We recently received a CD-R of the five songs that will be added to the European re-release of Pleasant Grove's debut, on Germany's Glitterhouse Records, overseas home to Austin's Knife in the Water and the Baptist Generals, among others. After only one listen, this much is clear: Suck it up, pay the import fee, and buy the Glitterhouse version of the disc. (You should already have the version Last Beat released at the tail-end of 1999.) Actually, since the songs will show up on future U.S. re-pressings of the disc, you don't have to go to all that trouble. But head to Glitterhouse's Web site (www.glitterhouse.com) anyway, and grab a copy of Joe Pernice's Big Tobacco, which hasn't found an American distributor yet. Pernice's solo bow makes the self-titled debut by his band Chappaquiddick Skyline (out earlier this year) sound happier than an eight-year-old's birthday party. And that's saying something...
The Early Lines, who released their Steve Albini-recorded debut Are Tired Beasts earlier this year, will appear on an upcoming tribute to Jonathan Richman currently being put together by Wampus Records. The disc, If I Were a Richman, is tentatively set for release October 31 and will include The Early Lines' version of "Modern World." If that's too long for you, ask the band to play it when they open for the great Jets to Brazil on September 11 at Trees. And while you're at the show, grab a copy of the Jets' latest, the just-released Four Cornered Night; it's schweet...
Speaking of Trees, the club celebrates its 10th anniversary in September, and the club has a full lineup of shows to help out. Besides Jets to Brazil, Trees will also host the return of Ugly Mustard (September 9), and shows by Trans Am (September 10), The Toadies (September 22 and 23), Suicidal Tendencies (September 29), Reverend Horton Heat and Hagfish (September 30), and Yo La Tengo (September 30). Just proves why Trees is still the best place to catch the rock...
The Show That Fell To Earth, Russell Lyday's weekly guide to the best American and British underground rock on KNTU-FM (88.1), will expand to two hours beginning on September 3. The show, which plays everything from Badly Drawn Boy to the Queens of the Stone Age, can now be heard every Sunday night from 10 p.m. to midnight. If you're not in Denton, you can listen to the show online at www.kntu.fm. If you are in Denton, may God have mercy on your soul. Shut up, we're kidding...
File this under "B" for boy-who-cried-wolf: Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios apparently will open its long-long-promised bar in early October. Unfortunately, the club's booking agent/publicist, Robin Phillips, won't be around to see it, not as an employee, that is. Phillips' last day on the job will be September 3, after which she'll be replaced by Chad Ferman, a veteran of the Green Means Go! collective as well as a handful of local bands, including [DARYL] and Kid Chaos. Well, Ferman was supposed to replace Phillips: According to one of his posts on the Denton Show List, Ferman has already stepped down, after people started grumbling about conflicts of interest due to his membership in the aforementioned bands. So who knows...
The Dallas date on Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes' tour, originally postponed due to Page's recent back injury, has now officially been cancelled. Seems that Page was trying to pick up the few salvageable pieces of his career, and he herniated a disc in the process. Or something like that. When he's back in fighting shape, Page reportedly will join The Jason Bonham Band for a short Holiday Inn tour, with a set list featuring only songs off Led Zeppelin's first four albums, completing his descent into one-note nostalgia act...
Either the cough syrup or the bad vision got us this time: Prize Money, the new outfit featuring the remnants of Slowpoke, will not be performing on September 1 at Trees, as was previously reported. The band, however, will be all up in the Curtain Club on September 2, sharing the stage with Baboon, The Adventures of Jet, and Pinkston. While we're kinda-sorta on the subject, The Polyphonic Spree has nailed down a date for its second show: September 15 at Gypsy Tea Room, with Drums and Tuba and Sub Oslo. As we mentioned earlier, the group had tentatively scheduled a September 9 gig at the Tea Room, but that has now been cancelled...
Gabby Douglas, formerly of Buck Jones, hasn't hooked up with a new band yet, although she and husband Burette Douglas sat in with the Jump Rope Girls a few weeks or months ago. But Douglas is still involved: With her friend Ronnie Childs, she's helping put together a benefit for the Lena Pope Home in Fort Worth, a foundation for abused children. The show, which features Baboon, Doosu, Pinkston, and The Morning People, happens October 14 at the Lewisville Amphitheatre. More details as the date nears...
While Red Animal War's debut album, Within the Amber on Deep Elm Records, won't be out for a while (it's set to be mastered in the next few weeks, and the artwork still hasn't been finalized), be on the lookout for an upcoming compilation from Deep Elm that may make it into stores earlier. The disc features unreleased songs by bands on its roster, including one by Red Animal War that will not be on Within the Amber. If it's the one we're thinking of, the song, called "Last Train Out," makes the compilation worth owning all by itself...
Out, hear: 41 Gorgeous Blocks and Lucy Loves Schroeder play at Galaxy Club on September 1; [DARYL] opens for Kansas City's Shiner and Valve (featuring new bassist Tony Gattone, also of Pleasant Grove) the same night; Stumptone, Mandarin, and Ghostcar play Curtain Club on August 31; Speedtrucker fills in for the previously scheduled Marah at Gypsy Tea Room on September 2; Bobby "Blue" Bland pays tribute to the late Johnnie Taylor at the Bronco Bowl Theatre on September 1; The Paper Chase celebrates the release of Young Bodies Heal Quickly, You Know on September 2 at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios with Sweep The Leg Johnny. Rock. Also, the Good/Bad Art Collective says goodbye to the summer with a benefit concert featuring Retton, Vena Cava, The Olive Group, Lo-Fi Chorus, [DARYL], Jeweled Handles, the Baptist Generals, Stumptone, Pointy Shoe Factory, Mission Giant, The Secret Machines, A Roman Scandal, Mandarin, and Lift to Experience. It all happens at the Good/Bad headquarters in Denton on September 2, beginning at 2 p.m. If nothing else, it's the most band for your buck.
