Audio By Carbonatix
Fall in Denton is a breeding ground for music.The town receives its annual boatload of fresh faces dropped at its doorstep, from college freshman to young couples laying roots. I’ve sifted through the crap to bring you a list of five new Denton bands you should know.
Daniel Markham A recent Lubbock transplant, Daniel Markham brings the desert to North Texas with a set so emotionally charged it makes you want to call your dad. Markham is currently working on his first full-length record as a solo artist, with hopes for a March 2013 release, and Denton’s Grady Sandlin, of RTB2 fame, is lending him a hand in the recording. After listening to a couple of unmixed tracks from the record, it’s clear “New Blood” could be the jam you skip to. Markham’s vocals sound like they’re being pumped through a blown speaker, overlain by muted electric guitars, though the strings of an acoustic are faintly plucked and picked in the background.
Savage and the Big Beat You may remember the 2011 theater production Jurassic Park: The Musical, which had several showings in venues around Denton. With its dinosaur costumes and gigantic T-rex puppet, the show was an instant hit amongst townies, and gave a truly new perspective on what it means to have a D.I.Y. ethic in a theatrical medium. The production was the brainchild of Savage and the Big Beat members Ryan Cortez and Max Brown. The two met in an improv comedy group at UNT and later wrote 18 songs that spanned the entire arc of the production. The two have since added guitarist Kyle Irion to their drums and keys setup, and the trio is releasing a brand new EP, Love and Hunting, on Saturday, September 29 at Andy’s Bar.
“The fun, smile-to-keep-from-crying element of the earlier records is still intact, but with more emotional and musical depth,” Irion says. The group describes their sound as primitive, upbeat pop-rock balladry with strange rhythms and elements of early Broadway musicals. Yeah. That’s how I was gonna describe it.
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The Birds of Night For a band so fresh on the scene, it’s surprising how much radio play Denton trio The Birds of Night have received on Mark Schectman’s Sunday night radio show, Local Edge. However, break out Snaps, their debut album released this summer, and it’s no wonder. In an attempt to strip down their complicated setup, The Birds of Night ditched a bunch of elaborate electronic gear and stuck to a bass, drum and guitar formula, paying homage to rock legends that came before them with their unexpectedly Doors-y, Creedence-y sound. The concept for Snaps comes from guitarist Andrew Rothlisberger’s love of quirky photography and toy cameras. He says he wanted to create an album that would emulate the way a toy camera takes a photo, and the feeling it leaves you with: that it’s a mere snapshot in time.
Goblins What began as a three-piece psych band so loud they were getting the cops called on them at every practice quickly became a self-labeled “tribal doom funk” band after meeting synth connoisseur John Vogt at a Valentine’s Day house show on Panhandle Street in Denton. You could say it was love at first sight.The band led a well-attended performance at their shared home on Hemphill Street this past summer, with local band Bloodwitch.
“House shows are kind of our bread and butter,” says bassist Michael Lind. “Our sound goes much better in small, confined, intimate spaces, so we try to do those as much as possible.” The band says they’re currently trying to write more material, but not necessarily for a new album, since their songs stand alone.
Blessin’ Newborn Denton foursome Blessin’ started out as Lewisville high school students not too long ago, before moving to college and forming the guitar-based pop band. The group is currently working on their first EP, which they hope to release later this year. The album will feature the song “I Still Like You,” a dreamy tune that gets stuck in your head, and one of only two songs featured on their Bandcamp page. Alongside that song is “Lately,” an ethereal combination of synth, guitar and distant, whispery vocals. If that seems vague, go see the band for yourself at their very first show on Friday, September 28, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios with local band The Demigs.
