Scene, heard
Quality Park Records, the Denton label owned and operated by Matt Barnhart, recently doubled its catalog, taking Western Vinyl Records -- an even smaller independent based out of Bedford -- under its wing. Quality Park will now distribute all of Western Vinyl's releases, which include singles by Knife in the Water, Havergal, Win Foster, and the quietly brilliant Songs: Ohia. Western Vinyl joins a roster that already includes Little Grizzly and Centro-matic, as well as discs from Austin's Jeweled Handles and Albuquerque, New Mexico's Young Adults. The new additions are just the beginning for Barnhart's label, which will have its hands full in the coming months. On August 10 -- not July 27, as was previously reported -- Quality Park will release Centro-matic's The Static vs. The Strings Vol. I, a 14-track collection of songs Will Johnson recorded over the last three years that didn't make it onto 1997's Redo the Stacks or this year's Navigational. And in the fall, Quality Park will issues new records by the Baptist Generals and Wiring Prank, as well as another new album by Centro-matic, the group's official follow-up to Navigational. You can't say Quality Park doesn't live up to its name...
Another local record that should hit the shelves before the end of the year is the debut from Pinkston. The band -- singer-bassist Beth Clardy Lewis, guitarists Ean Parsons and Josh Daugherty, and drummer Ben Burt -- is set to enter one of the new studios at the Last Beat complex on Commerce on July 12. In the meantime, the band will continue playing around town, including July 10 at Trees, with Baboon, Chomsky, and The Paper Chase, which should also have a new album available in the very near future. Speaking of which, the Trees gig is also the CD release party for Chomsky's bang-up new self-titled disc. So many records, so little time. Or something like that...
Former Hagfish bassist Doni Blair has resurfaced in a new band, The Mag 7. Spotted before Chris Rock's scorching June 26 performance at the Bronco Bowl -- which, honestly, had more to do with the lack of air-conditioning than Rock's routine -- Blair likened the new group, an instrumental surf-rock outfit, to bands such as Huevos Rancheros. Of course, it's not quite the splashy gig his brother Zach landed after Hagfish broke up a few months ago: playing guitar in a rubber suit as part of GWAR's traveling freakshow. But we know which one we'd rather see...
Bar of Soap owner Charlie Gilder celebrates 16 years in the nightclub business on Friday, with an anniversary concert featuring Pump'n Ethyl, The Fed-Ups, and Austin's Punkaroos, which includes several former members of The Dicks. As chronicled in the Dallas Observer a few weeks ago (The preacher and the Prophet," June 17), Gilder guided the club on 2111 Commerce -- across the street from the Observer offices -- through its various incarnations (the Twilite Room, Charlie's Liberty Hall, and the Circle A Ranch) between 1983 and 1986 before leaving to open Bar of Soap. Hard to believe a man who once challenged the staff at Russell Hobbs' Theatre Gallery to a game of Photon has lasted this long...
More odds and sods: The night after Gilder's anniversary, A Quick One -- a Who tribute band featuring former Buck Pets Chris Savage and Ricky Pearson, and Tripping Daisy members Phil Karnats and Ben Curtis -- will perform at Bar of Soap. The gig, the group's first, was booked before A Quick One had even had its first rehearsal...
Apparently, punk rock is alive and well in...Arlington? Well, for one weekend at least. The city's Veterans Park will host Acts of Defiance, a free punk festival on July 17 featuring The Evils, The Decline, Kill Jenny, KWMH, All Normal Society, Spunk, Deadbeat Alley, O'Doyle Rules, and Special Ed. The show starts at 11 a.m., and the organizers encourage everyone to "bring something to share." We're bringing our love...
Dallas Maverick Erick Strickland has taken on a new occupation: concert promoter. On July 15 at the Dallas Stars Club, located inside Reunion Arena, Strickland and TDS Productions will present a performance by New York DJ Kid Capri. The invitation claims it will be "the phattest part of the summer" and "the hypest party before the new millennium," and they could be right. Strickland just might be better at this than sticking wide-open jumpers. But then again, how could he not be? The shindig happens from 9 p.m. till 2 a.m., and admission is $10.
