Austere ILLUSIONS // Issue 9 by AUSTERE

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The Ten. Music. Fashion. Life.

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PHOTOGRAPHER - ZAC TRAVIS MODEL - RAYNE TINSMAN

THE TEN We handpick ten creative individuals to share the story behind the talent.

PHOTO BY LAURA HALL

PHOTOS BY ZAC TRAVIS.

By Adriana Rodriguez

“Oh my gosh – you look like a tulip!” It’s little things like these that excite designers Jerry Matthews and Francesca Viamonte of up-and-coming Dallas label, Nine Muses when dressing a model. The two laugh knowing just how crazy they sound when obsessing over the design of a simple black gown. But in their eyes, the ‘less is more’ approach is the key to any timeless piece. “We know that simplicity is the highest form of complexity,” Matthews says. “We know that we don’t have to go over the top [to make it great].” The pair met while attending The Art Institute of Dallas and over the years have always gravitated toward each other’s styles, being that they are very similar in taste. The joke of starting a line together would be only that one random day when it “sort of just happened,” Matthews recalls. Grand ideas don’t just manifest themselves, but with their shared passion and diligence to create beauty, the two were unstoppable from the beginning. Back in the spring of 2012, the designing duo would create by hand and lightly showcase what they call their experimental collection. Before throwing themselves into the fashion flame they wanted to make sure that they knew what they wanted out of a label. That very collection took them further than they realized at the time, but Dallas’ response to the elegance of the line was a craving that had finally been replenished. Once they photographed the collection and auditioned it for The Pin Show 2012, Dallas' largest and premiere independent runway fashion event, the plethora of coverage they received was more than expected.

Including, but not limited to Envie Magazine, Living Magazine, Florum Magazine, La Mode Magazine, DFW Style Daily, D Magazine and Method Seven Magazine. " “Whatever happens we just want to stay humble,” Viamonte says. "We know how hard we’ve worked for every little bit…and we’re just so grateful.” Thus far, Nine Muses is a brand that focuses on luxury women’s gowns, dresses, trenches and premium evening wear. Being that their name comes from the goddess Mnemosyne and her nine children: the Nine Muses, every season they choose nine women to serve as inspiration for their next collection. These iconic females may come from singing sensations like Lana Del Ray or fictitious characters like Jessica Rabbit. This fall they created a dark femme fatal version of their client incorporating lots of black, burgundy and a bit of khaki into the collection. Detailing it with touches of lace, leather, open backs and plunging necklines. These are long, structured, form fitting gowns and skirts. For their spring 2014 collection they kept their same client just as fierce but in a softer and flirtier way by using sweeter shapes, subtle sheer cutouts, floral lace, pink and, of course, black. “We love black. I think it will always be a part of all our collections,” Viamonte says laughing. “When they come out with a darker color we’ll use that.” For custom orders and keeping up with Nine Muses’ latest collections visit them at www.ninemusescollection.com.

By Dalton Kane

Over a fresh pot of coffee and the curious affection of several cats, Sam and Marcus Coronado talk about their music blog A Small, Good Thing. A platform where bands get to come into their home, amidst a personalized set, to perform and talk while the Coronados record and transform the experience into a high quality video production. These productions are featured throughout their online channels, posts on Facebook and a Youtube channel for example (with a website coming). It was started in June of 2010. “We saw something like Juan’s Basement or Cemetery Gates and we thought, we could totally fucking do that. We have a camera, we know a band, let’s try it,” Marcus Coronado says. “[A Small, Good Thing is] something intimate, something personalized. I think we saw a chance to go crazy with production value, as much as we could, and embrace the notion of who we are, ask weird, artistically probing questions,” Marcus says. With Denton being a strong music scene, there are others trying to showcase musicians, but that isn’t viewed so much as competitive as complementary. “There’s plenty of opportunity to do something like this, but we all do very different things, and there is a distinct vibe. The production quality is great for DOWN Sessions. The Violitionist Sessions has really big bands on there.” When prompted on how the selection process works, Sam Coronado responds with, “Our taste ends up playing a big role in who we select. We want to push ourselves to be open to stuff we might not first be interested in. We’re interested in curating it more, selecting who we work with based on who we think the project needs,” Sam Coronado says.

PHOTOS BY AMBER PERKINS.

There might come a time where they release personalized cassette tapes of each show. “We want to make it where people are interested in the personality of the show, feeling a direct connection with us. Not so much, just a band’s fan watching the show, but [we want] anyone to enjoy the show because of its integrity and personality,” Sam Coronado says. If you’re curious about how they make the shows, the Coronados have a close-knit team of people that help make the show possible. They describe some of the steps required to put a show on, “Setup usually starts the week of shooting. We move everything out of the room and start working on a wall at a time,” Sam Coronado says. “We have to figure things out. What are we going to do thematically for this band? Then we figure out, how do we make a set that’s fiscally possible? A day or two before, most of the set is being built and sometimes we are still working on the set when the band gets here. Somehow it always ends up working out,” Marcus Coronado says. “I’ll finalize the questions, sometimes an hour or two before the band shows up,” Sam says. “We try and set up lighting before they get here. Get the cameras set up,” Marcus says. “And I’m trying to get the audio gear setup,” Sam adds. “We always figure something out, and we just move on,” Marcus says. “Process is a really important part of artistry. The creative process itself in art is the same sort of thing we have to go through to create each show,” Sam Coronado concludes. www.facebook.com/SmallGoodThing http://www.youtube.com/user/smallgoodthingtx

SMALL

A GOOD THING

ART BY JOSH BANKS.

PHOTOS BY FEY SANDOVAL.

By Emily Bentley

I am sitting crisscross applesauce on the hardwood floor of Denton artist and musician Josh Banks as we talk about the things that make him tick. “A lot of my art has this punk rock attitude,” says Banks. “I’ve always wanted to be different, to make people think about things differently.” Banks shakes his head and in some strange way, I feel as though we understand each other. “ I want people to question things like mindless consumerism and just buying shit to try and make themselves happy,” confesses Banks. “ I want them to question how they are living. I want to entertain them. I want to make people happy.” I follow Banks outside where he lights up a cigarette and talks about how he pulls his inspiration from anything from Picasso to The Kinks. When he finishes his cigarette he begins to pull different pieces from his garage. “Sometimes I make art because I have something to say, sometimes I make art because it’s therapeutic and sometimes I make art

because I just want to make something good.” The first piece Banks pulls out is a mixture of colors, shapes and designs. It reminds me of organized chaos. “Now that I look at it, I don’t think it’s finished,” decides Banks as he rolls it back up. Banks’ art has a way of forcing you to get down to what it is you think you know and re-vamping it. Some of his pieces are loud and colorful and remind you of so many different summers and dreams it’s hard to put a name to it. Other pieces are in all black and white and play with the concept of reversed roles. In his piece, “The Meaning of Life” he uses black and white images to depict different cowboys and Indians that seem to be engaged in childlike play but in actuality Banks is playing around with the concept of the beast in us all. “I was trying to decipher how different we really are from other animals,” said Banks as he lit another cigarette. “I wanted to explore violence as a part of nature.”

By Dalton Kane Sitting around a table with an extra chair squeezed in, with a lot of bumping knees and crosstalk, the interview with members of the band Losing begins. Patrick Keizer, Curtis Wells, Nick Bozas and Cameron Trevino sit around a small table making jokes and loosening up. When asked about when the band got started, there is about seven seconds of mumbling before Curtis Wells replies, “Me and Nick started Losing a year or more after our old band broke up and I wrote new music for Losing and changed a couple of songs I had in my back pocket that I didn't play in the old band. We still have the same set basically, with one new song.” Nick Bozas interjects, “We stopped playing shows [in our previous project], so we started something new.” The band talks a little about their musical influences. “Good songwriting. I listen to a lot of Bob Dylan. The Replacements, Modest Mouse, obviously. I like songs with good structure,” Wells says. “Bill Cosby,” Keizer says. The band looks for people that, “Tell it like it is,” Trevino remarks. “I love Modest Mouse like these guys, but I also grew up in drumline, which has an influence,” Bozas says, (jokingly, I think) “Our main influence is neck beards.” Losing just released an EP that is available for download at a name-your-own-price cost. They talk a little about how that sort of business model works. “Spotify and iTunes are both pretty bullshit companies. They don’t pay the artist anything. I mean it doesn’t really hurt us that people are getting our music for free, because not enough people would be paying for it if they weren’t, [at least not] enough to affect us. I guess if you had millions and millions of fans,

PHOTOS BY LAURA HALL.

then you might get butt-hurt about it. At the end of the day, you’re making music for people to listen to and it’s just silly to get upset,” Wells explains. The DIY scene is regaining momentum in Denton, when asked to talk about it, Curtis Wells gives a face rub and subtle grin, “Oh, I don’t know what that is.” Other band members pick up on this subject, “Shit yeah, I’ll talk about it. Macaroni Island is doing some really great things. It’s a house, it’s a venue, it’s a recording studio, it’s a podcast, er video—it’s just bringing all these local artists and non-local artists together,” Bozas says. “Same thing, with A Small, Good Thing.” The band notes that the DIY scene is just a bunch of friends having fun and supporting each other. They also wanted to make sure to let people know that 1919 Hemphill needs some help. You can find it here: www.facebook.com/1919hemphill The creative process is group-oriented, however the lyrics and a lot of the bare bones come from Curtis Wells. “I usually start with a melody. I sing in the car a lot. I’ll pull out my phone and record a melody. If it doesn’t stick in my head… I usually don’t follow it. Once something sticks, I’ll work on it for usually a couple weeks and try to figure out a chorus—and that sucks, so I get stuck on that for a long time. I’m probably too self-critical.” The interview ends with mixed views on whether or not the Sriracha factory would be a good fit in Denton with Curtis Wells saying, “I’m all for it, make everybody cry.” www.facebook.com/beercatz

LOSING LOSING LOSING LOSING LOSING

yoga hut 18

PHOTO BY FEY SANDOVAL.

By Dalton Kane Rose Kamego says she has been practicing yoga since she was 14 or 15-years-old. “I remember sitting on the edge of my parents’ bed and watching the TV. They used to show a lot of documentaries on Woodstock on...PBS. They’d show the Beatles sitting there meditating and I thought that looked really cool. I told my mom I wanted to study yoga and she took me to this bookstore called The Constellation in Dallas. I picked out a book, took it home and started practicing out of that book every day and just fell in love with yoga.” In a world of fitness riddled with Bowflexes, treadmills and gym memberships, Kamego addresses the benefits of yoga. “Compared to other types of exercise, I think yoga [additionally] gives you more focus and clarity of mind,” Kamego says. With many people living faster paced lifestyles when compared to more distant periods of history, yoga, though a very old practice, seems to be getting even more relevant. “I take the physical postures and hold them for periods of time and take my consciousness, my intelligence, and my mind and extend it into my body.” How? “With practice.” The Yoga Hut describes itself as a non-competitive environment, which is counterintuitive to many forms of contemporary exercise. “Yoga is internal. It’s for the individual to do. You have to be comfortable looking at other bodies, and looking at your own body and not comparing in a way that’s judging. [You have to be] able to understand how bodies work better by looking at the mechanics of other bodies. It’s really about working on your self. And if you’re comparing yourself to other people and trying to be better than other people, you’re missing the point.”

Yoga is something that takes time. Kamego says, “The first few lessons you take, there’s an instant feeling of openness in the body—some people call that soreness. But you’ll feel things moving and you’ll have a physical reaction to what you’ve done. It takes a little time and practice before you really get the mental benefits. [Yoga] helps relieve the tensions from just being hunched over a desk. It takes pressure off your heart and internal organs and that in itself gives you a sense of wellbeing.” Contrary to some perspectives, yoga is not about clearing the mind. Kamego explained that, “It’s not about clearing the mind at all—it’s about stilling the mind. Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. We aren’t trying to remove anything from the mind but movement.” When asked about other misconceptions in yoga Kamego responds, “It’s a misconception, but it’s also not a misconception, that you’ll hurt yourself doing yoga. If you’re afraid to hurt yourself, that’s [just another reason] why you should do yoga. If you’re careful and have a good teacher, you probably won’t hurt yourself. But if you practice long enough, probability says you could. It’s also not just for women in stretchy pants. Yoga is a universal culture. It’s something that anyone can come and do, spend an hour getting to know themselves better.” If there is one piece of advice to newcomers, “Don’t give up, keep trying, because practice yields results,” Kamego says. For anyone who is interested in learning more about yoga, you can visit www.dentonyogahut.com.

By Emily Bentley

Walker Smart takes out a pack of American Spirits from his pocket and lights one as he begins to tell me about fatherhood, spoken word and the things that make him want to perform. “The difference between my work and a lot of what you could call slam poetry,” says Smart, “Is that slam tends to focus on the energy of the words. But me? I am just telling stories.” Smart was born and raised in Denton and first started getting into the performance scene in 2007. “My first show was pretty successful and it made me realize how easy it was to get people who love music connected to literary stuff.” From there, Smart began to arrange more performances while collaborating with musician friends in order to further his goal of marrying music to his stories. Smart takes his inspiration from real life events as well as his favorite authors like Kurt Vonnegut and Chuck Palahniuk. His two albums, The Gospel of the Mouth Saint and Mouth Stuff are out now. “A lot of my first disc was getting out anxiety over being a single dad, money, and going to school. The Denton music scene was really great and helped a lot.” Walker continues to perform at local venues often frequenting Spiderweb Salon among other places. His future remains undecided while he debates going on tour, pursuing a Masters in creative writing and maybe even collaborating with artist friends to make a comic book. “I love doing this,” Walker announced as he put out his cigarette. “It gives me a reason to create more. As a performer I am learning that the story is never done but the performance is and I have to be okay with that.”

ARTWORK COURTESY OF WALKER SMART.

SPOKEN WORD

photos by laura hall

By Adriana Rodriguez This isn’t a story about success or about business. It’s not a story of the privileged or about the hype. Nor is it about how one may have, “started from the bottom, now we are here.” No. It’s a story about respecting what you love and what you believe in. It’s a story about quality over quantity. This is a story about exclusiveness for those who care. “When it comes to press, we didn’t want to spoil the surprise by putting too much out there,” Keith Tran owner of Black Market USA explains. “We wanted an organic approach. It’s not your typical business model…but we’re in the business of being exclusive.” Enter Black Market USA a treasure chest of a boutique if you do your research accordingly. Walking into this shop is like fashion heaven in, ehm, Arlington, Texas, for men. Aside from the super hard to find stash of brands, its presentation truly speaks to the gods of taste. Black Market USA uses natural pine wood shelves to display an off the wall assortment of shoes and snapback hats. Their shirts and jackets are hung on sleek and sturdy racks of hangers. Rows of green, yellow, orange

want to be the store “ We that people appreciate keeping up with. ” and purple backpacks scale the wall and stacks of wallets, belts and socks come in almost every color and pattern you could hope to find – if they haven’t sold out yet. “Just because you’re in Arlington doesn’t mean we have to dumb down [the store for people]” Tran says of the shop’s lush look. What makes this boutique so special is that they hold fashion and one’s personal style to a very high regard. “If we restock [past items] we’re doing a disservice to our customers,” Tran says. “We want to be the store that people appreciate keeping up with.” Let’s be real – you don’t want anyone to know where you found that splattered pigeon tee. Not only do they value those who do exactly that, but Black Market USA keeps up on their end by studying style blogs, magazines and even women’s fashion to find inspiration as a brand. “I got Caleb [my store manager] in there who could tell you about every piece from the latest Alexander Wang women’s collection.” Tran feels that sometimes people look at clothes as a one-dimensional, surface thing, but he believes that it’s more than that. “[Fashion] is important to a lot of people, especially when you’re trying to find your identity,” Tran says. “I think it’s a part of what makes you who you are.” Come to Black Market USA and learn what culture is about. You might find yourself giving a damn.

By Meagan Hatton

When you walk into The White House coffee shop, you won’t hear JT’s song playing, but you’ll feel it. They’re bringing sexy back–coffee, that is. You will see a painted potato sack hanging off a door, just past the register. It’s virtually the only thing that remains of the formerly known coffee shop, Art Six, since Connie and Mike White bought the company a year ago. The walls, floor and even the ceiling are different now, but the lighting provides a fresh hue for the old building and coffee aromas still fill the air. “We love everything about coffee,” Mike White says. His wife, Connie, agrees. “Not only the taste but what you can do with it,” she says. “We’re trying to bring the class and sexy back.” Walls are adorned with art and the couple encourages all kinds of artists to bring their works in for exposure. “We would like this to be a place where talent is found,” Connie says. They also strive to keep the place in tip-top condition at all times and it’s clearly seen in the spotless tables and floors and the never-ending supply of freshly baked goods on display. Mike didn’t have a coffee shop to go to when he was in school, so it makes perfect sense that his main motivation

for the shop was creating a friendly environment where students didn’t have to spend a lot of money to study, socialize, have a good time, and showcase their talents. “We just want to create a very, very nice atmosphere that students can afford,” Mike says. The expansive menu has something for everyone, whether it be an espresso drink, such as their most commonly ordered beverage known as the Shakerato, or my personal favorite, The London Fog. Each drink is as unique as the next, offering different flavors that linger on the taste buds. Within the next five years, the Whites hope to expand and make a name for themselves as the best coffee shop to visit in Denton. “We want this to grow by reputation as the classiest place in Denton,” Mike says. In the meantime, stop by on Thursdays for openmic night and be sure to check their Facebook for other upcoming events. Oh–and don’t forget to try one of their delicious drinks.

Chase Dobson 26

PHOTOS BY ZAC TRAVIS.

Chase Dobson By Meagan Hatton Bright beams of light heated up his back and adrenaline rushed like roaring rapids through his veins on the afternoon of May 5th, 2012. It’s a place most can only dream of visiting, let alone perform in. Dobson made it to Carnegie Hall- and he wasn’t even old enough to buy a drink yet. Instead of letting his nerves get to him though, he let the music instead. He conducted a piece that he composed himself to a 30-string orchestra band for an audience of around 400 people. When he finished, he took his bow and exited the stage. After the other performers were done, the audience called him back out for a standing ovation. “I felt appreciated,” Dobson says. “I felt that they had appreciated my work very sincerely.” If you ask Chase Dobson if he thinks he’s a prodigy, he will humbly respond with “no.” But the people in his life that have seen him grow from a 6-year-old piano playing little boy to the now young man who has almost 15 compositions under his belt would likely tell you otherwise. His fingers just melt right into the piano when he’s playing and he makes it seem as easy as breathing. But he works hard, every day. There’s no doubt he has talent, but he also pours passion and determination into those white and black slender rectangles.

Dobson, a 17-year-old high school senior at Booker T. Washington’s School for the Performing and Visual Arts has a passion for music- and we can all hear it. “I think a lot of why I’m a musician and why I’m a composer has a lot to do with being a communicator,” Dobson explains. He will graduate this spring and has high hopes of attending one of the top music schools in the nation, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. But before packing up for college, Dobson has big plans. He’s currently composing the music to be performed at the Avant Chamber Ballet Company’s recital in April and he’s taking inspiration from a girl who talks to a rabbit. That’s right- Alice in Wonderland. It will be the second time Dobson has composed music for the company’s recital, and with collaborations from David Cooper, Principal Horn of Dallas Symphony and Katie Puder, artistic director and choreographer, it’s definitely something you don’t want to miss In the meantime, Dobson will continue to play, compose and maybe even conduct a little. “I’m always working to perfect how I do that,” Dobson says. “I’m always working to be the best and most efficient communicator that I can be.”

By Dalton Kane

www.starrstudios.net www.facebook.com/handpaintedsigns

We pull up to a brand new Ft. Worth restaurant called Clay Pigeon and immediately see Starr Studios hard at work, standing on ladders. The type designer, Lily Smith-Kirkley of Lilco (www. lilcoletterpress.com) walks about looking at her work as they hand paint it at huge scale on the sides of the wall. The interview starts humorously with an inquiry on the most annoying thing Sean Starr, founder and master sign-maker of Starr Studios, hears most frequently on the job. “The most annoying thing that happens on every job that we do is, somebody says that we misspelled something. It’s really lame and everyone thinks it’s funny. They did it too—they made the joke that [Clay Pigeon] was supposed to be Clay Piggy’s or something.” In a world of fast printing, Sean Starr comments on why he chooses to do paint instead of print, “There’s no soul in print. There was a period of time when there was no work when digital first took over. We had to work in sign shops that did digital and a lot of us would just work in the evenings on paint, just to keep it going and stuff. But yeah, there’s no soul in print.” Starr mentioned that some minimal amounts of work are done digitally when unavoidable, specifically with expanding the business into other realms, “Branding is also something we’ve gotten into, and it’s been fun to be involved with the whole process,” Starr says, “But everything we do starts or ends by hand.” Even though Starr Studios has gotten some serious attention (see: This Old House, ArtForum Magazine, Juxtapoz, The Los Angeles Times, SignCraft Magazine, The Food Network, The Discovery Channel, Gap, Sony, NBC Television, 2010 Winter Olympics, Ocean

Spray and the Mayor’s Office of San Francisco—to name a “few”…), Starr is still humble when describing where painted signs fit in among the industry. “It’s still a pretty small niche. For the people that get it, it clicks and it’s all good and everything.” When asked about what types of businesses sign painting wouldn’t work well for, Starr states, “It’s not logical for a company to get a hand-painted sign if they’re going to turn over the lease in three years, as it will cost them a lot of money to undo that.” Starr adds, “The problem is, after the digital age, people were trying to do things that should have been reserved for sign painting and it just didn’t look good.” Starr is trying to offer people a solution to this with artisan crafted signs, using very old methods. The sign at the Clay Pigeon was going through a process of “pouncing,” where they took a large piece of paper with tiny holes (creating an outline of the letters) and pounced charcoal through them to create a rough outline of the sign before painting. “It’s the same method Michelangelo used when painting the Sistine Chapel’s [ceiling],” Starr says. As far as difficulties in the craft, “The hardest surface to paint on is glass in my opinion,” Starr says, “It’s eye level, so any flaw will be picked up on pretty quick. It’s also very hard and smooth in its surface, making it difficult to work with.” Starr also discusses the goldish looking work, “That’s copper leaf, and all of that falls into what’s called reverse glass gilding. It got started back in the 1600s. There’s a big piece in Jupiter House (Denton, TX Coffee Shop) that acts as a good example.” Other than sign painting, Sean Starr is also a big fan of motorcycles. His biggest moments of inspiration come from taking drives on his bike and clearing his head. Sean started Luckenbach Motorcycle Club and is also a published author.

PHOTOS BY FEY SANDOVAL.

Hope Chest by rave clay I couldn’t love you the way you needed to be loved, The way I wanted to love you. So I built you a box made of hope and called it a chest. You needed openness, strength, stability. But I am closed, fragile and constantly indecisive. I couldn’t give you what you needed. So I gave you what I could. I took time and turned wood into work, Ends into joints, Concepts into reality... And while I worked, I dreamed For you And for me. I dreamed of things that cannot come to be, and won’t. I dreamed of us. So I cried And I bled And I worked And I dreamed And I built you a box made of hope and called it a chest.

The lid still squeaks when you lift it, or maybe the hinges do. But one without the other isn’t something I can always process. Just like dreams without you aren’t dreams at all, but something else. The two are intertwined. And maybe that’s for the best. Some dreams are better than reality. Some dreams can’t come true... So we dream, and we live. But we live separately from our dreams and fashion them into hopes. I built you a box made of hope and you called it a chest, But what you meant was your heart I poked holes Made tears Left my marks, But never myself. You deserved more What you needed What you wanted More. But I’m not those things And I can’t hope to be. So I built you a box made of hope... and called it a chest.

Type by rave clay There is a problem with solitude In the sense that if your friends aren’t Neither should you And so they ask you this question One that stops the gears to my brain In full rotation: “What’s your type?” What’s my type?! My views and values of others? What’s my type?! I love Trans* men For their weak mustaches Strong shoulders And the bravery that too many of us lack To take the steps Make the changes to be who we are I love queens For their statuesque elegance Brutish Vulgarity I love butch women For their blue starred history Glass closets and deeply rooted sense of brotherhood I love femme women For not letting who they love dictate how they look For coming out of the closet again and again and again For living in a world that still Preaches separate but equal When everyone knows

But Mostly I love intelligence I love basking in the vastness of Fantasy and Intellect Wandering through the realms possibility and reality And the simple joys of conversation And so they argue... That is not a type What do I “want in a partner” And that question, in my mind Is easier than type I want someone who can hold me And be held Laugh away my tears Someone who will read to me And request I do the same I want someone who will Eat eggs at 5 AM Because sometimes 4:45 is a stressful time And while making eggs is calming I still think they’re gross I want someone who will Call me on my shit Not just love me for my “quirks” Because I have a handmade tea mug I’ve never washed, and simply call it “seasoned” Sticky things freak me out And I can be one moody mother fucker. But I can also sing my love song In smiles Wrap you in blankets ‘til you feel safe And go with you on adventures While realizing this adventure... is our life I want someone I can love For who they are Not what they do And I can say that I can put it on paper And write it in words But people aren’t complied from wish lists And sometimes yourself has to be enough But I’m still waiting for when it doesn’t I guess I’m still waiting for you

MUSIC We know what's good.

PHOTO BY LAURA HALL

MUSIC We know what's good.

Hey Dave! Whats good? 34

dave koen Dave works at Mad World Records. He is a cool guy who has a beard and killer music taste. Dave collects records and likes to tell people whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up. ILLUSTRATIONS BY PABLO OLGUIN.

The Sound - Jeopardy 1980 - Korova Any post-punk fan knows about bands like Joy Division and Echo & the Bunnymen but, musically speaking, right in between them is The Sound. Their debut album, “Jeopardy” has been called, “the album missing from your music collection” and with good reason. Originally recorded as a demo, it was done quickly and on the cheap. This lack of production is what makes "Jeopardy" timeless as it avoids all the trappings of the typical "early 80s, post-punk" record while still sounding just like all of the best ones. Despite rave reviews from England's music press, the band never gained anything more than a cult following and disbanded after only 3 albums.

The Sonics - Here are the Sonics!!! 1965 - Etiquette Records! In 1965, the Beatles were recording their "folk album" (Rubber Soul) and the Kinks were in the process of being banned from the United States for "rowdy onstage behavior" but they were tame compared to the Sonics. Their debut album, “Here are the Sonics!!!” released loud guitars, screaming vocals and songs about drinking, drugs and women into the general public years before those kinds of things were acceptable or appropriate. But, in the process, they influenced a number of influential musicians including Lou Reed and Iggy Pop into shocking audiences of their own. Sure, the Sonics didn’t invent rock & roll, (they didn’t even write most of the songs on this album) but they played it louder and faster then anyone else in their time could and for that, we thank them.

Eddy Current Supression Ring - Primary Colours 2008 - Goner Records

Radioactivity - “Radioactivity” 2013 - Dirtnap Records!

Most bands who start with a drunken jam at a company Christmas party don’t sound very good and even fewer of them last very long. But most bands aren’t Melbourne, Australia’s Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Their second album, “Primary Colours" perfectly showcases their brand of melodic, fuzz laden, rock - with just a hint of we-don’tcare-what-you-think attitude. The worst part about this album is that it didn’t get to the United States sooner. Shortly after its release in Australia, it went to number six on the Australian music charts and garnered the band a nomination for “Best Rock Album of 2008” at the Australian Music Industry Awards.

Some people know how to write great songs and Jeff Burke of Radioactivity is one of those people. Through four albums with the Marked Men, he split songwriting duties with bandmate Mark Ryan (also in Radioactivity and the man behind the Mind Spiders) but this album shows off the depth of Burke's talents with everything from future punk classics like "World of Pleasure" and "Don't Try" to slowed down, heartfelt tracks like the album's closer "Trusted You". Some have called this a continuation of the Marked Men but that would be unfair to Burke and unfair to the rest of the Marked Men. Radioactivity stands on its own. With another album already in the works, they show no signs of slowing down.

A Drop of Water from the Well:

Standing Out In An Over-Saturated Industry By Dalton Kane

Los Angeles based band, A House For Lions met me at Paschall Bar for a few drinks to talk about their music project. It took us a while to get settled, in a frenzy trying to get the drinks, scooting stools together to fit the six of us (including co-owner Nikki Crouse) and taking a few minutes to remark on the uniqueness of the bar itself—even compared to bars in their home base of L.A. We bunched up in the back corner together, set up a couple iPhones and a laptop and started rolling. They opened up about their tour thus far and told some stories from the road and started describing the journey that led up to touring. “We really spent a lot of time focusing on establishing ourselves in Los Angeles, which can take quite a while. There a lot of bands around the world, but in Los Angeles there are literally hundreds of bands and so it takes a couple years of showing up before...you show up in the top twenty,” Daniel Norman, lead singer and songwriter for the group, remarked. After talking about the difficulties of gaining traction in a city like L.A., where the music scene is insanely oversaturated, it started to seem like really valuable information for any city with a strong music presence— what’s up Denton? The band talks a bit about connecting with crowds, even answering the question of most embarrassing set story. Daniel Norman tells a story from a show, “There’s this thing in acting, you should just be as honest as you can in the moment. And sometimes in the moment, that leads you to say things

that you shouldn’t say. We were playing at the Largo [and] Zach Galifianakis did a set right before we went out to play. We walk out and it’s not like being in a rock club—everyone is sitting out there real quiet waiting for you to do your thing. So we were setting up, which felt like an eternity. Our energy—was excited— we were nervous, not scared nervous but excited nervous. I couldn’t think of what to say, so I thought I should just be real honest, so I go up to the mic and say ‘We’re really nervous right now’ and the entire place just goes ‘Awwwww’ and I immediately realized that was the wrong word. I was like, ‘No it’s not like that.’” Other band members chime in giving examples of solid alternate things to say and commenting, “I mean after that, it’s like, well shit should I be nervous?” This leads to a group conversation about how band idiosyncrasies can actually benefit the vibe between an artist and the crowd. Giving several examples from shows they’d seen-even bringing up an incident where Thom Yorke (of Radiohead) forgot his lyrics mid-song, and then reportedly did again and again in other cities on the tour. “It shouldn’t be contrived,” Norman says, “but you should allow yourself to make mistakes without getting overly upset. Each show is unique.” With that, we parted ways with The Chain by Fleetwood Mac playing overhead and they hit the road. The band is set to release a new LP and if you want to keep up with them you can like them on facebook (www.facebook.com/ ahouseforlions) or visit their website: www.ahouseforlions.com

A HOUSE FOR LIONS.

A HOUSE FOR LIONS. 37

A ESUOH ROF .SNOIL PHOTOS COURTESY OF A HOUSE FOR LIONS. SPREAD BY GUEST DESIGNER BONNIE LUMLEY.

eyes and ears carlo canlas

Nathan allen

morgan everhart

By Adriana Rodriguez along the line Everhart dips yellow paint on her paintbrush and inspires a whole new direction. “Morgan was very adamant with the first couple times we practiced,” Allen says. “’Look at me. Be the painting while you’re doing the music, let me influence you, because you’re definitely influencing me.’” The project was something that had been put into effect a couple of years ago with the original lineup of Allen and Bethany Eden but when Eden left for China to become a missionary, Canlas and Everhart almost immediately jumped on board. Yet, even with the high interest of building upon what had been started, it would be another year and half before the three artists could give Eyes + Ears another run. That moment came several months ago when some close friends threw a house show. This was perfect for the rebirth of Eyes + Ears because they’re interested in playing in alternative performance spaces such as people’s living rooms, art galleries or even a museum. “The band is young,” Canlas says. “I’d love for us to continue finding different methods of real-time composition. I hope we can continue to challenge people’s perspective of art and how performances can be structured. Everything is spiritual.” Yeah, they’re on to something damn good, but that’s all that you get for now, kids. Make sure to check them out on their Facebook page for upcoming shows at https://www. facebook.com/eaeprocess/.

67 39

PHOTOS BY FEY SANDOVAL.

Denton, Texas-based band Eyes + Ears, made Austere Magazine members weak at the knees when they welcomed us into their cute home and fed us warm kolaches and an assortment of delicious donuts – they even offered us coffee and mimosas. Like, can we be friends forever? After getting settled in to the strikingly gorgeous art-decked garage, we learned a little about what makes this ensemble one to get a taste of in the near future. Eyes + Ears is a trio made up of members Nathan Allen (guitar), Leoncarlo ‘Carlo’ Canlas (violin) and Morgan Everhart- the live-painter. Their approach to this project is a bit unconventional and more focused on the process of creating art within the moment. “Before playing, we like to talk about…just whatever is on our hearts and minds,” Canlas says. “The challenge is in staying aware of what each party is expressing, and making sure that my ideas continuously mesh with theirs, while driving the composition forward.” They each embrace their own individual talent but make sure to feed off of one another’s choices. “I’m [most] interested in linking the abstraction that Nathan is doing with his music and what Carlo is doing with his music and linking it to the abstraction in my own art,” Everhart says. “Not just having separate modes of [creation], but putting them together to create a cohesive performance.” Allen and Canlas may start out someplace dark, with deeper notes, and somewhere

PHOTOS BY MIKE CARPENTER.

ANTI GRAVITY PHOTOGRAPHER - ZAC TRAVIS

MODEL - LAUREL GREGORY ART DIRECTION AND STYLING - NICHOLE FALLIS CLOTHING - MARIO ALBERTO HAMU - FAYE MORRIS

48 ˚ Fashion //

Fashion // ˚ 49

50 ˚ Fashion //

Fashion // ˚ 51

ANTI GRAVITY PHOTOGRAPHER - LAURA HALL MODEL - LAUREL GREGORY ART DIRECTION AND STYLING - NICHOLE FALLIS CLOTHING - MARIO ALBERTO HAMU - FAYE MORRIS

PHOTO BY LAURA HALL

FASHION From editorial to DIY, there’s a style for all, and we’re all for style.

Fashion // ˚ 59

LANDON SIMPSON RISING DALLAS FASHION STYLIST.

By Adriana Rodriguez

Fashion, whether one likes to admit it or not, is something that we can all relate to, because face it, clothes are not an option – they’re the law. That’s how Dallas-based fashion stylist Landon Simpson saw it when he gradually made the transition from being a dance major at the Art Institute of Dallas to becoming a full-fledged fashion powerhouse. Simpson knows that style exists in everyday life whether the inspiration comes from “a lady on the train” or from the page of a magazine; from an emotion you felt that day or because of a song that played on the radio. Fashion is the conversation we give to the world of ourselves without the use of any words. “I felt like I could tell a greater story to more people through fashion,” Simpson says. “Fashion is something that you do everyday whether you’re a fashion god or not.” The urgency to tell stories, combined with the dream of dressing the world is what led Simpson to the start of Conservative Circus in 2009. It was merely a side project in the beginning, serving as an outlet to the world of playing dress up. But Simpson’s brand has a very determined goal these days. Not only do they want to help brand clients, but they also want to become a theatre house for the fashion scene in Dallas, Texas and eventually go international.

PHOTOS BY ZAC TRAVIS. TAKEN AT "FATALITY OF AN IMMORTAL" ON NOV. 8 2013 BY STYLIST LANDSON SIMPSON FEATURING DESIGNERS CHARLES SMITH II, MARIO ALBERTO GALLEGOS JR, MIRA HASHEM AND RECREATION.

“At the end of the day I’ve always dreamt of telling the world what to wear and how to wear it,” Simpson says with determined black-framed eyes. “In our lifetime we will see someone replace Anna Wintour. Who will it be?” In November, Conservative Circus got to tell their first ever tale on the runway. Struck by the screams heard on Kanye West’s track “I Am A God” Simpson felt something that needed to be explored on the runway. “The screams were filled with anguish, torture, it felt like deception and from those screams I felt, ‘this is what the show has to be about,’” he says with clenched fists, hiding his chipped black polish. He was further inspired by a lyric in Laurie Anderson’s “Love Among The Sailors,” “Did you think this is how your world would end?” Thus, became Fatality of an Immortal, “I just wanted to build [the story] and every character based off of falsehood…and I wanted the audience to feel and explore that pain.” After eight months of brainstorming, creating, planning, casting, and booking the 18-character, 15-minute, industrial warehouse show ended in utter success. And not only did it turn a resistant husband into a believer, but it also stirred some talk about the up-and-coming Landon Simpson, “Oh, everybody wanted to talk to me after that show,” Simpson says with a chuckle. Since the show, Simpson booked a creative fashion shoot using mixed media to create looks for an exhibit that will debut at the Dallas WAAS Gallery in 2014. The horizon on the runway looks strong for Simpson in 2014. Work that walk and may the fierceness be you.

Métiers d’Art a very chanel night

AN INSIDE EXCLUSIVE By Heidi Dillon Once upon a time in the West, Coco Chanel came to Dallas. Stanley Marcus gave her an award and then the way that wealthy women in those parts dressed was changed forever. This week marked the triumphant return of Mademoiselle Chanel as Karl Lagerfeld and his entourage descended upon Dallas to showcase the houses' Metiers d'Art collection. Like all epic events, this one had a Texas-sized share of excitement, glamor, intrigue and, of course, loads of drama. Several weeks before the official invitations were hand delivered to a select few locals luminaries, rumors began to circulate about who made the cut. The fur was flying as names leaked out. Heated discussions about who was worthy of an invitation and who was not ensued. Even those who were invited took to debating the worthiness of their fellow invitees. The way it actually worked was that our local Chanel store and Neiman's submitted lists to Paris but the final decisions were made by the Chanel's PR folks. No amount of money, begging, bartering, pleading or threatening could conjure up a ticket if you weren't on the final list. This wasn't, after all, a "Dallas" event, per se. It was an international event, for press, retailers and the houses' Haute Couture clients, that happened to use Dallas as it's stage.

It probably strikes most people as strange that Lagerfeld chose Dallas as this year's venue, but he did so for several reasons. First, while the French press was highly critical of Chanel when she reopened her atelier after a 15 year hiatus, she was warmly received by Stanley Marcus and the American press. Secondly, Dallas has a very strong identity that resonates with people all over the world. While we may feel that it is time to move on from being perceived of as the wild west, that iconic type of imagery is steeped in history and strong visual references that are the fodder for many a creative endeavor in film, art, music and fashion. Most cities in the United States are working hard to become more culturally sophisticated and Dallas is certainly a stellar example of that sort of progress. However, shining new buildings and beautifully designed cultural venues are not the stuff of fantastical creations. The evening before the big show, the Dallas Contemporary hosted a cocktail soirĂŠe for out-of-town guests and locals. Never in my life have I seen so much Chanel in one room. I dragged my husband along who detests those sorts of things and after we left he asked me, "What was the point?" It was actually a good question because after all these years I am still not sure what drives me to get dolled up to go stand around a room sipping a glass of cheap wine. In this case, however, people watching was pretty spectacular as the crowd consisted of stylish types from all over the world. The main event here was clearly critiquing everyone's outfit. There were other goings-on over at the Joule and Mansion where Lagerfeld, et al were ensconced, but you had to be a true fashion insider like my friend Tina Craig (aka, Bag Snob) to gain entree to those parties.

ILLUSTRATION BY PABLO OLGUIN

Dallas, fortunately, lacks paparazzi, so, given the magnitude of this event and the amount of celebrities in attendance, it was a bit unusual not to be blinded by flash bulbs upon entering. The invitation stated that attire was "After 8". I thought I knew what that meant, but a bit of cognitive dissonance kicked in when I put that together with the fact that the event was being held at Fair Park. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was confused because the outfits were all over the map. Lauren Hutton walked in unnoticed right behind me. The floor of the cocktail reception area was covered in bird seed. I was wearing 6"heels. My 16 year-old son Dallas was my date and was all swagged out in a Prada coat and Dior suit. (He's a total fashion whore like his mom). We had a good time chatting with F!D Luxe editor Rob Brinkley and milling about the American Graffiti-themed (a George Lucas film set in 1962) cocktail reception and swooned over the 80 vintage convertibles set up like a drive-in theater for the viewing of Lagerfeld's short film "The Return." Anna Wintour, Lagergfeld and Andre Leon Talley all sat together in a car so that people could come up and get a photo op. It was all very civilized. There were bleachers set up behind the cars and the whole thing made me so nostalgic for my high school days that I wanted to find a straight guy to make out with me in back seat of one of the convertibles. After the film credits rolled we were herded in heels across the street to the runway portion of the evening. Hot toddies were served to keep us warm on our journey. The runway venue, where under other circumstances grown men rope cows and ride bulls, was strewn with hay. I suffer from hay fever, but I didn't realize until then that I am allergic to actual hay. Dallas and I were seated in the nose bleed section with a bunch of Dallas (the city) types like Gene Jones, Charlotte Anderson, Ana Pettus and Nancy and Richard Rogers. I refer to my personal style as "Viking Warrior Diva" so clothes that say "Big House on the Prairie" are probably not going to make it into my closet. However, I am capable of evaluating and appreciating things that are not in keeping with my aesthetic. The show was incredibly beautiful and full of the extraordinary details that you would expect from the Metiers d' Art collection. Of course prairie skirts, elaborate fringed blouses and ponchos were abundant but seemed to be more than just a cliche. Dallas (my son) thought that the models were insanely hot. The finale featured one of my favorite movie anthems - the theme song from "Once Upon a Time in the West" (a great spaghetti western by Sergio Leone staring Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson) - and two models in elaborate white Native American headdresses which made a whole other group of people mad. The White Elephant Saloon is the sight of Fort Worth's last gunfight in 1887 between Longhair Jim Courtright and Saloon owner Luke Short. Lagerfeld meticulously recreated the historic spot for our post-show pleasure. French people were having a great time riding the electric bull, dancing the two-step and drinking American beer. I tore into some Frito-Chili pie and bar-b-que. I did have a small altercation with Andre Leon Talley when I tried to get a pic with him. He roared, "I AM TRYING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION HERE!" Andre was formerly the Editor-At-Large at Vogue magazine and is now on reality TV. Later, I happened to bump in to a couple of the Chanel models. I asked them if they would mind following me to meet my son because he thought they were super hot. They graciously complied. Dallas (my son) almost passed out when I said, "Baby, look what I brought you --- CHANEL MODELS!" Who wouldn't want to have their picture taken with Dallas in Dallas? Dallas and I had a good ol' time hanging out with our friends Ana Pettus, Anna-Sophia Van Zweden, Jessica Nowitzki, Joyce Goss and our favorite local designer Nha Khahn. Kristen Stewart was right behind us playing pool. I needed my beauty rest and Dallas had to study for a geometry exam so we left while the party was still in full swing. To my knowledge, nobody got into a gun fight.

About the Authorx Heidi Dillon is an executive producer and partner at Los Angeles based television production company Morning Dew Pictures. She splits her time between her husband and son in Dallas and producing non-scripted television in Los Angeles. In 2008 she founded the Dallas-based non-profit The Fashionistas. She also has a M.F.A. from the University of Massachusetts. Before moving to Dallas 20 years ago, Heidi showed her work extensively on the East Coast. Austere thanks Heidi Dillon, Nancy Campbell and the Campbell Agency and Kate Wagner for this exclusive story.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND EDITING - NATASHA BRITO MODELS - JAMIE JONES AND AUTUMN TAYLOR-ANTTILA STYLING AND ART DIRECTION - NICHOLE FALLIS HAMU - FAYE MORRIS

PHOTOGRAPHER - PABLO OLGUIN. MODEL - LEXI JONES.

March 2014

fashion

book and show

introducing "Edit" by Austere Promo photo by: Lauren Withrow Full editorial available in March.

"Edit," Austere's exclusive 150+ page fashion book comes out March 1st, 2014. If you love fashion and want a beautifully designed coffee table center piece to brag about, this is your book. Edit will feature photo shoots by talented photographers and stylists from around the world, fashion tips, DIYS, behind the scenes stories and more. Available in hardback or paperback. Pre-order only at austeremag.com. Copies are limited.

our exclusive fashion show Join us in March for a performance art-filled show to pair with the release of our fashion book. Tickets on sale in February.

ART BY FRANZ GUERRERO.

PHOTO BY LAURA HALL

LIFE Sit back and take a deep breath. Read a story from a familiar voice. Learn something new.

Life // Ë&#x161; 81

MASCULINITY

MASCULINITY By Ephraim Freese When my friend first asked me to write about what masculinity means to me, I thought, “Oh, I can go on for days! Sign me up.” I had about ten different starting paragraphs going in my head, each heading in different directions. Then I sat down to write the damn thing. And I drew a blank. I found myself running into one problem after another, no matter which direction I chose. Oh, I’ll talk about what masculinity meant to me as kid, when I was wily and dressed in hockey jerseys and spelt my name “Tommy John.” But I don’t want to wax poetic about a nine-year-old that wasn’t allowed to use the little boys’ room because he had a vagina. Oh, I’ll talk about what masculinity meant to me as a high schooler, when I would look around at all the overcompensating, over-cologned, misogynistic, grab-their-crotch-ten-times-aminute-to-make-sure-it-was-still-there boys and would think, “If that’s what it takes to be a guy, I want no part of it.” Oh, I’ll talk about the time my “sister in Christ” confronted me about my relationship with a girl, and how her question— “Do you want to be a boy?”—revitalized a long dormant identity in me. I’ll talk about how just under a year later, I found myself unable to say the word “transgender” because it seemed to connote something less than real, something pretend. Yet I knew that whatever butchness I found didn’t fit what I felt,

so I changed my name, wore another layer, demanded lower pronouns with my higher voice—until hormones brought changes I couldn’t demand. But that’s not what made me the man I am today. My views of masculinity and what makes someone a man have changed so much through my different stages of life. What has remained static is the man I want to be: the son of my father. I could talk about how growing up with a single father promoted masculinity, but my dad never shamed or hid his “softer” ways. I could talk about how the douches of school presented an awful representation of manhood, but I found redemption in my dad’s example. I could talk about how he didn’t know how to respond when I told him I was transgender, but he took me to every therapist session and physician’s appointment for over a year. And I could talk about how my experience as a woman led me to be the self-identified feminist I am today, but it was he who first showed me the flaws in society’s definition of what a woman deserves. In him I found someone who was patient when he didn’t understand, strong in his sensitivity, open to critique even when endlessly stubborn, aggressive in the face of oppression, surrendered to those he cared about and infinitely forgiving of the hearts held close to his.

84 ˚ Life //

the fall

four rooms

enter the void

From the director who brought you The Cell comes an odd tale about a hospitalized paralegal who befriends a little girl recovering from a bad fall. Unable to escape what’s become a dreadful life in his bed and with ill intentions he begins to tell an unusual tale that quickly diminishes the line between the little girl’s imagination and reality. Tarsem Singh proves once again what a visually stimulating film can accomplish. Filmed in 20 different countries this movie brings you surrealism with a blast of color and detail set to your eyes in a whole new perspective.

The bold collaboration of directors Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino is offered in the form of an overwhelmed bellhop played by Tim Roth running between four separate rooms, at a run down hotel on a trippy New Year’s Eve. Think Madonna as a witch, Antonio Bandera’s diabolical children, Jennifer Beal playing a crazed fetishist who says the word penis in as many different ways possible and Tarantino acting on a Hitchcock-inspired bet. Go. Now.

This bizarre and visceral adventure will take you through a mind-bending movie watching experience like no other. Watch as the cycle of life brings you into full circle, literally, after a drug deal goes bad. Set in a thumping, neon club scene of Tokyo, this movie will make you quiver with strange feelings when through.

begotten

coffee and cigarettes

manhatten

This piece of work is something that took a lot of guts to make – literally. Not only does director E. Elias Merhige truly horrify you with his playful experimentation of reimagining grainy B+W film and photography, but also the religious matter that fills this sequence is one that will have you asking ‘whattt’ and ‘whyyy’. Many say this is a silent film, but know that closing your eyes won’t help because the continuous chirping crickets and gagging of blood won’t stop.

What would make a series of dry, uncomfortable conversations in multiple coffee shops interesting? What if they were all drinking coffee? With a cigarette? What if these conversations included Tom Waits and Iggy Pop; Steven Wright and Roberto Benigni; Jack White and Meg White? Steve Buscemi with Spike Lee’s siblings? Or maybe you prefer Cate Blanchett talking to herself? Okay, okay – Wu Tang Clan’s RZA and GZA having tea time with, “Bill Groundhog-Day, Ghostbustin’-ass Murray!” I rest my case.

This is a film about lovers and friends. No, wait. Let me start that over. This black and white film will make you ponder lost love. Ugh, too cheesy. Woody Allen is a classic in this captivating tension between romantic ideals – the effort we put to satisfying them, and how we contradict ourselves by demanding that others do the same. At the center of it all we find the thing that is less than what we want to understand – reality. Something of a dark, yet charming romantic comedy that is beautifully scripted and paired with outstanding cinematography.

Life // ˚ 85

off

TWO EIGHTY ATE

ASIAN FOOD OFF TWO EIGHTY ATE NAMES THEIR FAVORITE SPOTS IN DENTON. PHOTOS AND STORY BY CHASE KAHN

1: THE BOWLLERY It might be a controversial choice putting a place atop any “best of” Asian food list that serves one of its signature items coated in salsa verde, but whatever your thoughts are on what classifies “Asian food”, there is really no getting around how good (and utterly inventive) this all-natural, vegan/Asian fusion restaurant is. Specializing in fresh, highly unique “yogi bowls” which can yield ingredients anywhere from sweet potatoes to garbanzo beans to spiralized beet noodles, I’ve become extremely confident (over my dozen to two dozen visits here) that regardless of what I pick, owners Annie and Kevin Vivorakji know what they’re doing, even if I don’t.

4: ANDAMAN THAI You can’t really go wrong with this pocket Thai joint with a big menu, except maybe with their confusing modern Asian rustic décor. Price-wise and quality-wise, there isn’t much to complain about, yet why is it that when we crave Thai food, we end up at someplace else on our list?

8: SUKHOTHAI II We have to give a shout out to this “don’t-look-at-thekitchen” Thai joint (best enjoyed to-go rather than inside its questionably health code compliant interior) for offering the cheapest noodle dishes this side of Ramen on those days when you don’t even want to look at your bank account. The Pad Thai is edible (depending on your level of hunger) and the Sukhothai noodles are (dare we say) actually pretty good.

5: ORIENTAL GARDEN Quite possibly the best value on this list, Oriental Garden toes the line between Chinese and Thai cuisine, offering well over 70 items on their menu and very few of them for more than $7 or $8. Quite possibly the best Egg Drop Soup in Denton.

2: THAI OCHA Not even a well-kept secret at this point, Thai Ocha is tough to topple as far as Thai food in Denton goes. From the noodle and curry dishes to the fried dumplings, it’s difficult to find fault with much of anything, except for the fact that they’re closed for two hours in between lunch and dinner – how inconsiderate.

6: MR. CHOPSTICKS Popularity and quality don’t always go hand-in-hand, so while the Chinese spot that just about everyone and their mother has probably eaten at has its virtues (their General Tso’s is quite memorable) we’re too upand-down on this Denton mainstay to go crazy for it.

3: VIET BITES

7: SIAM ON THE SQUARE

Filling a drastic, and until recently, non-existent void in the market of Vietnamese food in Denton (with the exception of those bahn mi at The Pickled Carrot), Viet Bites opened its doors earlier this year, offering pho and noodle bowls along with handmade spring rolls inside its lime green walls. Go for the pho, come back for the off-the-menu Vietnamese tacos.

Confusing Celtic-inspired branding notwithstanding, Siam on the Square is quite the find once you get inside. The food is hard to find fault with (especially their Tom Yum soup) while the menu is a bit limited and pricey. However, the atmosphere is cozy and dimly lit, but the target demographic seems to be the business crowd and not the budget-conscious college student.

FOR MORE REVIEWS VISIT OFF288.COM

friends, denton, countrymen, lend me your ears.

WEEKLY EVENTS

HOURS OF OPERATION

Wednesday’s a vocal jazz showcase every week

Weekdays 7 – midnigh t

Thursday’s open mic night is open to the public and registration is free to the public . full live music schedule available on facebook

and your taste buds.

Saturday 10 – midnight Sunday noon – midnight

photo by shena ly.

My mother's home is an illusion she filled it with beautiful things, her facade veiled the ugly reality, so convincingly she almost believed it. I once thought I was an illusion, too, but instead I was ugly on the outside scraping out the beauty inside me until my fingers bled. I grew older and wiser and learned that everyone alludes to inner beauty or inner ugly but I had to tow it out of them. Some are better at alluding and I am drawn to their eyes almost as if their souls were electromagnets. I once thought I was an illusion like the crosses on my mother's walls but I now know better, that people can cover themselves in beautiful things but their eyes are the crack in the facade

n sio s, it. llu ing y, n i th lit ed s a ul rea liev oo, e e i tif t de i m au gly t b n, ho be e u os sio uts r's ith th lm llu e o me he w ed e a n i th de i ot it eil sh s a n s o d v a n i y m lle e gly w ly s M e fi cad cin ht I s ug uty de lu sh r fa vin ug wa bea . al he con tho d I he led er ne t b a so nce ste out ers wis eryo . I o t in ng ng nd ev m a i he bu rap y fi er that ft g sc til m old ed ty t o in s ou lud ye un ew rn au l t e e a r i I g d le er b gly ow at a heir lls n wa an inn er u to t tter to t uls gs sio 's e to inn ad be wn so ts. illu her opl thin ade or t I h are dra heir gne an ot t pe iful fac bu me am if t ma was y m tha aut the So d I t as tro ht I on m ter, be in an mos elec ug es bet es in rack al ere tho ross ow elv e c w nce e c kn ems e th I o th ow th s ar e lik t I n ver eye bu n co eir ca t th bu

ILLUSIONS By Chelsea Beeson My mother's home is an illusion she filled it with beautiful things, her facade veiled the ugly reality, so convincingly she almost believed it. I once thought I was an illusion, too, but instead I was ugly on the outside scraping out the beauty inside me until my fingers bled. I grew older and wiser and learned that everyone alludes to inner beauty or inner ugly but I had to tow it out of them. Some are better at alluding and I am drawn to their eyes almost as if their souls were electromagnets. I once thought I was an illusion like the crosses on my mother's walls but I now know better, that people can cover themselves in beautiful things.

PHOTOGRAPHER - LAURA HALL MODEL - RAYNE TINSMAN

Core Staff.

Junior Staff.

2013 Interns.

Vicky Andres, creative director / lead designer Gabriela Losada, lead copyeditor / event planner

Eliza Trono & Kelsey McLemee, designers Fey Sandoval & Meagan Hatton, photographers Meagan Hatton, Emily Bentley, Christen Dennis, writers Nichole Fallis, stylist Hayden Davis, comic book artist

Stephen Petrey, designer Zac Travis, Laura Hall, Trey Wright, Chelsea Beeson and Amber Perkins, photographers Lauren Jenkins, stylist Dalton Kane & Adriana Rodriguez, writers Cameron Trevino,Bryan Prater and Shena Ly, event assistants Pablo Olguin & Kristen Sadlier, social media Amy Thakham, public relations Michael Gerrard, videographer

The Ten. Music. Fashion. Life.

8 32 58 80

Austere // Ë&#x161; 99