OPENING SHOT
Santa Rampage on the downtown Denton Square on Dec. 8. Photo by Ed Steele
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Little d After Dark
January 2013
Photo by David Minton
J A N U A RY 2 0 1 3 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4
Brown and Blue was hatched somewhere between the end of one of Daniel Folmer’s relationships and the wrap-up of a self-induced sabbatical. He headed to Canyon Lake, which he calls “the most gorgeous place in Texas, hands down.” The artist spent a lot of time alone. Folmer started playing music as a kid, after his grandmother gave him a three-quarter guitar with nylon strings. He still has that guitar, and he also played cello as a youth — which might account for Folmer’s attraction to a keening loneliness that seems to settle in the belly of the most upbeat tracks on Brown and Blue. Story by Lucinda Breeding
C O V E R S T O RY
Publisher Bill Patterson Managing Editor Dawn Cobb 940-566-6879 | dcobb@dentonrc.com
Features Editor Lucinda Breeding 940-566-6877 | cbreeding@dentonrc.com
F E AT U R E S
Courtesy photo
Advertising Director Sandra Hammond
fighting to be heard Mary Walker doesn’t accept defeat. The emerging Dallas-Denton
940-566-6820 | hammond@dentonrc.com
singer-songwriter cops to a freshman year at the University of North Texas spent in single-minded pur-
Advertising Manager Shawn Reneau
suit of a spot in a certain celebrated program. She didn’t get in; but when the jazz program closed a door,
Classified Display Julie Hammond
Walker pried open a window.
940-566-6819 |jhammond@dentonrc.com
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five at play Think “Denton indie music” and the first thing that probably comes to mind is a folkrock or alt-rock quartet with an acoustic or amplified guitar, an electric bass, a drum kit and a keyboard. The Madera Wind Quintet is doing the indie thing with its music, but the repertoire is influenced by classical, jazz and rock music. Pretty righteous for a collection of band nerds.
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940-566-6843 | sreneau@dentonrc.com
Contributing Writer Alyssa Jarrell Designer Rachel McReynolds Photographers David Minton, Ed Steele, Chris Newby On the cover (From left) Chris Garver, Taylor Sims, Justin Collins and Daniel Rush Folmer of Danny Rush and the Designated Drivers. Photo by David Minton.
THE ELEMENTS opening shot good dates
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editor’s note
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The contents of this free publication are copyright-
the alchemist Head down to the bomb shelter and dust off your record player; we’ve got a dirty vodka martini and some smoky artists.
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ed by Denton Publishing Company, 2013, a subsidiary of A.H. Belo Corp. (ahbelo.com, NYSE symbol: AHC), with all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Little d After Dark is published monthly by
flavor junkie Resolution, schmesolution. Life’s too short to cut carbs — especially these caramel-fudge brownies.
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Denton Publishing Co., 314 E. Hickory St.
have your people call our people
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to submit an event for little d’s calendar, e-mail littledcalendar@gmail.com
TUESDAY 1 New Year’s Day
SUNDAY 6
13 Slaid Cleaves, Adam Carroll, 6 p.m. $15-$29. Granada Theater.
WEDNESDAY
Link Chalon, 6 p.m. Free. Banter. Dustin Perkins, 8 p.m. The Garage.
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Mister Joe & Friends, Le Not Quite So Hot Klub du Denton, 8 p.m. Free. Banter.
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Earl Bates’ “Celtic Sessions,” 7 p.m. Free. Abbey Inn Restaurant & Pub. Telegraph Canyon, Glossary, Daniel Markham, 9 p.m. $10-$13. Dan’s Silverleaf.
10 Black Veil Brides, William
11 Lucky Peterson, Jim Suhler,
12 Andy Timmons Band plays
17 Link Chalon, 6 p.m. Free.
18 Oui Bis, 6 p.m. Free.
19 The English Beat, Rude
23 Earl Bates, 7 p.m. Free.
24 Mike Ryan, Mat Slovacek,
25 UNT Concert Orchestra,
26 Silvertonguedevil,
30 County Rexford, 7:30 p.m.
31 Gojira, Devin Townsend
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22 Calexico, Bahamas, 8 p.m. $18-$29. Granada Theater.
Jr. Day Inauguration Day
National Blood Donor Month
Control, 7:30 p.m. $18$20. Palladium Ballroom. Johnny Cooper, Tyler and the Tribe, 8 p.m. $10. Rockin’ Rodeo.
Banter. Scary Cherry & the Bang Bangs, Mrs. Howl, Langton Drive, 9 p.m. $5-$7. Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios.
Abbey Inn Restaurant & Pub. Carrie Rodriguez, Mariachi Quetzal, 8 p.m. $10-$15. Dan’s Silverleaf. Purity Ring, 8 p.m. $15. Granada Theater.
Free. Abbey Inn Restaurant & Pub. Augustana, 9 p.m. $15$17. House of Blues.
Mitchell, 7 p.m. $24-$41. Granada Theater. My Wooden Leg, Coed Pageant, Dead Mockingbirds, 10 p.m. $5-$9. Lola’s.
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8 p.m. $10. Rockin’ Rodeo. Biographies, Pageantry, Horse Thief, Bashe, 8 p.m. Free-$5. Hailey’s Club.
Project , the Atlas Moth, 7 p.m. $18. Granada Theater. Aaron Watson, 8 p.m. $10. Rockin’ Rodeo. Centro-matic, 9 p.m. $12$15. Dan’s Silverleaf.
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Hunter Hendrickson, 7 p.m. $14-$32. Granada Theater. Indirections, Even Cameras Lie, With Shaking Hands, 7 p.m. $8-$10. Hailey’s Club. Reckless Kelly, 9 p.m. $17.50$37.50. House of Blues. Orthodox Fuzz, Stone Machine Electric, Cosmic Trigger, China Kills Girls, 9 p.m. $7-$11. Lola’s. Soul Police, 9 p.m. The Abbey Underground. Matt Dunn, 10 p.m. The Garage.
Banter. Keane, 8 p.m. $35$55. House of Blues. James McMurtry, 8 p.m. $16-$33. Granada Theater. The Virgin Wolves, Black Cock, the Implication, the Phuss, 8 p.m. Andy’s Bar. Blackstone Rangers, Zhora, Vulgar Fashion, Cutter, 8 p.m. $5-$7. Hailey’s Club. Jacko Suede, 10 p.m. The Abbey Underground. Naked Lunch: A Steely Dan Tribute, 9 p.m. $10. Dan’s Silverleaf.
5 p.m. Free. Winspear Performance Hall. Joe Ely Band, 7 p.m. $17-$35. Granada Theater. Zappa Plays Zappa, 8 p.m. $35$75. House of Blues. Mount Righteous, 9 p.m. $5-$7. Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios. Petty Theft, 10 p.m. $10-$13. Lola’s. Lee Brice, 10:30 p.m. $12-$18. Billy Bob’s.
the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s, 7 p.m. $16-$38. Granada Theater. B.B. King, 9 p.m. $65-$125. House of Blues. In Memory of Man, We the Sea Lions, Rotten Roots, 10 p.m. $8-$12. Lola’s. Sol Tax, 10 p.m. Free. Banter. Gretchen Wilson, 10:30 p.m. $15$28. Palladium Ballroom.
King, the I-Drenz, 7 p.m. $20-$30. Granada Theater. Jack Grelle, 800 Mile Monday, 8 p.m. Andy’s Bar. Whiskey Folk Ramblers, Van Mazi, Warren Jackson Hearne & Le Leek Electrique, 9 p.m. $7-$9. Hailey’s Club. Dirty River Boys, 9:30 p.m. $10. Dan’s Silverleaf. Tracy Lawrence, 10:30 p.m. $15-$25. Billy Bob’s.
Primordius, Jonny Pecker and the Beaver Bustin’ Pickle Weasels, 7 p.m. Andy’s Bar. The Savage Beatles, 7 p.m. Free. Abbey Underground. Lisa Markley, 7:30 p.m. $7. Dan’s Silverleaf. A.Dd+, 8 p.m. $9-$29. Granada Theater. Pinkish Black, Nervous Curtains, Strange Towers, Shiny Around the Edges, 9 p.m. $5-$7. Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios.
JANUARY 2013 MUSIC at Denton venues MUSIC elsewhere
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Ben Baxter, Ol’ Jug of Whiskey, Right on Red, Exit 380, 8 p.m. Andy’s Bar. John Wesley Coleman, Babyfoot, H.I. Jr., Matthew Genius, 9 p.m. Dan’s Silverleaf. Josh Abbott Band, 10:30 p.m. $15-$25. Billy Bob’s.
County Rexford, 7:30 p.m. Free. Abbey Inn Restaurant & Pub. Mike High Entertainment, 8:30 p.m. J&J’s Pizza.
MONDAY
21 Martin Luther King
27 Punch Brothers, Anais
Holt and Stockslager do Simon and Garfunkel, 9 p.m. $10. Dan’s Silverleaf. Oil Boom, Foxtrot Uniform, the Roomsounds, 10 p.m. $6$10. Lola’s. Jonny Gray, 10 p.m. Fry Street Tavern. Aaron Watson, 10:30 p.m. $12-$16. Billy Bob’s.
SATURDAY
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Be Kind to Food Servers Month
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FRIDAY
THURSDAY
Little d After Dark
MUSIC at UNT
January 2013
mary walker
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by lucinda breeding
Good things on the horizon
D
enton, you were busy in 2012. We expect this year to be just as busy, if not more so. We here at Little d After Dark will be busier than ever in 2013. We’ll be hunting for the community’s best music and DIY food, and anything else that tickles our fancy. We’ll be chasing the creative class with cameras (video and still), notepads and an appetite for the latest in local flavor. And we’ll be bringing these stories and images to you more directly. We’ll be talking about the fruits of the local tastemakers more than once a month.
We’ll be talking about the fruits of the local tastemakers more than once a month. You’re part of the plan. We need you to keep sending us your music, invites to your shows (in houses and “traditional” venues) and photos and videos from your favorite gigs. Here’s to a 2013 full of music, good eats and drinks and more. May it keep Denton arts buffs full, and very, very satisfied. — Lucinda Breeding
January 2013
Courtesy photo
She ain’t heavy Never mind the title: Mary Walker’s debut album buoyed by hope
M
ary Walker doesn’t accept defeat. The emerging Dallas-Denton singersongwriter cops to a freshman year at the University of North Texas spent in singleminded pursuit of a spot in a certain celebrated program. “All I cared about was getting into the vocal jazz program,” Walker says on the eve of the release of her debut album, Heavy Hearts. “I so wanted to get into the group. I was meeting a lot of jazz musi-
cians and spending a lot of time working on jazz music.” The gatekeepers of the prestigious program told Walker she just didn’t have it. “That’s the reaction I got with the vocal jazz people: ‘You’re just not good enough,’” Walker says. When the jazz program closed a door, Walker pried open a window. “I’d already spent that much time with all these jazz musicians, and I’d met all of these awesome people. I’d been doing my own thing the whole time, too,” Walker says. “I just figured I’d take all of that energy I’d put on getting in the program and focus it on my own project.”
Little d After Dark
Walker landed a coveted spot on the roster of 35 Denton last spring — something not just every local group gets. And she’d been spending evenings at house shows and local venues. In the meantime, she shifted her studies to Spanish (she lived in Argentina at age 17, about the she took up the guitar). “I started meeting people,” she says. “I’d see a show and walk up to people I liked and tell them: ‘I’d like to do a show with you.’ I wanted to see as much as possible and perform as much as I possibly could.” Heavy Hearts hardly sounds heavy. In >>
Continued on 6 5
mary walker
Continued from 5 >> fact, all seven tracks sound fairly sunny, in spite of some lyrical downshifts. “Cherry Bubble Gum Tree” finds its narrator in the doldrums. “Got me going off the edge, now, about to burn the bridge, now. I’m feeling shady-blue, baby. ’Cause today is yesterday is just the same in every way,” Walker says before shrugging along to the chorus, which ends up with the declaration that “it’s just the way we are.” Walker’s keyboard is the foundation for most of the album’s seven songs. She also makes smart use of strings in “Love, Love, Love,” and her association with UNT jazz students clearly made its impact, from the easy guitar work throughout the record to Bacharach-style horns (they might even be Muzak-easy flugelhorns) to the melodies on songs such as “Lemon Drop” and “Love, Love, Love.” Walker don’t shy away from pop. “I think pop makes the world go around,” she says. “I love a beautiful melody. I want my music to get stuck in people’s heads. I want them to remember the lyrics. That’s what I try to do with my songwriting.” Walker says she recruited former One O’clock Lab Band drummer Sean P. Jones to record the album in his studio. Jones
eventually recommended she finish up the record at Redwood, the new studio of Midlake drummer McKenzie Smith. “They’re both just really gracious and humble people,” Walker says. She worked on the album for about a year and a half, and it was released Dec. 15. The artist has her sights set on an EP she hopes to release in April. She says it will be a simple album recorded at home with friends. “I spent a lot of money on this record,” she says, “so I want to do something that won’t take so much.” Now that the record is out, she can hear the growth and pinpoint some spots where she’s matured as a musician. “I would say my voice has gotten so much better,” she says. “I’ve become a stronger decision maker, and I feel like I can hold my own in the studio with people like McKenzie Smith. “I’m really competitive with myself. If you think this record is good, watch out. Because I’m just going to work harder. I’m just going to get better.” LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached by calling 940-566-6877 or e-mailing cbreeding@dentonrc.com.
Track for track: Heavy Hearts BEAUTIFULLY The third track on Heavy Hearts shows off Walker’s voice — a girlish mezzo that holds its tone before trailing off into a warbling little vibrato. A singularly effective song about that scary place between flirtation and love, full stop. The song is mostly a question to the one who matters. “You say that you want me for you/but will you love the walls that surround the truth?/I want you to see me beautifully.”
MY FAULT With a melody and rhythm nearly identical to the Script’s pop hit “Breakeven,” Walker employs a strutting drumbeat and an earworm-worthy chorus. But instead of heartsickness, Walker’s song is from the point of view of a woman who means to have the one who’s caught her fancy. “Is it really my fault you look so good?/Can’t ignore you like I should./And do you see me standing here, the same?”
I DON’T MIND This track is all sun, hula hoops and roller skates. Incurably happy and hopeful, “I Don’t Mind” is a tribute to the spring in your step that comes from the rush of flirting. A skipping beat, hand claps and bouncy horns keep the song and its narrator moving right along. “A little heartbreak I don’t mind,” Walker sings before donning her would-be beau’s favorite shirt and “looking life right in the eye.” As the opening track, the song is a hint at the bright optimism to come.
BUY THE ALBUM ONLINE
MARY WALKER IN DALLAS
Heavy Hearts is available in Apple iTunes store for $6.93. Sounds like: Ingrid Michaelson wrote a snappy, Diana Krall-inspired song for Hope Sandoval. Or Harriet Wheeler wrote a solo album after a steady diet of Blossom Dearie and Regina Spektor.
8 p.m. Jan. 17 at The Crown & Harp, 1914 Greenville Ave. Cover is $3. marywalkermusic.com.
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Little d After Dark
L1
January 2013
dirty vodka martini
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by rachel mcreynolds and lucinda breeding
The drink 3 ounces vodka 1 ounce dry vermouth 1/2 ounce olive brine olives Pour vodka and vermouth into a shaker half-filled with ice. Shake well, then strain into a cocktail glass. Pour in olive juice. Garnish with an olive (or 10). Maybe 2012 wasn’t your best year. Maybe it was, and you’re reading this from your throne stacked high atop piles of money and peasants. But, OK, probably not. Instead of “what-if”-ing the past year and making resolutions you probably won’t keep, take a trip with us down memory lane (or the best we can do in liquor-and-music form). Think Mad Men, but with less amputations by lawn mower and more adultery. Kidding. More amputations by lawn mower.
The tunes While you’re sipping, listen to these groove-tastic artists: Danger Cakes (this Austin band’s got an Ella Fitzgerald-Eydie Gormé thing overlain with punky, ska attitude and rhythm), Nina Simone (a wildly experimental jazz contralto with lyrics shot through with fervor, passion and power — check out “I Put a Spell on You”), Henry Mancini (this film composer can as easily transfix you with the projector rolling as he can with eyes closed and a record player going — take, for example, the sultry “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”).
January 2013
Photo by David Minton
Little d After Dark
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by lucinda breeding >> features editor
B
rown and Blue was hatched somewhere between the end of one of Daniel Folmer’s relationships and the wrap-up
of a self-induced sabbatical. “I moved in September of 2009,” Folmer says. “I basically packed up my shit and ran away.” He headed to Canyon Lake, which he calls “the most gorgeous place in Texas, hands down.” The artist spent a lot of time alone. He also spent a lot of time with one of his neighbors, a man named Dave. “This retired social worker lived next door and played all these records for me. John Lee Hooker. Early Jerry Jeff Walker. Jimmie Rodgers. The Carter Family. A lot of early precursors for all great American music,” Folmer says. “It is odd because the album is not inherently like any of those styles of music, but you can hear it more in the structure of the chords, the writing style, and the ‘call and response’ solos that were common with some of these artists.” Folmer started playing music as a kid, after his grandmother gave him a three-quarter guitar with nylon strings. He still has that guitar, and he also played cello as a youth — which might account for Folmer’s attraction to a keening loneliness that seems to settle in the belly of the most upbeat tracks on Brown and Blue. He was an early convert to Americana. He recalls seeing Johnny Cash
Photo by David Minton
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and Mel Tillis in Branson, >> Continued on 10 Little d After Dark
January 2013
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Track for track: Brown and Blue
Continued from 9 >> Mo., when he was just 10. Folmer was about 17 when he started catching shows at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios and on Fry Street — acts like the Baptist Generals, Brutal Juice and Little Grizzly. He recalls watching Grady Don Sandlin and Ryan Thomas Becker gigging at open-mic nights as they formed RTB2. Folmer started writing songs himself not long after, and hit the open-mic circuit himself. He still recalls a night when Josh T. Pearson, the artistic fulcrum of the Denton-born band Lift to Experience, sat in the crowd. “He wrote me this letter, pages and pages, telling me how much he loved the songs I wrote. That was a huge deal for me,� he says. Brown and Blue is Folmer’s second release under the name Danny Rush and the Designated Drivers. The previous, selftitled record was “a mish-mash of different musicians,� Folmer says. “With this album, we all come from our different places, but I think we all have a common grasp on what our favorite songs are,� he says. Folmer says each of the musicians brings a certain something to the band. Drummer
CHEER UP Sometimes, nothing feels so good as a sardonic song taking aim at The Power of Positive Thinking. An easy, two-step-worthy song implores us to “wake up,� then goes on: “What are you so bummed about, man? Cheer up. What do you suppose you’re fighting?� A sweet guitar solo is noncommittal, but that’s OK. So is the band.
PRAY & PRAY This ditty smacks of a sloppy drunk trying to make a deal to keep someone who left him in the picture. “Doll, if I can’t die here beside you, I’d rather die right here and now.� This would be an easy song to wring ample sap from, but somehow Folmer’s regret is so sincere it hurts.
Photo by David Minton
Justin Collins tends to set the mood for the group, especially during rehearsals, while Tony Ferraro brings both creativity and an infectious positive outlook on songwriting and recording. And Taylor Sims sneaks a jazz sophistication to the table. “Then there’s Burton [Lee], a Jew from Miami who plays the pedal steel better than any redneck pedal steel player,� Folmer says. “I know how that sounds, but
it’s the truth.� Folmer studied rehabilitation and addiction at the University of North Texas and earned a master’s degree in the field. He works as a counselor in Flower Mound, and spent time as a caseworker for Denton County MHMR. Like a lot of local artists, Folmer works the old “day job� in part to >>
Continued on 11
BUFFALO MAN The standout of the album is a study in poetic dualities. “Believe me, everyone’s a buffalo man. Burly skin and bone, wandering through the plains alone. Don’t leave me. I’ll be found. Indians are all around. Don’t leave me, leave me alone. Everyone is settling down.� Buffalo are hulking beasts, but in this song, Folmer’s thinking along the lines of being a massive target and utterly vulnerable.
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Continued from 10 >> produce his music. Songwriting is more of a way of life than a project. “I never sit down to write,� Folmer says. “I’ll be somewhere and a melody comes to me, and I’ll sing into the phone. Or I’ll have a dream and in the dream I’ll hear a song, then wake up and have to do it. You don’t write songs. They come to you. It’s a stream-of-consciousness way of writing.� Take the track “Buffalo Man,� for example. “I woke up one morning and ‘Buffalo Man’ was on my computer,� he says. “It was the piano part and it was called ‘Buffalo Man’ so that was that. I have no memory of waking up and doing that, but it was there.� Brown and Blue sounds of regret, even loneliness. Folmer’s voice is a heady tenor. If it weren’t for the Southwestern flattened vowels (“ta-night� in lieu of “tonight�) and the natural ease of his vocals, it could be the grown-up voice of a kid who was a member of the St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig. His is an effortless, light tenor. But the rangy, loping pedal steel and languid drumming let Folmer stretch out. The record opens with “Brakeman,� a harmonica howling and drummer Justin
Collins beating out the rhythm of a lazy freight train across worn tracks. “Historyectomy� is the kind of song you could imagine Folmer conceiving while staring holes in the trunks of the giant trees along the banks of Canyon Lake. Bluesy guitar meets with saloon-style piano as Folmer imagines a litany of stairwell retorts to the one who broke his heart. The title track is a more folksy number, with brush-drumming strolling down memory lane. This trip is a sweeter one, with a major pang of agony in the chorus. Even though songwriting is more reflexive than labored for Folmer, he does have a rule or two about the process. Too much time spent with his songs can have a corrupting effect, he says. Just as he writes in an immediate and instinctive way, he and the Designated Drivers try to get fresh takes in the studio. That’s not to say he’s sloppy, or that he lacks discrimination with his songs. It’s more that Folmer refuses to beat the intimacy out of the songs. It’s a practice that follows the band even in rehearsals. “We rehearse once or twice before a gig. Once I’m done with a song, I don’t play it >>
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Little d After Dark
11
madera
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by lucinda breeding
Musicians at play Denton wind quintet makes record influenced by classical, jazz and rock
T
hink “Denton indie music” and the first thing that probably comes to mind is a folkrock or alt-rock quartet with an acoustic or amplified guitar, an electric bass, a drum kit and a keyboard. The Madera Wind Quintet is doing the indie thing with its music, but the repertoire is influenced by classical, jazz and rock music. Pretty righteous for a collection of band nerds toting bassoon, flute, clarinet, oboe and French horn. Five at Play is the quintet’s debut album, recorded at Voertman Hall at the University of North Texas College of Music, where the five earned music degrees. The record is a meaty one, too, with 19 songs, all by emerging composers. “I think one of our main goals is not only doing premiere performances of scores, but for doing second and third performances of scores,” says Madera flutist Katrina Elsnick. “The oldest piece on the album is 1999. The newest piece was written in 2011.” Madera Wind Quintet was formed in 2008, and two of the original musicians remain. Oboist Natalie Lorch recorded her contribution to the album before passing her chair to Andrew Gresham. Elsnick says the quintet gets its staying power from the dedication of all the musicians who have played in it. “We just all wanted to play in a wind quintet,” Elsnick says. “We all had experience in larger ensembles, but none of us had ever been in a chamber group. Chamber music is such a great opportunity for an instrumentalist to show what they can do.” The group issued a call for scores about a year and a half ago, and conducted the search entirely online. Courtesy photo/Michelle Hurt “I think we were mostly looking for pieces that would be accessible to a large audience, and that would be pleasant to listen to,” Elsnick BUY THE ALBUM ONLINE says. “There are a lot of contemporary groups that play Five at Play is available at crescentphase.com for $13 music that is very difficult and very technical. We don’t and in the iTunes store for $9.99. object to that, but I think want it to be accessible.” Wind and Wood,” inspired by Anne Carson’s prose poem The call for scores brought in more than 130 entries. Madera’s choices included Philip Wharton’s “Five at Play”; “The Life of Towns”; Daniel Nass’ short piece Carl Schimmel’s tone poem of nine movements, “Towns of “Scherzophrenia”; Peter Nickol’s “Ultramarine,” which 12
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requires the English horn; and Sean Friar’s “Short Winds.” The album also includes Madera’s commissioned piece “To Neinilli’s Mischief,” a post-minimalist work about the Navajo god of water that incorporates Navajo tunes. Inspired rhythmically by the song “Water Dance,” recorded in 1946, composer Sarah Summar’s melody moves from the Navajo chant to a sound influenced by the ballad “El Corrido de Wingate” and motives from the cowboy song “Cool Water.” “We’re all playing different instruments that all have very different sounds,” Elsnick says. “You have to find a balance when you’re playing together, and then you have to balance between playing as an ensemble and solo playing.” Madera does achieve a balance that sounds years ahead of the youth of its musicians. Jorge Cruz Jr. handles the notoriously hard bassoon with aplomb, creating a buttery sound that is neither overbearing nor invisible when played with Andrew Gresham’s oboe. In less trained hands, the bassoon and oboe (and Rachel Yoder’s clarinet) could easily affect that shrill squawk all three woodwinds are noted for by critics. By contrast, Elsnick’s flute work is neither overly bright nor full of air — but full bodied in tone and nimble in the note changes. French horn player Angela Winter lucks out a bit, playing one of the wind section’s most sensual instruments, but even Winter can coax a gritty vocalization from her horn. Madera seems to have an intuition about how to apply pure tone or ornament long phrases with a light dusting of vibrato. That the album tests each instrument, asking it to move just a little afield of its idiom, reveals five young musicians who are fit for the stage but needed in the studio to mentor the coming generation of players. The quintet recorded the album over six days, stopping only to wait out a rambunctious Texas thunderstorm. They decided to name the album after Wharton’s piece. “Five at Play really describes what we’re doing and who we are,” Elsnick said. “All of us really love music and performing, and doing this really feels like play.” LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached by calling 940-5666877 or e-mailing cbreeding@dentonrc.com. January 2013
bourbon caramel salted fudge brownies
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by alyssa jarrell
Photos by Chris Newby
Resolve to indulge These caramel-fudge brownies are a good reminder: All things in moderation
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he new year is a time for new resolutions — cleaning up your life, losing weight, forming habits that make you a happier, healthier, better person in general. Right? Or maybe not. Let’s face it. You’re going to join a gym, buy a bunch of workout clothes that you’ll wear once, decide to cut out sugar, carbs, fat and alcohol all together — then one or maybe two months later, your new tennis shoes will be at the back of the closet, carbs will have found their way back into your pantry and your time on the tread13
mill will be something you’ve completely forgotten. So why? Why not just forget about the resolutions that aren’t going to stick, and instead resolve to live life a little more in the moment? Everything in moderation, right? Including indulgences like chocolate, bourbon, caramel and salt. That in mind, I’ve crafted the perfect brownie with which you can practice your new indulge-in-moderation resolution. Eat the brownie. Maybe have a spoonful or two of the caramel (maybe three). Let me apologize now — I realize that lately this article has become “what else can Alyssa bake bourbon into?” and I promise to take a break from the bourbon
after this. Really. Or, at least I will in my recipes. (Because seriously, why would I ever quit loving bourbon? I wouldn’t.) After you have these brownies, you will forget about my baking-withbourbon habit and just thank me. Your friends will thank me because you will insist on sharing; then, you will regret the sharing because someone else ate the last brownie. (It’s bound to happen.) So, go ahead. Forget about those silly resolutions and indulge a little instead.
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Bourbon Caramel Sauce 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1 cup heavy cream 1/3 cup bourbon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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In a medium saucepan, bring the water, sugar and corn syrup to a boil over high heat. Cook without stirring until the sugar is dissolved, washing down the sides with a wet pastry brush. Continue cooking without stirring until an amber caramel forms, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the cream. Let cool for 1 minute, then stir in the bourbon and vanilla. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Let the caramel sauce cool and come to room temperature.
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3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa 2 cups sugar 3 large eggs, room temperature 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 cup all purpose unbleached flour 1 tablespoon smoked sea salt (can be found at specialty food stores; in lieu of smoked sea salt, Maldon sea salt can also be used) 1/2 cup Bourbon Caramel Sauce (recipe above)
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Bourbon Caramel Salted Fudge Brownies
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch-square cake pan. In a large saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 sticks butter with the unsweetened chocolate over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and one at a time whisk in cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour. When all of the ingredients are fully incorporated, pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the batter, and swirl with a butter knife. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the batter. Bake the fudge brownies in the center of the oven for about 35 minutes, until the edges are set but the center is still slightly soft. Do not overcook; they are not the same overcooked. Let the brownies cool at room temperature for about an hour, then refrigerate until firm, about an hour. Cut into 12 squares, serve at room temperature or warm with ice cream and extra caramel. ALYSSA JARRELL is an adventurer in the kitchen who enjoys giving her culinary creations to family and friends. Her website is thepinkantler.com.
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Continued from 11 >> anymore. The day I distance myself from the songs is the day I stop playing,� Folmer says. “If I notice that the band is bored with a song, or if someone’s obviously not feeling it, what the hell — move on to something else.� Brown and Blue deals lyrically with the burned-out shell left at the end of a relationship, but musically, Folmer was also venting some professional frustrations. He’s frank about his gripes with the evolving music business. He doesn’t love that there’s pressure to meet markers of success, like getting teamed with a label, a publicist and a producer at some alchemical moment. Folmer was a protege of musician and producer John Congleton (the Paper Chase), recording his 2007 record Gloria with the Dallas musician who has mentored Sarah Jaffe, the Polyphonic Spree and the Jessie Frye Band. But as Congleton’s star rose, Folmer’s cachet seemed to idle. It was a punch he found tough to roll with — but roll he did, after rocking a little through residual bitterness. “The music that moves me here is the music I play,� Folmer says. “The music I play is influenced by all of those bands I
DANNY RUSH AND THE DESIGNATED DRIVERS IN DENTON 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at Macaroni Island, a house show venue located at 2311 Houston Place. No cover. facebook.com/macaroniisland/events
discovered here at just the time they were really doing some awesome music.� Settling for something dimmer than the limelight — or the fortunate collaborations that can come with it — is a discipline Folmer still has to practice a little. “I’m jaded a little,� he says. “Just because you read [about a band] on Pitchfork doesn’t mean it’s relevant.� Ultimately, making music is about sharing something with an audience, he says. “What I like about a song live is getting a reaction from the audience,� Folmer says. “‘Buffalo Man’ and ‘Without You’ seem to get a response from people. The live performance is the reason I do this. If you don’t share your art with anyone, why the [expletive] do you paint?�
LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached by calling 940-566-6877 or e-mailing cbreeding@dentonrc.com.
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