Ghost Mice | Benny Lenny | Hoop Dreamz | County Lines (1919 Hemphill) Ghostmice continued where Operation Cliff Clavin left off, but with a significant lineup change, then adding a random member in France, and dropping the electric guitar altogether for an acoustic, campfire-punk sound. Okay, so they didn't really continue where OCC left off at all, except that the music itself is structurally similar, with the same kind of unsubtle, childishly hyper vocals and heavily political and preachy lyrics found in so much pop-punk. I've always had a hard time with that particular vocal-style, but I'm sure the many that disagree with me will make this a good time at 1919 tonight. Hoop Dreamz has a very positive, melodic, 90's underground sound and features members of Teenage Cool Kids and Trifle Tower. Excellent job on limiting their cassette release to 23 copies, as a tribute to Air Jordan.
Son Volt | Doug Burr (Dan's Silverleaf) So I'm listening to Son Volt's single, "The Picture," from their newest record, and as it starts I think, "Hey, some Motown-horns, better than I thought so far." Then some overly wordy and unwelcome line in the lyrics clumsily appears, in this case, "Bad air index on a flashing warning sign," and that's all I can really handle. I know it's important that Jay Farrar was in Uncle Tupelo, but I could have predicted that he would someday write a lyric like that about ten years ago. As soon as singer-songwriters hit forty, they always start getting upset about totally everyday shit. Let me guess, his next album will be about "the news" or how there's "nothing on television." Kidding aside, it will obviously be a lot more of an enjoyable experience to see Son Volt at Dan's Silverleaf than any of the big Dallas venues that they seem more likely to have played.
Top Notch Thursdays with Sober (The Cavern) I'm not sure if this is a weekly, but I'll take Sober at The Cavern over most things at The Cavern.
UME | Record Hop | The League Of Fucking Decency (The Lounge) I have been curious to see The League Of Fucking Decency. They have these nerdy, obnoxious, group vocals that sound like Kustomized, with a similarly big guitar sound. But more importantly, where has Record Hop been lately?
Robert Bruce Weaver III/Warren Jackson Hearne | Will E. Lee (J & J's Pizza) This show reminds me of the famous Johnny Cash quote about his closet, "It's dark in there." Music at Ten.
Also, Graff, Tag and Bomb: the Influence of Graffiti opens on Tuesday (March 3rd) at the UNT Art Gallery, and the show will feature work from Tony Bones, Sergio Garcia, Mark S. Nelson, and Soner.
This Will Destroy You | Mom | Shapes Stars Make (Granada Theater) This Will Destroy You. Shapes Stars Make. These are the kinds of band names that should trigger alarms to anyone with a pulse, as they seem to signify groups who are into expressing their emotions and "experimenting" with "atmospherics" and long, loud instrumental build ups and other stuff that Explosions in the Sky does. It's "earnest" music, and it usually sucks. San Marcos' This Will Destroy You recently released a split EP with Lymbyc System, which sounds like its probably pretty boring, and although their music is admittedly "well crafted" and often relaxing and nice and all that, I can honestly barely tell the difference between them and local openers Shapes Stars Make, and its hard to find a single compelling reason to dig deep enough to find descriptors other than "Post-rock" to share with you. Of course, that's probably too complimentary-- a lot of this stuff sounds like Coldplay without the vocals, if you want to get right down to it. And as a side note, apparently Mom has changed their name to Sleep Whale in an effort to, uh, I don't know.... Isn't there already a guy named Chase Whale? I wonder if he's pissed?
Lost Generation with DJ Mr. Rid/Redsean | Blixaboy (The Lounge)
And for those interested, we have an update on a new Dallas DIY venue in the news section, new pictures up in the photos section, and yes, after some problems over the past 24 hours, our show calendar is up and running again (although we are still doing some work on it here and there).
NOTE: THE NO IDEA FEST HAS BEEN MOVED TO LOLA'S STOCKYARDS AT 105 WEST EXCHANGE (817) 386-5008 No Idea Fest (Lola's Stockyards) If you haven't heard, the No Idea Festival begins its bi-state, multi-city journey in North Texas tonight, an improbable location (and perhaps even more so if you consider the venue) for an event with support from not only the Austin Cultural Arts Division, but The National Endowment For The Arts, as well as cultural councils out of Berlin and Switzerland. I'm always amazed and impressed when people can actually snag grants and funding for their events, especially when they involve violin improvisations, drone electronics, and guitarists that play with the instrument flat on its back. It's hard enough to get people to go to such events for free, much less convince a government funded institution to help out. Excellent work. The mix of classically trained composers along with performers who are more used to J and J's should be a fascinating one. Tonight's event is split into three sets with different performers assigned to each. Order is as follows:
With all of the excitement surrounding this evening's portion of the no idea festival at Lola's, I'm taking the opportunity to share one of my personal favorite pieces of improvisational music.
Airway was a project of Joe Potts, a member of the Los Angeles Free Music Society. This version of the these recordings were taken from the LAFMS box set, The Lowest Form of Music (Cortical Foundation, 1996), which are apparently "different in feeling" from the original vinyl release. Both the record and it's limited individual cd release on Harbinger Sound are fucking impossible to find, or retardedly expensive, so I can only provide this one.
I can ramble on about this shit, but I think the liner notes are much more concise than anything I can say, so here goes:
"In the Spring of 1977, Joe Potts released the single, "Airway" as part of an art exhibition at the Lunami Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. The show featured morgue photographs with imbedded subliminal messages. The Airway single and the poster, which served as its sleeve, were designed to be taken home by the viewers to subliminally reinforce the message put out at the exhibition. After the exhibit, Chip Chapman and Joe put together a crude tape delay and processing system out of new and used bits and pieces (most prominently miles of tangled patch cords), in the hopes of recreating live, the "wall of Sound" effect from the single. The setup was revised for every performance, with varying degrees of success. The subliminal message which the music masked changed every time as well. This performance at LACE was Airway's first live performance. The gallery was on the third floor. During the performance the audience streamed out of the room until it was nearly empty. When the music stopped, a cheer came from outside. The volume level was so high that the drywall and hardwood floor vibrated like speaker cones, so apparently the optimum listening point was three floors below and across the street. This is the original uncut version of the recording, rather than the trimmed version released on vinyl as LAFMS #6. Recorded live 8-78. (SEE ESSAY). AIRWAY-Vetza; vocals, Dennis Duck; sax, Rick Potts; mandolin, Juan Gomez; bass guitar, Tom Recchion; drums, Chip Chapman; circuits, Joe Potts; circuits, tapes.
...so we figured we'd use this space to give you a brief head's up about tomorrow's No Idea Fest at Lola's in Ft. Worth. Curated in part by the members of Zanzibar Snails, the festival is celebrating its sixth year of existence this year, and will be making its first appearance in the DFW area. The Ft. Worth edition of the festival (there will also be performances in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and New Orleans) will feature several prominent improvisational musicians who have earned a great deal of respect in improv circles worldwide, including Annette Krebs, Jason Kahn and Tatsuya Nakatani.
Click the links for more info, but in case you want to read a little first, here are some excerpts from the bios Michael Chamy recently helped put together for his festival blog:
Annette Krebs:
Guitarist Annette Krebs is a key member of a young group of Berlin musicians who emerged in the late 20th century with a new, radical, and influential musical aesthetic. This group of artists, sometimes called the Reductionist school, mix composition and improvisation to form a music for which silence is as potent as sound. Dynamics are important, and part of the aesthetic involves extremely quiet gestures that draw the listener in, focusing the ear on subtle detail. Juxtaposition is a key component, as the expected and the unexpected are deftly employed elements of composition. Krebs, a master of musical texture, may seem more like a sculptor than a guitar player. A classically trained performer, Krebs has radically reinvented the guitar to suit her music. She lays the guitar—an amplified one—flat on a table and precisely carves out sonic shapes and colors from a variety of objects applied to the instrument. The result is fascinating. A window between action and sound is made clear. Process and composition are revealed. Through amplification, microscopic sound is enlarged, as with a magnifying glass, to become the material for music-making.
Jason Kahn:
Jason Kahn's work includes sound installation, performance and composition. He was born in New York in 1960, grew up in Los Angeles and relocated to Europe in 1990. He currently lives in Zürich. He has given concerts and exhibited sound installations throughout Europe, North and South America, Japan, Mexico, Korea, Israel, Turkey, Russia, Lebanon, Egypt, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. He performs both solo and together with musicians like Dieb13, Steinbrüchel, Kim Cascone, John Hudak, Steve Roden, Günter Müller, Kevin Drumm and Toshimaru Nakamura, using percussion, analog synthesizer or computer in different combinations.
He composes for electronics, acoustic instruments and environmental recordings. For larger groups of directed improvisation he has devised a system of graphical scores. Kahn creates his sound installations for specific spaces. The focus of these primarily non-visual works lies in the perception of a space through sound. In 1997 Kahn founded the independent label Cut, producing to date twenty-five CD's, both of Kahn's own work and other artists.
“Kahn's work bears some similarity with the late music of Morton Feldman. What Feldman and Kahn often manage to do is suggest that what you’re hearing when you’re listening to their compositions is a continuum: moment without time.” - Brian Marley, The Wire
Tatsuya Nakatani
Tatsuya Nakatani (percussion) is originally from Osaka, Japan. In 2006 he performed in 80 cities in 7 countries and collaborated with 163 artists worldwide. In the past 10 years he has released nearly 50 recordings on CD.
He has created his own instrumentation, effectively inventing many instruments and extended techniques. He utilizes drumset, bowed gongs, cymbals, singing bowls, metal objects, bells, and various sticks and bows to create an intense, organic music that defies category or genre. His music is based in improvised/ experimental music, jazz, free jazz, rock, and noise, yet retains the sense of space and beauty found in traditional Japanese folk music.
In addition to live solo and ensemble performances he works as a sound designer for film and television. He also teaches Masterclasses and Workshops at the University level. He also heads H&H Production, an independent record label and recording studio based in Easton, Pennsylvania. He was selected as a performing artist for the Pennsylvania Performing Artist on Tour (PennPat) roster as well as a Bronx Arts Council Individual Artist grant.
We'll have a few more updates for you in a bit, including more detailed write ups.... sorry for our lateness dudes:
FRIDAY
SOCIAL with Keith P | Females (upstairs) and Genova and Friends (downstairs) (The Cavern) Looks like The Cavern will be infiltrated tonight by one of Keith P's excellent DJ sets. The guy seems to be playing larger and more prestigious gigs more and more often these days, so this will be a chance to see him in a much smaller yet equally fun setting. If you can get past the rudest bartenders in town, then this is probably the place to go if you want to dance this evening. Females' Jason Faries has been making his presence felt in Denton, so here' s another chance for Dallasites to catch him if you're into that spastic, distorted synth disco/gameboy sound that seems to be derived from Alan Braxe, Fred Falke, Daft Punk, etc. Sort of the natural progression from all that Justice stuff in 07.
Matthew Gray | Sarah Jaffe (Opening Bell Mosaic) This isn't a knock against either of these performers, but why the hell would you want to spend Friday night at a coffee shop unless you're a right wing Christian or something? JK guys, coffee is cool.... I just always feel like I should be listening to NPR when I drink it.
All The Saints | Dust Congress | Jack with One Eye (Hailey's) Our local readers are familiar with Jack with One Eye and Dust Congress, and All the Saints are one of those indie rock bands that classifies themselves as "experimental" or "psychedelic" because they use feedback and distortion here and there and ambient vocal effects and stuff. It really isn't bad when you compare to most of the other crap you could be hearing tonight, but I just can't determine what sort of experiment they're conducting other than "hey, let's see if we can get a showcase at SXSW this year."
AA Bondy | Telegraph Canyon | Doug Burr (Lola's Stockyards) You know how some people like to say they're into Whitehouse or Velvet Underground or something to show how totally crazy and weird they are? Well I like AA Bondy so I can show people how normal I am. This is pretty straight forward singer/songwriter stuff laced with traditional Americana folk and country that actually happens to work on just about every level. Imagine that. Centromatic fans should get in line now, because I'm guessing this will be a pretty well attended show in Cow Town. Does that piss Ft. Worth residents off when people call it that? Cuz I don't mean to be a jerk, sheesh.
Hank Williams III (Longhorn Saloon) Never been a fan, but it's cool that he likes Samhain and stuff. If Hank Williams was my grandfather, I'd probably act like this guy too, whether I wanted to or not.
Daniel Francis Doyle | Farah | Rival Gang | Drug Mountain | Orange Coaxe (Chat Room) So a lot of people seem to be debating whether or not they should head to Ft. Worth on Saturday or go to Denton for the House of Tinnitus show (pulling off both is possible but not advised unless you're awesome at driving drunk). I'm not going to tell you where I'm gonna be because I don't want you following me around all night or whatever, but shit, it's pretty hard to argue with this mostly local line up (yes... some of the bands playing have "financial ties" to WSJR, ok Price Waterhouse?). Austin's Daniel Francis Doyle is just about ready to release a new record, and Farah has been posting a lot of new, rough demos on her Myspace page, so expect to hear new material from them. Drug Mountain and Orange Coax are two of the best live bands I've seen locally in some time, and to top it off, the Chat Room seems to be about the best thing other than a house show for this group of bands.
After Death Records Release Party with: Werewolf Jerusalem / Goat / Ashes / Black Guys / Sabertooth Cavity | Snowstorm / T.E.F. / S-21 | Zero Sum | Scanning for Satellites | Akkolyte (House of Tinnitus): This is the big kick-off party for the newly formed After Death Records, whom we interviewed earlier this week, and all I really would like to add is that you should definitely remember to buy a tape, since it always seems like complete anarchy trying to roundup the donations at H.O.T. And as excited as I am about these upcoming tape releases, I don't think anyone would argue with the notion that seeing someone as brief and brutal as Goat live is an incomparable experience.
Negaduck | Division of Power | Rocket for Ethiopia | Electric Vengeance | Scoff (Exploding House):Man, there is a ridiculous eight-minute plus Youtube "flier" for this show floating around. I can't believe how much time and technology these young bands have on their hands now-a-days. Let me tell you what it was like in my time: You saved up all your money from working at the music department in Circuit City and went to record in a high-priced studio with "professionals," because home recording sounded like complete shit and that was only cool for about ten months in 1995. Who knew the '95 sound would be so hip today? Anyways, you then took your thousand dollar "demo" (which still sounded like a home recording) and drove down to shitty clubs you weren't old enough to get into. You sheepishly ask the door guy if you can come in just for a second for the privilege of handing your tape to a bunch of subhuman, slime-covered monsters called booking agents who know only one sentence in the English language, "I'll get back to you." On the off-chance that you're lucky enough to open for a rap-rock band on a Wednesday night in Deep Ellum, you make a really attractive flier (the old non-Youtube kind on paper) with a Marks-A-Lot and a Xerox, and you risk your weak, little teenage ass by running around Downtown Dallas (since people actually hung out there) posting them on every telephone pole you can find. Then you play a show, and everyone wonders why you're not playing rap-rock. Or everyone would ask that, if there were actually people there. Anyways, fuck you.
Gil Mantera's Party Dream | PVC Street Gang (Lola's Stockyards) I saw Gil Mantera's party dream once like a year and a half ago, and they pissed me off so much that I decided I liked them. PVC Street Gang's minimal, almost shitgaze recorded garage/punk/rock combo thing is finally starting to get some love in the local press, and I'd go by early enough to see those guys if you're planning on being in Ft. Worth on Saturday.
