his story. The band and the tipster have a mutual friend in California who works for the William Morris Agency (and recently landed the Boys a sweet string of San Fran gigs, no less). WMA guy is a huge fan and three weeks ago, he reaches out to an A&R friend of his: "They're blowing up, you should nab 'em!" The A&R response: "Way ahead of you." Turns out that while in SF, the band had been courted and signed to Downtown, a subsidiary of Atlantic that has released records by Art Brut and Gnarls Barkley.
Damn, I guess I should give the band a call.
"The only thing I have to tell you is that we're in the studio right now [Palmyra Studios in Palmer, TX] recording for a full-length," bassist Phillip Sambol says, "but we're not in negotiations with Downtown or for that matter anybody. [The album]'s not really being financed by anyone."
Sambol says their friend who owns the studio is allowing the band to record the full-length for free...but no comment was made about any producers or engineers on the session. When I pushed for more information about where this label story came from, he only had this to add: "There's a whole bunch of things going on, but nothing is fully confirmed." He had a few more comments, but none on the record, and none that confirmed any actual contract or signed papers with Downtown (or any other label). As far as he's concerned, the band's unsigned...but don't go trusting me on that one.
In the meantime, the group has been in the studio "since the day we got back from California" and is working on roughly 13 songs. Judging by the average Strange Boys song length, the album will probably have a 15 minute runtime. Sambol's asked me to call him back in the near future; when the album's done, I'll have more to update. Was the story total bunk? Did negotiations fall through? Or is this just a calculated air of mystery? My vote...um...a combination of all three.
--
MySpace bitching and bickering is always good fodder for D Nuts, right? Of course not. I was alerted to this rant from a former Curtain Club/Clearview employee and, unfortunately, saw nothing new--inside politics and jackassery have reigned at that complex for many years (as is the case with your average independent nightclub). But I prowled around this kid's page and saw a more interesting rant--a look at recent Deep Ellum construction from the point of view of a meter-dependent employee. Honestly, I've never known where the hell club employees park down there--figured the clubs have lots of their own--but if the city is really displacing Deep Ellum employees, that seems like a grave concern. E-mail me if this guy's on to something (or if he's full of it, for that matter). -SM
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