Legends come in many forms. For Shaka, it came as a three-round rifle burst of projectile vomit. It’s the kind of spectacle that stuns bar patrons and catapults you from a random out-of-town band directly to cult status. That level of infamy that causes a venue to beg you to…
Amid the clatter of diner plates, Claire Morales methodically eviscerates her waffle into equal-sized square morsels, explaining that she’s trying to be a “cutting ahead” waffle person instead of a “cut as you go” type. As a graphic designer by trade, it’s definitely not the strangest habit she could have…
Denton has reached critical mass. With so many local bands in its orbit, it was kind of an inevitability. But as the music scene spins on its axis, it lacks a gravitational center to anchor it to the city and keep bands and fans from floating off into the twisting…
Old Potion’s been on quite an odyssey to get their first record made. The band formed in 2010 under a different line-up, and murmurs of releasing an EP began in 2012. In 2013 the band successfully crowdfunded the money to make the album, but the members of the band at…
Look, you know the drill. Denton has a tragically hip music scene teeming with talent and potential. And we will be the first to admit that seven archetypes will never quite cover all the bases. But we are invariably bound by similarities and shared idiosyncrasies that help us navigate the…
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: vinyl is making a comeback. Physical medium, tactile experience? High fidelity? John Cusack? Well, what you haven’t heard is that Hand Drawn Records is looking to provide Dallas with a sought-after service: convenient record pressing for local artists. Dustin Blocker and Alex…
Before Bitch Teeth, Rick Eye had found himself in the most harrowing well of depression he’d ever encountered. Desperate for a distraction, he formed the band as an outlet to create something that emphasized the discordant and uglier side of life. In doing this, he found himself and founded the…
Meet Mearl, Earl and Estaban. Just three regular dudes playing a psychedelic rock show at Mable Peabody’s the week before Halloween. Upon careful and highly technical inspection, you might notice that these are actually the male alter egos of the members of Denton’s Pearl Earl. The band locks in to…
Here at the Dallas Observer, we don’t have an incredible grasp of time travel – in fact, we still couldn’t explain the plot of Primer to save our lives. That being said, it’s still fun to feign premonition and guess which young movers and shakers are set to become breakout…
A balmy August evening. Civil Recording studio in Denton. The unthinkable has happened to Denton band Power Objects: Lucy the cat has gone missing. Vocalist and guitarist John Gillespie describes it as, without a doubt, their darkest hour. But Michael Briggs’ notorious feline assistant was thankfully found. And Power Objects…
I stumbled on Avant Age in the unlikely hip-hop haven of a coffee shop open mic. That may not sound very promising to some, but bear with me here. The space was rife with comedians and folk-oriented musicians working to carve out a space for themselves in the Denton music…
‘Tis the season for locally crafted holiday compilation records. That’s how it goes, right? Er, never mind. Dallas label Hand Drawn Records just put out a holiday-themed compilation album, The Holiday Record, that’s been getting more clicks than a Cyber Monday flash sale. Hand Drawn Creative Director Dustin Blocker organized…
Problem Dogg is an anti-band. They take every chance to challenge the audience by using multiple bass lines, hosting frantic shows and unleashing a terrifying energy on listeners. Continuing this trend, the band released a 49-song anthology album last week, collecting all the tracks the band has written in the…
A unique thing happened in Deep Ellum last night: People crowded into a bar, filling it wall-to-wall, and looking on in attentive silence at person in the front of the room. But that person wasn’t playing music; they were giving a lecture. The person was Jeffrey Liles, the artistic director…
Inspiration is a strange beast. For Philip Gage, the leading track on No Touching’s EP came to him in response to a 7-Eleven clerk who he had a less-than-pleasant experience with. The track, “Big Mama,” started as a joking poem-rant from Gage to bandmate Elana Nelson, but eventually developed into…
In the dull roar of a post-homecoming crowd at Crooked Crust in Denton, Garrett Gravley has his dining choices mocked. The perpetrator, Albert Louis, scoffs: “Dessert bread sticks and beer?” To which Gravley explains, “He’s always making fun of how I eat.” This is the makeshift office space of Who…
Prism Cloud, like innumerable bands, started in a garage. But instead of plunking around on guitars haphazardly and figuring it out themselves, they pulled from experience with a different genre: classical music. With this approach, Collin Pollitt and David Sanchez use their broadened perspective to manipulate a seemingly straightforward subset…
Tyrel Choat’s fingertips surged with power when he first pulled a riff out of an electric guitar. His older brother taught him the monstrous riff from Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf,” and when he figured it out himself, he acquired a scorching propensity for riff writing that never burnt out. When…
On this Sunday afternoon, Alex Bhore is just packing and doing laundry in preparation for This Will Destroy You’s upcoming East Coast tour. The band just returned from a European tour, where they played a show almost every single night for five weeks straight. Even though they’ve had a few…
Felt & Fur’s practice space plays home to a myriad of peculiarities. It’s in an upstairs nook at Denton’s premiere combination business: Sprockets Bike Shop and NV Cupcakes. It’s painted baby blue and has a strangely low ceiling. Oh, and it used to be the daycare for a church that…
If Michael Briggs wants to see a show, record a band’s EP or film a podcast, he doesn’t have to step outside his own door. It is, shall we say, a bit of a luxury. In Denton’s independent music scene, Briggs is absolutely crucial in the booking, recording and promotion…
Plunge started as just a name, and the band that later formed under it sought to replicate the sound of the word itself. The chugging, sludgy doom-metal band that resulted is pretty spot-on. In bassist Cade Bundrick’s room before a show at Gatsby’s Mansion, the house venue he lives at…
