On this blog, we freely, often contemptuously, compare our local music scene to that of other cities. I think sometimes our derisive tone stems from dismay over our inability to form a "scene identity." North Texas has enjoyed periods of interesting bands and interesting music, but for whatever reason, the area's inhabitants seem to lack an interest or capacity to appreciate across temporal zones. That's too bad because continuity and lineage seem to promote vital music communities in other places: DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Portland, Chicago, North Carolina, Athens, small town Ohio, Vancouver. Those are places that I like to call "hotbeds of hip."
One thing that we don't do a whole lot of around here is compare DFWd now to DFWd then. Actually, in one of the few books ever written about Dallas history, Michael Phillips argues that our city is uniquely a "laboratory of forgetfullness" in that our actual history of racial discord has been supplanted by a false myth of consensus. That myth, he says in White Metropolis, has served as a de facto justification for the status quo and for power structures that have enabled us to shine, in the vision of the powers that be, like a beacon of modernity and commerce in an otherwise hillbilly south.
I don't know about that all of that, but I do know that WSJR is on your side in this fight against "amnesia by design." In all of our condescending paternalism, which we might somtimes employ to conceal some of our own insecurities, we implore you to investigate Transona Five and consider checking them out at Sloppyworld on Friday night. They were here in the 90s, and some even say that what they did back then was important. If you were around when they were, use this opportunity to re-familiarize yourself. If you weren't, then give yourself a chance to connect with an artifact of this place and that time.
One of their founding members passed away about a year ago. They've been through a lot. The fact that things are coming together for this weekend is a good story, although that's way down on the list of reasons for you to show up at the Slop on Friday. For one thing, they'll be playing with 3 other acts that are worthy of your attention. For another, you might be interested to come see for yourself if this Sloppyworld thing is going to work out. Maybe if we had some continuity of venues, it'd be a little easier for us to have continuity of music community identity (see "Argo" below).
Check out the below interview with member Chris Anderson to find out more about Transona, Dallas, and Denton... then and now.
Regarding the early days: where and when exactly did things start for Transona Five? Who was in the band? I think I bought Melatonin Bullet at CD World back in the mid-nineties, but back then I was pretty young and I never had the chance to see you play. For some reason I always assumed you were more or less based in Denton. Is that even correct? Didn't you tend to play at the Argo?
We started playing together in Dallas sometime in 1994, I think, when Chris Foley and I placed ads in the Observer and the Met. Greg Morgan answered the ad. We'd actually met the semester before in a creative writing class, so we already had that in common. He came over, we played a few songs, it went beautifully. Then Greg said, "Hey, I know a drummer who lives up the street." Fifteen minutes later he was back with G.P. Cole and we were a band. Rachel Smith came about a year later as we began working on our first single. Denton was more of a home for us than Dallas. Wanz Dover and a few other people had started booking interesting things up there, first at the Kharma Cafe, then at the Argo, then Rubber Gloves. Rachel went to school up there. Scott Marks, who replaced Greg when he took his leave, lived up in Denton. So yeah, we have deep roots in Denton. I'm not aware of your band changing much in terms of who it involved. I know that you lost Chris Foley, but other than that has anything changed in terms of the membership?
We've kind of organically developed an open door policy for Transona Five. First it was me, Foley, Greg, and G.P., then Rachel came. Then Greg moved on, so we added Scott. Then Foley left for a time. And Mitch Greer (Go Metric USA, the Lickets) was always kind of a satellite member. Now it's back to Greg, G.P., and I. It sounds dramatic, but it really isn't. Even when someone "left the band," they were always invited to play live with us, and often they did. Some of our more magical moments happened when there were seven people on stage. We're now playing with a guy named Jonathan Hooker to help fill in the blanks, and we hope to have other guests on stage as well at these shows. When exactly did things taper off for the band, and what were the circumstances? I actually moved to New England to finish my undergraduate studies in creative writing. Scott and Rachel also moved up, but G.P. ran into a snag so he had to stick around Dallas. We played for a while after the move, but it quickly became evident that our lives were too busy to make it work at that time. After our last show in New York City in 2000 we decided it was a good point to push pause. Rachel was becoming more involved in Lickets (their new record is excellent!), and Scott was starting a new family in Massachusetts. I eventually attended graduate school in San Marcos, so that put me back in immediate contact with Greg and Foley. Rachel's in Chicago now and Scott's still hanging in western Massachusetts. They have other things going on, but the door is always open for them.
What motivated the re-grouping? Did everything develop after Chris' death, or did a possibility of getting back together exist beforehand? What sort of leg-work had to occur to make things happen? We were all hungry for it. Foley had been playing with Austin's the Swells, but I'd been busy with school, and Greg and G.P. had their own things going on--but we all missed what happened between us. When we first practiced in early 2006 we were rusty, but a few glimmers shone through. It made us happy, and hopeful. Then life stepped in. Foley was going to be spending the summer in Montana, and I was offered a job teaching writing in New Hampshire. We decided to wait and let things settle, then arrange future plans the following fall. Last fall we started talking again, trying to map things out. Then Foley died and we had top stop and re-evaluate. I mean, this guy was our brother. I'd known him for nearly 20 years--I was crushed. But there wasn't much of a question about it. Greg and G.P. were still in. We feel like we have much to say, especially now. We got together last August. It was difficult, but it felt like healing.
So now we're running this in kind of a American Analog Set/New Year kind of way. Greg lives in Austin, G.P. lives here in Dallas, and I'm out in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Technology has allowed us to trade demos, and because I teach there are large blocks of time where we can record or play shows. Our goal right now is to do these few gigs, then hopefully hit a studio early in the summer. We've got several new songs we're excited about, and we want to get that down soon. Maybe we'll be able to throw together a few shows late in the summer. We'll see.
As I alluded to, I was too young to witness first hand what's often called the "space rock" scene in Denton circa the mid-nineties. So, I'm curious: do you think there was a legitimate scene along those lines? Was it tight knit or just kind of fleeting? And what were some of the bands that were involved?
Well, I think most of the bands didn't really fit that label, and almost nobody was embracing it. Oddly enough, it was pretty tight knit. We all helped each other out. And we all tried not to pay attention to simplistic renderings of what was going on. Yes, Light Bright Highway, Skiptracer, and Mazinga Phaser took us into space. But Maxine's Radiator, Thorazine Dreams, and Comet were more about song. All of these bands were transportative, if that's a word. The music took you somewhere else. Outer space? Sometimes.
Compared to a band like Wanz' old band, Mazinga Phaser, I think you guys were much more representative of slowcore, another ambiguous movement. If you think that's accurate, then I'm wondering how you think that style came about. The name Transona Five is taken from Stereolab'sMars Audiac Quintet album, but any Stereolab I hear in your music is pretty isolated, and the connection between Stereolab and slowcore doesn't seem self-evident anyway.
We were all about slowcore, but our pop exploded out of us sometimes so we didn't really fit that category either. We did listen to a lot of slowcore bands. We all were listening to Low like it was a drug. God, the tension! But we were just as much into those "noisier" bands--early Stereolab, My Bloody Valentine, and Pavement. I think the Stereolab is always in our sound--we love to get lost in the ringing of a single note, and the pulses that expand out from it. Philip Glass and Steve Reich are also an obvious influence. So we've just perverted some of these ideas to our own end. We try to be pretty most of the time.
I think something unique and special about what you guys did, particulary on Melatonin Bullet, and what some of the other Dallas and Austin bands in the late 90s, especially Bedhead, were doing is that you played music that was basically post-rock in a very pure or straightforward way. Like if you subscribe to the notion that post-rock is the use of traditionally rock instruments to play non-rock music, you guys did exactly that and usually without the addition of sounds made by other non-rock instruments. I think the fact that you get lumped in with the "space rock" group illustrates how your kind of pure post-rock is somewhat of a neglected genre. Stonedranger pointed out to me the other day that Austin's Stars of the Lid were appearing on a lot of "Best of 2007" lists with Their Refine of the Decline last year. But while there might be a notable "ambient" or "atmospheric" album that pops up every once in a while, it seems like it's never purely post-rock in the minimalistic guitar/bass/drums sense. Why do you think there's a void there and are there any bands that you enjoy these days that play in that way? We always saw ourselves as a pop band, so yes, it is very straightforward music. Bedhead wrote great pop symphonies. They are catchy pop songs that are delivered in a non-traditional way. The Stars of the Lid album is good stuff--it's great to write fiction to--but I've asked myself that question: Is this really a post-rock work? I guess it depends on how you want to advertise it. But I've found that these categories are often falling away for me. I keep my ears open for what sounds authentic. That's my only criteria, really. I play my iPod on shuffle most of the time. Pram mixes with Gillian Welch, Gorecki blends into Movietone. I do think there is a bit of a gap now on the corner we're working. The Clientele were kind of doing it at first, but have moved on. It is out there, but it seems to be happening in Spain and other places. Polar and Astronaut are really good. I guess locally you could look at the bill on Friday. Texas still seems to be the place.
I was listening to Felt recently and I noticed that they don't really make use of cymbals. Then I was listening to Melatonin Bullet, and I realized that it's pretty much the exact opposite for you on that album: the percussion is predominantly cymbals and rimshots with very little bass drum or snare. Was that intentional or did it just kind of happen given the songs and the way other instruments were being played? Or is that just the particular style of GP Cole?
The American Analog Set guys always used to call G.P. our secret weapon. They're right. Before G.P. joined Transona Five, he'd only played in hardcore punk bands. But he says he likes the challenge of playing slow--says it's harder. We all play in a way where we are reacting to one another, but G.P. tends to be our grounding rod. He's really one of the best drummers out there. I can't say that enough. Just listen to him Friday night.
What do you anticipate for Friday? I know that you know Theater Fire...are you familiar with the others that will be playing at Sloppyworld? Do you plan to play mostly newer or older songs in Dallas on Friday, and on Saturday in Austin? What kind of instruments will your guests be handling and will you be picking up from where you left off in 2000, or has your sound changed course at all? Friday will be many things: rock show, incantation, exorcism, tribute, a second step. It's really coming together nicely. We've known the Theater Fire guys since Don and Mark were in Vena Cava and Curtis was in My Friend the Atom. We were on the same label--Sandwich Records--and played together whenever we could. It was family. A few years back I saw Curtis at the Cavern and he told me if we wanted to play he'd love to fill in for Rachel, who has been in Chicago for the last few years. As this whole thing took shape I kept that in mind. When the Theater Fire played Cambridge recently, I went and reminded Curtis of what he'd said. So he'll be on stage playing guitar mostly, but also drums and organ. He is an amazing musician. We also have a guy named Jonathan Hooker who has been playing guitar and organ with us. He was a fan who drunkenly emailed me a few years back, but I never replied. After Foley passed away and we decided to continue working, I finally got back to him, and he's worked out great. This is what drunken emails can get you.
All I really know of Dust Congress and J.Gray is what I have heard on MySpace, and I love what I am hearing. This is what is great about the internet, and how it has changed the industry. Almost every band has a MySpace page--or something like it. If I hear about a band it takes no time for me to find them and give it a listen. The Blogs are also spreading the word. It's such an amazing time to be a musician. Anyone who says there isn't good music out there right now is lazy.
As for our set, it'll be a mix of new and old. It's been over seven years since we left off, so of course our sound has changed. In 2000 we recorded an LP with Matt Pence and Matt Barnhart that was largely a rock record. It wasn't released for a few reasons. One reason is that we fell out of love with it pretty quickly--some of the louder stuff didn't feel like us. Our minds were elsewhere. I think we've backed off the volume a little now. A few of the new songs don't have drums on them. That isn't to say we don't take off into space once in a while, but now we're back our original pursuit--the quest for melody.
What happens after this weekend? Will you be recording? Playing more shows in or out of town? How important is it that this next phase of the group be "productive" in terms of shows or output? Why not continue at your own pace as long as you, GP, Greg, and your associates enjoy it, whatever comes of it?
After this weekend it's pretty open. We've been asked to play Melodica next month, and I'll be flying back for that. We want to record early summer, then play a few more shows here and there. We're in no hurry. The perspective we have now on time is allowing us to enjoy the process. We're also thinking about whether or not to expand. I'd love to get a female voice in here. And Curtis has the Theater Fire to attend to, so we'll probably be looking for someone to fill that roll. The future is open, and that's an exciting thing.
This article from 2004 was commented on back when we posted regarding Chris Foley's death in early 2007. At the end of the article, a thread of comments exchanged by G.P. Cole and Greg Morgan stems from 2005 and foreshadows the reunion of the band, which will culminate in their shows this weekend. Following the events at Sloppyworld, Transona will travel with Theater Fire down to Austin to play Saturday night at The Mohawk.
The Dust Congress will put on a show at The Cavern with Zanzibar Snails and Six Organs of Admittance on Wednesday Jan. 16.
J. Gray will hopefully come to Dallas more often.
2/8/08 Update: Rachel Smith and Mitch Greer have contacted WSJR concerning what they perceive as inaccuracies in the above interview. They requested that we post: Rachel Smith states that she quit this band permanently in 2000. She is not committed to an “open door” policy. Mitch Greer states that he was not a past or current member of this band." They did not wish to be further interviewed. WSJR doesn't really feel like talking about it either, and we do not endorse the accuracy nor imply the inaccuracy of anything claimed by either Chris, Rachel, or Mitch and contained in this post.
Taxi Fare is at Zubar for those into some of the new reggae, dancehall, dubstep, and a lot of the old school versions thereof. It's What We Get will be spinning with Dutch at Hailey's, and Strawberry Fields'Short Attention Span Theater will be showing MTV's The State at Rubber Gloves. And we'll have multiple posts for you later tonight and early tomorrow.
Oh, and I had been listening to the song below pretty regularly for the better part of a year without ever realizing that homeboy was white... but before you go making a joke about 311, the guy is actually from Bermuda, and the song is the jam:
1. Shock of Pleasure - It's About Time 2. Mom - Little Brite 3. The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army 4. The Crash That Took Me - Orchestrated Kaleidoscope 5. The Drams - Jubilee Dive
Good Records Overall Top 20
1. Radiohead - In Rainbows 2. Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood (Soundtrack) 3. The Octopus Project - Hello, Avalanche 4. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup 5. Panda Bear - Person Pitch 6. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala 7. Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River 8. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin 9. Shock of Pleasure - It's About Time 10. Mom - Little Brite 11. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam 12. Dawn McCarthy & Bonny Billy - Wai Notes 13. Cass McCombs - Dropping the Writ 14. Blakes - Blakes 15. Phosphorescent - Pride 16. Scott Walker - And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball? 17. Sigur Ros - Hvarf-Heim 18. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends 19. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover 20. Caribou - Andorra
Strawberry Fields Local Top 3
1. denton Deluxe v.3 2. Mad Scientist - Geoparasitism 3. Ella Minnow - The Quick & Clean E.P.
free tickets: dan deacon and six organs of admittance
What up? Dudes at Spune hooked us up with a pair of tickets to Dan Deacon'sperformance at Hailey's this Saturday, January 12th, as well as another pair toSix Organs of Admittance's show with Zanzibar Snails and Dust Congress on Wednesday, January 16th at the Cavern.
If you want to win them, just email weshotjrtix@yahoo.com any time between now and this Thursday the 10th at noon. Be sure to include your full name in the body and the name of the show you want to see in the subject line. Winners will be picked at random. Good luck!
Nuthin' other than the usual: Cool Out at Cavern and Jazz at the Amsterdam. It'll probably be a pretty nice evening to sit out on the Amsterdam patio and hear some solid standards from a group of Amsterdam regulars that never seem to disappoint. We have another post coming in just a second...
First things first-- we just hooked ourselves up with a new PO box after our last one was shut down on us in a surprising and puzzling fashion. Sorry to everyone who had stuff sent back to them marked as "return to sender," btw, and if you want to resend any of that stuff to us, we'd be very happy. And we promise that this new P.O. Box will be maintained, like, forever. The address:
We Shot J.R. P.O. Box 720291 Dallas,TX 73372
SHOWS OF NOTE THIS WEEK:
FRI: Transona Five/The Theater Fire/Dust Congress/J Gray (Sloppyworld) SAT: Dan Deacon (Hailey's) SAT: Hands Up 90's with The Party (The Loft) SAT: Chris Brown and Bow Wow/Soulja Boy/Sean Kingston/Lil Mama (American Airlines Center)
This weekend appears to be about as thin as any we've seen in a while around here, at least as far as live music. Things do start to pick up next week however, so don't be sad (and sorry, we had to republish and I guess the earlier comments were erased. Feel free to add them again!). A few things:
FRIDAY
Matthew and the Arrogant Sea | Ryan Thomas Becker | Amo Joy | Hardin Sweaty and the Ready to Go | New Science Projects (J&Js Pizza) Despite what you might think about their online marketing tactics, MATAS are a downright prolific band, releasing several new songs online seemingly every week while playing a steady stream of local shows all over town. The best part is that much of their new material is quite interesting and very well done, with a wide variety of styles and influences ranging from avant tribal chants a la Sunburned Hand to sad, ambient infused tracks that remind me of the first Panda Bear album except with lyrics. And of course, that doesn't even begin to account for all the sounds contained in the many other projects of MATAS associates.
Kinky Friedman (Bill's Records and Tapes) This Kinky guy is a fucking bozo. Starts at 6pm. And guess what Bill? If I ever do go back to your record store, I won't be falling for your "this Misfits record is $30 because it's a rare import" stories anymore. The current me thinks that the 14 year old me sucked.
SATURDAY
Pleasant Grove (All Good Cafe) Starts at 9pm, $10 cover.
Deep Ellum Film Retrospective (Kettle Art) This film event, which begins at 7pm, features several different short pieces that depict life in Deep Ellum during various eras of the neighborhood's existence. Although I'm not one of those "Save Deep Ellum" people by any stretch of the imagination, it might be interesting to check some of this stuff out, even if nothing says "dying entertainment district" more than a weekend in which the main event in said district is a retrospective about how cool it used to be.
Andrea Grimes Farewell Show with Dove Hunter | The Happy Bullets | JD Whittenburg | Travis Hopper | The Felons | Amo Joy (Club Dada) I should thank Andrea Grimes for the inspiration she's provided during her very noticeable tenure as one of the most ubiquitous and outspoken writers at The Observer in recent memory. Her comments on our blog were often a complete dismissal of "toaster-banging" as well as electronic music, and I know she voiced a lot of the frustration, confusion, and disgust that many DFW readers have felt about our tastes and interests. By personifying that, I think she helped WSJR's focus to be more clear and precise. So thank you, Andrea. But a word of warning from a former Austin resident that I'd like to present to you in the form of analogy: Think of Dallas as the kind of war that was fought in the first part of the 20th Century: This is our country VS your country, this is our flag against your flag, clear-cut and defined. Though this type of warfare is by no means easy, it's simple since your enemy presents itself in a forward manner, uniform and all. Austin is much more like modern insurgent warfare (i.e. Vietnam-Iraq) where you'll be surrounded at all times by the enemy. Imagine a Stonedranger lurking behind every corner. Frat guys that have hip record collections. Cowboys that go to discos. Record stores filled with heartless, bloodsucking vampires that will make fun of you if you even mention living in Dallas. Alternative Weekly Editors that fact-check. We Shot Jr will seem downright nice in comparison. Good luck. (DL)
SUNDAY
Liquid Couage (Zubar) DJ's Redeye, Robert Taylor and Wanz will be spinning a variety of dance music from twitch to minimal to old school house to whatever. Happens weekly.
Judas | Rageous Bros. | ANS | Bleach Boys (Xtreme Dudes Manor located at 1119 Frame St. in Denton) I've been waiting for things to get back to normal now that the holidays have come and gone, and I'm hoping this intense lineup and intense barbecue can help speed up the process. Expect lots of surf riffs, blast beats and even some big sludgy metal breakdowns from this stylistically diverse group of hardcore bands. Barbecue is at five, show starts at seven.
Just had a chance to check out the new EP from Shane English (Ghosthustler, Undoing of David Wright, Chief Death Rage), and I highly recommend that you head over to his Soundhead blog and download it for free, because it's excellent. Anyone who likes Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, early industrial like Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, or even early Human League will probably dig it, as will those who are in to darker early 80's electro like Nine Circles and even contemporaries like the Knife and Indian Jewelry. I know that's a lot, but there are bits and pieces of all those sounds throughout the EP. Here is the link.
There isn't a whole lot going on tonight, but Strawberry Fieldshas the Denton folks covered with Short Attention Span Theater at Rubber Gloves. Here is what they'll have tonight:
Join us tonight as we watch Sun Ra'sclassic Space is the Place. Breaks will be taken through out the night for drinking/conversing/listening to DJ No Dad tunes. Also stay till the veeeeeery end to watch Anton Corbijn's (Control) 13 minutes short film over Don Van Vilet (of Captain Beefheart fame).
Sun Ra--space-age prophet, Pharaonic jester, shaman-philosopher and avant-jazz keyboardist/bandleader--land his spaceship in Oakland, having been presumed lost in space for a few years. With Black Power on the rise, Ra disembarks and proclaims himself "the alter-destiny." He holds a myth-vs reality rap session with vblack inner-city youth at a rec center, threatening "to chain you up and take you with me, like they did you in Africa" if they resist his mplea to go to outer space. He duels at cards with The Overseer, a satanic overlord, with the fate of the black race at stake. Ra wins the right to a world concert, which features great performance footage of the Arkestra. Agents sent by the Overseer attempt to assassinate Ra, but he vanishes, rescues his people, and departs in his spaceship from the exploding planet Earth.
By the sound of it, he's making it more and more difficult for us to think so.
Here's to hoping that this "Baltimore" track is not the most tempting morsel that Matador could offer in anticipation of the next Malkmus/Jicks disappointment--already their 4th release since Pavement's break up!?! I still don't know who/what the Jicks are supposed to be or what they've done with the SM I was used to.
I was willing to be patient after the first solo album. There were a few good songs on that one, but I honestly haven't been interested in the second and third releases enough to give them more than a few listens. I can't remember the last time I've even noticed them when flipping through my CDs.
The last thing I expected was for a Malkmus solo effort to be more jokey than Pavement, but it seems like that's mostly what the first three albums have been. Matador claims that the upcoming Real Emotional Trash will include some of Malkmus' most "gorgeous" and "contemplative" songs ever. I would welcome nothing more, but I'm skeptical given the post-Pavement precedence set by singles like "Jenny and the Ess Dog" and "Baby C'mon."
Another bad album and I don't know what else to think except that this guy has captained one of the most puzzling and frustrating spin offs that I've cared about enough to be puzzled and frustrated with.
