Tony Ferraro

Spooky Folk Fans Explain What the Band Means to Them at the Farewell Show

It was an emotional night for more than a hundred who gathered for Denton's folk-pop quintet Spooky Folk's farewell show at Dan's Silverleaf on Monday night. The beloved five are putting their live shows on hiatus so that singer Kaleo Kaualoku can marry and move to Denver at the end of the month. Se ... More >>

Denton's All Stars Pay Tribute to Jason Molina: Preview

The passing of Jason Molina in March was met with much sadness amongst the musician community of Texas -- Molina had a wide influence on many in the state. Now a group of Texas based artist have teamed with curator Randy Reynolds to create Lone Star Horizons: A Texas Tribute to Jason Molina. See a ... More >>

Record Store Day 2013: Your Guide to DFW Events

April 20 might be the biggest music day in North Texas this year. We have Untapped Fest in Fort Worth, Har Mar Superstar will turn Bryan Street Tavern into the area's best dance party and Dada will have some of the best local hip-hop in the area. 4/20 is also the date of of this years' annual Record ... More >>

The Nine Must-See Concerts in DFW This Week: March 28 to April 3

Editor: Welcome to our weekly rundown of our nine favorite shows, all of which are better than this new Lil' Wayne album. It's terrible, guys. If you're looking for loud, head to Dada for The Casualties and awesome friends. If you're looking for something a little more multi-generational on this E ... More >>

The Ten Must-See Concerts in DFW This Week: March 21 to 27

We're changing it up here a bit, guys. For the past several months you've seen two blog posts outta me each week, breaking up the area's best concerts into two separate blog posts: Freakin' Weekday and Freakin' Weekend. Starting today, you'll get just one: Freakin' Week; which is a go-to guide for w ... More >>

The Best of 35 Denton Night Three: Thunder and Other Noises

There is no physical way you could carry or wear enough clothing to properly prepare for Texas weather. I thought at the beginning of the day that a sweater might have been overkill. About two hours later I felt distinctly underprepared. Actually, given that it was too much in warm weather and soake ... More >>

How John Wesley Coleman Looked to Old Friends to Save His Set at 35 Denton

In a last-minute booking snafu, John Wesley Coleman's management accidentally booked flights for members of his garage-pop band out of the DFW airport and on their way to Chicago, where they have a show later tonight. Coleman was also booked on a flight to the Windy City, but there was just one prob ... More >>

Charlie Hunter Gives Us a Glance Behind the Scenes of 35 Denton

In our ongoing quest to shine some light on some of the kindest, most supportive people hiding in the shadows, and behind the scenes, in DFW's music community, there's never a shortage when it comes to the people who bend over backwards for the 35 Denton festival, which is on the horizon next Thursd ... More >>

Jumberjack Fest IX: No Egos and Bearded Grinding

It all began quite simply enough. As the PVC Street Gang was finishing up their set at this year's Lumberjack Fest in Denton at Dan's, venerable guitarist and all-around goofball, Ryan Thomas Becker, began grinding suggestively against a slim, petite brunette just near the front door. He slithered ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts In DFW This Week, January 28-31

Lady Gaga Tuesday, January 29, at American Airlines Center, $65-$200 Jan 29th sees the Dallas leg of Lady Gaga's latest attempt to put some relevant words in front of the word "Ball" and successfully market it as an event. To be fair to Lady G, she's one of those rare pop phenomenons who managed, at ... More >>

Get To Know Your 2012 Denton DOMA Nominees

Leading up to our November 10 showcase, we'll be getting you familiar with some of our Dallas Observer Music Awards nominees, either via past features we've done on them, or new ones. You can vote for your favorite acts, venues and more right here. Warren Jackson Hearne & Le Leek Electrique It see ... More >>

Tony Ferraro On the Soul of David Ruffin

See also: Shiny Around the Edges on Death Grips, Patti Smith See also: Oil Boom on Donnie and Joe Emerson We've started poking around in locals' iTunes, iPods, Spotify playlists, CD players, cassette decks, turntables and brains with one question in mind: What are you listening to? We don't even c ... More >>

Satans of Soft Rock, Ryan Thomas Becker at Common Table

Thursday, July 5, at the Common Table

Preview: Record Store Day

Saturday, April 21

Hares On The Mountain - Dan's Silverleaf - 4/15/12

Hares On The Mountain Dan's Silverleaf Sunday, April 15 "It's Denton church," Harlin Anderson, creator of the annual mini-extravaganza Lumberjack Fest, told me two months ago, when describing the weekly Hares on the Mountain residency at Dan's Silverleaf. To be sure, one can draw many parallels ... More >>

Record Store Day Roundup: How and Where To Celebrate Music's Greatest National Holiday

Good RecordsIt's hard to beat Good Records' yearly Record Store Day celebration. They always manage to put a solid lineup together, but this one trumps any from years past. Thanks to Sunday's Edgefest, Good's Chris Penn was able to procure performance slots for Ting Tings, Civil Twilight and Switchf ... More >>

Wake Up, Denton! It's Time To Get Your Rocks Off!

Sore Losers & Marty B at Trees and the Rest of Your Weekend

Colin McDermottSore Losers​This weekend is a big one for Sore Losers, who are celebrating the release of their new EP, We Are Sore Losers, at Trees on Saturday night. Joining them on the bill is Dallas Cowboy Martellus "I Love Cap N Crunch" Bennett, as well as a host of other local hip-hop acts.If ... More >>

Ryan Thomas Becker & Last Joke

Last Joke Band Self-released

Meet Ryan Thomas Becker's New Band, Not Quite The Same As His Other, Older Bands

​As if Ryan Thomas Becker needed more outlets for his musical creativity, the prolific Dentonite has now added another entity to a stable that already includes his cherished solo eforts and his electrifying work in RTB2. Well, kind of. Becker's latest project, called Ryan Thomas Becker & Last ... More >>

The Rapture, Bush & Chevelle, Phantogram and The Rest of This Week's Show Announcements

The Rapture​It's been a while since we've heard from New York dance band The Rapture; their last release Pieces of the People We Love came out five years ago. But now they're back with a new album, In the Grace of Your Love, which will earn its release on September 6.In tandem with the releas ... More >>

Poster of the Week: Manned Missiles, Joyce Manor and Babar at Rubber Gloves on July 6

​ Is that the disembodied head of a paper mache raccoon? With lasers coming out of its eyes? Yes. And that's pretty awesome.

Bon Iver, The Secret Sisters and a Ridiculous Number of Other Show Announcements

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon​It's a risky career move, holing up in a cabin in the woods to create a debut album, but for Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, it seems to have paid off in spades. Between nods from Kanye West and the success of his R&B side project Gayngs, his highly anticipated self-titled s ... More >>

Good Friday: The Actual Good Friday Edition

Those Darlins perform at Rubber Gloves tonight.​We've already had a busy week of shows, but that doesn't mean the weekend's shows will be spare. There's actually quite a few nice choices this weekend. Let's start by re-capping the oneswe've been mentioning all week.Tonight, Those Darlins will brin ... More >>

Watch: Ryan Thomas Becker & Last Joke Cover New Science Projects at 35 Conferette

Allison V. SmithRyan Thomas Becker​Ryan Thomas Becker was a busy man during 35 Conferette, putting on performances with RTB2 and the now-defunct Eaton Lake Tonics, as well as his other project, Ryan Thomas Becker & Last Joke, which features Tony Ferraro of Eaton Lake Tonics, Andy Rogers of Oso ... More >>

After Six Years, Denton/Fort Worth's Eaton Lake Tonics Calls It Quits

Eaton Lake Tonics​ Denton/Fort Worth band Eaton Lake Tonics sent out a press release this morning announcing that, "after 1,240 beers, 20 some-odd hissy fits, 6 years, 4 LPs, 2 EPs, 0 deaths and 200 live performances," they'll be calling it quits.The band, whose members most recently included To ... More >>

Matthew Gray at The Kessler, Lo-Fi Chorus at Dan's, The Virgin Wolves at Lochrann's and Within Chaos at Trees

We've got a nice and busy Thursday evening of shows for you this time around. Looks like Friday got here a little early...

Show Announcements: Leg Sweeper, House Of Pain, Civil Wars, The Gourds, The Sword, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Steve Miller Band, Sister Hazel & Edwin McCain, Trashcan Sinatras & More!

​Secret shows are the stuff of legend. There was a certain Prince secret show at the Red Jacket in 2002, and the Old 97's occasionally perform under the name Rhomin' Hitchhikers. Now, it looks like  Leg Sweeper, with the help of Parade of Flesh and Gorilla Groove, is jumping on the secret sho ... More >>

Show Announcements: Lucero, Hellyeah, The O's, Robern Earl Keen, Miranda Lambert, REO Speedwagon, Bob Schneider, Genitorturers, Corrosion Of Conformity & More!

Ben Nichols​Yesterday, we mentioned the first batch of shows listed for the next few months over at Club Dada -- but we still thought that Lucero's performance set for Thursday, February 24, was worth mentioning again. Last time they came through, they didn't really get a fair shake, playing at 1 ... More >>

The Release of a New Solo Disc Caps a Busy, Busy Month For Ryan Thomas Becker

Free Stuff Alert: 100-Second Dash Compiles 26 New Songs

Do you like making snap judgments about local bands? You're in luck. Volume 2 of the One Hundred Second Dash compilation series is available for free download today. To download it, just follow the link to the One Hundred Second Dash blog and click on the animation in the upper right corner of your ... More >>