I'm just going to go ahead and post this so that somebody actually sees it. I know it's an ongoing problem with the site. I have also decided to post this new video by George Quartz. I know it's been posted elsewhere, but people like to actually voice opinions on our site, so it's a lot more fun. -DL
Nevada Hill is a local artist that has worked in North Texas for years now, making his first splash with a memorable exhibition at The Art Prostitute, all the way back in 2005. His style is so unconventional that I often hear bands remark how confused they are at what their poster says, or is "supposed to be," and yet his work has been used in everything from the grimiest house show poster to the most sacred cow gig announcement. He is also a prolific musician, playing guitar and violin in improvisation-based projects like Zanzibar Snails and Idi Amin, as well as the more harshly defined act Drug Mountain. Hill has also been involved in the layout and occasional design work in each of the three records We Shot JR has put out over the last two years.
Hill has a showing this Saturday entitled, "For Sale: The Creative Droppings of Nevada Hill" at The MeMe Gallery, which is next door to Rubber Gloves. He will be selling his new 20 page "Mass 3" comix, as well as assorted other works. The show is to fund his first international show in Lisbon, Portugal at the Trem Azul gallery for an opening on June 24th, and he will perform music at the same gallery on June 26th. Quite an accomplishment for a DFW-based artist.
Saturday's show is at 9:00 pm and will also include music by Pinkish Black, Atwa, and Dust Congress. Totally loaded questions by Defensive Listening.
How did you get hooked up with your first overseas art show, and this show in Portugal specifically?
I did research about the underground comix scene when I made my first one and was obsessed with Fort Thunder. I found a website named Chili Com Carne and sent the owner comix. I immediately got a response which thus started my 4 year pen-pal relationship with Marcos Farrajota. He would write me every once in awhile to ask me if or when my next comix were coming, when I was not even thinking about it, or thought that no one cared. I had some vacation time and asked if I could come to Portugal just to hang out, and he offered me an art show. It is also during the biggest small publishing event in Europe to my knowledge called Feira Laica.
Your artwork has undergone some noticeable stylistic changes lately. There is more color, or rather a more blatant and bold use of color; whereas once you would have a scratchy-lined mound of dung appear subtly nauseating, it now practically screams at the viewer with a bright toxic intensity. Along the same lines, you are generally doing work that seems more obviously grabbing: big blocks of color instead of mere hints of it around the busy lines. It's almost as if the color has become the "thing." What caused the change and did you feel apprehensive about it so close to your first overseas show?
The change came in the middle of creating Mass 3. I have many theories about why an artist's style changes. It is not a departure from one style to another, but just a focus on a different path that I have not gone down before. The influence that sparked it was randomly finding this 60’s animation on YouTube by a Japanese artist named Tadanori Yokoo. His use of space and form, along with a unique color palate, triggered a sea change in me. I’m trying to use the flatness as just another tool in the box, to mix with the hairy poop style that I have been using since earlier on. I also like the idea of not trying to impress anybody and creating painfully simple pieces that are more about ideas than, "Look at how cool this looks." At this point in the game I just want to get over there with everything in one piece. I’m also bringing my violin and some pedals to play. So I just hope I remember everything. I’m sure the audience will be accepting, but if not then, oh, well.
I heard that you recently had a comic project get botched due to a cowardly printing place choosing not to print your work based on some vague moral objection. I personally feel that this sort of censorship decision being made at the manufacturing and industry level is one of the worst hindrances an artist faces, even in 2010. What are your feelings about the situation and what do you feel caused the decision to not print your work?
I feel that the printer felt the content to be too much in the way of genitals and poop, along with all the other subversive things that I injected. I do not see these things as "a boob with legs" or "that thing is shitting on that other thing." I see it as just objects interacting, just as you would talk to someone or give someone a handshake. So I was surprised but not shocked when they told me that they were going to pass. These people are not that hard to offend. We are talking about elderly southern Alabama ultra-right-wing people. I just get the printing done cheaper than Kinko's. I felt frustrated at first. Then I said "fuck ’em" and got over it.
You yourself have worked in various jobs where you have to be mindful of social mores or what the mainstream finds to be acceptable. Now perhaps some of it is understandable depending on the setting; for instance, you might not want to have Batman in some of his less proud moments on a shirt made for a four-year-old. Or maybe you do? How important do you feel it is to subvert these sort of guidelines on what is suitable, even in the context of sneaking private parts or bodily fluids in an unsuspecting rock band's poster?
I design licensed billboards for specialty consumers. (I hate to break it to you but Urban Outfitters' and Wal-Mart's tastes are similar. They are not as cool as you thought they were). I make T-shirts for a merchandising company. I gave up on trying to inject any kind of personality in the designs, and leave that creativity for my own work that I will create later. I’m going to let Batman be Batman. As far as gig posters, things were getting way too fuckin’ cute for me, so I’m trying to push things a little by throwing something in to make people ask "What the fuck is that?"
You have participated in FLATSTOCK over the years, and yet you have also performed at SXSW as a musician on various occasions. What are the differences and similarities in playing the game at this yearly cultural meat market, as both a musician and a visual artist? Which do you prefer?
This is a tough question. My experiences at SXSW have been diminishing in excitement year after year. As far as FLATSTOCK goes, all the other what I might consider "weirdo artists" (Seripop, DNML, Sonnenzimmer, etc...) do not participate in the Texas FLATSTOCK because they do not feel it is for them, which I understand. I wouldn't do it either, except for the fact that it is only 3 hours away. So I feel like sometimes I’m the only one there without a Queens Of The Stone Age poster with a topless chick and pot leaves. There are some other great people there: Land Land, Young Monster, Jay Ryan, and Tim Doyle, though I do not feel stylistically similar to them. I always feel that when people get to my booth after seeing the million other posters they are either relieved that there is someone doing something dirty, or they are repulsed by my lack of craftsmanship.
As a musician I have only had one good day show for the past 2 years that I have played shows there. I would prefer not to play them, but I do. I have seen some amazing day shows though.
In continuing with the same subject, who "gets it" more? Music fans or art fans? Which do you find to be more informed, and who do you feel is just looking to party?
I have no idea if anyone gets it. I do not even get it and my interpretation is always different than the audiences'. I get the most requests for artwork from musicians though, and I guess that is why I started doing this in the first place: for music.
What are the advances, if any, that local art has made over your years as a working artist in North Texas? What do you feel causes the whole thing to just decline?
Well it is not as “advanced” as I want it to be. I was hoping that more shops would pop up and it would be a little like Chicago as far as a print community. Besides Pan Ector in Denton, I do not know of any other Independent art shops. What I wanted to happen was for me to make these shitty posters and to inspire someone to say "Fuck you, I can do this better," start their own shop, and put out their own packaging and posters. I do not think it is in decline by any means, because I have consistently met great artists from all over the DFW area.
What has been the most successful show or favorite memory in doing all of this? What has been the worst moment?
My favorite times are seeing people that I respect and being able to trade with them. One of my favorite moments was meeting Matt Brinkman at the Load Records showcase in Austin, and being able to tell him how much Fort Thunder affected my outlook. The worst moments are working forever on something and it comes out shitty. I feel like I’m about to have a nervous breakdown sometimes when that happens. Then going to the show to try to sell, and the venue does not have a merch area or they do and there is no light.
Why are musicians so stupid when it comes to doing the minimal research it takes to find out what they need to finish a t-shirt or poster design? Can you tell us a little bit about why a band should never submit its horrible logo in a Microsoft word file, or what vectoring is?
I do not think bands are stupid for focusing more on their “sound” than caring about how unique their album packaging is. I personally think that good album packaging is huge part of a good album. It will not make a shitty album good but it will boost the listening experience. People who listen to vinyl will stare at the cover while listening, so why not give them something great to stare at? Vector graphics are something that I plan to never use (I may one day?) in my personal work, but must use in my 9 to 5 and I do not have enough time to go off on a tangent about it. I just do not understand why everything has to be flat and clean. Lets just iron out the wrinkles in our brain shall we?
I recently attended the late-period Warhol show that just ended at the Modern and I understand you did as well. What do you think has changed about screen printing since the 80's? What did you find interesting about the prints there?
There are huge changes from the 80’s. Screen-printing posters did not really begin until the early 90’s, according to the "Art of Modern Rock" book, and has grown ever since. So now in 2010 it is a commoditized hobby with the Yudu [home screen-printing system]. In the 60’s, as opposed to today, it was used as another medium to facilitate High Art. It was looked at as avant-garde to use an industrial process to create fine artwork. The great thing about Warhol and his cronies is that they used screen-printing for its imperfections, not for the industrial use of trying to create exact replications for the private sector. The processes of creating the materials for printing were way too complicated for at-home screen-printing, or to print rock posters with. All the Avalon and Fillmore posters are lithography. Just like home recording, screen-printing has given the consumer the power to create what they want. Actually just watch the Yudu commercial.
What is the worst thing about working on layouts for We Shot JR projects, and are we the most incompetent outfit that you have ever been involved with?
The worst part about working for We Shot JR is that I just do not have enough room for all the money that the dump trucks bring to my house. No, We Shot JR is no different than any other client or job.
Bastard Noise | Hatred Surge | Lychgate | Mindhunter (Rubber Gloves) I would think that Bastard Noise would need no intro, but considering that nobody else has said anything about this rather significant show, I'll do what I can. Bastard Noise is the very effective offshoot of Man Is The Bastard, a widely loved group that truly redefined the limits of hardcore as an art form in the 90's, especially by tampering with the genre's formula and arsenal of equipment. The group combined stark bass-lines with homemade noise tools capable of emitting sounds that were completely unique and avoided the tired guitar distortion cliches that were already wearing thin in hardcore by the early 90's. This is all the more obvious when you hear their music today and realize that it has not aged a second; it still sounds completely devastating without even a hint of the silliness prevalent at the time.
Bastard Noise, which has shared all of the same members, has pushed in arguably even more radical directions over the years, with a healthy amount of the music's explosiveness eventually disintegrating into formless static and chaos, largely devoid of rhythm and instead atmospherically manipulating its surroundings through a sustained and engulfing fog of sound.
But just when one suspects they understand the group's intentions, they always seem to return to their many abilities of rhythm and force, combining prog beats and intense vocals to snap the noise back into skeletal shape in an intimidatingly convincing manner. Make no mistake, Bastard Noise (as well as Man Is The Bastard and Geronimo) have one of the all-time immediately identifiable sounds in any genre of music. Countless are the times when it comes up on some mix cd or random Ipod track, and somebody excitedly exclaims one of the monikers on the multi-pronged list of groups that have spawned from this crowd. Pretty nerdy, I know. The dense and tough bass and drum parts mixed with the otherworldly squeals of their handmade equipment has become just as iconic in some circles as the characteristic shred of your average "favorite all-time guitarist." Except this never sucks. The fact that Austin's Hatred Surge is opening, as well as a couple of terrific locals would warrant even more type, but I want some people to actually read this before midnight. Highly recommended.
Shearing Pinx | Nu Sensae | Cuckoo Byrds | Orange Coax (Majestic Dwelling Of Doom) I saw the Shearing Pinx perform on the UTD campus of all places, and they reminded me a lot of another similar act that played tasteful noise rock from Canada: The Creeping Nobodies. I remember them being pretty good and I'm not making light of both groups being from Canada; I just honestly don't hear many bands like these two from the States anymore. Perhaps I'm not looking hard enough.
Nu Sensae are great fun and they combine a bratty "Juicy" Julia Cafritz/Free Kitten vocal sound with high-energy, bass-led rock rhythms. There is a distinct lack of guitar with most of the best bands playing tonight and that's no coincidence. I used to have this friend that mainly listened to house music who would openly fantasize about how she wished that some magic being (a DJ, duh) would swoop in and erase all of the bad guitar parts out of old disco tracks and even the good guitar parts out of dance-y post punk tracks like The Raincoats or The Delta Five. Really used to piss me off. Know what's weird? I kind of understand now. Maybe I'm finally old. Oh, Cuckoo Byrds is the wonderful duo that runs Time Bandits in Denton and I'm expecting good things since they played such wonderful records at our own show in September of last year. One more thing: Orange Coax has ten inch records being shipped from the Czech Republic to my fucking house as we speak.
Invincible Czars | Timeline Post | Old Snack (Hailey's) Hey, what does everyone think of the band name "Old Snack?" It seems to be pretty polarizing when it's brought up. I almost accidentally logged into Myspace today and posted a bulletin. Is that weird? Did you know there are bands on there? No, seriously. Like, a lot.
"are just that-- small bits of something interesting that never manage to coalesce or build momentum."
Ouch. Furthermore, reviewer Larry Fitzmaurice is critical of the length of many of the tracks as well as the way the record itself sounds:
"All of these complaints are just minor quibbles, though, next to the album's greatest weakness: it sounds terrible. Every element of every song is mixed way, way into the red. Throughout, nuance and layering are discarded in favor of an annoying sonic antagonism."
Double ouch. But as a person who has spent time listening to this record quite a bit lately as I've attempted to prepare a full length review, I have to agree-- Homemade Extacy just isn't much fun to listen to. Yes, many of the songs are entirely too long, often clocking in at six minutes plus and giving the listener the feeling of running in place; and yes, the record is mixed terribly and is often physically difficult to listen to, but not in a good way. Unfortunately, however, I found the songs lacking even moreso than Pitchfork seemed to-- the truth is that Florene's debut sounds too harsh to be psychedelic and mesmirizing, not rough or interesting enough to be confrontational or challenging, and the whole thing puzzlingly lacks the beats needed to make it the least bit danceable. There are a lot of good influences to be found throughout, and the group seems to know its way around an XLR8R magazine, but it was tough to find much to like about their execution on record. You can buy it here if you want to hear it for yourself.
Erykah Badu | B.o.B | Janelle Monae (Verizon Theater) Badu is playing to her hometown crowd, in support of her most recent release, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh, but of course the conversation for months on end has been about almost anything but her music. Now a lot of people may groan about that, and with eyes rolled, talk about how "music is just sound" and if you "write good songs" that's all that matters etc., but that's never the entire story. Some people are just so interesting they can get away with music that isn't always well-written, or the catchiest, or contains the best beats, or any music-as-sports cliches about what makes any piece of art "the best" or better than any other.
Now with Badu, I think her music has definitely had different levels of successfully catching your attention; sometimes willfully unconventional and sometimes unabashedly destined-for-the-charts. When she's at her best, it's a little of both. However, I think the distinction between her and her peers is that there always seems to be this push, or effort to constantly reach outside of the often strict and rigid structure of what makes a hit record for someone having to worry about moving a ton of product every couple of years. That's something that most people just can't fathom even if they are trying to follow the hoary rules of showbiz.
Badu's video for "Window Seat" was such a local scandal that it became the leading story on the DFW nightly news for days. That's something that has pretty much never happened with any artist in Dallas music history as far as I can tell. If you have a better example, please let us know. You can call it a publicity stunt, exhibitionism, performance art, hey, dismiss it however you want but I will say this: Anytime I've been outside of Dallas since the video was made or talk to out-of-town friends, they are fascinated by this event, and want to know everything they can about how it was perceived around town. There was a certain amount of actual shock here. Somebody from Dallas actually made an artistic statement and people reacted. A lot of people reacted. The police got involved. Discussions were had. This wasn't the work of some overpaid hotshot publicist or a backroom label deal to get a video played on some hip website. This was an actual expression that evoked natural reactions: both good and bad, but passionate either way. And this wasn't from some underground metal or noise act or a performance art extremist, but someone with many eyes on her and everything to lose. Actual guts, actual feelings hurt, and a longtime local stigma shown with a brand new perspective by way of a pretty low-tech video and a few shed articles of clothing. Badu radically pushed much needed lofty and ambitious concepts back into pop music if even for a bit, and I gladly discuss the video she made over plenty of other things I'm sick of being associated with in the never-ending discussion of Dallas music.
Screening: El Laberinto Del Fauno AKA Pan's Labyrinth (Texas Theatre) Wow, and what do you know? An actual movie is playing at the Texas Theatre. What do you think Dallas? Are we still the "City Of Hate?" Or are we "over it?"
There are a couple things we know and don't know about this show. What we do know is that the line-up tonight features Pete Shelley / Steve Diggle / Danny Farrant / Chris Remington and they will be playing their first two albums in their entirety. The press release also says they will be playing "hits" which hopefully means all of Singles Going Steady. What we do not know is if the guys can reproduce the youthful punk blast of joy that so many of us love. If the double live album Driving You Insane from 2005 is any indication we should be in for quite the night. After party will be at Fallout Lounge with Soular Power.
This is going to be the last show for Giggle Party as Dallas residents, and since The Handsome Kitten is also the residence of Giggle Party this will also be the last show there as well.
Solid line-up for bands that usually require the audience to stand in a basement or equally un-air conditioned setting. The show is free for 21+ so there is nothing holding you back from walking back and forth between Rubber Gloves and here.
Little Black Dress is one of the worst names for a rock band since Deep Blue Something. Surprisingly enough Little Black Dress features members of Deep Blue Something. Get ready to be proud of your music scene again Dallas!
Sir Name features members from one of my favorite local bands from previous times Street Hassle who then became Touch Tongues. After previewing the Myspace stuff this new incarnation seems to have retained the Exile on Mainstream-esque sludge that made Hassle so great but with a more direct pop approach. Reminds me in parts of New York Dolls and the similarly Stones influenced Royal Trux.
I could give two shits about any kind of professional sport, especially one played predominately by foreign people, but this is a really fun song and might come in handy if you plan on hosting a World Cup party. Air Miami were not from Miami but from Washington D.C. and consisted of ex-Unrest band mates Mark Robinson and Bridget Cross. This EP features five remixes of the song World Cup Fever originally featured on the 1995 4AD release Fun, Fun, Fun. I might be wrong here but I do believe this is the only American born soccer pop song. So as a favor to me and all the other non-soccer fans can we keep all World Cup discussion to this thread. Thanks!
Since the inception of electronic | synth based dance music there has been a fascination with the producer of said music adopting an android like persona. Kraftwerk, Daft Punk and Boards of Canada are all examples of music held in high regard along with being acts that deliberately tie their persona to their machines. I don't believe this is out of modesty or because they are excessively ugly, but because that detachment between the artist and the audience has been one of the unique attributes that has kept electronic music exciting and different.
Now that electronic music is reaching a point where acts seem to be treading water, the genre was in need of a nice jolt to the system. There has been some great dance music released the past few years but nothing I would consider "ground-breaking" as I believe the aforementioned acts have done. Along comes James Murphy, the man behind LCD Soundsystem, who brings a much needed dose of heart and sense of humor to the dance music game.
LCD's latest This is Happening owes a big debt to things past. Bowie, Ultravox, Chic and any other groovy uptown dance track of the past 30 years seem to be boiled to a point here over the course of nine very long songs. Instead of hiding behind the drum machine or siphoning his voice through a vocoder, James Murphy has chosen to makes himself the center piece of his music as a performer and a songwriter.
By placing Murphy upfront, whether it is his true self or perhaps an emotionally complex cyborg he has created, the music is lifted above the sometimes hollow feeling that synthetic groove based music can leave one with. Murphy's honesty and humor are all paramount to the LCD experience. The direct delivery of his self referential, often myopic world view makes the music great for listening to in a bean bag with the headphones on, not just for shaking it on the dance floor.
His knack for sing-a-longable anthems no doubt ensures that the audience will have plenty to do tonight. Mercer has said not to expect any kind of guitar solos or jam sessions mid song, but instead a recreation of the songs as close to the record as possible. I know that I have been practicing my dance moves alone in my room for about a month now and am ready to do some damage. The ticket price will be worth it alone to see the hundreds of awkward indie dudes flailing about.
I know I should have put a picture of LCD Soundsystem up for this post but I have always really appreciated Iron Maiden's covers and wanted to give a nod to Derek Riggs.
