Spooky Folk Announces Their Farewell Show, and Daniel Hart Switches Gears.
Albert Einstein once said that “coincidence is God's way of staying anonymous.”
If we were to apply the adage to what's going on in North Texas this week, we'd say coincidence is just his way of showing that he's been digging the local music scene of late.
Either that, or he's just a huge fan of people named Dan at the moment. That's all to say that a significant portion of this week's music news and notes revolve around that name in some way, which is just kind of weird, if not interesting.
Anyway.
Have you been keeping up with the Kevin Bacon-led serial-killer drama The Following that's been airing on Fox this season? If not, maybe now is a good time to start catching up on what's been called the network's latest incarnation of The X-Files. And, hey, maybe start with last night's episode? It featured a song from former Dan's Silverleaf bartender Sarah Jaffe's 2012 album, The Body Wins.
But that's just one of this week's notes relating to said Denton venue. Earlier this week, North Texas favorites Spooky Folk finally put a hard date on that long-coming farewell show they're playing before frontman Kaleo Kualoku gets married and moves off to Denver. As the band points out via Facebook, their May 13 date at Dan's won't be their last ever show — just the last for a long while. On that note, keep an eye out for their even longer-awaited sophomore album, which the band has confirmed will definitely earn its release later this year.
Like Spooky Folk, Ola Podrida hasn't released an album in three years either. But, just like that band, that is set to change when the band releases Ghosts Go Blind on April 30. Other eerie similarities between the two (besides the whole “Ghosts” thing): Ola Podrida will also be performing at Dan's on May 9, just a few days before Spooky Folk, and their frontman, the Dallas-native David Wingo has since permanently relocated away from North Texas. In Wingo's case, at least, there's been plenty of reason for the long gap between albums. He's recently been collaborating with Explosions In The Sky on the soundtrack for David Gordon Green's new Paul Rudd vehicle Prince Avalanche, and with Lucero, who helped score the new Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon film, MUD, which is screening in town this week as part of the Dallas International Film Festival. Both of these films will earn full-on national releases later this year.
In other news related to people named Dan, Dark Rooms — that new full band project from Daniel Hart that we hipped you to late last week — has since dropped a video for “Keep It Inside,” the debut single off their upcoming self-titled album due out May 1. That album, as you'd know from reading the above-lniked piece, finds Hart collaboratiing with producer and Mystery Skulls mastermind Luis Dubuc, plus musicians Rachel Ballard, Casey Trela and Bobak Lotfipou, who helped Hart turn the feelings of rejection related to his 2012 solo release into a dark and compelling new direction for the long-heralded instrumentalist.
But those are far from the only Dan names worth mentioning this week. About a week ago, the folks behind the North Texas Chevy Music Showcase — the same ones who've been airing mini-documentaries on North Texas bands like Eleven Hundred Springs and Quaker City Night Hawks during Wednesday and Thursday night episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! — announced a coinciding live music series at Sundown on the last Thursday of every month, starting with The Burning Hotels on April 25.
Here's where things get really interesting though: Two of the initial four bands announced for upcoming showcases feature piano players named Dan! Larry g(EE), who features keyboardist Daniel Creamer in his backing band, performs at the venue May 30, and Josh Weathers, with his pianist Danny Ross, performs on July 25.
Sure, it could all just be coincidence, but we and Einstein tend to think not.
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