...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead | Funeral Party | Midnight Masses (Granada)
I wasn't too deeply involved in the Trail of Dead craze that occurred at the beginning of the decade, although I did happen to pick up their supposed masterpiece in 2002 and I thought "this is pretty good." Then they came out with that concept record about post-911 emo feelings and shit, and I thought "these keepin' it weird Austin dipshits want to be the American U2 except they suck ten times more." And I don't even like U2 that much. Apparently their latest album, called a "return to form" by numerous publications, is a return to the form of the aforementioned concept album, meaning that it sucks less than their last records, which I never actually heard myself but is rumored to be even worse than the 9-11 concept album. Wait, why am I writing about this again?

ADD: They are playing at GOOD RECORDS RIGHT NOW (6PM) IF YOU WANT TO TRY AND FIGHT THE CROWD.

Top Notch Thursdays with Sober (the Cavern)

FreeWill Benefit show with Stickup Kids | Playdough | Original Soul | Blaze Won | Street Tribe | Fort Nox | Rob Viktum (The Lounge)
A Vigilante Music Group organized benefit for the late Free Will features Dallas hip hop staple Rob Viktum and headliners Stick up Kids, who put out an excellent mix tape early last year that was criminally underappreciated in the local press. Solid, raw beats and way better than average MCs. It doesn't have that "Dallas hip hop" sound that a lot of us happen to like (it seems more a nod to the golden era of early 90's east coast and current Detroit stuff), but it's well worth checking out if you can get your hands on it.

Billingham's Defense System | Yeahdef | Females (Fallout Lounge)
Tonight will apparently feature a "prom" theme with photos from our friend Stephieyaknow. Do people do these prom themed parties because they loved their original proms, or because they hated them so much that they want a do-over of sorts?

And there's even more on our show calendar.

FRIDAY
Mark Wiener: Crossing Narratives (Decorazon) 6-9:30 pm

SATURDAY
Johnny Robertson, Robert Jessup, and Denise Duong (Conduit) 5:30-8:30 pm

there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you… (Marty Walker) 6-8 pm
Text art! from Archie Scott Gobber, Alexandra Grant, Mark Flood, Thomas Feulmer, Mickey Smith, and Wayne White.

John Adelman: Up to...half and Mike Osborne - On Location: Beijing(Holly Johnson) 5-8 pm
Two shows, with an artist's talk from John Adelman from 5-6pm.

Allison V. Smith (Barry Whistler) 3-6pm
A sneak peak of Smith's photographs of Marfa before they go to the Thunderbird Hotel. P.S. There will be cupcakes.

Colin Murasko and Carolina Sardi (Pan American) 5-8 pm

For the Love of Kettle (Kettle Art) 7-10 pm
A recession-friendly show- 100 pieces of 8 x 10 inch works all about $50.00.

Deft Touch: Anne Allen and Luke Sides (Mighty Fine Arts) 6-9 pm

Todd Stewart: The Garden (PDNB) 5-8 pm

Photo courtesy of Conduit Gallery, Denise Duong- Before They Wake Up

This interview is the first in a series of interviews we'll be doing with bands who will be coming through town on their way to and from SXSW this year, including a few of the bands playing our day show. This first one is from our pal weirdvoice, and we'll have more to come soon, so stay tuned.-- SR

I sat down with Luke Temple and the rest of the newly formed 5-piece Here We Go Magic on Sunday before their packed show at Southpaw in Brooklyn. Their self-titled record, which has been heavily endorsed by Dept of Eagles | Grizzly Bear for several months now, just came out on Itunes yesterday and if you don't find yourself clapping and twirling around like some sort of blissed out retard-hippie everytime you listen to the damn thing, there might be something wrong with you (or there's something wrong with me - jury's still out.) Luke and his friends will be playing at the Mountain House or whatever the hell that place with the sweet bamboo forest in the back is called (on March 17th, along with Phosphorescent), and will also be playing the other Gorilla vs. Bear day party during SXSW. Read this:

weirdvoice: First off, could you tell me a little bit about how the record came about - was the shift from the stuff you were doing under the Luke Temple name deliberate or did it just evolve on its own?

Luke Temple: I wasn't really considering making a record when I started recording this stuff. There was a certain time and place last summer where I was kind of making music that was more - less specifically about my voice, or any specific narrative. SO I was just experimenting with really simplified loops of sound rather than thinking of song structure or anything like - so it started out more as an exercise and then songs started emerging from them and I realized that they were pretty good and I put the record together after it was finished, I decided that it was going to be a record and it seemed a better fit for a better ensemble organization than just the singer songwriter stuff, so then I put the band together.

Oh cool, so did the band come together immediately after the recording or was it a bit later?

Not immediately after, I mean, this is our fourth show ever as a band. And actually the first show with the current lineup and Kristina is brand-spankin' new so...we got some interest when we sent out the promos so we got these shows with Department of Eagles so I had to put the band together at the last minute for that. I had been playing with Peter actually for a while and we were actually doing something totally different it was more of like this Modern Lovers kind of really paired down trio kind of just rock n roll thing and once this record started to create some momentum I figured we needed to do justice to this sound so obviously the record - there are a lot of voices - human voices and musical voices going on so we extended the band, and now it's a 5-piece. So it’s really new, the band's new but I feel like this record's cool because it's kind of a vehicle for us now, now we've formed the band and now I feel like we're really going to start this real collaborative effort that I've never had before and I'm real excited about it. I feel like we're starting to generate our own sound - we perform the songs from the record but that was all recorded by me - everything - but now I'm playing with these guys and everyone has such great ideas so that's it has become its own textural thing, not unlike that record, but it's definitely becoming its own thing.

Where did all the band members come from? Were they all friends of yours, or people you had played with previously?

Well Peter [Hale] I’ve known for years, since I moved to the city in ’99 and we just kind of loosely stayed in touch, we got back in touch after we were hanging out around 2000 and then we lost touch with each other and I moved to Seattle and came back and we would always run into each other on the street and say “we should do something together, we should start a project” and right after I recorded this record it seemed like the right time to start something new. Mike [Bloch,] the guitar player, had played with me in the Luke Temple project; we’ve been playing together for a long time.

Mike: I played on a track on the record!

Really? Which one?

“Everything’s big.” And then AJ [Lambert,] I know through my friend Boshra, they’re in a band called Looker together, so I was referred to her that way. I knew it was gonna work because I saw her play with the Homosexuals at the Cake Shop and I thought she was really great. And then Kristina [Lieberson]…we met a long time ago, she’s friends with Baptiste, who was playing bass in this outfit a few months ago so her referred me to her.

What were you doing before, musically?

Kristina: I was playing solo shows also with a band called Amazing Baby, I was singing backup for them for a while.

On Here We Go Magic's MySpace, the headline says “head phones please” - has it been a challenge to kind of translate that feel into a live show, has it had to take a different avenue?

I mean it is just due to the fact that that record is very kind of idiosyncratic palate of instruments. For instance, there’s no full drum kit on the record, aside from the last track, which uses a full band but otherwise the only percussion on the record is the Tom that I had and it’s all just acoustic guitar and this synth. Now we have a full band arrangement with bass guitar, drums, and electric guitar so it’s just a little bit more bombastic I think. Generally we’re trying to reference the spirit of the record without being too precious with trying to replicate it exactly. Because that would be impossible, I did it in such a specific way it would be impossible to recreate that live. But there are certain elements to the record, like utilizing repetition and really simple ideas layered on top of one another that kind of create a complexity that I think we’re using in this band. I think it’s going to probably translate into a bigger sound with a full band.

Can you tell me a little bit more about the recording process specifically, like how long you spent on it?

I probably spent about a month on it, super focused. It started out like I said before, with some sort of conceptual ideas in terms of the different way I wanted to approach a song - I was interested in it being more linear, less kind of modal - less kind of verse/chorus/bridge. I wanted songs to almost seem like stream-of-consciousness single line ideas that just keep building and building and building. But once I started – I think the first song I recorded was "Tunnelvision" and I was really happy with how that came out and that got me really excited and then – I work full time, I do plaster, so every day after work I’d just come home and record until I went to sleep and then I did that for a month and then the record was done. I actually have a lot more material that I recorded during that time that I didn’t use for the record but then when I decided that I was gonna make an album out if it I kind of just turned around and edited stuff together and put a record together that worked.

What exactly do you during the rest of your day – what’s your day job?

I do Venetian plaster.

I read online that you went to school for visual arts, do you think that affects the way you create music and write songs?

Yes, I’m sure, I mean, not consciously, but I do see music visually.

Can we see any of your artwork in the album packaging or anything like that?

I designed the album cover, but that’s not really indicative of my previous work. I was doing some sort of hyperrealism/figurative stuff, a lot of oil paintings based on photography and stuff so that’s really different from what I did for the record cover. But music sort of took over that part of my brain, I felt like I needed to focus on one or the other. And I made a decision that music was gonna be more of my focus and I just completely focused on that. It utilizes the same part of my brain, there’s composition, there’s give and take, and there’s throwing a bunch of shit at the wall and then slowly editing away and finding the jewel inside of the mess.

Can you tell me a little bit about the video you just put out for "Tunnelvision"?

I recorded it with my friend Nathaniel Johnson and Snejina Latev we shot it all in super 8 and we were kind of – definitely influenced by Stan Brakhage. It’s just this sort of abstract, non specifically narrative filming that utilizes – everything is hand done. It’s all with film, and everything is hand cut editing and he does a lot of things where he draws and scratches into the film and burns the film and all that stuff so we were influenced by that and we just spent an afternoon upstate. We were filming in nature but we were kind of trying to do certain things with blurred focus and with trying to abstract natural things.

Peter Hale: Snejina also constructed kaleidoscopes to go over the super 8, home built kaleidoscopes. We also did stuff with reflecting things in Millar, so it was all bendy and undulating looking.

You’ve done videos with him before as Luke Temple-- is he one of your good friends? I read on his web site that you are gonna be scoring a film for him. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

Yeah. It’s a film called Roger and Sheryl; it’s about this guy from South Carolina who has – what was the disease he had? – He has a disorder called Stevens Johnsons disorder. He doesn’t produce tears, his body doesn’t produce moisture in his lymphatic system so his eyes are completely dry and as a result eh ahs all these crazy ingrown eye lashes that grow inside of his eyelid and scratch off his cornea and so he slowly goes blind. He comes up north and there’s’ a bunch of doctors who are doing these kind of experimental procedures on him to see if they can’t fix the situation. It’s kind of about the relationship between him and his wife.

Is it a feature-length film?

No, it’s a short half of an hour documentary, it’s really beautiful.

Have you already done the work with scoring the film or is it something you’re still working on?

Yeah it’s all finished, I think it still needs to be mixed a little bit.

What can we expect it to sound like?

No, it’s all instrumental and it kind of has a psychedelic, atmospheric quality, we were kind of referencing a lot of early Hertzog films and I was thinking of Popol Vuh who did a lot of early Hertzog stuff so there’s just really a lot of drone and really simple atmospheric melodies, a lot analog synth stuff.

Last question-- people always like to known what your influences were when working on the Here We Go Magic project.

There wasn’t necessarily any cognitive influences, I wasn’t thinking that I’d want to reference anyone in particular. During that time I was listening to a lot of Arthur Russell...that was kind of all I was listening to, [and] some Popol Vuh. Earlier in the year I was really into this Ethiopiques box set, [the] volume 5 of this Ethiopian music set that’s really amazing. It’s really rural, kind of field recordings of this weird African blues. Ethiopian music is kind of psychedelic and totally amazing. Trying to subvert rhythm using poly-rhythm and trying to turn things backwards on themselves was probably an influence from that [on the record.]

Look, I'm sorry this is so late. Also, can we just calm down a little bit? Come on. Let's try to be a little more civil. I know we all have dramatically different opinions (big surprise), but is everything really worth getting that pissed off over? Someday it will all be over, and it will be just like that scene at the end of "Return Of The Jedi" with a holographic Stoned Ranger, Jeff Liles, and myself all hanging out and laughing. I'm not a Star Wars* dork or anything, just trying to lighten the mood.

Dance Fierce with DJ Itis (Mable Peabody's Beauty Parlor and Chainsaw Repair located at 1215 University Drive in Denton)
After mentioning the quality of song-selection between bands at the Mabel's show last week, I was delighted to find out that there is an actual DJ behind the music and not just a random shuffle, DJ Itis. The DJ Itis "collective" has taken over Wednesdays at Mabel's and it's free. My only request is a little less Lili and Suzie. Yes, I know they really only have that one song. Starts at eleven.

Lykke Li | Sarah Jaffe (Granada)
Lykke Li has made a huge impact in a relatively short time, and though I may not be as impressed by the Björn Yttling production as much as most, I have started to understand the appeal a little more lately. Li's songs require more than a casual listen, and some of the silly little hand-cymbal parts and tiresome Architecture In Helsinki-like attempts at "exotic" rhythmic touches are so distracting that they overshadow some of the melodies. I think either stepping back and stripping it down a bit, or going all the way and just letting DFA produce the next record would be an improvement. As it stands, I think this is a case of a fairly talented singer being weighed down by one of the least interesting musicians in recent memory. PS- I know everyone hates it when I say things like this, but "Little Bit" kind of sounds like the chorus to "Promiscuous," however unintentional.

Detour With Make Believers | Seth Hanon | Redeye (The Cavern)
This is a rare Dallas show for Denton's Make Believers and smallness of the Cavern should be a good fit for their energetic power-pop. Before you bitch at me, isn't that what they describe Flamin' Groovies as in the All Music Guide?

Lost Generation With Wanz Dover and Akkolyte (The Lounge)
This is one of two opportunities to see Akkolyte this week, and since so many Dallasites always complain about the long drive to Denton, I'd say take this one just in case you wimp out on Saturday.

Fuck You Pay Me (Tribeca)
According to our shows list, this is a collaboration between Schwa from Cool Out and Redsean from Disqo Disco/Sydney Confirm. Tonight they'll be DJ'ing house, disco, funk, but will eventually incorporate live instrumentation.

Get Fucked With Mikey Rodge | Killtron | Whack-A-Tone (Fallout Lounge)

DJ Teenage Wolf | Yeah Def | FEMALES (Hailey's)



*"Mad Max" trilogy was way better.

First of all, we have a ton of new pictures from our excellent new photographer Stephieyaknow over in our photo section (both party pics and live show pics) so go check those out.  We have more coming in the next day or so as well.  Shows tonight:

90's Night with Yeahdef (Hailey's)
So I made a little trip to Backyard Beach Bar the other night to check out the party that was put together by the Etc. Etc! group, and aside from having to deal with what might have been the worst bar tenders in town, as well as being forced to watch one BBB employee pour a bucket of water all over a still-plugged-in speaker after it caught on fire (I'm no electrical expert, but this just didn't seem right to me, especially considering that Backyard Beach Bar has already burned down once), the party itself was a pretty good time.  I mention this only because the DJs (Billingham's Defense System, etc.) were spinning a lot of (formerly?) guilty pleasure 90's dance pop at the party, and I wonder if Friday night was a pretty good indicator of what most "90's nights" are like around here, considering that I've never been able to bring myself to go to one.  If so, then they aren't as bad as I thought, because I think I'd often rather hear this or this or this kind of disposable early 90's hip house and pop house (all of which I believe were played on Friday, and many of which seemed to be based on this critically acclaimed Chicago House masterpiece) as opposed to some no name local jackass playing "his own real songs with real instruments that he wrote" and blah blah "puts on a good show" support local music brah.  You know?  Apparently a lot of other people around here agree because there were probably as many paying customers at Backyard Beach Bar on Friday as there were in all of Deep Ellum that night, for better or worse.  

Disqo Disco (Fallout Lounge)  

New Science Projects | Big Spirit | Baby Talk | A Smile Full of Ale | Neil Corbett | Roy Robertson (1919 Hemphill)
Most of our readers are probably familiar with the oft gigging New Science Projects by now (I have a really funny picture of that dude getting in my friend's face during a performance, but I'll spare you), but some might be both unfamiliar AND interested in the fragile folk of Detroit's Big Spirit-- yes yes, Iron and Wine and the Microphones and K Records and everything else you think of when you read the phrase "fragile folk," but this group is pretty enjoyable once you get past the "spot the influences" game.  

There are more events listed on our show calendar if you want to take a look.

One of the few joys I've had, and trust me there are very few, in writing about local music over the past few years has been pretty much anything having to do with House Of Tinnitus. Terrific fliers, great band descriptions (Ex: [His] sound will crush you to the ground and you will beg for your fucking shitty life!), and one of the most consistent places to experience noise and related genres minus the detached academic attitude that I've all-too-often experienced at similar places in other cities. It's always more about having a good time than anything else, and a lot of the consistency is owed to proprietor Rob Buttrum's willingness to never compromise his aesthetic approach towards the aforementioned fliers, use of language, and the artists that he books at H.O.T.

It was for these reasons that I was glad to hear that Buttrum was starting up a label with Andrew Haas, a fellow member of his electronic ensemble, Lychgate. The label, After Death Records, will be releasing limited-edition runs on cassette by extreme electronic artists, that in most cases, have played at House Of Tinnitus. Judging by some previews of the cassette packaging, as well as the music contained therein, it's safe to assume that After Death Records will be the best way to own a tangible document of one of the area's most brutal artistic entities.

When did the original idea for the label first come up? Was it immediately decided that it would be a tape label, or did that decision come later?

We first met at Rob's house at a show in the beginning of 2007. We fast became good friends and after hanging out for quite a bit got to talking. Rob wanted to take things to the next level and we both mentioned starting a label. What seemed like a passing comment quickly turned serious when we both knew we wanted to really do it. We figured all the networking through House of Tinnitus could be put to good use and a label was the perfect outlet for it. From the get go we agreed "NO CDRS". CDRs feel cheap and crappy. Tape is a tradition in noise and industrial culture and we felt it was the best format to put out the music we loved. We plan on doing vinyl when we have the resources.

So far, it looks like most of the bands on the upcoming releases have played Tinnitus, with Vestigial Limb being the only exception. Has that made things fairly easy when it comes to communicating with the artists? Are there some people you're interested in doing releases for that haven't played Tinnitus, and if so, who?

Of course House of Tinnitus has opened up various avenues to us. Approaching a friend or acquaintance is easier than approaching a stranger. It's definitely made things more casual. Now that the ball has been rolling since October we've started to get people who have never been to Denton interested in doing releases with us. Definately wanting to work with people from all around the world who will probably NEVER come to Denton. Who, specifically? The possibilities are endless.

What can you tell us about the artists on your first three releases: Goat, Ashes, and Werewolf Jersualem?

Basically, we wanted to put out Texas noise for the first three tapes. We felt there was a lot of stuff going on in Texas that's not getting noticed in the noise scene but definately has merit. Ryan Talley of Ashes has absolutely ripped every time he's come through H.O.T. and we felt he just wasn't getting the exposure he deserves. We plan on releasing one local act in every batch of three tapes we do. It's our love for the local stuff that really got us wanting to start this project. Andy (O'Sullivan) from Goat and Richard Ramirez from Werewolf Jerusalem are both noise artists who have longevity and respect. They have been more than kind and patient with us in doing this first batch as well as being extremely helpful.

The artwork looks very uniform and thematic, same font and layout etc. Do you want to keep the visual theme permanent, or do see it as a possibility that it could change at some point? Do the artists turn in visuals, or do you guys take care of every aspect of the design? What are some of your visual influences?

It could always change, yes. Right now we wanted a uniform aesthetic, something to tie it all together. We like things that stay static but parts are always changing, like the covers. We do all of the artwork and would prefer to keep it that way. It's our visual interpretation of the artists' statement. It also makes the relationship more symbiotic and personal.

Was the overall amount of work more preparing the releases more or less than you thought it would be? What has been the most challenging aspect so far?

Hmm... It's all been a learn as you go process to be honest. What we thought would be done in a couple months has taken much longer.. The second batch will take half the amount of time since we know exactly what to do. There have been so many different aspects we have had to tap into to bring it all together. It's been a lot of work, but of course it's also been a lot of fun.

Are there any labels you feel especially influenced by?

Heavy Psych | Husk Records | 905 Tapes have all been labels we've felt put out great releases that come to mind. There are a ton of great DIY labels around that garner respect. The main influence has been the music.

I know that Tinnitus itself has avoided media attention for the most part, but do you feel differently about the label getting attention or is it all the same to you? Has the feeling about the attention been that you just couldn't care less, or that the writers will just get everything wrong? That's certainly an understandable concern.

While we may be associated, After Death Records has been its' own animal. House of Tinnitus hasn't been avoiding the media... If anything, Rob's just being selective.

It's nice to be getting press this early in the stage, but it's not something we take too seriously.

Will these available online or at shows only? Have you made any distribution plans? Do you plan on keeping any at local record stores?

They will be available at shows and online. For the release party the artists' will be selling their copies. Most likely we'll have a spot set up at H.O.T. during future shows. As far as local record stores go we haven't really considered that. Distribution is iffy right now since we're doing such limited releases but working with other small labels/distros is an open possibility.

What was the process for dubbing the tapes? How hard is it to find tape dubbing equipment for large quantities? Where did you look for yours?

Tape duplicators are pretty easy to find for sale because to the mainstream the format is 'outdated.' We have a duplicator that makes 4x copies at 16x the speed so it's pretty simple.

You've stated that you'll primarily focus on extreme electronic music. Can you think of anyone that you would consider breaking that focus for? Or do you feel more like you could release a hundred different volumes before you would even consider messing with the format?

It's always possible we could release something non-electronic, but right now we are content with the format. If we released something else it'd most likely be in the extreme vein. There is a lot of exciting stuff going on right now in the genre.

After Death Records is having their first record release party at House of Tinnitus, this Saturday, February 21. The artists from their first three releases will be performing, along with eight other acts, including Akkolyte, T.E.F., and Snowstorm.

Curtis Mayfield - Curtis (1970, Curtom)

My introduction to Curtis Mayfield is one of those indelible memories of youth that I recall every time I hear his music. I'll never forget watching Superfly on late night tv and seeing Curtis and his band playing live during the nightclub scenes. It was like watching Rock n Roll High School without knowing who the Ramones were... fucking spellbinding!

Having fronted the Impressions throughout the 60s, Mayfield was an established and well respected musician/songwriter by the time he released this album, his solo debut. This record represents a huge step forward in an already successful career, giving a funkier sound to the socially conscious soul of his former group.

Punk Bunny | Andrew Burntette (The Lounge)
It would be hard for Punk Bunny to top the show they played on Friday night; the lineup, the setting, the crowd, even the music between acts was so appropriate, it bordered on being absurd. Not to mention the fact that much of it was willfully absurd. Punk Bunny was even more of a spectacle this time around, with prepared videos accompanying their songs, and choreographed dance moves by three men in lingerie. Even the most hardened punk rocker I know had to crack a smile.  

The Lounge on a Monday night is certainly the opposite of Mabel Peabody's on a Friday, but I don't know of a group more capable of having a good time in spite of the weeknight odds. Opening act Andrew Burnette is a touring member of Punk Bunny, but the self-described "electronic softcore" of which his solo project consists is undoubtedly more of a subtle ride.

Paul Slavens (Dan's Silver Leaf) 

Cool Out (The Cavern)





ADD: New Science Projects | Dustin And The Furniture | Big Spirit | Daniel Folmer | Spooky Folk (J & J's Pizza)