The latest edition of Deep Elm Records' Emo Diaries series, An Ocean of Doubt, is now available. Well, it has been for about a month, but now you can buy one from the local boys who appear on it. The disc features a track ("Backbreaker") by Arlington's Red Animal War, who will perform on November 20 at Zombies with Austin's Pop Unknown and Lewis. Red Animal War is currently putting the finishing touches on a four-song single, possibly to be released by Texas (apparently, they don't like the word "records"), a new label-store located next to The Door...
In case you've been wondering what Toadies guitarist Clark Vogeler has been doing with his spare time while waiting for a new Toadies album (we've been crocheting an afghan), go to thisonegoestoeleven.com. There, you will find Vogeler's thumbnail reviews of various pizza establishments in the Dallas area, complete with ratings and his own personal two cents. No, really. Seems like a good enough idea to us, but it feels a little like a scheme to score some free pies. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
It didn't take long for a couple of members of Post From Vermont to reappear in a new band. Singer-guitarist Dylan Silvers (who's now playing keyboards as well) and bassist Jeff Parker are now playing with Daryl (or possibly D.A.R.Y.L., after the 1985 film the name was lifted from), a keyboard-heavy project that, if Silvers' previous incarnations are any indication, will definitely be worth checking out. The boy's got melodies like Deep Ellum has roof-decks. And speaking of Post From Vermont, the group appears on Garage Nights at Laser Trax Volume II, the, duh, second installment of the record-store-label-studio-venue-whatever-else's local compilation series. Riot Squad, Scattergun Reflex, and a dozen or so others also show up on the disc...
The long-delayed full-length from Stumptone will soon be available, and for once, we're not just saying that. We know because Dave Willingham and Philip Croley -- the two guys behind Stumptone's label, Two Ohm Hop -- brought a few copies of the disc by the office themselves, along with the new record by OHM. Both discs will land in area stores on December 1, with a national release date set for the beginning of next year. Stumptone will perform at The X in Denton that evening, along with The Baptist Generals. The two albums look to be the start of a busy next few months for Willingham and Croley, including new recordings by Mandarin, Yeti, and Sub Oslo. But that, as always, is subject to change...
Parallax Records, home to Hellafied Funk Crew and Novachrome, is selling 100,000 shares of stock in the company at $5 a pop. If you're down, go to www.parallaxrecords.com. We'll buy as much as we can as long as it gives us voting power. Our first act: changing Hellafied Funk Crew's name to the Happy Fun-Time Posse. Those guys need a hug. Or something along those lines...
And finally, we'd like to send a shout-out to our boy Cary Pierce, who has just released his solo debut, You Are Here (and truth be told, we hope not), on AWARE Records. We don't want to say too much right now -- we need time to savor and reflect, fellas -- so we'll just let Cary drop some science for us. "You gave me such pretty things that still hang on my wall," he sings on "The Best Thing." "Reminds me of the times when you and I, we had it all." Amen, brutha. Surprisingly, Pierce doesn't thank his magnetic poetry set in the liner notes. He'll be playing at Trees on November 19, along with Verbow and Jenny Esping. Make your plans accordingly.
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