Denton’s Tony Ferraro Wants to Birth Musical Earworms

Published in Dallas Observer on Jan. 15, 2020.

Tony Ferraro never stops. The prolific Denton-based musician delivers art at a dizzying pace, with a self-set goal to release between one and three records a year — either solo or as a contributor. And not even two weeks into 2020, he’s already announced the latest record to land in his considerable catalog: Paj Mahal.

The album is credited to "TF and Friends." Ferraro didn’t set out to birth his magnum opus. Instead, he employed a more laid-back approach during the songwriting process.

“The music on this particular record is … very casual,” Ferraro says while dressed business casual himself in a suit jacket, tie and jeans. “It’s not like we got together to make some grand piece of art or anything.”

That sort of laissez-faire attitude permeates Paj Mahal, so titled because of the veritable “hodge-podge” of sounds. Guitar solos are as relaxed as a cooked lasagna noodle — like if Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus popped a Xanny before taking the stage. Some songs hypnotize the listener into a reflexive toe-tapping trance before suddenly stopping on a dime.

The 10-song album drops Jan. 31 on Bandcamp and Feb. 2 on Spotify and iTunes. The recording process was as chill as they come, Ferraro says; he laid down the tracks sporadically over the course of a year.

Ferraro is featured throughout the 30-minute effort, but he gets by with a bit of help from his buds. Scott Danbom (Centro-matic, Slobberbone, Static Diary) and Ryan Thomas Becker (RTB2, Hares on the Mountain) contribute keys to some tracks. Danbom co-wrote the album’s opener. And Grady Don Sandlin (Raised Right Men, RTB2) hits the kit on a couple of choice tunes, too.

The guys had fun recording the album, Ferraro says, and that lighthearted approach bleeds into the songs.

“I like just making things for fun with friends, and I think that this record conveys that attitude,” he says. “To me, it’s super goofy and playful. Most of it’s just stuff you can turn on and tune out to.”

With a killer harmonic instinct, half of the songs feature Ferraro’s vocals; the other half don’t have lyrics at all. And although the record’s instrumental tracks feel effortless, Ferraro approached writing them with calculated precision. He has to, he says — otherwise the listener would get bored.

For him, songs without lyrics are harder to write than those with. But Ferraro’s always up for a challenge.

“If you have lyrics, it’s implied that [the song is] going to be interesting because it’s going to be about something,” he says. “Without, you have to kind of make it melodious enough to keep the listener’s attention, or chill enough that you can just chill the F out to it for two minutes.”

Take “Crocodile,” for example. Released on New Year’s Eve, the single is a cinematic instrumental earworm. Becker skips on a retro-sounding synth as Ferraro glides on an electric bass throughout the 2½-minute song. Equal parts quirk and charm, “Crocodile” is the kind of track that would be right at home in a Wes Anderson movie starring Bill Murray or Gwyneth Paltrow.

Another standout, “Pinata,” is steeped in the same easygoing warmth as “Crocodile,” except this one features lyrics. The song reads as another whimsical sonic romp, but Ferraro says it was inspired by the untimely death of his cat, Toonces. Ferraro’s late pet got its name from a recurring '90s-era Saturday Night Live sketch. In it, a cat named Toonces (poorly) drives his owners’ car and causes chaos wherever he goes.

Still, even though his fallen feline served as inspiration for “Pinata,” Ferraro insists that it’s up to the listener to decide what the song is about.

“When I lie down for the evening / I wanna feel you holdin’ onto me / And fall into a dream,” Ferraro sings in an earnest, straightforward timbre. “When I walk around in moonlight / I wanna find you.”

Each track on the record is catchier than the common cold, and that’s by design. Ferraro says he only pursues melodies that stick, a songwriting tactic also implemented by ABBA’s Benny Andersson.

Ferraro says that half the time, he won’t sit down to write without a solid hook in mind. To him, it’s survival of the snappiest. After all, if the songwriter can’t remember the melody, then why should the listener be expected to?

“I’ve been doing this a long time, so I can usually tell if a song sucks or not,” Ferraro says. “If it’s not memorable enough to be memorized … then is it good enough at all?”

Ferraro, who doubles as a graphic designer, also created Paj Mahal's album art. He rendered a simple drawing of Los Angeles’ Alta Loma Hotel, a building that pre-Beat novelist John Fante featured in his novel Ask the Dust. Ferraro also nicknamed his home studio “Alta Loma Hotel” as a nod to Fante, one of his early literary heroes.

Live music fans can catch Ferraro and friends at Dan’s Silverleaf on Friday, Feb. 28, for the album release show. Fort Worth’s Big Heaven is set to open, with a third band to be announced. Even though the show is over a month out, Ferraro says he’s already working on his next album. He hopes to release it sometime this summer.

Knowing Ferraro’s track record, he’ll likely make good on that goal.

“I’ve got to release stuff, I’ve got to put something out there,” he says. “Artist is life — that’s all there is. Everything else is boring.”

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Masseduced: St. Vincent’s Greatest Collaborations

Published in Dallas Observer on Jan. 13, 2020.

St. Vincent plays well with others — very well. The enigmatic Dallas-raised performer has collaborated with a wide array of musicians, from pop princesses to indie rock titans to grunge gods. Just this week, she was invited to fill Kurt Cobain's Converse at a benefit show with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana, and Beck. Boasting an impressive versatility, the multitalented songstress can seemingly do it all, both onstage and behind the scenes. So to help honor Dallas’ patron saint of indie pop, we’ve compiled our 10 favorite St. Vincent collaborations.

Dua Lipa and St. Vincent, “Masseduction / One Kiss”

Damn, don’t watch this one at work. For this collaboration, St. Vincent and Dua Lipa set the 2019 Grammys ablaze in a white-hot live performance. Our gal St. Vincent opens with “Masseduction,” an electro-pop banger off her 2017 album of the same name. Then, Dua Lipa saunters onstage to join in the chorus before the song seamlessly streams into her 2018 dance-pop hit “One Kiss.” The sexual tension between the two sirens is palpable during this steamy set. Adding to the greatness is the moment when St. Vincent slays a guitar solo on her signature Ernie Ball Music Man electric. As far as collaborations go, this one’s definitely the hottest. Yeow.

David Byrne and St. Vincent, “Who”

Sometimes when two musicians sit down to collaborate, it can go well. Other times, though, it can really go to shit. Take the confusing Jonas Brothers and Common merger, or the truly terrifying T-Pain and Taylor Swift union where the latter attempts to rap. Well luckily for us, when frequent collaborators St. Vincent and David Byrne produce art together, the results never disappoint. Take “Who” for example. The off-center single from St. Vincent and Byrne’s 2012 album Love This Giant is objectively brilliant. The two somehow manage to marry complex melodies, syncopated horns and a funky beat into one insanely infectious pop song. But, considering the level of talent we’re dealing with here, that should come as no surprise.

Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer”

OK, all right. Yes, we may have dragged Swift’s subpar rapping skills in the last entry. But she totally nails it with her single “Cruel Summer,” co-written by St. Vincent. With its ’80s-inspired synths and insanely catchy melody, it’s just the kind of song that’ll help to thaw out this unwelcome winter weather. Swift impresses with her mellifluous vocals and impressive range, and the production is as lush as a pre-Bolsonaro Amazon. Jack Antonoff, who co-produced Masseduction with St. Vincent, earned a co-writing credit on this one, too. Overall, this is a Grade A+ summer single. The only thing that would have made it better is if St. Vincent contributed vox to it, too.

Sufjan Stevens, “Mystery of Love"

Dang, the saint’s back at it again with a fierce power stance at the 90th Academy Awards. In this tranquil live performance, St. Vincent joins Sufjan Stevens in playing his song “Mystery of Love” from the movie Call Me By Your Name. (The film by Suspiria director Luca Guadagnino was nominated for the Best Picture category at the 2018 Oscars.) What’s so great about St. Vincent is that she has an innate sense of when to shine and when to lay low. Here, she plays electric guitar and contributes sparse backing vocals. And she seems fully comfortable letting Stevens enjoy the limelight. Brava.

Nirvana, “Lithium”

Kurt Cobain would definitely be proud of this St. Vincent-led Nirvana cover at the 2014 Rock and Rock Hall of Fame Ceremony. With a shock of white hair, our gal embraces her inner grunge goddess during a killer rendition of the 1991 classic “Lithium.” It makes total sense St. Vincent would ace it, after all. She once toured with the Polyphonic Spree, another Dallas-based band that absolutely nails its own “Lithium” cover. It might be a long shot, but if Nirvana were to ever get back together, St. Vincent should be their frontwoman. Seeing that the band invited her back for their Hollywood show last week, it’s well within the realm of possibility. Fingers crossed.

St. Vincent and Andrew Bird, “What Me Worry”

As Owen Wilson would also say: “Wow.” And as Gordon Ramsay would also say: “Wow. Wow, wow.” This intimate living room set featuring St. Vincent and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird is replete with the stuff that heaven must be made of. With Bird on violin duty, St. Vincent executes complex vocal melodies with ease while she fingerpicks her electric guitar. And even though the cozy room looks pretty packed, St. Vincent doesn’t seem to notice. In fact, it’s almost like she’s just singing to herself with closed eyes and a sweet, slight smile. If you weren’t already in love with her by now, this is the song that’ll do it to ya. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Fiona Apple and St. Vincent, “Money Changes Everything” (Cyndi Lauper cover, originally written by The Brains’ Tom Gray)

We might not be hearing a more studio-polished version of this song any time soon, but that’s cool. Fiona Apple and St. Vincent still delivered the goods in a live cover of “Money Changes Everything,” a song popularized by ’80s sugar pop princess Cyndi Lauper. The two look like they’re girls who just wanna have fun in this 2017 video from Marfa’s Trans Pecos Music Festival. Apple stomps around the tiny outdoor stage, delivering the lyrics with her trademark vocal ferocity. Meanwhile, St. Vincent sticks to the background, filling in on acoustic guitar and backing vocals. Sure, it’s a pretty short video, but what it lacks in longevity it makes up for in marvelousness.

Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and St. Vincent, “Roslyn”

Phew, well if this one doesn’t pull at the ol’ heart strings. “Roslyn” is a gorgeous collaboration between St. Vincent and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The pair met at Bonnaroo in 2009 and eventually decided to collaborate on “Roslyn,” a song Vernon had been workshopping. The track landed on the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack, a fact that probably helped elevate the poorly received film in at least a few critics’ eyes. It definitely sounds like a Bon Iver tune, but St. Vincent adds dimension with her angelic harmonies. The two songwriters sound like they were made to duet; each of their voices shine, brave in their vulnerability.

Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House”

Yes, we’ve listed another David Byrne and St. Vincent collaboration. But this time they’re performing under the proper Talking Heads moniker, so it still counts, OK? Watching this version of one of the Heads’ ultimate cuts can only be described as delightful. Just fast forward a minute into this video — that dude gets it. Here, a snappily dressed Byrne ’n’ St. Vincent sing and play their respective guitars in front of a full-blown horn section. True to her Southern roots, St. Vincent even gifts us with a sweet, lap steel-inspired solo. It’s an absolute, balls-to-the-wall reincarnation of the classic. They say it’s hard to improve on perfection, but these cats somehow managed to do it here.

Swans, “Screen Shot”

You’ve gotta listen closely — really closely — for her on this one. St. Vincent contributes vocals to the 2014 single “Screen Shot” by experimental rock lords Swans. Sure, this song is a few shades darker than most St. Vincent collabs, but it still freakin’ slaps. A nefarious-sounding bassline opens before other instruments file in, gradually adding cacophonous noise behind bandleader Michael Gira’s monotonic mantra. Throughout the 8-minute track, the listener feels like they’re stumbling upon a ritualistic human sacrifice. It’s the last place one would expect to hear St. Vincent’s pure vocals, but that’s exactly what makes “Screen Shot” so great. Plus, St. Vincent tweeted in 2014 that working with Gira was “a dream come true,” so you know she made it out of the booth alive. Thank goodness for that.

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COULD FRACKING BE CAUSING EARTHQUAKES THROUGHOUT THE STATE? CURIOUS TEXAS DIGS IN.

The cause of human-induced earthquakes in Texas varies according to region.

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Nov. 20, 2019.

North Texas has long been known for its destructive tornadoes and fierce thunderstorms, but earthquakes? Not so much.

In recent years, though, many have noted an uptick in the number of quakes in the Lone Star State. One such person consulted Curious Texas, an ongoing project from The Dallas Morning News. The idea is simple: You have questions, and our journalists are trained to track down answers.

A reader named CeeCee asked:

“I visit my family sometimes for 1-9 weeks at a time. I have noticed what seems an increased number of earthquakes. Is fracking a cause?”

The short answer is “yes,” said Heather DeShon, a seismology professor at Southern Methodist University. But how exactly it causes the quakes – be it from the wastewater disposal procedure associated with fracking or the process itself – varies by region.

What is fracking?

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is a controversial drilling process that extracts oil and gas from the earth by injecting water, sand and chemicals into rock. Advocates say it’s a clean way to produce oil and gas from previously unproductive regions, according to the United States Geological Survey.

But critics say that fracking can pollute air, destroy water supplies and release greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. And, yes, some fracking-related processes have been proven to trigger earthquakes.

North Texas

The Dallas-Fort Worth area was more prone to quakes than any other part of Texas until the area’s seismic activity peaked between 2015 and 2016, DeShon said. No earthquakes were documented in North Texas until 2008. Before then, the ancient faults beneath the region hadn’t moved in around 300 million years.

“I think that for people who live in North Texas, the earthquakes were alarming,” DeShon said.

Over the last decade, though, minor earthquakes have been reported across North Texas, including in Irving, Fort Worth and beneath Lake Lewisville. The largest human-caused earthquake in North Texas hit the town of Venus in May 2015, registering 4.0 magnitude, DeShon said.

Alexandros Savvaidis, manager of the TexNet Seismic Monitoring Program, said it’s unlikely that fracking itself caused the area’s earthquakes. Rather, he said, the wastewater disposal process is probably to blame.

West Texas

Just as North Texas’ seismicity has slowed since 2016, western and southern Texas have become more earthquake-active, DeShon said.

For years, scientists knew that fracking-related operations caused quakes in West Texas. Up until recently, though, they weren’t sure exactly how.

But in a recent study, Savvaidis and his team at the University of Texas at Austin found that many West Texas quakes are caused by fracking itself.

“We identified that it’s likely the hydraulic fracturing can be a cause of seismicity in the Delaware Basin,” Savvaidis said.

Quakes have spiked in number in other parts of Texas, too. Between 2014 and 2018, upward of 85% of South Texas earthquakes in the Eagle Ford Shale Play were linked to fracking activity, according to the Houston Chronicle.

What to do if an earthquake strikes

The Dallas Fort Worth area is the state’s “highest risk region” for earthquakes because of its large population, DeShon said. Even though it’s rare to feel a quake in this area, it’s important to remember the following safety steps:

· Drop to the ground

· Cover your head

· Hold on until the shaking stops

DeShon also said it’s important to stay put if you’re inside a building in order to avoid being hit by falling ceiling tiles or bricks while moving.

Once the quake has passed, experts suggest reporting the quake via the USGS’ “Did You Feel It” survey. Doing so helps to create response maps that indicate the extent of the damage.

Most Texas quakes are low in magnitude. Even so, researchers agree on one thing, DeShon said.

“We certainly want to see a decrease in human-induced earthquakes,” she said. “We want human-induced earthquakes to go away.”

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DRIVERS IN GLENN HEIGHTS PAUSE A MOMENT WHEN SANTA COP HOLLERS 'STOP!'

This is the second year the town’s police department has operated the program as part of its ‘Season of Service’ initiative

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Dec. 19, 2019.

When Reggie Miller got stopped by police in Glenn Heights this week, he felt certain he hadn’t been naughty.

“I was like, ‘No way!’" the Red Oak resident said. "They’re not coming after me because I’m going the speed limit; I’ve got my seat belt on.”

Turns out he was on Santa Cop’s list, and this St. Nick was packing more than presents.

“I kind of jump and look up ... and here is Santa Cop and his elf running toward my car,” he said with a laugh. “Imagine you see a guy dressed as Santa Claus, but he has a gun on him.”

A Glenn Heights police officer dressed as Santa issued gift cards instead of tickets on Monday. The stunt, which is in its second year, is part of the city’s “Season of Service,” where the town’s police and fire departments and community engagement office work together to spread cheer.

Officers Vanessa Illingworth and Ty Sims passed out five gift cards to unsuspecting motorists, said Lauren Lewis, the city’s community engagement administrator.

After Illingworth pulled over Miller for a minor violation — he was missing a front license plate — Sims appeared as Santa Cop to present either a $25 Amazon.com or $25 Visa gift card, Lewis said.

Reactions were varied among the five motorists who were pulled over, Lewis said. One man tried to get out of his car because he was scared. Another woman was overcome with emotion and began to cry, saying, “You don’t know what kind of season this has been for me.”

“When you get those kinds of reactions, that’s what it’s being done for," Lewis said. “It really has changed the tone in the community, and that’s something we’re very proud of."

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ARREST FOLLOWS SCUFFLE AT DALLAS DOG PARK THAT WOMAN CAUGHT ON VIRAL VIDEO

Two arrest warrants for misdemeanor assault were issued Friday for Dale Coonrod.

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Dec. 13, 2019.

Dallas police on Friday arrested a man accused of assaulting two women and kicking their dog at a park earlier this week.

Dale Coonrod faces two misdemeanor assault charges in Monday’s confrontation, which went viral after one of the women posted a video on Twitter.

Coonrod, 42, could not be reached for comment. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney.

Chanise Condren, who said she was assaulted by Coonrod, posted a video of the incident at the dog park to Twitter.

“I have never been more scared for my life than I was in that moment,” Condren said Friday in a news conference at her attorney’s office. She told reporters that her left wrist was sprained during the altercation. Her wife, Ashley Garner, said she was also assaulted by Coonrod.

In a statement, Condren said that she and Garner brought their dog, Calvin, to the White Rock Lake Dog Park around 2 p.m. Monday. Shortly after they got there, Coonrod arrived at the park with his two dogs, they said.

The three dogs started to play rough, Condren said, and Calvin growled at Coonrod’s dogs. That’s when Coonrod “forcefully kicked” her dog, causing it to whimper in pain, she said.

After Condren asked why he kicked her dog, Coonrod cursed at her, called her names and approached her in a threatening manner, she said. Garner said that when she tried to intervene to protect her wife, Coonrod pushed her back “with the force of 10 linebackers.”

“I stumbled back, and I felt very afraid,” Garner said, her voice shaking. “I didn’t know what his next actions were going to be.”

Condren said she feared the situation could escalate and she began filming on her phone. In the video, Coonrod appears to hit the phone with his fist, causing it to drop to the ground. Condren said he then kicked the phone away and held her head down until Garner pried him off.

Coonrod fled after Condren and Garner https://youtu.be/1oJgUdaqBHEthe police. But they said they identified him through his car’s license plate number and then quickly posted the video to social media.

Attorney Anthony Eiland, who represents Condren and Garner, said his clients plan to file a civil suit.

Coonrod is married to Michelanie “Mickey” Rayford-Coonrod, an assistant city attorney of Dallas, according to The Knot.

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PINT-SIZE HORSE LIFTS SPIRITS OF DEMENTIA PATIENTS AT PARK CITIES HOME

Therapy animal named Dare unlocks a few precious childhood memories among seniors at The Preston.

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Nov. 20, 2019.

Memories can be fleeting at The Preston of the Park Cities, so a special visitor named Dare gave dementia patients living there a chance to live in the moment this week.

The miniature horse was part of an effort to engage residents at the North Dallas retirement community, said Molly Meyer, the assisted-living facility’s director of lifestyle engagement.

“I’ve seen more smiles today in just the most beautiful ways," she said, “because people aren’t just focused on what they’re losing but on this great in-the-moment experience.”

The Preston partnered with Equest, a nonprofit equine therapy organization, for Tuesday’s event. Staff even escorted Dare upstairs, which “took some maneuvering,” Meyer said with a laugh.

Around a third of the community’s 62 residents have some form of dementia, Meyer said. And she estimates 75% of those people would forget they had met Dare within a couple of hours.

Still, many people who visited with Dare were flooded with good childhood memories. Claude “Dako” Dollins, for instance, was the son of a ranch hand. Dare reminded him of his childhood pet, a miniature horse named Twinkles.

Dollins said seeing Dare also evoked memories of his father.

“Any time I see somebody who has a cowboy hat on or something, I think of my dad,” the 79-year-old said.

Leonard Taylor, 89, is another resident who was impressed by the therapy animal. He said it was a unique experience getting to see the horse up close.

“How often can you go out and play with a little tiny animal like that?” he said. “I mean, it’s a wonderful thing to have happen here. It was really very nice.”

Meyer believes horses are especially intuitive animals, a quality she said was affirmed when Dare lowered his head to let a resident in a wheelchair pet him.

Studies show that equine-assisted therapy is an effective way to improve cognition and mood for patients with mental health needs, according to Psychology Today. Dementia can be an isolating experience, Meyer said, and patients who are losing their cognition can often feel self-conscious.

That’s why Meyer decided to get creative with planning the facility’s activities. Last month, the community got to practice goat yoga. And Meyer said they might even get to do some kitty yoga soon, too.

Tuesday’s event was a huge hit, Meyer said: Every resident in the community, regardless of whether they are losing cognition, enjoyed their visit with Dare.

“For me, it is so rewarding to see the smiles, to see people who are in the process of losing cognition just relax and be in the moment,” she said. “It’s just incredible.”

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SOON TO BE 100, VETERAN RECALLS CLOSE CALLS IN WWII: 'WE KNEW WE WERE BATTLING EVIL'

Arthur Wood will deliver the keynote speech Monday at Presbyterian Village North’s Veterans Day service.

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Nov. 10, 2019.

At 25, Army Capt. Arthur Wood was always prepared for “battling evil” in World War II: a pistol under his left arm, a rifle on his right shoulder and a little Bible in his breast pocket.

Now about a week removed from his 100th birthday, the decorated infantryman is less confident about his mission this Veterans Day: delivering the keynote speech at his senior living community, Presbyterian Village North in Dallas.

“I’m scared to death,” Wood said, chuckling. He doesn’t know what his audience wants to hear but said: “I’m going to tell them what I want. That’s one of the things I learned in 100 years.”

Serving under Gen. George S. Patton, Wood was one of the lucky ones. He never got injured, even though he said there were plenty of close calls.

In November 1944, Wood was there when U.S. forces surrounded the town of Metz in northeast France, forcing the Nazis to surrender that stronghold. The Gestapo secret police used Metz as their provincial headquarters and had occupied several buildings, including a cathedral and Catholic school.

It was in the cathedral that Nazis had stockpiled several thousand firearms they’d seized from civilians. Wood said the American troops were happy to remove them from enemy hands.

The following month, Patton took three divisions to fight in the Battle of the Bulge. Wood’s 95th Infantry Division was stationed south of the bulge near the German defensive line, called the Siegfried Line.

There, Wood’s division formed a 20-mile front along the Saar River to defend against the Nazis. Then in January 1945, Allied forces won the monthlong battle.

Defending the front was tough, Wood said.

“[The Nazis] threw all they could against us to try to get through and break up the people who were going up to help in the bulge,” he said. “And we had to stop them.”

Another memory of the war that stuck with Wood was a POW camp near Paderborn, Germany.

Wood said American soldiers charged the camp and exhumed corpses from a mass grave, despite the putrid smell. They marched the town’s high schoolers by the bodies so that they’d know the Americans weren’t responsible for those deaths.

“We didn’t have time to kill that many people and put them into graves," he said. “The Nazis had done it.

“We knew we were battling evil."

In May 1945, Wood and around 20 other troops were seated on truck beds while traveling to Liège, Belgium. Looking up, they noticed an unusual number of fighter and transport airplanes racing through the clouds. Wood said they wondered, “What in the devil is going on up there?”

The troops heard the news when they arrived in town: Adolf Hitler had shot himself, and Germany had surrendered. The war was over.

That night, Wood and his friends enjoyed a delicious dinner at a local café, he said. He remembers its Belgian proprietor was elated the Nazis had fallen.

The man unearthed 20 crates of Champagne that had been buried in his backyard, Wood said. He wanted to share his postwar rapture with the Americans.

“He’d saved it for celebration,” he said. “And [celebrate] we did.”

After the war, things calmed down for Wood. He sold life insurance for 53 years. He and his wife, Cookie, were married for 71 years and had four kids, 16 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren.

On Nov. 29, Wood said, the “whole fam-damily” will celebrate his 100th birthday. Another occasion for Champagne.

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HIGHLAND PARK TEEN HAS THE FRIGHT STUFF TO PUMP UP HALLOWEEN

Luke’s Lawn honors the memories of his father and grandmother, while also raising money for a cancer support group.

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Oct. 30, 2019.

Every fall, Luke Jackson and his dad, Leete, would make the rounds in Highland Park admiring their neighbors’ spooky Halloween decorations.

Now 13, Luke has created his own inflatable menagerie — called Luke’s Lawn — in honor of his father, who died of a heart attack in 2014. He’s using this year’s exhibit to raise money for Cancer Support Community North Texas.

“I know that kids with cancer are suffering,” he said. “So I want to help them. I want them to be happy.”

Each Halloween for the past five years, Luke works hard to perfect his design, said his mother, Lyle Jackson. It’s a gesture she thinks makes him feel close to his dad, and it also serves as a sort of therapy.

“I have a lot of admiration for him,” Lyle Jackson said. “It’s like it gives him a really great sense of purpose and I just think it’s been a way to deal with grief.”

When he started Luke’s Lawn five years ago, there were only two blow-ups. But now that number has ballooned to 18. Between 40 and 50 people stop to enjoy the display every day, Lyle Jackson said.

“It’s just been such an amazing response from people,” she said. “I mean, people are in front of our yard all the time.”

Luke chose to benefit the cancer support group in part because he lost his maternal grandmother, Carol King Schweitzer, to lymphoma 11 years ago. Lyle Jackson said she thinks Schweitzer would be thrilled by her grandson’s lawn creations.

Two yard signs outside the home in the 4300 block of Edmondson Avenue encourage passers-by to donate money via Lukeslawn.org, a site the cancer group created for the occasion. The organization’s CEO, Mirchelle Louis, said she’s amazed by all that the teen has accomplished at such a young age.

So far, Luke has raised $4,000 for the nonprofit, which aims to provide cancer patients and their loved ones with knowledge and support. He expects to raise even more money on Halloween since there will plenty of foot traffic from trick-or-treaters.

As a former producer for Saturday Night Live, Lyle Jackson said she takes Luke and his 15-year-old brother, Campbell, to a screening of the show each year in New York City. One time she showed the series’ set designer a picture of Luke’s Lawn. Impressed, he invited Luke to shadow him around the show’s art department.

Now, Luke wants to be a set designer for the sketch comedy show when he grows up. He said he thinks it would be cool to work for the same show that his mom once did.

Until then, Luke is happy to continue overseeing his lawn creations. He also said he plans to produce two fresh displays for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But first, he wants to enjoy Halloween a bit. Dressing up as Chucky from Child’s Play, Luke said he’ll trick-or-treat around the neighborhood for a while before returning home. There, he looks forward to greeting people as they stop to appreciate his handiwork.

“I want them to be happy,” Luke said. “Just like I am.”

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HEAD TRIP:

LOCAL NONPROFIT, CREATIVE COLLECTIVE TEAM UP TO GIVE DENTON ARTISTS MENTAL HEALTH CARE

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on Oct. 30, 2019.

Local artists who are struggling with mental health just gained a new resource.

The do-it-yourself collective Spiderweb Salon and the nonprofit Denton Music and Arts Collaborative have teamed up to provide creatives with mental health support.

Spiderweb Salon’s founder Courtney Marie said she was inspired to create the initiative, called the You Are Here program, because many of the town’s artists are hurting.

“It just became very apparent that a lot of people are struggling,” the Denton-based poet said. “Looking around I was like, there is nothing. There’s nowhere even to direct people.”

Marie hopes the You Are Here program will give solace to those in need. The program will offer weekly peer-run support groups. It will also provide a scholarship program for those who would prefer one-on-one therapy sessions led by a licensed counselor.

Over the last year, Marie worked in tandem with DMAC’s Program Director Aubrey Mortensen. Together, they recruited local therapists to help them devise the initiative’s guidelines.

And because of their persistent appeals, City Council decided to divert $900 from its 2019-20 budget to the You Are Here program.

Council member Keely Briggs said she’s sympathetic to the program’s cause.

“Music and art is an institution in our community, an institution that sets us apart as unique. The lifeblood of this institution is the artist,” Briggs wrote in an email.

Spiderweb Salon will host its annual SPIDERDEAD bash at Rubber Gloves on Saturday, Nov. 2. The event will feature a bake sale and showcase music, poetry, theater, art and more as a part of a collective grieving process. All proceeds will go toward the You Are Here program.

DMAC representatives will also attend the event to show support and raise awareness about the 2020 Open Enrollment Period — a time when people select health insurance — which is active from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15.

Mortensen said she was motivated to help form the initiative because many of her friends have struggled with mental illness.

“We’ve lost a lot of really fantastic musicians and artists to suicide — drinking themselves to death, being on the road, stress from family life, all of that,” she said. “If you’re not mentally healthy, your body’s not healthy.”

But the You Are Here program isn’t the first of its kind in North Texas.

The nonprofit Foundation 45 has firmly planted roots in Deep Ellum, Oak Cliff and Fort Worth. It plans to expand to Denton sometime next year. The organization hosts counselor-led support sessions, as well as art therapy and substance abuse programs.

Foundation 45’s President and Executive Director Lauren O’Connor said she created the nonprofit after two Dallas musicians, both from the band Spector 45, died by suicide within 77 days of one another. O’Connor said there weren’t any local organizations at the time to help artists who struggle with mental illness.

O’Connor said since its inception in 2016, Foundation 45’s popularity among local artists has exploded.

“If something happens in your city to one of your favorite bands or one of your close friends, it can snowball very quickly,” she said. “I think that’s why we’ve grown so well.”

According to a 2017 study by Swedish distribution company Record Union, 73% of musicians reported struggling with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Another study by Sydney University found that musicians die 25 years younger than the average person due to higher-than-average suicide, accident and homicide rates.

Mortensen said that even though the You Are Here program is still in its infancy, scores of people are interested in participating. They won’t have to wait much longer.

Soon, Spiderweb Salon will begin hosting its peer-led counseling sessions in a discreet location near downtown Denton. Several members will be working to become certified peer counselors with Via Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to training peer specialists. They’ll then be equipped to lead the You Are Here program’s weekly support groups.

And four local counselors have volunteered to participate in the scholarship program for a reduced hourly rate.

For now, the peer-led group sessions will focus on those who are struggling with mental health issues. Eventually, though, Marie hopes to add sessions centered on substance abuse issues and ones geared toward helping families affected by a loved one’s illness.

Launching the You Are Here program has been a long time coming. But Marie said all her hard work will have been worth it.

“I don’t really see [the program] having a big overarching goal; like we’re not going to change the suicide rate in Denton County or anything,” Marie said. “But we are going to help the health of our members and help the people we’re surrounded by, and I think that’s important.”

If you’re interested in learning more, visit the You Are Here program’s website.

For more information about SPIDERDEAD, visit the event’s Facebook page.

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TOLD HE'D NEVER FIGHT FIRES AGAIN, AMPUTEE RETURNS TO DUTY IN DENTON

It took Gary Weiland just 10 months and six days to return to work.

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Oct. 19, 2019.

When Gary Weiland’s knee swelled up during a family football match last Thanksgiving, he brushed it off. The lifelong athlete had surgery on his left knee years ago, and sometimes it acted up.

But then the Denton firefighter lost all feeling in his foot.

Friends rushed Weiland to the hospital where a doctor delivered the news: Something had gone wrong in the years since the surgery. They’d have to amputate his leg.

“What are you talking about?” the 39-year-old recalled saying. “Give me my Thanksgiving dinner; I haven’t even had turkey! What do you mean you’re going to cut my leg off?”

The next day, surgeons removed Weiland’s left leg just below the knee. The amputation, he said, turned his life upside down. Several doctors told him he’d never work as a firefighter again.

But now, after 10 months of hard work, Weiland is back doing what he loves.

The first few days after the operation were especially tough for Weiland and his family. His wife, Shanna, and their four adolescent kids tried their best to stay positive when they’d visit him in the hospital. His co-workers and boss were supportive, too, and gave him an administrative position during his recovery.

But for Weiland, there was no Plan B. He wanted to show everyone — and himself — that he could become a firefighter again.

“If my kids think I’m Superman, I’m going to prove that I am,” Weiland said. "I decided I was going to have a good attitude, stay optimistic and get back to this job.”

Physical rehabilitation was difficult, but Weiland was up to the challenge. He relearned how to walk, first with crutches and then with a prosthetic leg. After that, Weiland had to endure the rigorous firefighter training process all over again. It was harder the second time through, he said.

Gradually, though, Weiland got used to using his new leg and even started playing sports again. Over the summer, he competed in an adaptive sports event in Oklahoma City. There, a coach asked him to join the Team USA High Performance sitting volleyball team. He signed up immediately.

And now, Weiland has added another goal to his bucket list: compete in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo. He said if he makes the team, he’ll bring his daughter Devyn to be his coach.

But Weiland said he mainly wants to use his experience to help others. He hopes to someday tour the country as a motivational speaker.

“I have a message and I want to help people,” he said. “We all go through adversity in life, but how we respond to that adversity determines character.”

Several media outlets have covered Weiland’s experience, and he was featured on FireRescue1, a digital site, earlier this month. Consequently, strangers from all across the country have contacted him, saying his story has impacted their lives. One man even said Weiland inspired him to try overcoming alcoholism.

Weiland wants to help other amputees, too — especially children. He’s asked Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth to call him when a patient goes through an amputation. If the patient and family are willing, he’ll pay them a visit to offer empathy, encouragement and guidance.

This year has been a whirlwind for Weiland and his family, he said, and it hasn’t always been easy. But he’s absolutely determined to keep looking on the bright side.

“It’s all about perspective,” Weiland said. “I wouldn’t have said this 10 months ago, but I feel like this is a gift; I can use it to help others. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

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TECTONIC SHIFT

With a new album on the way and a new member and single, Mountain of Smoke is heavier than ever.

Published in the Fort Worth Weekly on Oct. 16, 2019.

Sludge-metal giants Mountain of Smoke have been in a state of evolution recently. Drummer PJ Costigan and bassist/vocalist Brooks Willhoite started off as a duo in 2013 before adding pedal steel guitarist Alex Johnson last year. And now, with the introduction of The Sword’s Kyle Shutt on guitar, the band has leveled up again.

Huge fans of each other’s music, Shutt would come see Mountain of Smoke whenever they’d gig in Austin. But finally, it was too much to handle, he said. He had to be in the band.

“I just couldn’t take it anymore,” Shutt said. “I just went up to them, and I was like ‘Guys, can I be your guitar player? Can I please be your guitar player.’ ”

It didn’t take much convincing.

Even though the guys live in different parts of the state — with Shutt in Austin and Costigan, Johnson, and Willhoite up north — they make it work. The quartet has played a handful of shows over the past few months with all four members. And the last gig was definitely was … explosive. Johnson’s amp caught on fire, and Shutt’s blew up, again cutting the quartet back down to a duo.

While it’s heavier than ever, Mountain of Smoke’s new material reveals a bit of a sonic shift. Most of the band’s previous work was inspired by the 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, with lyrics to match, but Willhoite said that they wanted to explore new avenues with the latest batch of songs.

“It got difficult to continue writing about the same movie,” he said. “After about essentially 20 tracks, I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got nothing more to say about it.’ ”

Several tracks off the upcoming album, Endless Night, will retain a sci-fi theme. There are still a couple of Blade Runner-inspired cuts, but the band wrote tunes about another sci-fi flick, Dark City.

Willhoite also said he wanted to pen some semi-autobiographical songs. The band’s newest single, “The Weeping Spine,” is about his decision to pursue a career in the music industry when he could be spending more time with his family. Being in a band is physically taxing, too, and the bassist/vocalist is experiencing back pain.

“Swallowed by a beast / From an abandoned peace / You’ve forsaken joy / For a corrupt prestige,” Willhoite screams with a seasoned, gravelly snarl. “The weeping spine / Give it time / The weeping spine / Give it time.”

On the recently released song, Shutt’s Reverend guitar waxes unholy atop Willhoite’s crunchy bass, adding a new dimension to the band’s classic gargantuan sound. Johnson wields his pedal steel like a siren in the chorus, and Costigan pummels the kit with such ferocity he surely broke a few sticks along the way.

Producer Michael Briggs (Astronautalis, Sarah Jaffe, Pinkish Black) laid down Endless Night at Denton’s Civil Audio over the course of a week. Adding to the list of notable contributing musicians is True Widow’s Nikki Cage and Doomfall’s Katie Puryear, both of whom added vocals to some choice tracks.

The guys in Mountain of Smoke are also stoked to be nominated for best Metal/Hardcore Act in the 2019 Dallas Observer Music Awards. They’re competing against other heavy hitters like Power Trip and Mothership, plus Fort Worth’s own Duell and Pinkish Black. But Willhoite’s not exactly optimistic that they’ll take home this year’s honor: “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” he said with a laugh.

Aside from other new singles and their upcoming album, the guys have a lot to look forward to. They’re headlining the Double Wide in Dallas on Saturday, Nov. 2, and opening for Windhand at The Ridglea Room on Thursday, Nov. 7. And though they don’t have a set date for Endless Night’s release, they plan on shopping it to several labels to see who bites.

More than anything, though, Shutt said the guys in the band don’t take anything too seriously. They want to just keep shredding and melting faces until it stops being fun. And that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen anytime soon.

“There’s nothing like the confidence of dudes who really don’t care,” he said. “It’s just like, ‘Hey, we’re here. We’re going to destroy y’all, and I don’t even fucking care what happens.’”

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DALLAS' FIGHT AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE GETS $16.5 MILLION FEDERAL BOOST

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the grants at the Family Place, a shelter for survivors.

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Oct. 15, 2019.

More than $16.5 million in federal grants will give North Texas efforts to curb domestic violence a significant boost, officials announced Tuesday.

The announcement was made during a visit to the Family Place, a Dallas-based family violence shelter, by Laura L. Rogers, the acting director of the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women.

“The department is so very grateful to those in the law enforcement professions who every day put their lives on the line for each and every domestic violence phone call they receive,” Rogers said.

The Family Place opened in 1978 to help victims of domestic violence “become survivors.” It offers battered women who live in North Texas the shelter, counseling and the other resources they need to escape an abusive partner. The grants announced Tuesday will contribute to efforts like that, among other public safety efforts.

Domestic violence accounts for a “staggering amount” of violence throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, U.S. District Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said. In Dallas alone, 15 women are killed by their partners each year.

Nealy Cox said abusers who own a firearm are five times more likely to kill their partners than those who don’t. That’s why eight months ago her office boosted its efforts to prosecute domestic violence offenders discovered with guns — a violation of federal law.

"I want to urge abusers to think twice before picking up a gun," she said. "Understanding that if you do, the penalties will be swift, stiff and certain."

Family Place CEO Paige Flink said that if the law prohibiting domestic abusers from owning guns had been properly enforced, it might have prevented the 2001 murders of Faith and Liberty Battaglia at the hands of their father. John Battaglia was executed last year for the crime.

The tragedy led to the creation of a supervised visitation center within the shelter called Faith and Liberty’s Place. Flink said the shelter would not have been able to open the center without funding from the Office on Violence Against Women.

“They would still be here if their dad — a convicted domestic violence abuser — didn’t have a gun,” she said.

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DENTON, FORT WORTH ARE THE LATEST LIBRARIES TO GET RID OF LATE FINES, A TREND SOME SAY IS OVERDUE

Library officials predict the new policy will increase circulation.

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Oct. 5, 2019.

Library lovers can rest a little easier.

The Denton Public Library closed the chapter on overdue fines last week. The new policy, which will also forgive any outstanding charges if overdue items are returned, was unanimously approved last month by the Denton City Council.

The change has been a long time coming, said Jennifer Bekker, director of libraries. For years, she and her colleagues worked to construct a plan to free patrons from late fines.

"We wanted to improve circulation," Bekker said. "And if this was a barrier to circulation, we wanted to get rid of that."

Late fines are an unnecessarily punitive measure for those who return the overdue item, Bekker said. For some, fines discourage them from ever revisiting the library. Many feel ashamed or embarrassed if they can't afford to pay their debts.

Denton isn't the first North Texas library system to dispense with late fees. The Fort Worth Public Library went fine-free last Tuesday, too. The Plano Public Library dropped late fines a year ago, and the Dallas Public Library did so in May.

Jo Giudice, the library director in Dallas, said it's been smooth sailing since the new policy went into effect. Interactions between staff and patrons have been friendlier, and libraries in low-income neighborhoods have been busier.

Giudice has also witnessed an unexpected phenomenon.

"We've noticed that people are actually returning things before the due date," she said. "That's great for us because it just gets things back in circulation faster."

The fine-free system did draw some criticism, though. When the Dallas City Council was deliberating the policy, outgoing Councilman Rickey Callahan argued that it would hinder children from developing personal responsibility.

But Giudice sees it differently. Kids typically learn those lessons from their families and teachers, she said — not the library.

Some public libraries have been happily fine-free for decades. The Irving Public Library ditched fines in the 1980s and hasn't had any problems with its late policy since, said senior library services manager Ben Toon. He doesn't foresee the fine-free trend slowing down, either, as libraries across the country steadily join the ranks.

A nationwide trend

Last Tuesday, the Chicago Public Library System became the country's largest to nix late fines. Public library systems in San Francisco and Detroit went fine free in mid-September, joining other major metropolitan systems like Salt Lake City, Baltimore and San Diego.

Andy Woodworth, a New Jersey librarian and fine-free advocate, said 2019 has been a "robust" year for libraries across the U.S.

"This is definitely the tipping point," he said.

A 2017 study by the Colorado State Library found that late fines don't affect return rates. It also suggested that fines discourage disadvantaged families from using the library.

There's even evidence that fine collection costs libraries money, Woodworth said. For instance, the San Diego Public Library recently determined that it spent $1.2 million per year in collecting $600,000 in fines, according to KPBS.

Plus, Woodworth said, late fines only make up a small percentage of a library's overall budget, often around 1%.

The library's loss can be the community's gain: Woodworth said some studies link childhood literacy to overall life and career outcomes. Kids with access to books have a greater chance of graduating from high school and earning a higher income. They're also less likely to rely on social services or interact with law enforcement.

"It's about removing barriers," Woodworth said of going fine free. "Being able to have a grace period is really important for the health of the entire community."

Fine-free Denton

The average fees owed per Denton Public Library account amount to around $13, a cost that Bekker said many patrons can't afford to pay. In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau found that 19.5% of Denton residents live in poverty, nearly three times Denton County's rate.

Jessica Vu, a fourth-grade teacher at Newton Rayzor Elementary School, said many of her students could benefit from the new policy.

"A lot of the students that I work with are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds," Vu said. "And if this will help them, then yes — I'm all for it."

Under the new system, a patron's library privileges will be revoked until they return the overdue item. After three weeks have lapsed, they'll be charged for the cost of the material. After 81 days, their account will be transferred to a collection agency, which will impose a nominal fee.

In both cases, the person's account will be cleared when they return the item; in the latter case, just the collection fee will remain.

With the new policy in place, Bekker said, library staff will have more time to implement programs that encourage community engagement. Instead of haggling with upset customers over late fines, librarians can focus on better serving the community.

"We keep saying that we're welcoming," Bekker said. "Well, now we can mean it."

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WHY DO TWO MAJOR DALLAS-FORT WORTH ROADS BEGIN WITH THE WORD 'CAMP'?

Camp Wisdom Road and Camp Bowie Boulevard are named after two very different camps.

Published in The Dallas Morning News on Sept. 27, 2019.

If you've ever trekked through North Texas by foot, bike or automobile, you've probably cruised down Dallas County's Camp Wisdom Road or Fort Worth's Camp Bowie Boulevard — and perhaps caught yourself wondering why both bustling thoroughfares feature "Camp" in their names.

If so, you wouldn't be alone. One reader asked Curious Texas: "How did the roads in DFW get the names Camp?"

Curious Texas is an ongoing project from The Dallas Morning News that invites you to join in our reporting process. The idea is simple: You have questions, and our journalists are trained to track down answers.

This reader sent the question to our Curious Texas text line. You can send us your questions by texting "DMN" to 214-817-3868. Follow the prompts and introduce yourself to us, share your story or questions, and we'll text you with information as we report the story.

Camp Wisdom Road

Camp Wisdom Road is one of southern Dallas County's major arteries, stretching nearly 17 miles from southeast Oak Cliff to Grand Prairie.

During the 1920s, the road was dubbed Camp Wisdom because it led into a Boy Scout camp of the same name, said Robert "Bob" Reitz, curator of the camp's Harbin Scout Museum. But Camp Wisdom is no longer located on its namesake road. Instead, it's on Red Bird Lane — a fact that frequently causes confusion.

"It's our good fortune to have a road named Camp Wisdom," Reitz said. "Our bad fortune is that the camp is not located on Camp Wisdom Road."

According to the Texas Historical Commission, Camp Wisdom was named after John Shelby Wisdom, a Tennessean who moved to Texas in the mid-1800s and worked as a rancher.

In 1901, Wisdom bought 148 acres of land in Dallas. Two decades later, Wisdom and his stepson, Madison "Pink" Wright, noticed a troop of Boy Scouts frequently camped on an adjacent plot and Wisdom invited the youths to use his property whenever they liked.

Wisdom eventually grew so fond of the boys that he deeded 185 acres to the Dallas Council of the Boy Scouts (now Circle Ten). Grateful for Wisdom's patronage, the Scouts named their new camp after him when it opened in 1923.

Now, Reitz estimates, between 300 and 800 Scouts flock to Camp Wisdom to learn life skills on weekends during the spring and fall.

Camp Bowie Boulevard

Fort Worth's Camp Bowie Boulevard is a bustling road peppered with boutiques, eateries and entertainment venues. Its story spans 100 years, back to its previous incarnation as Arlington Heights Boulevard.

Arlington Heights Boulevard transformed into a military training camp during World War I. The soldiers' tent city was dubbed Camp Bowie after Alamo fighter Jim Bowie, who also lent his name to the formidable fixed-blade knife. Camp Bowie officially opened in 1917.

Soon, Camp Bowie supplanted Arlington Heights as the boulevard's name, said John Roberts, chairman of Historic Fort Worth's public affairs committee. He said officials changed the name because "the Arlington Heights development went bankrupt."

It's estimated that more than 100,000 men were trained at Camp Bowie by the time it shuttered in 1919, according to the Camp Bowie District website. The following year, the street's famed red Thurber bricks were laid to accommodate automobile traffic.

As Fort Worth's population boomed in the first half of the 1900s, so did Camp Bowie's reach. The street grew westward to accommodate the influx of city newcomers and shiny new storefronts.

Today, the Camp Bowie District extends 6 miles, with the boulevard snaking through Fort Worth's Arlington Heights and Ridglea Hills neighborhoods.

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SEQUINS & DIAMONDS

Published in the Fort Worth Weekly on Sept. 4, 2019.

Former Moonlight Native frontman Will Roth was running karaoke at Caves Lounge in Arlington one night when his future wife walked in. Dumbstruck, he turned to his buddy.

“Who is that?” he asked.

“Oh, you don’t know her?” his friend answered incredulously. “That’s Bree Savage.”

The two got hitched last winter, and Savage has since tacked “Roth” to the end of her surname.

Another chance encounter at Caves transformed both of their lives, when Anna Menger tried her hand at karaoke. The pair was stunned by Menger’s vocal prowess.

“As a karaoke DJ, it’s hit or miss,” Roth said. “But Anna came up there, and it was like she’d been on a stage her whole life.”

After her impromptu performance, the duo approached Menger about starting a project. The initial goal was to just have fun, fooling around as “an obnoxious hipster band” with a pretentious band name to match, Savage Roth said. So after some brainstorming, “VYLIT” was born.

Before long, the three friends started to take VYLIT’s image seriously. They conceived a cohesive brand — a heady blend of broody, film noir ambience lit by a neon violet aura. Soon, the trio even got matching “VYLIT” tattoos on each of their left forearms.

Still, looks ain’t everything. VYLIT has carefully crafted a retro sound that marries catchy pop melodies with infectiously danceable basslines. And unlike some throwaway dance anthem lyrics (here’s lookin’ at you, Ke$ha), VYLIT specializes in conjuring compelling narratives. “Most of our songs have a story in mind,” Savage Roth said. “Like, we see everything cinematically.”

That’s certainly the case with the band’s latest single, “Diet Coke.” With its ’80s-inspired production and tragic storyline, the song would be at home on an episode of Twin Peaks. Roth said the song tells the tale of a vulnerable young woman who gets caught up with the wrong crowd. Here, the band drew inspiration from its surroundings – Roth knows his fair share of local scenesters who have struggled with drug addiction.

Despite its melancholy subject matter, “Diet Coke” drags armchair listeners off their loveseats and onto the dancefloor. Savage Roth’s solemn synths beg listeners to sway, and her husband’s electric guitar licks could make a grown man weep. Still, Menger’s full-throated singing stands out: “Up against the wall / In a bathroom stall / Disappears into that powder / Bass bumps even louder.”

Next comes the chorus, which Menger belts with absolute abandon: “White snow falling in a ring around her halo / Baby’s gotta let go, let go / Baby’s gonna let go.”

Although the single’s available to stream on Spotify, fans can also hear the track on VYLIT’s upcoming debut album. Set for a Sep 20 release, Audiolooks, Menger said, was masterfully recorded by producer Geoff Rockwell (Reagan James, Disco Curtis, Forever the Sickest Kids) at Wax Studios in Arlington.

Even though Audiolooks is pending release, the band doesn’t like to sit still. VYLIT plans to unveil two music videos in the coming months and has already started writing songs for its sophomore album.

Some might resent working at such a pace, but the band hasn’t broken a sweat. Menger, Roth, and Savage Roth said they’re having a blast living their best, most glamorous lives.

“Getting to have this kind of creative outlet — and have it also be with the people we love so much — is really cool,” Menger said. “We all have the same shared vision, and it’s just, like, one of grandeur: all of us wearing sequins and diamonds.”

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COMING OF AGE

After dealing with adversity, Social Age is ready to release a new single and an EP

Published in the Fort Worth Weekly on Aug. 28, 2019.

Last winter, singer-songwriter Nick Edwards was living out of his car. At that point, he was used to it – he’d been homeless off and on since he was 17.

One night, he said, he woke from his sleep, shivering from the 35-degree weather, and prayed.

“I was just like, ‘Ah, this sucks,’ ” Edwards said. “So it’s just one of those things where it’s like, ‘God, if you’re willing, will you please make this music thing work? Because it seems to be the only thing that’s been working out.’ ”

Since then, things have started to look up for the now-24-year-old Fort Worth native. He found an apartment in Arlington, mended relationships with estranged family members, and started dating his current girlfriend.

In June, his band Social Age finished recording a four-song demo at Cloudland Recording Studios. On Saturday, Sept. 7, the group will celebrate its first official single with a show at Shipping & Receiving Bar.

Titled “You,” the track honors the band’s indie rock heroes. Shrouded in a velvety-smooth cloak of production, “You” is as emotionally honest as a Cure cut and as inherently danceable as an Interpol banger.

The guys had a blast recording in the studio with producer G.W. Childs (Starbass Laboratories), who happens to be a longtime friend of Edwards’ mother, Sarah. Plus, his mom co-produced the effort.

Edwards said his first experience in a professional studio was awe-inspiring. “I think the coolest thing was knowing how much talent has been in and out of this building,” he said of recording at Cloudland, where Pinkish Black, Sub Sahara, War Party, and countless other local luminaries have laid down tracks. “It was a really sobering and humbling feeling for me, just knowing how far I’ve come as a musician and as a human.”

Social Age began in February 2018 after Edwards, who plays rhythm guitar and handles vocal duties, recruited some friends he’d met playing in different church youth bands. Drummer Spencer Akins, guitarist Daniel Conkovich, and bassist Mike Stipich hopped aboard. Their first mission? To name the band.

That process wasn’t without incident. After deciding on the admittedly gloomier “Sunken Vessels,” the quartet created the appropriate social media pages and began posting under that moniker – that is, until they received a cease-and-desist email from a California solo artist who had copyrighted the name, Edwards said.

The quartet brainstormed new names one chilly night while they loitered on Edwards’ driveway. They spitballed ideas back and forth before they found one that wasn’t already claimed on Spotify or any social media platform.

“It took a few hours,” Conkovich said with a laugh.

Now, with their debut EP in the can, the guys are hoping to release it via a label. Social Age has its sights set on the Los Angeles-based Cleopatra Records or Fort Worth’s own Dreamy Life Records. Edwards said the band has its calendar marked for a tentative October release.

Though the EP is yet unnamed, they’ve thrown out a few ideas. None have stuck yet, except for the partially satirical 120 BPMs – most every Social Age song clocks in at that tempo, Conkovich said.

Fans can purchase the group’s DIY band T-shirts. One design by Edwards features the contours of an old-school cubical desktop computer. The other, Akins created: It’s the visual representation of soundwaves from a clip of the “You” recording.

Though they all lead busy lives outside the band, everyone in Social Age shares the same dream: to make a living playing music. Edwards said his experiences living in poverty helped shape him into the person he is today. If he ever hits it big, the first thing he’ll do is buy his mother a house. The rest, he said, he’ll donate to the homeless.

Edwards added that he’s always longed to find a sense of belonging, and he feels like he’s found it with his band. The group serves as his de facto family. They fight and reconcile like brothers. The singer/guitarist said he wants to extend that sense of family to Social Age’s listeners. He hopes that the band’s music will offer solace to the hopeless and a sense of home to the lost.

“I want that to go down on record in history: that Social Age was a group of guys that was for the people and that loved everyone, no matter what their walk of life,” he said, pausing a pregnant beat. “Or choice of music, even if it’s country.”

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PHILANTHROPY GROUP RAISES $10,000 FOR LOCAL FOOD PANTRY

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on July 29, 2019.

Last week, 100 Dentonites Who Give a Damn witnessed two watershed moments: The philanthropy group reached 100 members and raised its goal of $10,000 for the Denton Community Food Center.

The organization meets four times a year to raise money for a local charity, with each member donating $100.

The group was three members shy when it convened last Tuesday to pick the winner of this quarter’s contribution. Kim Pearson, the organization’s co-founder, said she didn’t think they’d make the $10,000 goal.

But someone donated $300 at the last minute to help hit the target amount.

“That person — when she came up and told me, I just started crying,” Pearson said, tears again welling in her eyes.

The group has attracted three more recruits since last week’s meeting, now fully living up to its 100-member namesake.

As a graduate student at the University of North Texas, Pearson said she initially created 100 Dentonites Who Give a Damn for a school project. She was inspired by similar groups nationwide that form the “100 Who Care Alliance.”

Pearson enlisted her friend Renee Sims as co-founder, and the two hit the ground running. Since forming in April 2017, they’ve inspired scores of Denton residents to donate funds to 10 nonprofit charities and counting.

Every quarter, three charities make a five-minute presentation to 100 Dentonites Who Give a Damn. Then, the group votes for which nonprofit will be awarded the money.

Pearson said that while charities always appreciate smaller, individual donations, there’s more strength in numbers.

“You write a check to something you know is going to make an immediate difference,” she said.

Tom Newell, chairman of the board of directors for Denton Community Food Center, said the donation was significant. He estimates that the $10,000 will actually be worth around $70,000 in canned and frozen food from the Tarrant Area Food Bank.

The money will likely fund the food pantry until the end of 2019, he added.

In addition to catering to indigent individuals and families, the center also offers pet food and baby food, as well as ready-to-eat goods for the homeless.

Although the pantry is only open five days a week for two hours a day, Newell said it’s always busy. According to the 2018 overview for the Denton Community Food Center, 21% of the Denton County population is considered “food insecure.”

Pearson said that no matter which nonprofit receives the money, the 100 Dentonites Who Give a Damn meetings are a great way for the community to learn about local charities.

Plus, Sims added, it’s a quick and easy way for busy group members to help people in need: “This concept is a way that I can get in, get out, and make a huge impact.”

To learn more about 100 Dentonites Who Give a Damn, visit their website at dcgad.wordpress.com.

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THE COLONEL ABIDES:

Bruce Burns celebrates 100th show on KUZU-FM

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on July 28, 2019.

Every Wednesday at 7 p.m., a train’s horn blares.

Its wheels pick up speed, chugging along the tracks at an increasingly furious pace. The shrill sounds crescendo and peak before a warm baritone voice breaks through the wall of cacophonous noise:

“Hello, Denton, Texas. Welcome to Colonel Burns’ Honky-Tonk Hour.”

Matthew Burns Jr. — who goes by his middle name, Bruce — is also known locally as “The Colonel.” With his dulcet tones and steady cadence, Burns has attracted a sizable following to his Wednesday night show on radio station KUZU-FM (92.9) — Denton’s low-power FM station, which just marked its 2-year anniversary.

This past week, Burns hit a milestone: his 100th episode on KUZU. To celebrate, his 12-year-old daughter, Elianna, who formerly hosted the KUZU show Little People’s Jukebox, took over the hour. She roasted her old man between old-school country tracks, and the duo discussed some of Burns’ favorite classic cuts.

“It was awesome,” Burns said. “Not only for me but just to know that KUZU is here to stay and it’s not just like a fly-by-night operation. ... It’s cool to be a part of it.”

As a KUZU DJ for its two years, Burns estimates he’s played upward of 2,000 honky-tonk songs. But his radio persona isn’t a new creation. Burns first unveiled his Honky-Tonk Hour in 2009 on 1670 AM, a low-power station also created by KUZU founder Peter Salisbury.

Incidentally, Burns said Salisbury is the guy who christened him “The Colonel.” One night in the early 2000s, Burns walked into Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios wearing an all-white, 1970s-style Johnny Carson suit and “roach killer” boots. Salisbury greeted him by shouting across the room: “It’s Colonel Burns!”

The nickname stuck.

Frequently donning pearl-snap shirts and blue jeans, Colonel Burns today looks ever the good ol’ boy. But for him, it’s not just about appearances; Burns identifies as a true-blue honky-tonk music fan. He listened to it as a kid growing up in Bedford and reconnected with the sound later as a young adult.

Burns said that he loves playing the genre on air because everyone can relate to it, regardless of their background.

“The charm of old honky-tonk to me is it’s about real things,” he said. “The authenticity of that old sound transcends language, and it’s more emotional.”

Burns first demoed his Colonel persona when he was 16 after getting a job as a telemarketer for the Texas State Troopers Association. When he’d cold-call potential customers, he’d lower his pitch and thicken his drawl to convince them he was a middle-aged state trooper. And it worked — Burns said he made decent money from commissions.

As an adolescent, Burns was passionate about public service, nature and science. So when he discovered that the University of North Texas had an emergency administration and planning program, which combined the hard sciences with a human element, he immediately enrolled.

During school, Burns said he interned at a facility in the Panhandle that stored dismantled nuclear warheads. After he graduated in 1997, Burns worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency during North Dakota’s Red River flood crisis to help uninsured homeowners get back on their feet.

Burns said he learned the importance of philanthropy at a young age from his mother, Melissa Prior. She raised him and his sister singlehandedly and later adopted his brother, who was homeless at the time.

“It became ingrained in me through being her child that whatever you do in life, you try to help other people,” Burns said. “I realized that it was what I was supposed to be doing.”

Now Burns is an operation center director for a company that provides emergency services for train derailments and cleanup work. Working in disaster management can be difficult, he said, but mainly it’s rewarding.

Even in his free time, Burns is hellbent on helping people. As vice president of the nonprofit Denton Music and Arts Collaborative, he assists in providing local musicians and artists with health care.

And last April, Burns made the news in an unconventional way after he introduced the town to Myles Loggin, a log painted to look like a crouching bearded man.

Burns rescued the log after it fell off the back of a truck and onto busy Bell Avenue. But instead of turning the stump into firewood, he decided to get creative.

First, he commissioned local artist Melanie Little Gomez Smith to paint Myles Loggin’s face. And after creating a Facebook page for the anthropomorphized trunk, Burns turned it loose on the town.

Now, curious Denton residents can pick up Myles Loggin from his “home base” at Dan’s Silverleaf and carry him to a local business or nonprofit. From there, they can publicize the escapade on social media to raise funds for a charity of their choosing.

Between a demanding job in the railroad industry and numerous volunteer efforts, Burns said he’s constantly working to serve the local community. Whether it’s raising money for a worthy cause or spinning 45s, he hopes to make a lasting impact on Denton.

As far as Burns is concerned, he’s just getting started.

“There’s more that I want to do here,” he said. “I just don’t know what it is yet.”

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BARTONVILLE TEEN AIDS IN LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION EFFORT

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on July 17, 2019.

BARTONVILLE — This summer, Guyer High School junior Kory Jones-Sherrod went on a grand adventure.

From late June to early July, the 17-year-old Bartonville resident toured Costa Rica and Panama. There, he earned his scuba diving certification, went on kayaking excursions and zoomed through the rainforest on a lofty zip line.

But the two-week journey wasn’t all fun and games; Jones-Sherrod also got a chance to give back.

It was during this trip, hosted by the nonprofit educational organization Outward Bound Costa Rica, that Jones-Sherrod developed a penchant for ecological volunteerism. He was part of a handful of teens who helped in a sea turtle conservation effort in Panama’s San San Pond Sak wetlands.

“It was an experience that I will hold with me forever,” Jones-Sherrod said. “It was an amazing moment ... getting to put [the turtles] in the water. They were super cute.”

He and his peers worked with local biologists to protect the region’s leatherback sea turtle population, which is endangered. Jones-Sherrod assisted in constructing habitats, cataloging turtle nests and releasing 51 leatherback hatchlings.

The team watched like hawks from the shore to make sure each hatchling reached the safety of the Caribbean Sea, Jones-Sherrod said. He and his peers also got to witness a mother sea turtle laying her eggs on the beach.

But the hatchling release was not without incident. Several baby turtles kept trying to turn back toward the conservation area — in the exact opposite direction of the water, Jones-Sherrod said. The group would then turn the wayward turtles around, setting them back on the right track.

And once, Jones-Sherrod almost accidentally squashed a hatchling while he was walking on the sand.

“My foot was this close to the baby turtle,” he said, indicating the short distance with his thumb and index finger. “I didn’t do it, but I still felt bad.”

Leatherback sea turtles are widely distributed, but their population is dwindling, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. Globally, the leatherback population is considered “vulnerable,” but many subpopulations in the Pacific and Southwest Atlantic are flagged as “critically endangered.”

Poachers target leatherback sea turtles’ eggs and meat for food consumption, as well as for their skin and shells, according to the WWF. Climate change has also encouraged the destruction of the turtles’ habitats, making it harder for them to survive and reproduce.

But ensuring that the newborn hatchlings reached the water wasn’t the only volunteer effort Jones-Sherrod made during his trip. He participated in community service projects in an impoverished indigenous town on Panama’s Solarte Island.

“They were just happy to see us,” he said of the town’s residents. “They took us in as one of their own as soon as we got there.”

At first, Jones-Sherrod said the town’s lack of basic resources — such as clean running water — startled him. Eventually, though, he acclimated to the area’s pared-down setting.

During the Solarte Island visit, Jones-Sherrod said he got a chance to mingle with schoolchildren there. He read books to the younger kids and practiced speaking English with the older children.

Plus, Jones-Sherrod got to brush up on his own Spanish skills. Although he has taken Spanish classes at Guyer High School, he said trying to communicate with people in Costa Rica and Panama was a whole new ballgame.

Although the trip was challenging at times, Jones-Sherrod said it helped him appreciate what he has back home. It was a humbling experience that he’ll always remember, he added.

“It’s tough knowing that in other countries, they don’t have as much,” he said. “It really does open my eyes.”

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FROM POLKA TO THE PODIUM:

GINNY MAC WALTZES HER WAY INTO ACADEMIA

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on July 12, 2019.

Just call her “Professor Mac.”

Ginny Mac, former accordionist for Denton’s two-time Grammy Award-winning Brave Combo, tacked another gig to her resume last Tuesday after teaching the first class in a college course she designed about Western swing. Mac lectured students at Texas Christian University about the history of the genre that calls Fort Worth home. The course title is “Western Swing and Cowtown.”

Open to both seasoned performers and non-musicians, Mac was inspired to create the course because she’s noticed a disturbing trend. The once-ubiquitous Texas-bred genre has become increasingly niche, she said; its audience is on the decline.

“The fans are literally dying off,” Mac said. “Fifteen years ago they were 60, and now they’re 75. … We’re all kind of feeling like well, what needs to be done?”

So, when TCU sent an email to alumni crowdsourcing for course ideas, Mac — who graduated in 2007 with degrees in entrepreneurial management and finance — jumped at the chance to teach. She pitched an idea for a four-week course all about the Western swing genre.

In her discussion-heavy class, Mac says she hopes to foster a collaborative environment for her students. She wants them to become “fired up” about the genre, the same way she felt after she first discovered it.

Mac began playing music when she was 7 years old and was classically trained in accordion, piano and voice. But when she was 12, Mac stumbled on a Western swing street performance by the Cowtown Opry, a group of performers dedicated to preserving Texas’ musical heritage.

The experience rocked her world, she said.

Instantly enamored by the snappy, uptempo sound, Mac began relearning how to play her instruments to suit the genre. She immediately signed up for the opry’s Buckaroo Club, which mentors kids ages 18 and under in playing music native to Texas.

“I was blown away,” she said. “I love classical music, don’t get me wrong. But I felt like I was home. All of a sudden, I went, ‘This is what I want to learn how to do.’”

Mac isn’t the only one who feels that the genre embodies Texas’ spirit. In 2011, then-Gov. Rick Perry signed a resolution that solidified Western swing as the state’s official music.

Heavily influenced by jazz, pop, blues and folk, Mac said she likes how varied the genre’s instrumentation can be. Most Western swing bands host a solid string section of guitar, bass and fiddle, with some including accordion, piano, steel guitar and even harp.

Plus, playing Western swing is akin to playing jazz, Mac said. Each musician will get a chance to improvise a solo before returning to the song’s orchestrated refrain.

A bit of a child prodigy, Mac learned from veteran players who had gigged with some of the genre’s titans.

“I was a 14-year-old kid learning from these 65-plus-year-old musicians, and many of them had played with Bob Wills,” she said. “It was amazing to have that kind of knowledge and mentorship.”

Some current Western swing outfits, like Austin’s Asleep at the Wheel, have helped the genre evolve, Mac said. Still, she’s noticed a marked decline in festival attendance in recent years.

Dance halls across the state that regularly hosted Western swing concerts are fighting to survive. Last month, the Los Angeles Times reported that though Texas was once home to around 1,000 dance halls, only around 400 remain.

But Mac is optimistic that the genre will witness a resurgence. After all, Western swing was resurrected in the 1970s after artists like Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson began blending it with their own sound. Maybe it’s due for another revival, she said.

That’s the main reason Mac created this course, she added. She wants to spark a discussion about the genre and brainstorm ways to keep it alive. It’s time for a newer generation to carry the torch. And Mac’s ready to pave the way.

“I want to see [Western swing] come back, so the more people I let know about it, the better,” she said. “That could be one more person that goes to a Western swing show in the future. Because I want to preserve it — I want to be part of that.”

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'PROJECT ANGEL' GIVES DISABLED TEEN WINGS IN VIRAL VIDEO

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on July 10, 2019.

FLOWER MOUND — Nick Murray likes to go fast.

Three weeks ago, the 16-year-old Flower Mound resident, who has Angelman syndrome, a neurogenetic disorder, flew onto computer screens nationwide after his brother posted a video on YouTube that subsequently went viral.

In the video titled “NICK CAN RIDE!: Introducing Project Angel,” Corinth-based motorcycle vlogger Chris Murray gifts his little brother a big surprise: a personalized sidecar tailor-made to accommodate his needs.

The video spread like wildfire. Uploaded June 17, the 10-minute clip has already accrued more than 120,000 views. Plus, Chris Murray’s “iamsoulless” YouTube channel and Instagram account have attracted thousands more followers since he made the post.

“This whole thing has been a roller coaster,” Chris Murray, 26, said. “I knew people were going to love it — I just didn’t know to this extent.”

In the video, Chris Murray introduces the audience to his Honda Grom’s custom-built sidecar, which is decked out in sleek, neon orange accoutrements. Then, it’s time to ride.

Nick Murray beams as he and Chris cruise down the streets of their mother’s suburban neighborhood, maxing out at just under 30 mph.

Fresh out of the U.S. Marine Corps, Chris Murray said he’s used to physically arduous tasks. Still, transferring Nick, who weighs around 150 pounds, from his wheelchair to the sidecar was difficult.

But the challenge was worth it, Chris Murray said.

“As soon as I got moving, [Nick] literally stops everything and just sits there and laughs and like, zones in — which was awesome,” he said.

To create the sidecar, Chris Murray worked closely with Industrial Moto, a custom motorcycle shop in Culpeper, Virginia. The shop’s owner, Tyler Haynes, said he was excited after Chris Murray reached out to propose the collaboration. Haynes offered to waive labor and shipping fees if the Murrays could cover the cost of parts.

That’s where his “iamsoulless” followers came in handy, Chris Murray said. In less than three days, friends, family and fans raised the necessary $2,700 for the venture, which he and Haynes dubbed “Project Angel.”

Next, Haynes got to work. Not only did he forge a sidecar that precisely matched Chris Murray’s Honda Grom, but he also installed several customized safety features.

It wasn’t all logistics and precautionary measures, though; Haynes also gave the brothers a GoPro camera to sweeten the deal.

Haynes said he’s thrilled with how the sidecar — and the YouTube video — turned out.

“I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched that,” he said with a laugh. “It’s really moving. Just to do it and see a video of [Nick] riding was worth the whole thing.”

A rare neurogenetic disorder closely related to autism, Angelman syndrome affects one in every 15,000 live births, according to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation website. People diagnosed with the condition experience seizures, developmental delay, lack of speech, and balance and walking disorders.

As Nick’s daytime caretaker while their mother Kristi Murray works, Chris Murray feeds, bathes and changes his brother’s clothes every day.

But he hates that Nick is unable to experience many of the same things he and his other brother can, Chris Murray said. That’s the main reason why he decided to launch Project Angel.

“We’ve always understood that Nicholas is not going to have a life like everyone else; it’s just not possible,” he said. “The fact that I got this done for him and he has something that his brothers do just blew [my parents’] minds.”

In the weeks since he released the video, Chris Murray has been overwhelmed by a deluge of positive feedback from fans old and new. And while this video’s success could be the apex of his vlogging career, he said he’s already brainstorming ideas for future videos featuring Nick.

Chris Murray said he hopes that the success of the viral video will increase awareness of the disorder and raise money for the Angelman Syndrome Foundation. And he’s optimistic that a cure may be around the corner.

After all, scientists were recently able to ameliorate Angelman symptoms among lab mice, he said. Maybe a cure for humans is closer than we think.

“I would love to one day be like, ‘Dude, I have something for you that’s better than this stupid Grom,’” Chris Murray said. “I want that one day for Nick.”

For more information, or to donate to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation, visit www.angelman.org.

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MIDWAY CRAFT HOUSE'S MUSIC VENUE SHUTTERS AFTER THREE ECCENTRIC YEARS

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on June 29, 2019.

The Fry Street area just got a little less loud.

Convenience store and growler bar Midway Craft House ended its music shows this weekend after hosting two “farewell for now” shows on Thursday and Friday.

For more than three years, Midway provided a unique outlet for both traditional acts and outsider art. Store manager Rahim Dewji said he’s grateful to the Denton community for giving the venue a shot.

“Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this stuff,” he said. “I mean, it ain’t easy to get people to come play in a store, or to come watch. But we’ve been able to do it.”

While Friday’s show was advertised as Midway’s last, store owner Shakeel Merchant said the venue might book music shows in the future.

Dewji didn’t come up with the venue-within-a-convenience-store idea out of nowhere. A huge fan of director Kevin Smith, Dewji was largely inspired by his 1994 film Clerks. In it, a pair of misfits named Jay and Silent Bob loiter outside a convenience store every day, jamming out and heckling passersby.

Then one day when Dewji was at work, he had a eureka moment.

“I was like, ‘Man, if Silent Bob was real, this is what he would do if he had his own convenience store, right?’” he said.

Like Clerks, Midway Craft House’s venue eventually gained a cult following. With no other live music venues nearby, Dewji said he wanted his store to fill the Fry Street area’s sonic void.

But it didn’t stop with music. Midway Craft House would regularly host a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment, with art shows and comedy sets sprinkled in for good measure.

Always all-ages and always free, the Midway music stage was an inclusive, stimulating environment for Craft House patrons and performers, Dewji said.

Comedian Aleah Berroa said her career got a boost after Dewji asked her to host the venue’s weekly open mic nights. Berroa added that at Midway, she felt free to test out newer, more risque material.

“I can definitely say Midway is a good spot for newcomers,” she said. “It’s like, what’s the worst that’s going to happen? It’s already in a convenience store.”

Dewji opened Midway’s doors to acts that mainstream venues might have snubbed: opera singers, punk rock bands, classical guitar players, high school-aged bands and harpists have all graced the venue’s makeshift stage.

But it’s that sort of variety that helped put Midway Craft House on the map.

In 2017, an improvisational noise act’s Midway set went viral after a video got posted on websites like Reddit and eBaum’s World. Denton metal band Brutal Juice once filmed a music video in the middle of the store during regular business hours. And local heavyweights Baptist Generals and Pearl Earl have performed under the Midway’s fluorescent lights.

Cori Suma, the front woman of rock band Reliant K2, said the store’s eccentric setting added a certain je ne sais quoi to her band’s set. She remembers a rowdy Midway performance where she slipped on the beer-soaked tile floor and crashed into her guitar player’s pedals.

The very act of playing live music in a convenience store is akin to performance art, Suma added. The venue’s kaleidoscopic backdrop of junk food, gum packets, condoms and heartburn medicine are transformed into art during a show, she said.

“I think Midway is part of what made Denton, Denton,” Suma said. “They’re just opening their doors and allowing this very DIY ethic to happen in this space. And I’m really grateful for that.”

Some customers would shy away from making a purchase after stumbling in on live music. But Dewji said that for the most part, the performances didn’t impede Midway’s regular business traffic. Convenience store customers would often stick around for the rest of the show, he said, which performers would invariably take as a compliment.

Since Midway Craft House announced its venue’s closure on Facebook, Dewji said he’s received an outpouring of support from the arts community. But he’s reluctant to take much credit for the venue’s various successes.

It was Denton’s eclectic cast of characters, Dewji said, that made his dream possible.

“I appreciate the kind stuff [people] say, but you guys have the talent. I just gave you a place to show people,” he said. “I’m just the Silent Bob, that’s all I am.”

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MOSQUITO SEASON ARRIVES AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on June 24, 2019.

As nature lovers strolled through North Lakes Park on Tuesday afternoon, Katherine Cline and Shandril Sallee got to work. Perched atop the bridge that arches over a creek, the University of North Texas biology students installed a series of complicated bug traps. They hope to seduce a specific species of mosquito for study: Culex quinquefasciatus. That’s the type that can carry the West Nile virus.

Dangling from the bridge’s guardrails, the traps emit a peculiar scent. The odor, which mimics the lactic acid present in human sweat, is abhorrent to most humans, Cline said. But try telling that to mosquitoes.

“It smells bad, really bad,” Cline, 24, said with a laugh. “But that’s what’s getting the mosquitoes.”

Cline and Sallee’s mentor, UNT professor Jim Kennedy, said June’s heavy rains have encouraged the pesky insects to appear earlier than usual.

Out of the nearly 50 species of mosquitoes present in Denton County, he said local residents should really only look out for the West Nile-carrying Culex.

Last month, a mosquito trap in Frisco tested positive for a West Nile mosquito, according to the 2019 Denton County mosquito log. Still, Kennedy said residents shouldn’t panic.

“Mosquitoes are a nuisance, they’re a bother, and nobody wants to go out and be bitten by them,” he said. “But your chances of getting West Nile are slim.”

This summer’s wet weather has encouraged breeding among floodwater mosquitoes, which don’t carry diseases that affect humans, Kennedy said.

Conversely, the rains have hampered more harmful species’ larvae from reaching maturity, he said. It’s after the weather dries out in July or August that the Culex mosquito population will boom.

Kennedy said there hasn’t been a ground-spraying treatment in Denton so far this year. It’s only after a human is diagnosed with West Nile that the city will order ground spraying, which controls the adult mosquito population but does nothing to eliminate larvae.

The overwhelming majority of people who have been bitten by a West Nile-carrying mosquito won’t experience any symptoms, according to the World Health Organization.

Around 20% may develop West Nile fever, which causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, headaches and fatigue. Less than 1% contract a more serious, life-threatening form of the virus.

It’s difficult to diagnose the West Nile virus because its symptoms mirror those of other, more common illnesses, said Jennifer Rainey, a spokeswoman with Denton County Public Health.

“If you’re just feeling nausea and have a fever, you typically don’t go to the doctor and say, ‘Hey, test me for West Nile,’” she said.

There are currently no preventive vaccines or treatments for the West Nile virus. It typically affects people with weakened immune systems and the elderly, Rainey said.

In 2018, West Nile virus claimed five lives in Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus hasn’t killed anyone in Denton County in several years.

People should take precautions before going outside, Rainey said. But local residents shouldn’t let fear of West Nile stop them from enjoying the outdoors; chances of infection are small if one follows the “Three D’s”:

• Drain standing water that collects in containers such as pots, empty trash carts and bird baths. This action destroys common mosquito breeding grounds.
• Dress in long-sleeved clothing to limit skin exposure. Light-colored clothing acts as a deterrent, as mosquitoes are attracted to darker colors.
• Defend against mosquitoes by using a DEET-based repellent. Picardin and oil of lemon eucalyptus are also effective in warding off mosquitoes.

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'HAPPINESS LIVES HERE':

FAIRHAVEN TO REOPEN AS RETIREMENT HOME IN 2020

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on June 16, 2019.

After over a decade of dormancy, Fairhaven will again serve the Denton community as a retirement home. The building’s new owners opened its doors to the public Friday afternoon for a ceremony to mark the restoration project.

A modest crowd gathered outside the midcentury modern building, its jagged contours and graffiti-stained walls revealing years of disrepair. Several Denton City Council members attended the ceremony, and curious residents could explore the structure’s decrepit interior.

Holli Hasserodt, regional vice president of parent company New Haven Assisted Living & Memory Care, made the ceremony’s opening remarks.

“We are so excited to kick off the restoration of this historic building here,” she said. “We plan to keep as much history here in this building and continue the legacy of affordable quality care for seniors.”

Fairhaven Denton by New Haven, at 2400 N. Bell Ave., is expected to be complete by March 2020.

Since Fairhaven closed in 2007, vagrants and vandals have found shelter in the building’s cool interior. But its engineers built the structure to last.

Designed by famed Denton architect O’Neil Ford, with help from Roland Laney and Arch Swank, the original Fairhaven operated for 42 years. With its solid frame of brick and concrete, the building still stands strong.

Fairhaven reincarnate will marry the old with the new, said Justin Hobson, a real estate developer at Austin-based Investcor. Though the structure will stay true to its original design, it will also boast state-of-the-art appliances and modern amenities.

Hobson plans to install a library, sunroom, bistro, exercise room and private dining hall in the 47-unit building. Residents can anticipate meals made from fresh organic produce, yoga classes and trips to Fairhaven’s own beauty salon. A natural spring will feed into a small koi pond, which residents can admire during walks around the 3.3-acre property.

Even though the 32,000-square-foot facility will offer cutting-edge comforts, Hobson said Fairhaven packages will be reasonably priced. He estimates a housing rate of $3,600 to $3,800 per month.

“We’re not trying to be the Neiman Marcus of retirement homes, and we’re not trying to be like the Walmart,” he said. “We’re trying to be like the Target — a value play in the middle.”

Hobson has worked closely with the head of the nonprofit Historic Denton, Randy Hunt, throughout Fairhaven’s reconstruction.

Retrofitting the building to its original design has been a tedious, grueling process, Hobson said. But with Hunt’s guidance, Investcor secured a 45% tax incentive from the city and earned Fairhaven a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Denton’s historic preservation officer, Roman McAllen, said the significance of the designation can’t be overstated.

“I know there are people in the country who would pay a premium to stay in a retirement home designed by O’Neil Ford that’s on the National Register of Historic Places,” he said.

While architecture buffs may marvel at the building’s unique history, Hobson prefers recounting Fairhaven’s lesser-known origin story.

During the mid-1950s, indigent elderly people in need of housing had very few options, he said. Most families without wealth had to send aging relatives to live in “poorhouses,” which offered a substandard quality of life.

Then in 1956, an industrious group of women led by Myrtle Richardson, president of the Denton Business and Professional Women’s Club, decided to change that.

Richardson orchestrated a string of fundraisers to open a new breed of nursing home — one where she’d feel comfortable placing her own mother. After years of effort, substantial donations, and robust community support, Richardson and company opened Fairhaven on Feb. 14, 1965.

“I think that is the bigger story: the collective community effort to create something for their seniors,” Hobson said. “It was very selfless, it was very inspirational, and it was done by a group of women in the 1950s.”

According to a 1964 Denton Record-Chronicle article documenting the groundbreaking, Fairhaven’s finance chairman announced he hoped to someday erect a sign emblazoned with the words “Happiness Lives Here.” But Hobson said as far as he knows, that dream was never realized.

That’s why when Fairhaven reopens in 2020, Hobson will honor the home’s history by forging the sign that never was: Happiness Lives Here.

Historical preservation efforts are necessary to maintaining Denton’s character and culture, Hunt said. Although the renovation process has been riddled with many unforeseen challenges, Fairhaven’s proponents believe it will be worth it.

It’s buildings with stories like Fairhaven’s that make Denton worth living in, Hunt said.

“Denton has all these really cool [buildings],” he said. “And if we keep on tearing them down, what’s cool about Denton?”

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ABBOTT, WITH HELP FROM SANGER MAN, SIGNS BILL TO ENSURE DISABLED WORKERS ARE PAID AT LEAST MINIMUM WAGE

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on June 10, 2019.

Texas workers with disabilities will now earn at least minimum wage thanks to Senate Bill 753, a bill that was passed by the Legislature in May.

Blake Pyron of Sanger helped make it official.

Last Friday, the 23-year-old who has Down syndrome, joined Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Pilot Point, for the bill signing.

Blake Pyron’s mother, Mary Ann Pyron, said she and her son have spent countless hours lobbying for fair wages for people with disabilities. Together, they’ve traveled multiple times to Austin and Washington, D.C., to petition lawmakers to revoke Section 14(c) of 1938’s Fair Labor Standards Act. The disputed section allows employers to pay disabled workers less than the federal minimum wage.

“As Texans, we brag about our strong economy and how well people are paid,” Mary Ann Pyron said. “We want that to include everyone.”

Over the years, the Pyron family has formed a close relationship with Burgess, who flew to Austin from Washington to attend the signing ceremony.

“All people have inherent worth, and this law makes certain that each person’s value is recognized,” Burgess said in a news release.

SB 753 will require all contractors to pay workers with disabilities at least $7.25 an hour, which is the current federal minimum wage. Texas employers could previously pay disabled workers pennies on the dollar when compared to their non-disabled counterparts via the state’s Purchasing from People with Disabilities program.

Mary Ann Pyron said the taxpayer-funded program allowed employers to get away with paying disabled workers as little as $2 an hour. Most people are unaware, she added, that many disabled workers earn less than half of the federal minimum wage.

Employers must adhere to the mandate by no later than Sept. 1, 2022, according to the bill. State Rep. Lynn Stucky, R-Denton, who was a joint sponsor of the bill, said the Legislature needed to ensure that all hardworking Texans are paid fairly.

“Companies that benefit from these state contracts will no longer be able to take advantage of Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities by paying them less than minimum wage,” Stucky said in an emailed statement.

Blake Pyron is no stranger to the limelight. In 2016, he became the only person with a disability in Sanger to own their own business after he opened Blake’s Snow Shack, a snow cone stand. Plus, he was the youngest business owner in town.

Blake’s Snow Shack got a boost in publicity later that year after a Texas NASCAR team placed the business’s logo above its car’s rear tires.

Mary Ann Pyron said the pride she has in her son is immeasurable. He’s ecstatic to be leading the charge for fair pay for disabled persons everywhere, she said.

“We felt like we made something that was wrong for so many years; we turned it into a right,” she said. “There’s still more work to do, but at least we’re getting something done.”

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IT'S A FURNITURE AFFAIR:

Beanbags come and go, but Al's Furniture endures

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on June 9, 2019.

Clint Allen Knowles has been in the furniture business for precisely 80 percent of his life.

His store, Al’s Furniture, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this summer; Knowles is only 50. As Denton’s oldest independent family-owned furniture shop, Al’s boasts a staying power rarely seen in today’s economy. It’s 40 years down, Knowles said, hopefully another 40 to go.

Knowles attributes the store’s longevity to his family’s tight-knit bond. His parents, Al and Linda, opened the store in 1979, and it’s been all hands on deck ever since. Knowles started selling furniture when he was just 13 years old. Plus, he came up with the idea for the beanbags — a longtime staple of the McKinney Street storefront.

Back in the ’80s, Knowles convinced his father that selling colorful beanbags would be a profitable hit. He was right. The trend skyrocketed, with some people buying them “10 at a time,” Knowles said.

Even though the fad has since fizzled, Knowles still proudly displays colorful beanbags in the showroom windows as a nod to yesteryear.

“It’s kind of like an old friend,” he said. “You don’t want to get rid of them. But that’s how we’re remembered: as ‘The Beanbag Store.’”

Knowles' father died in 2005, leaving him and his mom with store. When she died in 2011, Knowles took the reins. He co-owned the store for a time with his sister, Codi, before she and her husband moved out of state in 2017. Though Knowles is now the sole owner, he gets by with help from his best friend Michael Wallace, who works the floor.

“Family gets kind of thick around here sometimes,” Knowles said. “We’ve had our spats and our disagreements over the years, but you wouldn’t change it.”

Entire generations of Denton residents have shopped at Al’s, Knowles said, a trend that he hopes will continue. “My parents used to shop here” is a refrain heard regularly in the store’s showroom, he said. Last week, Knowles even discovered that his barber made his very first credit card purchase at Al’s.

Knowles’ father loved jigsaw puzzles, and the family would bond over solving them together. Upward of a thousand jigsaws once lined the walls of Al’s, a feat that Knowles said earned the family a write-up in the Denton Record-Chronicle. He still likes to solve puzzles at home because it helps him relax, he said.

On a couple of occasions, Knowles and his parents pulled all-nighters at the store after vandals broke in. Together, the Knowles family would guard the remaining merchandise until the sun came up and handymen could replace the windows.

“Thankfully that hasn’t happened in years,” he said with a laugh.

Over time, other furniture crazes have waxed and waned. Knowles remembers when futons were all the rage. Then came velvet couches and next it was waterbeds. Now it’s adjustable mattresses, or what Knowles drily calls “glorified air mattresses.”

But Knowles’ current favorite? Electronically powered reclining sofas. He’s got a couple of them at home.

Knowles said Al’s Furniture has been able to hang tough during economic troughs, but lately it’s been hard. Over the last five years or so, Knowles has noticed an uptick in online shopping. Even hefty, high-ticket items like furniture can be purchased with the click of a button.

“It doesn’t help our local economy when [consumers] buy things on the internet,” he said. “I don’t really blame the customer, but it kills our business.”

Even though Al’s Furniture is one of the few retail stores on East McKinney Street, Knowles said he’s never wanted to move. His business gets a fair amount of foot traffic because of its location on a busy road, he said. The area is seeing a surge in interest, he added, with new apartment and office buildings beginning to crop up.

While he hopes to keep the family business going, Knowles said fiscal success isn’t everything. To him, family trumps all.

Knowles spends as much time as he can at home with his wife, Rachel, and their son Allen James, known as A.J., and daughter Sadie. And while he said he’d be happy if one of the kids wanted to run the family business someday, he also hopes they go to college.

Either way, Knowles and Wallace will keep plugging away, selling affordable furniture to friendly faces. For Knowles, it’s the best way to honor his parents’ memory.

“I love what I do and I’d like to stay here a long time,” he said. “My parents’ legacy is alive as long as Al’s Furniture is open.”

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NOSTALGIA CONSTRUCTORS

O. Deletron’s debut EP sets brainy, emotive music to old images.

Published in the Fort Worth Weekly on May 29, 2019.

O. Deletron is your favorite ’90s band that never existed. Building atop a foundation developed by indie rock pioneers Pavement and The Sea and Cake, the Fort Worth-based septet’s new EP, Subscription TV, captures the decade’s sonic zeitgeist without ever sounding derivative. O. Deletron’s debut record is at once intellectually stimulating and accessible. With a laser-like focus on clever songwriting, cofounders Aaron Bartz (vocals) and Jason Flynn (guitar) — both of Tame … Tame and Quiet fame — crafted each track with surgical precision.

Songwriting isn’t the only item on this EP’s menu. Each song is accompanied by grainy home videos that Flynn shot on an 8mm camera years ago. The faces of friends of yore flash onscreen before ebbing into oblivion. Subscription TV’s throwback aural and visual aesthetic is one that the band worked hard to craft.

“It’s kind of like looking back at the past and hanging out with your friends in your first apartment,” Bartz said. “That’s the emotional tie that I make when I watch it.”

While these musicians covet a retro aesthetic, they’re not stuck in the past. Lush, crisp production lends a hand to Subscription TV’s warm, swirling soundscape. Each of O. Deletron’s seven members, Bartz said, is indispensable in crafting the band’s distinctive sound. There are even two keyboard players, one of whom, he said, “holds down” the rhythm while the other “does the bleeps and bloops.”

Bartz and Flynn focus extra attention on penning lyrics. Bartz does most of the wordsmithing, and Flynn adds input when necessary. The pair has an ongoing Google Doc to which they will upload new lines and stanzas as inspiration strikes.

“When I listen to bands I really admire, I feel like the lyrics are a huge focal point in the center of the music,” Flynn said. “I’ve never heard a bad song with great lyrics, but I’ve heard pretty good songs with terrible lyrics.”

With a serious penchant for poetry, Bartz wields his words like a literary pro in the EP’s anthemic closer, “At the Rate of a Flickering Film.”

“And the streetlights / Guide me while / The shadows grow and shrink / At the rate of a flickering film / That I’m living,” Bartz sings in his lilting, unaffected delivery. “Forgot all the words / To your favorite song / Perhaps you never knew them / And got them all wrong.”

Despite the gravity of their material, the seven guys in O. Deletron are hardly somber band dudes. They keep the atmosphere light by playing myriad practical jokes on one another. Last April Fools’ Day, for instance, Flynn informed the rest of the band they’d be welcoming a second bass player at their next rehearsal. Not everyone was aware of the date, and a chaotic ruckus ensued.

Not having any merch to sling at their first show, each member brought an unwanted item with them and slapped an O. Deletron sticker on it. It was part performance, part art installation, and part garage sale, Flynn said. “The music can be serious sometimes,” he added, “so I think it’s really important to have that humor side to it.”

Much of Subscription TV was recorded at Flynn’s home studio, but The Fibs’ Robby Rux tracked drums and bass at Cloudland Recording Studio. After Flynn and O. Deletron keyboardist Tyler Walker mixed the material, they shot off the EP to Jordan Richardson (Son of Stan, Ben Harper & The Relentless 7) for mastering.

On Friday, the band will play its EP release show at The Tin Panther. Sur Duda is set to open, and The Baptist Generals’ Chris Flemmons is slated to perform a solo set. Concertgoers can purchase O. Deletron’s debut EP, although not in a conventional format. Subscription TV will be for sale only on VHS, in addition to being available for digital download.

O. Deletron is already working on recording its first full-length album, Hold Music, which Bartz and Flynn hope to release later this year. Until then, the guys hope that their audience enjoys listening to Subscription TV as much as they enjoyed making it.

“I hope that it grabs everybody the same way that it grabs everybody in the band,” Bartz said. “That’s why we have this band.”

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EXTRA INNINGS

Washed Up Rookie’s third EP is equal parts substance and style.

Published in the Fort Worth Weekly on May 15, 2019.

These dudes ain’t no lightweights. Washed Up Rookie’s third EP, Too Late, Pt. 2, is a veritable hat trick, the perfect soundtrack for a scorching Texas summer. Snake charmers of the modern-day attention span, these cats know how to lay down a nasty hook that’ll stick with you for days.

Drenched in reverb and fuzzy, muddied guitar, Too Late, Pt. 2 is rooted in a potent blend of garage rock and blues and propelled by an undercurrent of soul. Guitarist Colton Cogdill and drummer Madison Cotton grab the listener by the wrist, leading them down a back alley to either fuck or fight. An exercise in brevity, this three-song gem taps out in fewer than 10 minutes. And that’s by design.

“It’s only three songs, but that’s kind of how we roll,” Cogdill said while nursing a tequila soda at a bar on West Magnolia Avenue. “People have short attention spans. I don’t want to put out a full-length record that no one’s going to give a fuck about.”

Ever the showmen, Washed Up Rookie’s overall aesthetic is reinforced by a solid visual motif. Black-and-white photos of famous athletes and photogenic movie stars are peppered throughout the band’s social media. The branding-conscious duo even uses its own vintage-inspired mascot logo created by illustrator Matt Cliff, who’s designed work for neo-psych titans The Black Angels and Tripping Daisy. Style is even at the forefront in the pair’s songwriting. Cogdill said his writing is influenced by Quentin Tarantino’s über-stylized films and retro-philic soundtracks.

“We want to give the idea of Washed Up Rookie as in a worn-out athlete that just couldn’t quite make it,” Cotton said. “We try to tie the vintage sports team theme together, which is kind of who we are – just playing music and haven’t quite made it yet but still love what we do.”

Wary of ever turning stale, Cogdill and Cotton try to release a triad of songs each quarter. Why write a 12-song album, Cotton asked, when hardly anyone still listens to full-lengths all the way through? Even though they’re rapidly churning out new material, Cogdill said that most of his lyrics contain a recurring theme. Shame, guilt, and regret are omnipresent in the band’s catalog, he said. Case in point: the first stanza in opener “Photos Taped to a Mirror.”

“Shoulda known better, but I guess I don’t,” Codgill emotes through a thick fog of reverb. “I coulda done things, but I guess I won’t / If I had the money, I’d buy you a car / So when you’re driving with him down First / It’s still me taking you to the bar.”

Friends for over a decade, Cleburne-raised Cogdill and Cotton met back in high school. After bonding over music, sports, and films, the two formed a band, The Vibes, that would serve as the predecessor for their current outfit.

After high school, Cogdill briefly lived in Austin before returning to Fort Worth. Washed Up Rookie was born after the pair reconnected. They effortlessly picked up where they left off and even still rehearse at Cotton’s parents’ house — in the same room they did when they were teens. Cogdill and Cotton’s strong friendship makes the songwriting process a breeze, they said, but playing together live is even easier.

“We kind of have a musical telepathy where we can read each other and know exactly what’s going to happen next,” Cotton said.

Produced by Mean Motor Scooter’s Rebekah Elizabeth and Joe Tacke, Too Late, Pt. 2 was laid down at Cloudland Recording Studio. Elizabeth and Tacke contributed backing vocals, bass, and keys and will join the Rookies onstage Friday for their EP release show at Lola’s Trailer Park.

For now contented to play the occasional local watering hole, Washed Up Rookie nevertheless have their sights set on the finish line. The pair hopes to someday embark on a comprehensive regional tour. Until then, they’ll keep pumping out accessible songs for the intelligent listener and crooning for the lovesick barfly. Still, they wouldn’t turn down the chance to sign to a major label or play Madison Square Garden, Cogdill said.

“I’m shootin’ for the stars, baby. James Dean.”

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SEX & DRUGS & HEALTH CARE

HOW DMAC IS HELPING MUSICIANS GET HEALTHY

By Simone Carter

Published in the Denton Record-Chronicle on April 12, 2019.

Even household names aren’t immune. Famed surf rock progenitor, the singular guitarist Dick Dale, died last month at 81 after a long battle with the health care system. Plagued by an insidious suite of recurring illnesses, Dale couldn’t afford to retire. He had insurance to pay, plus $3,000 monthly for myriad medical expenses.

“I can’t stop touring because I will die,” Dale said in a 2015 interview with the Pittsburgh City Paper. “Physically and literally, I will die.”

Dale’s struggle with the health care system is a common theme in the musician community. Like many freelancers in the gig economy who don’t benefit from employer-sponsored insurance, a large percentage of professional musicians have limited access to affordable health care.

While there’s a general lack of data surrounding musicians’ health, one third of musicians were uninsured before the passage of the Affordable Care Act according to a survey by the Future of Music Coalition. And 86 percent of those respondents said it was because they couldn’t afford insurance.

That was certainly the case with Denton musician Brent Best. Though he made a decent living touring the world with his band Slobberbone, he couldn’t afford insurance for nearly three decades.

“I didn’t have health care since I moved out of my folks’ house at 17 I think,” Best said. “But you know, that’s the thing when you’re younger and in halfway decent health— you don’t think about it. And that can be problematic.”

But for Best, that changed after the conception of the nonprofit Denton Music and Arts Collaborative.

Founded in 2017 by its president, Nic Bagherpour, and vice president, Andy Knapik, DMAC formed with the goal of helping artists attain affordable health care. Best was one of the first musicians the organization recruited for its Health Insurance Subsidy Program, which helps artists subsidize their monthly premiums.

For Bagherpour, a solution to the health care problem was long overdue.

“We are the only industrialized nation that doesn’t have a single-payer health care system, a universal health care system,” he said. “And I think that speaks volumes about the way that our health care system works now.”

Bagherpour and Knapik worked closely with the nonprofit Health Alliance for Austin Musicians and modeled much of DMAC from it. Working off HAAM’s blueprints, DMAC has recruited 20 musicians for its Health Insurance Subsidy Program over the past two years.

The bulk of DMAC’s beneficiaries have never had insurance said Aubrey Mortensen, DMAC’s program director.

“I would say the majority of the people that I spoke with … had probably not gone to the doctor in the last 10 to 15 years,” Mortensen said. “And they probably had not seen a dentist in sometimes longer than that.”

Towns with large numbers of musicians, like Austin and Denton, typically have a higher-than-average percentage of persons without health insurance. Austin’s uninsured rate is over 50 percent higher than the United States’ average according to the Census Bureau’s website. Denton’s rate is two percentage points higher than Austin’s, or nearly double the national average.

While other factors may also be contributors, the correlation is hard to ignore.

Many freelance artists earn a yearly income that’s below the poverty line, making them ineligible for federal subsidies. And while the ACA helps insured musicians pay their premiums, they rarely visit the doctor because of expensive copays said Chioma Amadi, a community outreach team member at Health Services of North Texas.

But musicians have a greater need for insurance than the general population. Musicians are more injury-prone than people in other professions due to the repetitive and physical nature of their work, according to a 2016 article published in Johns Hopkins Magazine.

Cultural pressures also contribute to poor health among musicians. For some, frequent drinking and reckless partying come with the territory.

“People think touring musicians live a sort of a party lifestyle,” Best said. “Maybe it is for some people when they’re young. But … you can’t sustain anything that way.”

Musicians have shorter life expectancies and are more likely to develop drug and alcohol dependencies as a form of self-medication, according to a 2017 study published in the American Journal of Public Health. This is partly due to a lack of access to mental health care.

The state-funded Texas Music Office has helped DMAC by increasing awareness about its Health Insurance Subsidy Program. TMO Director Brendon Anthony said his organization provides resources to “Music Friendly Communities,” a title that Denton earned last year thanks in part to the launch of DMAC.

“Those efforts are saving people’s lives,” Anthony said. “And there’s really fewer higher callings in our industry than doing that nonprofit work.”

Though organizations like DMAC and HAAM are working to assist their respective communities, other famed music towns are behind the curve. Fort Worth has implemented a robust program to aid aspiring musicians, Anthony said, but Dallas has more work to do. Neither town currently has a program dedicated to subsidizing musicians’ health care.

But while other cities scramble to progress, DMAC is broadening its scope. The organization is teaming with Denton-based art collective Spiderweb Salon this summer to provide group counseling sessions to artists in need. DMAC also hopes to augment its roster to 32 beneficiaries by the end of this year.

The ACA certainly has its critics, but Mortensen said that most people are supportive of DMAC’s mission. Bagherpour agreed.

Helping local musicians is a cause that transcends politics, he said. It’s in Denton’s DNA to support the arts.

“I think the best thing about this community is its artistic, cultural fabric,” Bagherpour said. “If we can keep an artistic cultural center in this town and keep all the artists here, then Denton will still be a place worth living in.”

DMAC co-founder’s legacy lives on

The city continues to mourn his loss. Andy Knapik, co-founder and vice president of the Denton Music and Arts Collaborative, died on Jan. 21, 2019, after a five-month stint in the hospital. He suffered a heart attack in August and eventually received a heart transplant, but later succumbed to various complications.

His death hit DMAC hard.

“Andy, he was the heart of our organization,” said Nic Bagherpour, DMAC’s co-founder and president.

People who knew Knapik say he dedicated his life to serving others and possessed a philanthropic ethos. A husband and father to three adopted children, he worked full-time and was pursuing an MBA in Nonprofit Management at the University of North Texas.

It was his lively spirit and can-do attitude that impressed his wife the most. Heidi Mlakar-Knapik said her husband continually inspired her and set a wonderful example for their children. Knapik’s love of music was unparalleled and he reveled in helping the musicians he admired, she said. She hopes to pass his love of volunteerism on to their children.

“That is my goal in life now,” Mlakar-Knapik said. “To take Andy’s death and make sure that the kids and I are fired to go and make great things happen.”

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Grief's harvest

Enigmatic musician Sarah Ruth is a force

Published in the Fort Worth Weekly on Jan. 23, 2019

Musician Sarah Ruth Alexander is a second-generation child of the Dust Bowl. Born to a family of cotton farmers outside a tiny Texas town called Lakeview, she grew up listening to her parents’ stories about the devastation the dust storms wrought. Much like the dust that engulfed homes in the 1930s, Alexander’s suburban Denton home is completely submerged in art. Packed bookshelves strain under their load, photographs and paintings cover the walls, and recordings and potted plants rest on every available surface.

At 5-feet-11-inches and clad in all black, Alexander exudes a commanding presence. With jet-black hair and deep brown eyes, she holds direct eye contact and makes broad gestures to emphasize important points.

Alexander’s intensity is perfectly matched by her music. Her last album, The Shape of Blood to Come, is dedicated to her friend, musician Nevada Hill, who died from cancer in 2016. In it, Alexander mines her grief and distills it into song. Beautiful operatic singing morphs into controlled, guttural screaming. Her eerie dulcimer and foreboding harmonium transport you to a world of pure black nothing.

“It was therapy to get through a thing that I really didn’t discuss with anybody,” she said of the songwriting process.

The Shape of Blood to Come features a seasoned cast of Texas musicians including Daron Beck (Pinkish Black), Frank Cervantez (Sub Oslo), Beth Dodds (Bukkake Moms), Will Kapinos (Dim Locator), Paul Slavens (Ten Hands), and Jon Teague (Pinkish Black).

She’s known Fort Worth-based musicians Cervantez, Teague, and Beck— the latter of whom was also her roommate for several years— from crossing paths in the music scene. You can hear Beck’s colossal keyboard timbre, Cervantez’s guitar serrations, and Teague’s punishing drums flecked throughout the album.

But “album” is an unfair classification— “opus” might be more accurate. Alexander created a running theme, a heartbreakingly beautiful melody that reinforces the composition’s structure after it spins into chaotic improvisation.

Alexander shies away from writing lyrics because she thinks they’re too subjective. Her main goal is to affect her listener viscerally, she said, and she doesn’t need language to do that. There are no lyrics on the album save for one spoken word excerpt on “A Theme and Variations (Blastoff).” The sole stanza shines.

“In regards to magic, magic is real and beautiful,” Alexander says, her voice cloaked in distortion. “But the chemistry, the chemistry can be quite volatile / Explosive at times, calming at others / Basking in the passionate confines of such extremes / We reap our poetry.”

She’s educated and it shows. As a student at the University of North Texas, Alexander had to pass a piano proficiency, analyze a sonata, and write an exposition to a fugue to obtain her music degree. Even still, she said some people don’t take her seriously as a musician because she’s a woman.

Over the course of her lifelong career, Alexander’s had to brush off slimy concertgoers who yell vulgarities at her while she’s performing. Some sound guys dismiss her and instead ask her male bandmates how to mic her instruments. One sound guy ignored her completely, speaking only to her husband about her upcoming set even though he wasn’t in the band.

But Alexander takes it in stride.

“Women have to work extra hard because we’re under more scrutiny,” she said. “Men can be mediocre, but women can’t. Which I take as a good thing.”

Alexander does work extra hard. On top of gigging frequently, she also co-owns the family cotton farm, works part-time at an aquatic plant farm, DJs on Denton radio station KUZU, and freelances as a music teacher.

This Friday, she’ll play at Division Brewing in Arlington to benefit the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, a nonprofit agency dedicated to providing migrants with legal assistance.

Last Saturday, she flexed her improvisation chops at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in conjunction with the Laurie Simmons exhibit. Taking cues from the avant-garde Feminist Improvising Group, Alexander’s ensemble used hairdryers, kitchen timers, pans, and other domestic appliances as instruments.

Whether it’s solo or with a band, the atoms in the room galvanize into lightning when Alexander performs. She loses herself to trance, she said, as soon as she hits the stage. She lives for the moments when her performance strikes someone, when it moves them in an unexpected way. Using her platform to connect with her audience emotionally, Alexander specializes in conjuring catharsis.

“I want people to feel cleansed of something,” she said. “Something that was maybe hard to communicate. Maybe there’s a release, like I could be a vessel for that.”

A WOLF IN PRADA JEANS

Why I'm boycotting Amazon

Published in The Denton Record-Chronicle on Jan. 15, 2019

The pain was excruciating.

Last year, 49-year-old Vickie Shannon Allen sustained a workplace injury at an Amazon warehouse in Haslet. She severely injured her back at a workstation that was missing a piece of safety gear, leaving her disabled and unable to fulfill her shift duties. Even though Amazon was entirely at fault, the company refused to pay Allen during the three weeks she couldn’t work.

Living off a diet of canned goods and prescription pain medication, Allen tried desperately to raise enough money for rent. But her landlords evicted her when she fell short.

She now sleeps in her car in the Amazon warehouse parking lot.

“I hope you can sleep well at night knowing what you do to people, Jeff Bezos,” Allen said in a YouTube video. “I hope you have a good, clean conscience when you lay your head down on your Egyptian cotton pillows.”

Until today, I used Amazon all the time. I would charge my card at least once a week for purchases big and small. Need a cheap used textbook? Amazon has it. Need some slick new Nikes? Amazon has them. The site even carries the particular brand of biodegradable, lavender-scented waste bags that I use to pick up after my dog on our daily walks.

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos has concocted a seductive equation for the modern American consumer: Convenience plus instant gratification equals necessity. He’s convinced us that we need same-day shipping, we need cheaply made products for increasingly lower costs. Click, buy, repeat.

But while you may have just shaved 5 cents off a knee-jerk purchase, Amazon’s warehouse workers struggle to afford the most basic necessities. Meanwhile, Bezos is raking it in: Every nine seconds, the world’s richest man makes another $28,638. That’s more than what the median Amazon worker makes in an entire year.

Income disparity aside, low-level employees liken working conditions at Amazon to “modern slavery.”

A records request filed by the U.K.-based general trade union GMB revealed that over 600 ambulances have been called to Amazon warehouses in the past three years. Seven factory workers have died on the job since 2013, either from accidents or natural causes triggered by heinous working conditions, according to a report by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. This shameful track record earned Amazon a spot on 2018’s “dirty dozen” list compiled by NCOSH.

Workers are subjected to grueling, near-impossible production goals. “Order pickers” are expected to process 300 items per hour, or about one item every 12 seconds, forcing some to sprint to meet their quota.

Here, workers are faced with a Kafka-esque scenario. Supervisors punish employees who don’t meet their impossible daily output goals, but they also punish them for running. Needless to say, turnover is high where even the fittest can’t survive.

Amazon harbors a paranoid workplace environment by implementing a rigorous points system. Workers lose points for a multitude of minor infractions. It’s six strikes, and you’re out.

Sick employees lose points if they take a day off, even if they have a doctor’s note. Undercover author James Bloodworth reported that some workers urinate in bottles since bathroom breaks impede meeting breakneck productivity expectations. One Amazon employee also told Business Insider that some warehouse workers use trash cans as urinals.

With such nightmarish working conditions and impossible standards, it’s clear that Amazon regards its employees not as people but as animate robots.

Far from being a man of the people, Jeff Bezos is a wolf in Prada jeans. He is a rags-to-riches cliche, the human embodiment of the tired American dream. Though he may be a poster boy for crony capitalism, he is lacking basic human empathy. He is complicit in preventable workplace injuries and the deaths of underprivileged employees.

While I’ll certainly miss Prime’s lightning-hot sales and the benefit of same-day shipping, I’ve decided to boycott Amazon. Until Bezos raises employees’ wages and drastically improves warehouse working conditions, I’m going to live like it’s 2005.

They say you can’t put a price on a human life, but I can. It’s the cost of a Prime membership: $119 a year.

STAG PUNK

Gollay's new single will rip you to shreds

Published in Fort Worth Weekly on Jan. 9, 2019

Don’t even think about messing with Gollay. In “White Stag,” the first single off the Fort Worth five-piece’s upcoming album, frontwoman Rachel Gollay and company shake you out of your contented haze and gear you up for war.

A sharp shift from their last two releases — 2014’s indie-sounding Built for Love and 2018’s experimental EP Player — Gollay’s new single is punk as hell, with gritty guitars, syncopated hooks, and spacey synths. Referring to “White Stag” as a “sonic punch in the gut,” Gollay told me that the band decided to make the tune their first release because it acts as an introduction to the next wave of songs they’ll be releasing.

“It’s kind of an upbeat rocker, sort of a party,” she said.

In Celtic lore, the white stag is a harbinger of change. A messenger from the otherworld, a white stag would materialize to signify that a major taboo had been broken. Gollay’s “White Stag” was written in the turbulent aftermath of the 2016 presidential election and the dawn of the #MeToo movement.

Though she insisted that her latest arsenal of songs isn’t overtly about politics, Gollay said she works through many of her politically induced anxieties during the songwriting process. Due out Friday, the tune boldly charges at the patriarchy.

“You tell us who you are / In no uncertain terms / The marathon’s on fire / But no reaction when it burns,” she brusquely sings. “A fake apology / That’s how you know it works / On someone else’s back / When is it gonna be her turn? / My turn?”

Gollay’s expressive lyrics reveal her academic background. An avid reader and active writer, she puts her English and media studies degree from Texas Christian University to use by penning high-impact, illustrative verses to accompany her singular musical style.

But literature isn’t Gollay’s only muse. She also finds inspiration in more unconventional places. She said her latest album is equally influenced by her fascination with true crime shows and HBO’s Westworld, which she binge-watched while battling an illness.

“I was taking a lot of cough medicine, so I was having these weird, in-and-out-of-sleep fever dreams about artificial intelligence and androids,” she said, laughing.

Though Gollay is the main songwriter, bandmates Russell Jack (keys), Joshua Ryan Jones (drums), Billy Naylor (bass), and Taylor Tatsch (guitar) also contributed to the creative process. Jack, who co-wrote the album, recorded the bulk of it at his home studio in Fort Worth. The band laid down the rest of the overdubs at Tatsch’s AudioStyles in Dripping Springs.

The band will drop a new single each month before unveiling the entire album, Override, later this year. Gollay said she also plans on incorporating multimedia elements into the band’s future live shows and hopes to embark on a regional tour.

With an emphasis on clever instrumentation and keen lyrics, Gollay said she thinks that people will be challenged by her band’s upcoming record. She also hopes that Override will serve as a beacon of reassurance.

“The election shook me and a lot of people out of complacency about where we stood as human beings, I think, in our country,” she said. “Hopefully, some of these songs provide a light at the end of the tunnel.”

PRETTY GOOD FOR A GIRL

Published in the Dallas Observer on Dec. 28, 2018

It’s 11 p.m. on a stormy Friday in Denton when band practice finally gets going. Intermittent claps of thunder and the unmistakable shriek of feedback pierce the tranquility of a quiet neighborhood.

Guitarist Ariel Hartley sets up the closet-sized rehearsal space in the back of her cozy rental house. She deftly untangles serpentine cords, plugging them in to their corresponding amplifier input jacks. She’s done this before.

Bandmates Stefanie Lazcano, Bailey Chapman and Chelsey Danielle laugh loudly in the kitchen, downing their last swigs of beer before filing in to join Hartley in the cramped practice room. It’s time to rehearse.

Hartley founded neo-psych band Pearl Earl in mid-2014 with Chapman and Lazcano; Danielle joined two years later. Their unique sound and colorful aesthetic quickly earned them a sterling reputation in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

“I’ve always gravitated towards psychedelia and prog rock and glam rock, and then synth pop,” Hartley says in an airy voice and lilting cadence. “I like guitars that sound like synths and synths that sound like guitars.”

Pearl Earl’s work ethic and business sense are unparalleled. The band gigs constantly, going on tour as frequently as their respective day jobs permit. When they’re not writing new material, they’re working on promoting their brand.

Earlier that day, the group worked diligently on sending out new band T-shirts to fans across the country. Later this month, they plan to premiere a music video for “Captain Howdy,” the latest single off their eponymous debut album.

While they may take the band seriously, that doesn’t mean they take themselves seriously. The group shares a bulletproof bond and an infectious joie de vivre.

“We’ve done a lot of really fun, crazy and dumb things together,” drummer Chapman says candidly. “We’ve had wrestling matches with people we literally just met.”

Hartley nods vigorously.

“I’ve run into manatees with these people, I’ve been cuddled at night by these people,” she says.

Bassist Lazcano laughs before launching into a story about how they celebrated her birthday a few years ago.

“They surprised me with cake and a piñata that was full of all sorts of adult goodies,” Lazcano says. “And then afterwards— late at night— we decided to go to the pool and everybody was skinny-dipping. There were like 30 people there.”

Chapman chimes in: “Lots of naked times together, lots of fun times together.”

While the band might be happy-go-lucky in their free time, they sometimes struggle to get people to treat them like professional musicians when they’re on the clock. Pearl Earl often battles a trite stereotype: Girls can’t play rock and roll.

“I forget half the time that I’m a chick until I’m pleasantly reminded by a dude,” keyboardist Danielle says, a tinge of frustration coloring her voice.

“One comment I’ll get is, ‘Man, you guys are good for a girl band.’”

Pearl Earl have become pros at diverting unwanted attention and interrupting the male gaze. They’re used to guys inserting themselves where they’re not wanted.

Men frequently ask if they need help carrying heavy gear. The answer is always “no.”

Master tightrope walkers, the band carefully treads the line between familiarity and professionalism. If they’re too standoffish they’ll be dubbed as “bitches,” and they can’t afford to be too nice. One slight misstep— a half-smile or polite laugh— and a person could get the wrong idea.

“It’s hard to be cordial with some guys; they’ll think, ‘Oh, she likes me,’” Danielle says. “And then it gets out of hand and all of a sudden you get a weird random message and you’ll be like, ‘I’m sorry, we don’t play music anymore.’”

Sometimes the unwanted attention is relatively harmless, like being held captive in a one-sided conversation or a too-long hug. But sometimes it can be scary.

Hartley says that a year ago, a middle-aged fan started stalking her. For several months he sent her threatening messages via social media and her personal email with increasing frequency.

The likelihood of an incident seemed imminent as the accused stalker, who has a license to carry, began bringing his gun to Pearl Earl gigs. This prompted Hartley to file a complaint with the Denton Police Department, but she says they weren’t much help.

“I was really afraid because no one was listening to me at the police station,” Hartley says. “No one was taking me seriously.”

Chapman nods somberly, adding, “They said nothing could be done until something bad happens.”

Though they still fear for their safety, Pearl Earl continues to play regular gigs both in Denton and across the country. One “delusional” fan won’t keep them from their passion: playing catchy psychedelic cuts to an appreciative, rapidly expanding fan base.

Pearl Earl plan to embark on a three week long West Coast tour in 2019. They also look forward to recording new material.

Hartley says she ultimately hopes to inspire a new generation of fearless female musicians. Because women musicians, she says, aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

“Females have always been making music,” Hartley says frankly. She takes a sip of her homemade old-fashioned cocktail and cracks a wry smile.

“This isn’t a new trend. We’ve always been there.”

DENTON LIGHTS UP

THE ANNUAL DENTON HOLIDAY LIGHTING FESTIVAL DELIGHTED YOUNG AND OLD

People of all ages celebrated the holidays at Friday’s annual Denton Holiday Lighting Festival on the Square. The crowded festival boasted live music, arts and crafts, vendor booths, food trucks and a toy drive. Severe thunderstorms shut down the festival prematurely, but not before Denton County Judge Mary Horn introduced the town’s new Christmas tree. A Nellie R. Stevens holly, the imposing tree is named after the first female Denton County commissioner, Lee Walker.

FLOODING THE POLLS

DENTON RESIDENTS DETERMINED TO VOTE IN THE 2018 MIDTERMS

In the ruby-red state of Texas, there may be at least one sapphire standout this midterm election: Denton County could turn blue. Fueled by a divisive national political climate, residents who are frustrated with the current state of affairs are flooding the local polls.

Republican incumbent Senator Ted Cruz and his challenger, Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke, were tied after early voting ended in Texas on Friday.

Isabel Deniz, 24, is a voter registration canvasser for the non-profit Jolt Initiative, an organization that aims to increase the number of registered Latino voters in Texas. She said that this year has seen a sharp increase in voter participation, particularly among young voters.

“There were a lot of young people who were really excited,” Deniz said. “Even when I was poll greeting, 75 percent of that line were young college students. Which is amazing because any time I’ve ever early voted it’s been me and like, senior citizens.”

Records are being broken left and right. The Dallas Morning News reported that early-voter turnout has more than doubled in some North Texas counties ahead of this year’s midterms. Similarly, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported that Denton’s early voting numbers have already surpassed the vote count from the entire 2016 midterms.

Denton voters had to wait in line anywhere from 40 minutes to around an hour and a half every day of early voting, Deniz said. She registered hundreds of new voters ahead of the midterms and said she was proud to have registered a new American citizen and a 60-year-old first-time voter.

According to a poll conducted via Google Drive, O’Rourke carries a strong lead among Denton respondents. Over 50 percent of respondents identified as Democrats, with a third identifying as independents. Sixty-three percent voted early, and 93 percent cast their vote in favor of O’Rourke. The most salient issues for Denton voters are health care, national politics, immigration, education and climate change.

Election day is Tuesday, November 6. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Denton County Brewing Company and Dan’s Silver Leaf will host election watch parties that night.

North Texas Residents Flock to the Polls

A VERY DENTON HALLOWEEN

RESIDENTS CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY WITH TRICK OR TREATING AND A MOVIE SCREENING DOWNTOWN

8:17 p.m.: The second showing has ended. Happy Halloween, everyone! 🎃#halloween⁠ ⁠ #Charliebrown #denton #untmojof18

7:54 p.m.: Alfredo Sanchez is asking people if they’ve voted yet. Sanchez, who was once a candidate for Denton ISD School Board, says “I’m out here because there’s a lot of young families. I want to make sure that they vote for the future of their children and their education.” #untmojof18

7:43 p.m.: Surprise! They just announced they’re playing the movie again in five minutes. A church representative said, “Tell all your friends to get here!” #charliebrown #untmojof18 #halloween⁠ ⁠

7:37 p.m.: Show’s over, folks! #halloween⁠ ⁠ #charliebrown #denton #untmojof18

7:36 p.m.: Some people dressed as characters from the film. Jake, dressed as Charlie Brown, is Cross Timbers Church’s student pastor. “It’s not everyday that you see a church put on a Halloween-themed event,” he says. “It’s been great doing this for the local community.” #untmojof18 #denton

7:28 p.m.: Some fans of the film lounge on lawn chairs as they watch. It’s a little more comfortable than the ground. #snoopy #halloween⁠ ⁠ #untmojof18

7:25 p.m.: The Courthouse lawn is packed! #halloween⁠ ⁠ #untmojof18

7:23 p.m.: It’s show time!!! The movie has finally begun. #halloween⁠ ⁠ #untmojof18

7:22 p.m.: A representative of Cross Timbers Church welcomes movie watchers to the show. The Denton County Courthouse and Atomic Candy partnered with the church to put on the event. #halloween⁠ ⁠ #denton #untmojof18

7:14 p.m.: Major correction! I previously wrote that the movie was scheduled for 7:45. It was actually scheduled for 6:45. #sorry #untmojof18

7:10 p.m.: Atomic Candy employee, Amy, says that today has been good for business. “Last year the weather was pretty bad on Halloween so not as many people came in,” she says. “A lot more people are coming in today.” #halloween⁠ ⁠ #denton #untmojof18

6:50 p.m.: Officer Hurd of the Denton Police Department loves working this event. “It’s great that kids and families are able to come out and treat or treat in a safe environment like this,” she says. “And I love seeing all of the fun costumes!” #halloween⁠ ⁠ #denton #dentonpd #untmojof18

6:42 p.m.: A showing of the Halloween classic, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” will happen at the Courthouse at 7:45 tonight. The treat crawl and movie showing were originally scheduled for the 31st, but were rescheduled due to a high chance of rain. ⛈#Halloween⁠ ⁠ #untmojof18 #denton

6:36 p.m.: John Williams, owner of East Side, and manager Kregg Ross enjoy passing out treats. Ross, in the banana suit, says this year’s Trick or Treat fest has been busy. #halloween⁠ ⁠ #denton #untmojof18

6:26 p.m.: Just arrived at the Denton Square, where excited costumed youngsters are participating in a Halloween candy crawl 🍭🎃. #halloween⁠ ⁠ #denton #untmojof18

Out of the shadows

Cirque Du Horror rises from the grave

It was all work and no play. Back in 2009, Denton-based composer David Pierce was in a stubborn musical rut. He was keeping busy as a band director, private music teacher and freelance composer, but he still felt unfulfilled. He was stuck creatively and wasn’t producing anything for himself.

Sensing his frustration, Pierce’s wordsmith uncle slipped him a couple of lines of macabre poetry to serve as a source of inspiration:

Out of the shadows that tickle me,

Thorny and horny and smelly as brie.

It did the trick.

“Basically that was the big bang moment,” Pierce said. “As soon as I read that it just made sense to me what I had to do. And you know, the pen couldn’t go fast enough.”

That year, Pierce masterminded what would become a legendary Denton Halloween tradition: Cirque du Horror. Hosted each year by Dan’s Silver Leaf, the spooky show boasts a witch’s brew of vaudeville, musical theater and dance. Pierce transforms into a demon conductor, leading his “Orchestra of the Undead” through original songs while actors delight a captive audience.

The orchestra is comprised of first-rate local musicians, many of whom are alumni of the University of North Texas’ prestigious College of Music. Brad Williams has played piano in Cirque du Horror since its inception in 2009. Even though he’s a seasoned musician, some of Pierce’s songs still stretch his musical chops.

“He’ll try and push all of our limits a little bit,” Williams said. “He knows what I can do and so he’ll write something that’s just a little harder than I want it to be. So I’m really concentrating on playing.”

Each musician has their own busy schedule. Some play in the Dallas Opera or in symphonies around the Metroplex. But reenlisting them each year is never a problem.

“The joke is that they keep their skeleton outfits as security so that I’ll ask them back,” Pierce said with a laugh. “So that always makes me feel good.”

Though Pierce has a handle on his undead orchestra, he needs a lot of help behind the scenes. That’s where his visual director, Tara Linn Hunter, comes in.

Hunter works tirelessly each year to manifest the show’s uniquely ghoulish set, distilling the essence of Halloween down to its purest form. She rejects the grotesque in favor of a more subtle, eerie vision.

“I’m really not interested in haunted houses or like, gory Party City Halloween stuff,” she said. “I draw a lot of my inspirations from film noir, that time period where shadows and darkness, there was a real dark beauty to them.”

The show is reconceptualized each year through new skits, tricks and effects. This Halloween, Hunter and a team of dedicated volunteers created life-sized puppets to flesh out Pierce’s stories. The ultimate goal is to move Cirque du Horror to an actual circus tent.

Until then, Pierce is contented playing ringleader to a motley tribe of local musicians, actors and volunteers at Dan’s Silver Leaf. The joy it brings him isn’t going away any time soon.

“Over the years, Cirque has remained my release,” Pierce said. “It’s still magical to me. No matter how tired or how stressed I am, when I’m in a rehearsal or when I’m at a performance, it’s literally the most fun that I have all year making music— hands down.”

Beautiful Nightmare

It’s a chilly Thursday night in October when musician Daniel Markham pulls into the parking lot of Denton’s premiere outdoor music venue, Harvest House. The 37-year-old songwriter begins to load in his gear, the gravel crunching beneath his black Converse with each step. Sporting a black leather jacket and a black Danzig shirt, the monochromatic Markham has arrived. He came here to rock and roll.

Markham moved to Denton for his music career in 2011 and has been a formidable presence on the scene ever since. He’s found his musical niche in Denton and stays busy playing in five bands, including his solo project. Though touring is one of his passions, it can be hard to attract an out-of-town audience. But he loves playing, even if it’s only to a crowd of one.

“Honestly, sometimes it feels like nobody cares at all,” Markham says. “So if there’s one person that cares about your band, hell yeah. That’s way more than none.”

Over the years, he’s collected a few tour horror stories. In Joshua Tree, he swears he saw a man shape-shift before sprinting into the pitch-black desert. In Salt Lake City, a drugged-out David Cross look-alike in a pink robe stepped on his face while he slept on the floor. In Birmingham, he pulled up to his gig at a famed club only to realize they had screwed up his name.

“We got there and the marquee said ‘David Markham Live,’” he says with a laugh. “Which I thought was great. I have a cousin named David Markham so I took a picture and sent it to him.”

Between touring, teaching private lessons and slinging vinyl at Mad World Records downtown, Markham still finds time to write. He tries to release a record every year, and he usually makes good on that goal. He unveiled Hyperspeed earlier in 2018 and just finished recording another album, Burnout, due out next year.

Markham works countless hours behind the scenes. And while he may not be a household name yet, as far as he’s concerned, he’s already made it.

“My dream job is doing exactly what I’m doing,” he says. “My dream job is a nightmare, but it’s a beautiful nightmare.”

SHUT UP AND PLAY

Rock Lottery XVII to descend on Denton

What do a cheese grater, a saw, members of the Dallas Cowboys drumline and a bare bottom have in common? They’ve all been used as instruments in the auditory extravaganza that is Rock Lottery. Part musical marathon, part visual circus, Rock Lottery will return to Dan’s Silver Leaf in Denton on Saturday, Oct. 13, with all proceeds benefitting radio station KUZU 92.9 FM.

Scott Porter, 44, is the host of this year’s morning ceremony and has participated in the event both onstage and behind-the-scenes.

“Rock Lottery is Denton prom; it is the biggest party of the year,” he said. “Everybody makes friends, and the music scene gets a little smaller with every Rock Lottery.”

During the morning ceremony, 25 brave musicians are randomly grouped into five bands. They then have 12 hours to come up with three to five songs, only one of which can be a cover. That night each band must play its brand-new tunes to a sold-out crowd.

Rock Lottery is a labor of love for its committee director, 32-year-old Chuck Crosswhite. For the last six months he’s led a team of dedicated committee members who have donated countless hours to planning this year’s incarnation. It’s a lot of work for no pay, but Crosswhite doesn’t mind.

“I think the main reason I do this is because I love this town,” he said. “I love the music scene, the community, the people in it.”

Martin Iles, 46, co-founded the event in 1997 with his colleagues at the Good/Bad Art Collective. It has since touched down in cities like Los Angeles, Brooklyn and Seattle and attracted bona fide rock stars as participants.

While the yearly event invigorates a rabid audience of local music fans, it can also petrify prospective musicians. But Iles believes participants should lean into the proverbial trust fall: Denton’s audience works exceptionally well as a safety-net.

“So often the musicians come into the experiment nervous,” Iles said. “What we tell them is that you’re never going to come across a more supportive audience because everybody in the audience knows the circumstances you’re in. You’re still going to get amazing applause.”

Local musician Scott Danbom, 45, participated in the inaugural Rock Lottery and experienced firsthand how unnerving it can be. Some musicians get paralytically nervous and some have flat-out bailed. But quitting, Danbom said, should never be an option.

“You don’t have very much choice,” he said. “You signed up. So shut up and play.”

The grind of being a booker:

It's less glamorous than you think

Perched atop an ancient swiveling office chair, 25-year-old Garrett Gravley stoops over a cluttered desk, a cold Dos Equis beer in hand. Blinding fluorescent lights flicker overhead as he stares at a calendar on the desktop computer. It’s here in the cramped office of renowned Denton music venue Dan’s Silver Leaf that Gravley feels most at home.

Gravley began booking bands at Dan’s Silver Leaf in 2017 and has spent many late nights in the office making last-minute calls and sealing deals. But he didn’t start out dreaming about coordinating shows. Like many kids, Gravley wanted to be a rock star when he grew up; like many kids, he didn’t quite get there.

“Whenever you’re young you want to start playing music, but I was never really any talented,” Gravley says with a laugh. “So I wanted to get involved without having to be a good musician. I’m not even good enough for punk, to be quite honest.”

Gravley cut his teeth booking shows while he was still a student at the University of North Texas. He quickly made a name for himself in the DIY scene and moved on to work at beloved punk venue Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios until its closure in 2016.

Since then Gravley has worked full-time for a corporate drug wholesaler to supplement his booking habit. And though he works nearly non-stop, Gravley isn’t exactly raking in the dough. Booking shows is a risky business.

“If a band doesn’t have many streams or good PR, it’s a big gamble to give them a guarantee,” Gravley says. “But if they have a good history in the market then it’s a safe bet. It’s a gamble for sure, but you do what you can to mitigate as much risk as possible.”

On some nights he pockets a modest sum after covering expenses, but some nights he loses big. Much like gambling, booking shows is an addiction for Gravley.

While it may not be a profitable part-time position, it is a fulfilling past-time. Live music is his passion— one that he loves sharing with others. And that’s enough to keep Gravley from throwing in the towel just yet.

“One thing that always brings me back [to booking] despite the grind of it is there’s always that one show that you do that’s so life-affirming,” Gravley says. “I love giving that to other people.”

Interview with Miniature Painter Robert Zimmerman

Humans of Denton