G.R.i.D. (Get Rich in Dallas)

Ya know, it’s bad enough I have to wake up at 3:30 am on Fridays. But to wake up to the news that one of my favorite local bands is no more, now that’s just too much for the waking soul.

The Hourly Radio has decided to disperse as noted in a MySpace bulletin posted last night which said the following:

As some of you may have heard, we have officially decided to stop making music together as The Hourly Radio. We can’t express how much the experience has meant to us or how difficult the decision has been to move on, but we want to thank all of you for supporting the band and the music. We’re going to take some time to compile our favorite pictures and memories to post here and on our website and hope to make our entire catalogue available for free download soon. If you have any images or stories you’d like to share, please post them. You never know, they might make it into The Hourly Radio coffee table book.


As a parting gift, we have one last song to offer up. Sons and Daughters is the last song we recorded together and is included in a multimedia release entitled Two Blue Wolves. The song is our contribution to the soundtrack and features members of Stellastarr*, Elefant and a bunch of other great artists.
For more info on this project: SparrowHall. com

We’ll also be sure to post any news on future projects featuring members of The Hourly Radio.

Thats all for now.
Thanks again and leave us your comments!

Ryan, Aaron, Tim and Adam.

I was in love with this band to no end. They and Black Tie Dynasty always went hand in hand and their sounds took me back to my favorite 80s new wave while still sounding modern enough to be cool. And when the two shared a bill, it was always the highlight of my week to check ‘em out. Funny thing was, I could never catch THR live. I was always too late when they would just be stepping off the stage. It pissed me off. It happened at the Wreck Room in Fort Worth and then at the Deep Ellum Arts Festival. I did see ‘em at the Granada before but I walked in on their last two songs. I finally caught them when they opened for IAMX at Club Dada and while I can’t say I was blown away, I could finally have a sense of peace that I got to see these guys live. I know, dumb, but they ended up being like the holy grail of live sets for me.

What sucks even more is they were always on the brink of bigtime stardom. Spin talked about ‘em. American Eagle used them in ads. Blah blah and blah. I am never sure what happened or why they didn’t get that one crossover they needed but c’est la vie.

So, adios, THe Hourly Radio. You done good.

It’s gonna be hot. No, I mean, literally, it’s friggin’ hot out there so wear yer extra strength deodorant. But the music, the bars and the price is too cool to pass up. So getcher arse over to Lowest Greenville tonight for a slew of bands and sweat armpits.

Besides, if yer not here tonight, yer nowhere.

I decided to take a quick venture into the local blogosphere tonight. This morning. Whatever. My first stop was The Ghost of Blind Lemon, a(nother) local music blog. I like GBL. Dunno what it is. Something friendly about it, not pretensious. It just is. Apparently after some time away, he/she/it went on a rant earlier this week.

GBL discussed the plight of local venues after the Red Blood Club closed down. That made me sad too. It wasn’t his kinda place but he sees it as a sign of bleaker things to come. It happens. I know.

It’s really his take on local music in general which I find I should respond to. He mentions PPT and the Tah-Dahs demise, Roy Ivey’s comments on the dead Dallas music scene and then asks is anyone is listening to all the music going on around here. Oh jeez, go read it.

But I have a response which may just be a theory. Is the local music scene dead? Sure. Why not? I mean, I think people want it to be dead just so they can have something to lament. The problem isn’t the venues or the music or the fans. Sure, all the clubs in Deep Ellum closing doesn’t help but seriously, do we need to stay in one area for live music. Nope. The music is there and bands are almost a dime a dozen not to mention all the side projects every musician seems to have going on. And fans, well, maybe they don’t come to all the shows, maybe they do, but they are there. Just trust me on that. I’ve seen it.

The problem is exposure. It’s YouTube. It’s MySpace, Facebook, the interweb. The thing is, bands are easily accessed now. So, I can say, hey, I really like Bliggity Band. Now, instead of the olden days where I could drag five friends to go see the band I am raving about, I’ll send them a link to their MySpace page. I’ll email them a song I’ve ripped. I’ll show them a video of their last performance on my phone. So, then they go and do what they like. If they like it, perhaps they buy the CD or upload it from iTunes. They don’t need to see a show because they can catch other performances online. And if they need to know more about Bliggity, they become friends in online communities.

Am I complaining here? Not really. Hey, it’s all easy. At the same time, it leaves no mystique for a band. There can never be a real buzz anymore because it’s so easily spread and becomes blah. Midlake was all the rave last year after Occupanther. No one’s talking about them now. The next new thing is already here and we’ve already been bombarded by it and the next five bands waiting their turn. I’d love to see one band come out with no online presence to see what it can do. In this day, probably nothing, but I’d be most interested by them. Imagine if Bridges and Blinking Lights was only available by seeing them live or buying their CD. Only available that way! I think they’d be a lot more interesting. Now, with new buzz bands busting through, we may only have had time for seven of BBL’s local 15 minutes.

So the question really isn’t is Dallas music dead. In fact, it’s kind of a stupid question if you think about it. Music is art and art can never die. Creation never dies. Until the Republican and the rich insert chips into our bodies but that’s another story. It’s merely just not thrilling enough to run out and discover since it’s so easily available. And are people listening? Certainly. Just go count downloads, friend requests and video views if you have the time.

And you think Dallas has it bad? Go check out Corey Dubrowa’s brilliant piece on Seattle’s musical demise in this past March issue of Paste. Seattle of all places! You know what’s even more intriguing? As Portland and Seattle are compared and contrasted, fill in Denton and Dallas respectively and the similarities are almost eerie.

Sorry guys but I am sooo tired from hearing about the Old 97s. OK, they have a new album. OK, they were almost bigger than big. OK, there were in a Jennifer Aniston movie. OK, they are the new Old 97s. But come on! They aren’t the greatest Dallas band and personally, I just don’t think they are all that great to begin with save for maybe their first two albums. Following albums all just blended together. Lots a talent, not a lot of range. So can we please quit hanging on to the Old 97s pipe dream of Dallas’ shot at music stardom because I think that’s just what it boils down to. Move on, there are newer bands that blow these guys away.

However, if you missed out on tickets to their sold out (groan) show at House of Blues, you can catch them free here.

I realize it is wrong of me not to care too much about the Dallas Stars even though they are kicking much ass of late, but it is the simple truth. I don’t care. The fact is that hockey doesn’t interest me much. Three hours for a score that totals less than five – just can’t get behind it. Sorry.

However, I would be willing to head out to their game tomorrow only to see one of my favorite local bands play. I just read that Black Tie Dynasty will be playing tomorrow at the American Airlines Center during the final intermissions of the Stars game against the Detroit Red Wings in front of a practically maximum capacity crowd. Plus, they’ll be playing on the Plaza of the center beforehand at 6 p.m. free and open to everybody.

I imagine they’ll be playing some new stuff since they are on the verge of releasing their new album and have a spankin’ new song up on their page. I hate to admit, the song doesn’t give me the same tingly feeling as their previous albums. Having said that, this version is also a live recording so maybe in its final form, it will go back to days of BTD yore.

My boys are getting back on track again to take the city by storm. I just hope they can start taking the rest of the nation with ‘em. They so deserve it and I don’t what you non-believers say

Plus, I guess while I’m at it, I can say this for once – Go Stars!

Local band Superstring changing their name to The Bright. And I thought The Fieros was bad.

IJS.

It’s late. I can’t think. Esquire magazine took pics of SXSW and sorta kinda local band Oliver Future (now based in L.A.) was in one.

Have at it. And good night.

Whenever I get a barrage of MySpace bulletins from Pikahsso, I must admit I seriously think about editing my friends list. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Pik and some PPT and all that buuuut, I end up missing other bulletins and well, you can imagine my less than serious plight. But dammit, Pik always keeps me hanging on when every so often one of his bulletins reaks of brilliance.

Such as

Now that’s classic. Where do I place my order?

Of all places, I just found out from The Gold Rush Cafe that Erykah Badu is making a stop tonight at Bill’s Records over in the South Side. It’s her CD release party and you’re invited. She’s scheduled for midnight but I might suggest getting there a bit early. She’s kind of a big deal you know.

UPDATE (from Bill’s Site)

Myspace presents Universal recording artist Erykah Badu www.baduworld.com at Bill’s Records for an Old School Record Release and Album Signing Party on Mon., Feb. 25th, at midnight! Bring a print out of your profile on Myspace with Erykah in your top 8!

Get there early! Tickets to her upcoming jam session will be given to the first 100 people compliments of Myspace. And, copies of The Last Record Store, a documentary about Bill’s Records, will be given away to the first 50 people!

That’s what the Hourly Radio is asking today as Ryan Short announced his departure. Boohoo. Hourly Radio is one of my big local favorites. I’d totally have a link for you but waiting for my professional one to go up. I guess you can look here for more information until I update.

Here’s some Hourly Radio at the Granada last month. This was SUCH a great show since my other faves were on the bill. You can figure out who they are. By the way, the Granada may have the best video channel on YouTube.

UPDATE: Go here instead of previous link.