Weekender 8/31/07-9/2/07

Not the craziest weekend for shows, but what can you do? Go wear some white shoes or something. List em:

FRIDAY

Markus with a K/OCELOT/Bird Peterson/Fuckin' A (Hailey's): This show is part of the Mischief and Trouble tour that starts tonight in Denton and dips down to Austin and Houston throughout the rest of the weekend. Markus with a K is of course an old Denton DJ dude, so he'll probably get a nice crowd out to witness his return. This whole thing seems to have something to do with the promotional organization/record company I Heart Comix, but I don't have the time or desire to find out what.

Marked Men/Young Offenders/Teenage Cool Kids (Secret Headquarters): What an easy show to like. Every time I hear Teenage Cool Kids or see them live, I think I like them more. Will you be blown away by the originality of their sound? Nope. Will they make you want to move and sing along? Prob. Marked Men and Young Offenders are both of the same mold, but hell, I've liked every Marked Men song I've ever heard almost right away, which is rare for me when it comes to any kind of music. SHQ is a great location for this show, and from what I hear, Marked Men always draw a big crowd there. Quality all around.

History at Our Disposal/Shiny Around the Edges/Mom (Doublewide): Us Dallasites have ourselves a pretty quality local bill of our own tonight, as Shiny Around the Edges, this year's WSJR Awards Best Band winners, are sandwiched between the excellent Mom and History at Our Disposal, a band I haven't quite figured out at this point. Bits and pieces of music concrete seem to fade in and out of the tracks I've listened to, and although this patchwork approach sometimes comes off as a bit forced in that Wilco sort of way, it seems to work on these tracks most of the time, adding layers of interesting textures and sounds to songs that otherwise seem to be fairly traditional well written pop songs that pull from the post-punk influence well that we're all more than familiar with at this point. Haven't got around to checking out Mom's newest release, but your homeboy got his copy in the mail and a review will be here soon I think. UPDATE: Just saw that Mom will headline, Shiny will open and History will be stuck in the middle, with or without you.

Alarm/Alan Smithee/Heinous Genetix/Pools (1919 Hemphill): Interesting and intense hardcore show... starts at 6 or 7.

One Mo Time with Lance De Sardi/Redeye/A One/Tyronesmiley (Zubar)

SATURDAY

Sean Kirkpatrick/War Wizards/New Science Projects/Violent Squid (Rubber Gloves): Paper Chase's Sean Kirkpatrick (I can't remember how to do all that weird capitalization stuff) will be showcasing material off his latest solo record, but I would arrive early to hear the prolific and compelling Violent Squid, a project that seems to constantly be changing in tone and composition. War Wizards reported to me that they've been making progress on recording new material and have been quite happy with their live performances so far, meaning that they might be a treat to check out at this show.

Sub Oslo/The Great Tyrant/DJ Top Secret (Wreck Room- Ft. Worth): My pick for best local band this year plays one of several recent gigs in their hometown of Ft. Worth. After seeing their excellent video recently, I'm convinced that these guys need to get their long overdue record out ASAP. Come on bros, how bout it?

SUNDAY

DJ Nature/Sticky Buns/Wild in the Streets (Hailey's): A party for the love it or hate it Denton website Wemadeoutonce. Actually, it's probably more of a "say you hate it but look at it all the time" website. They've put together a pretty fun lineup however, and seeing as how this is the main thing going on this holiday eve in Denton, I'd expect a lot of people and good times to be had.

Keith P (Whiskey Bar)

The We Shot J.R. Awards Show

FREE ALL AGES SHOW, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th @ FRA HOUSE in DENTON @ 9PM:

Rock Party (Main House)
Akkolyte
Koji Kondo
Angry Businessmen
Lebanon
Zanzibar Snails
Douche

Dance Party (Guest House)
The Party (Nature, Sober, Select)
Ghosthustler (DJ set)
Farah


Back Yard
Free Kegs of Beer (21 and up)
Total Party Zone (Fuck Yeah)
Hipster Photo Ops (Be Cute!)

Both sets of performances will be happening at the same time, and we'll have more details for you (including the line up, set times, and any other special info) early next week.

We Shot J.R. Presents...

We've teamed up with the Granada to present two shows that we're really excited about, and we wanted to give you a heads up about them (we'll have tickets and prize packs to give away for both shows):

TUES OCT 9: Matthew Dear/Mobius Band/Treewave: After producing a couple albums of artful minimal techno and dance for the respected Ghostly International label, Matthew Dear went sort of pop this year with Asa Breed, which has been in heavy rotation at my house for months. A moody, strange electo/pop/dance record if there ever was one, Asa Breed seems to put Matthew Dear in the perfect position to turn some Postal Service fans in Kompakt kids. Ok, maybe not. But if anyone could do it these days, it would be him. Read the Pitchfork review of his latest record here.

THURS OCT 18: The Melvins/Big Business: If I need to explain to you why this show is going to be cool, then you shouldn't come because you're a loser.

It List: Thursday 8/30/07

Those Peabodys/White Drugs/Unwed Sailor/El Paso Hot Button (Rubber Gloves): Unwed Sailor has changed so much over the years, there's no telling what kind of set they'll play tonight. Be prepared for "atmospherics" and a band that insists on using the same guy who did Talk Talk's cover art for their most recent albums. That might give you a better idea of where this group is coming from. Those Peabodys play 70's rock and that's like, so 2002.


Lost Generation With Wanz and Ineka (Fallout Lounge): Special guest tonight is my pick for best local DJ, Select.


Slayer /Marilyn Manson/Bleeding Through (Nokia): Slayer has remained an impressive live band for decades but Marilyn Manson's time of influence in our great nation has sadly passed. Look for people who refuse to believe that at the Lizard Lounge after-party.

Just Another Consumer/Yells At Eels/Life Death Continuum/ (Red Blood Club): This show is the debut for Aaron Gonzalez' new psych-punk band, Life Death Continuum with the singer from Man Is Mostly Water. My pick for best local drummer, Stefan Gonzalez, plays drums and sings in Just Another Consumer. Both brothers play in the free-jazz group, Yells At Eels, with their father, making this show completely worth it. I heard the brothers' most celebrated project, Akkolyte is playing somewhere else soon.

It List: Wednesday 8/29/07

Au Revoir Simone/Oh No! Oh My!/Sydney Confirm (Rubber Gloves): Until like an hour ago, Au Revoir Simone was one of those blogger friendly bands that I pretty much just ignored-- in my mind, cute pictures + stereogum + Brooklyn= blow me, and I didn't see why this band would be any different. But having taken the time to listen to Au Revoir Simone's songs today, I have to say that I probably should have given them a chance initially. A lot of their music kind of has a dreamy Beach House feel to it with touches of Stereolab, 60's girl group, Joni Mitchell, Jon Brion and classic psychedelic pop mixed in as well. And with Austin's Oh No Oh My opening (another band I feel like I'm supposed to hate but don't), I might consider going to this thing. Locals Sydney Confirm are probably a bit too derivative of bands like Of Montreal at the moment, but they sound like they might have the talent to break out into their own thing. Pretty decent show all around.

The We Shot J.R. Awards

I love being right. After predicting that the results of the second annual We Shot J.R. Awards would better reflect what is actually happening in Dallas/Denton/Ft. Worth than those "other" awards, I was proven right by the large number of quality votes we received. This isn't to say that I personally agreed with all of our voters' choices, nor is it to say that all our categories were completely cut and dry and perfectly defined. But I do think that what we have here is a high quality and respectable group of winners (aside from the "worst" dudes), and I'm happy to share this list with you. Anyway, before you go on and read the list, I want to tell you a couple things:

1. The We Shot J.R. Awards Party will take place on Saturday, September 8th at the Fra House in Denton. We'll share the line up with you in a couple days when we have it finalized, but I'll tell you right now that you won't want to miss it.

2. If you tried to stuff the ballot box in order to change the results, or if you did it just to fuck with us, you should know that we didn't count your votes more than twice if you voted several times in a row from the same computer (all votes had an ip address attached to them), and it took us a total of five minutes to figure this out (I'm looking at you Matthew and the Arrogant Sea).

3. The official winners are in bold, and our staff picks are included below them.

Here we go:

BEST BAND
Shiny Around the Edges

(SR: The Great Tyrant; DL: Eat Avery's Bones)

BEST NEW BAND
Ghosthustler

(SR: Ghosthustler; DL: Koji Kondo)

BEST EXPERIMENTAL
Mom

(SR: Mom, Zanzibar Snails: DL: Mike Forbes)

BEST DJ
Nature

(SR: The Party, Prince William; DL: Select)

BEST ELECTRONIC
Undoing of David Wright

(SR: Treewave; DL: Electronik Warfare)

BEST VENUE
Rubber Gloves

(SR: I really can't pick between all the Denton DIY, so we'll call it a tie; DL: House of Tinnitus)

BEST LIVE BAND
Nouns Group

(SR: Koji Kondo; DL: Angry Businessmen, Christian Teenage Runaway)

BEST USE OF VISUALS
Treewave, Undoing of David Wright (tie)

(SR: Treewave; DL: Zanzibar Snails)

BEST MC
MC Router (single mc), PPT (group)

(SR: what DL said; DL: The guy who rapped with Krispee Ones at the WSJR/Art Prostitute Show last December)

BEST BOOKING
House of Tinnitus

(SR: the Denton DIY venues combined; DL: Rob Buttrum and Amelia at H.O.T., Scott Porter at SHQ)

BEST VOCALS
Ashley Cromeens of Record Hop

(SR: the members of CTR, Farah DL: Farah, Kyle from Night Game Cult)

BEST GUITAR
Shane English of Ghosthustler, Undoing of David Wright and Chief Death Rage

(SR: Nevada Hill; DL: Adam of Koji Kondo and Blonde Girls)

BEST BASS
Shane English

(SR: Shane English; DL: Shane English)

BEST DRUMS
Nick Martin of Nouns Group

(SR: Jon Teague of Great Tyrant; DL: Stefan Gonzalez of Akkolyte and Unconscious Collective)

BEST VIDEO ON WESHOTJR VIDEOS
Violent Squid "Sassy Mink"

(SR: Violent Squid was my favorite local video; DL: Violent Squid)

WORST BAND
Black Tie Dynasty

(SR: There are so many terrible bands that I don't even want to think about it- so I'll side with the voters on this one; DL: Cartright)

WORST VENUE
Hailey's

(SR: The Cavern for trying to rip me off; DL: 8th Continent for being the best and then disappearing)

DOUCHE PROMO PHOTOS
Black Tie Dynasty

(SR: Gotta agree with the voters again; DL: Nothing against him, but I'm suspicious of anyone with Hal Samples promo pics.)

It List: Tuesday 8/28/07

Flosstradamus/Kid Sister/Sober/Select (Suite): Flosstradamus has gained a lot of name recognition through their Sigur Ros/Twista mashup and more recently, a hyped video featuring a remix for DIY circuit champions, Matt And Kim, as well as being listed in URB's "Next 1000" and countless other articles. Kid Sister (technically the older sister of one half of Flosstradamus, J2K) might be the surprise show stealer with a very energetic style and the expert beat-making abilities of her brother as well as Kanye West's DJ and honorary Invisibl Skratch Piklz member, A-Trak. The track "Telephone" on her page has some lines worthy of B-Rock And The Biz. Sober and Select open at this controversial Uptown locale.

We Shot A Mix Vol IV: Prince William

In our WSJR Awards picks post from the other day (the results will be here within the next 24 hours, promise) John from Parade of Flesh argued that Dallas' DJ Prince William is "underrated" locally. I, personally, have always really enjoyed what Prince William does, so until today, I felt like I "rated" the guy just fine. However, after enjoying the mix he made for us several times this evening on my headphones, I'm more inclined than ever to agree with John-- this guy should be getting a lot more attention around town.

The latest installment in our We Shot A Mix series, Prince Williams' XXXl, contains the kinds of little touches and details that often allude most DJs of any caliber-- the track selection is tasteful and diverse, the mixing is flawless, attention grabbing and surprising, and the overall package takes you on a purposeful journey that maintains intellectual interest and inspires movement. The tone of most of the mix is dark and hedonistic, but a relentlessly joyous party vibe pervades throughout and takes over in many spots, allowing the whole thing to come off as fun but not overly bubblegum, serious but not stiff. When you download it, you'll hear bits of late 80's/early 90's hardcore, Chicago house, synth pop, Detroit techno, fidget house, straight up disco pop, the blogger friendly stuff, and Psychic TV (they're their own category), but the whole thing is so seamless that you'll have to listen more than once to pick out all the little pieces. It's an honor for us to be able include this in our mix series, and I'm pretty sure you guys will dig it quite a bit.

Track list:

Carmilla-Lacquer remix
G Boys-Killdahype
Barbie's Back-Golden Bug
Temptation-Green Velvet
Deep Throat-Dj Sneak mix
Home Alone-Bobmo
Reactor Party-Plimsouls mix
L.D.R.-Style of Eye
Anyway You Choose-Boy 8 Bit mix
Life is Everywhere-Paul Woolford mix
Irst-te-Worthy
Wisconsin '98-Boys Noize
I Feel Love-Patrick Cowley mix
Ritournelle(choked up)-Hypnolove mix
Stranger-Baron Von Luxxury mix
Lovestoned-Justice mix
Midnight Conversation-Chemical Brothers
Make My Day-Eyerer and Chopstick
Horses-Golden Bug
Ov Power-Psychic Tv

DOWNLOAD IT: Here

It List: Monday 8/27/07

Cool Out (Cavern): The only reason to set foot in the Cavern these days (aside from Zoo). Do they plan on booking a decent show any time soon? Anyway, you know the drill with Cool Out: lots of old soul, funk, disco, and any and everything else.

Bad Azz Jazz (Amsterdam)

And Sally Glass has a bunch of pictures from various parties up on her site for those who aren't too grumpy to look at pictures....

Monday Morning Rock

Results of the We Shot J.R. Awards will be posted some time today or tomorrow morning. Now for shows...

NOTABLE SHOWS THIS WEEK

TUES: Flosstradamus/Kid Sister/Select/Sober (Suite)
WED: Au Revoir Simone/Oh No Oh My/Sydney Confirm (Rubber Gloves)
FRI: Markus with a K/OCELOT/Bird Peterson/Fuckin' A (Hailey's)
SAT: Sean Kirkpatrick/War Wizards/New Science Projects/Violent Squid (Rubber Gloves)
SUN: DJ Nature/Sticky Buns/Wild in the Streets (Hailey's)

Weekender 8/24/07-8/26/07

Probably not my best writing of the year (or even the week), but you'll have to live with it. Plus, I working on other fun shit for you people, so start having fun with this first:





FRIDAY

Meat Puppets/The Only Children (Rubber Gloves): I haven't been this excited to see a band I haven't listened to in 10 years in a long time. Their past several albums have been subpar to say the least, but shit, Meat Puppets have reached that legendary status in underground rock that will keep people coming out to their shows forever. Hopefully the band will show up tonight too. A "can't miss" event if you like guitars.

The Party with Nature, Sober and Select (Zubar): Uh, you already know.

Caves/Kraken Fury/Nataraja/Shawn McMillan (House of Tinnitus): It's apparently H.O.T. resident Rob's birthday this evening, and I'm guessing things will be crazier than usual at the house tonight. Caves are the clear highlight for me here, and although the HOT headliners often don't perform until very late, I'd suggest staying.

Daft Punk's Electroma with Pre-screening DJ set by Keith P (Midnight- Inwood Theater): I've heard mixed reviews about this Daft Punk movie, and perhaps the worst knock has been the fact that no Daft Punk music actually appears in the film (although Todd Rundgren music is featured). I've also heard many of the scenes compared to that 15 minute sequence in Brown Bunny where Vincent Gallo rides his motorcycle around without any dialogue or action. Despite these red flags, however, I still want to see this thing. First of all, I thought Brown Bunny was an underrated movie with or without the blowjob scene, and second, the previews I've seen look interesting enough to take a risk. And you know what? It's not much of a risk when it's a midnight screening at the Inwood and Keith P is DJing a pre party at the bar from 10-12.

Pretty Vacant/Ctrl Alt Del (Fallout Lounge): Justin V will be having his birthday party at Fallout this evening, featuring performances from both Pretty Vacant and Central Booking's CTL ALT DEL. Free, and maybe a less sweaty alternative to the Party, or a place to stop before or after.

Utah Saints (Lizard Lounge)

Long Attention Span Theater Presents Luis Bunuel's The Milky Way (Strawberry Fields)


SATURDAY

Hot Flash vs. Dub Assembly feat. Keith P/Schwa/Jason Mundo/Killtronix/Royal Highnuss (Fallout Lounge): Two of the more diverse and interesting DJ crews in Dallas hook up, with Dub Assembly sticking mostly to fashionable, bass heavy London dubstep (but willing to branch out) and Hot Flash playing a lot of, uh, blog house, glitch, disco, soul and whatever else they can find.

Hotel Hotel/The Ostrich Tunning/Aliens (Secret Headquarters)

The Great Tyrant/Vorvodoss/Blood OV/Cleric (Red Blood Club)

Daft Punk's Electroma (Midnight- Inwood Theater)

SUNDAY

Wild In the Streets (Hailey's)

Saturday September 8th in Denton

Save that date. More to come.

It List: Thursday 8/23/07

Lost Generation with Wanz Dover and Ineka (Fallout Lounge)

80's Night With DJ G

Tony Bones Exhibition (Gallery At Magnolia Theater): Beloved local artist Tony Bones has another "legitimate" showing, this time at The Magnolia. I consider his work to be in that all too rare category of actual Dallas iconography, so he's always been legitimate. On a somewhat related note, I've always loved this website, especially for that URL.

It List: Wednesday 8/22/07

Sorry. We're going to try to make sure that every It List is posted BEFORE 4 o'clock each day from now on... not counting today. Sometimes people just keep me on Gmail Chat for way too long and I forget that I'm supposed to totally blog out every other afternoon, you know? It can't be helped sometimes. Anyway, we'll try an experiment this week and see how early we can get these it lists out every day.

Strawberry Fields Pot Luck: starting right now and going until whenever this evening, Strawberry Fields will be hosting a little byob cookout/party/show thing featuring live in-store performances from:

All Teeth and Knuckles

Violent Squid

Christmas Carnage

Murdercycle

Nine Dollar Word

maybe Ghosthustler

Strawberry Fields is located at W. Oak and Bonnie Brae in Denton.

All Teeth and Knuckles/Sticky Buns (Rubber Gloves): Fun dance party all around at Rubber Gloves this evening. All Teeth and Knuckles claim to make club hits, and for a band who looks pretty ironic hipster, they actually come pretty damn close to living up to their press kit. Probably not a "critically acclaimed" band in most circles, but I bet anyone looking to dance tonight wouldn't be disappointed by their set, even if most members of the audience will fail to remember what they thought of ATK in the morning. But maybe those are the best kinds of shows sometimes anyway.

Tales from the 8th Continent

Its been several weeks since we first noticed the 8th Continent Arts Council, the Denton record label/art collective that includes many of the more respected names in Denton music (including members of Undoing of David Wright, Ghosthustler, Chief Death Rage, C!TR, Oveo and more), and in case you haven't checked in with them in a while (or ever), we'll just tell you that they've been up to quite a bit recently.

Aside from releasing several notable EPs and albums, the group is also putting plans together for an October 26th label launch party at Rubber Gloves that will feature original performance art as well as music, videos, and a fully realized narrative that will require audience participation. Additionally, the group will also be hosting a pre-party on October 13th at Secret Headquarters that will feature performances from 8Cac roster members as well as the debut of Ghosthustler's midnight DJ sets at SHQ, which will occur regularly on Saturday nights under the umbrella of 8th Continent. We'll give you more details on all that stuff in the coming weeks, but for now, we thought we'd give you a look at two of the records available for purchase right now on the 8th Continent Arts Council website:


Christian Teenage Runaway- Holy No No: If you believe some of the critiques that have appeared in various comment sections of this blog, it's possible that you've already dismissed CTR as gimmicky, no talent riot grrrl slop-- and frankly, before I played this record for the first time, I really didn't know what to expect from this band either. After all, if what their detractors have said about them turned out to be true (they can't play, they can't write songs, they're all show, they're a big joke), my enjoyment of the band's debut would probably have ended up being theoretical and process focused at best, and completely nonexistent at worst. Don't get me wrong, I like loud, crudely played conceptual noise as much as the next guy who knows more about music than you, but sitting down at home and listening to a "you really need to see them live to understand them" band isn't exactly my style, even though I often appreciate such experiences for reasons unrelated to an album's propensity to compel repeated casual listens. All that being said, after spending some time with Holy No No, CTR's full length debut for 8th Continent, I'm quite convinced that this review doesn't need to include a discussion about music as conceptual art, and I'm certain we aren't going to have to debate the worth of bands who can't play their instruments. Instead, I'll take this opportunity to chuckle at some of the claims of CTR's naysayers, because they clearly have yet to hear this record.

To set the tone right away, it should be said that Christian Teenage Runaway is a far more talented, listenable and interesting band than many have given them credit for. Some of the apprehension surrounding the band is understandable given the chaotic hit-or-miss nature of their live performances, but even a quick listen to this record should quickly convince most listeners of the band's talent and relative accessibility. This isn't to say that Holy No No isn't abrasive, loud and chaotic either (because it is), but it seems important to point out that CTR is far more Raincoats than Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, even if pieces of the latter's harsh influence can be detected throughout the album's brief but exhilarating run.

The first three tracks provide a nice summary of what I'm trying to tell you: things begin with a slow, feedback laden build up into "Piano Harm," one of the noisier and more loosely structured tracks on the record, indicating the band's apparent desire to take the listener on a challenging noise ride right from the start. But "Black Man," the album's second track, lays down a rhythmic post-punk bass line and a bouncy, highly danceable drum beat that recalls British groups like Josef K and Joy Division, while "Nail Polish" comes off as the perfectly imperfect pop song, seemingly running a girl group doo-wop fetish through the blender of dark minimal innocence a la Young Marble Giants.

It is this contrast between sweet innocent pop and rhythm heavy hardcore and post-punk that CTR successfully utilizes throughout the record to add surprises all over the place, from furious hardcore like "Glass Half Poison" to the drum machine driven album closer "Greatest Lengths," a slow, bittersweet love song. The various vocal performances provide perhaps the greatest diversity and many of the major highlights on the record, as well, ranging from two and three part shrieking recalling the Slits to Siouxsie Sioux-like chanting and forceful half melodic half/yelling delivery in the middle. Jumping from style to contrasting style can be tiring when done by less inventive bands, but each and every track here is put together with attention to detail and the kind of instrumental command that you won't find in bands that try to provoke with a lot of bark and a little bite. The stylistic ADD simply adds to the excitement, and the compelling list of influences makes sticking around a necessity.

CTR hasn't reinvented the wheel here, but with a record as fun, challenging and intelligent as Holy No No, they don't have to. The future of the band is apparently up in the air right now, but we can only hope that a group who has made one of the most intense local rock records of the year will find a way to carry on surprising people. --Stonedranger

Electronik Warfare- Real-ize EP:

The Elektronik Warfare "Real-ize" EP might represent the 8th Continent concept executed in it purest and most fully realized form, but it's also a successful example of a live show translating fluidly into a recording with little lost (and perhaps even something gained) in the process. The reason I say this is that so far, in these delicate beginning stages of the council's infancy, they have had or been readying projects that might have found life elsewhere, including the MP3 issue of the Meat Helmets' complete recorded work, the nearly posthumous C!TR debut, and even work from EW founder Andrew Michael's other project Oveo. This isn't to understate the importance of the group effort required to release, distribute, or bring awareness to all these other projects, and in fact, it's a wonder that 8CAC spokesperson (or as he prefers, "mouthpiece") Lars Larsen can even keep up with it all, given his involvement in other high-profile projects The Undoing Of David Wright and War Wizards. It's just that EW's debut is the first 8th Continent release that was intended to be so from it's infancy, thus providing a preview of the kind of sounds, packaging and marketing that the council may have planned for future intra-artist projects.

The best collaborations shouldn't merely highlight the strengths of the participants, but also challenge the artists to work outside the safety net of their respective strengths. In EW, Andrew Michael seems to have pushed (not necessarily by force, but more as a creative catalyst) Larsen to work outside of his often-assumed role: that of the bold and taunting front-man, screeching at the audience through a distorted screen to emphasize his projected alienation to an uncomfortable degree. This isn't to say that the EP doesn't find Larsen doing his fair share of what he's known for in TUODW and War Wizards, but it's still pretty strange to hear him almost crooning, as on the EP's memorable title track, like (as Larsen tells me) Wall Of Voodoo singer Stan Ridgway, or perhaps Ian Curtis on that alternate version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" where he admittedly rips off Sinatra. It's great to hear Larsen stretching out his vocal abilities, sure, but it would be a mistake to paint him as the lazy lead singer sauntering in to casually top off the sweat and toil of his fellow musicians, given his production work in EW, a project that initially started as a beat-driven solo project by Andrew Michael.

The opposite result of Larsen subduing his iconic technique can also be found on the EP, as the vocalist's influence and sonic stamp do make themselves known almost immediately. The opening track "Requiem" sees its mournfully romantic live interpretation replaced with the bombast of machine-gun fire shifting in and out of digital manipulation in an uncomfortably literal symbol of "Electronik Warfare" worthy of 70's Floydian sound effects (although one should never fault an artist for "truth in advertising"). From the moment these warning shots are fired, Lars takes a more obvious role as producer, utilizing tactics such as the extremely effective double and triple looping of Andrew Michael's synth-generated basslines and exhuming the exoskeleton of a Korg-generated beat before reworking it into the final product, transformed with the aid of a sample library.

While Lars has done a lot of the grunt work adding sonic flourishes, Andrew Michael has pulled off the rare feat of writing socially conscious and culturally critical lyrics to seamlessly mesh with music that's entirely danceable without being crushed under the weight of preachy preciousness or dissipating into empty sloganeering. Electronik Warfare comments on heavy topics such as hyper-consumerism and prepackaged ideas of reality, but tempers it with a bratty electronic crunch reminiscent of Cabaret Voltaire or Industrial icons Nitzer Ebb. The duo should be proud of having produced something undeniably harsh enough to move the noise hungry crowd at Tinnitus but still danceable enough to mix perfectly into some trashy Sunday night at The Church without sounding as painfully dated or obvious as other Industrial night fare.

The "Real-ize" EP is a short, lean and complete byproduct of the ebb and flow of ideas oozing from the strength of artistic union under the 8th Continent Arts Council banner, including the unsettling and contrast-soaked technicolor abortions of visual artist, Heather Heitman. Overall, the project is a glowing example of the group's abilities, and one can only wonder what else they are capable of-- musically, visually and otherwise. --Defensive Listening

Great Tyrant Video

It List: Tuesday 8/21/07

War Wizards/MC Router /William Sides /Protman/Oddioblender/Ineka Guerra (Club Dada): This is a Nerd Core showcase, though that doesn't necessarily explain why War Wizards is on the bill, an unexpected and welcome surprise. I'm glad War Wizards has continued to schedule shows, as I haven't gotten to experience their electronic destruction and No Wave nihilism as much as I'd like to. Router is definitely and defiantly part of the aforementioned genre, and her MC abilities separate her from some of the glitchy 8-bit sameness sometimes apparent from this crowd. Don't let that sameness stop you from attending this show, this is much better than I expect from Dada on a Tuesday night.

Denton Catalogue Update

For some reason I can't seem to do embedded stuff properly right now, but I thought I'd tell you that Denton Catalogue has posted some raw footage from Record Hop's exciting performance at Fra House on Saturday night, and you can watch it here.

We'll be featuring some new videos from these guys in the coming weeks, and you can also check out some other recent postings on their site.

It List: Monday 8/20/07

Halflings/The Cathode Terror Secretion/Werewolf Jerusalem/Concrete Violin/Ferveur Noir (House of Tinnitus): Christ all mighty. Sometimes when House of Tinnitus has "noise" shows, they include softer, more ambient performances that many people probably wouldn't consider "noise" in the first place. Tonight does not appear to be one of those nights: The Cathode Terror Secretion could possibly be the hardest and most frightening band I've ever heard-- no, not frightening as in big scary Danzig with his skulls or big smart Slayer with their holocaust lyrics, but frightening as in "Jesus, I must be going insane if I'm listening to this music and thinking about going to this show." But that's exactly what I did last night, and I have a good idea of where I want to go tonight. Add the smart, friendly and intoxicated H.O.T. crowd, and you have the makings for an interesting evening to say the least.

Birthday Suits/The XO/Maaster Gaiden (Pastime Tavern): Birthday Suits are a guitar and drums duo that sound rather powerful, although the few songs I've heard from them have been a bit conventional in structure and something less than memorable... however, they also sound like a band that wouldn't be able to reveal anything about themselves via a Myspace page, so the typically choice taste of Pararde of Flesh pushes me towards checking them out. The female fronted XO of Ft. Worth kind of remind me of the Muffs or some other mid 90s "punk" disaster mixed with the much more tolerable spazz of groups like the Thermals... again, I'm not a pop punk guy, but if you happen to be, you'll probably appreciate this group for doing what they do in a competent fashion. Maaster Gaiden seem to draw from a different pop punk lineage that starts with the Buzzcocks and goes right through to the Descendants, and fortunately for all of us, they maintain the spastic energy and instinctual pop spirits of those bands without spiraling too far down into the awful mall punk mess that they spawned.

Almost forgot: Hell of a fun dance show at 1919 Hemphill tonight: Totally Michael/Prizzy Prizzy Please/Best Fwends/The Rental Cars. Best Fwends have been getting attention all over the place lately, some good, some bad, but I'm sure they're glad about all of it. I happen to think they're pretty damn good myself.

Cool Out (Cavern)

Bad Azz Jazz (Amsterdam)

7 1/2 Questions with John Iskander of Parade Of Flesh

If you've followed the blog for awhile you might remember the "7 1/2 Questions" feature we've neglected for sometime now. The format was seven questions, followed by a "7 1/2" question that was completely inane. This interview is actually more than 7 1/2 questions, and I hope you don't mind. Today's subject is the very entertaining John Iskander of local booking geniuses Parade Of Flesh, an entity with a more creative and interesting approach to booking shows than just about anybody in Dallas proper. Speaking of which, I'd like to thank John for doing something about the stagnant music environment in Dallas, rather than just sitting around waiting for Sloppyworld to come along and save everything.

You recently stated on the comments section of the blog that "if more people push and try to make positive things happen in the music community, then it is worth it for the kids/fans/anonymous." What type of positive things would you like to see happen here?

Positive things like more shows and more PACKED shows. Yes, the key is packed or at least a consistently solid turnout. So fucking what if ‘so and so’ played here already, there before, or they are about to play at XXXX in a few weeks. If no one attends, then was it really worth it? As much as I love claiming to see “my favorite band(s)” with only 15 people back in 199X or 200X, I still never forget going to shows so packed you wanted to vomit, having bruises all over your chest, back and ribs just from the knocking of sweaty elbows, or even the odd pleasure of being deaf for days afterwards. I would love Dallas to be considered another ‘required’ stop when bands tour through Texas. I noticed even Denton getting passed by now, which boggles my mind. At this point who is asleep here, the fans, the bookers, the agents, or the bands (national/local)? Dallas needs to be known for more than plastic surgery, tons of restaurants and great shopping. On a national level, booking agents know Dallas has had consistently shitty draws at shows over the past few years, and another negating factor is it is more financially feasible to route bands via Austin>Houston>New Orleans (or vice versa towards the west coast). Not necessarily my personal opinion, but shows, bands and music all revolve around money; otherwise shows would be free and we would not be paying guarantees. A fellow local booker told me once, some bands you book just for the beer sales. With that in mind, we would rather book less shows. Yes, the clichéd ‘quality, not quantity’. Despite the actual economics, the bookers, the kids, the fans and even the anonymous all have to make it worth it for bands to stop here. Money and a really good, consistent crowd over time will lead to word of mouth from kids to more kids, bands to other bands and bands to agents etc. Every industry is incestuous, so when you do something notable or have something good going on, people will hear about it soon enough.

Is there anything that's happened since you started Parade Of Flesh that you feel is a progression in the right direction?

Even with my unwanted hiatus, all of it has moved in a great direction. I started Parade of Flesh right when I moved back to Dallas from Philly in 2003 for the sole purpose of posting videos clips and audio bites of stuff I had taped. And in the past few years, videotaping bands at certain venues became arduous and youtube.com came along and made my site completely irrelevant. I uploaded everything to youtube.com and then took my site down from 2005-6, while I focused on other things. I poorly booked shows and house parties from 2003 to 2005 with a variety of folks: Chris (who I still currently work with), a large dude named Michael (who has since wandered off to Las Vegas but is now headed to Austin), and a creepy older guy (who straight-up disappeared on me). In the passing time Chris and I got wise, learned from our prior mistakes, watched venues, bands and people fuck up and then got organized and really serious. And I mean ‘serious’ only on the point of bringing in good acts and having events that stand out. I think people will be delighted with our upcoming fall calendar and hopefully we will create more of a following for our shows.

What do you feel are the major drawbacks to dealing with the local music community?

A few people seem to be demanding without warrant and expect handouts, such as assuming because you book shows that you must book them on this particular date with their pre-determined line-up and their friends’ bands. Brush that aside and there has not been any drawbacks to dealing with the local music community. Please knock on wood for us.

You've had everything from noisy punk to folk to pop to metal to DJ performances as part of Parade Of Flesh events, but it's always of a particular quality that separates the acts from their brethren and the shows often make for very aesthetically intelligent combinations. Is that by design or do you consider it a random process? What do you tend to look for in the bands you seek out?

It definitely is not a random process, I think I am really picky, but in no way ‘music Nazi’, but probably a ‘music snob’. If we are paying bands out of our pocket, for best-case scenario to maybe break even, then the bands we book better be fucking good. Absolutely no filler nights! We both have full time careers outside of the music industry and we don’t have time to fuck around with bullshit shows. It is as basic as only booking what we fancy. I would even take a hit on a show, just so I didn’t have to drive to Denton on a particular evening. At this stage in my life it is financially worth it for me to break even or lose of few dollars, and mentally worth it just to go home when I want to and to be alert at work the following day. I know that might seem insane to some, but if you can pull off what you want in life, then you should make it happen for yourself. We live in a selfish society and people want things on their own terms, and we love shows to end by midnight and be done. I get tired of shows running till after 1:40AM (FOR BEER SALES), getting home between 2:30-3:00AM and then trying to get to work by 8/9AM.

A good example of what I was speaking about before is pairing Ashlee Cromeens with Best Fwends as well ask Akkolyte and Koji Kondo in an upcoming show. That may look weird on paper but I bet it will be a really good in execution. Can you give me any insight into arranging such a lineup?

Just a few years back when Dallas had a nice crusty-hard core party scene going (a little history lesson for the kids: Spiderbabies, Moontunes, a few houses off lower Grenville and in east Dallas, The Sanctuary etc.) I loved going to those shows, but I would get tired of the same music all night. There is so much of one genre I can stand in an evening. Having a diverse line-up of bands for a show is like listening to the radio: just wait a few minutes and you know a different song/band is coming right up. Granted you can’t expect it for every show you book, but you can at least make an attempt. Also, if you book a show, (for example), that is strictly indie-pop, a) you already eliminate all people who hate indie-pop from stepping foot in your venue that night and b) what if there is a larger/bigger/better indie-pop show that night, ouch, that will hurt your guarantee(s). Plus when you book a diverse line-up you, obviously, get a mixed crowd, which makes for interesting conversation.

You were the first entity that started booking cool shows at Pastime Tavern and now I noticed you're bringing the acclaimed Numbers to Public Trust. Was Pastime Tavern just a hangout that you thought to start booking? Can we expect more Public Trust shows or is this an experiment? We had a show there when it was still Art Prostitute and it went fairly well.

When I booked a few shows at Pastime Tavern a couple years ago, I did it with a guy who was friends with the owner. The final gig was because the guy forced a bigger show, put it outside and it lasted maybe 20 minutes before the fuzz arrived. Chris and I still frequented Pastime and then approached the owner earlier this year with our plans. Pastime Tavern has a limited capacity and we wanted to host two or three larger shows this year, so we went on the hunt for a larger space. The Public Trust was our first and only choice to hold our fall showcase(s) because it is an appropriate space for the headliners, which I am exclusively announcing in this interview:

Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at the Public Trust

NUMBERS w. Faux Fox

Ghosthustler to DJ all evening. (and hopefully a live set too)

Sunday, November 11th, 2007 at the Public Trust

AIDS WOLF w. The Undoing of David Wright

Church of the Snake and El Paso Hot Button

Pretty Vacant Djs to DJ all evening.

(& hopefully a Seripop Art Show that afternoon)

Also, if anyone has an available space/venue, current or planned, then please let us know if we can host an event there. We like to move shows around so folks don’t get tired of frequenting the same spot.

What type of stuff do you typically play at your DJ night at Monkey Bar?

It’s all over the place, but there is a planned progression and flow. Every week I come in with a new/fresh playlist that moves from psychedelic and garage to post punk and rock for the first hour or two and then I DJ off Traktor for a more electronic based set for the later part of the evening. I can almost guarantee stuff in the realm of Spiritualized, the Animals, Beehive and the Barracudas, David Bowie, Wire, The Icarus Line, even sneak in Das Oath or Some Girls when I get the chance and then move towards Aphex Twin to a Crystal Castle remix of Liars. I really like cover songs too, so I always toss in some, such as Mogwai’s version of Guns ‘N Roses’ “Don’t Cry” or even Sonic Youth doing the Carpenters, Robert Palmer and/or Madonna. After that it depends either on the crowd, my friends, or how tired/sober I feel. My slot is four hours on Fridays, so it’s a nice change when people bring in ipods or cds; it gives me a break and it’s interesting to know what people want to hear. Also, since I don’t listen to the radio I get to filter out what supposedly “cool and hip” people listen too. So every Friday from 10PM to 2AM: “15min of Shame” at Monkey Bar, b.y.o. ipods or cds with a 3-5 song playlist (or roughly 15 minutes, duh) and I will buy you a drink or a shot. This summer I have had live bands and guest DJs on Fridays and I am going to continue that on a random basis.

Have you always been based in Dallas? The frequency of artists you've had associated with Buddyhead, ThreeOneG, GSL strikes me as being partial to the West Coast and I by no means mean that as an insult. I think the West Coast has been smoking New York and the surrounding areas in the past few years, actually.

It’s funny you asked this question because I just returned from Los Angeles about two weeks ago and imagine that, I was with one of the above mentioned offenders. I think a lot of it is from taping bands for so many years and running with a sketchy crowd while living in Philadelphia. It is insane how many bands stop in Philly. Having the highest concentration of universities and students outside of Boston, Philadelphia always has decent crowds at shows: All genres, all nights of the week and at all venues. Even the infamously harsh Buddyhead gave me a positive write up in regards to some of my old videos and audio clips I had posted on Parade of Flesh back in 2003 or 2004, (during the hey-day of their blog, shuffled with all the industry gossip, phone numbers, pranks and insults). I am not even biased but it is amazing how many West Coast labels have released such consistently good albums. Swami Records out of San Diego is ruthless for it; their entire catalogue is solid. ThreeOneG, GSL, Dim Mak, Sound-Virus, Ipecac/Hydra-Head all have a great rosters of bands and continue to release amazing stuff, not every single thing, but I will say a majority is.

Are you getting hit up all the time with labels and bands trying to desperately book something last minute for a stop in Dallas? Has there been a lot of non-Metroplex attention in general?

A lot of fillers and garbage requests came in at first. A lot. Then it completely died off and it seems that bands and agencies I approach love that we only do 2, at most 3 shows a month. Initially we had to take 100% of the initiative. Now there is definitely less pestering on my part and shows are slowly flowing in like hot lava out of your girlfriend’s panties. I think the random and last minute requests died off because folks realized we are selective and don’t book that many shows. It probably scared off most of the filler bands or at least annoyed them enough not to bother us anymore.

PS-What's up with all the porn?

Big, big fan. My girlfriend goes out of town and now she calls me a pervert. Disregard porn’s intended purpose, it makes for a really epic scene when presenting someone a gift wrapped in it.

Monday Morning Rock

NOTEWORTHY SHOWS THIS WEEK

MON: Halflings/The Cathode Terror Secretion/Werewolf Jerusalem/Concrete Violin/Ferveur Noir (House of Tinnitus)
MON: Birthday Suits/The XO/Maaster Gaiden (Pastime Tavern)
WED: All Teeth and Knuckles/Sticky Buns (Rubber Gloves)
FRI: Meat Puppets/The Only Children (Rubber Gloves)
FRI: Caves/Kraken Fury/Nataraja/Shawn McMillan (House of Tinnitus)
FRI: The Party (Zubar)
FRI: Utah Saints (Lizard Lounge)
SAT: Hotel Hotel/The Ostrich Tunning/Aliens (Secret Headquarters)

Weekender: 8/17/07-8/19/07

Apologies-- our impressive careers have been getting in the way of writing all day. However, we do have all the worthy shows listed and linked, and we are taking this opportunity to remind you one last time to vote in the WSJR awards... voting ends today at 5, and we're SUPER excited about counting all these votes! Totally! (Note: Contributions from SR and DL)

Before you do anything else: Vote.

FRIDAY

Wanz Dover/Stephen R./Cygnus/Select/Robert Taylor/Keith P/Sean Varga/Convextion (Minc): Wanz Dover's Stereo on Strike DJ crew will be throwing their first big party the right way-- laptop performances outside, and an impressive cast of talented local DJs doing more genre bending than I can describe in the limited amount of time I have. Pretty good sound system too.

Cat Power/Micah P. Hinson (The Granada): The only Texas stop from our generation's Carole King. Well, she's like Carole King except she's at her best when interpreting the work of others, but I definitely prefer her voice, no matter how blasphemous a statement that might be to some. The bluesy backing band style featured on her more recent work has shorn off some of her rough edges and definitely made her a little more mom-friendly, but I think her voice can usually save even some of the afterthought writing on her records. The somewhat confusingly critically adored Micah P. Hinson opens.

Gregg Foreman (of Delta 72 and The Lily's) (Monkey Bar): DJ set after Cat Power.

Tha Bracelets/Man Factory/ZipZipZapZap/Red Pony Clock(Rubber Gloves):


SATURDAY

Daniel Francis Doyle/The Numerators/My Milliner/Red Leaves (Secret Headquarters): Daniel Francis Doyle (formerly of Early Lines) is a noisy one-man wrecking ball based in Austin and tonight he's joined by Lubbock's The Numerators and My Milliner. The Numerators are a duo that mix noise, keyboard beats, and even rapping into a lively set. I've heard that My Milliner is like Dirty Three without the violin, and I suppose that would make them somewhat like a band of dudes making music.

Record Hop/White Drugs/Douche (Fra House): One of the main places to be tonight. This show is your best bet for stripped down pure fucking rock. Everyone's dying to hear that second Record Hop album and I'm dying to see Douche. Funny as that sounds.

Pinebox Serenade/Dana Falconberry/George Neal (Dan's Silverleaf): This is a good song-writing showcase. The sprawling stage setup of Pinebox Serenade is a show in itself, George Neal debuts his full band tonight and Dana Falconberry will be doing double duty this weekend by performing here at Dan's as well as The Fine Arts Theater with Peter and The Wolf.

Zanzibar Snails/Social Junk/Pony Bones/Mugu Guymen (House Of Tinnitus): This show features some adventurous ambient noise/folk combinations as well as some straight up ambient noise. These groups sound like the real deal, guaranteed to be "freakier" than anything you'll hear at the New Sabbath festival and you won't even have to push past grown men wearing animal costumes to see what it's all about. You might however have to push past a naked man, covered in beer and blood.

Fishboy/MC Router/Tah Dahs/Patience Please (HOUSE SHOW-411A Panhandle in Denton at the corner of Panhandle and Carroll)

Sticky Buns (Rubber Gloves)

The Good Sons (Secret Location): This show, originally booked at Pastime Tavern, has been moved to an undisclosed location for unknown reasons... actually, they disclosed it to me, but I'm not allowed to tell you where it is. I think you can email Wanz about it if you know how. Good Sons will be playing Scratch Acid stuff, and Joe Butcher, Laura Palmer and Loop 12 will be playing as well throughout the night. I bet some of today's comment posters will be surprised by the show's location...

New Sabbath Festival Lineup: After all that has happened with MATAS and this festival over the past couple of weeks, it seems most appropriate to give you the line up and call it a day. I'll add that the quality is mixed, ranging from good to noteworth to don't give a shit... should be interesting to see whether these guys can pull this thing off.

FINE ARTS THEATER

(115 N Elm St Denton, TX 76201)

peter and the wolf 12:35 PM - 1:35 AM

brothers and sisters 11:40 PM – 12:20 AM

the theater fire 10:45 PM – 11:25 PM

jana hunter 9:50 PM – 10:30PM

bill baird and silent sunset 8:55PM – 9:35 PM

sarah jaffe 8PM – 8:40PM

a toothless life 7:05PM – 7:45PM

J&J's BASEMENT

(118 W Oak St Denton, TX 76201 (940) 382-7769)

matthew and the arrogant sea 9:00PM – 9:35PM

dust congress 8:00PM – 8:35PM

listen listen 7:00PM – 7:35PM

new science projects 6:00PM - 6:35PM

the black 5:00PM - 5:35 PM

paul slavens 4:00PM - 4:35PM

febrifuge 3:00PM - 3:35PM

eaton lake tonics 2:00PM - 2:35PM

ben flemming 1:00PM - 1:35PM

my son the astronaut 12:00PM – 12:35PM

J&J's UPSTAIRS

redbear 8:35PM - 9:00PM

dust congress 7:35PM - 8:00PM

boogdish 6:35PM - 7:00PM

the spirit of space 5:35PM - 6:00PM

the brandon harrod orchestra 4:35PM - 5:00PM

super famicom 3:35PM - 4:00PM

telegraph canyon 2:35PM – 3:00PM

videophonic 1:35PM - 2:00PM

sparlin jessels 12:35PM – 1:00PM

COURTHOUSE STAGE 1

doug burr 7:30PM - 8:00PM

george neal 6:30PM - 7:00PM

sabra laval 5:30PM - 6:00PM

cory derden 4:30PM - 5:00PM

ryan thomas becker 3:30PM - 4:00PM

chris garver 2:30PM - 3:00PM

ryan gilbert 1:30PM - 2:00PM

COURTHOUSE STAGE 2

chica y los gatos 7:00PM - 7:30PM

hotel hotel 6:00PM - 6:30PM

the naptime shake 5:00PM - 5:30PM

whiskey folk ramblers 4:00PM - 4:30PM

daniel folmer 3:00PM - 3:30PM

ryan gilbert 2:00PM - 2:30PM

oh blonde!/lion the deer 1:00PM - 1:30PM

BANTER

(219 W Oak St, Denton, TX 76201 (940) 565-1638)

mike mcnasty 6:30PM - 7:00PM

glen farris 5:30PM - 6:00PM

esther newell 4:30PM - 5:00PM

clint niosi 3:30PM - 4:00PM

tex winters 2:30PM - 3:00PM

billy ratcliff 1:30PM - 2:00PM

désirée anastasia 1:00PM - 1:30PM

brooke opie 12:30PM - 1:00PM

Melissas Deluxe Party with The Ruby Revue/Jeremy Jackson (Art Club): Featuring live burlesque and DJ's.

SUNDAY

We'll let you know.

It List: Thursday 8/16/07

The Ladybug Transistor/Papercuts/Brooke Opie (Rubber Gloves): It's pretty impressive that Ladybug Transistor has a hand in the new Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers' new solo record. I don't know how they got hooked up with that, but that's definitely an upgrade from their usual Elephant 6 co-conspirators. If you can get your hands on a used copy of this record, it might become painfully obvious that Ayers is used to better company than The Ladybug Transistor, all due respect. San Francisco's Papercuts and McKinney's Brooke Opie open, and both make fairly charming pop songs.


Oso Closo/Darling New Neighbors/Tober Omi (Club Dada): Tober Omi is the standout on this bill with decent influences and backing tracks, but somewhat overly obnoxious vocals. They might blend better live. They would make much more sense on a lineup with say, Deep Snapper, Record Hop, or even Tame...Tame And Quiet than this particular bill.


Lost Generation with Ineka And Wanz (Fallout Lounge): Tonight's guest DJ is Sean Vargas.

80's Night With DJ G (Hailey's)

Perspectives on the We Shot J.R. Awards

Since the voting deadline for this year's We Shot J.R. Awards is coming up this Friday, August 17th at 5pm, we thought we'd ask some local musicians, writers, and promoters to share their votes with us... and you. Their selections are posted below, and you can go make your voice heard here.

MICHAEL CHAMY (Zanzibar Snails)

Best Band
I suggested this forum to stonedranger not to try to convince anybody who the “best band in DFW” is (those things are always personal), but just to point out some options in different categories and maybe stir things up a little as we emerge from this post-MATAS hangover ….

….. so, I’m just going to list the Best Broken-Up Band:
Notes From Underground.

Best New Band (must have played their first show some time between March 2006 and now)
I’m only going to point out here that Nouns Group doesn’t qualify, I don’t believe.

Best Experimental/Avant Garde/Noise
With the Zanzibar Snails, I’ve played with a lot of groups that would fit into this category in the past year. Most have been roadshows. In fact, contrary to popular opinion, there simply aren’t that many truly experimental or noise acts that actually live in the area. My favorite is Mike Maxwell of Irving (shout-out to the mid-cities!), who in his incarnations as S.D.S. (which stands for Shortwave Dub System, Socialist Death Strike, or whatever you want it to) and SUBkommander, has proven a genius puppetmaster, synchronizing marionettes of backwards drowning men, squishy mental meatscapes, gurgling springs of eternal mildew, and good-old fashioned ethereal specters of the shortwave spectrum, into mesmerizing yet intense, and gentle yet confrontational displays of high artistry.

Perhaps I’m taking a purist route to this category, but I wouldn’t advocate using it just shoehorn some act that doesn’t fit anywhere else (a la the Observer and the pAperchAse for so many years), since there are some (not tons, but some) fine examples around here of outside-the-box, truly challenging artistic experiments.

That said, recognizing the offbeat prog-shock greatness of The Great Tyrant here wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, either.

Best DJ – I’m just deleting or ignoring the categories I’m not qualified to answer due to limited exposure (read: living in the mid-cities)

Best Electronic Band/Musician – other than the aforementioned S.D.S, the frontrunners appear to be Ghosthustler, Mom, possibly the Frenz, and perhaps the Undoing of David Wright, if you consider them thus. I’ve had either limited exposure to these acts or no real urge to vote for them.

Best Venue – when you combine all the different things a live venue can offer, it’s hard to beat the package offered by Rubber Gloves. But this was the year of the DIY. Nothing can beat the exhilaration of seeing vital and quality acts in cozy home-settings like House of Tinnitus, Secret HQ, Eight Continent, and the Fra House, often many in one night. My vote goes to DIYDenton, rolling blackouts be damned.

Best Live Act – Personal choice. Gonna go with Shiny Around the Edges and Nouns Group, in a three-way tie with the Modern History Duet.

Best Use of Visual Art – In general, projectionist extreme Paul Baker when paired with suitable artists such as S.D.S. … but if you want one instance, it would undoubtedly be the almost painfully grainy harsh visual abstraction of projectionist Jason Wade at the House of Tinnitus in May, in combination with the absolutely painful eardrum-piercing power electronics of Minneapolis’ Monsters of Pot.

Best Booking Agent/Promoter – Those terms often evoke concepts that have less to do with music than “The Industry.” Thankfully, this could not be less true in the case of Rob Buttrum, House of Tinnitus. DUDE runs circles around other area bookers in terms of bringing the peculiar, unique, unusual, and LOUD from all the murky corners of the American wasteland and beyond. He’s made a lot of musicheads and musicians very happy, as well as his electric company. Not so sure about the neighbors.

Best Vocalist – take your pick: Jenny Seman (Shiny Around the Edges); Nick Foreman (Dust Congress); Brent Best (I have a weak spot); George Neal; Andrew Huffstetler (Baboon). Lots of different styles there.

Best Guitarist – I can’t really come up with one, other than to say that my Zanzibar Snails bandmate Nevada Hill is certainly the most innovative guitarist in these parts. And sometime Snail Justin Lemons’ work in the Modern History Duet is mad jagged haymaker dazzling. Hey, if I didn’t like them, I wouldn’t play with them.

Best Bassist: With apologies to Aaron Gonzalez (Unconscious Collective, Yells at Eels) and Tommy Atkins (The Great Tyrant) this is gonna have to be j. britt robisheaux (Nouns Group) for his visceral take on the distinctive style one of my all-time my favorites, David Wm. Sims.

Best Drummer – The best drummers are nearly always the ones active in jazz or other freeform styles. Definitely the case here with Stefan Gonzalez (Unconscious Collective, Yells at Eels, Forbes/Gonzalez/Young Trio, as well as his hardcore punk concern, Akkolyte) leading the way, alongside a Dallas darkhorse, Gerard Bendix, whose jaw-dropping work appears in a variety of projects, from the trumpet-loop madhouse duo Swirve to the Astro-Jazz Trio & Quartet’s fresh & potent deconstruction of jazz standards, to the seldom-seen, absurdist experimental jazz trio the Tidbits.

Matt Pence (Centro-matic, South San Gabriel) is still one of the greatest (and never overbearing) rock drummers I’ve seen, when he’s not holed up at the Echo Lab studios in Argyle.

Best Misc. Instrument (this really needs to be a category) – Mike Forbes, saxophone. A one-of-a kind person and player, this guy is capable of anything, from the most intense and abrasive free skronk you could ever hear (particularly in his Modern History Duet) to innovative and melodic turns with groups like Shiny Around the Edges and Violent Squid. Also notable for his prolific output in the Forbes/Young/Gonzalez Trio, Zanzibar Snails, Notes From Underground, iDi*amin, and many more one-offs and off-the-cuff performances. He recently moved to Chicago, where he plans to play on the street among other things, while continuing his evolution from Utah luddite to free jazz titan. Denton will miss him immensely.

Best video on videos.weshotjr.com – RICK THE VOTE! 100% Rick Roll on this one. However, among the few local clips that have appeared here, Violent Squid’s ridiculous “Sassy Mink” is great.

Worst Band – Faux Fox. No, it’s not personal, never met them. Apparently other people see something I don’t. I see (and hear) half-hearted parody, and a bad joke.

WANZ DOVER (the Frenz, Stereo on Strike)

Best Band: The Great Tyrant- Innovative, menacing, beautiful and chaotic. One of the Tightest bands in the area that does not dumb it down to a bunch of solos. There songs are more like epic compositions thana simple verse-chorus- bridge formula.

Best New Band: Ghosthustler- Good songs. Good Hooks. Good Electronics. I am really excited to see where they are gonna take this.

Best Experimental/Avant Garde/Noise: Loop 12-As far as great noise music goes these guys pretty much smoke everyone in DFW. They have not played many shows due to the fact that there are not too many venues that would have them. They have all been doing experimental music around here for almost 20 years in various projects . If you dig Coil, Nurse With Wound, Throbbing Gristle, SPK or anything else of that ilk then you absolutely have to see these guys. I’m sure they will frequent sloppyworld once it opens.

Best DJ: (tie)Sean Vargas- He simply plays some of the best tech house and minimal sets I have heard around here. He is criminally overlooked.

CTRL ALT DEL- Great track selections and innovative use of the kaoss mixer to really tweak the music coming from his turntables. He also has a near encyclopedic knowledge of a wide variety of electronic music styles that he uses to his advantage. He has not played out much, but hopefully that will change in the next year.

Best Electronic Band/Musician: Laptop Deathmatch- I am a little biased on this one, but the best electronic music I have heard this year has been at deathmatches. The bar rises higher and higher every deathmatch. Guys who could barely turn on their laptop when we started this 2 years ago are now making some of the sickest IDM in the south.

Best Live Act: The Great Tyrant

Best Use of Visual Art: Undoing of David Wright-By far the best use of conceptual art of any band around here. Take one look at their myspace page and try and argue with that. From the handmade individualized cd packages to the eleborate costumes.

Best Booking Agent/Promoter: John Freeman-His shows at New Amsterdamn were always top notch. He did not stick to one group of bands or genres. I saw great indie bills, electronic bills, punk bills, funny bills and more. A promoter with a wide variety of tastes and music knowledge. Sloppyworld will save Dallas.

Best Vocalist: (tie)Liz Mcgowan (Silk Stocking)- I get chills when she sings. A singer that truly projects from the gut. If Mahalia Jackson and Diamanda Galas had a bastard child it might be Liz. There are few singers around nowadays that sing with this much soul.

Daron Beck (The Great Tyrant)- He can sing ballads, he can scream, he can even hack up blood if he wants too. Somewhere between Scott Walker, Glenn Danzig and Leonard Cohen and a Vampire David Bowie.

Best Bassist: Aaron Gonzalez (Life Death Continuum,Yells at Eels, Akkolyte )- He can play Jazz, Metal, Punk, Noise and pretty much anything else he sets his mind too. I guess it helps that he comes from a family of super human musicians.

Best Guitarist: Will kapinos (Jetscreamer)- The only guitarist I know that play a wide variety of styles ranging from Delta Blues to Scratch Acid style Texas Punk to Dead C inspired noise skronk. A true Virtuoso.

Best Drummer: Guyton Sanders (The Frenz)- I am a very lucky man. I will leave it at that.

Best video on videos.weshotjr.com: (tie) By far the hardest category.

Luke Vibert – "I Love Acid"- Um yeah. You know . like…….uh ………my reasons for liking this video should be obvious.

Liars – "Plaster Casts of Everything"- The new album is no Drum’s not Dead, but this particular song stands up too anything on that record. The video is fucking awesome to boot.

Worst Band: Too many too name. I'll pass on this one.

Worst Venue: Curtain ClubGreat sound. Great Stage. Great sound guys. The worst booking policy on the planet. They have the facilities to be the best club in Dallas. Their stubborness and absolutely wretched taste in music will be there demise. I will be surprised if they last another year.

Worst Use of Total Douche Promo Pictures: Once again too many to name.

SAM MACHKOVECH (BigdLittled)

best band: Pleasant Grove

You know how Sorta gets those cop-out reviews where people talk about how they're talented and cull from lots of influences? And those critics beat around the real issue, that Sorta's music is ultimately boring, been-there-done-that Americana? I think of Pleasant Grove as the great mix of familiar sounds and compelling twists that Sorta fans think they're describing. PG's always had the killer songwriting that lifts them above the Wilco wannabe fray, not to mention the oddly alluring vocal duo of semi-nasal Bret Egner and semi-baritone Marcus Striplin. And with Jeff Ryan back on drums, the band seems to finally have regained momentum and fire for what they do. They're supposedly on track for an album release on Badman within a year...I'll believe it when I see it, but I'm not feeling so dumb for hoping this time. Theater Fire is an extreeeemely close second place here, by the way.

best new band: The Demigs

I can't keep track of when bands start up, but I'm pretty sure The Demigs meet your March '06 criteria. That Yardling record of theirs is already in my top local three of the year. Very impressive stuff.

best experimental/avant/noise: Shiny Around The Edges

best DJ: I have no definitive answer to this, but the two times I attended DJ events with The Party, I've had a damn good time.

best electronic band/musician: Tree Wave

I've been championing Tree Wave for years, so it might seem like a cop-out answer, but I've seen quite a few dancey/gimmicky acts since moving to Seattle. One of them in particular used an Atari joystick to modulate its pre-recorded beats on the fly, and the crowd went nuts--"Wow, that's so cool!" Try coding game machines by hand and THEN figuring out how to attach effects pedals to the digital output to create warm, analog waves of gorgeous noise. Or shove the stupid joystick up your ass, poseurs. Tree Wave FTW.

best venue: Rubber Gloves

Other venues may win in certain categories, like better sound (Sons), quainter ambiance (Dan's) or better sight lines (...again, Sons). But RGRS ranks highly in all of those categories with little in the way of serious pitfalls. The best way to put it: If a dude from Europe ever came to DdFW and asked where he should go if he's bored to see a great show, I'd tell him that his best bet would be any given night at the Gloves. Beer's cheap, booking is consistent (and locally conscious), sight lines are solid, sound is fine, and the upstairs hangout room has Joust. Works for me.

best live act: Bosque Brown

Until they get a proper record out, which they're actually currently recording with Chris Flemmons of Baptist Generals, you'll have to go to a show to hear this band at its finest. This many years later, their concerts still silence crowds.

best use of visual art: ZOO

I almost picked this guy as best DJ just because of the video selection and video/audio mashups this guy does. Good to see that his Cavern residency is still alive and strong.

best MC: Headkrack

PPT understands what it means to be a pure "hip-hop" group by its original definition--they're about the party rather than lyrical bravado. But when you want an MC with skill, delivery, flow and charisma, you want Headkrack. He's like LL in his prime--hungry, angry and without all that shirtless crap.

best booking agent: none of 'em. Dallas/Denton/Fort Worth booking can be such a competitive wreck, putting on way too many good shows on one night and leaving the next one bone dry. It's a constant reason for aggravation.

best vocalist: Mara Lee Miller, Bosque Brown

best bassist/guitarist/drummer: dunno.

worst venue: Tom Cats, duh

worst band: answering this correctly would require hanging out at Tom Cats. no thanks. I'm pretty sure that BTD is gonna win the popular vote on this one, but in the scheme of things, they're at least truly into their genre and consistent, unlike meathead bands that change genres as soon as they find a new genre that attracts chicks to concerts.

worst use of total douche promo pictures: obviously this one: http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/ganglo/shitjr-1.jpg

PRESTON JONES (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)

I should preface all of this with the disclaimer that I started the FWST music critic gig at the end of January, so I’m not nearly as well versed in the local goings-on as I’d like to be. All of these choices are based on lots of MySpace surfing, a few recommendations and the handful of local acts I’ve seen live or heard on wax in the last seven months.

Best New Band: Nouns Group (I could be wrong – but I think they’ve only started playing live in the last few months)

Best DJ: Stephen Ruiz (I knew Stephen from my OKC days; dude knows how to throw a party)

Best Venue: Granada Theater (of all the non-corporate joints I’ve been to, it’s the most inviting)
Best Live Act: Burning Hotels

Best Booking Agent/Promoter: Lance Yocum (Spune and Daughter Entertainment seem to bring in a lot of acts that other bookers wouldn’t think to)

Best Vocalist: Mara Lee Miller (Bosque Brown’s set at SXSW took my breath away)

Best Drummer: Will Johnson

Best Video: Woody Allen Interviews Billy Graham??!!! (Like a peanut butter and gelfilte fish sandwich)

SCOTT PORTER (Record Hop/Spitfire Tumbleweeds/SHQ)

Best Band
- DEEP SNAPPER.
Old dudes make the best music.

Best New Band
- DOUCHE.
Young dudes make the best music.

Best Experimental/Avant Garde/Noise
- NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND
R.I.P.

Best DJ
- WILD IN THE STREETS
We're from the same burbs,
so it's weird to me how much cooler she turned out.

Best Electronic Band/Musician
- GHOSTHUSTLER
I believe in the hype.

Best Venue
- RUBBER GLOVES
The O.G.

Best Live Act
- WHITE DRUGS
Sleazy bastards are probably sweating on your lady.

Best Use of Visual Art
- UNDOING OF DAVID WRIGHT
They ARE visual art.

Best Hip Hop MC.
- Not even gonna try with this one. Sorry.

Best Booking Agent/Promoter
- DAN MOJICA, over at Dan's Silverleaf. The only guy I've ever met that will pull out his calender as soon as you bring it up, write your name down on whatever date you want, and then buy you a beer.

Best Vocalist
- ASHLEY CROMEENS/RECORD HOP

Best Bassist/Best Guitarist
PAT FERGUSON

Best Drummer
I can tell you who it ain't.

Best video on videos.weshotjr.com
Pam and Tommy

Worst Band
Yours

Worst Venue
Dallas

Worst Use of Total Douche Promo Pictures
B to the T to the D

JOHN (Parade of Flesh)

Best Band: N/A
Every band I wanted to nominate seems to have move to Austin. It’s understandable and I forgive you all.

Best New Band: Glen Farris (solo)
Despite personally hating solo acoustic acts for many years, I am completely mesmerized and entertained when I catch Glen’s solo act; always recommending it to friends when I know he is playing out solo. Plus it provides me with an ample amount of material to harass him with later on.

Best Experimental/Avant Garde/Noise: Trifle Tower and Akkolyte
I cannot decide since both these bands are rad with cool dudes. (I just got back from California, sorry)

Best DJ: Prince William
He is insanely underrated, but lack of promotion can do that to a man. Hopefully, there’s more to come from the tallest motherfuckin’ DJ in town.

Best Electronic Band/Musician: Ghosthustler
The only thing going against these guys: jealous haters on the internet. Otherwise, I wish these kids the best success whether it is local or national.

Best Venue: The Loft
Honestly, I put down The Loft solely for the view of Downtown Dallas and for no other reason than that. Otherwise I dislike most of the venues in town; please scroll down to Worst Venue.

Best Live Act: Eat Avery’s Bones
Never boring, very loud, pretty obnoxious and they wear nifty costumes.

Best Use of Visual Art: Treewave
I really could not think of any other act that fell into this category.

Best Hip Hop MC: Farah of Farah
Sometimes I can’t tell what genre she is aiming for, and I really like catching her performances, so she deserves a nomination in at least one category.

Best Booking Agent/Promoter: Paradeofflesh.com
Whatever, maybe in 2008? For reals: Centralbooking rule (at least for promo).

Best Vocalist: The many anonymous comments of WSJR.
Lately the discussions and individual comments are more entertaining than the shows, people and bands they all gripe about.

Best Drummer: John T. of Great Tyrant.

Jesus H. Fuckin’ Christ. Thank You Sir, may I have another.

Best Video on videos.weshotjr.com: Lightning Bolt/Wolf Eyes – Pick A Winner

If you have 63 minutes to kill, then let this video occupy that time or check out my youtube account which has a bunch of live stuff I shot from 2003- current. Youtube.com/user/paradeofflesh

Worst Band: Black Heart Society

Besides looking like they all work at Northpark Mall and hit on teenage girls, Cameron is in this band.

Worst Venue: Pastime Tavern

I completely love to hate on it. Besides being a shithole in the ghetto, the owner is an avid redneck that wears a gold “69” pendant around his neck and there’s only shows there because of us. It’s a hidden treasure and every band has walked away really pleased so far this year. I really hate most of the venues in town for one reason or another: The Cavern is cramped, Nokia and House of Blues are expensive before walking through the doors, Club Dada is Club Dada, and The Door is for Christian child molesters or for Christians and child molesters, I forget. I could go on and on. And I will. One day.

Worst Use of Total Douche Promo Pictures: N/A

No one can ever top anything that David “Diamond” Lee Roth has done.

DJ SOBER (The Party/Central Booking)

Best Band: Faux Fox

best new band: ghosthustler

best experamental/ avant garde: mission giant

best dj: keith p

best electronic band: mom

Best Venue: The Loft

Best Use Of Visual Art: Undoing Of David Wright

Best Hip Hop MC: Massive

Best Bassist: Shane (Ghosthustler & many other bands)

Best Guitarist: Aaron (Undoing)

Best Drummer: Quincy Holloway

Best Video on WSJR: New Order live 1984 "Temptation"

Worst Venue: Petrus Lounge