One Ton Records has started a new CD sampler/all-ages concert series, Buzz-Oven, an undertaking similar to the Dos Sensenseos project Chris Llewellyn attempted a couple of years ago. The aim of both efforts is simple: Attract a new generation of fans to see and hear local bands, the groups you can't usually hear on the radio. To that end, Buzz-Oven and its network of "buzzers"--led by 18-year-old Matt Gunter, who worked with Jeff Liles on the Static Orange compilation and also drums for locals Orchid--have begun distributing free CDs to area high schools and colleges, discs that feature a pair of tracks from Valve, Slow Roosevelt, and Red Animal War. All three bands will perform at all-ages shows on June 24 at the Lone Star Country Club in Coppell and June 30 at Fort Worth's Ridglea Theater. If you can't wait that long, Slow Roosevelt performs Saturday at Curtain Club, and Red Animal War opens for [DARYL] on Friday. Viva la rock...
Crash Vinyl bassist Dave Jessup has an alter ego, Bubblegum Crisis, which he recently unveiled at the sixth installment of Sub-Tronic Theatre at Liquid Lounge on May 11. We've got a four-song disc from Bubblegum Crisis that mixes sound bites from a quartet of films (Star Wars, Blade Runner, The Thing, and Evil Dead) with breakbeats and drum loops, sounding like a rave happening in the middle of a sci-fi convention. On a quasi-related note, Don Cento, former guitarist for the Tomorrowpeople and current Chomsky keyboardist, can also be found fronting The Browsers, which includes Cento's Tomorrowpeople bandmate, drummer Bill Shupp. As it happens, Shupp also plays drums for The Deathray Davies (replacing Chomsky's Matt Kellum), and bass for Stereo Rookie, whose debut EP, A Fine Place to Start, will be available soon. To bring it all full circle, Kevin Ingle--who plays with Jessup in Crash Vinyl--also performs with Shupp in The Deathray Davies. It's only confusing if you let it...
Vanilla Ice will be guesting on the new Hellafied Funk Crew album. Or maybe HFC drummer Chris Antonopolous is appearing on the next Vanilla Ice album. Not too sure about this item, because we learned the information after putting away far too many bourbon-flavored beverages at the recent Elliott Smith show at Trees--and before putting Vanilla Ice into a headlock/hug. Actually, it may have been the rapper formerly known as Robby Van Winkle putting us in a headlock, while looking frighteningly similar to Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst. (So much for our inclusion on the V.I.P. Posse.) All we really know is that we stood outside of Trees for a few minutes and introduced him to a handful of people as "my boy Robby"--which sounded more like "mewrjlke bweeirwd Rasdueys," or something along those lines. The point is, Vanilla Ice and Hellafied Funk Crew are working together. And also, drinking your body weight in bourbon is, um, bad...
Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios will host a two-night benefit for the Humane Society featuring performances by Centro-matic, Little Grizzly, The Reds, and The Baptist Generals on Friday, and Destination Venus and Sub Oslo on Saturday. While we're plugging shows, Chomsky and Red Animal War help [DARYL] celebrate the release of its debut EP on Friday; Vibrolux plays at Curtain Club on Thursday; and Yells at Eels--former KERA-FM host and trumpet player Dennis Gonzalez with his kids, Stefan and Aaron, as his rhythm section--and Blush perform at Kessler Park Community Church on Saturday. (As some of you may remember, Kessler Park Community Church is where Bedhead recorded 1994's 4-song EP 19:10.) Also, Bowling for Soup officially releases its Jive Records debut, Let's Do It For Johnny!!, Friday at Curtain Club, and Slobberbone hits Gypsy Tea Room on Saturday. No reason to stay at home this weekend...
Denton's Good/Bad Art Collective hosts its latest benefit concert, Benefit 59: "I Write the Songs...", on Saturday at Dan's Bar, and--surprise, surprise--John Freeman is on the bill. The show--featuring performances by Mission Giant, Corn Mo, Dutch Treats (Freeman's solo act), and a special guest--will, as frequently is the case, involve the audience. At the beginning of the night, four groups of volunteer songwriters (no more than six in each one) will write the lyrics for two original songs together. During each performer's set, the lyrics will be fed into a teleprompter, and the performer will be asked to spontaneously create music to accompany them. Naturally, none of the performers will see the lyrics until the song begins. Which is similar to how we write this column each week: Someone gives us a few names and we make up stuff around it. Of course, now that the secret is out, all of you must die...
What hell hath Kidd Kraddick wrought? More than usual this time, it seems. On top of hosting an embarrassingly popular morning show on KHKS-FM (106.1), Kraddick also is responsible for assembling Sons of Harmony, yet another in a short line of 'N Sync-Backstreet Boys clones, only not as good. Or any good for that matter. But Kraddick can't take all the credit: Though he held the contest ("Tearin' up their hearts," October 7, 1999) that brought the group together, local producer-record exec J. "Tech" Huffman has taken the band off his hands since then. And if the liner notes for Sons of Harmony's debut CD single, "If You Were My Girl," are to be believed, not only does the group have an album (Born to Sing) on the way, but also--Jesus Christ!--a movie. See and hear for yourself when Sons of Harmony is part of the eclectic lineup at this year's Artfest, along with Roy Hargrove, N'Dambi, Brave Combo, John Adams, Bugs Henderson, Dallas Wind Symphony, Colin Boyd, and more...
At the end of this month, former Fever in the Funkhouse frontman Nick Brisco returns to town for the first time since moving to Brooklyn earlier this year, and he has a pair of new albums with him. The first is Centaur Battle of San Jacinto (an extended barroom brawl), music Brisco composed to accompany Ruth Margraff's play of the same name. The New York production of Centaur Battle wraps up its two-week run on May 21. The other disc is Damn the Possibilities, a Brisco solo album recorded with Reed Easterwood, with help from guitarist Michael Hill, drummer Jim King, and bassist Steve Chambers. Damn the Possibilities also features violinist Reggie Rueffer, and a none-too-attractive photo of a shirtless Brisco inside the CD booklet. You can pick up a copy of both records when Brisco performs May 28 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater as part of the Dallas Theater Center's Festival of the Unexpected. Brisco plays a solo set at 9 p.m., followed by another set with his band, Plato's Kave, at 10 p.m. He will also show up the next night at Muddy Waters, in case you just can't get enough Brisco. And really, who can?
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