Fine Line: 'Reviews' Section

Art&Seek, my favorite place to be…just launched an absolutely fabulous new site just in time for their 2-year anniversary. Alan Melson deserves the medal of A&S….Check it out every single day.

So this 13-year old girl contacts me about getting some booking and promotions advice. Reading through the email, I noted that she did some recording with my beloved Salim Nourallah, which in turn boosted my curiosity.

After checking this kid out, I have one phrase and one phrase only….whooooooolllly craaaaaaap!

It reminded me a little of the first time I heard Maren Morris perform at the ripe old age of about 11 and the first time I heard Sarah Jaffe perform at the ripe old age of about 15. Ya kinda don’t believe these amazing voices are coming out of those little girls.

Anna Thomas has already made somewhat of a name for herself, featured on such indie radio shows as Indies Top 10 and Mevio Radio. Her songs have also graced the charts on Top Ten Pop and Broadjam.

Her voice is mature enough to fool ya into thinking she’s in her 20’s. Her songwriting is good enough to think she’s been writing for decades, not just half a decade. Beautiful voice, beautiful songs.

Check out her tunes and bookmark her website. You can thank me later.

PS: Anna is performing at the Lone Star Wine Cellars on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. You can thank me with a nice glass of Chardonnay.

Art&Seek Artist Studio Tour with ArtCon5 Artist Frank Campagna

Art&Seek Artist Studio Tour with ArtCon5 Artist Jason Janik

Art&Seek Artist Studio Tour with ArtCon5 Artists Tom Sale and Judy Vetter aka The Tom and Judy Show

Art&Seek Artist Studio Tour with ArtCon5 Artist VET

Art&Seek Artist Studio Tour with ArtCon5 Artists (and artist coordinators) Vanessa Neil and Kevin Obregon

Art&Seek Artist Studio Tour with ArtCon5 Artist Jason Ice

ArtCon 5 – The Day Before – The artists gather to make their art – 9 a.m., Friday December 11

ArtCon 5 – The Day Before – The artists gather to make their art -2 p.m., Friday December 11

ArtCon 5 – Art&Seek was there and they brought glitter, glue sticks and lots of crayons!

Big ups to Tiffany Kieran and Tyler Watson for helping with video and interviews. Lots’o'fun

Via Pegaus News via GayList Daily, the absolutely fabulous Paul J. Williams gets some luvin’. KERA/Art&Seek’s Jerome Weeks had nothing but great stuff to say about Paul’s performance in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,. The upcoming performance Mental: An Evening of Homo-Neurotic Comedy, will most likely tickle anyone pink.

Just a little over a year ago, the divine Rich Lopez and I had a sit-down with Paul J. Williams over at Hal Samples crib and had ourselves a time….Click below darlings…

Sunday, October 25th
KD Studio Theater
Mental: An Evening of Homo-Neurotic Comedy
Starring Paul J. Williams and author Eddie Sarfaty
7:30 p.m.
Purchase Tickets

Well kiddies, I’ve somehow managed to land a real job with my beloved KERA-Art&Seek. Lemme hip you to a few things. Fer one, they are fantastically dedicated to the arts/music/culture communities over there on Harry Hines Blvd. These here are some very very very good folks. They make it really simple to promote your events, but you gotta do a little bit of work yourselves…oh, wipe that look off’o'yo’ face. Just a teeny bit of work on your part.

I’m going to make this really easy on ya…go here and submit your “organization” (which can be your venue, your group, your church, your association, your store, your whatever). There it shall remain forever, unless you want to make changes and you just gotta let us know by clicking on the “Update Page” link on your profile page.

Next, and this is really the easy part, you go here to submit your events (like your shows or exhibits or concerts or acting gigs or whatever). That’s it. It’s my job to take care of the rest.

It’s all free of charge. And there are perks, too. Lots of those great events get featured on the site, and some of ‘em even get featured on Gini Mascorro’s radio feature on KERA Radio.

Help us. Help you. Come on over and play, we’re having a splendid time!

PS – this round of Track by Track is fantastic. Paul put together a sampler podcast this time and it’s brilliantly fabulous. It includes some Bosque Brown, Danny Balis, Doug Burr, Rhett Miller, Robert Gomez, Telegraph Canyon and Trey Johnson. It’s so freakin’ great, go listen. NOW!

Trey Johnson’s voice has always kept me rather mesmerized. I love it. Add to that, his great brilliance for songwriting, well he had me at Sorta.

Today Trey dropped his first solo album, Mount Pelee on Idol Records. I have a copy. It’s fanfreakintastic. Truly. It’s a gorgeous, exciting, instrumental, beautiful beautiful thing. I’ve barely listened to anything else since I got it (yo Erv, I did found it in a pile of unopened, unpaid bills).

Trey Johnson, former lead singer and songwriter for Dallas band Sorta will release his solo debut Mount Pelée on July 28 .

Trey teamed up with Shibboleth members Don Cento, James Driscoll and Rich Martin who serve as his new backing band to record his Idol debut, with Stuart Sikes producing.

We will be kicking off the release festivities with an in-store performance / release party at Good Records in Dallas on Thursday July 30 and a CD Release show on Sat. August 1 at The AllGood Café in Dallas

Check out songs from Mount Pelée at http://www.myspace.com/sortatrey

I don’t want to go into too much detail, cuz Hunter and I spent the evening with Trey last week, and there’s gonna be a big fuss about this breathtaking album in this week’s Quick. There’s even a video on Quick’s site….not now, on Thursday silly.

Go see the boy live, you’ll so thank me in the morning:

Thursday, July 30th
Good Records
7 PM

Saturday, August 1st
AllGood Cafe
9 PM

More dates here…

Buttercup “I am a Tiger”

During my very short stint in San Antonio a few years back, dear darling John Dufilho recommended that I check out a band based in S.A. I did. I then thanked him profusely.

Buttercup. How can you not love a band named Buttercup? You’ll love them. You won’t be able to stop yourself.

The band just dropped a spankin’ new fabby album, and I must say that after the first listen, my initial adoration has turned into an all-out love-fest.

At first listen, The Weather Here made me smile. I like it when bands send me albums and they are actually really really good. I’m not particularly great at finding the right words to describe music I love. But I’ll try. The Weather Here is a quiet, yet upbeat divine masterpiece. I can’t quite pinpoint an actual genre, but I’d say it weaves in and out of poppy, folky, grown-up types of songs and sounds. There’s something deliciously simplistic to the songs, yet each one keeps me intrigued every time I listen.

It’s hard to keep my attention. There are very few CDs that keep me interested front to back. The Weather Here has spun…oh…about 4-dozen times since it arrived in my mailbox, and I’ve yet to grow tired of it.

Buttercup’s music kept me sane while living in San Antonio (a questionably “good” music scene), and now they keep me sane back in Dallas. Well, sane as I’ll ever be, anyway.

The Weather Here was produced by our own local genius, Salim Nourallah, and recorded at the oh-so-fab Pleasantry Lane Studio.

I haven’t had the opportunity to see the band perform live, but that’s to be rectified this weekend.

Now I want you to go here and purchase your own copy of The Weather Here.

Listen-up DdFW – go to one or all of these shows…it might be your last chance to catch Buttercup in an intimate venue…they’s going to be bigger’n'big…

Friday, July 24th
The Moon Bar – Fort Worth
w/The Deathray Davies & The Cut*Off

Saturday, July 25th
Sons of Hermann – Dallas
w/The Deathray Davies & Salim Nourallah

PS – the above video was shot by Austin film guru J.J. Castillo. He’s quite brilliant with music videos, so he’s your go-to guy if you need one done.

Hunter asked some local music-types to make video presentations of the awards categories. This one features The O’s presenting “Next Big Thing.” Winner, Iris Leu

That dude who accepted for the King Bucks and that…um…acceptance…um…speech…*cough*….

Quick’s Big Thing was splendid. Truly, it was one of the most entertaining nights this ol’ broad has experienced in awhile.

I’ve got about 3-hours worth of video to edit, so keep checkin’ back for more.

I’d like to kick things off the way they kicked things off last night….I give you the great Gordon Keith and his brilliant sidekick Don Cento…

Ms. Tiffany did the video honors, and did a bang-up job…took me a week to edit it down cuz I couldn’t decide on so many shots!

We missed the Happy Bullets and El Gato, cuz we ran outta battery power, but they were awesome!

PS – We tried the live streaming, but had issues with audio and Internet connections…sigh…damn technology.

I had a great time at this past Saturday’s M2S2. In keeping with my regular behavior, I spent most of my time in the Green Room schmoozing with the rock stars. However, I did catch some sets (The Orbans=Awesome, The O’s=Awesome, Nicholas Altobelli=Awesome, Clint Noisi=Awesome, RTB2=Awesome) and thoroughly enjoyed ‘em all.

Lighting was pretty poor for filming purposes, but what the hell, I’m posting it anyway.

My utter adoration for Quick is certainly no secret. This week put me in a whole new level of head-over-heels. You simply must pick up a hardcopy for the creamy goodness inside….and out.

The divine Robert Gomez graces the cover, as well as the interview inside with darling Hunter. Pine Sticks and Phosphorus (Nova Posta Vinyl) drops Tuesday, April 14th and things kick-off on Sunday, April 12th at Good Records with an in-store you really shouldn’t miss. 4 PM. Free. Greatness.

If you turn to page 7, you’ll find a delightful interview with our beloved Scotty Mankoff. I actually learned a few new things about Scotty that I didn’t know before. But I ain’t tellin’, you’ll just have to read it for yourself.

Now flip over to page 18 for Hunter Hauk’s music news and concert picks aka Hot and Fresh Week, Johnny Lloyd Rollins, the Orbans, Nicholas Altobelli, Salim Nourallah, Eric Neal, the Nervebreakers and more.

Even on page 29, there’s some House of Dang luvin’….which is exactly where I’m heading as soon as I hit the publish button.

Read it.

You can always come on over to the coffeehouse and getcherself a copy of Quick and if you mention the secret phrase “Hot and Fresh,” it’ll getcha a free drink!

Between SXSW and AFI, Hunter is going to need about a 3-week nap.

Lucky for us, however, he’s doing one hella great job covering AFI. Just sneak over to NightLife and take a gander.

Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Party from Cindy Chaffin on Vimeo.

The day job required me to set-up shop at this year’s Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Party. It was freeeeeezing. It was obnoxious. It was, however, pretty darn fun.

Great music, that’s fersure! I made this for the day job, but it’s got some good clips of The O’s and TheDrams and Eleven Hundred Springs.

I…sigh…had to leave before the Old 97’s took the stage. That sucked.

Aaaaah, ’tis turnin’ out to be a totally terrific mornin’. My first read of the day was Jesse Hughey’s delightful review of one of my favorite bands, Beauxregard.

…Beauxregard’s music is also more than the sum of its parts. Its songs are well-crafted without being formulaic, satisfying without being predictable…Rejoice in the splendor.

Of course he be talkin’ ’bout When Balloons Were Sleeves. If the album is anything even close to their live performances, then I’ll take ten.

Read it.

Go see ‘em live and getcherown damn copy…

Tuesday, July 15th
Double Wide
Beauxregard / Chris Denny / The Old Soles / Collin Herring

Friday, July 18th
Lola’s
Beauxregard / Dada Discoteque (formerly MC Router) / Rivercrest Yacht Club / Hack & Slashers

….speaking of Beauxregard and MC Router…enjoy…

I’m so so so behind on so so so much music stuff…so…so…so…

The D.E.E.P. meeting tonight is at St. Pete’s – 9 pm – everyone is welcome.

Agenda

1. Art Walk (any galleries input would be highly appreciated for this meeting. If you can’t attend but are will to help or let us know what you have happening on Sept. 13, let me know)
* Time Line
o Next 2 weeks
o Next Month
o Two Months out
o Sept. 13 event
o Sept. 9, 2009 DART Line opens with 2009 Art Walk
* Break into Groups
o Galleries & Alternative Spaces
o Marketing & Promotions
o After Party
2. Discuss future meetings
* Locations
* Guest Speakers

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Have I mentioned Doug Burr lately? Oh yeah…well listen-up, again. I could not be more jealous of my girl, Chelsea Callahan, for getting to be a part of this little project. Seriously, I’m not sure I could resume my normal breathing standing in the same magnificant room with the same magnificent artists…so….freakin’…awesome…

Dave Sims writes:

…12:30 p.m.: It just so happens that Josh Pearson, the reclusive mastermind behind Lift to Experience, is getting married to his German fiancée in the very same auditorium. Thirty or so friends, many from the North Texas music community, attend the ceremony amid the cables and mics shuffled to various sides of the room. Doug Burr delivers an impromptu performance of his new song “Wedding Bells.”

1 p.m.: It is decided that a gospel-style choir is needed for one particular track. Pearson and wedding guests Emil Rapstine (from The Angelus) and Chelsea Callahan (who books for The Double Wide) are recruited, while Deadman’s Steven Collins arranges the parts and leads the choir on the dusty auditorium stage….

Read the entire column, North of the Dial…I luvs ya Dave!

The Righteous Will Rejoice.mp3

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Deadman aka Steve Collins has released his latest, Severe Mercy, and it’s so muy bueno that I fell to my knees and wept…well, not really…but it’s really really good. Check it out.

This here’s a great Podcast with a collaborative li’l musical group in Austin, called Phono Records. I can’t wait to move to Austin.

Look for an “Inside the Mind” with Steve Collins the end of this month…on video..but of course….be excited…be very excited…

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There’s a (relatively) new kid on the block and he’s come out real strong-like. I’m bringing back the “Inside the Mind” series. First off, featuring local music bloggers, and Lance Lester of Bonafide Darling will be my first prey…heh…check out his divine little part of the world wide web here.

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I kinda sorta totally already knew about this, but apparently ’twas officially announced during my time of sickyness and totally feeling sorry for myself….

Shanghai 5 is no more, ceased to be, expired, bereft of life, pushing up the daisies, and joined the choir invisible!

After 4 years of good times, 300+ shows, touring, a 2007 DOMA award, many wild parties, and awesome collaborative efforts from our oddball associates and fans, we’re officially calling it quits.
We’d like to send special thanks to our friends and partners including; Cindy Chaffin, Hal Samples, Paul Slavens, PPT, White Ghost Shivers, Lee Harvey’s, Alex Jones, Earl Harvin, EZ Eddie D, Mr. Rid, Sista Whitenoise, Double Wide, DMA, Quick, Dallas Observer, and many more.

Shanghai 5 was just nominated for a 2008 DOMA award, but check out other nominees in that category before you cast a ballot.

Amy Curnow was nominated for a 2008 DOMA ‘Best Female Vocalist’ award, and she’s working on solo and collaborative material as well, including PPT’s latest album Denglish. Be sure and vote for her at; http://dallasobserver.com/polls/musicpoll08/

Thanks for the good times and support!

I know I’ve played this tune ad nauseum over the years, deal with it…I love it.

“Dead Man in a Motel” by Shanghai 5

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Jordan Fein and Zach Stone are off and running with their new project, Thank You. Expect a big, big shindig complete with audio/visuals and more on July 26th at SPACE. More on that later…

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I missed Frank’s birthday…didn’t even know about it…’til today. I really need to get my sh*t together, eh?

I Love Math’s highly anticipated album, Getting to the Point is Beside It, sits all hot’n'bothered’n'ready for your insatiable CD player. Tonight, please join me in celebration by settin’ up over at Barley House for a good ol’ fashioned listenin’-to partay.

Out of town? Too lazy to make the drive? That’s kinda okay cuz we’ll be streaming the whole shindig live here at The Fine Line. Expect the cameras to roll ’bout 7 pm. The chat room will be up and running too, in case youse got questions for the band or somethin’.

Getting To The Point Is Beside It
We all get tired and we all get weary. Sometimes what we need is something true-a good, honest document stripped of all falsehoods and petty trickery. I Love Math’s new album, Getting to the Point Is Beside It is one such thing.

“It’s amazing what kind of magic some people can make with only the most basic of ingredients,” says Mundane Sounds about front-man/guitarist John Dufilho’s songwriting.

Dufilho (also the front-man for the Deathray Davies and drummer of Apples in Stereo), says “Mostly, I wanted to write and record a very straightforward album. I wanted it simple, to the point, and didn’t want to hide behind effects pedals, distortion, studio tricks, or irony.”

Drummer Philip Peeples agrees, saying, “On this record, I really enjoyed keeping it simple, playing into the songs, not simply through them. Also, John and Jason are amazing drummers, something that’s never far from my mind.” Accordingly, the band’s unwritten rule of “keep it sparse” makes perfect sense alongside another I Love Math mantra: “no cymbals allowed.” Simplicity over all.

On the 12 song Getting to the Point, pedal steel soars out over guitars you’d expect from the best of old school country. But this is no retro trip; songs like “Josephine Street,” “Some Bridges,” and “Too Many Demons” wouldn’t be out of place on a mix-tape with contemporaries like Jon Brion, Belle & Sebastian, Jonathan Richman, and Yo La Tengo (Fakebook-era) as it would with vintage Kinks, and like-minded harmonizers Simon and Garfunkel and the Everly Brothers.

As The Deathray Davies continues to move forward, I Love Math comes on as its own animal. This is no side-project; Dufilho writes endlessly, so pulling off two full-time bands is almost second nature. Recorded with Salim Nourallah at Pleasantry Lane Studio,.Dufilho and his Dallas-based band-mates, bassist Jason Garner (The Deathray Davies, The Paper Chase), drummer Philip Peeples (Old 97’s), and keyboardist Andy Lester (The Deathray Davies, Slider Pines), have given us an organic yet cinematic piece of music. Songs like “These Paper Walls,” “Volcanic Ash,” and “Better Days” come off like a soundtrack to a great movie that was never made.

On Getting to the Point, I Love Math deliver something modern yet classic. Welcome this record into your life. Your soundtrack has never been better.

“Josephine Street”

Last night at The Granada was…how you say…off the freakin’ hook!

Matt Butcher opened the show to a PACKED and I mean PACKED house. I’ve never been more proud of Dallas than I was last night. Hundreds of fans showed up for Matt and The Avett Brothers and hundreds of fans remained respectful and attentive towards the performances throughout the entire evening.

I’ve got tons of video that I’m in the process of editing and will stick up here later. I’ve got gajillions of photos too.

I think I’m still a little high….or still real swoony after conversing with Scott Avett…hot-dang!

Above is the encore – taken from the live video stream…

If you haven’t experienced a show at Mokah Live or Life in Deep Ellum, then you are truly missing out. Mokah is a coffee-bar in one room and a splendid, comfortable, inviting listening room in the adjoining room. Big comfy sofas, vintage tables & booths…it’s wonderful.

Just down the hallway, through the art gallery, there’s a monster of a room, fit with an excellent sound system, a light show extraordinare, a fog machine, and enough space to fit a gajillion fans.

The good folks at LiDE/M2S2 brought us an idea to host a regular music summit/showcase, in hopes of bringing together our music community (club owners, label reps, bands, artists, fans, media, etc.) to discuss and do something about boosting interest in the music and art community. Sunday, April 20th was a nice start.

The crowds weren’t nearly what we had hoped for, but that’s okay. The fans who did venture out were surprised and supportive and all walked away impressed with the venue…and of course….the performances.

The evening kicked-off with Dave Little introducing Flat People. ‘Twas my first time to hear the band live and I loved them just as much as I do on disc. From there on out, the LiDE stage saw a steady stream of our most talented talent, each and every band superb. *Flat People / Airline / Jayson Bales Band / Miles from Nowhere / Salim Nourallah & the Noise / The Slack / Smile Smile / Bridges & Blinking Lights* Dave Little, for the most part, did my job that day and had me in full guffaw throughout.

Mokah was home to acoustic acts and open mic’ers, including a fantastic newish band, Something in the Wheel, who you’ll be hearing more about here a li’l later.

Of course I was knee-deep in technical glitches. Stupid Ustream. I can’t find my good mic, so the sound kinda sucks. I lost the tape of the entire first part of the performances. You know. The usual.

However, all in all, it was a great event, and hopefully, there will be more to come. Check for Pete Freedman’s take in tomorrow’s Dallas Observer.

A few more performance videos coming soon….