september little d after dark

OPENING SHOT

Eisley at Rockin’ Rodeo onJuly 19. Photo by Ed Steele

2 Little d After Dark September 2012

opening shot >> 2

good dates >> 4

editor’s note >> 5

b-side beat >> 6

the alchemist A cavity-inducing, cake-

flavored cocktail in celebration of our first

birthday. >> 9

flavor junkie This brisket sandwich is

guaranteed to add a little color to your brown-

bag lunch. >> 17

putting money on small changes

The notoriously raucous Riverboat Gamblers

released their newest full-length album earlier

this year, The Wolf You Feed, and kick off a

tour this month in New Braunfels. >> 7

buried with friends Team Tomb’s

self-titled debut album is the eventual

product of the mad-science music band mem-

bers started making together during jam ses-

sions in 2010, just after Denton indie artist

Caleb Ian Campbell’s best-known project, the

Polycorns, disbanded. >> 14

where the atmosphere’s thinner

Gravity Mission is neither chillwave nor no-

wave. The simplest way to describe this inter-

section of Denton’s Ruben Erazo and San

Francisco’s Scott Werley is to call it an

ambient electronic record influenced by the

fractured verse heard at a local open-mic

poetry reading. >> 15

Did you feel that? That vague wave through the fabric of time and

space? It might have been Frank Zappa, sitting up and cocking

his head a bit from another dimension — trying to hear the

squawky sax on Fergus & Geronimo’s sophomore album,

Funky Was the State of Affairs. The duo returns to town Sept. 1

for 35 Denton’s Hot Wet Mess — a back-to-school bash at the

North Texas Fairgrounds, where the Black Lips, Reggie Watts

and Big Freedia headline. Story by Lucinda Breeding

Publisher Bill Patterson

Managing Editor Dawn Cobb

940-566-6879

[email protected]

Features EditorLucinda Breeding 940-566-6877

[email protected]

Advertising DirectorSandra Hammond 940-566-6820

[email protected]

Advertising ManagerShawn Reneau 940-566-6843

[email protected]

Classified DisplayJulie Hammond 940-566-6819

[email protected]

Contributing Writers Megan

Radke, Alyssa Jarrell

Photographers David Minton,

Ed Steele, Chris Newby

Designer Rachel McReynolds

On the cover Photo illustration

by Rachel McReynolds

The contents of this free publication are

copyrighted by Denton Publishing Co.,

2012, a subsidiary of A. H. Belo Corp.

(ahbelo.com, NYSE symbol: AHC), with all

rights reserved. Reproduction or use, with-

out permission, of editorial or graphic con-

tent in any manner is prohibited. Little d

After Dark is published monthly by Denton

Publishing Co., 314 E. Hickory St.

THE ELEMENTS

COVER STORY

SEPTEMBER 2012VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1

Courtesy photo

FEATURES

Courtesy photo/Alan Blanquicet

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Terminator 2, Deep Snapper,

Paper Robot, Hot Coffins,

3 p.m. $3-$5. RubberGloves RehearsalStudios.

Pygmalion, 2 p.m. $10-$20. Campus Theatre.Ben Folds Five, Kate Miller-

Heidke, 8 p.m. $45.Palladium Ballroom.

Hood Internet, Body

Language, Oscillator Bug, 7

p.m. $12-$15. Dada.Circa Survive, Balance and

Composure, O’Brother,

Touche Amore, 7 p.m. $20-$25. House of Blues.

Choralfest!, 8 p.m. Free-$10. MurchisonPerforming Arts Center.

Pink Ribbons, Inc. screening, 5 p.m. Free.UNT. County Rexford, 7

p.m. Free. Abbey InnRestaurant & Pub.Fundamental, Moosehound,

Nimik, 10 p.m. $7. Dan’sSilverleaf.

Wanda Jackson, 7 p.m.

$20-$41. GranadaTheater. UNT Symphonic

Band, 7:30 p.m. Free-$10.Winspear PerformanceHall. Sondre Lerche, Fancy

Colors, 8 p.m. $15-$17.Dada. Animal Collective,

Micachu and the Shapes, 9

p.m. $30-$35. House ofBlues.

Bodie Powell, Kyle Redd,

6 p.m. Free. Love Shack.Dark Star Orchestra, 7 p.m.

$24. Granada Theater.Monica, Sarah Sellers, 8

p.m. $40-$81.50. Houseof Blues.

Pygmalion, 7:30 p.m. $10-$20. Campus Theatre.Greg Reichel, 8 p.m. Free.Love Shack. The Dick

Beldings, Reality Bitesscreening, 9 p.m. $8.Lola’s. White Arrows,

Young Buffalo, 10 p.m.

$10-$13. Dan’sSilverleaf.

Autumnal Equinox

Pygmalion, 7:30 p.m. $10-$20. Campus Theatre.Mike Stanley, 8 p.m. Free.Love Shack. Bach

Norwood, 8 p.m. $7. Dan’sSilverleaf. High Tension

Wires, Hex Dispensers,

Occult Detective Club,

Something Fierce, 9 p.m.

$6-$8. Rubber GlovesRehearsal Studios. Pearl

Snap Shirts, Protean

Broadcast, Afro Deezy Axe,

9 p.m. Free. Hailey’sClub. Pinkish Black, the

Angelus, Yells at Eels, 10

p.m. $8-$10. Lola’s.

Chris Watson, 6 p.m. Free.Love Shack. AJ Rafael &

Us, Alyssa Bernal and Jeff

Bernat, 6 p.m. $20. Grana-da Theater. Pygmalion,

7:30 p.m. $10-$20. Cam-pus Theatre. Whiskey Folk

Ramblers, the Holler Times,

Convoy and the Cattlemen,

9 p.m. $5-$7. Hailey’sClub. Mission of Burma, 10

p.m. $13-$16. Dan’sSilverleaf. The Relatives,

Pleasant Grove, Seryn, 10

p.m. $17.50-$27.50.Dallas City PerformanceHall.

Matt Dunn, 6 p.m. Free.Love Shack. Saint Vitus,

FTW, 9 p.m. $15. Lola’s.

Riggs, Slater, Eckels Jazz

Experience, 5 p.m. Free.Dan’s Silverleaf. County

Rexford, 7 p.m. Free.Abbey Inn Restaurant &Pub. Missy Higgins, Katie

Herzig, Butterfly Boucher, 8

p.m. $22. GranadaTheater. County Fringe,

Jake Robison, Jim Bowles,

9 p.m. The BasementBar.

Sutekh Hexen, Pinkish

Black, Dead to a Dying

World, Terminator 2, Filth,

9 p.m. $5-$7. RubberGloves RehearsalStudios.

Luke Wade, noon. Free.Love Shack. Hamell on

Trial, 5 p.m. $8. Dan’sSilverleaf. Vektor, 7 p.m.

$6-$8. Dada. Hares on the

Mountain, 7:30 p.m. Free.Dan’s Silverleaf. UNT

A Capella Choir, 8 p.m.

Free-$10. WinspearPerformance Hall.

Luke Wade, noon. Free.Love Shack. Catastica,

Hares on the Mountain, 4

p.m. Andy’s Bar. 2 Festival:

RTB2, Brent Best, Satans of

Soft Rock, 8 p.m. $10.Dan’s Silverleaf. Del

Castillo, Mariachi Quetzal,

8:30 p.m. $20-$30. TheKessler. Jefferson Colby,

Pistol Packin Mama,

Droidekka, 10 p.m. $5-$9.Lola’s.

Rubber Gloves Rehearsal

Studios’ Free Week: Deep

Snapper, the Demigs, Danny

Rush & the Designated

Drivers, Spooky Folk, 10

p.m. $3 under 21.

Labor Day

The Learning screening,

6 p.m. Free. UNT. Rubber Gloves Rehearsal

Studios’ Free Week: Vulgar

Fashion, Public Health, Filth,

Corporate Park, 10 p.m. $3under 21.

Riggs, Slater, Hamilton Jazz

Experience, 5 p.m. Free.Dan’s Silverleaf. Earl

Bates, 7 p.m. Free. AbbeyInn Restaurant & Pub.Bowling for Soup, the Von

Ehrics, 7 p.m. $15-$17.Hailey’s Club. One O’clock

Lab Band, 9 p.m. $5. TheSyndicate. Yeasayer,

Daedelus, 9 p.m. $20-$30.House of Blues. Rubber

Gloves Rehearsal Studios’

Free Week: Cozy Hawks, Ice

Eater, Secret Cakes, Double

Dave Damage, 10 p.m. $3under 21.

One O’clock Lab Band,

noon. Free. One O’clockLounge. Tyler Rogeux, 6

p.m. Free. Love Shack.Pujol, Soviet, the Longshots,

7 p.m. $8-$10. Dada. Two

Tons of Steel, 9 p.m. $10.Dan’s Silverleaf. Rubber

Gloves Rehearsal Studios’

Free Week: the Angelus,

New Science Projects,

Eccotone, Summer of

Glaciers, Ryan Thomas

Becker, 10 p.m. $3 under21. Skeleton Coast, 10 p.m.

$5-$9. Lola’s.

Fair to Midland, White

Elephant, the Phuss,

Hormones, 7 p.m. $15.Granada Theater.Spoonfed Tribe, Hatch,

KatsüK, 8 p.m. The AbbeyUnderground. Faun

Fables, Warren Jackson

Hearne & Le Leek

Electrique, Daniel Markham,

8:30 p.m. $12-$15. Dan’sSilverleaf. Rubber Gloves

Rehearsal Studios’ Free

Week: Bad Design, Street

Arabs, Vinyl, 10 p.m. $3under 21.

Rudy Cervantez, noon.

Free. Love Shack. Ariel

Pink’s Haunted Graffiti,

Moon Diagrams, Bodyguard,

7 p.m. $18. GranadaTheater. Scared of the

Dark, 7 p.m. Andy’s Bar.David Lindley, the O’s, 8 p.m.

$17.50-$25. The Kessler.Holt and Stockslager, 10

p.m. $10. Dan’sSilverleaf. Rubber Gloves

Rehearsal Studios’ Free

Week: A.Dd+, Idiots, Shiny

Around the Edges, the

Atomic Tanlines, 10 p.m.

$3 under 21.

Hot Wet Mess festival, 1

p.m. $15. North TexasState Fairgrounds. Day of

Tragedy, 7 p.m. Andy’s Bar.Bone Doggie and the

Hickory Street Hellraisers,

Danger Cakes, the Matthew

Show, 8 p.m. $5-$7.Hailey’s Club. Fungi Girls,

War Party, Doom Ghost,

Sealion, 9 p.m. $6-$8.Rubber GlovesRehearsal Studios. Ella

Minnow, the Demigs, Paper

Robot, 10 p.m. $7. Dan’sSilverleaf.

Adam Ant, 7 p.m. $32.Granada Theater.Pygmalion, 7:30 p.m. $10-$20. Campus Theatre.Gravity Feed, Human Groove

Hormone, Afro Deezy Axe,

Faces Clouds, 8 p.m.

Hailey’s Club. Beach

House, Dustin Wong, 8 p.m.

$22-$25. PalladiumBallroom. The Band of

Heathens, 10 p.m. $10-$15.Dan’s Silverleaf. Maymok,

Vats, Vulgar Fashion, DJ

Donna Bummer, 10 p.m.

$5-$7. Rubber GlovesRehearsal Studios.

Yeah You Rite screening,

5 p.m. Free. UNT. Mike Calaway, 6 p.m. Free.Love Shack. A Silent Film,

8 p.m. $10-$12. Dada.Broken Gold, Brent Best, On

After Dark, 9 p.m. $1-$3.Rubber GlovesRehearsal Studios. Afro

Deezy Axe, 10 p.m. TheAbbey Underground.Black Taxi, Swindle Boys,

Antiques, 10 p.m. $7-$10.Lola’s.

Earl Bates, 7 p.m. Free.Abbey Inn Restaurant &Pub. The Walkmen, Milo

Greene, 7 p.m. $18.Granada Theater. Owl

City, 7:30 p.m. $22-$25.House of Blues.

Snarky Puppy, the Funky

Knuckles, 9 p.m. $12-$18.Dan’s Silverleaf. The

People’s Temple, 9 p.m.

$6-$8. Rubber GlovesRehearsal Studios.

Snarky Puppy, Hildegunn

Gjedrem, 9 p.m. $12-$18.Dan’s Silverleaf.Thanksgiving, the Pajama

Party, I Am the Lake of Fire,

Grim Graves, 9 p.m. $6-$8.Rubber GlovesRehearsal Studios.

Luke Wade, noon. Free.Love Shack. Pygmalion,

2 p.m. $10-$20. CampusTheatre. Ormonde, Team

Tomb, 8 p.m. $7. Dan’sSilverleaf.

have your people call our people >> to submit an event for little d’s calendar, e-mail [email protected]

THURSDAY FRIDAY

SATURDAY

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Hispanic Heritage Month

National Piano Month


SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30

SEPTEMBER 2012MUSIC at Denton venues MUSIC at UNTMUSIC elsewhere STAGE & SCREEN

1

H4

September 2012 Little d After Dark 5

Rapping at your door

A hem. You there? No, you, with

the beard, glasses andtoboggan. Yes, you. And that woman toyour left? The one wearing the prairieskirt, Pan Ector T-shirt and piercings —nudge her, too, will ya?

I know you don’t know me, but I have aweird request.

Little d After Dark wants an invitationto your party. The one that generates hun-dreds of empty cans and bottles in yourbackyard and throughout that carewornhouse you rent with four of your bestfriends. The one where unknown actscome to polish their chops and theircharisma and threaten to crack the plasterat chez devotee de la musique.

Little d wants to come to your houseshow. We want to attend this partybecause, well, we want to shoot some pho-

tos and jot down some notes. And wewouldn’t be averse to snagging an inter-view or two.

Little d After Dark has known for awhile now that a healthy house showscene has nourished the independentmusic scene for a long time. How’s it donethis? By giving freshman rock stars a placeto work on their material and a way topractice destroying hotel rooms. And bywhetting the college market’s appetite forthe new, the experimental, the loud.

Look, there’s no ulterior motive, here.Mavis on Maple Street isn’t trying to findout where you’re partying so she can givethe cops an address to shut down thatinfernal racket. We won’t even publishaddresses. House show names will workjust fine. So christen your shabby renthouse with a strange name — theBleeding Ear Hole, the Language Lab orthe Splintered Monocle — and give us ahint when your next big bash will be witha note e-mailed to ldafterdark@

gmail.com.Who knows? We might show up with a

camera and a notepad. Forgive us, though, if the earplugs give

us away.

— Lucinda Breeding

Contributors

SONNY STRAIT, an animation voice actorand comic book artist, will be bringing ushis B-Side Beat every month. Best knownas the voice of Krillin on the TV showDragon Ball Z, Sonny works as an artistfor the comic book series Elfquest. He alsojust happens to be in a band — a basicrequirement of maintaining Denton citi-zenship.

Little d After Dark

wants an invitation to

your party. The one that

generates hundreds of

empty cans and bottles

in your backyard and

throughout that

careworn house you

rent with four of your

best friends.

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The Wolf You Feed is a step in a differentdirection for the Riverboat Gamblers. The band best known for its energetic,fast, fun punk sound still upholds that


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Rolling the dicethe riverboat gamblers >> by megan radke

Riverboat Gamblers put money on small changes in new album

T hough the RiverboatGamblers call Austin homethese days, it’s hard to forget

the group got its start in Denton. The notoriously raucous punk quintet

released their newest full-length albumearlier this year, The Wolf You Feed. Theband plans to head out on tour in supportof Wolf with a few different acts in tow,including Valient Thorr, Cobra Skulls andLagwagon.

The Gamblers will kick off their “Wolf &Snakes Tour” by playing alongside FortWorth legends the Toadies at the fifthannual Dia de los Toadies, Sept. 1 at NewBraunfels’ Whitewater Amphitheater. >> Continued on 13

Courtesy photo/Gary Copeland

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the iTunes store. 12-inch LP available

for $14.99 from record label Volcom

Entertainment (store.volcoment.com).

THEY’RE WITH THE BANDMike Wiebe — vocals

Fadi El-Assad — guitar, vocals

Ian MacDougall —guitar, vocals

Rob Marchant — bass, vocals

Sam Keir — drums

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cake batter martini >> by rachel mcreynolds and lucinda breeding

The drink 3 ounces cake-flavored vodka3 ounces white or clear creme de cacao2 ounces amaretto2 ounces heavy whipping cream1 ounce white chocolate liqueurmulticolored non pareils or sprinkles

To decorate the glass rim (optional), place sprinkles on a shallow platethat is a little larger than the mouth of your martini glass. Dampen apaper towel with heavy cream (or water) and wet the rim of the glass.Dip glass into sprinkles to coat the edges. Combine all ingredients ina cocktail shaker with ice and shake for about 30 seconds. Strain intomartini glass. For our version (pictured), carefully spoon sprinklesalong the top edge of the glass so that they sink down and leave acolorful streak through the liquid. Makes 2 drinks. — recipe via thenovicechefblog.com

Little d After Dark turns 1 this month, an exciting time of new discoveries like solid food and walking. What better way to mark our journey out of infancy than a good, stiff drink (and a nap afterward)?

This cocktail’s definitely sweeter than the average bear (if you’ve everheard of cake-flavored vodka before this, you’re more of a lush than wethought) — but hey, it’s our birthday. Tell restraint to suck it.

The tunesWhile you’re sipping, listen to these artists whose vocal chords seem

powdered-sugar-coated: Arielle LaGuette (this UNT grad now on thesinger-songwriter circuit in Austin has polished, personal vocals, andwhen she hauls out her ukulele, it’s something to celebrate), IngridMichaelson (incurably hopeful indie-pop made of a grown-ass woman’swisdom and a college girl’s pluck), Regina Spektor (English piano rockerwho could be mistaken for a retro fashion plate with a killer voice andcommand for the keyboard).

Photo by David Minton

10 Little d After Dark September 2012 11

Courtesy photo

fergus & geronimo >> by lucinda breeding

D id you feel that?

That vague wave through the fabric of time and space?

It might have been Frank Zappa, sitting up and cocking his head a bit from another dimension, trying to hear the squawky sax on

Fergus & Geronimo’s sophomore album, Funky Was the State of Affairs.


Track for track:Funky Was theState of Affairs

NO PARTIESSavage and Kelly find one note to punchthrough this what-have-we-done beat-down. Delivered in a funny mock-Englishaccent, the song deplores the self-selectedwasteland that is the human condition. Thepeople of Earth are enslaved by screens,gadgets and a steady stream of B-grademedia. There’s nothing B-grade about thetrack, which cleverly assigns an assembly-line-steady beat to insightful lyrics.

SPIESIs it a coincidence that there’s somethingJames Bond-meets-Pulp Fiction about thissong? A twangy, California-cool guitarchases a bop-a-wop cowbell or wood-block through the song. We can almostsee Savage and Kelly in silhouette, posingwith guitar and synth — their weapons.

FUNKY WAS THE STATE OF AFFAIRSThe sprinting drums of “Wipeout” joinplodding horns in this danceable title track.With chirping “ows!”, “ohs!” and “ays!” thesong gradually tapers into an all-femalechorus of the title. Dare you to keep fromdoing pogo-style jumps in your bedroom.

Funky isn’t directly influenced byZappa — it’s weird and easy enough tounderstand and it isn’t about subvertingmusical laws about tempo and tone. (Thatsaid, the track “Roman Nvmerals/Wiretapping Muzak 1” ends with a saxo-phone blast that would wake a Canadiangander out of a coma.) No, Zappa wouldjust love the cheek of Fergus & Geronimo— or does love them, if he really is in someparallel universe, rolling his eyes at thevery idea of Rihanna.

Fergus & Geronimo got its start withthe musical wiles of Andrew Savage andJason Kelly, who decided to play aroundwith sounds when Kelly mixed andrecorded the album Foreign Lands byTeenage Cool Kids, of which Savage was amember.

The duo returns to Denton for 35Denton’s Hot Wet Mess — a back-to-school bash at the North Texas Fair-grounds, where the Black Lips, ReggieWatts and Big Freedia headline.

Fergus & Geronimo has come a longway from the few leaked tracks thatstirred up hearty praise when they werefound by new-music hunters.

After the Seattle indie label Hardly Artpicked up the band, Fergus & Geronimorecorded its first full-length album,Unlearn, last year.

Funky is a concept album. Earth hascollapsed under the weight of gotta-have-it-wanna-have-it consumption. That con-sumption seems to be represented by theknotted mound of spaghetti that is wire-less communication. Or maybe media sat-uration. Or maybe Fergus & Geronimo,the band, is playing the part of Savage andKelly as they strut and dodge the remainsof the digital revolution, running from thealiens who have landed. Or maybe Fergus

>> Continued on 13Andrew Savage, left, and Jason Kelly of Fergus & Geronimo. Courtesy photo

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& Geronimo, the band, is actually theband playing at the apocalyptic kegger,where decommissioned yuppies introducethe aliens to as many women as they can.

Crossed wires ensue, but from thesound of Funky, a good time is had by all.Padded occasionally by short and comedicbits, Funky wants us to know that wereally ought to have more fun with all this.One funny interlude between the first andsecond tracks gives us a character namedHeather Strange. She’s a weary-sounding,no-nonsense woman making what seemsto be a dating service video.

“Really,” Heather says, sounding bored,“I’m just looking for a man whose cerebralcapabilities haven’t been fried by LCDscreens yet.” And another thing: Heatheris putting herself out there for a prettybroad dating pool, as she identifies herselfas a “23-year-old human earthlingfemale.” If the last human earthling maleis more emotionally invested in Xboxcombat than anything else, she’ll take herchances on the cyborgs. Or the little greenmen.

In “Earthling Women,” Fergus &Geromino borrow the persona of thealiens. They survey the blonde-brunette-redhead selection and commence to utter

in monotone: “I can’t get enough of thesedamn earthling women/The smiles andthe laughter and vibes that they’re giv-ing/From North Pole to South Pole/There’s one thing I’ve found/It’s easy tolive when there’s women around.”

Conversely, “Earthling Men” is a sneer-ing critique of standard masculinity —learn how to argue about nothing andshoot a gun and, well, you’re good to go.

Musically, there’s a sense of orderedchaos on Funky. In the second track, “NoParties,” Savage and Kelly affect clippedCockney accents to bemoan the glut oftripe found on social media. They sing, “Itkinda bums me out inside the creatureyou’ve become,” then go on to name all the

little things so many of us do — posing forself-portraits, saving our excitement fortrivial and fleeting delights. The duo goesback to the Devo-esque beeps and tones tomove the song along, almost as if it werecoming across a telegraph wire.

In other spots, Funky feels a tad punk.“Roman Tick,” a play on “I’m a romantic,”is a softer Johnny Rotten listing all thespecial things he won’t do for a significantother, featuring shouted lyrics and drivingdrums.

In the end, Funky Was the State ofAffairs stands as an astute observation ofall the craziness we sign up for, and howwe let media reinforce a lot of our flimsyassumptions about said insanity. The bestthing about Funky is that it’s also a solidparody of all those things.

Many a social scientist has tried to pullback the veil on the delusions we nurtureby presuming what an alien race mightthink of us on a fact-finding mission.Funky dreams out the same idea inbright, happy, ridiculous color.

LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached by calling 940-566-6877 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

reputation on the new album, but alsoadds a darker, somewhat brooding spin.The Gamblers kicked off preproduction inLos Angeles, but finished piecing thealbum together in Dallas with the help ofproducer Stuart Sikes, who has workedwith artists including the White Stripesand Cat Power. The album is grittier andmore raw — more like a live show — butthat’s certainly something fans will appre-ciate, since the band is known and lovedfor its live shenanigans and sound.

As of now, the Gamblers don’t have ashow scheduled in the Dallas-Fort Wortharea but more dates and stops are said tobe added soon. Until then, fans can lookforward to the release of a new video forthe track “Comedians.” They can alsocatch the Gamblers at this year’s Fun FunFun Fest in Austin, which starts Nov. 3.

MEGAN RADKE is a University of NorthTexas journalism graduate who’sobsessed with music. She lives in Dallas.

the riverboat gamblersContinued from 12 >>

Continued from 7 >>

FERGUS & GERONIMO IN DENTON Hot Wet Mess festival, with the Black

Lips, No Age, Reggie Watts, Big

Freedia, Unknown Mortal Orchestra,

RTB2, DJ Sober. 1 to 10 p.m. Sept. 1 at

the North Texas Fairgrounds, 2217 N.

Carroll Blvd. Cost is $15.

bit.ly/QEFZGU.

THEY’RE WITH THE BANDAndrew Savage — guitar, vocals

Jason Kelly — guitar, vocals

Bob Jones — guitar, bass, analog synth

Jef Brown — tenor saxophone

Running with a new packteam tomb >> by lucinda breeding

WORRY IN METhis opening song has shades of Denton’s Sundress —vocals that aren’t easy to understand and convey an uneasyfeeling. Cool, wavy guitar lines keep the sound suitably soft,the drums push instead of punch, and after showcasingCampbell’s voice — a Vienna choirboy soprano — TeamTomb is more about serenading the listener’s unruly brainthat it is about moving the hips.

SKIN IN TEETHA guitar solo that could easily be borrowed by a violin or cellofades into keyboards that hold steady with a recorder-esqueeffect.

Lone wolf Campbell both reined in, set loose by his first band post-Polycorns

Track for track: Team Tomb

T eam Tomb’s self-titled debutalbum is the eventual prod-uct of the mad-science

music band members started makingtogether during jam sessions in 2010.

Team Tomb assembled around Dentonindie artist Caleb Ian Campbell just amonth after Campbell’s best-known proj-ect, the Polycorns, disbanded. ThePolycorns retired after their packed show-case at Sweetwater Grill & Tavern at 35Denton in 2010. Campbell dove into asolo project right away.

“I love Caleb’s solo stuff, but I think heneeds a band behind him,” said TeamTomb piano man Roy Robertson. “Caleb’ssolo stuff is really good; I don’t mean tosay that it isn’t, because it’s good and Ireally like his solo music.

“I loved the Polycorns, and I know whatCaleb can do when he’s got a band behindhim. I think it brings out the best in him.”

Campbell’s solo music is headier thanthe music he makes with others. When heplays as a lone wolf, Campbell makesmusic that sounds angular, sporting timesignature swatches that can lean towardthe fussy or artsy. His talent for straight-forward melodies is still clear whenCampbell plays alone. It’s just that someof his esoteric gloss gets a smart edit byhis bandmates when he shares his musicwith players he trusts and admires.

Team Tomb began when Campbellasked drummer Benny Bailey to sparesome time.

“Benny played with Land Mammals. Heplayed keyboard with them,” Campbellsaid. “They’re one of my favorite bands,and I was actually kind of intimidated. Iasked him if he wanted to jam with me.The motive was really just for fun.”

Team Tomb is something of a musicalchimera. “Made by Sharks” is just waitingto be plucked from indie anonymity bydirectors Jonathan Dayton and ValerieFaris (Little Miss Sunshine) to write leit-motifs for the unpredictable and lovablecharacters they create. But the premoni-tion for this tune’s poppy chords and bub-

>> Continued on 16


Courtesy photo

TEAM TOMB IN DENTONWith Ormonde. 8 p.m.

Sept. 16 at Dan’s Silverleaf,

103 Industrial St. Doors

open at 4 p.m. Cover is $7.

teamtomb.bandcamp.com.

danssilverleaf.com.

THEY’RE WITH THE BANDCaleb Ian Campbell —

lead vocals, guitar

Benny Bailey — drums

Roy Robertson —

keyboards

Jeremy Buller — bass

G ravity Mission is neitherchillwave nor no-wave.

The simplest way todescribe this intersection of Denton’sRuben Erazo and San Francisco’s ScottWerley is to call it an ambient electronicrecord influenced by the fractured verseheard at a local open-mic poetry reading.

Before the Spoken Word is a conceptalbum by Werley, a closet poet and graph-ic designer by day, and Erazo, aColombian-born professional who singswith the Dallas Opera chorus.

“Basically, both Scott and I believe thatwe all need to change the way we treatthis planet,” Erazo said. “Both of thinkthat this is a priority for every humanbeing living on this Earth.”

For Werley, the record is ambitious.Through music and rhythm, it means toplant its message in the listener’s subcon-scious. The lyrics and music do double

duty, joining Werley’s design and therecord’s aesthetic to urge listeners towardrelationships.

“We want to start a dialogue,” Werleysaid. “We want people to be able to see thesongs and the album as a jumping-offpoint. There are a lot of people who aredealing with these kinds of frustrationsand want change. For us, the record ispart of that dialogue.”

Gravity Mission is wrapped up in a sci-fisort of identity yoked with a spiritualquest for ye olde oneness. The CD sleeveeven declares the band’s mission state-ment as a three-point plan of big ideas:“To recover our conscious form that con-nects us to all living things; to pursue withdignity the endless mysteries of life andlove, death and absence; to remember weare ancient secrets — stardust and all ofits impossibility — on the bountiful shoresof our infinite cosmic reality.”

The album even follows a familiar cre-ation story plot that is palatable for abroad audience. It opens with “Unsung

Words,” moves through “75 PercentWater” and “Forest Meets Mountain” and“Hive Mind,” before it gets to the prover-bial first day with “Daybreak.” After that,Gravity Mission spends four tracks on the


Mission incomplete

gravity mission >> by lucinda breeding

HIVE MINDIn this standout track, Ruben Erazo’streatment is apt. Erazo chooses abustling beat and a simple pop melodyto illustrate something shared and excit-ing and to make Scott Werley’s versemore mass-market. Bright sounds shim-mer and a keyboard solo leads to the bigfinish: an anthem that finds division theenemy of the hive in the song. In thissetup, everyone plays a part. The songwould succeed as an instrumental, too.

INSTINCTSGravity Mission likes its electronicchimes. Which makes sense when youtake Before the Spoken Word as a call tothe human race to congregate at a com-mon natural altar where they can betransformed. The song begins with thechimes chanting before breaking into a4/4 tempo pledge to follow nature’s hardwiring. Gravity Mission also makesrepeated use of the keyboard solo totransition into the final half (or the middlethird) of the song, and as pausesbetween chorus and verse. “Listen to thevoice within,” Erazo urges — because anurge repressed can be dangerous lateron.

Track for track:Before theSpoken Word

Electronic duo barely scrapes surface of big ideas in debut

>> Continued on 18

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Ruben Erazo, left, and Scott Werley. Courtesy photo/Alan Blanquicet

bling rhythms comes with the album’s opening track,“Intro.” Both songs showcase songwriting that could liveunder the chamber pop tent.

Bailey and Campbell’s songs can flow into blissfulmoments that are nothing more than indie adagios orwould-be concerti, with the guitar standing in for thestrings and the keyboards taking over where a harpsi-chord might play.

“Benny and I definitely have an appreciation for classi-cal music, and we’ve listened to a lot of it,” Campbell said.“We weren’t consciously trying to put any of that in therecord, but if someone hears that, it comes naturally toboth of us.”

Then he recruited busy local musician and graphicdesigner Jeremy Buller (the Hope Trust, OK Sweetheart)to chip in on bass. Campbell said he had written three orfour songs and he and Bailey wrote 15 songs togetherbefore Team Tomb was a fully staffed band.

“We jammed and the ideas came up pretty fast,” Baileysaid. “The idea to record happened really fast. EricNichelson [Midlake] engineered some songs, and thenCaleb gave all of it to Robert Gomez to remix it.”

Campbell said he had a handful of mixes beforeRobertson was tapped to play keyboards.

“I had some mixes, and we hadn’t even played our firstshow yet. We had songs written for another recordingbefore we’d really played a show,” Campbell said.

Team Tomb’s first appearance was a Halloween houseshow. Robertson had come aboard and fleshed out the

songs with plastic-y synth lilts.“People were hanging out and listening in costume,”

Bailey said. “It was kind of cool to debut our music that way.” Once the four-piece was established, the band got

down to business. So far, Team Tomb is driven mostly byCampbell’s ideas, withRobertson, Buller andBailey keeping theband’s musical feet onthe ground. Even withits indie-pop aesthetic,Team Tomb gives itselfpermission to chaseexperimental rabbits.That’s what will likelymake Tomb a pocketband — loved by musi-cians with a cultishappreciation for artrock or indie bandsthat experiment, and afavorite of music buffs who like to listen to their musicthrough earbuds and then see what a band will make ofthings live.

“I think we have a knack for trying to do somethinginstead of going verse-chorus, verse-chorus, and beingjust unpredictable,” Bailey said.

Team Tomb does somewhat indulge Campbell’s love ofplaying with tempo, dancing a listener through an upbeatopening verse only to slow down, exploring the melody athalf-time. Just as suddenly, Team Tomb picks things up

again. The songwriting complements Campbell’s lyrics,which are intuitive ideas lifted from his stream of con-sciousness and organized into simple rhymes.

The band released the record Aug. 3. Now the four-piece hopes to take advantage of any chance to play the

songs live. “I’m proud of the whole thing,” Campbell said of the

album. “I like the sound we’ve put together, and we’rejust ready for other people to hear it.”


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So far, Team Tomb is driven mostly byCampbell’s ideas, with Robertson, Bullerand Bailey keeping the band’s musical feeton the ground. Even with its indie-popaesthetic, Team Tomb gives itself permission to chase experimental rabbits.

team tomb

Continued from 14 >>



brisket sandwich >> by alyssa jarrell

Launching a better lunch

Courtesy photos/Chris Newby

T his month we’re giving you a bet-ter-than-Lunchables version of theback-to-school lunch. You may or

may not be packing up little ones for school (orstill be in school yourself) — but there are betteroptions for you than a small bag of Cheetos andyour run-of-the-mill turkey sandwich on white.

What I remember from lunch as a kid is thatthere were three categories: cafeteria food, thecool packed lunch and the lame packed lunch.

The lunch line had its advantages, of course.Fridays were normally pizza-and-french-friesday. On the other hand, the lunch line usuallyincluded at least one questionable, beige-coloredpile of food a day.

The lame packed lunch was always brought by

the kid with the super-healthy mom, who packedcelery sticks and rice cakes. Or it could go theother way: the dreaded leftover lunch with what-ever random casserole the family “enjoyed”together the night before.

Then there was the cool packed lunch. You’dwant to sit next to the kid who brought thatlunch, which was usually filled with store-bought, pre-packaged gold. Lunchables, tinybags of name-brand chips, stacks of Oreos, asugar-filled soda and a Hostess cupcake or Jell-Opudding snack pack.

But we’re grown-ups now, gosh darnit! Wehave more sophisticated palates that demandmore than stacks of ham, cheese and crackers.So we’re amping up your back-to-school lunchwith a meal you’ll want to keep all to yourself.

Try a little slow-cooked brisket, roasted toma-toes and marinated olives, and you’ll really havesomething to look forward to come lunchtime.

We paired our brisket sandwich with ourfavorite store-bought marinated olives and ablackberry Izze soda.

ALYSSA JARRELL is an adventurer in the kitchenwho enjoys giving her culinary creations to family and friends. Her website is thepinkantler.com.

>> Continued on 19

Get the lunch ladies quaking in their control-tops with this brisket sandwich

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building of consciousness and planetaryawakening. The final track, “In theBeginning,” intentionally borrows theopening line of Genesis, the biblicalaccount of how life came to be.

“The album ends with the beginning.This is intentional,” Erazo said. “When youthink about what we are doing to thisplanet, it is not something we can contin-ue. If we don’t find a way to start over, tohave a new beginning, we are facing ourown end.”

For all of the urgency Werley and Erazofeel about reforming the First World’sshortsighted lifestyle, Before the SpokenWord is a call to slow down, observe themania and detach. The beats are neverfrenetic (because, hey, the Earth’s heartbeats between volcano eruptions and con-tinental drift) and the vocals, provided byErazo, are consistently relaxed and easy.The record’s biggest fault might be that itoccasionally drifts close to Muzak, thanksin part to trance-like beats and sporadickeyboard jazz chords. “75 Percent Water”maintains the tempo one might associatewith yoga’s famous “corpse pose,” wherethe point is to bring the resting heart ratedown to a mere slow tick. Even when

Gravity Mission picks up the pace, as itdoes with “Forest Meets Mountain,” thebeat is quick but blunted by a lulling wolfhowl and blunted synth drumbeats.

The music lags behind Werley’s designand Erazo’s chops as a melody and beat-maker in terms of maturity and sophisti-cation. Lyrically, Gravity Mission tendstoward the trite when presenting its mes-sage about spiritual renewal throughinterconnectedness. The planet has a long(and often hippie-dippy) history asMother Earth — a kindly, nurturing figurewho just wants all its kids to get along.Gravity Mission urges a quasi-New Agecommunion between person and planet,insisting that human moral and spiritualdisease might be patched up by a mindfuljaunt into the forest. Experiences with thenatural world can be enormously good forexhausted First Worlders who are tooplugged in and too committed to hyper-productivity.

But Before the Spoken Word doesn’t tryto touch the shadow side of the planet —the side that unleashes Ebola, cancer andthings with teeth and claws. And so therecord is slightly stunted by hackneyednotions of an all-altruistic Earth. The

gravity mission


>> Continued on 19

album would feel less campy if Erazo hadturned all of Werley’s spoken poetry intosung lyrics.

Erazo’s vocals are pitchy in spots, espe-cially given the ultra-smooth sound of themusic and slickness of the production. Butthe piano work is assured and effective,keeping the album moving along in itsquest. And “Daybreak” is appropriatelysteady.

Gravity Mission has a foundation tobuild on. Werley and Erazo know how to

tame an idea into a concept that cananchor a record. The pair reports that it isworking on its second release, tentativelytitled Quiet. With more focused vocalsand better poetry, Gravity Mission willhave a new and stronger treatise for thereform it so passionately preaches onBefore the Spoken Word.


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Brisket Sandwich with Roasted Tomatoes and Mustard Aioli


gravity mission


Brisket:1 pound beef brisket, trimmed2 tablespoons sea salt2 tablespoons pepper1 tablespoon vegetable oil1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced1/2 cup dark beer2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Season the brisket with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-highheat. Add the brisket, brown on all sides and transfer to a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and stir well. Slow-cook, until very tender,about 8 hours. Remove from slow cooker and allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes.Carve into thin slices for your sandwich.

(I allow the meat to cook overnight, take it out in the morning, and make the sand-wich before leaving for work.)

Roasted Tomatoes:1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 1/2 teaspoon sea salt1/2 teaspoon pepper1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the tomatoes, salt, pepper and oil in a small bowl,coating the tomatoes evenly. Place the tomatoes in an even layer on a pan lined withparchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to brown and theirjuices are bubbling.

Mustard Aioli:1/2 cup mayonnaise1 tablespoon Dijon mustard1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard1 teaspoon honey1 clove garlic, smashed to pasteSalt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl whisk all ingredients together, adjusting salt and pepper to taste.Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Assembly:Slice a small French baguette in half, spread the mustard aioli on one side, and pile

the tomatoes on the other side. Place a generous amount of brisket in the center andwrap up with parchment paper.

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september little d after dark

Documents

little color

little dafter dark

free publication

ed steele2 little d

titled debut album

album earlierthis year

dentons hot wet mess

hot coffins