On The Record Magazine

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STRING THEORY

The Life of John B. Denton The Minister, Militiaman who Became the City’s Namesake SUBHEAD 3

MUSICIANS BAND TOGETHER

Sam Bass: The Texas Thief Find Out Where the Outlaw Hid His Loot

BEASTIE BOY

PUNK WILDMAN AIRS OUT LAUNDRY

Best Historic Landmarks Our Picks for Denton County’s Top Spots From its Past

DAILY.COM

Dear

UNT students,

Welcome to the new academic year!

This is a great time to be a student at UNT. Every faculty and staff member here promises to provide you with a high-quality education, great support and a fulfilling college experience.

Helping you succeed is what it’s all about. It’s what we mean when we say we’re “A green light to greatness.”

I hope you take advantage of everything UNT has to offer. Use the libraries and other resources to help you study. Use the Pohl Recreation Center, the Career Center, the Student Money Management Center and the Center for Leadership and Service to stay physically and emotionally fit. Get involved with groups on campus. Go hear a concert or lecture, see our exhibitions or visit our planetarium.

And make plans to cheer on the Mean Green during our last year in the Sun Belt Conference. We hope to see you at all of the home football games because there’s something to celebrate at each one: • Sept. 8: Texas Southern University, first home game • Sept. 22: Troy University, Family Weekend • Oct. 16: University of Louisiana-Lafayette, ESPN2 nationally televised game • Nov. 3: Arkansas State University, Homecoming with the theme “Once upon a homecoming” • Nov. 10: University of South Alabama, Sun Belt Conference finale And when basketball season starts in early November, come support our new head coaches. The men’s basketball season will be highlighted by the return of Tony Mitchell, a projected first-round NBA draft pick.

In 2013, we’ll move to Conference USA, which will raise the stakes for us in important ways — from a higher level of competition to more national media exposure and name recognition. And that’s about the value of your degree, not just better sporting competition.

So, again, do well in class, but also remember to stay connected. You can get help, find out about news, events and resources, and share the fun of being part of UNT: /NorthTexas

/universityofnorthtexas

/UNTNews

m.unt.edu

We have a great campus community — big enough that there is something for everyone, but not so big that you will be on your own. You can depend on your UNT family to help you, from your professors to your advisors to your fellow students.

Good luck this year. Have fun, be well and do great things.

Sincerely,

V. Lane Rawlins President

ON THE RECORD

WHAT’S INSIDE DENTON TUNES VOL.4, ISSUE 3 AUGUST 2012

UNT

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37

7

LIGHTS & SOUND Alumni shoot music videos

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CALM & COMPOSED Grad student with big dreams

10 LATE NIGHT TUNES Students moonlight in band 11 SNAZZY JAZZY UNT’s prestigious program

FEATURES 14 FROM THE ASHES Punk rocker quiets down

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24 A PLUCKY BUNCH Band displays scene’s unity 28 RASPY RACONTEUR Bone Doggie raises hell 34 REBELS WITHOUT A PAUSE Denton’s emerging rap scene

ARTS AND LIFE 37 ROBOT ROCK Dentonite bends circuits 38 RECORD RESURGENCE Vinyl sales on the rise 42 SUMMER JAMS Staff rates summer albums

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ON THE COVER: AV TH GREAT PHOTO BY DESIREE COUSINEAU VISIT NTDAILY.COM FOR VIDEOS AND MORE STORIES

AUGUST 2012

ON THE RECORD

ON THE RECORD STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF PAUL BOTTONI MANAGING EDITOR ALEX MACON PHOTO EDITOR JAMES COREAS MULTIMEDIA & DESIGN EDITOR SAMANTHA GUZMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Nicole Balderas Ashley Grant

SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Desiree Cousineau Amber Plumley

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Nicole Arnold Erika Lambreton

STAFF DESIGNERS Andrew Tellez Eliza Trono AUGUST 2012

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: SAMANTHA GUZMAN, PAUL BOTTONI, JAMES COREAS, ALEX MACON

STAFF WRITERS Pablo Arauz H. Drew Blackburn Ashley-Crystal Firstley Ryne Gannoe Michelle Heath Emily Hopkins J.P. Lugo Brett Medeiros Ben Peyton Eleanor Sadler Carly Tester Michael Todd Graham White Jason Yang

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ON THE RECORD

LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION ALUMNI FILM MUSIC

BY GRAHAM WHITE

T

hey conclude the day by shooting the live video feed for a concert at the WinStar Casino in Oklahoma, then return to Denton late and begin work early the next morning on a music video production, followed by band practice. For local production company Amandus Studios, all facets of music and film are constantly in motion.

The brain trust behind Amandus Studios consists of 2009 UNT alumni Bryan Walior, Jonathan Heath and Chuck Crosswhite. A close knit and modest group, they embrace their time behind the camera, not in front of it.

“We work well together because we went to film school together, and we all recognized that all three of us were stepping up,” Heath said. “Slowly after that, we became friends, and we grew a friendship before a professional relationship. We realized we could switch roles around and respect each other’s role.”

The primarily freelance group shoots a variety of multimedia.

The members of Amandus film inhouse live concert feeds for music venues, music videos, short films, commercials, and take part in sport photography all over the map. All are well-versed in the industry, from directing to running the camera.

Notable clients have included WFAATV, ESPN, Fox and Fox Sports.

Amandus has shot videos for bands

AUGUST 2012

such as The Mountain Goats, Shiny Around The Edges and On After Dark.

Part of the group’s success in managing a hectic schedule is their close dynamic, with the ability to spot each other’s best assets.

“As we progressed, we began to know each other professionally,” Walior said. “We know our weaknesses, our strengths. So when we get to do a project, we put our heads together and understand who is going to be suited for whatever role, and it recycles with each project we get.”

The members have as diverse a musical background as they do a production skillset. Crosswhite booked shows for the Fra House, a popular Denton music venue from 2005-2009. Heath worked in promotions for Universal and Sony from 2004-2008. And Walior ran the BS Art Fusion Show at Rubber Gloves for over two years, where the collaborative art show saw him book bands and DJs to play alongside artists.

All three are musically inclined, and Walior and Crosswhite’s band, Secret Cakes, has its first album currently in post-production.

The group gained increased notoriety and connectivity with Denton when they were given the opportunity to set up and run the first live-video feed for the main stage at this year’s 35 Denton festival.

“The live feed was awesome, and it

added to the overall atmosphere of the festival,” Kyle LaValley, 35 Denton creative director said. “I think the quality of their work is an indication of how close friends they are. That’s what sets them apart. They’re friends first, and the production work benefits from that.”

The group decided early to become their own bosses and work together independently, in favor of working under a union with a film company.

“I think it’s important to recharge your creative battery,” Crosswhite said. “By doing less corporate stuff and doing stuff that’s more our projects, it keeps the passion going.”

Amandus Studios is currently working on acquiring an LLC, with increased attention to the company’s website and insurance.

Looking into the future, the guys from Amandus simply wish to make a living doing what they love, and doing it together.

“I couldn’t imagine doing it without them,” Heath said. “I just want to look back and say we did what we wanted and we made a living doing it. We called the shots and we made it our own way.”

For more information or to view Amandus Studios’ work, visit vimeo. com/amandusstudios.

LEFT TO RIGHT: BRYAN WALIOR, CHUCK CROSSWHITE AND JONATHAN HEATH. PHOTO BY DESIREE COUSINEAU

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ON THE RECORD

KEEPING HIS COMPOSURE MUSIC GRAD STUDENT ENDURES TRIALS

BY BRETT MEDEIROS

I

n the span of five days in 2006, S. Andrew Lloyd went through two of the most significant moments of his life: meeting the future Mrs. Lesley Lloyd and undergoing surgery to remove cancer from his back.

A professional organist, composer, and UNT grad student, Lloyd, 32, lived through these ordeals while pursuing a doctorate in composition and organ performance.

Lloyd is the eldest child of 14, all of whom can play the piano and organ, but Lloyd is the only one to take up music professionally. However, music was not the first stop in his journey.

From 1998 to 2000, Lloyd was in Albania as a missionary for his church.

He then earned a music degree from Brigham Young University.

“Out of all honesty, I made the mistake of shadowing a dentist,” Lloyd said.

“After that I realized I really didn’t want to be a dentist anyway.”

Health issues also persisted. After the successful back surgery and a graduation from BYU in December 2006, Lloyd went under the knife again on Jan. 8,

8

2007. A two-month stretch of complications and a newly formed relationship tested Lloyd’s morale.

“It was inspiring to see that Andy remained so positive and kept moving on with life with a passion and vigor that I had never seen before in anyone I’ve ever met,” Lesley Lloyd said.

Free of health complications at last, Lloyd worked for as an insurance adjuster for a year and a half. Then a friend’s dream helped changed his career path.

“Somewhere along that time I had a buddy come up to me and tell me he had a dream that I was going to be an organ professor,” Lloyd said. “He asked me if I had ever thought about doing that and it really opened my eyes in getting back into music.”

After graduating from the University of Kansas with an advanced music degree, Lloyd moved to Denton in 2010 in pursuit of a doctorate degree in organ performance.

Lloyd came to Denton a seasoned composer looking to better himself and others.

Laurissa Backlin, a vocal performance graduate student, recently performed one of Lloyd’s compositions.

“He writes very well for vocal performers, so it wasn’t anything crazy and out there, but of course still a challenge, yet flowed at the same time,” Backlin said.

In the next 10 years, Lloyd hopes to see his works performed around the world.

“After the cancer I had realized that my life is expendable. I might not have long to live, but everything made me reflect on what I wanted to do with music,” Lloyd said. “I want to combine intellectualism with accessibility.”

Andrew and Lesley have two little girls and another child on the way.

Lloyd plays organ at the First United Methodist Church in Denton.

This graduate student’s composition is not yet finished. In fact, the next movement could very well write itself.

ANDREW LLOYD IS AN ORGAN PERFORMANCE MAJOR WITH DOCTORATE STUDIES IN MUSIC. PHOTO BY AMBER PLUMLEY

AUGUST 2012

ON THE RECORD

MAGICAL MUSIC MUSEUM UNT LIBRARY HOME TO AUDIO TREASURES

BY ASHLEY-CRYSTAL FIRSTLEY

L

ocated on the fourth floor of Willis Library, the UNT Music Library is home to one of the largest and most accredited music collections in the country, featuring rare audio samples and manuscripts.

Many of the collectibles are either bought or donated, and head librarian Morris Martin ensures each item makes it safely to its new home.

Martin said he has gone so far as to fly to San Francisco to drive a 26-foot Penske truck back full of fragile and valuable opera music books to add scores to the library’s already sizable collection.

Founded in 1941 by Wilfred C. Bain and Anna Harriet Heyer, the library currently holds more than 300,000 books, scores and periodicals, and 900,000 audio recordings in cylinders, reel-to-reel tapes, CDs and 45/33/78rpm records.

The collection also contains manuscripts from well-known composers such as Aaron Copland and UNT alumni, including composers Don Gillis, who was the producer for the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and Julia Smith, who composed the school’s alma mater, “Glory to the Green and White.”

“It gives students a really unusual perspective, to be able to look at these things and to study them instead of having to look at generic published editions,” said Susannah Cleveland, a UNT alumna and head of the music library at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Some of the rare collectibles can be found in a room known as the Edna Mae Sandborn Music Rare Book Room.

Locked glass cases hold some of the oldest pieces in the collection, including a 700-year-old one-page medieval Latin

manuscript and first edition opera manuscripts by composers Mozart, Handel and Debussy.

Music scholars researching the works of Stan Kenton, an influential 20th-century American composer, are immediately directed by the Library of Congress to search the UNT Music Library, one of the few places in the country with a significant collection of Kenton’s works. Martin said he receives requests for access to the late bandleader’s compositions every day, from universities around the world.

The Edna Mae Sanborn Room also holds phonographs from the 1920s.

Cleveland said the enormous, comprehensive collection was one of her favorite parts of attending UNT. “I can talk enthusiastically about that library for weeks,” she said. “It’s a place I absolutely love.”

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ON THE RECORD

ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK STUDENTS MOONLIGHT IN COVER BAND

BY ELEANOR SADLER

I

RVING — It’s 10 p.m. on a Saturday night. Lights are flashing, drinks are being poured and the dance floor is full as patrons of Cool River Cognac and Cigar Bar dance the night away to the highenergy tunes of The Walton Stout Band.

Members of UNT’s One O’Clock Lab Band Jordan Gheen and Sean Casey play for the popular North Texas area cover band, keeping their musical skills sharp until the fall semester begins.

“I just love to play,” trombone performance senior Casey said. “I just love playing music, all kinds, and I try to as much as I can.”

With performances booked every weekend, The Walton Stout Band entertains crowds at popular North Texas nightclubs, events and weddings, playing top 40 covers and a few classics. The nine members of the band pride themselves on

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their natural sound. Drums, guitar, saxophones and more are all fair game, but the band does not use synthesizers or any electronic instruments.

Casey said the band has given him an opportunity to play at venues with people he may not have had the chance to before, as well as try out different genres of music.

Quiet and reserved until he hits the stage, Casey said the band’s highenergy performances allow him to loosen up and have the confidence to meet more people.

Gheen, a jazz studies senior, has been playing with the band for more than four years, and he is the one who suggested Casey audition for the band.

Gheen plays the trumpet and gives a bit of spunk to the dynamic of the band. He said he loves getting crowds pumped up and ready to dance.

“This is my project where I just get to have fun,” Gheen said. “I go up on stage and I’m a crazy ball of hair and energy.”

The crowd at the Cool River Cognac responded enthusiastically.

“The energy here is great,” Collin College junior Aubrie Reiersgord said. “The members of the band look like they are having a lot of fun, I can’t help but dance.”

Casey and Gheen are not only honing their musical craft, but having plenty of fun while doing it.

“They both have a large amount of natural talent,” said Steve Wiest, coordinator of the One O’Clock Lab Band. “Combine that with a serious work ethic and the experiences that they have had so far via the UNT Jazz Program, and you get high quality musicians indeed.”

For more information on the Walton Stout Band visit thewaltonstoutband. com or call (214) 415-4452.

AUGUST 2012

ON THE RECORD

JAZZING IT UP UNT’S NOTED PROGRAM

BY ASHLEY GRANT

U

NT’s world-renowned jazz studies program can be grueling.

According to the College of Music, only about one in six students applying to the college make the cut after an audition, interview and various tests – but students who survive the oldest jazz studies program in the country number among some of the world’s best musicians.

Steve Wiest, director of UNT’s six-time Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, said in an interview at the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival that graduating from the jazz studies program gives students a hard-earned calling card in the world of music.

“Coming from NorthTexas is something that a large number of our grads have built on to create great careers,” Wiest said.

Jazz studies lecturer Jay Saunders, director of the Two O’Clock Lab Band, said that it’s almost impossible to find a major jazz ensemble or recording studio in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago where North Texas exes aren’t involved.

“It has consistently turned out worldclass musicians that have become very successful,” Wiest said.

According to its website, the jazz program graduates about 17 students a year, who go on to work as professional musicians in orchestras, touring groups, composers, jazz ensembles, music teachers and more.

Current students also record, tour and play with big-name musicians brought to the university to teach master classes.

“A lot of students get gigs on cruise ships, go on big band tours or if they choose to enlist, they become a part of the military bands,” said Julie Bice, administrative assistant in the jazz

AUGUST2012

z z s a m o J T N y UN m m Gr a The One O'Clock Lab Band has received six Grammy nominations, including: "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album" (1976, 1978, 2009) "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental" by arrangers Mike Bogle (1992), Neil Slater (1993) and Steve Weist (2009).

Two albums, Lab ‘75 and Lab ‘76 recieved Grammy nominations for performace and were the first to be given to a student band.

studies department. with the State Philarmonic of Brno in Music education senior Morgan Davis the Czech Republic in April. said there are a number of things that The program continues to attract attract jazz aficionados to enroll. talented young musicians from around “For one, the directors are phenomenal the world, but despite its competitiveness, and the One O’Clock Lab Band is here,” Wiest said the effort was well worth it for Davis said. “It’s nationally recognized those serious about the art of jazz. and is overall a great environment.”

“If you can make it here, you can make Faculty in the jazz studies program it anywhere,” he said. include many active and internationallyGRAPHIC BY ANDREW TELLEZ recognized performers who share their knowledge and experience with students.

In June, UNT jazz students racked up more awards than any other music college in the country in Downbeat Magazine’s annual “Student Music Awards.”

The jazz p r o g r a m ’ s website features an exhaustive and frequently updated account of . . current and former students who are making waves in Layaway . Free Gift Wrapping . Registries . GIFT CARDS the music world, including Jiří No cash value. Not valid with any other offer. Not valid Levíček, a former on previous purchases.

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ON THE RECORD

Denton Music History 1890 1909 1939 1943 1945 1947 1949 1954 1967 1979 1979 1980

The College of Music then called the Normal Conservatory of Music; is founded by music teacher Eliza Jane McKissack.

Ray Peterson, pop music singer remembered for singing “Tell Laura I Love Her” and “Corrine, Corrina” is born in Denton.

Herschel Evans, pioneer jazz saxophonist is born in Denton. He played with the likes of Lionel Hampton and Lester Young and went on to be a part of the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra. His playing style influenced jazz musicians throughout the 1920s and 30s.

Sly Stone, frontman for soul funk band Sly and the Family Stone is born in Denton.

Bob Dorough, cool jazz pianist and composer, best known for composing songs in the popular musical cartoon Schoolhouse Rock! attends North Texas State University. He also worked with the likes of Miles Davis and Allen Ginsberg.

The very first jazz studies program in the world is founded at the North Texas State University’s College of Music by music graduate student M.E. Hall. The program also formed the Two O’Clock Lab Band which became the first performing dance band ensemble that allowed students to receive credit hours.

Roy Orbison, best known for his hit songs “Pretty Woman” and “Only the Lonely” attends North Texas State ColPop music singer Pat Boone attends North Texas lege. His songs were on the Billboard State College. Today he still holds the Billboard charts consistently throughout the record for having one or more songs on the charts 1960s. for 220 consecutive weeks.

Don Henley, founding member and lead vocalist for The Eagles, attends Polka-punk act Brave Combo is formed on campus. The North Texas State University. band began playing shows at Benny’s where Cool Bean’s now stands. They are currently one of Denton’s longest The Fry Street Fair, run by the Delta running active bands.

Lodge fraternity begins running offand-on for several years. The festival gave local Denton bands exposure The Denton Festival Foundation is formed and to the music scene throughout its produces the Spring Fling, the first local arts festiexistence. val held at the North Texas State Fairgrounds.

1982 1990 1992 1998 1999 2000 2007 2008 2009

The first Arts & Jazz Festival is held at Quakertown Park.

The Rock Bottom Lounge, a bar located in the basement of the Union on campus hosts a slew of bands to many-a drunken patrons.

Rick’s Place, once located where Public House now stands, is the center of the Fry Street music scene. The venue often hosted edgy alt. rock bands such as Tripping Daisy and Baboon.

The indie rock group Midlake is formed in Denton by UNT jazz students. The band gained popularity in Europe becoming one of Denton’s most successful groups.

The last Fry Street Fair is held.

Pop-punk rock stars Bowling for Soup move from Witchita Falls to Denton.

They’re best known for their hit songs “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” and “1984” Country music group Eli Young Band is formed on campus. Releasing their debut self-titled album in 2002, they were signed to a major label by the their third album release.

Denton is named the best music scene in the country

by Paste Magazine.

The 35 Denton music festival (then named NX35) is started by Chris Flemmons of the Baptist Generals. The festival, now planning its fifth year, has become the premiere showcase for local and touring acts in Denton.

BY PABLO ARAUZ GRAPHIC BY ANDREW TELLEZ

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AUGUST2012

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ON THE RECORD

NOTORIOUS FRONTMAN GOES SOLO

BY JASON YANG

I

t used to be a familiar sight in Denton bars and music venues: A 5-foot-8 man, wearing nothing but a soiled pair of women’s underwear, roaring into a microphone and moving every inch of his hairy, husky body to an ecstatic punk rock song.

Unfazed, his band – a standard guitarbass-drum punk outfit with an added brass section – plays on as their sweaty frontman, gasping for breath, charges into a crowd of enthusiastic fans, gleefully hopping and slamming into each other.

Richard Haskins, designated rabblerouser for the notorious Denton-based WeeBeasties, rarely dons his frontman outfit these days.

Haskins, 27, said the Beasties are currently on hiatus – the group has played about 50 “last shows ever” since forming in Denton in 2000 – because of a lack of band members and “questionable,” highintensity, occasionally violent performances that have caused venues around the country to ban the group from performing.

Instead of underwear, Haskins wears 10

a trucker hat that hides his buzz cut, a sleeveless T-shirt showing off a tattoo on his upper arm, a pair of torn-up and faded blue jeans and a pair of black boots.

His entire wardrobe fits in a laundry basket. He sleeps on his friend’s couch. He doesn’t have a car.

Depending on the day, he works as a handyman or a dishwasher at UNT. Even with all the odds against him, Haskins isn’t surrendering his punk rock roots.

“Mike Wiebe [singer for Denton-bred punk band The Riverboat Gamblers] once said, ‘Richard Haskins is a rocker and he’ll do this for the rest of his life,’ and he’s right,” Haskins said. “It’s the only thing I know how to do and want to do.”

Elvis howling of lead singer Glenn Danzig and Co. drowned out the classical music.

His guitar-playing took on a different slant after that.

“With punk rock, I discovered my guitar can cry and scream for you,” Haskins said.

Together with a few close friends from high school, Haskins formed the Wee-Beasties in 2000. The name is half-joke, half-tribute to Los Angeles punk band The Germs and scientist Antoine van Leeuwenhoek, who discovered the first bacteria under a microscope and named them “beasties.”

The band went on tour and recorded in the summers of 2003 and 2004 before taking a five-year hiatus after a long series of lineup rearrangements and near-break-ups.

Early Days Born in Sherman, Texas, and raised in Denison, Haskins moved to Denton when he was 10 years old.

His grandmother, Edna Mae Glover, taught him piano, but when a bus driver gave the young and impressionable Haskins a Misfits CD, the fast-paced guitar riffs and punk-

Success and Fall During the hiatus, Haskins opened the Black Bottle recording studio in Denton, but repelled by the idea of spending the rest of his life in an office, Haskins and the Beasties reunited in 2009.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 JULY 2012

ON THE RECORD

RICHARD HASKINS PHOTOS BY SAMANTHA GUZMAN

JULY 2012

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The band played shows in North Texas area and Austin, as well as two high-profile performances at the 2010 and 2011 Warped Tour in Dallas, and released a collaborative EP, “Don’t Shred On Me: Volume 1” with Brave Combo in 2011.

Friction within the band, erratic crowds, Haskins’ alcohol-fueled showmanship and occasional legal problems led to another nearbreaking point in 2011 after a rowdy performance outside the Courthouse-on-the-Square during the 35 Conferette music festival. Haskins said that show, which featured some of the Beasties’ more profane songs, topless fans and a pants-less, raging performance from Haskins pushed the band over the edge.

The band was not invited back for 35 Denton this year, and Haskins said the notoriety has made it difficult to find venues in Denton willing to embrace the Beasties’ anarchic live presence.

Keeping such a large band with such a fluid lineup together is in itself a challenge, said Matt Pole, guitarist for Wee-Beasties.

“Dealing with so many people in the band, things don’t always go smoothly,” Pole said.

The Present If short-lived past hiatuses – as well as recent performances by the band – are any indication, the Wee-Beasties are far from dead, but lately Haskins has been performing in quieter settings,

in front of an older crowd.

He has played two solo acoustic shows so far, but Haskins said the intimate performances have been a way to get the “depressing stuff” out of his life, and crowd reaction has been positive.

His long-time best friend Lauren McKinney said Haskins does a better job singing Hank Williams than Hank Williams. At a Wee-Beasties show, Haskins is a Tasmanian Devil in women’s underwear.

“But when he sings acoustic, it’s some of the most heartbroken, emotionally charged songs ever,” she said. “It’s a different feel.”

Whether it’s low-key, low-paying acoustic shows in quiet coffee shops or raucous, earsplitting fests in seedy bars, Haskins said his love for playing and performing music will never fade. The man just wants to rock.

“If I make it to 50 and I’m not in prison, I’ll perform for a local show or a birthday party,” Haskins said. “It’s not because I have integrity, but because it’s the only thing I know how to do.”

BY ASHLEY GRANT

ON THE RECORD

DENTON RADIO LOCAL TUNES GET PLAY

BY RYNE GANNOE

O

pen mic nights, gigs at local bars and house shows are all important venues for local musicians to share their work.

Artists seeking out a wider audience also have another outlet – DentonRadio. com, an online radio station that plays music from any genre, as long as the act is from Denton.

“We want this thing to be a tool for the community to use,” president and founder Jake Laughlin said. “Something that can build up the local community, something that can be advertising for local businesses, promote the local arts, be an avenue that never existed before.”

Laughlin originally planned to purchase an FM radio station, but ran into challenges with cost and availability.

“What happens a lot of the time is bigger businesses will start buying radio stations when they get to a certain size,” he said. “They get a lot of advertising and things like that. With Fort Worth being such a big business district, they’re all gone.”

So Laughlin opted for plan B. With backing from Banter, Square 205 and other local businesses, Denton’s exclusive radio station was born – the site just celebrated its one-year anniversary.

New acts are signed up weekly at Banter’s open mic night, where bands or solo artists sign a contract allocating the

LEFT TO RIGHT: SYDNEY WRIGHT, RICHARD GILBERT, JASON ROCHESTER, BRIAN LAMBERT, AND REBECCA MALMBERG, STAND BEHIND JAKE LAUGHLIN, FOUNDER OF DENTONRADIO.COM. PHOTO BY ERIKA LAMBRETON

AUGUST 2012

rights to use their music in the rotation. try and make it live 24 hours a day.

Musicians aren’t paid, but the exposure “It’s community. The thing that’s so for a local artist is as good as gold. intriguing about the music scene here is Mary Lamb, the frontwoman of the not even necessarily the musical quality, rock band Lightning Tree, met up with it’s the people,” Laughlin said.He wants Laughlin at a local show, and was on the to give back to the music scene he feels station months later. has given him so much entertainment.

“I think it’s fantastic for just original “If nobody else will play them, I will.” music,” Lamb said.“A musician has no chance to get on a real radio station.

It’s tied up with contracts and middle men.”

She said the airplay helped 1. August 1st - 29th her meet other earn in superCAsh when you new musicians spend $25! and book gigs around town.

2. August 5th Laughlin and with purchase his associates said the longof $50! term goal was to create a self3. August 16th - 29th sustaining forfamous Jeans sale! profit business centered around the Denton community.

Running the station costs 1800 S Loop 288 little more than Denton, TX 76205 paying for web hosting. There 940.898.1700 are plans in the work sto expand oLDnavy.com Are BACk! the website and

$10

free BACkpACk

$19

the Best

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sAles

17

ON THE RECORD

HOT, WET, MESSY MUSIC 35 DENTON IS GETTING WET AND WILD

BY CARLY TESTER

I

six bands and two DJs from all over the country as well as local vendors, food trucks and skating demonstrations hosted by professional skateboarder Mike Crum.

Creative director Kyle LaValley said the festival, which will take over the North Texas Fairgrounds on Sept. 1, was being held to commemorate the end of summer and give students one last hurrah before the fall semester.

“We really wanted to do something that was its own day and its own thing outside of the 35 Denton festival,” LaValley said.

Pe r f o r m i n g bands range from the rock BOOK SMART ‘n’ roll of Black Lips, Fergus AND STYLISH!! and Geronimo and No Age, to the dance and hip hop of Big Freedia and Reggie Watts to the electronic and funk of U n k n o w n 1400 Shoal Creek M o r t a l The Shops at Highland Village Orchestra, 972-317-5494 RTB2 and DJ

nside a rusted, disused gas station about a block away from the Courthouse-on-the-Square, organizers at 35 Denton have set up a colorfully decorated office, the staging ground for one of the most buzzed about parties this summer: the firstever Hot Wet Mess, a mini-music fest from the minds behind the city’s fouryear-old walkable music festival.

Named by a 35 Denton staff member during an alcohol-induced moment of inspiration on the patio at Dan’s Silverleaf, organizers said they intend to provide exactly what the one-day festival’s name promises: a hot, sweaty dance party.

The Hot Wet Mess, 35 Denton’s debut as an event production company independent of its namesake festival, will feature an inflatable water slide,

brightsideboutique.net

18

Sober.

Bands asked to play at Hot Wet Mess were chosen by Programming Director Natalie Devilla based on their ability to entertain crowds and get rowdy, while also meeting the needs of Denton’s diverse musical tastes.

One fan can bounce to New Orleans club-queen Big Freedia, while another moshes to the garage punk of Black Lips.

“We understand that not everybody is a rock and roller and not everybody is into hip hop, but we want people to have a transformative experience with the music,” LaValley said. “We want people listening to new things and thinking of ideas and getting turned on.”

John Sommerville, a recent UNT graduate, said he was excited for the electronic music and the water slide.

LaValley said the monstrous 40-foot water slide was one of three in the U.S. “It’s the biggest water slide Denton will ever see,” LaValley said.

Hot Wet Mess tickets are on sale at prekindle.com for $15 a piece.

“I want people in Denton to party and love each other and have an awesome time,” LaValley said.

GRAPHIC BY ANDREW TELLEZ

AUGUST 2012

ON THE RECORD

A CHAT WITH BIG FREEDIA INTERVIEW BY PABLO ARAUZ Big Freedia is the fabulous Queen Diva of bounce music, a booty-shaking genre with its origins in New Orleans and southern rap. The Louisiana native has played the club music circuit for more than a decade, putting out hit after hit of the fun-thumping hustle that is so distinctive of bounce.

She’s spent the summer touring the continent, playing venues from Los Angeles to Montreal. Freedia, who last performed in Denton at 35 Conferette in 2011, is returning Sept. 1 for 35 Denton’s Hot Wet Mess at the North Texas Fairgrounds.

Q: A:

How’s the tour been?

The tour’s been really amazing. I’ve been playing shows with all types of different people and mixed crowds. Really high energy and it’s really been picking up and going well lately.

Q: A:

Why is crowd participation so important to your music?

Well, to connect to my fans, most definitely to make them feel a part, you know. To gravitate them to the stage and make them feel connected to me, as well as what I’m feeling. So, you know, letting them have crowd participation is very important to Big Freedia’s set because, you know, that’s what gets the crowd riled up.

Q: A:

How do crowds react to your provocative lyrics?

You know, it gets a little raunchy and raw in some songs, but you know the people really love the participation, they love the raunchiness. It’s a really exciting highenergy show, but for the most part it’s not provocative to where people are not satisfied, they’re not disgusted – It’s not too nasty or anything like that. No, it’s not a big freak show. It’s all about bringing people together

FILE PHOTO BY JAMES COREAS

Q: A: Q: A:

Your music can be empowering for women and those in the LGBTQ community. Do you do that on purpose?

Well, in the beginning I didn’t do that on purpose.

But when I did realize that I was bringing all different walks of life of people together, I started to make it a point to keep all of the people together, you know, into my show, together all on stage. It’s just like a big fun party where we all get together and have a good time.

Do you have anything else to say for Denton?

Just be looking forward for a really exciting time from the Queen Diva. I’m going to be bringing some really hot, sweaty, noise, and I’m really excited to be coming to Denton once again.

VISIT NTDAILY.COM TO READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

AUGUST2012

19

ON THE RECORD

MUSIC MAKES CITY MONEY SCENE CONTRIBUTES TO LOCAL ECONOMY

BY EMILY HOPKINS

H

uge festivals, nightly shows and a thriving music scene all contribute to Denton’s economy, involving local businesses and bringing in visitors attracted by the city’s creative atmosphere.

“It’s attracting not only musicians, but other people who want to be part of that and want to have access to high-quality entertainment,” said Julie Glover, the city’s economic program administrator.

UNT’s College of Music and College of Visual Arts and Design keep the creativity in town fresh and exciting, said Michael Seman, research associate at the UNT Center for Economic Development and Research. Seman said Denton is currently the seventhfastest growing city in the U.S., and the music culture is seen as an amenity to stay and establish residence he said.

“Denton is, I would argue, the most creative community in the DFW region.” Seman said. “Definitely has its own individual flavor and it attracts a lot of creative people from the region.”

In March, the fourth annual 35 Denton music festival generated about $3 million for the city, Glover said.

According to a study conducted by Seman, “From Rodeos to Indie Rock: The Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Selected Cultural Events in Denton, Texas,” music festivals and rodeos in Denton in 2010 attracted about 414,500 people, and about 197,000 of those guests were from outside of the city. According to the report, music festivals in Denton bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Denton’s culture of music and creativity has encouraged more

economic growth and development, Glover said. A grassroots movement has seen bars, restaurants and venues flocking to the downtown Square and East Hickory Arts Corridor.

Kyle LaValley, creative director for the 35 Denton music festival, said she was glad to be a part of that.

“The other businesses that are attracted to come here and be a part of Denton all thrive on that culture,” LaValley said.

Seman cites the development of East Hickory businesses as just one example of many that Denton’s music encourages economic growth.

“It’s a really artistic town that people sometimes overlook, but I think that’s one of the important things that [35 Denton is] trying to do, is enhance that perception of the great culture that we have here,” LaValley said.

Billy Bob’s Texas

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AUGUST 2012

ON THE RECORD

KICKIN’ UP THE RED DIRT SOME HOMETOWN COUNTRY

BY MICHELLE HEATH

W

hen they get on stage, they say they’re from Denton, but Blacktop Outlaw has never played a show in their hometown.

The band’s fusion of country and Southern rock ‘n’ roll generates a red dirt Texas country sound that is wellknown in Dallas and Fort Worth, but struggles to get recognition in the same town that produced country heavyweight Eli Young.

“Think of Lynyrd Skynyrd, but with Willie Nelson – if they had a baby,” hospitality and management sophomore and lead guitarist Ethan Dorsett said.

The Texas country scene in Denton has dwindled over the years, said Lloyd Banks, the owner of Rockin’ Rodeo, a nightclub on Avenue C that regularly hosts popular rock and country bands.

Banks said the club only gets busy for big-name Texas country bands like Eli Young and Randy Rogers, something Blacktop Outlaw hopes to change.

“I think a lot of people hear the words ‘Texas country’ and it almost turns them off, because they don’t want to see a country show,” Banks said. “It’s not what you expect. It’s not going to be some guy in a big cowboy hat up there twanging away and singing about his dog.”

Performing every weekend in venues

AUGUST 2012

all over North Texas – except for Denton, where the band fights to book gigs – Blacktop Outlaw makes about $350 a show, performing covers of artists such as Cross Canadian Ragweed, Stoney LaRue and Hank Williams Sr. “One thing I like about playing the old stuff is it’s a way of introducing it to the young people and reminding it to the old people,” music senior and bassist Lucas Pittman said.

Although the band fills the majority of their four hour sets with covers, lead singer Danny Dillon said the band is moving toward playing more originals while retaining its Texas country sound.

Even at Rockin’ Rodeo, which regularly hosts red dirt artists such as Wade Bowen and Charlie Robison, new Texas country bands have a hard time gaining a following in Denton, Banks said.

“I don’t know what it will take, and it’s not like we don’t have success with [country music],” Banks said.

“Obviously, we do or we wouldn’t keep doing it. It’s just, you know, the market has shrunk a little bit.”

Banks said the scene was much larger when he attended UNT from 1989-1994. He said it seemed that other college towns have a more “countryoriented” student body, which makes it

difficult for new Texas country acts to gain a foothold in Denton.

“You go to any other college town in the state of Texas and you throw any number of Texas music guys and red dirt guys, not even big names, and you usually have a pretty decent crowd,” Banks said.

When Pittman started studying music at UNT, he said people told him to keep his love for playing country music under wraps.

“I think they think it’s corny,” Dorsett said.

When Rockin’ Rodeo has big name bands play, Banks said it’s a “no brainer” that the venue will be packed.

The four members of Blacktop Outlaw hope to get some hometown recognition by opening for a bigger band, and become a part of Denton’s down-but-not-out Texas country scene.

“I think opening up for one of those bands [at Rockin’ Rodeo] will get us recognized,” Dillon said. “If we can get in there and open we’ll be good.”

For more information on Blacktop Outlaw and upcoming shows, go to facebook.com/blacktopoutlaw.

BLACKTOP OUTLAW PLAYS AT PD’S PLACE, A BAR IN GAINESVILLE, TEXAS. PHOTO BY MICHELLE HEATH

21

ON THE RECORD

HOUSE MUSIC A DENTON PRODUCER

BY NICOLE BALDERAS

S

ome have argued that Napster, and the ensuing revolution in how people listened to, and how people paid for music, changed the music industry for the better.

Sean P. Jones, an independent music producer and engineer in Denton, doesn’t share similar feelings.

Although the Internet has changed the way music is created and obtained, Jones said creating music still boils down to the pairing of a songwriter and an engineer, which he said has been neglected by the industry and some artists in recent years.

As a producer and engineer, Jones hopes to change that.

Jones’ professional passion started with early exposure to music. His mother is a classical pianist and church organist and his father has played in the Lincoln and Omaha Symphonies.

“I started in choir as a kid and as it came time to pick an instrument, I fell in love with the drum set,” he said.

Jones’ interest in becoming a professional musician led him to UNT, where he first began recording. By the end of his first semester at UNT, Jones was recording recitals for about 30 individual music students, but he wanted to gravitate toward different avenues of recording.

Jones now records everything from pop solo artists to six-piece funk instrumental groups out of his three-bedroom Denton house, where he keeps more than 100 pieces of equipment.

Jones, who has plans to move to Los Angeles and pursue a career later this year, strives to bring music recording back to its roots.

“I guess that’s the thing. With the technology I have, I can make everything sound as perfect as I want,” he said. “But

AUGUST 2012

without a good artist there’s really no point.”

Jones recently worked with UNT jazz studies graduate Kaela Bratcher, who decided to shed her soulful sound for something a little more poppy while recording her debut album.

“The main thing was he offered the creative process I wanted,” Bratcher said.

With the prevalence of music downloading, and a record industry suffering from years of declining profit, Jones said companies are hesitant to invest in new singers.

“I don’t think he necessarily thinks he’s working for me.,” Bratcher said. “It’s more a collaboration.”

Jones said there were a few positives to recording music in the digital age, including cheaper equipment.

With his move to L.A. set for the end of the summer, Jones looks forward to the opportunity to make a name for himself.

SEAN P. JONES SITS IN HIS HOME RECORDING STUDIO, EDITING MUSICAL NOTES. PHOTO BY ERIKA LAMBRETON

The Tomato Josue No art.

23

ON THE RECORD

ON THE RECORD

MARISSA KORTH AND ROBERT SHERWOOD PHOTO BY JAMES COREAS

B O

ackwater pera

QUARTET EMBODIES DENTON’S COLLABORATIVE MUSIC SCENE

BY NICOLE BALDERAS

24

JULY 2012

JULY 2012

25

M

any Denton musicians list UNT’s music program, abundant nightlife and creative atmosphere as a few reasons for the city’s impressive amount of musical talent.

A supportive community heavy on collaborative musical efforts and local bands’ refusal to be pigeonholed into one genre has contributed to the diversity and talent on display in Denton.

Backwater Opera, whose four members are UNT music alumni, exemplify this through collaborative shows with other genre-defying bands and a sound so unique it needed its own name: chambergrass.

The group – vocalist, guitarist and

mandolin player Robert Sherwood, bassist August Dennis, vocalist and guitarist Marisa Korth and violinist and vocalist Carlos Canlas – brings its classical training to bear on songs, falling somewhere in between bluegrass, indie folk and a string quartet.

Korth and Sherwood, who are married, said the band tries to stay humble and graceful. They still play free “Tree Shows” on the lawn outside Denton’s Courthouse-onthe-Square, the quartet illuminated by lights strung up in nearby trees.

“We adopted the policy, ‘Leave the place better than you found it,’” Korth said.

The group, which formed about two years ago, performed at bluegrass festivals in Arizona and Colorado.

JUNE 2012

Bassist August Dennis said they received a warm welcome.

“That’s why we love bluegrass,” Dennis said. “Everyone is so friendly and open. A guy will see an up-andcomer and invite them onstage.”

Sherwood said it was at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado that the band decided to try something new with its sound.

“We went on and played our set and were pretty wild. We thought, we could go with the bluegrass band sound but that wasn’t really us. We still have the ‘wang-dang-a-dang’ though,” Sherwood said, mimicking the twang of a banjo.

Korth said they decided to throw rules and restrictions out the window, a sensibility that fit right at home when they returned to Denton.

“The only rule in the band is everything has to be done on your instrument,” Korth said. “If you want a percussion sound or a weird seagull sound you have to do it on your instrument.”

Backwater Opera has helped other bands in Denton’s tight-knit community, most recently when friends in the group Seryn needed a string section.

Banding together Seryn, a five-piece act that crafts walls of sound out of banjos, ukuleles and any other instrument at their disposal, found itself with

JULY 2012

“

We adopted the policy leave the place better than you found it.

the opportunity to perform at a TED talk, the technology, entertainment and design conferences that provide a spotlight for creative minds.

The band, known for instrumentswapping performances, played at an independent sector of the event in July in Westlake, Texas.

“They didn’t have a musical act so we asked and they totally took the bait,” said Nathan Allen, guitarist and singer for Seryn.

Although not the first time the bands joined forces, Backwater Opera violinist Carlo Canlas filled in for the high-profile gig.

“The slogan with TED talks is ‘ideas worth spreading,’” Canlas said, and Denton bands like Seryn and Backwater Opera have plenty of ideas to share.

Room to grow Unlike large music towns such as Austin, Denton’s relatively small size allows for a closer, intertwined music community where genre divisions are meaningless.

“People start bands because they’re friends and find out each

other can play music,” Allen said.

For many young Denton bands, house shows and local bars are a stepping stone into the local community.

“I think it is dynamic and thriving and really diverse,” Allen said.

“Denton doesn’t just have one genre, it has every genre: country rock on Fry Street – hip hop, dance, electronic, metal, bluegrass.”

Allen said the city was a melting pot for creativity, which allowed musicians to be engaged in multiple projects at a time.

“I saw a post from someone at Hailey’s the other night that said ‘Literally I’m playing in four different bands this week’,” Allen said. “No one in Denton is just doing one thing and I think that may be the key. Everyone is doing something with someone else.”

OPPOSITE LEFT: (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT)CARLO CANLAS, ROBERT SHERWOOD, AUGUST DENNIS AND MARISA KORTH. LOWER LEFT: BACKWATER OPERA GETS READY TO PERFORM THEIR LAST TREE SHOW BEFORE HEADING OUT ON TOUR. RIGHT: FANS ENJOY BACKWATER OPERA’S A TREE SHOW ON JULY 17.

PHOTOS BY DESIREE COUSINEAU

27

ON THE RECORD

BONE DOGGIE AND THE HICKORY STREET HELLRAISERS LEFT TO RIGHT: CHRISTOPHER “GHOST” MOREHEAD, BONE DOGGIE, KRIS “EL CHUPA” CORDELL, ABIGAIL “THE DUCHESS” MESSERLI, AND CARREK “BAM BAM” COLEMAN).

PHOTO BY DESIREE COUSINEAU

28

JULY 2012

H S B

TRAVELLING TROUBADOUR FINDS HOME IN DENTON

BY BEN PEYTON

A

lmost anyone who has strummed a guitar, turned on a local radio station or been to an open mic night in Denton has heard, or heard of, Bone Doggie.

The whiskey-sipping Bone Doggie – who responds to no other name, not even the one his parents gave him – is an omnipresent force in Denton’s music scene.

When he’s not hosting open mic nights at Banter or delivering raspyvoiced bits of wisdom to the “cats and kittens” who tune in for his weekly radio show, Bone Doggie and his band, the Hickory Street Hellraisers, can be found performing at festivals, events and venues all over town.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Ka., the seasoned bluesman discovered his love for music while playing drums in high school.

But like many travelling blues hounds before him, he eventually left home in search of new prospects, and by the 1970s found himself in North Texas, where his Bone Doggie persona began to take form.

“Bone Doggie was basically created to play the blues,” he said. “Hardcore Delta blues.”

He worked as a designer for the Fort Worth Star Telegram for several years before finding his niche at a coffee house in Denton. Bone Doggie quickly became a regular at Banter, then known as Brick House, and plugged himself into the local community of musicians who frequented the shop’s open mic nights.

“This is where Bone Doggie first started playing,” he said, sitting in the

bistro and coffee shop where he got his start. “And I still do.”

Mic Night Six years ago Bone Doggie went from being a regular to the host of Thursday’s open mic nights at Banter. The first-come first-serve sign up list has 25 spots that fill up in a matter of minutes. Guests get to perform two songs – three if Bone Doggie likes you.

There are only a few rules at Banter’s Doggie-hosted open mic night, including a strictly enforced ban on covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” and a tip-the-barista-well policy.

“Every open mic we get someone new, said Banter co-owner Ellen Ryfle. “It’s interesting to see the transition over the years.”

The ages of performers span generations, and musicians and audience members offer a supportive and welcoming experience for stage-wary musicians looking to hone their skills.

Regulars at the self-proclaimed “best open mic night in DFW” include an assistant professor of music at Texas Woman’s University, who is given the honor of opening most open mic nights, and the Long family: Don and his four sons Randall, Kevin, Tommy and Jesse.

The Long Road Home – Bone Doggie gave the family band from Aurora, TX the name – are usually joined onstage

by Bone Doggie for at least one of the 47 songs the group knows by heart.

“It’s like our second home,” Don Long said.

Doggie Time “Can you dig it?,” Bone Doggie asks guests on his weekly show on Denton-

Radio.com.

Fully entrenched in the local music scene, “Doggie Time” features interviews with Denton artists, news, gossip and more – emphasis on “more,” as anything goes on the playful talk show.

The online radio station and Bone Doggie’s show focus on talented local musicians that haven’t yet “made it big,” he said.

“The talent in this town is just flat amazing,” Bone Doggie said.

The online-only radio station recently marked its one-year anniversary and Doggie Time has been aired more than 25 times.

Doggie Time is on every Thursday at 8 p.m. Past recordings of the hourlong show can be found online at dentonradioblog.com.

Raising Hell Bone Doggie is quick to admit he wouldn’t amount to much onstage without the Hickory Street Hellraisers at his back.

“Separately none of us are Van Halen, but put us all together we’re Jimmy Page,” the band said jokingly.

Bone Doggie and the Hickory Street Hellraisers play Gypsy Americana with a touch of the blues, and have a theatrical circuslike presence onstage, dressing in red and black and fusing steam punk style with 1940s blues outfits.

All five Hellraisers claim they were born on Hickory Street in Denton, and like Bone Doggie, have a knack for self-mythologizing and nicknames.

Christopher “Ghost” Morehead is on

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

ON THE RECORD

and keyboards, Carrek “Bam Bam” Coleman plays bass, Abby “The Duchess” Messerli plays trombone, Aaron “Skwiggels” Price handles percussion and Kris “El Chupa” Cordell is on drums.

“They’re a pain in the ass,” Bone Doggie said. “But I would not trade those guys for anybody.”

Bone Doggie plays an Irish Bouzouki, which he tunes like a mandolin to play blues.

The band contributes to the community, and has played at the Arts and Jazz Festival for three years running.

“Anything civic I will do,” Bone Doggie said. “Anything for the city of Denton I will do and I’ll do it for free.”

City officials know Bone Doggie

well and in the past have called upon the Hellraisers to help with fundraisers for the Denton Animal Shelter.

Bone Doggie attributed his success to a growing and exceptional music scene in Denton.

“We do this because we love it,” Bone Doggie said, speaking on behalf of the community of musicians he is such an intrinsic part of. “We bang away at it as best we can.”

VISIT NTDAILY.COM TO WATCH AN INTERVIEW WITH BONE DOGGIE.

TOP: BONE DOGGIE AND THE HICKORY STREET HELLRAISERS. MIDDLE: BONE DOGGIE AND THE HICKORY STREET HELLRAISERS PERFORM AT II CHARLIE’S BAR AND GRILL. BOTTOM: BONE DOGGIE LOOKS OUT AT THE AUDIENCE DURING SHOW AT II CHARLIE’S BAR AND GRILL. PHOTOS BY DESIREE COUSINEAU

30

AUGUST 2012

OPINION: HIPSTERS 101

BY H. DREW BLACKBURN

N

obody will admit they are one and everyone loathes being called one.

The hipster.

Spotted sauntering about in cities with a high concentration of 20-somethings and independent music like New York City, Austin and Denton. The telling signs of the hipster are Levi skinny jeans, gravitation toward independent music, an obsession with nostalgia, and most importantly a deep seeded abhorrence to being called a hipster. Actually defining the word is more difficult.

Aren’t Levi’s the most popular denim brand in America and essentially a bigger slice of Americana than apple pie? Isn’t nostalgia one of the most universal feelings of the human condition? Doesn’t being called a term that is considered pejorative upset everyone? What we have here is a paradox – a living, breathing, walking, and talking contradiction.

Associate sociology professor Gabriel Ignatow said that hipster-dom is essentially “a counterculture based around art and music, opposed in a gentle way to mainstream values.”

Those set of ideals among young people is nothing new. The Beat generation of the ‘50s, the hippies of the ‘60s, and grungy malcontents from the early ‘90s were all in the same boat. The hipster borrows cues from previous countercultures.

“If you define yourself as an opposition to the mainstream, you have to creatively re-appropriate fashions and styles from the past” Ignatow said.

The hipster is the sum all of its parts, borrowing characteristics from other generations, including style and attitude.

Although hipsters aren’t picketing the streets like other generations, they are opposing the mainstream culture. They’re boycotting peacefully by expressing themselves through fashion, art, and music.

maple leaf

Popular hipster style choices include plaid, thick-rimmed glasses and ironic Tshirts.

“I think we all care about what people think, we just want them to think we don’t care,” Ignatow said. “It’s still fashion, still socially shaped.”

Music is a defining attribute of any subculture. People tend to gravitate toward others that are just like them and have similar tastes “People that dress a certain way listen to a certain type of music. I think it all kind of goes together,” said Mad World Records employee Dave Koen.

Hipsters are just young folks trying to find their way in a wayward world, and deep down they want to be unique and fit in at the same time. So the next time you see some kid in skinny jeans listening to an obscure band don’t scoff or roll your eyes, or maybe just stop looking at yourself in the mirror.

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31

ON THE RECORD

FUNKING UP THE VOLUME DUO RECORDS, PRODUCES LOCAL ARTISTS

BY NICOLE BALDERAS

J

c o u ch , lime green walls and a homemade soundproof wall built out of fiberglass and burlap sacks.

Gardner said constructing the Do-ItYo u r s e l f studio cost about $15,000, including money spent on recording software and computers.

Funknug operates at a grassroots level, getting business through word-ofmouth.

Gardner said the duo’s highquality studio that gave them a leg up on other AWARD-WINNING OUTDOOR GROUP FITNESS producers in the area.

“We will beat any price and we’ll book bands after producing a CD,” Gardner said. “We’re not looking to specialize in just one thing.”

Funknug has officially registered as a business with the state, but GardALL FITNESS LEVELS ner and Ilami UNLIMITED SESSIONS AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS said the name still draws incredulous responses from some quarters.

Sara Schroeder “We get so sara@campgladiator.com

By Competitor, Austin Fit, Rare and D Magazines many laughs 806.789.4643 at our name,”

oe Gardner and Boback Ilami met three years ago and teamed up to form the drum-and-bass duo Funknug.

The now-defunct band shed their instruments but kept the name, converting their Denton garage into a fully soundtreated recording studio for Funknug Records.

The multitasking pair now books gigs for local bands, records up-and-coming artists, and produces and packages CDS in their home.

“Bo has been recording since he was 16 and looking back now I guess I’ve always been trying to start a business,” Gardner said. “We’ve never been button down 9 to 5 type dudes.”

On any given day the two can be found in the studio, with its glossy red leather

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Gardner said. “People always kind of raise their eye. I was on the phone with the Parks and Recreation center of Denton the other day and the woman thought it was a prank.”

In addition to its quirky name, funknug. com, the group’s website, bombards visitors with jokes and pre-recorded greetings that showcase the group’s unique sense of humor.

However, Gardner said Funknug’s plans for the future are dead serious.

“This December we’re looking at Southlake Park to have a free music festival at,” Gardner said. “We just want to bring everybody together and have a great time.”

Funknug recently helped Dallas-based hip hop group The Boombox Society cut an album.

Boombox member Prime Rock said Funknug’s low prices – they charge about $150 to $300 for a day of recording – and relaxed attitude helped the group’s artistic process.

“That’s why I like working here,” Prime Rock said. “We’re not done working until the product is completed.”

When not recording, producing, making CDs or booking bands, the men of Funknug can be found hosting open mic night at Cool Beans on Wednesdays at 9 p.m.

OWNERS OF FUNKNUG PRODUCTIONS, BOBACK ILAMI AND JOE GARDENER, PRACTICE FOR AN UPCOMING OPEN MIC NIGHT AT COOL BEANS BAR AND GRILL. PHOTO BY NICOLE ARNOLD

AUGUST 2012

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ON THE RECORD

AV THE GREAT PHOTO BY DESIREE COUSINEAU 30

JULY 2012

DENTON RAPPERS MAKE NOISE

BY ASHLEY GRANT

or years, Texas rap music has revolved around the city of Houston and its chopped, screwed, syrupsoaked sound.

But in a town known more for its jazz and indie rock than its rhymes and trunkrattling beats, a group of young up-and-coming artists in Southeast Denton are trying to put their city’s hip hop on the map.

Clad in a red Texas Rangers T-shirt and shorts, Chris Avant, better known as AV the Great, toggles between programs on the computer in his apartment-turned-studio in Southeast Denton.

He plays a track that samples the late Billie Holiday, and as the music buzzes in the background, Avant explains why he thinks the Denton rap scene is close to making it mainstream.

“It’s not just about where you’re at or what you’re doing,” he said. “It’s about what you’re doing where you’re at. Any opportunity I get to put my city on my back, I’m going to take it and I’m going to run with it.”

Avant said rappers in Denton are remarkably diverse, and the scene includes party-starting firebrands as well as more eccentric, lyrical artists dishing out social commentary.

AV the Great’s first album, Live from the Struggle, effortlessly mixes songs about crime and

civil rights with quick-witted tributes to drugs and his own braggadocio.

“Personally, what influences my music is life: like my family and various trials and tribulations,” he said.

One standout quality in Denton’s hip hop scene is the level of unity amongst local rappers.

Pudge Brewer, a member of the rap collaborative Fab Deuce, said there was never any beef or competition between artists, and everyone helped support each other.

“We all record together even if, you know, someone doesn’t make the same [music] we make,” Brewer said. “Everyone’s pretty likeminded.”

Both Brewer and Avant see Denton’s strong indie rock and jazz communities as an opportunity to collaborate and dabble in other styles and sounds.

“It’s ever-developing and I think it’s more like the Harlem Renaissance,” Brewer said. “There was so much going on and so much talent in that one specific area. That’s how I feel about the Denton hip-hop scene.”

Fab Deuce has performed with punk groups such as the Wee Beasties and the polka-rock outfit Brave Combo. In March, AV the Great played at 35 Denton along with indie rockers

and pop groups from around the country.

“Being that UNT is one of the top music schools in the nation, there’s always something in the air,” Avant said.

Fab Deuce member Burton Taylor said the one thing Denton hip hop is currently lacking is promotion.

“A lot of the time it’s just us putting together our own shows and getting everything together,” Taylor said. “It would be nice if there were people out there that could focus on getting us paid so we could just focus on the music aspect.”

As of right now, Denton rappers rely heavily on Facebook and Twitter to get the word out about shows, mixtape and album releases.

Avant said he and others hope to bring more national exposure and recognition to the city by doing what they do best: rapping, recording, performing and representing their city.

“Nobody knew where Compton was until N.W.A. started talking about their city,” he said. “It won’t be long, though. Everyone’s going to know where Denton’s at.”

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ON THE RECORD

MUSICAL CRAFTWORKS DENTONITE BENDS CIRCUITS, PLAYS MUSIC

BY H. DREW BLACKBURN

C

ircuit bender. Painter. Musician.

Denton resident Darcy Neal does not like to pigeonhole herself.

The catalyst for Neal’s many artistic endeavors, which includes building oscillators and electronic sound manipulators for musicians around the U.S., was a traditional art form: painting.

She grew up painting, but as the years went by her interest wandered.

“There’s something missing,” Neal said.

“You can put all of your work into this painting, but then no matter what it’s just going to hang on the wall, and it’s just this two-dimensional picture. It just wasn’t enough.”

Nowadays, she also takes to circuit bending to feed her artistic hunger.

About six years ago Neal found out about circuit bending through a friend who directed her to an article in Make magazine, a publication that focuses on doit-yourself projects involving electronics, metalworking and more.

Intrigued by the musical possibilities, Neal began to experiment with circuit bending, essentially the manipulation and customization of existing electronics – anything from keyboards to Atari video

AUGUST 2012

game consoles to children’s toys – to create new sounds.

Musicians use the rewired electronics as instruments. Neal’s circuit-bended instruments, as well as an electric cello, feature prominently in one of the many bands she performs with, Ulna, a soundart and musical collaboration with Denton songstress Lily Taylor.

“We work as a team in Ulna, each playing off of the different sounds we are adding to the soundscape,” Taylor said. “We both play with electronic instruments made by a variety of people, including Darcy.”

Neal isn’t selfish with her craft, and spreads the circuit-bended electronic love around the country. In July, Neal made her way to Chicago to sell her creations at the Pitchfork Music Festival.

She has sold her electronics to dozens of musicians over the years, including a custom-made oscillator, an electronic circuit that makes a repeating, fluctuating sound, used by Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne.

Neal gave an oscillator she made for herself to Coyne after hearing that he was impressed with her work. After the Oklahoma City freak-rocker broke it, he

commissioned Neal to build a new one.

Neal’s experimentation with circuit bending also inspired her to create some other electronics, such as a device that can turn off most televisions.

Programmed with the 50 most popular universal television “off” codes and camouflaged in American Spirit cigarette boxes, the device can wreak havoc on unsuspecting TV-watchers.

“You can go into a bar and put it onto a table and it will start turning off all of the TVs in the bar,” Neal said.

However, would-be pranksters are out of luck: She sold all of the devices years ago.

When Neal isn’t making electronics for rock stars or busy being one herself, she works at Billings Productions helping create life-sized animatronic dinosaurs that are sold to zoos.

“That’s just what I do for work,” she said.

“That pays the bills.”

For more information on Neal’s art, music, electronic tinkering and dinosaur building, go to darcyneal.com.

DARCY NEAL HOLDS SELF-MADE ITEMS SHE CIRCUIT BENDED: A SHELL (LEFT) AND AN OLD-FASHIONED FILM CAMERA. PHOTO BY AMBER PLUMLEY

37

ON THE RECORD

FOR THE RECORD STORES VINYL RECORDINGS MAKING COMEBACK

BY MICHELLE HEATH

S

ome people keep their record collections in crates or cardboard boxes. Cliff West needs an entire store to house his vinyl catalogue.

West, a.k.a. the “Record Hound,” looks around the Books and More at 1626 West University Drive and its inventory of more than 17,000 LP’s, 45’s and 78’s.

“This is it,” West said. “This is my personal collection.”

West, who supplies records to Books and More and other local stores that sell used vinyl, began “hunting” records and music memorabilia in the early 1990s after he graduated from UNT, where he studied ceramics.

“It was a hobby, actually,” West said. “It was a hobby that turned into a small business because the

38

more you find the more you either store or sell.”

When West’s collection grew too large to keep at home, he began selling to Recycled Books on North Locust Street. Eventually, he realized he could make a larger profit and began selling records on Ebay and supplying vinyl to Books and More, where he splits the profits with owner Debra Newton.

Books and More opened 10 years ago primarily as a bookstore, but as its collection of used records grew, Newton said she noticed an influx of young customers coming in to browse the vinyl.

“I thought it would be older people, for nostalgia when we first got records,” Newton said. “I was surprised that younger people are very passionate about vinyl.”

As digital sales of music have skyrocketed and CD sales have nosedived along with overall profits in the recording industry, vinyl records are making a comeback: according to a report by Nielsen SoundScan, an information and sales tracking system, vinyl record sales in the U.S. are at their highest point since 1991. Almost 4 million vinyl records were sold in 2011, a 36 percent increase from the previous year.

Popular record stores in Denton include Recycled Books, Books and More and Mad World Records. Dallas has Good Records, which regularly hosts in-store performances CLIFF WEST, A.K.A RECORD HOUND, SUPPLIES AND ORGANIZES THE RECORD SECTIONS AT BOOKS AND MORE. PHOTO BY MICHELLE HEATH

AUGUST 2012

ON THE RECORD from new artists.

Despite owning an mp3 player and a sizable digital music library on his laptop, drawing and painting senior Cameron Hinojosa said there was a unique appeal to listening to music on a record player.

“You have to pick up a piece of music and put it on the record player instead of just moving your mouse and pressing play,” Hinojosa said.

After inheriting 227 of his parent’s records, Hinojosa went to Mad World Records at 115 West Hickory to start on a collection of modern vinyl that he can pass down to his children.

“Playing a record, it will sound the same no matter what,” Hinojosa said. “I’m hearing the same tone that my dad used to hear. It’s kind of a view from that point and that time in their life, it’s more of a personal message.”

Mad World sells used albums and new vinyl from modern artists, including 25 local bands, as well as CDs, T-shirts and other music

AUGUST 2012

memorabilia.

Owner Mark Burke said it was difficult keeping a record store afloat.

A 2011 report by California-based research firm IBISWorld found that about 12,000 record stores in the U.S. called it quits between

“It’s not a business where you can make money anymore.

It used to be, but ever since iPods came along it kind of killed it.”

2000 and 2010, and that only about 3,000 are still operating.

“It’s not a business where you can make money anymore,” Burke said.

“It used to be, but ever since iPods came along, it kind of killed it.”

Mad World’s customers include the young and the old, Burke said, with college students snatching up most new releases.

Burke said people were attracted to vinyl records because they have a deeper, richer sound than CDs and mp3s, and West believes the artwork on vinyl albums has also played a role in their comeback.

“To be able to hold it in your hands. To see what the artist actually looks like,” West said. “People want to see who it is, they want the art, they want the cover – not just the sound.”

Regardless of how many record stores go under in the coming years, Burke said he has no plans to shut Mad World’s doors anytime soon.

“When I think about shutting down, I’m filled with this guilt of putting a nail in the coffin of the record stores,” Burke said. “I’m doing it for other reasons, not to make money.”

39

ON THE RECORD

CITY’S VIVACIOUS VENUES OPINION: DENTON’S FINEST HANGOUTS

BY J.P. LUGO

F

ittingly for a town filled with talented musicians, Denton is home to plenty of venues that help showcase local acts. The Greenhouse, Dan’s Silverleaf, and Hailey’s are a few favorites.

Greenhouse Located at the corner of Congress Street and Locust, Greenhouse gives customers a chance to loosen up in a relaxing neighborhood. Once a week, smooth sounds of live jazz music fill the dimly-lit restaurant at night.

Denton residents can visit Greenhouse every Monday from 10 p.m. to midnight to hear a performance, usually from student musicians at UNT or TWU. Beer for $2 and a wide variety of meal and drink specials sweeten the deal.

40

Dan’s Silverleaf The building at 103 Industrial Street topped with the giant silver leaf is legendary in Denton for hosting fantastic performances.

Show tickets usually don’t cost more than $15, and live music from a wide variety of genres is onstage every night.

Painted skulls and animal heads cover many of the walls inside, giving off an outdoors-like atmosphere in one of Denton’s few smoke-free venues.

Musicals and bands from around the country make regular appearances on the eye-level stage..

Athough inside seating is limited, listeners can also relax out back on the patio and still enjoy the music on warm summer nights.

Hailey’s Hailey’s at 122 Mulberry Street is open every night of the week, and features live music on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

DJ Questionmark is on the decks on Mondays. Music from the ‘90s dominates Tuesday nights, and ‘80s night is every Thursday. Local DJ outfit Denton Dance Collective hosts Sunday nights. Rappers, rockers, DJs and more can contact Hailey’s general manager for booking.

Awarded “Best of Dallas” by the Dallas Observer for best venue in the metroplex, Hailey’s has also been nominated as “Best Dance Club” by the Dallas Music Awards and has a selection of 52 standard beers and rare brews available every night, along with the entertainment.

AUGUST 2012

UP-AND-COMING AIN’T EASY DENTON’S BANDS TRY TO MAKE IT BIG

BY ASHLEY-CRYSTAL FIRSTLEY

M

usic industry veteran Tom Whalley, former chairman of Warner Bros. Records, once said, “The hardest thing in the world to do in this business is start a band nobody’s heard of.”

Making a living writing, recording and performing music has never been easy, but some local bands are trying to find the same success known to big name Denton artist such as the Eli Young Band, Sarah Jaffe, Brave Combo and Midlake.

The band Sundress formed in Denton in 2010, released its first EP in May 2011, has traveled on two tours across the U.S. and has been invited to perform in prime time slots at SXSW in Austin, 35 Denton and Free Press Summerfest in Houston.

When the band started to get more

AUGUST 2012

attention, vocalist and guitarist Ryan McAdams said he knew he had to take it seriously and enlisted a manager, booking agent and attorney.

“It’s a lot of waiting. Being in a band is not fast paced whatsoever,” McAdams said. “It’s very tedious and there’s a perfect equation to it all. You do just one thing wrong, it’s like you can really screw it up.”

Jon Meneley, a guitarist for the band Born and Raised, has toured across the state, and said that playing gigs – any gig – was the best way to raise a band’s profile.

Expenses such as equipment, studio time, CD manufacturing and enough gas to tour can be prohibitive for many new bands, said Alex Atchley, singer and guitarist for the North Texas-based Bad Times.

“Being in a band, it’s fun. Sometimes it’s a pain,” Atchley said. “Sometimes it’s really cool. Sometimes it’s not,” Atchley said.

He said his band wasn’t trying to make a living, but just enjoyed playing music, even if it meant not making a dime.

McAdams said every band has to “pay their dues,” and endure difficult times to find success.

“There’s been nights when we slept in our van in a Wal-Mart parking lot,” he said.

Most importantly, McAdams said, a band has to work at it and do whatever they can to get out there, even if it means playing to an empty room.

“Don’t just go out there expecting [things] to land in your lap,” he said.

“At the end of the day, it’s a business.”

41

ON THE RECORD

SUMMER MUSIC REVIEWS TOP ALBUMS OF JUNE & JULY

Zac Brown Band Uncaged Rating: 8/10

By Jason Yang

1. “Celebration Rock” by Japandroids 2. “The Plot Against Common Sense” by Future of the Left

The Zac Brown Band has enjoyed much success in the past couple years.

They’ve won two Grammy Awards, released two major label platinum albums, and had eight No.1 singles on the country charts. Borne on the winds of previous success, the band released its third album, “Uncaged” on July 10.

Zac Brown Band is a hybrid of country, pop, and rock heavily featuring at least eight different instruments: drums, guitar, organ, mandolin, pedal steel, percussion, violin and bass.

Thanks to such a wide spectrum of

3. “Channel Orange” by Frank Ocean 4. “The Idler Wheel” by Fiona Apple 5. “Live from the Underground”

by Big K.R.I.T. 6. “Warm Pulse” by Nguzunguzu 7. “WIXIW” by Liars 8. “Looking 4 Myself” by Usher.

The Walkmen Dreamboat Rating: 9/10

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sound, “Uncaged” contains songs that will get your feet moving reminiscing about both good and bad times.

The album’s first single, “The Wind” is a fast-paced, rodeo-like track that will get those dancing bugs out of you. “Day that I Die,” the album’s strongest song, will drown you in a sea of deep thoughts with its slow percussion, painstaking acoustics and provocative lyrics.

“Sweet Annie” is a love song with heartwarming lyrics that most men should seriously consider singing to their girlfriends.

The album has songs for any mood and setting. Zac Brown’s lyrics are so contagious, they came bubbling up in this listener’s mind at even the quietest moments.

Even hip hop, pop and alternative junkies can find something to enjoy on this country album.

Whether heaven is fictitious, a dream or a beautiful illusion of the soul, it doesn’t matter.

The Walkmen have created their best album to date with what seems to be their own definition of the word.

Soulful ponderings of the heart easily build further into simple melodies that give way to rich harmony-filled chasms.

“Dreamboat” is a lushly landscaped track that drinks deeply of the band’s previous work, but

leaves room for new appetites looking to devour the latest produce of this band’s hard and consistent labors.

No doubt fostered by their abandonment of a garage-sound fused with softer hooks that call to mind The Beach Boys, Band of Horses and Jefferson Airplane.

Other tracks, “The Love You Love,” “The Witch,” “Love is Luck,” “Nightingales” and the self-titled “Heaven,” will make you want to move, but also revisit the rest of the band’s discography.

Meanwhile they still easily manage the soft warm glow of tracks like “Southern Heart” and “We Can’t Be Beat.” There is a lot of emphasis on new and refreshing tracks.

It’s a struggle to find a bad, or even mediocre, track. The music is riddled with coastal folk and soft psychedelic waves that hook into soft soulful wails and dance beats.

AUGUST 2012

ON THE RECORD

STAFF RANKS SUMMER ALBUMS Frank Ocean Channel Orange Rating: 6/10

By Ashley Grant

After spending years behind-thescenes, ghostwriting for the likes of Beyonce and Justin Bieber, Frank Ocean makes an attempt to step out into the forefront on his debut album “Channel Orange.”

In 2011, Ocean released his first mixtape “Nostalgia, Ultra,” which catapulted him further in the direction of mainstream popularity. He made a couple of appearances on Jay-Z and Nas Life Is Good Rating: 8/10

By Ashley Grant

Queens native Nasir Jones, a.k.a.

Nas, proves that he’s still in possession of the lyricism and knowledge that catapulted him to fame on his newest album, a little bit of audio dope for all his fans.

The 38-year-old rapper’s anticipated tenth studio album, “Life Is Good,” was released July 17, four years since his last record, and details topics from his childhood to the dissolution of his marriage to R&B singer Kelis.

“No Introduction” is the first track on the album and provides listeners a glimpse into Nas’ early years, from his resentment at receiving free lunches in school to a curbside meeting with the late Notorious B.I.G. In 1994, Nas’ debut album “Illmatic” hit the shelves and has grown in reputation ever since, considered a classic by most hip-hop connoisseurs.

Tucked in the middle is “Summer On Smash,” featuring Miguel and

AUGUST2012

Kanye West’s collaborative album “Watch the Throne” the same year, and anticipation for his debut has built steadily.

The album features 17 R&B and popinfused jams detailing topics such as unrequited love that show off Ocean’s knack for the art of storytelling.

Opening the album is “Thinkin’ Bout You,” a mid-tempo track that shows Ocean daydreaming about his future with a special someone. The track shows hope and excitement of a budding, fling-like romance.

Nestled in the middle is “Pilot Jones,” a bass-heavy number that keeps with the same sluggish tempo as the rest of the album. Ocean recalls closeness producer Swizz Beatz. The track is the closest thing listeners will get to a club banger from Nas, with its faster tempo and good-time lyrics.

It serves almost as an intermission for his personal reflections on the album.

“Life Is Good” showcases a wiser, older wordsmith still at the peak of his game, and features collaborations with Rick Ross, Mary J. Blige and the late Amy Winehouse.

Bringing the album to a close is “Trust,” which has Nas creeping over a low, subdued beat. Nas explains how experiences with shady friends increased his desire to have

he once shared with a friend that has been reduced because of the friend’s drug addiction.

The album comes to a close with “Forrest Gump,” opening with the sounds of an organ and later laced with the twang of an acoustic guitar.

Utilizing his storytelling skills, Ocean gives a testament about Forrest Gump from the perspective of Gump’s love interest, Jenny.

While Ocean has an obvious passion for writing and is extremely talented, Channel Orange falls short of the high expectations attached to it.

The emotion and songwriting on display ultimately fall victim to sluggish tempos and R&B clichés. more trustworthy people in his life.

Although the album was a long time coming, Nas definitely doesn’t disappoint.

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ON THE RECORD

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

BY JASON YANG

NORAH JONES

From winning awards as a student at UNT to racking up musical accolades a nationallyknown recording artist, Norah Jones has done it all in her illustrious music career.

Born Geetali Norah Jones Shankar on March 30, 1979 in New York City, “NoJo” is the daughter of legendary Indian musician Ravi Shankar and American concert producer

BY JASON YANG

TOM “BONES” MALONE

UNT alumnus Tom “Bones” Malone is a member of the Blues Brothers, but his career has been no bluesy tale.

Born June 16, 1947 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the trombone specialist began his professional career playing lead trumpet in a club in Jackson, MS. Shortly after, he came to UNT, where he graduated with a degree in psychology in 1969 along with

Sue Jones.

She relocated to Grapevine, Texas with her mother after her parents’ divorce in 1986, and studied jazz piano at UNT for two years before moving back to New York to pursue her music career in 1999.

Jones’ soothing jazz, pop and country-fused vocals took the music industry by storm in 2002, when her debut album, “Come Away With Me,” netted five Grammys in one night.

The former UNT student has released five albums in the last decade -- three of them No. 1 bestsellers -- and has won dozens of industry awards for her work. Jone has sold more than 50 million records worldwide, making her one of the most successful female recording artists of all time.

Jones is currently on tour in Europe promoting her newest album, and lives in New York.

Blues Brother bandmate Lou Marini in 1969 -- both played in the One O’Clock Lab Band.

Malone woked with artists such as James Brown throughout the ‘70s, and helped arrange music for Saturday Night Live from 1975 to ‘85. He wrote the music for the first Blues Brother skit featuring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, and in 1993 joined the CBS Orchestra, David Letterman’s house band.

Since then, Malone has recorded a solo album, contributed more

than 400 arrangements to the Late Show and played on themes for multiple CBS programs, and as a studio musician, appears on thousands of records and commercials.

Today, Malone still plays in the CBS Orchestra in New York City, and plays with a Blues Brothers tribute band in Pennsylvania.

Malone may not be getting much mileage out of his psychology degree from UNT, but seems to be doing all right for himself.

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AUGUST 2012

ON THE RECORD

Letter From The Editor

T

ime is funny. Minutes can seem to last hours, yet years can fly by in what feels like minutes.

My two years with the North Texas Daily and On The Record magazine have been filled with long hours, deadlines and traditional end-of-week trips to Cool Beans.

I wouldn’t change any of it.

I never thought I would have to write what has become a Daily tradition: the editor-in-chief’s farewell letter.

When I was sitting in professor Kathie Hinnen’s JOUR 2320 “News Writing and Reporting” class in fall 2010, all I was worried about was meeting the semester’s story quota and not making a fool of myself in the process.

Two years and plenty of stories later, it is time for this graduating student to bid adieu.

No one obtains this position without the help and teaching of others.

Without the advice and guidance of professors Hinnen and Tracy Everbach, I would not feel ready to head out into the postcollege world. I can never thank them enough for their valuable lessons on ethics and how to succeed as a journalist.

Photo by James Coreas

I worked under four editors-in-chief: Eric Johnson, Katie Grivna, Josh Pherigo and Sean Gorman. I learned something from all of them and will be forever in their debt.

Each semester with the Daily was memorable, and this summer was no exception.

We had a tremendous staff this summer at On The Record. Writers, photographers and designers, you never ceased to impress. You should be proud of your work this summer. Thank you for your hard work and tireless effort.

I had the honor of working alongside three superb editors: Alex Macon, James Coreas and Sam Guzman. Not only were we co-workers, we were a family. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you did. The magazines would not have been possible without the three of you, nor could this summer have been as fun with anyone else.

Well, it’s time for me to ride off into the sunset and pass the torch to Chelsea Stratso, who will serve as editor-inchief of the Daily in the fall. I know she and her staff will continue the newspaper’s tradition of excellence.

We at On The Record hope you, the reader, enjoyed this summer’s magazines. While you’re lounging poolside taking in the last days of summer, take a moment to read all about Denton’s music scene.

Paul Bottoni Editor-in-Chief

AUGUST2012

45

ON THE RECORD

BY THE NUMBERS

900,000

12

AUDIO RECORDINGS IN THE UNT MUSIC LIBRARY

1

LAB BAND NOMINATED FOR GRAMMYS

6

$3,000,000 17,000 CITY REVENUE VINYL RECORDS AT BOOKS AND MORE

1930s

GENERATED BY 35 DENTON IN 2012 FIRST CONTEMPORARY USE OF THE WORD HIPSTER; USED TO REFER TO FANS OF JAZZ MUSIC

BY ASHLEY-CRYSTAL FIRSTLEY

46

AUGUST 2012

Do more with your enhanced Mean Green Card

Student ID & Visa® debit card

It’s linked to a Wells Fargo College Checking® account1 that offers you:

Personalize your Mean Green Card

• Monthly service fee waived when linked to your Mean Green Card • Direct deposit of your financial aid disbursements or paychecks • Simple, secure access to your account with Wells Fargo Online® Banking • Banking on the go with Wells Fargo Mobile® Banking • Free access to cash at Wells Fargo ATMs nationwide

Get your photo taken at the:

Use your enhanced Mean Green Card2 on and off campus: • • • •

As your official student ID For campus privileges At Wells Fargo ATMs on campus For purchases anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted

Campus ID Systems Office Eagle Student Services Center First Floor 940-565-4481

Order your Mean Green Card Visit the local Wells Fargo banking location on campus and request your enhanced Mean Green Card.

Wells Fargo - UNT (on-campus) UNT University Union 3rd Floor 940-384-6500 Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Eligibility subject to approval. Students must provide proof of enrollment at an accredited institution when the account is opened. $100 minimum opening deposit is required to open a new checking account. The Wells Fargo College Checking account is part of the College Combo® checking package.

2 The enhanced Mean Green Card is a Visa debit card issued by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. 1

© 2012 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC.

VC-1

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