tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298289172008-05-09T14:00:09.900-05:00Sam M.noreply@blogger.comBlogger371125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-14066816403874019822008-05-09T13:28:00.004-05:002008-05-09T14:00:10.529-05:00

News has been trickling out of the Toadies camp ever since they self-leaked footage of a new album being recorded a few months ago. The news has ramped up recently as well--they're performing at an upcoming Stars playoff game, they're starting their own music fest at Possum Kingdom Lake, they're announcing more tour dates... the next step seems obvious. Wedged into today's Dd spam folder, right

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-73450718310197244882008-04-02T12:29:00.003-05:002008-04-02T19:03:26.760-05:00

Another casualty of not being anywhere near town--I totally miss the boat on stories like this. The Pitchfork story, strangely, doesn't make any mention that ear woundee Josh Baish runs Rubber Gloves in Denton ... uh, yeah, it does. Though I totally glossed over the blurry photo. More information, of course, can be found at Denton Rock City. While I'm here, I might as well send an apology to

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-63442896484526545392008-02-29T12:49:00.003-06:002008-02-29T13:45:58.078-06:00

Music writing for a local paper is tough enough without being new to the town in question. The job is naturally social--you go to smaller shows, become a familiar face in venues, get to know the people making things happen. That can cloud judgment enough as it is; what if you've got the added burden of taking everything you hear in a club at face value? When you're new to a music city, you might

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-50208362714342300272008-02-22T14:15:00.004-06:002008-02-22T14:28:06.821-06:00

Made plans to attend this weekend's Melodica Festival in Exposition Park? Don't know what it is? Head to Stereo On Strike for details about schedule, ticketing and so on, or go to We Shot JR for great info (such as a really solid interview with Silver Apples founder Simeon). Find a nice parking spot, hang out, and see the wide variety of crazy and forward-thinking music that Melodica has to offer

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-52383716910613932122008-02-22T01:42:00.002-06:002008-02-22T01:56:58.603-06:00

I was sad to hear about the dissolution of Denton's Current Leaves over half a year ago, though I always wondered what would happen with the final album lead singer and songwriter Aaron White had touted back in August. Lucky us, he decided to leak the band's sophomore Parsons-pop album in a post on Denton Rock City, and you'd be a fool to pass up these eight songs in convenient, free,

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-24395959437296258092008-02-15T14:54:00.005-06:002008-02-15T15:58:35.714-06:00

You'll be seeing a little more of me around these parts for a bit, thanks to this. You should go to the Double-Wide tonight. Bridges and Blinking Lights headline tonight's solid showcase, and if you haven't heard their record from last year (which will receive a shit-ton of praise in the oft-delayed Dd 2007 Local List), you are missing out on one of the most refined, bewildering and complete

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-11386978893484611612008-02-07T12:38:00.000-06:002008-02-07T13:43:57.746-06:00

The first huge, official list of SXSW '08 bands went live today. Current running tally: 1,594. Sheezus. Local representation is as follows (though roughly 1/3 of these were previously announced). Dallas: Bavu Blakes, Big Red Rooster, Ryan Cabrera, The Crash That Took Me, Faux Fox, The Feds, The Hourly Radio, Joe Jonas, Kenny & The Kasuals, Lumba, Mission to the Sea, Mitra, The Mullens, The New

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-36730109552771224102008-02-01T11:09:00.000-06:002008-02-01T11:17:04.053-06:00

Huge weekend in DFW, so let get going... Two big shows at Hal Samples' Space starting tonight with Pikhasso from PPT's Help Me Help them benefit. Bring your old (or buy some new) winter hats, scarves, gloves, shoes, or anything else that helps keep warm to donate to the homeless of the Dallas area and check out a fantastic local hip hop line up that features PPT, Money Waters, The Boondox,

hansfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09283762213712999077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-73396541777413987152008-01-17T11:06:00.000-06:002008-01-17T11:31:41.049-06:00

You'd think that even though I'm this many miles away, I'd still at least have the nerve to pick up a copy of Spin Magazine when it dedicated an entire article to Dallas' music scene. Thing is, even if they gave Corn Mo a 12-page spread on accordion fashion trends (good idea, BTW), I'd still rather not pay to read the Blender of music magazines. Hey, I know that table! Tree Wave poses for the

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-43532557087239116612008-01-16T09:16:00.000-06:002008-01-16T09:19:38.390-06:00

Quick update while Sam and I work on our year end lists and get our shiz together. We have a pair of tickets to give away for the Les Savy Fav show at The Loft @ The Palladium this Friday night. Shoot an email to bigdlittled@gmail.com with LSF as the subject by 3pm today and we will let you know if you win. More later. Jasun

hansfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09283762213712999077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-85421127904373256862008-01-11T16:54:00.000-06:002008-01-11T16:58:48.097-06:00

I've got picks lined up, but dammit, I need to go home and listen to a few more things before I hammer my picks into the stone slab of the Internet. Expect them to finally get uploaded by Sunday night. In the meantime, make sure to attend tonight's We Shot JR showcase at Sloppyworld (Exposition Park). Transoma 5, The Theater Fire and many others. Must-see. BYOB. Enjoy it! -SM

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-13863701071590461262008-01-03T08:59:00.001-06:002008-01-03T09:50:23.649-06:00

Tonight kicks off Spune Productions' Thursday night residency at 8.0 in downtown Fort Worth. Dd favorites Eleven Hundred Springs, 100 Damn Guns and Glen Farris provide the live music and the great DJ Burlap will be spinning records afterwards, so bring your boots. The shows will be inside, on 8.0's new indoor stage, so there is no fear of freezing your ass off. Future Thursday nights will

hansfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09283762213712999077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-20081490951826891392007-12-26T15:02:00.001-06:002007-12-26T15:15:34.752-06:00

Hope everybody's holidays are going well. A consistent lack of posts will continue until the new year, I'm afraid, but in the meantime, I strongly advise you to peruse the Dallas Observer's all-local year-end list. Written entirely by locals who I was proud to work with back in the day, this list is, for the most part, damn good. Too bad it's buried in a swath of corporate, pre-packaged shit, too

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-2368879631697975612007-12-07T11:38:00.001-06:002007-12-07T11:45:59.880-06:00

One of Dd's favorite people, and one third of PPT, Pikahsso is in the final 3 of VH1's ecritic contest. Pik's "Militant Movie Moment" review of Rob Zombie's Halloween is light years ahead of the other 2 finalists, so lets not let some douchewagon from NYC win this contest. Vote Here! -Jasun

hansfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09283762213712999077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-90499289749037004452007-12-05T09:52:00.000-06:002007-12-05T11:23:02.262-06:00

Win them before you can buy them style, our friends over at The Palladium have supplied us with a set of tickets to the February 2nd Band of Horses show. Band of Horses put on one of the best live shows around (think My Morning Jacket minus the Flaming Lips shenanigans) and this will be their first trip through DFW since releasing this year's fantastic Cease to Begin. How to win: Cease to Begin

hansfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09283762213712999077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-54892053079416611292007-11-29T13:09:00.000-06:002007-11-30T13:56:07.430-06:00

Remember when I said I was gonna post my take on the music editor changeover at the Dallas Observer? That happened two weeks ago, and in the time since the news broke, it seems like everything that needed to be said has come out of the woodwork in one way or another. If you care, my favorite piece in the interim was by former DO music editor Zac Crain over at his (relatively) new FrontBurner digs

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-41316904551788950642007-11-28T11:58:00.001-06:002007-11-28T14:03:42.691-06:00

Alela Diane is easily my favorite songwriting find of the past year; the Nevada City, CA native took me by surprise at this year's SXSW festival, and I've grown even fonder of the gal ever since--good thing I moved to Seattle, then, as she's played three times here since my June move. I was hoping you guys would someday hear what I've been gushing about, and you almost got your chance. Fellow

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-83262587997446041902007-11-27T15:29:00.001-06:002007-11-27T15:34:03.122-06:00

No, I haven't been busy preparing an application to send to the Dallas Observer. I've been busy for various reasons: I managed to snag a short-term job doing some editing and marketing work at Amazon here in Seattle, and because the job will keep me busy through Christmas, I zipped to Dallas for a last-minute trip last week to visit family (and leave JUST IN TIME for a Baboon and Tame...Tame &

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-45897403169854135642007-11-15T14:20:00.000-06:002007-11-15T14:32:36.429-06:00

Our longtime friend Chelsea Callahan generally throws great concerts for her annual birthday party, and this year's edition at the Double Wide is up to snuff. Glen Farris and Dove Hunter open, and they're proven Dd favorites, so if you have to go to bed early, you can still enjoy the gig's early half (9-11). Dallas' Justin Wilson is up next to unveil his 4,000th band, Brake! Vegas--sounds like

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-43443743427242899922007-11-15T10:48:00.000-06:002007-11-15T12:47:25.740-06:00

The anonymous rumors have been confirmed by Dada co-owner Amanda Newman, reported with a conversation with the very woman in question: Jonanna Widner is no longer music editor at the Dallas Observer. I'm assuming the Observer will make its own statement about the matter before the end of the day, presumably on their blog, so until then, I'll withhold anything in the way of comment or speculation.

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-77927742688187859212007-11-13T13:52:00.000-06:002007-11-13T14:32:44.016-06:00

Fishboy's playing a free CD release show at Good Records tonight, and if you want to hear his best record to date, you should attend (or, if you can't, consider testing the album at http://www.farewellalbatross.com, where Fishboy is streaming the new album for free). The in-store kicks off "at 6:30 p.m.," which usually becomes 7 p.m., so plan accordingly. -SM

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-91525381150672389812007-11-09T16:36:00.000-06:002007-11-09T16:43:54.807-06:00

Bridges and Blinking Lights have a CD release show at Rubber Gloves on Saturday, November 10. Red Monroe and George Neal open. This should be grand. We Shot JR will have more picks, obviously, but I'd click that MySpace link and pencil this gig in if I were you. Those sample songs are somethin' else. -SM

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-935368330531019172007-11-09T15:51:00.000-06:002007-11-09T15:57:01.103-06:00

Jasun and I are in mourning today, as we just received some crappy news in our inbox: "Hogpig has decided to end Hogpig. There's a slight possibility of a last show, but it's only slight. Hogpig would like to thank everyone who came out and saw them and supported them." Shame they couldn't have waited until they saw how well they're gonna stack up on Dd's 2007 Local List, but considering

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-65317556230074201182007-11-07T11:59:00.000-06:002007-11-07T12:56:01.207-06:00

No, not against the failed bid to block the Trinity River toll road--the yuppies and business owners got their way with that one yesterday. Rather, this is an instance in which your direct words and actions can make more impact than slipping a ballot into a box. I was at the Gypsy Tea Room "Town Hall" meeting on the day Laura Miller pranced in and duped a music district into signing over their

Sam M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29828917.post-39437600296125359602007-11-05T11:03:00.000-06:002007-11-05T12:59:14.426-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a belated Dd anniversary rant, aimed largely at Dallas-area media's failure to live up to its artistic responsibilities. The rant put more heat on the Dallas Observer's recent failings in music coverage, but that's only because I've already spent the majority of my music writing career aiming a target at local stink-station 102.1 The Edge. Did I really need to

Sam M.noreply@blogger.com