Tomorrow Night 1919 Hemphill To Host 2nd Annual Bible Belt Bitfest

Tomorrow night at 1919 Hemphill in Ft Worth Hotdogstorm.com presents: Bible Belt Bitfest 2! The second bi-annual festival celebrating chiptune, 8-bit, and video-game inspired music. Artists scheduled to perform include Naxat (Fort Worth), Yakuza Heart Attack (Dayton, OH), Albino Ghost Monkey (Madison, WI), MicroD (Arlington, TX), Reteris (Dallas), PixyJunket (Plano) and visuals provided by Party Time! Hexcellent! (Austin).

I've also heard a rumor they will have several vintage video game systems set up so attendees can test their skills against one another while the performers are providing their video game-inspired tunes as a sort of live soundtrack.

As a bonus there is a preview mixtape available for free download here which each of tomorrow night's performers offered up a sample of their chiptune-inspired jams.

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9-Year-Old Jack Moriarity Covers The Wipers

Found this video of a kid named Jack Moriarity playing his version of The Wipers' "Return Of The Rat" off their 1980 debut album Is This Real?. One initially wonders whether or not the 9-year-old fully grasps the gravity of what he's singing, or realizes what a big influence they were on bigger grunge bands that came later, but to me the fact that he chose to cover a lesser known pre-grunge act over, say, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" shows that he (or at the very least his slave-driver dad) at least some what gets it.

I also found a pretty great late 80's punk/pre-grunge sampler comp this morning assembled by Metal Bastard and featuring only band's from America's Pacific Northwest. Pretty nice stuff on there, including some Fecal Matter, Cat Butt, and The Fartz among others. Overall some really nice band names on the comp, proving the #1 criteria for a great punk band name is whether or not it makes 13-year-old boys giggle. Grab the full comp here.

MP3: The Wipers - Return of the Rat

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Heartstring Stranglers Live From Denton Via Budapest

The info section of this video pretty much says it all. In one of those special times when the circumstances surrounding a performance mightily trump the execution, Freddie Schulze of Denton's Heartstring Stranglers played a live acoustic set from his apartment in Budapest via Skype which was then projected onto a screen at the Art Six coffee house.

The performance, which took place Monday night (or 4AM Tuesday morning in Hungary), sees Schulze covering Spooky Folk's "Rare Bird," Drake's (yes that Drake) "Best I Ever Had," and plenty of his own material as well. It also features a song by Har Herrar (Justin Spike) from his incredible This Knowledge album who, according to the video, biked over from London to visit and recently fought off a bout of Lyme disease.

While it didn't carry the technilogical significance of The Beatles' Our World global link-up, or the socio-political implications of Audioslave playing in Cuba, or even the technilogical feat it would have been 5-10 years ago, it was still one of those special evenings that every person in attendance will remember for quite some time. The fact that services like Skype, infastructure like the internet and WiFi, and electronics such as laptops and projectors are all so readily accessible by the masses only furthers the idea that the world has truly embraced Marshall McLuhan's global village theory, expanding our social spheres with increasing ease.

That is to say we'll probably only see more of things like this the older we get, not that we should be all that worried about it, but perhaps it will blur the lines of what it really means for music to be considered 'local'. Or maybe to future generations the idea of anything at all being exclusively local will be a completely foreign concept entirely.

(Thanks again to the Gutterth boys for sending us the vid).

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Over The Weekend: Phosphorescent, Shiny Around The Edges, & Dallas Family Band At The Kessler Theater

Phosphorescent is the musical brainchild of Brooklynite Matthew Houck who has garnered well-deserved praise as an underground indie rock force since the beginning of this decade on the merits of several solid releases. Arguably, the most notable of which is a tribute to the Red-Headed Stranger, To Willie released last year on independent label Dead Oceans.

Thanks to high acclaim for that record by Willie himself, Phosphorescent was poised to emerge from the underground into the limelight on the strength of Houck's own songwriting and the merits of his and his backing band's top-notch musicianship.

While previous albums have shown Houck's love for Americana with solo efforts that ventured into that territory, this year's Here's To Taking It Easy is more of a legit country-rock record comprised of songs that would fit snugly into any play list with the likes of Gram Parsons-era Byrds, Neil Young and The Band. And of course, there's plenty of Willie-influenced sentiments throughout.

Phosphorescent kicked off their current tour with a hometown gig in Brooklyn only to wake up the next day to find that their van and 40 grand worth of vintage gear and tour merchandise had been stolen. To everyone's astonishment, the van and all their equipment and goods were recovered by NYPD a few days later. My theory is that the thief tipped off the police himself after he opened one of the new CDs and gave it a listen. It's that good. However it happened, the band must have felt like they had witnessed a miracle that day.

Houck and Company took the stage Friday night at the beautifully restored Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff and proceeded with easy confidence into the extended intro of "Los Angeles" from the new album. Perhaps part of that alacrity was due to a new appreciation of their vintage instruments. They held them gently, lovingly caressing each note out of them to calm an anxious audience until the song swelled to its climax and receded delicately like the ebb tide of the warmest ocean. "Are you getting a lot of attention, ain't you now?" Houck repeats, and as the crowd leaned in closer and closer, it was quite clear that Phosphorescent was getting every bit of theirs.

The band flowed smoothly into two more from their recently released record. "It's Hard To Be Humble (When You're From Alabama)," a barroom boogie built on bouncy lines by ace bassist Jeffrey Bailey that provides a solid foundation for Scott Stapleton's hair-flinging piano pounding. "Nothing Was Broken (Love Me Foolishly)" is a mid-tempo number driven by the expertly understated percussion sensibilities of Christopher Marine that epitomizes the new record with its tale of longing, its careful craftsmanship and the haunting pedal steel of Dallas native Ricky Ray Jackson.

Continuing into the night, they wove a colorful sonic tapestry consisting of Willie covers, new album tracks and the forlorn folk of Phosphorescent's back catalog. Such a varied set list provided ample room for Jesse Anderson Ainslie's expert leads and the fuzzy solos of Houck's beloved 1955 Gibson ES-125.

As 12:30 neared the band left the stage but the house had not had enough and coaxed Houck back to center stage, guitar in hand. He stood under a single spotlight where he quietly fingered the strings of - appropriately enough - Leonard Cohen's "Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye." His rendition of that lonely classic evoked a newer, more profound feeling of loss and longing as every note danced on the delicate edge of pure vulnerability and whiskey fueled despair. Taking a cue from an audience member, Houck continued solo, singing "I Am a Full Grown Man (I Will Lay in the Grass All Day) into the quiet darkness before him.

The band mates returned for a few more songs including the Joe Tex southern soul classic, "These Taming Blues." As the last song approached its final crescendo, Houck raised his guitar with one hand high above his head in triumph. He then brought it down, letting it free fall to the stage with a thud from three feet high. If that vintage Gibson survived the impact without permanent damage, then the audience too witnessed a miracle on that night.

Starting off the evening at the Kessler was The Dallas Family Band, a collective of musicians from several area bands. The dozen or so members played and swapped at least that many musical implements, singing, stomping, clapping in the middle of the theater amongst the audience members. Their exuberance and spirited performance was reminiscent of an ad-hoc folk band on the last day of church camp. Which is to say, big fun.

Shiny Around The Edges began their set with a low, distorted bass line and hushed vocals. One by one each member made their way to the stage and added new layer of resonance to create a wall of disparate sounds that seemed to make sense as they bounced around the theater. Joining the Denton trio was Nick Foreman of Dust Congress on banjo and percussion who helped Shiny churn out songs from their forthcoming record "Denton's Dreaming." Based on the sounds coming from the stage on that night, that new album will turn listeners upside down on their melted faces when it comes out in September. This face is ready.


For more pics, head on over to my Flickr page.

This review was cross-posted at the Awesome•O•Meter.

-Neff Conner

Giveaway: Tickets To See Here We Go Magic at The Loft

In the above clip, posted yesterday by Pitchfork, Luke Temple and his Here We Go Magic cohorots play a stripped-down rendition of "Casual" from their magnificent Pigeons LP for Yours Truly during this year's Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. Being a live band by nature, Here We Go Magic's repetitive rhythms and celestial haze are best experienced in person.

Fortunately for residents of North Texas it's an opportunity we'll have very soon as the Brooklyn bunch will be making a stop at The Loft on August 3rd. Even more fortunately, a lucky few of you can check it out for free as the folks at The Loft were kind enough to pass along a few pairs of tickets.

Just email us with the phrase "SubEx I Love You, Now I Know" for a chance to win. As per usual we'll email the winners later this evening. Best of luck.

MP3: Here We Go Magic - Casual
MP3: Here We Go Magic - Collector

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Woven Bones Debuts New Songs During Insound Session

The folks over at Insound recently had Woven Bones in-studio to record audio/video as part of their Insound Studio Sessions series. Not surprisingly the sights and sounds came out top-notch, and the Austin trio sounded better than ever. A little more prodigious, perhaps, was the band rolling out a pair of polished new tunes in the session. The band rolls back through town August 7th at The Nightmare with Nervous Curtains, as John Iskander continues his pattern of putting together the most solid/exciting bills in town.

MP3: Woven Bones - Wanna Tell Ya

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Morning Benders // I Won't Share You

The Morning Benders' Big Echo album just might be one of our favorites of the year. That being said their self-recorded cover of The Smiths' "I Won't Share You" from their cleverly titled 2008 Bedroom Covers LP, which believe it or not, is still available for free download here. Anyway, it makes for an excellent way to start out a day, and a perfect way to ease into the work week. (hat tip)

MP3: Morning Benders - I Won't Share You (Smiths Cover)

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Undoing of David Wright Can Still Make Us Giggle

Acid-fuled video for Undoing of David Wright's "Exotica" circa 2007. I had no reason to post this other than somebody made a passing reference to the long defunct experimental group in the comments section of We Shot JR and it made me giggle.

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The Sea of Cortez // The Shores

The Sea of Cortez claim to have a unique musical vision being that one member is a biologist, one a photographer, and the third a DJ. But I suppose I can't totally scoff at that since I was readily accepted the plausibility that Shearwater's obsession with ornithology totally shaped their sound.

Come to think of it, I bet the two would get along quite nicely, hanging out on a remote island somewhere, huddling under a bivouac discussing the ways the perspicacious effects of nature one's senses, or the feelings of isolation one often experience therein can be replicated by the desperation of their respective band's sounds or the organic structures of their songs/albums.

Take for example "The Shores," from The Sea of Cortez's latest LP. The sound eases in like a subtle increase in wind speed, followed by the sounds of thunder in the distance, and before one realizes it mist gives way to soft cool trickles of rain droplets, and then yet again into a full on torrent of sing-along goodness before the listener has had time to contemplate what's happened. By that time the storm breaks leaving behind only gentle harmonies, wet clothes, and above all that fresh clean ocean scent.

MP3: The Sea of Cortez - The Shores

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Gig Reminder: Phosphorescent, Shiny Around the Edges at the Kessler

We've written about it a couple places already, but just wanted to make sure you didn't forget about the Phosphorescent show tomorrow night at The Kessler. I'll admit it is a bit unstable for one venue to be presenting a show at another venue, something I can't quite wrap my head around, but it should be an interesting night nonetheless. For one thing, Dallas Family Band, DJ CeePee (not to be confused with DJ CP), and Shiny Around the Edges are also on the bill, which ended up being quite the hodge podge. I guess they figure if you've never been to The Kessler before you might as well get to see a little bit of everything while you're there (and perhaps entice you to go back?).

But apparently Phosphorescent feels they must have at least a little in common with Shiny as they've asked the Dentonites to open for them on their entire handful of Texas dates. Not quite sure what I think, but you should judge for yourself as Shiny has agreed to share a track from their upcoming sophomore LP Denton's Dreaming.

The track is called "Socially Awkward" which also kinda describes their performance with Dust Congress the other night at the DOMAs. Not that it should be held against them, those "live mashups" were a bit of an awkward proposition in the first place, but at the very least all were extraordinarily captivating.

MP3: Shiny Around the Edges - Socially Awkward

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Giveaway: Miniature Tigers Tickets

The lead track from Miniature Tigers' upcoming sophomore album FORTRESS, due out on Matador on July 27, contains a track that was produced by Denton golden boy Alan Palomo of VEGA/Neon Indian fame. So far I'm digging these lazer synths, and though I don't see them overtaking any of Palomo's projects as poster-children of the gorilla-vs-bearcore movement, I still dig it exponentially more than anything on Psychic Chasms.

And when they hit The Loft in the next few weeks, they'll be bringing with them Delaware indie-rockers Spinto Band, who I admittedly don't know a ton of their material aside from a promo single that I enjoyed so much it made my Christmas mixtape which I gave to my friends in lieu of gifts because I am too cheap to buy them.

Similarly I'm sure there are more than a few of you too cheap to actually go and buy tickets to this spectacular show. I'm kidding. Kinda. But seriously, we do have some tickets to give away to some lucky SubEx readers. Email us and tell us why we should give you the tickets. Best responses get the tickets. It's just that easy.

MP3: Miniature Tigers - Gold Skull
MP3: Spinto Band - Later On (Live Version)

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Both galleryCat, Mount Righteous Featured On New LehtMoJoe Track

Photo courtesy of Mattie Stafford

While it's not exactly what went down regarding the "live mash-up" between galleryCat and Mount Righteous at last night's DOMA awards, LehtMoJoe's latest effort is a fun little ride nonetheless. Pitting together a Swizz Beatz-style sampling of "When the Child Awakes" with a playful semi-biographical rhyme from galleryCat about the perils of being an independent hip-hop artists in DFW, trying to book/promote shows, and failing. In other words it should pretty much ring true for anyone who'd tried their hand at that scene --or I suppose anyone who has been around music in our town for more than 5 minutes. Either way, it's a breezy little affair that it nothing short of sprightly.

MP3: galleryCat vs Mount Righteous - Childhood (LehtMoJoe edit)

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Last Night: DOMA 2010 @ Granada Theater

Excitement. Panic. Devastation. In the words of Hunter S. Thompson, these are the only three words that can best describe the mystic night last night at the Dallas Observer Music Awards. With band fusion mash-ups from RTB2 and THe BAcksliders to Mount Righteous and galleryCat, and with pit performances from the likes of the amazing Spooky Folk and DOMA winners Whiskey Folk Ramblers along with award presentations in between, the stale Granada air was filled with a double rainbow that started to look like a triple rainbow. And though SubEx didn’t quite pull off the Best Blog Award this year, we were still there working for the SubEx community, we were all having a good time, drinking whiskey and were thankful to be nominated for such an award. Good times and smiles were on all faces last night and we can’t wait for next year! Thank you for all of your support in getting SubEx a nomination this year! Here’s to the next year of musical greatness!

-Cory P. Coleman [c]

Weed Diamond // Bridgetown Records Summer Sampler

Just got a message from Kevin Greenspon letting us know that his Bridgetown Records label recently sent out it's Summer Sampler of artists he's worked with in the past few months. The list includes the likes of Ancient Crux, Kindest Lines, Junior Low, R. Sawyer, and David Jaberi, but it was Weed Diamond that really caught our ears. Check out the Bridgetown Records homepage to listen to samples from all the artists, or to order the complete package of physical media.

MP3: Weed Diamond - All Of Denver Is Wasted
MP3: Weed Diamond - Mint In My Mouth

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About This Weekend's DOMA Showcases

There are more pictures, videos, and recaps of the DOMA Showcase sets over at the Observer's DC9 blog than one person could possibly go through. Pretty much anything anyone who foolishly didn't trek down to Deep Ellum for the night's happenings can be found there, so I won't blather on too much about inane details. What I will say is that there seemed to be a bit of magic in the air and everyone I talked to seemed to be feeling it as well. The historic neighborhood had more relevant music and foot traffic than I've seen there in like eight years.

The scene really is starting to improve down there and it would be amazing if it had that DOMA feel every Friday and Saturday night like it did back when I used to journey down there and stay out way past my high school curfew.

But the great part about DOMAXXII was all the artists knowing that so many of their peers and eager audience members were about really seemed to step up their performances; It was as if more was at stake than a silly DOMA trophy or the garnering of a few new fans, but more like the future of Deep Ellum.

If there is never another party down there like there was this weekend, we can definitely say that Deep Ellum went down swinging, but in reality it only shows what potential really lays down there.

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Giveaway: Tickets To See Maps and Atlases/Cults At The Loft

Sure Chicago math rockers Maps and Atlases--who's drummer I just adore btw--are coming back to town yet again to headline a show at The Loft on the 25 of this month, but the real cause for celebration in this writer's humble opinion lies in the fact that they are bringing semi-mysterious buzz band Cults with them as openers. Cults as you might recall hold the distinction of being the inaugural release of local vinyl label Forest Family Records.

Ever since GvsB first posted their infectious single "Go Outside" on their site earlier this year everyone (ourselves included) have been drinking the Kool-Aid. Don't feel too ashamed if you fall prey to it's striking melody, you would be just the latest victim on a long list of folks who've had their minds blown by the pair of New York film students.

Fortunately for you the awesome folks over at The Loft have given us a few pairs of tickets to pass on to the faithful SubEx community. They can be yours by emailing us with the phrase "I voted SubEx for best blog in the DOMAs" as the subject. We'll pick winners at random later this evening. Oh, and you wouldn't lie to us would you?

MP3: Cults - Go Outside

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The Kills Cover Velvet Underground

I find Alison Mosshart's onstage persona truly frightening. Both times I've seen her perform live I recall silently praying that she wouldn't kick my ass. In fact, the second time I may or may not have peed myself a little the time she leaped into the audience to prowl among us. So needless to say I personally find her more in her element when she plays with The Kills than when she's trapped within the confines of The Dead Weather's contrite power blues.

It is good to see them back together, refreshingly so when one considers the disappointing Dead Weather sophomore effort she's just coming off of --even if it is just for a Levi's jeans promotion. As far as corporate selling out goes, at least we are getting some great tunes out of this latest gimmick in which Levi's convinces bands to remake songs by their 'idols'.

For the newest addition to the list The Kills take on Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes," pulling it off so successfully I'm ashamed of myself for never previously making a connection between the two groups. In any case it is one of the better covers on the site thus far. Check the rest here.

MP3: The Kills - Pale Blue Eyes

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Last Night: DOMA Photo Shoot @ City Tavern

Tuesday night was a pleasant night to be in Downtown Dallas. The Dallas Observer was hosting a photo shoot for all DOMA nominees in the upstairs bar at City Tavern. And for a Tuesday, the place was packed. There were the likes of Rodney Parker and 50 Peso Reward playing Big Buck Hunter with Whiskey Folk Ramblers, RTB2 laughing over a beer with The Naptime Shake, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights running out in front of the Main Street traffic and some wicked awesome metal band posing for photos fully decked out with the hair, the spikes, the Flying V guitar and all the leather. What more could you ask for?! With music performances by Matthew Grey, Smile Smile and many others, free beer and tons of familiar faces, it was just a touch of the greatness to come this Saturday in Deep Ellum with the DOMA music showcase and the free awards party at Granada next Tuesday night. Way to go, Dallas!

-Cory Coleman [c]

Giveaway: Tickets To See New Pornographers At Palladium Ballroom

A.C. Newman put out our absolute favorite album of 2009. For good reason to; Get Guilty --with it's infectious indiepop hooks and brilliant melodies--was far and away the catchiest and most enduring albums of the year. Of course his fellow Pornographer bandmate Neko Case (not to mention SubEx-er Jenn Hudson) would argue that her Middle Cyclone was the superior album.

But I think we could all agree that the New Pornographers are the most effective when firing on all cylinders, embracing the full force that is the unmatchable pop-reckoning of the Canadian supergroup working together. Need more convincing? Look no further than their latest album, the aptly titled Together, released earlier this year. As you may recall, our own Jesseca Bagherpour noted their move to a more organic sound on the disc, moving away from computer-driven production and towards a more lush, richly-layered blend of strings and vocals harmonies.

And you can come with us while we bow down before our heroes from the great white North when they play the Palladium Ballroom later this month (7/24) with The Dodos and Imaad Wasif. Even better, you can do so for free by emailing us with the phrase 'We'll End Up Together' as the subject. We'll email the winners later this evening. Good luck.

MP3: New Pornographers - Your Hands (Together)

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Women // Eyesore

Yes, it's true what they say: Women will be releasing their second album, Public Strain on September 28th, 2010 (via). Check out the album's first single, "Eyesore," an epic six plus minute number that illustrates why we call the group's latest effort the greyscale bitmap of lo-fi rock. That is to say that they achieve a lot of contrast and definition with but an array of varying shades of pale.

MP3: Women - Eyesore

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. // Vocal Chords

Detroit duo (and enthusiasts of all things involving cars) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. merge synths, guitars, and drum machines into a sort of eclectic blend of dance music with folk that finds itself residing somewhere between Vampire Weekend and Grizzly Bear, yet in a neighborhood all of its own. Namely it's got that cool recorded in a basement feel that just can't be faked. Their new Horse Power EP, is due July 17th via Quite Scientific Records.

MP3: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - Vocal Chords

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Phosphorescent Get Robbed

ANNOUNCEMENT BELOW:


Last night, after an amazing show at Pier 54 in New York City, Phosphorescent's rental van -along with all of their equipment - was stolen from outside a residence in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Last night's show was the first night of their scheduled six-weeks US Tour. Among the stolen items was Matthew Houck's custom, irreplaceable 1955 Gibson ES-125 guitar, vintage amplifiers, and a vintage pedal steel with losses totaling around $40,000. If anyone has ANY information or leads on what might have happened, or if you see any of this gear in pawn shops, on Craigslist, etc, please call the NY Police Department, Vector Management, or anyone you think might be able to help recover this gear. The van rental company is insured - they are covered for their van and are therefore not greatly concerned with recovering it. Phosphorescent DOES care though, greatly, about recovering any of this gear possible, and figuring out how to rally up and make this US Tour happen. Anything anyone can do to help would be simply amazing. We have set up a Paypal account for anyone wishing to donate funds to help replace gear - anything helps. We will be sending updates about the upcoming tour dates ASAP. Thanks in advance for any goodwill and assistance and thank you for your support over the years.

Paypal donations can be made here:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=U3W83W68KFTXW

Vector Management:
Nick Stern
p: 212.317.2323
nick@vectormgmt.com


STOLEN EQUIPMENT LIST:
MOST OF THIS GEAR IS IN STANDARD BLACK ROADCASES
STENCILED WITH "PHOSPHORESCENT" OR "PHOS"
IN LARGE WHITE LETTERS


GUITARS:
1955 Gibson ES-125 Hollow-body Electric
1968 Gibson EB-3 Bass with slotted headstock (brown)
197? Fender Stratocaster - Custom, Blonde wood finish. No brand names or markings anywhere.
197? Emmons Pedal Steel Guitar - Push-Pull Model

AMPS:
1973 Fender Twin Reverb (Silverface) w/ Indian Sun Worshipper Tapestry affixed to grillplate
1978 Music Man 112 RD500 Custom Amp w/ 10" Speaker
SWR Workingman's Bass Amp
196? Fender Deluxe Reverb

PEDALS:
(1) Line 6 DL4 Delay Pedal
(2) Fulltone Full-Drive 2 Mosfet
(1) Electro Harmonix Holy Grail Plus
(1) Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff
(2) Electro Harmonix 80's Memory Man Deluxe
(1) MXR Power Amp Pedal
(2) Boss TU-2 Tuner
(1) MXR Phase 90, CSP-026
(1) Fender Tuning Pedal

DRUMS:
DW "Collectors Series" Drum Kit - Black Matte finish
22" kick drum
16" floor tom
12" rack tom
14" Yamaha, Anton Fig snare drum, with maple hoops
(1) Ludwig boom cymbal stand
(2) yamaha boom cymbal stands
(1) DW9000 Hi-Hat pedal, DW7000 kick pedal
(1) Yamaha, double braced snare stand
(1) Ludwig double braced snare stand
(1) Ludwig drum throne/stool.
(1) 20" Zyldjian Constantinople ride cymbal
(1) 17in Zildjian A Custom crash cymbal
(2) Zildjian Constantinople Hi-Hats (paired)


OTHER ITEMS:
Black Arai Profile Full-face Motorcycle Helmet
Durango Boots - Brown Harness Boots

MERCHANDISE:
Approximately:
150 Vinyl (To WIlle/Pride/Here's to Taking it Easy)
150 CD's (To WIlle/Pride/Here's to Taking it Easy)
100 PHOSPORESCENT "LION" T-shirts

Liturgy Forced To Cancel Shows

“Liturgy’s drummer Greg has come down with acute tonsillitis and mono. He has been advised by his doctor not to go on tour as he is very contagious and could permanently damage his health if he doesn’t stay home to recover. This means that we have to cancel their entire tour, including the show” scheduled for the 30th in Dallas. (via)

What. A. Shame.

MP3: Liturgy - Renihilation

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Dent May Releases Summery Jam Via Forest Family Records

So thrilled that Dent May (sans his magnificent ukulele) will be latest artist added to the Forest Family. *Spoiler alert: his latest album Good Feeling Music of Dent May will most likely end up on our best of 2010 list later this year. In any case, his new summery jam, "That Feeling," has been pegged by the blogosphere as the 'summer jam that 2010 has been missing'. With it's playful nods to Pet Sounds I'd say that's a pretty fair assessment. Download the track now, and be sure to look out for the vinyl release sometime in August.

MP3: Dent May - That Feeling

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Over The Weekend: Unmarked Cars At Andy's

*All photos taken via iPhone

It’s not usual at Andy’s Bar for me to be drawn from my dark basement and double
Nydnarb to find out what awesome sounds are leaking from the main stage upstairs
down into my ears. This past Friday night was one of those unusual experiences when
Unmarked Cars took the stage. As my ears pulled me from my chair and up the basement
stairs, a beautiful, yet gritty female voice became louder and louder mixed with fuzzy,
phased out guitar and clockwork drums and bass.

Unmarked Cars hail from Oklahoma City and are out promoting their 2009 release, A
Guide To The Common Era. The most surprising element of Unmarked Cars was lead
singer Courtney Harmon. This blond bombshell may be petite, but can belt notes so
hauntingly piercing, it makes a mighty mountain wind look like a Texas summer evening
breeze. I came to describe their sound as a mix of old No Doubt, L7 and the Yeah Yeah
Yeahs with some Rodger Waters-esque guitar solos from guitarist Justin Hogan. Sounds
strange, but really works well. Their projected visuals were extremely far out as well.
From a girl in a white robe in the middle of a lake wielding a sword in the air to a close-
up of a devilishly laughing face. It was like a baptism gone horribly wrong, and it was
awesome.

There weren’t as many people there as there should and would have been due to it being
the beginning of a holiday weekend in a college town during the summer, but it didn’t
phase Harmon or the rest as she wildly and playfully danced around the stage smiling
with Hogan and drummer Scott Edwards and bassist Richie Hayes and punching the air.
I can only imagine the energy level had it been a normal Friday night. But everyone
that was there ended up buying either a cd or a t-shirt and talked with the very polite
and outgoing group after the show. Myself included. They were very nice people.
Unmarked Cars drove down just to play the show at Andy’s and then drive immediately
back to Oklahoma City. That’s dedication. And for those of us that happen to catch it, it
was a privilege. Check out their myspace for future tour dates and give ‘em a listen for
yourself.

-Cory Coleman [c]

Giveaway: Tickets To See Phosphorescent At The Kessler

Between 2007's Pride and this year's Here's To Taking It Easy, Phosphorescent have collected a trove of new fans, most notably among them David Gray and Willie Nelson. The latter making the indie-folk dreams of frontman Matthew Houck come true when he performed with the band during last year's Farm Aid.

A few of the tracks from the latest LP were mixed in Oak Cliff by Stuart Sikes, so we find it all too fitting that when Phosphorescent return to town they'll be performing in the OC in the recently resurrected Kessler theater. Haven't been to the theater since it's risen from the ashes? You have a chance to do so for free by emailing us with the phrase 'Get Me To The Kessler' as the subject line. Winners will be selected randomly and notified later this evening. Best of luck.

MP3: Phosphorescent - It's Hard To Be Humble (When You're From Alabama)
MP3: Phosphorescent - Mermaid Parade
MP3: Phosphorescent - Wolves

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My Denton Music Launches Dallas-Centric Sister Site

As everybody is well aware, Deep Ellum is currently on a bit of an upswing. More clubs call the neighborhood home than at any point in the last several years. Heck, even the DOMA showcases are being held down there this year. Even more importantly clubs like the Nightmare (formerly the Lounge), the Granada Theater, and the Loft/Palladium complex are all regularly booking kickass shows and drawing pretty decent numbers as well.

So it only seems right that amidst this newfound resurgence in Dallas music that Tony Spiro would launch a Dallas-centric companion site to his My Denton Music. The aptly-named My Dallas Music will be home to all the same features (spotlights, upcoming picks, etc.) that have made My Denton Music so successful, with a main focus of aiming to get more people out to shows. And, cough cough, we'll be doing a bit of writing over there too. Hopefully the new MDM is able to weave such a tight-knit local scene in the Big D like it's sister site was able to accomplish in the little d.

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Songs For Walter // Merry Go Round

Being a holiday weekend and all, it seems like the perfect time to share the most recent release from Holiday Records' free singles club. Songs For Walter deftly combines the droning sustain of electric guitars underneath the careful plucking of an acoustic. I've heard this track called both beautiful and chaotic, and it just might be my favorite thing the free singles club has put out all year.

MP3: Songs For Walter - Merry Go Round

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Who Wore It Better: Shining vs Kanye

Because we like to pattern most of our features after tawdry gossip rags we thought we'd bite US Weekly's style and do a quick 'Who Wore It Better' post.

After King Crimson ripped their classic "21st Century Schizoid Man" a new one on their 1972 live album Earthbound, we didn't think anyone besides the drug-addled mind of Ozzy would dare attempt to put their spin on it. Yet here we are barely at the halfway mark of 2010 and already it has been meddled with twice this year alone.

First the Norwegian jazz-infused prog-metal band Shining flipped the song on its ear with their screeching saxophones and guttural throaty yells. Being from the Norway metal scene where band members have been known to kill and eat one another, the group knows no fear, and as such they go balls out with their take on the song. Whether it tickles your fancy or not the fact that they just don't give a fuck is undeniable, and their perfectly honed wrecklessness refreshing.

More recently Texas producer Symbolyc One of Strange Fruit Project/Cannabinoids fame produced some tracks for Chicago MC Rhymefest's latest album. Somewhere along the way Kanye West heard some of the beats, hijacked one for his upcoming Good Ass Job, and called up S1 telling him he was "about to change his life". A bold move? Sure, but truer words have never been spoken. Not sure if the dolts at MTV had ever heard of Symbolyc before, let alone ever contemplated interviewing him as they recently did.

But we must admit the production here is quite slick. So much so we might tend to argue that West's oft embarrassing rhymes are probably the worst thing about it --although we do realize that it is a necessary evil for S1 to get the attention he very much deserves. Still though, as long as he doesn't put out another autotune album we'd listen to his misinformed ass spouting out raps about using his medulla oblongata to learn things all day long.

Sure one is a cover version and one is a sample. Yes, we do realize we are comparing an apple to an orange here, but which fruit tastes better? Or more accurately, who wore it better?

MP3: Shining - 21st Century Schizoid Man
MP3: Kanye West - Power

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The Romany Rye Offers Up Free MP3

The Romany Rye is a brand new artist-baby to this giant, fuzzy world of music… And makes me really hungry for bread… Hailed by Kings of Leon’s Matthew Followill as the “band to watch in 2010”, The Romany Rye will be touring with Delta Spirit this summer promoting their debut album, Highway 1, Look Back Carefully. If you were lucky enough to win Delta Spirit tickets from us this morning then you'll be pleasantly surprised by these guys. The rest of their tour dates and other information can be found on their myspace page.

The guys were even sweet enough to send us a free MP3 of their single, “All The Boys”, for us to share with the SubEx community. It’s a pleasant, upbeat tune filled with just the right amount of what seems to be a lap steel and volume pedal, harmonica plugs, tinkling piano and swelling harmonies to tell you a little story about being on the road. Their sound is not unlike something you might hear from My Morning Jacket. Take a listen for yourself and enjoy a free song today!

MP3: The Romany Rye - All The Boys

-Cory Coleman [c]

Giveaway: Tickets To See Delta Spirit At The Loft

Earlier this month Rounder Records released the new Delta Spirit record. Entitled History From Below, the record was produced by My Morning Jacket's keyboardist Bo Koster and Eli Thomson. The boys from Long Beach are currently on tour supporting the record which will find them in our neck of the woods on July 15 when they hit up The Loft.

Sample the disc's impassioned lost-love tune "Bushwick Blues" below. Dig it as much as we do? Then you're in luck, as once again the swell team of folks over at The Loft have given us a few pairs of tickets to give away.

Simply email us with the phrase 'I got the bushwick blues' and we'll select the winners at random later this evening. Good luck!

MP3: Delta Spirit - Bushwick Blues

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