Cory Graves
Spune Faces Shakeups, Vice Palace Lives On and The Bomb Factory Gets Ready To Drop.
There's little question that, thanks to the success of its series of Untapped beer and music festivals, the Fort Worth Music Festival and the now-three-year-old Index Festival in Deep Ellum, Spune is all about that fest life.
And, we admit, they're pretty good at it.
Just this morning, though, it was announced the local booking company will have some reshuffling to do among its ranks. Per a press release sent out earlier today, talent buyer and political hopeful Glen Farris has announced that he's left the company to take a position with VERUS Real Estate Advisors. Why? Beacuse he's been inspired by the development he's seen in Dallas and Fort Worth these last few years and wanted to bring some of that to Denton.
“I've really been inspired by the development I've seen West 7th, Bishop Arts, and Deep Ellum recently,” Farris says, “and I've been wanting to focus more on my community so this is the perfect fit.”
It's been a good, long run for Farris at Spune — and one that's seen him book hundreds of bands in the past 10-plus years. Hell, he even helped bring the Canned Festival to Denton.
“Being with Spune for over a decade is a pretty insane run,” Farris says. “I was with Spune when we booked Devendra Banhart at The Cavern because his New Orleans show got cancelled because of Katrina.”
For what it's worth, Spune's future remains quite bright as well. To that end, the company announced a limited time pre-sale for next year's Index Festival is currently underway. From the looks of things, next year's fest is set to return to a two-day format and is set to go down September 25 and 26. More details on that one still to come. In any case, you can grab special, early bird-priced weekend passes to the fest here for just $59.
Another recent 2015 concert announcement comes from the yet-to-be-opened Deep Ellum venue The Bomb Factory, which has announced that Motley Crue offshoot Sixx:A.M. will perform at the venue on April 24. Tickets for that one will go on sale here on Friday.
Meanwhile, from the The Bomb Factory's sister venue Trees comes the announcement that it will host a holiday party on December 27 that'll feature Somebody's Darling, Goodnight Ned, Dead Flowers and The Van Sanchez.
Then again, the recently announced return of How the Edge Stole Xmas just might be the biggest holiday concert of them all this season. On Wednesday, December 3, Weezer, Rise Against, Young the Giant, Big Data and Bad Suns will perform along with a few more yet-to-be revealed names. Tickets for that one will go on sale here on Friday, October 10, at 10 a.m.
In other surprisingly great concert news: The Dallas Morning News reports that CeeLo “(expletive deleted) You” Green will perform a special set at Dallas' Rachovsky House on October 25 as part of a benefit for amfAR The Foundation for AIDS Research and the Dallas Museum of Art. Of course, tickets to that one, pricey as they may have been, have long sold out.
Moving on, we'd like to direct your attention over to another DMN piece about Shake Rag Music Store owner John Gasperik. While the headline about the fact Gasperik “owns half-a-million records” might have initially sucked you in, we fear that some of you might have stopped reading the somewhat lengthy profile on Gasperik's rise from homelessness to concert photographer to music scene staple long before the piece's biggest reveal just a couple paragraph's from the end. Per the story, Gasperik says he thinks he'll probably sell off his massive inventory and close Shake Rag within the next two years.
Bum-mer.
Here's another long read you may be interested in, in which Lecrae is asked by The Atlantic about the difference between being a Christian rapper and a Christian that raps. In the piece, the Dallas-sprung Lecrae delivers some of the most lengthy, thoughtful answers to that long-beaten-into-the-ground line of questioning we've heard yet. That is to say, he comes off a bit more intelligent in the piece than, say, Scott Stapp.
Meanwhile, a bunch of North Texas artists have released new streams and videos this week.
For instance, producer Ish D reunited the pairing of Picnictyme and Sam Lao for his new dance track “Keep Moving,” which he released yesterday. Stream it below.
Meanwhile, the long-anticipated debut full-length from San Antonio-via-Dallas pop rock outfit Wild Party finally dropped today. You can check out a new video for the album's lead single, “When I Get Older” below. The rest of the disc is just full of infectious dance hooks as that song boasts, and vocalist Lincoln Kreifels recently told a Virginia paper that's by design. Says Kreifels: “We try to dance while we're writing. If you can't dance to it, we throw it away.”
Sticking on the video front: Oil Boom recently debuted a video for its new single, “The Sneak Tip,” via Pop Matters. The VHS-ready footage of people dancing pairs well with the band's new retro pop turn. Check it out.
Dustin Cavazos also released a new clip this week for his song “I Don't Know I Decay.” Watch it below.
In other release news this week, Bethan released its long-time-coming debut LP and Son of Stan released its latest EP, Georgia, which we've been waiting on since June.
Elsewhere, Arthur Pena says his recently shuttered Vice Palace DIY space will live on as “a roving curatorial music project.” That project's next show will go down Friday, October 10, with a bill featuring Camilla Sparksss, iill, Lily Taylor and Moth Mouth at Oliver Francis Gallery.
Finally, our old friend the Copperphone can now add State Fair of Texas ribbon winner to its long and storied history. Mark Pirro's creation took home a second place ribbon in a creative arts competition at this year's Fair.
Vice Palace cover image by Karlo X. Ramos. Got a tip for White Noise? Email us!
