Cory Graves
Rubberneck Turns 20 and The DC-9 Is No More.
Leading off this week, we've got a bit of good news — and, OK, some bad news, too — for fans of The Flatlanders' iconic “Dallas” song. As for the bad, well, if you haven't yet had the chance to live out the song's lyrics and checked out the lights of the city from a DC-9 at night, you probably never will as the last commercial flight on that particular model of plane took place yesterday from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Atlanta.
That also means the last DC-9 flight out of Dallas took place sometime before that.
On the other hand, Dallas audiences may soon have the opportunity to hear the tune performed in town by members of the original band on the regular. As the Dallas News's Robert Wilonsky reported yesterday, former Flatlanders Joe Ely, Butch Hancock and fellow Lubbock musician Terry Allen are minority owners (along with majority owner John Kenyon) in the new Lower Greenville venue Vagabond, which will occupy the space that was most recently home J. Pepe's. As part of Ely, Hancock and Allen's deal, they'll be required to perform the occasional gig at the roughly 75-person-capacity venue.
Speaking of the Flatlanders: Its members are just a few of the legendary names that AllGood Cafe owner Mike Snider has brought to town during his 20 years of booking shows. Snider, you may remember, was also the first to book The Polyphonic Spree way back when. And, now, nearly 20 years to the day after he booked his first gig at Sons of Hermann Hall — a performance from Maryann Price's Austin-based swing band, in case you were wondering — Snider will celebrate the occasion with an anniversary show at that same venue. Appearing on the January 14 bill will be Price guitarist Slim Richey and locals Boys Named Sue.
The Spree's latest release, meanwhile, was recently named by Vice as one of the 50 worst albums of 2013. Yeesh. Though the seemingly harsh write-up calls the band “a cult so violently repugnant that it makes plunging knives into Sharon Tate's pregnant belly over and over and over seem like a victimless crime,” we wouldn't worry too much about it if we were Tim DeLaugher and Co. If the fact that Yeezus appeared in both the publication's 50 best and 50 worst albums of the year lists — and with a nearly verbatim write-up, to boot — is any indication, we'd probably take the distinction with a grain of salt.
On the other hand, another pair of locals wound up on lists this week for more positive reasons. Denton's Vulgar Fashion appeared on Pitchfork writer Andy O'Connor's list of favorite albums of 2013. And former Spree guitarist St. Vincent, who dropped the David Byrne-inspired second single from her upcoming self-titled LP yesterday, earned a spot in Spin's list of “50 Albums You Gotta Hear in 2014.”
Aside from St. Vincent, a whole slew of other local artists are currently prepping 2014 releases. Among bands whose efforts we've been tipped off to include Catamaran's debut EP, Parallel Play's sophomore LP, The Longshots' debut LP, as well as new efforts from Chris Holt, Sea Engine, The King Bucks, Spook Easy, the long dormant The Happy Bullets and the solo debut under his new The Whistles and the Bells moniker from former Cadillac Sky frontman Bryan Simpson.
Fort Worth's Missing Sibling are also working on a new release of their own — but they could also use some help from local fans who are interested in contributing group backing vocals that will appear on a particular track.
Perhaps most notable in local release news, though? April will see local label Kirtland Records release a newly remastered 20th anniversary edition of the Toadies' breakthrough debut, Rubberneck. The commemorative release will feature three additional songs from the original recording sessions, plus two new live recordings of “Possum Kingdom” and “Tyler.”
Elsewhere: Dovetail donated $1,000 to Jonathan's Place thanks to the shares that the video for their “Christmas Magic” single received over the holidays; Goodnight Ned is the subject of the first episode of The Local Yokel Show taped in the last six months; last year's Spector 45 documentary is now available for purchase; and a third cancer benefit show for Theater Fire member Curtis Heath has been scheduled for next month at The Live Oak and, unlike the previous two, this one will feature a somewhat rare performance from that band itself.
Cover photos by Paolo Marco Manalac, via WikiCommons. Got a tip for White Noise? Email us!
