As David Lynch's Showtime series reached the end of its “return” season, King Camel Productions’ Jeff Brown announced on Facebook that he intended to book a Twin Peaks-themed concert.
“I'm a huge fan of the show, and with the release of season three, I had been absolutely obsessing over it," Brown tells the Observer. "With the rich texture of characters, alternate timelines, meddling entities and the unending twists and turns, I thought it would be a perfect thing for a concept show.”
A month and a half later, Brown announced Damn Fine Music Festival, which brings some of Dallas' best musicians and artists together to pay homage to the TV show. Brown organized the players into five new bands, and each will play a 25-minute set of original music inspired by one of five characters from Twin Peaks: Dale Cooper, Laura Palmer, BOB, the Log Lady and the Arm.
The concept is similar to Denton's Rock Lottery; however, musicians at that event are paired at random, and the bands only get a day to write music and practice.
“I've always loved Denton's Rock Lottery approach,” Brown says. “I wanted to do something similar, but I wanted to personally choose each band and give them months of practice. I thought I'd get completely unique sounds by mixing up these incredible musicians and awesome visual artists creating original videos for each band.”
An original blend of music and art will be a fitting tribute to Twin Peaks, which has garnered a loyal following with its original approach to a detective story. And just as the show's labyrinthian plot keeps its fans on the edge of their seats, it's a mystery what the Damn Fine Music Festival has in store."I'll be hearing it for the first time at the show like everyone else." – promoter Jeffrey Brown
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Even the festival’s creator is overwhelmed with anticipation. “I'll be hearing it for the first time at the show like everyone else," he says.
Damn Fine Music Fest has given musicians who've never worked together the opportunity to collaborate. Some of the participants report that the experience has been as difficult as it is rewarding.
Teenage Sexx’s Charlie DeBolt, drummer for the Dale Cooper band, describes the process as “challenging because it required regular rehearsals among four people that are already very committed to their individual work.”
By working with artists from different backgrounds, DeBolt says, “the conglomerate sound we produce helped further develop my drumming.” He says the Dale Cooper band's songwriting process involved “structuring the songs as three movements … centered around a pinnacle point in each season.”
However, Gabriel Jordan of alternative R&B group Duo Contra, playing in the Laura Palmer band, describes a more organic process with “a lot less intentionality than I usually employ.” Jordan says the Laura Palmer band will have a trip-hop sound and a "creep vibe” that honors the series' deceased heroine.
Aarón Mireles of the Log Lady band, who normally fronts the post-punk band Sub-Sahara, promises “a mixture of ambient/funky/alternative” music. Erin Shea Devany will project visuals for the Log Lady band. She describes it as “more of a narrative-type story with a good combination of short and long takes with some heavy distortion ... following the rhythm of David Lynch’s original compositions.”
While much of Friday's performance remains a mystery, it has all the makings of a damn fine spectacle. We hear there will even be doughnuts to satiate Agent Cooper's sweet tooth, and he may share with the audience.