Discipline Sets Own DJ Night Rules.

Thursdays at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios in Denton just got a little more chaste. DISCIPLINE, a new DJ weekly hosted by Shane English, Kate Depetris, Andrew Haas, Kathryn Falvo and Jonah Lange, is an all-vinyl night that features only the toughest underground ’80s music and serves as a sort of public platform for its masterminds’ record collections.

With an obvious penchant for industrial, metal and otherwise hard and dark sounds (as in Einstürzende Neubauten, Esplendor Geometrico and Liaisons Dangereuses, to name some of the better-known artists), it is clear that this is not your typical ’80s night, and that any requests to hear “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)” will likely not be fulfilled.

While this does have an air of elitism, the group seems to welcome it.

“We’re filling a gap,” English says. “In Denton, you go out to bars and hear shitty MP3s playing ’90s music. This is real, actual dedication.”

The dedication, or discipline, that English refers to is the patience of sifting through thousands of records locally, every so often finding a gem, and slowly adding those in to the DJs’ collections.

“Our main activity, besides working full time, is record collecting,” Depetris says. “Half Price Books, Recycled (Books), record stores—going through used bins every day looking for underground ’80s records.” Even buying records off Ebay or Discogs is viewed as “cheating.”

This approach to DJing, which is usually unsustainable in North Texas, is the latest attempt by Denton artists to expose the public to something other than carefree, ass-shaking music that serves only as a background to inebriation.

“There are people in this town who aren’t represented at all,” says Haas. “There’s no reason why a legitimate underground music night where good music is played can’t be done here.”

Although not everyone will agree that “the ’80s were the pinnacle of Western civilization,” as English half-jokingly states, no one can argue with the fact that there is indeed a lack of DJ nights in Denton where real vinyl purists work their turntables.

Unlike their zeal for collecting records, though, the group takes a rather casual approach to the night, understanding that while there may be some who become fans of the music they’re playing, there won’t be many who will truly get into and love it. Still, the night’s debut on December 23 and follow-ups since have been successful.

Says Depetris: “It drew a lot of people out from a different crowd from what I usually see in Denton on DJ nights.”