Music Awards 2011 Festival Guide

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2011 music The ForT WorTh Weekly AWArds PRESENTED BY Full Band Schedules and Ballot Inside

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MAF Guide 2011

Transcript of Music Awards 2011 Festival Guide

Page 1: Music Awards 2011 Festival Guide

2011 musicThe ForT WorTh Weekly

AWArdsPresented by

Full Band Schedules and Ballot Inside

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2011 music awards Festivalthe Fort worth weekly

sunday, june 26, 2011 - west 7th corridor

Fort Worth will never be a “music town” in the way that, say, Los Angeles, Austin, Nashville, Seattle, and New York City are, with multiple venues, several destination studios, a couple of big labels, and a lot of famous residents. But Fort Worth’s lack of industry infrastructure hasn’t seemed to hurt the quality of music being produced by our friends, family members, and neighbors in town, and when you take everything into consideration, quality music is really all that matters, right? Quantity has begun to matter, too. As few as about five years ago, you could count on one hand the number of cool, progressive bands. Now, you’d have to take off your shoes to keep track. What explains the surge in talent? Technology? Sure, you can record an entire double-length album on your home computer, but you still have to play shows. You still have to be a band to make that time spent on your computer worthwhile. Maybe increased visibility is the key. There are now more media outlets than ever in North Texas and, with the relatively recent arrival of KXT/91.7-FM, more opportunities for local bands to receive always-sought-after airplay. But seeing your name in the paper or hearing one of your songs on the radio is a fleeting treat, not nearly enough to sustain the hard work required to be a band. A more likely answer may have to do with the old saw “It must be something in the water.” What’s in the water (other than sewage) is seemingly limitless inspiration. The quality has begun to snowball. From the veterans such as Calhoun, Burning Hotels, Magnus, Scott Copeland, The Orbans, Stella Rose, and KatsüK have come upstarts such as Phantom Caste, Secret Ghost Champion, 1945, Skeleton Coast, The Hanna Barbarians, Quaker City Night Hawks, and The Hendersons, who all are influencing another generation of rockers, twangers, rappers, and mods –– if you’ve been to an all-ages show recently, you know that the number of fans is often double that of some venues’ biggest 21-and-up shows. And the veterans continue pushing one another. Yes, there may be some backstabbing, and, yes, there may be some less-than-amicable breakups. But there doesn’t seem to be any real animosity among artists toward one another here. Fact is that most of the people who go to local shows regularly are in bands themselves. Which brings us back to the question: Why are there so many good bands in the 817? To avoid getting tired-head, heed my recommendation to just sit back, turn off your brain, and enjoy the darn show. – Anthony Mariani

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Burning Hotels have changed their sound a little, shelving the staccato, propulsive post-punk for a moodier, more syrupy brand of vintage New Wave. You could argue that they’ve never sounded better. A new album is currently in the works.

Post-psychedelic hard rockers EPIC RUINS are serious about their

fascination with the pop-occult, mixing lyrics about warriors, fantastic

realms, and mythical creatures with riff-tastic guitarwork, Bonham-

esque drumming, and a whole lotta soul. Void Mariner and the Mystic

Boogie of the Sacred Line, where Sabbath meets ZZ Top, may be the

finest album-album ever produced in North Texas.

Blending Southern-fried crunch with indie-pop glam and flat-out beautiful vocal harmonies, The Orbans are definitely sui generis. Led by charismatic frontman Peter Black, the quintet recently had a song featured on NPR’s “Song of the Day” segment, “Like a Liar,” off the band’s most recent album, the spellbinding When We Were Wild.

Blood, sweat, and tears go into every Josh Weathers & The True+Endeavors show, with frontman and spiritual leader Weathers on the pulpit, preaching the rock ’n’ roll gospel. A little bit Mitch Ryder, a little bit Springsteen, Weathers is a rowdy upstart with blue-eyed soul to spare, and the horn section is killer.

Dust Bowl blues in a mood for a Spaghetti Western, lonely trumpet and all, the Whiskey Folk Ramblers’ sound is one of a kind, especially in these here parts. Led by Southern gentleman Tyler Rougeux, the Ramblers plink, plank, plunk, bash, and wail through originals that could be part of the American songbook.

Calhoun is a thinking indie-pop fan’s band, offering lyrics full of insight and conflict –– and also music full of ringing riffage, strong vocal melodies, and thumping beats. Nominated in several categories, including Artist of the Year, the brainchild of co-songwriters Tim Locke and Jordan Roberts has just released the phenomenal Heavy Sugar.

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The traveling rock spectacular that is Spoonfed Tribe has been at this rock ’n’ roll thing for well over a decade but still keeps getting stronger. Full of drama and circuitous licks, the Spoonfed Tribe sound is indeed a trip. A couple of years ago, the Tribe was inducted into the Fort Worth Music Hall of Fame, a building-less entity created by the Weekly.

Take a little Bad Company, mix in a little Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and a

pinch of Foghat, and you’ve got a pretty close approximation of this

relatively new quartet. Quaker City Night Hawks' debut album,

¡Torquila Torquila!, is a masterstroke of gritty, hard-driving soul (and

was released after the ballot had been published, which explains the

album’s absence from the ballot).

Perhaps best known as a semifinalist on American Idol, Tim Halperin is a young smoothie with an achingly emotive voice, and he knows his way around a piano. He’s just released a video for his single, “The Last Song,” shot mostly in Fort Worth.

Former members of Buck Jones, a ’90s-era outfit on par with The

Toadies, guitarist Burette and bassist/vocalist Gabrielle Douglas moved

to Vermont several years ago but only to eventually return home to the

Fort. Now with help from two badasses, drummer Todd Harwell and

guitarist Josh Daugherty, The Cush has mastered dark dream pop

that’s equal parts My Bloody Valentine and Portishead.

Though Stella Rose can still bring da grungy hard rock, the band has expanded its repertoire to include some borderline Black Keys-y material. The trio is currently writing songs for a new album, the follow up to 2010’s Drag and has just released a DVD of a concert at Lola’s Saloon that’s available at shows and soon online.

Analog Goths Pinkish Black, the duo of drummer Jon Teague and vocalist/keyboardist Daron Beck summon sweeping, haunting, operatic arrangements that are powerful in their dynamic, layered simplicity. Beck’s booming baritone often comes off as another instrument.

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Imagine a collaboration between the Allman Brothers and Black Crowes, and you’ve got The Hanna Barbarians, a bunch of free-lovin’ young turks who’ve got the chops to show off but are hell-bent on Southern-frying your soul. The band’s debut album, Syzygy, is a nominee for Rock Album of the Year.

Snakey Roberts is a side project of sorts of the guys from Green River Ordinance, a bright pop band of young dudes who’ve now become elder statesmen. Expect a lot of shack-shaking rockaroll.

The soundtrack to a gypsy caravan through the Stockyards, My Wooden Leg’s brand of twangy-guitar-inflected and semi-jazzy rock is unlike anything else. The band’s sparkling new EP, A Circus, is a nominee for Album of the Year.

New father and frontman Daniel Katsük has been producing his style of folk-rock for years now, and while he’s taking a hiatus from the biz to concentrate on his family, he’ll be rocking the festival.

A Holy Moly show comes at you like a hotrod with flames on the sides. Spunk, twang, punk, energy, booze, and a whole lotta passion inform everything this quartet does onstage and off. The band is currently in the studio.

Though none of the guys in the band actually plays a Rickenbacker, Fate Lions have that jangly early-’80s Alarm/Plimsouls thing down, offering hyper-melodic songs full of swishy beats, wry observations, and, of course, ringing guitars.

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Moody, dense, and tight, Secret Ghost Champion may be one of the most underrated bands in North Texas, serving up hyper-melodic tuneage that borrows a little from Electric Light Orchestra and Wings. Recent signees to Hand Drawn Records, SGC is about to release an album, Psychosomatic Immortality.

A songwriter’s songwriter, Scott Copeland has had his music recorded by some of the biggest names in Texas Music, and he’s just produced the new album by upstart Ryan Bingham, with whom Copeland has shared a stage or two over the years.

One of the most enigmatic performers in North Texas, Browningham (a.k.a. Nathan Brown) delivers Prince-ified soul and smooth jazz that’s purely indie at heart. Tall, blond-haired, and blue-eyed, Browningham doesn’t look like your average Quiet Storm-er – and that’s because he isn’t.

With a silky smooth, aching voice, Luke Wade is Fort Worth’s answer to John Mayer minus the god complex. Throw in a little brass and some funky beats – and some lovelorn lyrics – and that’s Luke Wade & No Civilians.

Americana singer-songwriter Kevin Aldridge has a little Neil Young in his voice and the charming disposition of a guy at the end of his rope – you’d never know by talking to the friendly Aldridge that he’s a pretty dark lyricist and composer. Frontman for Chatterton, Aldridge is about to drop a solo album, The Viper Sessions.

Southern Gothic troubadour Clint Niosi weaves haunting yarns full of keen observations, fantastic and often fantastical characters, and new mythologies. Niosi also has done some film scoring work.

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One of the longest-running bands in town, Titanmoon is U2-ish but much rockier (and much less self-aggrandizing). Epic arrangements, some technical wizardry, and mucho bad-ass playing comprise the Titanmoon sound.

Just three guys – a singer, a drummer, and a guitarist –– 1945 nevertheless manages to produce one helluva racket. The reluctant star is guitarist Andrew McMillan, who doesn’t just play an eight-string but owns it, tapping, pulling off, striking harmonics, rocking jazz chords, basically, conjuring up his own metallic orchestra with every move.

Though there are some jungle pop elements to Skeleton Coast’s sound, the band is more about rocking out than being twee. Most of the songs aren’t necessarily complex but are beautifully dynamic and bombastic. A true “indie-rock” band.

Part blues explosion, part psychedelic trip, Jefferson Colby’s signature style allows for some killer instrumental excursions, courtesy mainly of the Mabe brothers: frontman Danny on guitar and Matt (from Stella Rose and Quaker City Night Hawks) on drums.

Though he’s pretty tough on wax, Dru B Shinin’ (né Andrew McCullough) is one of the nicest guys in town, and he can drop some heartfelt, introspective rhymes, too. His most recent album, Dirty Money Painting, is a nominee for Album of the Year.

Blending a little Radiohead with Nine Inch Nails, the young dudes that are Phantom Caste have just released a superb, new, eponymous album in which echoing and twinkling guitars, booming rhythms, and frontman Paul Cooksey’s ethereal voice touch all the right pleasure points.

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There’s no denying the influence of ’80s New Wave rockers like Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson in JJ & The Rogues’ tuneage. However, you could do a lot worse than that style. Easily one of the most energetic, bright, and accomplished bands in all of North Texas, JJ & The Rogues have just released a splendid new EP, Stare Down.

In every Beauxregard song, you’ll get a little Devo, a little Pulp, and a heavy dose of originality. Twinkling keyboards float over shifty rhythms and buzzing guitars throughout the band’s most recent album, Gryphoemia, a nominee for Album of the Year.

After a long hiatus, Alan and frontman Chris Hardee returned to the scene with a vengeance this year, delivering unto us Alan, The Universal Answer is Both, a massive, grand tapestry of sonic flavors ranging from quiet and minimalist to orchestral and sweeping. The album is also a nominee for Rock Album of the Year.

The first and last word on reggae in town, Pablo & The Hemphill 7 just keep getting better, broadcasting their brand of raga rock all over North Texas, inspiring untold numbers of booties to shaking.

Brooding, dramatic indie-rock with a hard-to-pinpoint British flare, The Spiral Sound has been treading the boards for nearly 10 years but only recently experienced a resurgence of sorts. Highly recommended for fans of Radiohead and Spiritualized.

Pocket-sized princess of Texas Music Maren Morris is still young but is a veteran of the scene and has just released a new album, Live Wire, a collection of songs that, while Texas Music-y at heart, are hard to categorize, with their sonic thumbprints spanning from rock to blues.

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Full of spunk and funk, Sally Majestic is a party band but in the best sense of the term – things can get loud, but they’re always expertly played. “Brand New Hat,” a nominee for Rock Song of the Year, is a sweet, funny, anthemic jam that in a righteous world would be blasting from every rock station in the U.S. of A.

Throwing back to the Summer of Love, The Hendersons match their good-natured humor with some seriously tough chops, producing a particular brand of music that retains all of the best elements of the ’60s without sounding slavish to the era’s finest purveyors of the sound.

Though the sound leans toward Texas Music, don’t confuse Derek Larson & The Leavers for your run-of-the-mill pickers and grinners. What Larson has that many other similar artists don’t is an ability to forge songs that are rich and deep lyrically and musically.

Handsome Sean Russell has been crooning his heart out for well over a decade now but only now seems to be getting some much deserved recognition for both his soft, sweet voice and, perhaps more significantly, his crafty, hooky pop songwriting.

A nominee for best male vocalist, Taylor Craig Mills has a thing for romantic Brit-pop, though he’s Fort Worth to the core. His songs are neatly, crisply structured and arranged, and his masculine, no-frills voice has a world-weariness that’s nothing short of captivating and endearing.

The brainchild of frontman and lyricist Jason Worley, Earthquake Country is a soulful approximation of the American songbook as written by Allen Ginsberg. The band’s debut album, Diaspora, is a nominee for Album of the Year.

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To be able to pull off pop-punk properly, you’ve got to have the chops, and the guys in Cityview do – they’ve been at it for nearly a decade and show no signs of stopping anytime soon. The band’s most recent album, last year’s Big on the Inside, was a nominee for Rock Album of the Year.

Equal parts spacey and folky, Igneous Grimm purveys a polished brand of idiosyncratic tuneage that sits comfortably alongside both bands of brothers: the Doobies and Allmans.

All you need to know about Strung, Drawn & Quartered is that Kavin Allenson, Darrin Kobetich, and Bill Pohl are regarded as three of the finest axmen in all of North Texas. Allenson is a superior texture player, Kobetich is a bluegrass and dobro master, and Pohl shreds tastefully.

One of the most fun live acts around, Fish Fry Bingo twangs, plucks, and strums toe-tappers hewing to old-timey country tradition but full of modern joy and pain.

Troubadour D. Anson Brody is an odd amalgam of preacher, hippie, and rocker whose explosive solo performances are exercises in guitar technique, vocal bombast, and soul.

The soul train courses through Rabbit’s Got the Gun’s unique approach to funk-rock: high-energy, ridiculously technically proficient, and kaleidoscopic. Saying the band is a full-package live experience is underselling the point.

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Frequencies compilation CD with 18 songs from nominated bands will be on sale during the Festival on Sunday, June 26 at each participating venue.

The $5 will benefi t the American Red Cross Chisholm Trail Chapter, a humanitarian organiza-tion led by volunteers providing relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies, as well as allowing military members stationed all over the world to send messages to loved ones back home during an emergency or other important events using the latest in communication technology.

Frequenciesnominated bands will be on sale during the Festival on Sunday, June 26 at each participating venue.

The $5 will benefi t the American Red Cross Chisholm Trail Chapter, a humanitarian organiza-tion led by volunteers providing relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies, as well as allowing military members stationed all over the world to

Great Music. Great Cause.Five Bucks.

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STUDIO PROVIDED BYSTUDIO PROVIDED BYSTUDIO PROVIDED BYTHANKS !

3409 INDALE RD. • 817.377.4411

911 S. MAIN ST. • 817.877.4338

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