The Baptist Generals
Now, they’ve released another song off the record as well as their upcoming Summer tour dates with Mountain Goats. This will be a must see show. The song is called “Broken Glass”, and it’s a more stripped down affair than the first track we heard off their new album. It’s full of intricate acoustic guitar, marimba, light percussion, and Flemmons’ trademark vulnerable vocals. It might be surprising how polished Baptist Generals sound now, but the music is better than ever.
Bob Dylan Announces AmericanaramA Festival
But, that’s it. No cities listed, no other acts formally announced, no ticket prices, although they’ll be available starting April 24th. I guess we’ll just have to wait for more details to come later this week.
Mikal Cronin. Photo courtesy of Merge Records.
The Flaming Lips
Mudhoney. Photo by Emily Reiman.
The Baptist Generals. Photo by Peter Salisbury
Denton, TX, has long been recognized as a leading independent music community. But that status has long been due to an overwhelming amount of solid talent that flows in and, inevitably, out of the Texas college town. So it’s doubly newsworthy when The Baptist Generals announced their new album, Jackleg Devotional To The Heart – yes, this influential band has new material after a ten-year wait, and yes, they’re still around.
Denton legends Centro-Matic have been active lately, with a short tour and a new album in the works. It’s a little surprising considering that their in between records, having released Candidate Waltz in 2011, and frontman Will Johnson’s side projects which have recently included house show tours, a stint as the drummer in Monsters of Folk, and a new project with David Bazan called Overseas. Continue Reading
This interview originally appeared on the Dallas Observer music blog DC9 At Night.
That first step into Midlake’s new studio is a tricky one — especially at night. The entry way is actually a sectioned-off sitting room, and it’s pitch black, forcing one to step lightly to avoid knocking over anything of value. The blackness is fitting, representing the blank slate a new album affords. Then again, maybe it’s the shadow of their previous effort hanging over their recording. Maybe it just depends on who you ask.
My first peek in to the studio’s control room is met by blank stares and surprise. Due to a mix-up, I’m two hours early. Turns out this was a good thing, though.
“I’m glad you got here early,” a tired-looking Eric Nichelson confessed. “I’m beat.” His bandmates agree, saying they had just about reached a good stopping point for the day, anyway.
The weight now off my shoulders, they even offered to play a new song, called “Procession,” whose mixing I interrupted. The song’s plodding, trudging sound indicates a departure from their previous album, The Courage of Others. Yet it’s still unmistakably Midlake.
During my visit, I asked the band what else they’re doing differently this time around as they record their new album. See our conversation in full after the jump. Continue Reading
This article originally appeared in 944 Magazine, Jan. 2011, pg. 59.
As we catch our breath after the recent election cycle, it’s easy to look back and reflect on how fractured we seem to be as a culture. Each side is convinced the world will end if the other side wins. News networks opine, not report, in efforts to drive up ratings, and therefore ad revenue, to appease stockholders. Individuals seem to live increasingly inward lives, looking out for No. 1 to the detriment of their local communities. But in Denton, TX, Kevin Roden is working to change that.
Roden, a husband, father, TAMS Director and PH.D candidate, opens his historic home, and his kegerator, for an occasional discussion group he calls “Drink and Think”. With discussion topics like “Socialism vs. Capitalism”, “Whatever Happened to the American Woman”, and “Are There Really Such Things as Human Rights?”, Roden guides his guests through a civilized debate that fosters calm conversations and mutual respect while touching on larger philosophical questions, if not current issues.
Continue Reading
This article originally appeared in the Dallas Observer.
Here’s the thing: It may be in bad taste, but when there’s the son of a Beatle in the room, it’s difficult to get past that. Especially when we’re not just talking any Beatle, but perhaps the most beloved of them all — the loss of whom we all still seem to feel collectively.
But as much as Sean Lennon’s name should be credited for selling out Denton’s venerable Dan’s Silverleaf on Tuesday night, his music is what hushed the crowd, elevating the evening beyond some macabre spectacle of “Look, there he is!” to “Wow, this kid’s really good!”
And that comment was heard more than once throughout the crowd after his band took the stage.
Continue Reading