The next European buzz band... ...From Denton
I have a very uncool confession: I stopped keeping up with local bands a few years ago. Let's face it, being a local music fan can be a frustrating experience. You hear a band at a club and you think they're absolutely amazing. Then you buy the CD at the merch booth and it's a muddy bass-heavy mix and the songs are about half the tempo you just heard them performed. Then there's the revolving door of members coming and going. And then there's the frustrating experience of just being sure that your favorite local band is going to hit it big, and then nothing ever comes of it.
Sure, I read what Malcolm Mayhew and others write about bands in the D/FW area, but I don't actively seek out the locals like I used to.
So I was catching up on my Sound Opinions podcasts the other day, listening to the June 10, 2006 show on buried treasures, and I was surprised to hear one of them mention Midlake, from Denton, Texas. They played a snippet from the new album (not out here in the U.S. yet), and I was blown away... It was like if you had the Flaming Lips covering a Crosby, Stills, & Nash song. It just so happened that I was on my way to Dallas that day anyway, so I stopped by Good Records and picked up the first CD released by Bella Union.
Fast forward to this morning, where I'm ingesting tea and a bagel in an effort to get my foggy brain to work, dammit, work! I'm sitting there, reading the Star-Telegram, and they have an article on Midlake in the Life section. Turns out Midlake is opening for Beck, Sigur Ros and the Flaming Lips in Europe, while here in the States, they're lucky if they can pull 100 folks into the club...
Surprisingly, Midlake isn't the first Denton or D/FW band to be in these circumstances. Lift to Experience, a label mate to Midlake, was in a similar situation. They played a massive stage at the Reading Festival and had their album do pretty well in Europe, while still playing smallish clubs here. In fact, thinking about Yeti and Jetscreamer reminds me that our north Texas bands are often virtually unrecognized here, and have to go elsewhere to get noticed. Same sort of thing happened to our jazz and blues musicians back in the 60s and 70s...
Not really sure what the point of this is, but it's kind of sad. I guess I'm part of the problem of not recognizing some of our home-grown talent. Maybe I'm being a trendoid, but I'll be buying the new Midlake CD when it comes out in the States...
Sure, I read what Malcolm Mayhew and others write about bands in the D/FW area, but I don't actively seek out the locals like I used to.
So I was catching up on my Sound Opinions podcasts the other day, listening to the June 10, 2006 show on buried treasures, and I was surprised to hear one of them mention Midlake, from Denton, Texas. They played a snippet from the new album (not out here in the U.S. yet), and I was blown away... It was like if you had the Flaming Lips covering a Crosby, Stills, & Nash song. It just so happened that I was on my way to Dallas that day anyway, so I stopped by Good Records and picked up the first CD released by Bella Union.Fast forward to this morning, where I'm ingesting tea and a bagel in an effort to get my foggy brain to work, dammit, work! I'm sitting there, reading the Star-Telegram, and they have an article on Midlake in the Life section. Turns out Midlake is opening for Beck, Sigur Ros and the Flaming Lips in Europe, while here in the States, they're lucky if they can pull 100 folks into the club...
Surprisingly, Midlake isn't the first Denton or D/FW band to be in these circumstances. Lift to Experience, a label mate to Midlake, was in a similar situation. They played a massive stage at the Reading Festival and had their album do pretty well in Europe, while still playing smallish clubs here. In fact, thinking about Yeti and Jetscreamer reminds me that our north Texas bands are often virtually unrecognized here, and have to go elsewhere to get noticed. Same sort of thing happened to our jazz and blues musicians back in the 60s and 70s...Not really sure what the point of this is, but it's kind of sad. I guess I'm part of the problem of not recognizing some of our home-grown talent. Maybe I'm being a trendoid, but I'll be buying the new Midlake CD when it comes out in the States...
posted by Steve at 5:20 PM
3 Comments:
Big fan of Van Occupanther. I saw Midlake perform at SXSW right after we missed the Flaming Lips show. I remember bitching about how they "were no Flaming Lips," but I cam back and got Van Occupanther and holy crap. It plays like all the best parts of soft rock you're kind of afraid to admit you like.
Some great acts are coming through Hailey's in the next couple of months--I'm especially excited about Final Fantasy. Owen Pallett is a brilliant songwriter, and "He Poos Clouds" is one of my favorite albums of 2006 thus far.
Basically I just commented to say that your blog kicks ass--it's nice to know that I'm not the only indie fiend lurking around TCU! I have a music blog as well, although I haven't been spending as much time on it as I'd like to.
Anyway, I'm Rachel Gollay and I just wanted to compliment you guys on your blog and introduce myself. If any of you use AIM, my screenname is rachemus and I love to talk muuuuusics. Or you can hit me up on "FACEBOOK!!111" haha.
What are you folks' favorite albums of this year so far?
Hey Rach! Thanks for the nice comments, and yes, it's always good to meet people around TCU who aren't just listening to Pat Green or Cross Canadian Ragweed.
Hailey's has been having some amazing shows. In fact, I consider it a little unfair that Denton has Hailey's and Rubber Gloves. We need some indie love a little closer to home so us old guys can get to bed at a decent hour (speaking solely about myself, not the other contributors to this blog).
I'm a KTCU ex... I was Tom's (Good Show) co-host on the Tom & Steve Show back in the day.
Thanks for reading. It's good to know that it's not just us... :-)
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