Rise in Three Days || Sept. 29-Oct. 1

Man, what better weekend to start doling out recommendations than this one? Hope you hibernated and built up some fat up during the week, because you may find yourself trucking all over the place with so many quality free/cheap shows around town.

Friday, September 29
early: Oklahoma's Evangelicals perform at Good Records at 6 p.m. for free. They've been taken under the Flaming Lips' wings for some time, and you can definitely hear Oklahoma-friendly, acid-tinged influences in their cheerfully erratic tunes. But the band's slight alt-country undertones are certainly in line with their labelmates on Misra (Centro-matic, Shearwater), so don't be turned off too much if you're all Lips'ed out. Plus it's, uh, free, and right before dinner, no less.

Thesis
evening: I'll level with ya; Final Friday at the Gypsy Tea Room is never a sure thing. But tonight's installment comes pretty close, from the surprising inclusion of white-hot dance party man DJ Nature to a performance by the best new soul singer in town, Thesis. She alone is worth entry, and you'll have to trust me on this one; her singing ability, knack for songwriting, incredible live band and sense of humor just don't translate on her MySpace page. It's frefreshing to hear a strong singer--soul or otherwise--come out these days without annoying Beyonce/A.Idol vocal trickery, so lap up Thesis while you can before she blows up.

I know as many people who detest HOGPIG as those who love 'em. "Educated southern cock rock" is a dream for some and an oxymoron for others. Either way, you won't find another band that will tackle a song titled "Fuck You, Mike Love" as seriously as these guys, and I think that's admirable no matter how you feel about the group. Unfortunately, that seriousness hasn't yet translated into the band's first full-length album, STILL in production...bitch at them to get back to work when they make a drive from d to D to play the Amsterdam Bar tonight with fellow Denton spirits Paul Slavens and John Freeman (performing as one-man wrecking crew The Dutch Treats).

Stuck in Fort Worth? Eaton Lake Tonics play at the Moon Bar, and for country-inflicted pop-rock, they're pretty promising, though you'll have to endure Sunday Drive's sorority crowd while you're there.

Saturday, September 30
early: Since I'm a proud East Dallasite, you can frequently find me buying snacks and beverages at the Lakewood Texaco at the corner of Skillman and Live Oak. Really, any place with Odwalla Bars on tap can expect my purchasing dollar. I also look forward to the gas station's annual end-of-summer parties, complete with dunking tanks, free food, dancing Indian hotties and live music. This year's no exception, as my pals in The Zapruder Sequence, fresh off the completion of their first full-length album (Pretty Girl Charm Lies, produced by Stuart Sikes), take the outdoor stage at roughly 7 p.m. (If you're a huge ZS fan, see them at Club Dada on Friday night, where they'll hand out free CD-R copies of their album before its proper release.)

Hell, the whole afternoon's loaded with quality free stuff. Good Records hosts a DJ Shadow in-store concert at 2:30 p.m. (which, even if it's packed, should still be roomy thanks to what looks like access on the 2nd floor, finally). And Hailey's hosts a free, all-day Spune Productions Back to School Bash starting at 2 p.m. with first acts Glen Farris, Electric Mountain Rotten Apple Gang and Warren Jackson Hearne putting on a solid back-to-back-to-back reason to show up on time.

evening: Dd.com is an unabashed fan of Erie'an Jason Molina, so my rec for his Magnolia Electric Co. gig should be taken with a grain of bias. But his Rubber Gloves appearance has an extra ace in its opening act's sleeves: Tre Orsi, a Denton mega-trio that, for whatever reason, hasn't been touted anywhere around town yet. Criminal! Echo Lab super-producer Matt Barnhart, South San Gabriel hand Bryan VanDivier and multi-instrumental lord-n-savior Howard Draper are scary dudes by their lonesomes...you can hear a pretty good taste of their fusion with the gorgeous Silkworm cover on their MySpace page.

I saw Scandinavian songwriter Jose Gonzalez at SXSW and fell in love, though the friend I went with called the guy "boring" and stormed off. Yes, he's just a dude with an acoustic guitar, but dudes with guitars come and go by the thousands, yet Gonzalez really sticks in my head. If you like Nick Drake in any way, load that link up and give Ho-Gonz (hip new nickname, you like it?!) a sample. You may find yourself involuntarily wandering toward the Gypsy Tea Room on Saturday evening to see him as a result.

Golden Falcons
I had to turn down an invite to host the Dallas Observer Music Awards Losers showcase at Club Dada, and not because I really don't understand the appeal of Shanghai 5. Just too many things to do this Saturday. But if you're short on cash and unable to drive to the all-day-n-night Spune deal, PPT and The Golden Falcons will entertain the dickens out of you for free.

Sunday, October 1
Going to Austin for any reason? Centro-matic's Will Johnson teams up with Richard Buckner at Emo's for what looks to be a killer songwriter showcase. Otherwise, boot up the TV and catch up with all of your fictional friends on Sunday. You know, like Terrell Owens.

...to review! (cue Mr. Rogers theme)
Friday
Evangelicals @ Good Records, 6 p.m., free
Final Friday (with Thesis) @ Gypsy, 10 p.m.ish, $10
HOGPIG 'n' pals @ Amsterdam, "9 p.m." (probably 10 p.m.), $5
Saturday
Spune All-Day Showcase @ Hailey's, 2 p.m., free 21+, $5 under
DJ Shadow @ Good Records, 2:30 p.m., free
Zapruder Sequence @ Lakewood Texaco, 7 p.m.ish, free
Magnolia Electric Co., Tre Orsi @ Rubber Gloves, 10 p.m., $12
Jose Gonzalez @ Gypsy, doors either at 8 or 9 p.m., $12
PPT, Golden Falcons @ Dada, 9 p.m., free
Sunday
go to Austin or watch Desperate Housewives

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

And We're Live! || September 28, 2006

I told you the site would launch today. You didn't doubt me, did you? Hey, one sec. [pant, wheeze]

Thanks for visiting, all 1,000 of you (holy crap!). The first editorial has finally gone live, while the first full Dd.com feature will hit that left-hand column on Tuesday evening. What's it about? You can probably guess...

Tomorrow, you can expect a delicious, heaping portion of D Nuts, some concert tips and a Cheyenne concert review. (Kidding.) See ya then. -SM

Are You Gonna Be My Rag || September 21, 2006

My nightmare has begun.

I'm only a few hours away from my flight back to the States (stopping in Seattle for a few days before returning to my favorite letters D), which means I have some procrastinating time to check hometown Web sites (I know I'm late to this, but have you gotten We Shot JR's amazing mix MP3 yet?).

Unfortunately, one is looking as unfamiliar as can be. The Dallas Observer's music section, in only its third full edition since my departure, has melted down to exactly what I was afraid of. Take a good look at the bylines that run through the section--recognize any? You might if you're obsessed with the 19-city-strong Village Voice Media syndicate; Garrett Kamps and Olivia Flores Alvarez are full-time VVM writers/editors in different cities, while Tim Hammill, Bob Ruggiero and D.X. Ferris are freelancers who (as far as I know) don't live anywhere near Dallas (and certainly haven't been part of the paper's usual freelancing roster). Those five writers are responsible for the brunt of the coverage, ranging from great artists (M. Ward) to questionable ones (Bullet For My Valentine?) to the bottom of the sewer (heya, Jet!).

Let's be fair: it's not as if I never 1) used syndicated content or 2) focused strongly on national acts in a given week as music editor. But the number of local writers in this edition is alarmingly thin, as is the utter emphasis on national acts. Is this just a case of a bad week, the staff scrambling to fill a few pages when the new music editor hasn't yet arrived in town? Did some local writers drop out suddenly, forcing the editors to jump to plan B? Wouldn't surprise me; I was the victim of the latter and know how fun that can be. And the local column is quite solid (Noah W. Bailey's take on local festivals is a solid try-out for a position that's already been filled), as are the critics' picks (good to see Michael Chamy contributing again). But if you take a good, hard look at the kinds of articles filling the main pages (feature, B-sides), you might agree with me that a premeditated change of pace may very well be setting up camp on the hallowed Dallas Observer pages. Dallas, Denton and Fort Worth: If you're not careful--or vocal--you might be kissing your local rag's musical focus goodbye within a month. Until then, sleep sweet, Jet-filled dreams. -SM

D Nuts || September 9, 2006

Trying to enjoy my vacation, but as I was sending an "I'm in Uganda and haven't died yet" e-mail to friends, I noticed this little update from former Pleasant Grove drummer Paul Burrough and couldn't help but post it. Here ya go (in its unedited glory):

this'll be the one and only O-fficial statement regarding my departure from the fab dallas band Pleasant Grove, so here's to hopin' it makes at least a little sense:

In short, my dedication to the band had finished...ehhh..."running it's course" over the past couple of months. I was growing increasingly weary of the drunken shows, lack of direction, and overall blase approach toward everything, including-but-not-limited-to keeping your instruments and amplifiers out of the pawn shop for shows and practice (i won't mention any name(s)). So, I simply up-and-left. I really regretted it initially. Things were tense at first, and some ugly stuff was said, but we're all merrily headed in different directions now. Supposedly, my departure has kick-started a new wave of motivation amongst the boys...and I hope that's true. I'll always be a fan...i just don't wanna deal with the ugly side of it anymore. I still respect Bret and Marcus as songwriters tremendously. Without sounding too condescending...the band really needs some tough-lovin' management that can stay on their asses every waking moment...a band-nanny, if you will. If they're able to muster enough gumption to finish the next record, it'll be fantastic...i'm sure of it. That's my story in a nutshell. Godspeed, PG!

PS. keep your eyes peeled and ears perked for the triumphant return of one Jeffrey Ryan.

Adios, mofos

Paul David Burrough

As far as I'm concerned, I won't believe Jeff's return until I see it; to be as nice as I can, the things Paul says in this e-mail sound MIGHTY familiar after talking to Jeff in the past. But PG would be incredibly lucky if this turns out to be true; Jeff's recent playmanship in Chao has proven that he hasn't lost a bit of his remarkable, unique touch since departing the Grove. Don't expect many more updates while I'm away, but if I see any other juicy e-mails while I'm outta town, I'll probably post them. I'm too dedicated to this crap. -SM

D Nuts || September 5, 2006

After my Good Show appearance on Sunday night, I hauled ass to Dallas, and not because I had issues with FtW. No, the Deathray Davies were playing a gig at a pretty unusual venue: The Old Monk, a Knox/Henderson watering hole known more for D Magazine editors than rock fans, and the concert was about as makeshift as can be. Still, no stage, terrible sound and a very confused crowd combined for a surprisingly decent show.

While I was there, I ran into Marcus Striplin. He hadn't yet heard about my untimely demise, so I told him the sad tale, and he responded with his own sad tale: drummer Paul Burrough had left Pleasant Grove. No reason was given (only a Spinal Tap joke), so when I got home, I checked the band's MySpace page, which Paul usually maintained. Sure enough, his name had been deleted from the "members" list, and the band hadn't announced the departure. I'll assume it was messy on somebody's part. It's a huge blow to PG, who just picked up talented multi-instrumentalist Chris Mayes a few short months ago and seemed to be on pace to finally wrap up their next full-length LP. Here's to hoping that Burrough's parts were already recorded/completed; hopes for a new, stable drummer are suspect, as the band has a nasty reputation of losing talented members (Joe Butcher, Jeff Ryan and now the Burrough).

Would hate for the first D Nuts installment to end on a sour note, though, so here's an intriguing bit of news; Robert Jenkins (owner of Summer Break Records, laywer 'bout town, one half of the never-updated DConstruction) tells me that he recently received a phone call from a laywer representing the Strange Boys. This lawyer (whose name I've forgotten, sue me, I'm packing for freakin' Uganda here) has represented a few bands around town in recent years, most notably the Old 97's, and most of those bands (according to Jenkins) were on the verge of major label antics when they employed his services. Jenkins claims that he still owns the rights to the Strange Boys' first album, States Newest Noise Makers, and that the lawyer in question was asking how much it'd cost to buy the rights to it. Jenkins has asked me to put two and two together, so here I go: The Strange Boys probably aren't far from announcing a full-on record label signing, and if their lawyer is trying to tie up loose ends with the use of a sizeable checking account, it's probably likely that the label in question isn't TXMF. Hopefully, I'll have plenty more to report by the time I'm back home. See ya Sept. 28!

And in the meantime, feel free to e-mail tips and tidbits. And while you're at it, say hello to some Internet friends.