South-By-Southwest season is upon us, and DFW reaps the rock and roll benefits, as many bands stop through here before or after. One show you cannot miss is the most environmentally friendly band on the planet, Cloud Cult, from Minnesota. They will properly rock the Granada this month.
Fans of poetic William Elliot Whitmore will be pleased to hear he has signed with Anti Records and will release a new album in the near future… If you’ve been waiting for The Tossers to release a new one, you are in luck. Get the Guinness cold and ready for the new album, Gloatin’ and Showboatin’, which hits store shelves on March 4… Keep an eye out for new releases by Farewell to Freeway, Bury Your Dead, Across Five Aprils and Dead To Fall.
Dallas natives, Deaf Pedestrians, have an awesome new album out, And Other Distractions, which features the hit song “Hail to the Geek.”
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Chomsky’s Reunion show
Photo: Jason Janik
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Chomsky - Doublewide, 2/16/08
Chomsky is back! It has been a couple of years, but the Dallas group’s reunion show was well worth the wait. Sure, the boys are a bit older (and by their own admission, heavier), but they still rocked like they hadn’t skipped a beat.
The Doublewide is an intimate club, perfect for a band that might have trouble reuniting with long lost fans, but it proved to be half the size needed on this night. Fans squeezed together though, as they sang along to 14 infectious tunes.
Chomsky’s antics shone. There were still plenty of jumps, kicks and spins to be seen. Songs like “Road” and “00:15:00” sounded like pure gold, as they were dusted off for a wonderful live rendition. The band said this reunion show wouldn’t be a one-time thing. Let’s hope that’s so. (Jason Janik)
The Silver Apples - Sloppyworld, 02/22/08
Or more accurately, The Silver Apple, as one half of the semi-legendary (meaning it is mostly only music nerd-o-philes like me who know of ‘em) NYC duo was not present. Musical visionary Simeon, however, was indeed at the helm. He set the psychedelic pop controls for the heart of the sun, as he pulled the lever on his homemade oscillator synthesizer - coaxing out the signature swooshing, wobbling and percolating textures that he rests his whimsical, lilting vocals upon.
While not the most visually compelling of performances, industrial projections kept attention deficit peepers in the game. That’s often the case with performances in the bohemian art complex of Sloppyworld. It was a rare chance to see the main brain behind what was perhaps the world‘s first electronic pop entity - playing future music in the age of Woodstock, thus beating the likes of Kraftwerk and Suicide by many years. Enter that into your data banks. (Jefferson Downing)
Sheryl Crow - Detours, Interscope
This isn’t Tuesday Night Music Club. Sheryl Crow has completely reinvented herself-excellently. Tracks such as “Shine Over Babylon” and “Drunk with the Thought of You” perfectly demonstrate how a well-accomplished musician can still crank out quality hits. Her unpretentious approach is uncompromisingly solid. A number of tracks address and reflect the recent tragedies in an appropriate, insightful manner. Anything less would be unacceptable when considering the amount of ass Crow has already kicked. Detours will easily win the “MILF” album of the year award. Rock indeed.
 (Shane Epting)
The Secret Lives of Freemasons - Weekend Warriors, Victory Records
This might be one of the coolest band names since “I Can Lick Any Son of a Bitch in the House.” Despite being pop-punk -it isn’t bad. It rocks notches above many in this overwhelmed genre. TSLOF come correctly with a respectable amount of range in the instrumental and vocal attack. Nice guitar riffs walk the glam-rock tightrope, which is an attribute. If you’ve always wanted to own a CD with the word “Freemasons” somewhere in the title - this is it.
(Shane Epting)
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Southern Drive — packs more punch than a coked-up biker on parole.
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Southern Drive - Take a Ride, Self-Released
If you dig ass-kicking, southern rock/alt country that embraces the simple joys of living, loving and drinking tequila-you should buy at least seven copies of this CD.
Not a track requires skipping. These dudes will make you proud to live and drink beer in Texas. Complete with a mandolin, trumpet and a French horn, Southern Drive packs more punch than a coked-up biker on parole. The band is Donnie Rex, Kevin Garinger, Jarrod Fresquez, Joel McKeary Taylor McKeary, Rob Goble and Colin Boyd. If you’re a fan of Reckless Kelly and sawdust floors (or if you live on a gravel road) this is for you, Amigo. (Shane Epting)
Ivory Line - There Came A Lion, Tooth and Nail
Pop punk done properly is a great feat to accomplish, and many do it well. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of those albums. For those in the market for predictable pop punk that’s similar to The Vanished (but not as good), this one will do nicely. This CD resembles Americas’ favorite corporate pop-punk festival - The Warped Tour. It’s not that all songs suck, but they do sound slightly identical. That’s not to say their fans, assuming they have them, won’t enjoy this release. But if you like your music fresh like a bag of delicious croissants from Pedro’s Pastries, Pizza and Pancakes-look elsewhere.
(Shane Epting)
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