Odds & Ends

You're a winner: The best local concert this week, without question, is Saturday's Rock Lottery 7 at Dan's Silverleaf. You may as well put this newspaper down right now and head to Denton to get in line, because this concert will undoubtedly sell out. The Lottery, a relic from Denton's Good/Bad Collective days that was resurrected two years ago to astounding success, forces 25 local musicians to meet at 10 a.m. and form five bands, all chosen by a random hat draw. The new groups then get 12 hours to create at least three original songs (and a band name, of course), which are performed that night at Dan's as a fundraiser for the Good/Bad Archive Project.

Though every year has had its share of musically gifted locals among the 25 participants, we're gonna bet the farm and say that this'll be the best one yet, with folks like Jeff Ryan(Baptist Generals, Pleasant Grove), Regina Chellew (Day of the Double Agent, Chao), Scott Porter (Record Hop, Spitfire Tumbleweeds), Robert Gomez (Latin Pimps) and Liz MacGowan (Silk Stocking) only hinting at the talent pool in this hodgepodge. Oh, and some guy named Tim DeLaughter is participating, too. Where have I heard that name before?

If last year was any indication, particularly the epic insanity of Wombstone Pizza and the onstage riot of The Kim-Jong Illness, this seventh Lottery should be as crazy as the band names that these people come up with.

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Book 'em: We here at the Dallas Observersure like us some Double Wide. Not because of the trailer park motif or the overpriced beers served in cans, mind you, but because of the venue's consistent local booking and music-loving atmosphere (and the free parking lot rules, too). One of the best parts of the club, however, will see a big shakeup in the next month, as DW booking agent Matthew McCoy announced his departure from the club this week. He's taking his local booking prowess to a brand-new Deep Ellum venue, The Darkside, which sits next to (and is owned by) Elm Street Bar. The space has been unofficially open for some time with "sporadic shows and DIY stuff," according to McCoy, but after finally netting a liquor license a few weeks ago, the venue is pressing forward with more weekend concerts.

"I'm gonna focus on local bands," McCoy says. "I do have a little more of a budget to work with, but it's not a huge venue by any means. Touring bands, nationwide bands, overseas bands--I'll book anything, as long as it's solid." His first show for the Darkside takes place next weekend on Saturday, October 22, with Kansas City Faggots.

Luckily, the Double Wide was quick to regroup and picked Crystal Clear Distribution's Chelsea Callahan to take up the Dee-Dub's booking responsibilities. Good choice, since the local music nut and Fallout Lounge bartender already attends a bajillion Double Wide concerts and is friends with half of the musicians in town anyway. Seems like some booking competition could begin brewing in the next few months, and since merged companies own half the clubs around downtown, we look forward to some booking battles to heat up the stagnant district.

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Handstamps: On Thursday, Peter Schmidt and his Gentleman Scholars are billing their Cavern gig as a Gang of Four afterparty. I doubt Schmidt will be performing any Gang of Four covers, but a mash-up of "Impala" and "Natural's Not In It" would be pretty swell, Schmidt...Dallas' most fresh-faced band, The Valentines, are the only standout I see playing Deep Ellum on Friday, so if you haven't seen our city's most recent shot at MTV-level success, you should probably see what the fuss is about at Liquid Lounge...If you're in Denton on Saturday and arrive at the Rock Lottery too late, don't fret, because you can still catch a good show that night at Rubber Gloves with the makeup-coated freak-noise of The Undoing of David Wright...Bored on Tuesday night? Then come watch me DJ--er, I should say, PJ, since I use an iPod for my music mixes--at Lower Greenville's The Cavern. My stint as DJ Hard to Pronounce may run out soon (as in, next week), so come make fun of me and my musical selections before it's too late.