Denton is still in my opinion one of the gems of Texas, though many people will disagree, I think they may hold it to an unreachable standard. Nonetheless the music out of this city is incomparably eclectic and dense with talent. Keeping to this ideal Texas’ own Play Pinball! Records, who you may know for putting out the Fungi Girls LP, have recently released a compilation honoring this city’s musical virtuosity. The comp titled Denton Denton USA! features medley of bands formed in the town; the comp includes cuts from Uptown Bums, Video, Bad Sports, The Secret Bangs, Wax Museums a “secret track” and unreleased tracks from Teenage Cool Kids and Fergus & Geronimo, check out the tracklisting below. You can purchase this vinyl in the limited “Lone Star Blue” or black here and on top of the F&G song below there are five more tracks up at the Play Pinball! myspace. The Fergus & Geronimo track ”I May Be Poor” is a semi-exclusive track that you’ll only find at WTD or the vinyl of course (well, until Pitchfork gets ahold of it) and features the unique vocal stylings of Jason from F&G rather than Andrew. The track contains one of the stickiest riffs Ive heard in awhile and definitely adheres to the comp’s shibboleth of “the sound of rock and Shiner Bock“.
Fergus & Geronimo – I May Be Poor
Tracklisting:
Teenage Cool Kids – Slave/Master
The Uptown Bums – Throw Your Money Away
The Pumpers – Shut Down
Wiccans – Endgame
Chief Death Rage – Riff Craft
The Secret Bangs – Violent Love
The Wax Museums – Billy’s Room
The Influence – Rambunctious Nosferatu
Bad Sports – Your Timin’ Just Ain’t Right
Fergus and Geronimo – I May Be Poor
Fungi Girls – Thanks For Following Love
Video – Bookstore
Bleach Boys – Lazer Jam
The Teenage Bees – I’m So Down
“Secret Track”
This entry was written by , posted on January 6, 2010 at 2:42 pm, filed under New Tunes, local music and tagged bad sports, denton, Fergus & Geronimo, lone star, play pinball records, shiner bock, Teenage Cool Kids, the secret bangs, tx, uptown bums, video, wax museums. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
My friend Austin (person) who always has my musical ear, sent over a demo from the band Wild Harem out of Austin (the city) which currently has me flabbergasted. The band was formerly known as Some Others and is relatively green in the Austin music scene. I actually happened upon them at a Halloween house show they played with Denton garage greats Uptown Bums and was impressed by the cramped living room performance complete with a dangling chandelier over the lead singers head. Wild Harem has 6 songs up on their myspace but this “Golden Man” demo below is as fresh as Thanksgiving pumpkin pie with a chorus that’s undeniably as delicious; fortunately for you, WTD is the only place you will find it.
This entry was written by , posted on November 23, 2009 at 8:49 pm, filed under New Tunes and tagged austin, denton, tx, uptown bums, wild harem. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
We have a fantastic show we are presenting tonight at Rubber Gloves; Crystal Antlers fresh off their sunny performance at Funfunfunfest will be gracing us with another great set tonight in Denton, Tx. We also have local garage-rock-barons Uptown Bums and VIDEO playing. Doors open at 9pm and it should fill up fast so get their early and hang out with us.
This entry was written by , posted on November 9, 2009 at 4:40 pm, filed under Shows and tagged Crystal Antlers, denton, funfunfunfest, tx, uptown bums, video. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
If you’re unaware of the long blood-line of Denton DIYers and their penchant for leaving carpets under puddles of beer and racking up countless neighborhood noise violations, allow me to spread the word. I really don’t even know what cowpunk is or how some bro named “Danger” could coin an apple an orange, but The Uptown Bums hard hitting garage pop demeanor stacks tall and they’ve got the pedigree to prove it. On the tails of their first Shake Your Ass 7″, the Bums have sent over their latest, “Reason To Be Kind”, which will see a track list somewhere in the near future. Also, they will be serving on the same bill as Crystal Antlers and VIDEO in our second presentation at Rubber Gloves on Nov. 9th (fliers to come). Check SYA to purchase the limited 7″ and Play Pinball! for a cassette and forthcoming appearance on the Denton Denton USA! compilation.
The Uptown Bums – Reason To Be Kind
This entry was written by , posted on October 15, 2009 at 7:10 am, filed under New Tunes and tagged Crystal Antlers, denton, play pinball, shake your ass, The Uptown Bums, tx, video. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Thomas Function is certainly not a new band, but they first time I heard of them was almost exactly a year ago when they came through Denton and played a house show with Denton’s own Wax Musuems and Teenage Cool Kids. Flash forward a year and coincidentally enough I was having a conversation about this band at our show last week which naturally steered towards a description of their sound and the only band that could be manifested in comparison was Velvet Underground. I’ll expand on that by saying the band has a very strong influence from the southern-hometown-rock genre: Neil Young and more recently Deer Tick. This record, In The Valley Of Sickness, was released on Tuesday and is available in CD or LP format through the always wonderful Fat Possum Records.
Thomas Function – How Does it Feel
This entry was written by , posted on October 14, 2009 at 8:20 pm, filed under New Tunes and tagged Deer Tick, denton, fat possum, neil young, Teenage Cool Kids, thomas function, velvet underground, wax museums. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Weekly Tape Deck is very proud to announce our first showcase, brace yourself because its a doozy. The show will take place October 10th at everyone’s favorite Denton, Texas venue: Rubber Gloves. The show will be headlined by the beautifully talented Bosque Brown, whose album Baby has been lovin’ on my speakers since it was released in March of this year. Bosque Brown is a pseudonym for the soulful Mara Lee Miller whose élan vital is her hauntingly beautiful voice; perhaps best described as one Flannery O’ Connor crooning Cat Power songs. We are also very lucky to have the talents of My Gold Mask playing the show, as they will be on tour burning up the Midwest as the dog days of Summer take a backseat for the one-dog nights of fall. The MGM duo of Gretta Rochelle and Jack Armondo have been on WTD’s radar for a bit and we are elated to see them live; you should be as well. Local act This Old House rounds up our first showcase, this band is part of the every-growing music scene in Denton and paints palette’s of hazy skies with their brand of what sounds to be minimalist Robin Guthrie-inspired pop songs with a dash of Americana for some sweetness. So there you have it folks, our very first showcase….you say you’re not convinced yet? Well take a listen to the tracks below and that might change your tone.
Artwork by nate
Bosque Brown – So Loud
My Gold Mask – Monomania
This Old House – At Risk
Some of you skeptics still aren’t convinced? Well watch this.
This entry was written by , posted on August 26, 2009 at 6:05 pm, filed under Shows, local music and tagged bosque brown, denton, my gold mask, rubber gloves, showcase, this old house. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Dallas born, now on the wire in Baltimore, Neil Sanzgiri was originally in our local scene with the now disbanded Voot Cha Index. Since relocating to the B-more area, Neil has joined with members of (before mentioned) Weekends, Andy Abelow, and Small Sur (along with others) to form Soft Cat. Comprising rich layers while painting intricate soundscapes, this is more than your average campfire sing along. Both “Dark When It Should Be Violet Hour” and “Silver Babies Sun” are slow rollers, but come to fruition before dragging out too long. While Neil has only sent these tracks over as demos, they already show the makings of a very solid release. No official dates yet, but Soft Cat are working on a proper drop for the future. More to come…
Soft Cat -Dark When It Should Be Violet Hour
Soft Cat – Silver Babies Sun
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complimentary:
When Neil does return to the Dallas area, he’s busy playing with Talking Tiger Mountain: an incorporation of Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Sunnybrook, Abacus, and Sleep Whale, this Voltron of Denton musician’s focus is deeply rooted in bluegrass and pop folk. Due to the large surface area separating Neil from his Texas buddies, TTM is only able to record in brief . However, I was given some of the great tunes that they have put together. Enjoy.
Talking Tiger Mountain – Sarah Paige
Talking Tiger Mountain – Tigers & Mountains
This entry was written by , posted on August 13, 2009 at 7:58 am, filed under New Tunes and tagged abacus, andy abelow, baltimore, bluegrass, denton, folk, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, sleep whale, small sur, soft cat, sunnybrook, talking tiger mountain, voltron, voot cha index, weekends. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
I saw The Shivers twice this year, once at sweet Denton house venue known as Muscle Beach; the next day I ventured down to SXSW and essentially got lucky enough to be walking by the Okay Mountain Art Gallery to see them again. Based out of New York City, The Shivers are a male/female duo who channel minimal indie pop with acoustic guiatar, keyboard and little else. They are very much grounded by the grave bellowing of founding member Keith Zarriello’s soulful voice; none more evident on their most recent release In The Morning. The brisk opening song is a great example and you can listen to that below. I suggest you jump at the chance to see this band live because their live performance is a rare treat.
The Shivers – Just Didn’t Need To Know
This entry was written by , posted on August 6, 2009 at 12:14 am, filed under New Tunes and tagged denton, muscle beach, new york city, okay mountain, sxsw, the shivers. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
I’ve loved all the great garage bands to come out of the area in the last few years, namely Denton ; Wax Museums, Uptown Bums, Bad Sports, etc… Here is a band from the far-off Minneapolis scene, a two-piece band known as Birthday Suits shred loud, fast, and high-strung songs that last about 2 minutes – no more, no less. What catches my interest is how close the vocal harmonies are for such a fast-paced band, I mean sure its easy for the Raveonettes to pull that off playing slow indie pop, but I digress. Recently Birthday Suits put out a great split 7 inch with the legendary locals Marked Men through Nice & Neat Records entitled 7 Inches For Your Ex, below a wonderful sample is presented to you in all its 2 minutes of glory.
Birthday Suits – It’s About Time
This entry was written by , posted on August 4, 2009 at 10:35 pm, filed under New Tunes and tagged bad sports, birthday suit, denton, marked men, minneapolis, uptown bums, wax museums. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Anyone in the metroplex area that can make it to Denton Wednesday night will not be sorry. A house show featuring Woven Bones (early weeklytapedeck write up), Uptown Bums, and Bad Sports is happening and will surely be a good time. I will be out with my deteriorating video skills in hopes of bringing our first live performance to the ‘deck. If you do make it out, please bring money for Woven Bones who are making the trip up from Austin. Also a new track from them as of yesterday via RCRDLBL
called “Your Sorcery.” (I couldn’t get their widget to work…apologies)
Wednesday 06/10/2009
Majestic Dwelling of Doom
731 Texas St.
Denton, Texas 76201
9 pm
$5 donation.
This entry was written by , posted on June 9, 2009 at 7:49 am, filed under Uncategorized and tagged austin, bad sports, denton, uptown bums, woven bones. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
