D@FW Weekend Project - Middle Ground Edition

In an attepmpt to cut both sides some slack this weekend we're proposing a "meet in the middle" gathering tonight in Arlington.
The Burning Hotels are bringing their "Sex Wave" indie sound to the Levitt Pavilion which starts at 8pm. Here's the best part, it's a FREE show.
Gas prices have dropped a little [knock on wood] in DFW so all the more reason to drive half way and dig some free music.

Can't make it out tonight? Get your alt. country on with Dale Watson on Saturday or feel the funk on Sunday w/ Big Sam's Funky Nation. Both are also FREE shows and start at 8pm.

Find out what your neighbors think about Levitt Pavilion in Arlington courtesy of their official Yelp! page and hope you make it out to a free show this weekend!

         

Feeback Revival TONIGHT! Come Hell or High Water...

Dan Fenton, originally from New York, started his musical adventure into rock & roll apart of a hard rock band called Education of Monkeys.
Since the days of teaching primates how to rock, Fenton journeyed down to Nashville to form the quartet Feeback Revival.
Compared to acts that range from Zeppelin to The Chili Peppers with a mix of the White Stripes and The Black Keys, Feedback Revival is without question a proud & loud rock band. Just ask Ed Hurt over at Nashville
Scene - "These guys make loud, mean rock ’n’ roll, so you might want to take them at their word."

Last week the guys were featured on the Local Lightning Spotlight with both some radio air-time and a section on Lightning 100's website.
Hell or High Water is the band's debut LP that was released in January. Thirteen tracks total with titles that conjure up visions of gritty southern angst with a fast and loud style. Not bad for a New Yorker!

Tonight is your chance to catch the Feedback boys live at Mercy Lounge w/ Blackfoot Gypsies, Hardin Draw, Long Gone Darlings and Sam Lewis.

Time to kill before the show, check out the new video for "Big Black Tooth" which was released last week, enjoy!


Harpin' the Old Warhorse

Denton, Texas has a music scene that's been in development long before most started paying attention.
Aside from being a known college town, you can catch everything from eclectic to contemporary sounds at spots like Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios & Dan's Silverleaf.
Oh, there's that 4 day music fest called 35 Denton that happens in March that featured acts from Glasgow, Boise, LA & London this year.
On the local front, Denton is producing acts like Old Warhorse which is actually a combination act of other local fav. bands including...
Pinebox Serenade, the Spitfire Tumbleweeds, The Jakeys and Magnum Octopus.

Formed in January 2011 the five guys from Warhorse describe their sound as "Grizzly Adams and Jesse James chasing bourbon into the scarecrow dawn". Proof is in the vinyl and "you will understand the rust and muscle" with the release of their upcoming self titled 7", also claims the band.               No matter how you spin it, their sound is deep into blues, rock and soul with the right amount of harmonica and southern pride to keep the good ole' boys dancing a jig right along with the hipsters.

In two weeks [July 15th] you can catch Old Warhorse at previously mentioned - Dan's Silverleaf w/ folk group Hares on the Mountain.

Our favorite track from Old Warhorse is "White Lightning" and we added it below to share.

Kickstarting Land of the Living

Lots of bands and artists have discovered the website Kickstarter as a means to fund recording projects, semi tours etc.
Matthew Perryman Jones can be counted among the recent success campaigns by raising $26,000 in 1 month which actually exceeded his goal by 30%.

Land of the Living is Matthew's fourth album release and is being called "songs of delicate poetic craft and visceral emotion" by iTunes.

Getting his start in 1997, Matthew debuted at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, GA which isn't the worst place to cut your teeth as a songwriter considering the likes of John Mayer also spent his early career testing his sound at Eddie's.

Soon after Mr. Jones made his way to Nashville and decided to call it home. In 2000 he released "Nowhere Else But Here" with the follow-up EP "For the Road" in 2003.

His most critical love came in 2006 with the release of "Throwing Punches in the Dark" which was produced by Neilson Hubbard [Glen Phillips, Garrison Star].

Fresh off album release parties in both Birmingham and ATL, you can catch Matthew back in Nashville at The Bluebird Cafe' on post Independence day, July 5th. Then it's onto Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts before his Rockwood Music Hall performance in New York City on Sept. 22nd.

Watch a live performance of "I Won't Let You Down Again" which was filmed at the Lightning 100 studios apart of their 615 Day Sessions segment back on June 14th.

Folk Message from a Holler - Yall!

From Summer Cut to Solar Powered followed by The Live Oak just last Friday.  Telegraph Canyon are having no problem spreading their indie/folk/rock message of sound around DFW and beyond.

Although their latest LP, "The Tide and the Current", was released back in 2009 that doesn't suggest the Canyon gang are loosing momentum. A new third album is quickly on it's way and anticipating much fanfare if former albums suggest any predictions.

Ticket holders will get a chance to see and hear two Canyoneers [Chris Johnson & Tamara Brown] at the SOLD OUT August 2nd Barefoot at the Belmont w/ Gary Clark Jr.

TC will be back in Fort Worth August the 10th to play Friday on the Green at Magnolia Green Park.

MAKE SURE you take a second to check out a great video edited/directed by Dane Walters over at KXT of this years KXT Summer Cut [Recap] featuring: "Safe On the Outside" by Telegraph Canyon from The Tide and the Current LP.

Great job and footage Dane!

Tristen's House of War & more...

Guest Blogger: Susannah Felts
Tristen is on the road a lot, charming audiences in clubs country-wide with her smart songwriting and catchy hooks. A lot of hard work and persistence has paid off in recent years for the Chicago-bred, Nashville-baptized (in terms of music, at least) singer-songwriter: her debut full-length album, Charlatans at the Garden Gate, racked up all kinds of praise, including hearty commendations from her local music scene brethren, many of whom named it as Album of the Year in the Nashville Scene’s 2011 year-end wrap-up. And then there was that bit of NPR coverage that generated a lot of buzz.

So it was a pleasure to catch Tristen and her band, The Ringers, on home turf at the Basement [6/20/12] on a summer solstice evening, with Bows & Arrows and Evan P. Donohue opening up. (Tristen thanked them for keeping the rock alive: “It’s a niche now, y’all,” she said.) Joining her were Buddy Hughen on guitar and Jordan Caress on bass, and they led off the set with “Eager for Your Love,” the first song off Charlatans, with a slightly different arrangement than the recorded version. No live percussion this time around: Buddy manned the drum machine, and Tristen broke out a vintage organ/keyboard thingy (yes. a thingy) for several songs.

FW@D Weekend Project

It's your turn Fort Worth! After a successful weekend that I'm sure had a lot more to do with John Oates, Iris Dement and Hot Club of Cowtown than our last minute blog post idea at The Live Oak Music Hall last week, we're reversing the efforts and sending Fort Worth to Dallas tonight.
Texas Brews and Grooves - featuring Nelo, Emory Quinn, Fishfry Bingo and Fate's Crossing will be live at the House of Blues in Dallas tonight - 6/22 starting at 8pm.

Nelo is a rock band out of Austin, TX that originally started back in 2005 and has managed to build their fan base through good old fashion no stop touring, grit and rock.

Check out a live performance from February when the band recorded their song "Jumping Bean" at Pedernales Studio in Spicewood, TX.

Seriously, what's all The Phuss?

Garage rock so effin' loud it should be called basement noise. Hot damn, think I just coined a genre no one will ever use! "Basement Noise"
That said, doesn't mean The Phuss is without melodic groove, no question you can hear it amid the twisted off volume knobs.
These three guys out of Fort Worth have built a very respectable catalog and following since the band first formed back in 2008. The man up front and guitarist Josh Fleming started it up with drummer Trey Alfaro four years ago, then adding bassist Forrest Barton two years later.
Back in March and April of this year the band got a chance to play a few dates with the Toadies and Sealion throughout Texas.

Post Toadies tour, The Phuss got a chance to play ArtsGoggle in Fort Worth with another local fav. band The Hanna Barbarians back May 19th before heading to Dallas last week to play LaGrange with The Riverboat Gamblers.

How loud can they really be? Judge for yourself with this clip/performance from April 15th at Otto's Shruken Head in East Village - New York.

Blackfoot Gypsies [Almost] On The Loose

Good news on the new LP vinyl release front for the Blackfoot Gypsies, "On The Loose" should be available soon according to the band's June 13th facebook post giving thanks to all the fans who've made the new album possible.
The blues/rock/americana/garage/country style isn't that different these days but the Gypsies bring a raw edge to their sound that gives an instant stand out vibe to their songs and live performance.

Straight out of Collinsville, Illinois, [home of the "World's Largest Catsup Bottle"] and the guys posted pics to prove it, from a live show last week - they are back on home turf to play Kimbro's Cafe June 22nd in Franklin followed by a show at Mercy Lounge on the 28th with Feedback Revival.

It's on to the "Peachtree Road Race" in Atlanta, GA then after a quick trip back to Nashville the dudes head to Indy, Columbus and Lexington as they continue the current regional tour run.

Dandee Cheeseball EP, released back in December of 2011 is the band's most current collection with our fav. track being "Rock It Up" featuring a great little old school blues guitar riff intro with enough fuzz [on the amp and in the track] to stir up any retro corduroy loving s.o.b. - enjoy!

"Sex Wave" on a California Run

Oblique pop is one way The Burning Hotels have referred to their style of music however The Local Edge host, Mark Schectman, over at KDGE in Dallas branded their sound as "Sex Wave" and it stuck, for obvious reasons. 

Since their 2007 release of Eighty Five Mirrors, Chance Morgan and Matt Mooty combine an electro-rythmic-pop energy with their rock & roll style stage persona.                   Numerous awards and travels later, the guys have handled the 2012 festival circuit well with both their SXSW appearance and most recent Homegrown Fest spot.

Last week just after their live show at "Lowbrow Palace" in El Paso, The Hotels set out for a four date California run including two L.A. stops at The Mint and The Satellite followed by The Ruby Room and Tin Can Ale House which wrapped up in San Diego last night.

A remix/b side EP is in works which is scheduled for release this summer followed by a national tour.

Preston Jones over at DFW.com caught some live footage back in March at Valhalla in Austin,TX during their SXSW performance. Enjoy, thanks Preston!

Enjoy the 11+ Year Ride

An original product of Milwaukee, WI - Zach Broocke first made this way to Nashville in 2001 by way of Boston.

Listening to Willie, Merle, Jones and Don Williams growing up makes for a good fit as a transplant but Zach was also into the songwriter styles like Jim Croce, Harry Chapin and Cat Stevens which helps explain the Americana/Folk/Rock/Country vibe from his latest release "Enjoy the Ride - Solo Writes 2001-2012"
Chad Brown, a Nashville engineer/producer, introduced Zach to Warner Chappell songwriter Troy Johnson which started a writing partnership between them that still continues today.
In 2005 Zach left Nashville for Los Angeles and formed a new band of L.A. players which spawned the "Last Call EP" followed by live shows at various L.A. hotspots like The Troubadour, The Viper Room and The Roxy to name a few. 
Lakeshore Records released "Enjoy the Ride" May 22nd which all together was recorded across three different states -  TN, Mass and California.
Lightning 100 in Nashville featured Zach two weeks ago apart of the "Local Lightning Spotlight" and you can check out his in-studio performance here...

D@FW Weekend Project

Here's an idea, nothing new just worth throwing out.  Dallas live music "flockers"should come to Fort Worth this weekend for your fix.  We'll list one, two or three good reasons then let you do your thing and pick one or be individual and find your own.
Next week we'll flip it in reverse and send Fort Worth to Dallas, you get the idea.

Tonight - Friday, June 15th at 8pm everyone DFW wide plus Denton should come out to Fort Worth's brand new spot The Live Oak Music Hall and Lounge to catch John Oates live supporting his latest release The Bluesville Sessions.

Tickets are available through Live Oak's website.


Zach Galifianakis & his Classic Alt Pop/Tropical Country Love...

So there is this "old soul sound" coming out of Nashville singer/songwriter Courtney Jaye who spent many years living in Kauai, Hi and you can total hear that flavor.
Her love of The Grateful Dead and Neal Young is obvious but doesn't take away from her ability to throw down on bluegrass jam when timing is ripe!
Classic Alt Pop/Tropical Country tag was not our attempt at being cute with a title, it's a self describe genre along with a quote from Mr. Z.G. featured within Courtney's About section of her facebook...

"Courtney Jaye's wonderful throwback voice makes for splendid grooves. In a business where you don't think there are any more authentic crooners left, you stumble across a record like this & have faith that the tradition will be carried on. "Box Wine" has become a theme song of mine when thirsty and looking for haziness. Courtney Jaye is a talented recording artist with real style, class & talent.... Unlike most of the jerkoffs in her business. I so adore this record."-Zach Galifianakis

Courtney's anticipated 2012 release of her album "Love and Forgiveness" is being produced by Mike Wrucke who also produced "Revolution" for Miranda Lambert back in 2009.

Fun at Bonnaroo w/ the Michael Kiwanuka band

Last month Courtney offered up a new song titled "Stars and Skies" on YouTube and facebook featuring Stanton Edwards on guitar, check it out...

Live Oak & Oates on Opening Night - Fort Worth

Friday on the Green, Magnolia Street Festival, ArtsGoggle & Oktoberfest are just a few of the great cultural experiences offered on the Near Southside Community in Fort Worth.

This Friday, June 15th a new addition to the area will officially open on the corner of Lipscomb and Magnolia known as The Live Oak Music Hall & Lounge.

The home for The Live Oak is located inside a 5,000 square foot building with a lot of history considering it started life as the South Side Lion's Club hosting dances and other forms of community entertainment.

Last week I had the opportunity to get a personal tour of the new/fully renovated venue and still haven't figured out the exact words to explain both the atmosphere and vibe you get from both the history of the building and the years of creative vision the founder, Mr. Bill Smith has brought to the architectural design throughout the facility and all the outside feature areas apart of the The Live Oak. A big thank you to Mr. Clint Simpson for taking the time out of his busy schedule as entertainment manager for the tour and rundown on all things Live Oak!

Malefactors - Stealing the Maritime Restraint

"Guys that like to play songs about girls in dead end day jobs" is the self described direction for the three man alt. rock group out of Nashville, Anchor Thieves.
Originally Homework [name change well deserved] the bands concept of capturing the raw minimal feel of vocalist/guitarist Cayce Keller in all its home recorded glory lead the band into the full chord fat fuzz guitar riff melodies that you hear in their most recent tracks like Unusual.

Last week the guys hooked up with Scale Model and Calicocat at the Exit/In to support another local group I Believe in Hotpants which turned out to be a great show according to fan posts on the various social media pages!
The Thieves next chance to see you live will be on July 5th at The 5 Spot w/ old friends Calicocat and former We Were the States members - Echo Group.

Fresh off last week's presses we found a shakey but decent video of Anchor Thieves performance at Exit/In from their Tuesday the 5th appearance, enjoy...

No Shoes + Poolside Ear Service?

In it's third season KXT 91.7 has returned to the historic Belmont Hotel off Fort Worth Avenue in Dallas, TX.
Four shows in the books and four more to go, Thursday June 21st will feature Tim DeLaughter once front man for Trippin Daisy and currently The Polyphonic Spree.

Fort Worth group Brenna Manzare & The Proper Husbands will be the opening act for Tim that night but I hope you purchased your tickets awhile back considering all the remaining shows have been sold out for some time now.

Maybe you could book a room for the night and try to sneek down by the pool, peek out a window or off a balcony?  Can't promise this method will get you more than the distant sounds of the show however.

Santigold and Her Dancing Divas at the House of Blues Dallas

Santigold at HOB

Mother nature couldn't have picked a better night to wash the city clean then Wednesday [insert extreme sarcasm here]. Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding aside I slipped on my concert wear, hooked an umbrella to my arm and dragged my music loving a@# to the House of Blues.

Hot off the release of her long awaited sophomore album, Master of My Make-Believe, Santigold, AKA Santi White, finally made it back to the HOB stage after three years and a name change (formerly Santogold). In today's fast paced, "I want everything now" society it's almost unheard of to wait three years for an artist to release an album, let alone their second. But there's something to be said about the wait...the anticipation of new music and the constant search for news or info on what your favorite artists are up to. For me, the wait has been painful because yes, I secretly wish I was the third back-up dancer to Santigold, or even just a fly on the wall during her writing and recording sessions. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a fan.

The Will Callers are Answering...

Rock, Blues, Country, Soul even Gospel are some of the genres or labels people have tried to pin on The Will Callers out of Fort Worth which doesn't seem to bother or effect the bands direction of writing and making great music no matter the style.
This band and the members have been through a lot in a very short time and without bringing up pass losses they have managed to not only remain solid but develop a lot more creative work in the process.
Their latest EP "Make It Alright" features a group of grooved out southern grit that can simply inspire exactly what the title track suggest, making it alright no matter the stress you might have been feeling.

You can catch the band at the Boiler Room in Dallas on Sat. June 9th with Lauren Kent and Blue Bear supporting that night.
We have something kinda special planned for The Will Callers next month that we will tell you a lot more about soon!

Until then check out "Make It Alright" via their bandcamp page...

Six Year Project for Son of Mumford - Communion Nashville Launch

Billed as the "UK's most credible source for breaking artists", Communion is launching their most recent U.S. expansion in Nashville tomorrow night (6/7) live at The Basement.

This will be the start of many first Thursdays of each month featuring "emerging, developing and established acts" each month.                                Communion developed as an artist forward and artist operated organization that deals in many facets of the music industry including live promotion, publishing, recording and production to offer artist and songwriters a full service approach to their business needs. Formed in 2006 by fellow musicians Ben Lovett (Mumford and Sons) and Kevin Jones (Cherbourg) along with producer Ian Grimble (Manic Street Preachers, Travis, Beautiful South) at the Notting Hill Arts Club in London. Artists like Michael Kiwanuka, Anna Calvi, The Vaccines and Ben Howard performed during the early days of the artist coalition.

This should be a cool addition to some of the other regular shows around town and I look forward to seeing the type of acts they bring in each month and how many new favorites they can help launch for Nashville.

KXT Summer Cut: An Ecelctic Fun Fest

The Flaming Lips

Friday night publicly funded station KXT 91.7 pulled together an eclectic group of musicians for the first annual Happy Funtime Fest. Two stages, 9 bands and a few food trucks turned the Gexa Energy Pavilion into a mini festival. Thanks to the fabulous peeps here at GoodBAMMSho not only was I on hand to soak in all the tunes, but I had the incredible opportunity to play photog for a night in the press pit! 

Playing on the main stage were Telegraph Canyon, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Fitz & The Tantrums, St. Vincent, and headliners The Flaming Lips. A small area by the concessions was carved out for Walk Off The Earth, Quiet Corral, Smile Smile and Air Review on the second stage.

Bonnaroo & H2O - Let the Festivals Begin...

Summer is officially here no matter what the astronomical Northern Hemisphere might dictate, Bonnaroo will arrive this Thursday, June 7th thru Sunday, June 10th in Manchester, TN.
Lineup this year includes: Radiohead | Red Hot Chilli Peppers | Phish | The Beach Boys | Bon Iver | Ben Folds Five and a sh@! ton more live performances!
Thanks again this year to YouTube for partnering with festival organizers to bring all us non festival attendees, BONNAROO 2012 LIVE coverage which starts June 8th - June 10th.
"Get Down on the Farm Without Actually Being on the Farm" is this years live webcast slogan and here is a quick preview...

SouthWest more your flavor or location?  No se preocupe amigo! Dallas has you covered with the first stop for H2O Music Festival on Saturday, June 9th featuring: Weezer | Snoop Dog | Gym Class Heros | MANA' | TIESTO | JUANES + more.
A quick taste of the sounds for this years lineup can be streamed on the official H2O Radio...
& check out the official preview for this years live show from The Cotton Bowl.

Walk the Talk to Beyond the Blue - William Beckett

Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance fans and your average indie music lover will remember The Academy Is out of Chi-town back in the day [as in last year when they parted ways] which featured William Beckett as lead singer.
Fast forward to this year and Mr. Beckett is doing just fine on his solo path to world travelation.
His Nashville stop at The End [5/26] only a few days old and William is not only walking the talk but he's about to fly straight into Asia to start 9 date run which begins on June 2nd with his leg of the Beyond the Blue Tour [thanks Google Translate] where he'll join Mayday Parade, Every Avenue, There For Tomorrow and more...

No worries North America William makes it back state side July 21st and will tear out of the west coast crossing through the SW U.S. bringing his flavor to all who dig good rock and soul. Considering our next opportunity to catch him live isn't until August 8th with his Dallas show at House of Blues we've got a couple ideas in mind on how to share our experience with everyone who checks back with us the same day of his show! Expect to hear from us soon William if you happen to read this post. Get the real scoop from William himself and check out the Walk The Talk Documentary...