Music

BAND: The HeelersVENUE:  Dan’s SilverleafTIME: 9 p.m.Heelers lead-man Isaac Hoskins bounced onto the stage and immediately got to work as the bass drum acted as an authoritative gavel behind him. It was fitting that Brent Best was watching the show from the side of the stage, as The Heelers intensely…

BAND:  Sabra LavalVENUE:  J & J’s PizzaTIME: 8 pmWalking down the stairs at J & J’s to catch my first set of NX35, I couldn’t help but feel conspicuous. Thankfully, after roughly 10 people witnessed Sabra Laval’s opener “Can’t Tell Why”, the crowd quickly grew. By the end of Laval’s…

BAND: James McMurtry VENUE: Dan’s SilverleafTIME: 11:30 p.m.James McMurtry’s sound is liquid nicotine, and it was chain-smoked by last night’s crowd at Dan’s Silverleaf, as the house swirled around his fingers with each intoxicating rift. Stoic cowboys, bearded locals and sports fans all got down to this rootsy-bluesy, heel-stompin’ stuff…

It’s a story we’ve all heard before:  Artists move into the cheap end of town, start doing …  whatever it is artists do, and pretty soon developers, city officials and moneyed trophy wives all want a piece of the scene. This “gentrification,” as it’s known in places like Asheville and…

Until 7 p.m. last night, the Square seemed pretty much business as usual for a cold, wet afternoon in Denton. Well, except for all the people in black NX35 t-shirts hurriedly scuttling around from door to door like manic crabs. Armed with clipboards, walkie-talkies and purposed demeanors, the busy “blackshirts”…

This week’s featured poster is for the Dirtfoot, Warren Jackson Hearne and Starhead show at J&J’s Pizza tomorrow night, part of the NX35 festival. Starhead’s Ira Wile designed this poster, which, he explains via e-mail, was “cannibalized from some Russian thingy from the 1800’s.” Borrowed image or not, the simplicity…

EpiTas is a relatively new local quartet that quietly released its debut, self-titled full-length last summer. And “quietly” is the operative term there–EpiTas’ music is pretty mellow stuff. Which is kinda weird, actually, since the band’s name supposedly comes from the Greek phrase “I tan I epi tas” which means…

Time to give away yet another two pairs of passes to our St. Patrick’s Day After-Party on Saturday afternoon with The O’s, The Drams, Eleven Hundred Springs and Old 97’s.Want ’em? Right: Email me right now with “Murder (Or A Heart Attack)” in the subject line and, if you’re one…

In the modest, 700-square-foot headquarters of Denton’s NX35 festival, an immense dry-erase board lines the length of the office’s north wall. The whiteboard has been gridded off like a gigantic calendar, charting the 100-plus bands, artists and speakers scheduled to participate in nine venues near downtown Denton. Its purpose: allowing…

The easiest crack to take at the inaugural NX35 bill, even with its list of more than 100 bands, is that the bulk of the bands seem to come from the region. Perhaps, as “Music Conferette” organizer Chris Flemmons explains (“Northern Exposure,” page 63), it’s simply a testament to the…

Quincy Jones does not go to funerals—hasn’t for a long, long time. He turns 76 on March 14, and at his age, there’s no time for backward-glancing, not when every day is “like starting all over again.” He does not stand still, certainly not by a graveside—not when “I’ve almost…

Listening to singer-songwriter M. Ward’s stunning new record, Hold Time, the idea of his show this Sunday at the Dallas Museum of Art becomes more and more fitting. After all, Ward’s albums play something like a stroll through a good museum, with artifacts and sounds from the past blended in…

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, who performs under only the first of her four names, has earned plenty of plaudits for 19, an album whose title corresponds to her age at the time of its release early last year. And, as a result, the disc earned the singer four Grammy nominations—two…

In the early ’70s, three black blood brothers from Detroit formed an R&B band. But, after witnessing The Stooges live, they abruptly fused their soul sides with punk bombast. They called themselves Death and were all prepped to sign with Columbia until a label executive suggested they change their name…

It’s been three years now since Spin magazine named the once-upon-a-time Denton residents in The Riverboat Gamblers to its list of the 25 bands to see live “right now,” but still, the band’s penchant for raucous showmanship and borderline out-of-control performances remain its calling card. That hardly means the band’s…