On Saturday at 10 p.m., Sons of Hermann Hall will screen The Hunchback of Notre Dame with live musical accompaniment. No, not the Disney version, silly, the creepy old silent film from 1923. The score was arranged by Paul Slavens, who also directs the ensemble, which includes musicians from Baboon, Brutal Juice and Mission Giant.
Congratulations to the Feds, who won the national Rolling Rock/Hard Rock Cafe Battle of the Bands competition. On July 31, they'll fly to Latrobe, Pennsylvania--home of that delicious Rolling Rock lager--to play the Town Fair Five with Crystal Method, Velvet Revolver and (bless their hearts) Hoobastank. Tell those guys we found the reason to stop listening to the radio: that damn song.
Hand stamps: Just before releasing their new album Bandwagon, 1100 Springs play the Gypsy Tea Room on Friday with the Kyle Hunt Band and that 14-year-old girl wonder Maren Morris. The Old 97's play at the Gypsy Tea Room on Saturday, with Chomsky, and Sunday, with Salim Nourallah (for more information on the Old 97's latest album, Drag It Up, see the feature story on page 71). Two of the country's best DJs, Vicious Vic and Simply Jeff, spin at the Lizard Lounge on Saturday.
Five Questions With...
For a decade, Josh Venable has hosted the eclectic Sunday-night music show The Adventure Club on 102.1 the Edge, where he also works as assistant program manager. That makes him knowledgeable and quite possibly older than me. It also makes him a good candidate for "Five Questions With." Let's see how he fares.
The Edge is 15 years old. How long can the station call itself "the new rock alternative"?
As long as there is new alternative rock out there.
Of all the celebrities you've met or interviewed, who was the most difficult?
Jewel would be way up there. Every response to every question was "You know, I grew up in Alaska, and I lived in my car." I was like, "I asked you what your favorite band was." She's just stupid. Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream swore up and down that he wouldn't cuss on the air, and probably within the first 10 seconds he cussed. I told him if he did it again, I'd throw him out, and he was like, "Man, I'm sorry. I really respect you." And we get back on the air, and the first word out of his mouth was "fuck." And I was like, "Ladies and gentlemen, Bobby Gillespie," and turned his mike off. Oh, I almost hit Stephen Dorff in New York. And Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction I would include, because he's just a goof.
Who's your favorite?
There are three bands I'm not a big fan of, but they're such cool people I wish I was a fan--Linkin Park, Three Doors Down and Everclear. The guys in Three Doors Down were probably the nicest celebrities I've ever come in contact with in my life. I was like, "Man, I should listen to that record sometime."
Why doesn't the Edge play more local music?
I think we do. We play a lot more than people realize. As far as Texas bands, we've played plenty over the years. We've played Chomsky and Eisley and Burden Brothers and Blue October. I would love it if we played the Deathray Davies, but they're not a mainstream band, and [John] Dufilho would tell you that. For some reason, the Edge got tagged with a stigma that we don't support local music, and I don't understand that.
The Killers are playing your anniversary party. Their song "Somebody Told Me"--what the hell is that about?
You'd have to ask them. "Somebody told me that you have a boyfriend that looks like a girlfriend I had in February of last year." I don't know. It just falls into that androgynous genre. That's not too far from my heart, considering my favorite bands are the Smiths and Suede. But my current obsession is their "Mr. Brightside" song. It's one of the best singles I've heard this year.
