Scene, Heard

You can probably find Budapest One's new album, The Crooner Rides Again, in stores. But that is not the best way to wrangle yourself a copy of the disc: If you e-mail front man Keith Killoren at [email protected], he'll more than likely appear on your doorstep with The Crooner Rides Again in one hand and his guitar in the other, ready, willing, and able to give you a live preview. He played a few songs--the title track, "Peaches (Everybody's Catch)," "The Wolves are Well Fed," and "Now She's Engaged," if memory serves--on the roof of the Observer last week when he dropped off a few copies of the album, 10 songs that are even better than last year's straight-outta-the-Stiff-Records-catalog Good Night, Little Girl of My Dreams. And since the disc (recorded by The Paper Chase's John Congleton and Gary Long, with The Deathray Davies' Jason Garner on drums, along with bassist William Pollard and Carter Albrecht on keys) has been in the can for months, Chris Lewellyn, who's helping distribute the record, says that Killoren and Budapest One might have another set of recordings ready to go before too long. You should buy more than one, because not only does Killoren need some scratch to fund the next effort, he could also use the funds to support his Harmonicas for the Homeless program. As he explains, and we're paraphrasing: "If you give a man a dollar, he's fed for the day; give him a harmonica and watch him play." Harmonicas are cheap, but not that cheap, so slip Killoren some singles when the band plays October 12 at Curtain Club with The Paper Chase and Centro-matic, and October 14 at Barley House with the Susans. Of course, the main person you'll be helping if you buy The Crooner Rides Again is yourself...

When we mentioned the upcoming one-night-only Bobgoblin reunion, scheduled for October 31 at the Curtain Club in last week's Scene, Heard, we neglected to indicate who would be playing guitar since, uh, we didn't know. In keeping with our meddlesome nature, however, we speculated that Zach Blair, playing with The Adventures of Jet (a.k.a. three-fourths of Bobgoblin--drummer Rob Avsharian, bassist Tony Janotta, and singer-keyboard player Hop Litzwire), would be donning the band's trademark black jumpsuit for the occasion. As it turns out, Blair will indeed be in a costume on October 31, but it will be as a member of GWAR, with whom he's been touring for the last year or so as one of its heavily made-up space warriors. Or something: Can't remember Blair's actual character in GWAR, but we could swear it had something to do with an exploding penis. (Why would we make that up?) Litzwire called to tell us who really was rounding out the foursome for the Halloween show, and we should have known the answer: unofficial fifth member and original guitarist Barry Poynter, a longtime friend and the man who produced both Bobgoblin albums, as well as AOJ's Part 3: Coping with Insignificance. Not only that, but Poynter--who's also recorded Chomsky and Sugarbomb, and is working on AOJ's next effort, due in the spring--played on Bobgoblin's MCA Records debut/finale, 1997's The Twelve-Point Master Plan, when the band found itself between guitarists. So, we should've known. And, by the way, you're right: We did go out of our way to mention this show again. Kiss it...

Plush has resurrected Friday Nite Fuzz, the weekly music-slash-film-slash-whatever series that it introduced in June. The setup, if you don't recall, is this: Bands perform from 10 p.m. to midnight, along with, as the gallery/performance space's owner Randall Garrett says, "continuous showings of film/video/slide/multimedia and occasional nonclassifiable performances." Keep this in mind: No alcohol is served on the premises--1404 S. Akard, a few blocks south of Dallas City Hall--but those of age can bring their own adult beverages. (For other useful tidbits, head to Plush's Web site, www.paradise01.com.) The first installment happens October 13 with sets by Fury III and MFH. The series continues with Vox Humana and Beyond Hope on October 20, and Ultraviolet Catastrophe and Acolyte on October 27; no word on whether Friday Nite Fuzz will continue after that...

Following up on last year's Precious Platinum, Crash Vinyl has just released a five-song EP, High-Five Your Sex Drive, on BPL Records, the label that gave us The Hundred Inevitables' debut earlier this year. The disc includes guest appearances by Hundred Inevitables' Jeff Whittington and Toby Pipes, and more of the same hardrockpopnewwavepunk anthems the group unveiled on Precious Platinum, driven by the dual-guitar attack of, ahem, Stain Hanksy and Rip Van Bastard, and Kevin Ingle's acrobatic vocals. High-Five Your Sex Drive should be in your neighborhood record store now/soon, and you can also pick up a copy on October 20, when the band celebrates the EP's release with a set at the Curtain Club, sandwiched between Lucy Loves Schroeder and Chomsky. Should be a swell time...

Needle drops: Turkey Baster Records has just released the debut four-song single from The Hellions, which features former/current members of Speedealer, Billyclub, Swingin' Dicks, and GWAR. If you're interested, you can find a copy, according to an e-mail we recently received, "at all the usual cool record stores who still have the balls to carry vinyl." Amateur magician Corn Mo will be hitting the road with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, taking him from Canada to Florida to Louisiana, and we doubt that anyone is surprised by the news. Todd Deatherage can join Corn Mo on the road since his weekly gigs at the Lakewood Bar & Grill have been cancelled. And former Deep Ellum heroes Shallow Reign will be playing at Club Dada on October 29, opening for The Alarm 2000. The band has resurrected its final lineup--Bob Watson, Kit Chambers, Brad Robertson, and Mark, um, something--for the occasion. OK, then...

Win, place, and shows: Bluh opens for Fivecat and Valve on October 12 at Club Clearview; Earl Harvin Trio is at Gypsy Tea Room on October 18; Prize Money plays at Curtain Club on October 14, with Flickerstick; Eleven Hundred Springs and the Todd Deatherage Band show up at Sons of Hermann Hall on October 13; Mercova debuts at Dan's Bar on October 13, opening for The Falcon Project; and the newly wet Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios has a handful of good gigs this week, including Les Savy Fav and Champion on October 13, Little Grizzly the following night, and following in the grand tradition of The Argo, Big Ass Beer Night on October 17. It's good, and good for you.