The last time Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti came through town, the audience at Denton's Hailey's Club was revved up and equally surprised by the West Coast freak folker's supercharged performance. He ran around the stage, inspiring the crowd to stage dive, mosh and make other various celebratory rock 'n' roll moves. Even more surprising was the release of his new record Before Today—or rather, his general attitude at the time of the album's release.
Pink made it clear that he was ready for a change. He was tired of being a broke artist and he wanted to start making money. When asked about his newfound desire for success, the singer responded with "What else is there? I've always wanted to be successful."
That success, the band's new driving force, has seen Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti building their audience each night on the road. Evidently, his work is paying off. In less than three months, he's gone from playing Hailey's, a 300 capacity venue, to South Side Music Hall, a 1,500 capacity room.
He's not doing it all on his own strength, though. Brazilian psych-rock act Os Mutantes has been enlisted as the tour co-headliners.