Cory Graves
Seryn Gets The Documentary Treatment and Ryan Thomas Becker Tackles The Talking Heads.
As we briefly mentioned in last week's edition of our local music Buzz Rankings, Paste magazine has debuted the first single from Seryn's upcoming sophomore record.
But, as far as that album is concerned, there's more news on that front: A pair of Austin filmmakers have been spending time with the band on the road and in the studio, collecting footage and interviews for a documentary film on the still-young band. Ty Clark and Kristopher Rutherford's A Canvas of Sound delves into how six different people can come together, each contributing moments of “sounds and silences,” into a unified piece of music. Or as Clark puts it: “As a visual artist (a painter), I am 'one' individual who stands before a canvas with my own thoughts and my own experiences. I am alone when I start a painting and alone when I complete a painting. I have always been intrigued by a group of musicians who can come together to create a 'work of art' in sound. There are six musicians that make up Seryn, they are all different, all extremely creative and talented in their own musical skill sets. Kris and I want to tell the story about how Seryn stands before a blank canvas as six artists, and through creative process, joys, frustrations, commonality, experience and multiple other emotions visually show how they create a brilliant canvas of sound.”
While we get the point Clark's attempting to put forth, we personally find the idea of a band meriting a full-length documentary on themselves after less than five years together and but a single album in their catalog more perplexing than the idea of multiple persons writing music together.
Maybe that's just us. Watch the full trailer below.
Sticking to the realm of visual media, both former members of Smile Smile are celebrating video releases for their new projects this week. Released over the weekend, “Pay Attention” serves as the debut of keyboardist Jencey Keeton's new electro-pop outfit, French 75. The video, we're also told, is just the first installment in a series of post-apocalyptic clips that the new act will be unveiling in the near future. Not to be outdone, Keeton's ex-bandmate Ryan Hamilton is set to unveil a new video for his solo project this Thursday as well.
Moving on to the print world, we've recently received confirmation that Ghoultown frontman Lyle Blackburn has completed his second book. The follow-up to last year's The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster explores the true story of the Bishopville Lizard Man. The yet-to-be-titled work will be published by Anomalist, with a tentative release date of Halloween. Considering Blackburn''s pair of books, his regular column in Rue Morgue magazine and his own personal Bigfoot-hunting exploits, we'd say Blackburn has made a strong case for himself as North Texas' premier cryptozoologist.
The title of North Texas' most prominent guitarist, though? That has to go to go to Ryan Thomas Becker, who along with the half-dozen-or-so bands he plays with on a regular basis, is seemingly always down to ply his craft, be it as a studio musician or a fill-in ax-man always ready to save the day. For his next feat of heroics, Becker will take part in a 10-piece North Texas “all-star” band led by L.A. producer Scrote to cover Talking Heads' Remain in Light album in its entirety. Catch the set July 4 at Dan's Silverleaf and July 6 at Kessler Theater. As if that weren't enough, Becker will also team with Spooky Folk violinist Petra Kelly's Sparklehorse tribute Devil's Progress to open both shows.
Meanwhile, another Becker-bolstered group, Satans of Soft Rock also just announced their first full-length LP would be released this fall.
On a related note, Centro-matic Tweeted this week that they had finished tracking their latest LP. According to the band, the album's working title is Take Pride In Your Long Odds.
Cover photo of Seryn by Hal Samples. Got a tip for White Noise? Email us!
