Beauty and the Beast Vol. 1
Someone in one of the comment threads on this site used the term "new weird Denton" recently to describe, well....something. Dare I say a "scene?" Even if I don't dare, I can tell you that the most interesting rock in North Texas is being played in Denton right now, and Beauty and the Beast vol 1, a self described "free folk/noise festival" taking place on July 1st at Rubber Gloves, is collecting many of the better Denton bands for a day of performances. So far, the fest is scheduled to feature Fra Pandolf, Hotel Hotel, You Are the Universe, Shiny Around the Edges, iDi* amin and Notes From Underground. Should be a pretty interesting day (or night). We don't really have any more information on it right now, but go be Myspace friends with these people and learn more about it.
posted by stonedranger at 2:43 AM
44 Comments:
Mr. Seman (Shiny Around the Edges), Jason (You Are The Universe) and I have been talking about doing this for some time now. We're all really excited to finally get the ball rolling. Should be an excellent show all around.
Denton has ALWAYS been a hotbed of "new" or "weird" music, and it doesn't surprise me that it still is. What surprises me is people acting like it's a new thing. Here's a sampling of Denton bands: Brutal Juice, Mazinga Phaser, Baboon, Slobberbone, Tripping Daisy, Factory Press (later to become Calla), Brave Combo, Goodfoot, Centro-matic, and the Riverboat Gamblers. That's just a few of them.
The Denton scene has gone through many phases, from funk to the "Fraternity of Noise" to spacerock, and it's always been the main contributor to what people consider the "North Texas" sound.
Next time someone says to you (I'm speaking to the general you here), "Hey did you know Denton has cool bands and a great scene?," just reply, "Yeah, and it's been that way for almost 20 years."
factory press, in my opinion, is the only good band on that list.
(sorry mazinga)
Dear Pimplomat:
All the bands you listed were definitely new at some point. But weird? Come on. Is nineties space rock "weird"? Is "alternative" radio pop weird? Roots Rock? Or even a polka band (all due respect) or punk rock or whatever. I don't think people consider the "north texas sound". I've never heard of such a thing. People are so quick to call something a scene. A college town has some bands. Big deal. If Denton has gone through phases that's because the town's bands are playing along with musical trends. If you look at when all those bands started and compare it to what was popular at the time, underground or otherwise, it would become very clear why they sound the way they do. Because that's when space rock, lo-fi pop, alt rock were happening. I think the exceptions are Riverboat Gamblers, Brave Combo and Brutal Juice. Not that I'm a fan of any of those bands. But the rest of your list were bands playing the music of their time. So the North Texas sound is playing whatever's popular in music at that time, I guess. I do respect these new Denton noise people though. I wouldn't throw them in this category.
To be honest Mr. Universe you have probably never seen my project on a good night. Mazinga has only had 3 or 4 good shows in Texas since I brought this idea of a band out of retirement. I'm sure you blew us off just like everyone else. 2 of those shows were our past 2 shows. I came back from playing with Glenn Branca truly enlightened. It has given me true focus on what I actually want to do with this band. What I always wanted to say with this music, but just did not quite know how to say it. In defense of Brutal Juice.........they are little too heavy for most people, but when I was 19 and on multiple hits of Acid they were quite the live force. As far as local bands go nobody has put on shows that big since then. Denton bands from back in the day that were truly Brilliant: Light Bright Highway, Pointy Shoe Factory, Jetscreamer, Lift to Experience, Earl Harvin(who is playing on the new Mazinga Record),and a long list of Melodica festival alumni. Pete from Factory Press and Calla was actually in the falcon Project which at the time also had Sean Kirkpatrick (from Paper Chase and Maxine's Radiator), Will Kapinos (Jetscreamer). Always the target. Always on the defense. That's the story of my life. Sometimes I just feel like a punching bag. Alright who's next in line? Who wants to take another pot shot at everyone's favorite guy to diss on..................Do you even know who Goodfoot is? How old are you anyways.You are probably too afro-deprived to dig a good funk band. Such is the curse of being a pretentious indie twerp .......... As a matter of fact all of the above mentioned bands are pretty damn good for their respective genres (Brave Combo Grammy for polka......c'mon).
If you are going to diss on band why don't you try actually listening to them a not judge them on a few bad shows. I know in mazinga's case I have been searching for our voice for almost a decade and only now am I starting to really be satisfied with what we are coming up with. Any preconceived notion that people have of my band is about to be blown to bits. Anyone who was at our last 2 shows knows exactly what I am talking about.
nothing is weird. wearing makeup and cutting your hair like a mental patient from the 80s is not weird. not setting up on the stage but setting up on the floor is not weird. having 20 people in your band that all have beards is not weird and neither is playing a theramin. folk rok-ish erickson solo girl/boy singers are not weird. girl drummers are not weird. music has a long and rich history that has incorporated all of the above and more. what's so weird? playing your damn music and not bothering with the frills.
why do we have to keep reading resumes on here?
Musicians get a tough skin and suck it up. Everyone loves you or they're out to get you. That's the way it is. People aren't ignorant because they don't like you, they just plain old don't like you. Would you rather surround yourself with people that all think like you? Like all the same stuff? Or with a diverse range of people where you may-gasp-learn something new? You're in the public eye. You know what that means. Scrutiny. Deal with it and dry the tears.
sorry mwanz, I didn't mean to use the word good to imply a qualitative judgement, you guys are good at what you do, and I respect that. I guess it just doesn't do much for me, and yeah, there have been tons of great bands that have come out of denton, I used the phrase "new weird denton" as a joke, you see, we are an average age of twenty, so we are a completely different generation of musicians with completely different ideas... I used it as a paralell to the "new weird america" thing used to describe bands like sunburned hand of the man or no neck blues band, because even though there was tons of weird music in america before them, they kind of brought certain styles out of obscurity and allowed bands like animal collective, black dice, FORT THUNDER, paper rad, etc. to kind of make this style into something that the indie press can really latch on to... I really wasn't trying to dis anyone, or discredit the past.
See, this is why we can't get together for the holidays...
Group Hug...
ha ha ha
I gots nothin' but love for all involved.
"Alright who's next in line? Who wants to take another pot shot at everyone's favorite guy to diss on..................Do you even know who Goodfoot is? How old are you anyways.You are probably too afro-deprived to dig a good funk band. Such is the curse of being a pretentious indie twerp .........."
You're being resurrected in a few days, no?
If you are only twenty how can you possibly know anything about my 10 year history with Mazinga. If you guys are open to I propse you come play a show with us on our terms. You may be surprised. There is a whole history in your town that you really know nothing about.
I'm looking forward to this event ... sounds like good times.
sure, on your terms, but please, don't make assumptions about what I do and don't know.
ps. it doesn't really matter, but I said that our AVERAGE age was twenty. one person that plays with us is 29. two of us are 21, and one is 19.
New reality show idea! Indie kids blog fighting. Film at 11.
I only assume that you don't know much about me and that you are making grand statements about a person you really don't know much about. Or am i wrong?........maybe you have been a fly on the wall and actually know the many incarnations I have been through over the past 17 years of my career....maybe you know about my sound explorations as the Wild Bull and the 7 cdr albums I have done over the years....maybe you already know about my.....My terms means a show where the club is not screwing me around and I actually am playing with a somewhat stable line up like I finally have now. How much do you really know about my stuff anyways? Maybe you are the doing the assuming. Are you guys available for a late April show?
that's right.....let's rummmmbbllleeee!!!!!!
hah, dude, this is great.
sure late april is great, but I don't want compare dick sizes.
another PS
I really didn't mean to piss you off man, if you told me you don't like my band, I'd shrug it off. I mean, I don't really expect too many people to like my stuff, I am truly happy with being a niche act and nothing more, maybe national distrobution would make me smile, but I don't plan on making it into the rock and roll hall of fame or anything.
Lars with the wisdom!
"I think it's incredibly hard for a cohesive local "sound" or "scene" to arise anymore, in our information-wracked, globalized network of a world. You've got the whole history of music and pop culture at your fingertips, more now than ever. Association and influence by geographic location is a thing of the past. The real war right now is Post-Modernists vs. Retrospectives. Allusion vs. Replication. So what are you gonna do? Recombine things and make something interesting? Or be a pretentious indie twerp (as Wanz aptly put it)?"
"If you guys are open to I propse you come play a show with us on our terms."
We're still on for April 15th right?
I'm not at all claiming to know a damn thing about your 2397234 years of experience in the D/FW music scene. I will say that so far, I have yet to be impressed with what I've heard by you. Not blowing you off, not trying to take shots at you, not singling you out because I'm too stupid to appreciate experimental music, etc, etc- I'm just simply stating my opinion.
"You may be surprised. There is a whole history in your town that you really know nothing about."
And..?
I like that Denton has a Rudy's BBQ...Oh yeah, this here thing sounds exciting. Also, I appreciate Lars' 2 cents. Stuff to think about. Thanks for sharing that.
p.s.
You all are making baby Jesus cry by bickering.
Texas takes up 7.5% of the nations total land area.
The latitude of Denton is 33.214N. The longitude is -97.132W.
The latitude of Dallas is 32.783N. The longitude is -96.8W.
This "scene" is but a dot in a big, big world. Think big.
Hey there...
It's Mike from Shiny. First, on behalf of everyone involved with B&BV1, thanks for the excitement and interest y'all have shown over the last few weeks! The underlying premise of this festival is by design many things to many different people. The important thing is that a loose collection of us, Fra, URTU, Notes, iDi, Hotel all enjoyed each other's music and having shows together, so we thought, why not have one big one to get the ball rolling for more. In meeting a host of cool musicians, Jen and I also began to find that the ones who were folk based and the ones who were noise based were very similar in their perspectives on music. In the Shiny home, in general, it is not uncommon to have a Six Organs of Admittance record followed by one from SunnO))).
Mwanza was very influential on Jen and I in so much as his Melodica Festivals and general love of new music left a big imprint on Denton, and we wanted to keep that thread alive. Additionally, I remember only a couple of years ago when Shiny moved to Denton and Will and Sam from jetscreamer went out of their way to help us get our first shows, and how Josh from Lift takes the time to impart his wisdom upon us, our actions now are just a continuation of that generosity. It is true; Denton historically has an odd take on music. This continuingly fresh perspective is something to be celebrated and at all costs, not commodified, but left to grow and change on a continual basis. Also, B&B fests are not at the expense of other festivals past or present, just another extension of the music culture that is North Texas.
One thing that all of us are adamant about, however, is that this festival is not solely a Denton thing. It is a DFW thing. The exciting thing about music right now is that unlike back in the 80’s when I was fortunate enough to see a long sought after bootleg of a bootleg videotape of Neubauten concert, the connections amongst people who dig differing variations of music now are strong and transcend geographical boundaries. Sure, Denton is a bit more eclectic than Dallas and Ft. Worth, but there are some artists doing great work in both the folk and noise genres in both of those cities, not to mention the people who like to see them perform that live in places like Hurst and Arlington.
B&BV1 is the product of a new age in music and how it is appreciated communally. B&BV1 is just another stepping stone to an empowered world of CDRs with personalized drawings on them and confessional songs within, of websites where demos are posted, of communicating with other bands in Omaha, Austin, Ithaca, San Diego, etc... and trading shows, of inspiring others to take chances in creating, of being turned on to new artists who are friends of friends. Above all, it is about the continuation of the DIY ethos and not relying on anyone but each other to make things happen for the propagation of our collective art.
Although Shiny is curating this edition of the festival, we are but a small part of the entire process and look forward to the next installments where we will be helping in other ways. This festival is only happening due to the specialized participation of ALL involved… from our friends at Rubber Gloves to many members of the bands.
If you are not a part of this edition of the fest, be sure to come out and experience it and meet those that are, make new friends, bring your CDRs, trade tips on what books are cool to read, films to see, beers to drink. Become a part of what’s happening as the minute after this edition of the fest is done, I have a feeling others will be planned, blogs will be started, songs written, and new friends made.
We look forward to seeing all of you in July.
M-.
My favorite thing about Denton is the way that the mailman gives us all puppies and mexican food on Thursdays. EVERY Thursday! Can you believe that? And not like, cheap busted ass wheezing puppies, either. The GOOD kind with no fleas. I want Record Hop to play at the 8th Continent, but I think I love Undoing more than Undoing loves me. Which is totally fine.
;) <- internet wink at the Lars to diffuse the tension of trying to snake a fun show in the middle of an electro-confrontation.
I've seen Mwanz since I was a teenager. Since Mazinga Phaser was Mazinga zeta or something like that. What does it matter if someone hasn't heard your last hundred cdrs. Is that relevant? You've had plenty of chances to play in front of and impress many people. You've had it pretty easy around here. I have also seen Wild Bull. If you look at the history of shows you've played, it includes a huge amount of respectable bands and national acts on various bills. I've had to see your band open for multiple loved acts. I'm younger than you Mwanz, but I have some advice for you:
1.Don't respond with "You couldn't even begin to understand what I'm listening to" when someone asks you what your rocking on your Ipod outside of the Sanctuary.
2. Don't make an assumption that nobody but you knows about Krautrock in the Dallas Observer.
3.Don't throw a huge fit when someone says they don't like your band.
4. Don't give up and move to New York (or at least threaten to) unless you suck as bad as the Secret Machines. You don't.
Not taking advice about the above things will make people hate your band more than they already might. I want to root for you. I really do. Even if I'm not a fan, I respect your influences etc. But being so defensive all the time probably alienates those that want to at least respect you as a person.
What Lars said is really on the mark. I read an essay about exactly that in that "We owe you nothing" book. And not knowing the history of Denton might be a good thing for a lot of these bands. I wish I could erase some of what I know about that.
leggo the ego. leggo my eggo.
In more important news...what's going on in the immediate now now of tonight? WeshotJr, snap it together man.
It's not that I get upset about people not digging our stuff. It's that I have spent the past year trying to bring my Mazinga project back from the grave and it seems like expected us to bad ass right out the chute. Greatness takes time and practice. Anyband is gonna play a lot of bad shows before they figure out what they are doing. People can be a little to quick to condemn a band. That happened with the Falkon. People already made up their minds about that band and the last 2 years we were around no one and I meean no one would go to our shows. During that time we became one hell of a Rock band. We broke up because it fell on def ears and we decided we wanted to get a fresh start. Out of that we got two bands that are even better. The Black Arm Band and The Great Tyrant. For the record I actually do dig your band.
Aw kiss and make up boys, you ARE making the little baby Jesus cry just like Sebastian said.
I'm freaking dying here. Your screen name! ROFL!
Okay. I am gonna respond to this and hopefully set the record straight for once. after this I am out. If you only knew how often people take pot shots at me on a regular basis. I work at Guitar Center where they truly don't get what I do musically.
1.Don't respond with "You couldn't even begin to understand what I'm listening to" when someone asks you what your rocking on your Ipod outside of the Sanctuary.
response:If you really want me to explain what I have been listening to just ask. Don't hold it against me. I am a super music geek. Once I get started talking about that stuff my excitement tends to turn people off even more. That's why I avoid talking about it outside of my friends and bandmates. Going out and doing a DJ gig seems a little more my speed.
2. Don't make an assumption that nobody but you knows about Krautrock in the Dallas Observer.
response:I do not make this assumption. I assume that most of the music journalists in the DFW area really don't know much about the music I love the most in general(i.e. Free Jazz, Krautrock, Italian prog, Berlin techno). If they don't even dig what I listen to how could they possibly even begin to dig what I am doing. I am fully aware of the vast cd,mp3 and vinyl collections of people around here. I never claimed to know more than everyone. That is taken out of context.
3.Don't throw a huge fit when someone says they don't like your band.
response:I am not throwing a huge fit. Someone from a band that I dig probably saw yet another in a string ADD rushed shows. I am trying to have a little more strict quality control nowadays. Especially after the tour. If he was in a band I did not potentially want to do shows with I probably would not care at all. Just because I don't lie down and take shit from people does not mean I am on an angry rant. It means I just don't take shit.
4. Don't give up and move to New York (or at least threaten to) unless you suck as bad as the Secret Machines. You don't.
response:I went to New York and played 3 shows there. I discovered that I actually don't really care for New York and actually dig Dallas and Denton quite a bit more. There are some great bands here that get overlooked often(The Great Tyrant, Silk Stocking, Jack with One Eye). On tour I discovered a lot about myself and my appreciation for what is in my backyard. If you talk to me nowadays I would be the last person to say "DFW sux". I think it's a pretty cool scene and getting better and more interesting.
i surrender. no more defense. I have music to make.
Um, way off topic but speaking of music to make:
My band The Shapes are playing at the Cavern tonight (the best/worst? club in town)and I would love to see our friends and strangers there. The Beatdown (Munywoki and friends) from Denton will be opening and a psychy-rock band from Portland called Dark Skies will close the night. :)
In the end, I don't mean any disrespect. Infact, I completely respect the fact that you are an experienced musician and have been doin' your thing for some time now, advocating things that I love.
I'm looking forward to playing with Black Arm Band and would love to bullshit music with ya while I'm there.
i need an ipod.
holy mother of christ. We're gone for most of ONE day and what do you people do? You go nuts, thats what!
No, really, I think its great that people can come on here and discuss music, fight about music, talk a little shit, and be honest. Not that we're trying to establish some lame little moral stand about honesty being the best policy or something, its just really great to see candid discussions about local music on here. Especially by people in good bands that all seem to have good taste.
And for the record, we don't know much about many of the aforementioned Denton bands other than their music, and we really don't know if there is a "scene." Then again, we really don't know what a "scene" is, or if it is even band. If a "scene" is nothing but a bunch of bands making interesting music that all happen to be friends with one another, along with a solid base of fans that hang out in the same circle, I'm all for a scene, as long as the music is good and the people are intelligent. It sounds like this is exactly what is happening in Denton.
Sometimes artists are afraid of being lumped into a "scene," but the only danger we see is in places where all the bands sound the same. The denton noise/free folk bands don't have to worry about that. Anyway, should be a great festival.
I can't believe I missed this all day. Wanz & Jamo are two of the biggest musical nerds I know and two of the most sensitive musicians. This is a match made in hell. It's awesome. Mike, you are so fucking eloquent. I love it. Save that mission statement, I'll need it for the PR. Eddddddd, come jam w/ us Sunday. Lars, don't forget to put iDi is on the 8th C. waiting list as well. Wanz, thanks for recommending the Unconscious Collective and for being the godfather, even if you change your sound way too often for almost everyone's comfort levels. I hope you indeed have found it. We shall see you at the Beast!
Sweet man, I've been wondering when we were going to try and set that up..
I'll get with Mike about the times and shit.
Lookin' forward to it.
or there's always the other festival on july 1st: the bob white fest at bob white manor. we'll just fuckin' play for 24 hours with no breaks! shit'll be all kinds of awe inspiring.
so, mwanz, what date do you have in mind?
I am working on it. Shoot me a message on myspace so we can continue this there. I have a few places in mind.
That was rad!
i think i have 30 more bands to listen to
....denton should have a documentary about it's music. similar to "Athens Ga. Inside and Out" (except MORE music)
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