2 Shows, 1 Wednesday Night in Fort Worth

Steve Gnash: A Man of the People - Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

FWN rolled hard in the Fort last night attending not one, but TWO free shows.

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FORT WORTH NOISE PSA ALERT: Visit Fort Worth (especially when there's two killer free shows whose schedules allow for dual attendance).

Look y'all, I honestly don't think anyone in the 'plex coulda crafted better times on a random Wednesday than we did last night.

Dreamy Life Records hosted an early shindig that kicked off at 7pm with Denver Williams. Unfortunately I just missed Williams, but I did however manage to experience Redeye (ATX) and his emotive voice before I Happy Am dazzled with avant-garde pop art tunes that woulda made Andy Warhol blush. 

I then met up with the rest of the FWN crew (Daniel Daniel, Capt. Beandip, KB & Little C, Uncle Dave, etc.) at The Live Oak midway thru Cody Lynn Boyd's set. ICYMI, we posted about CLB and his song "Freaks Of The Night" earlier this week.

Next up was Dreamy Life's own Steve Gnash. I gotta say, nobody in town puts on a show like the Gnash.

Look, we're no lawyers, but if we were and you asked us to prove it, we'd offer up the following video from last night as our Exhibit A:

Dallas' hard-rocking Dead Mockingbirds finished us off with pounding drums and a feisty, loud sound that shook the Live Oak.

Quite a bit of magic for a weekday if you ask me. What's the ol' saying? 

"On any given Wednesday..."

BONUS: We are still on the hunt to recruit Fort Worth Noise photogs, but in the meantime, we went ahead and iPhone photographed the jam outta this jam! 

Photo gallery below for your visual pleasure (maybe??) - click the thumbnails to enlarge.  

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Steve Gnash

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Steve Gnash

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Steve Gnash

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Steve Gnash

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Steve Gnash

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I Happy Am

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I Happy Am

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I Happy Am

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I Happy Am

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I Happy Am

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I Happy Am

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Dead Mockingbirds

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Dead Mockingbirds

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Dead Mockingbirds

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Redeye

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Redeye

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Redeye

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Cody Lynn Boyd

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Cody Lynn Boyd

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Cody Lynn Boyd

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about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), Prairie Schooner (University of Nebraska Press) and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”

A Few Possibilities for the Fortress Festival Announcement Tomorrow

Image via FortressFestival.com

Whoa-MG! Happy Valentine's Day to us.

Yesterday the social media accounts for Fortress Festival promised a big announcement set to detonate this Wednesday, Feb. 15th...

Posted yesterday on Fortress Festival's Facebook

Posted yesterday on Fortress Festival's Twitter

At FWN we proudly specialize in speculation, hype and delusion; subsequently we'll be following through on all of the above with news of yesterday's tease.

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Who? What? When? Where? How? Somebody throw us a bone here!

It's cool. We got you.

Here's a few possibilities for the Fortress Festival announcement tomorrow:

1. "I feel just like a local god when I'm with the boys"

My gut and my heart are telling me there's goin' to be a another local act added to the lineup. Ya know? Like, a big one. Toadies, Leon Bridges, DRD, something of that ilk.   

Deathray Davies could be a sweet addition to Fortress Festival - Image via DRD's Facebook Page

2. "Blame it on the rain, yeah yeah"

A SPECIAL FORTRESS FESTIVAL TASK FORCE HAS UNCOVERED MILLI VANILLI REALLY DID SING ON GIRL YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE ... CLEARING THEIR NAME AND CLEARING THE WAY FOR A MOST EPIC COMEBACK VIA LIVE PERFORMANCE ON THE FORTRESS FESTIVAL STAGE!!!*

*so one of the 'illis passed away and I'm roughly 100000% certain they did NOT sing on that record.. but eff it, one can dream

I want both these hats btw

3. "Yeahhhhhhhhhhh boyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

This festival deserves a hype man, a herald, an emcee!!!

Bring on Andrew W.K. or Bernie Sanders! Or maybe that Texas Law Hawk lawyer kid, or that dude Gallagher that smashes watermelons.

Anyone, truly, I'll take any of 'em.

Gallagher as Fortress Festival Master of Ceremonies? Sign. Us. Up.

So there you have it, three seriously realistic possibilities in play for tomorrow's announcement.

*fills out application to Clairvoyant College* 

UPDATE: So... we received a form rejection letter from Clairvoyant College - apparently, we suck at this. On Wednesday, Feb. 15th Fortress Festival released the daily schedule and began the sale of single day tickets.

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about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), Prairie Schooner (University of Nebraska Press) and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”

Music Videos for Every Fortress Festival Performer Pt. I

Image via fortressfestival.com

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Hold my beer. What was that? Run The Jewels is set to perform in the 817 area code? You sure about that? You sure it wasn't the 214 or 972? Or even the 940 area code??

A week later it's finally hitting me; this is not a drill. I repeat: THIS IS NOT A DRILL !!!

You simply don't ever see the likes of an act as relevant as RTJ in the 817. For that reason alone the team behind Fortress Festival should be commended.

While RTJ more than deserves the headliner moniker, the entire lineup from top to bottom is staggeringly impressive.

To celebrate last week's lineup announcement, we thought what better way to raise our glasses than to collate music videos for every act set to perform at the end of April.

Speaking of, the festival runs April 29th & 30th and it's all happening in the cultural district downtown. For more info click here. For tickets click here.

Without further ado, we present you with the Fortress Festival lineup ... music vid style ... Pt. I

Click Here for Part II

RUN THE JEWELS - "Lie, Cheat, Steal"

PURITY RING - "Fineshrine"

FLYING LOTUS - "Never Catch Me" ft. Kendrick Lamar

SLOWDIVE - "Shine"

NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS - "S.O.B."

PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT - "Atmosphere" ft. Rowetta

HOUNDMOUTH - "Sedona"

WOLF PARADE - "Shine a Light"

SURVIVE - "Omniverse"

ALVVAYS - "Archie, Marry Me"

WHITNEY - "No Woman"

DENGUE FEVER - "Seeing Hands"

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about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), Prairie Schooner (University of Nebraska Press) and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”

Music Videos for Every Fortress Festival Performer Pt. II

Image via fortressfestival.com

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To celebrate last week's lineup announcement, we thought what better way to raise our glasses than to collate music videos for every act set to perform Fortress Festival at the end of April.

Speaking of, the festival runs April 29th & 30th and it's all happening in the cultural district downtown. For more info click here. For tickets click here.

Without further ado, we present you with the Fortress Festival lineup ... music vid style ... Pt. II

Click Here for Pt. I of II

QUAKER CITY NIGHT HAWKS - "Mockingbird"

SAM LAO - "Pineapple"

BURNING HOTELS - "Beard"

GOLDEN DAWN ARKESTRA - "Stargazer"

SUDIE - "Schitzo"

RONNIE HEART - "Smoovie"

BOBBY SESSIONS - "Peyton Manning" ft. -topic

BLUE, THE MISFIT. - "No Care In The World"

CURE FOR PARANOIA - "We Matter"

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about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), Prairie Schooner (University of Nebraska Press) and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”

My Marcy Playground "Sex & Candy" Yelp Review of a Donald Trump Property

In today’s feature I’d like to discuss the concept of “guerilla writing,” first cousin of guerilla art. 

This guerilla writing concept is not all that new honestly, I’m just not sure there’s a consensus turn of phrase for it … yet. Besides, I believe a few guidelines and a strong purpose can stray it away from its predecessor Wiki Edits.

If you don't know, Wiki Edits are pretty much amaze. Rogue Wiki editors redact pages on Wikipedia to make a joke, to call someone out, etc. then somebody screen captures it before the Wiki bots restore order.

Here's a couple of examples:

Now that's just funny

A relevant example of what I'm getting at in this article

After Wiki Edits, the second and third most notorious examples of these guerrilla writing forefathers can be found posted on Yelp and Craigslist (not to mention Amazon product reviews).

Fake Yelp reviews have been around since Yelp started, and SLOTH ALERT: it’s much easier to access Yelp as opposed to becoming an editor for Wikipedia. So that’s the road I traveled down for this particular adventure.

Just to refresh, ICYMI, I started my own journey with guerilla writing only recently with the launch of Fort Worth Noise back in early December when we wrote Martin Shkreli an email; sent it, screen captured it, and posted it to this very website and my personal Twitter account.

Now, back to my Yelp review. I decided to target a Trump hotel on Yelp. 'Twas easy enough to find his properties because something like 20% of the accounts Trump follows on Twitter are accounts for properties he owns (surprise).  

Without further ado, I give you my Marcy Playground "Sex & Candy" Yelp review of a Donald Trump property:

If you go back and look at the lyrics online you should catch nine lyrical references in my piece.

To my delight the post lived for a full three days on the internet before I received the following from Yelp (note the time stamp on both screen captures):

They were honestly quite polite about the whole thing

I want to make this crystal; every other form of writing is more important to the resistance than this nonsense.

But I’m no Alpha. Never have been.

I’m not an investigative journalist or reporter, or an editor at a vital news outlet. I’m not an amazing novelist or storyteller or poet or humorist or songwriter and I'm definitely not something akin to a climate change researcher writing the next mind-blowing report on climate science.

Imma B-Team af goofy ass fiction writer (sometimes poorly done prose poetry) and a local music blogger. 

So what to do???

I’m not suggesting it, but… what if the B-Team ran a parallel campaign within the resistance that fought absurdity with absurdity? What if all we B-Teamers 'Wiki Edited' the shit outta this fucker y’all?

He’s so petty that if enough of us were to create works like this and Yelp review his shithouse properties everyday, all day, it would reach him! And it WOULD piss him off! And conversely, it would make us laugh.

If we were to commit such a collective act, the B-Team could merely compliment the badassery of the above mentioned hero writers of this new Orwellian age. I was born a jester, I ain't tryin' to be a prince. Making someone laugh in these times can make a difference.

And I'm not suggesting that the above Yelp/Wiki/Craigslist examples are what to shoot for. I'm thinking of something different, some form that has yet to be forged. I've done an email and Yelp review, like big deal, whatevs. 

If this guerrilla writing were an actual thing - not saying it is - the tenets would look something like this:

1.     The content must be completely unbelievable (sound familiar?), like completely fucking fake scenarios. If you're all serious and trying to argue against these dinosaurs with facts, you're just a good ol' fashion troll in their eyes. The aim is to humiliate+shame them with a viral guerrilla writing piece.

2.     It must directly or indirectly be sent to the person in question (ex: email to Shkreli, Yelp notification to business owner, lolz. Note that Wiki Edits to one's Wiki profile do not count as they do not alert the subject of the Wiki page in question).

3.     Under this paper-shredding delete-happy administration, the writing action must be screen captured for historical preservation. (You think I'm joking? I'm screen capturing this article!)

4.    It cannot be written on a wall, street sign, etc. because, as mentioned, that's called guerrilla art. This fella Banksy is pretty good at it if you haven't heard. 

5. It must be shared on social media. Provide links (for as long as they live) and screen captures (for when they die).

Again, not saying we should do this on a large scale or in no way am I encouraging you to do this, but if one were so inclined, this local Texas State Rep. might be a good place to start. 

Now that you've made it here, let me ask you something. Do you have B-Team angst?

You know you want to

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about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), Prairie Schooner (University of Nebraska Press) and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”

Fuck Martin Shkreli

Raise your hand if you suck

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We hate him, we lov.. okay, okay. We really fucking hate him.

Oprah-rich big pharma shadester Martin Shkreli owns unreleased music by The Beatles, 2Pac, Nirvana, Hendrix, Radiohead, The Smiths and most famously, The Wu Tang Clan. The latter of which he promised to release if Trump won the election (a victory that Shkreli termed 'fantastic').

Hate him yet? Wait 'till you hear how he afforded all those musical treasures at auction.

Shkreli's namely notorious for his company's acquisition of the AIDS treatment Daraprim. At the time of acquisition, Daraprim sold for $13.50 a pill, providing reasonably affordable treatment for AIDS patients. Upon Shkreli's acquisition he immediately raised the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill!

How about now? You hate him enough now?

Anyways, a friend of mine in the press received his Google email address so FWN sent him an email the only way we know how. 

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about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), Prairie Schooner (University of Nebraska Press) and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”

Where The West (Categorically) Begins: The Steve Gnash Experience

Fort Worth’s Steve Gnash and Dreamy Life Records release Gnash's eponymous debut record Friday Dec. 2nd at The Boiled Owl Tavern w/ Son of Stan and Same Brain. Gearing up for the big event I look back at my first Steve Gnash experience hoping to offer a glimpse of what to expect on Friday.

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It’s November and I’m tired. Really really tired and … ABSOLUTELY ENTHRALLED because Steve Gnash, per our Twitter interaction Nov. 7th, has agreed to give me unfettered access to his Nov. 9th show at The Live Oak in Fort Worth.

Twitter Screenshot courtesy of Prewitt Scott-Jackson

Flash forward two days, my Uber drops me off at The Live Oak. Not just any Uber, but like, honestly, the most cerebral Cinderella carriage-like Uber ride of the century. An omen of the night to come?

I’m early. Not just tonight, but always. Sipping cheap beer to numb my anxiousness, kill my nerves. Any second now and Steve Gnash was gonna walk through that door.

Then he did.

A light surrounds him. No, a halo. A halo of sunflower sunrays that scream “MAGIC!!” This guy is a certified Pop god.

An entourage follows: Two photographers, his manager, his driver, his personal nutrionist, an intimidating security guard, a sex bonfire of a backing band and an apple cart worth of adoring fans.  

My pen starts shaking in my hand. My blank notebook stares at me with grave doubt. Gnash immediately recognizes me as part of the press and precedes to one-hand-catch my dazed expression taking it back to the end zone for ‘6’ [sits down next to me in my mafia-inspired booth inside the Live Oak bar].

His entourage follows suit, filling up the entirety of the booth before I can blink. I’m enveloped by this sense I’ve been absorbed into his orbit. A star and his planets.

Initially, nothing is said to me. Logistics discussed amongst the group such as “How many plates of free nachos are we entitled to?” and “I can confirm I have the Nag Champa and the champagne Mr. Gnash,” etc.

I interject with my first, and as it would turn out, my only question of the evening, “So, Gnash, what were you doing prior to arriving tonight? I guess what I mean to say is … What does Steve Gnash do when nobody is looking?”

“There’s always someone looking at Gnash,” his manager Hollywood Jones quips.

Steve Gnash and Manager Hollywood Jones – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

After a chasmic pause Gnash finally speaks, modestly answering “Reading someone’s cards.”

“Like Tarot cards?”

“Yes.”

“Whose cards would that be?”  

“The psychic at the gas station off 1900 block on Hemphill St.”

A halo of sunflower sunrays I tell ya, a halo of sunflower sunrays!

The entourage shifts towards the green room located backstage at ‘The Oak.’ I try to nudge my way in but Hollywood Jones puts a kibosh on that. Despite Jones restricting my green room access, Gnash offers me a pity pull from his champagne bottle. Would you pass on a pull of the philosopher’s stone? I think not.

Green Room Access Denied – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

Being turned away, I head outside. A healthy portion of the backing band congregates on the loading dock, this includes lead bass guitarist (Tha) Mista Deezy. Mista Deezy specializes in having fun and serves as the most talented musician of the backing band. Besides providing lead bass, Tha Deezy doubles as lead backup vocalist.

Deezy refused my interview, but not in an “I’m the best musician here” kind of way, ‘twas more of an “I can’t disrupt my pre-game mojo but I hope you understand” kind of way.

Tha Mista Deezy (pictured right ) Pre-Gaming Prior to The Show – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

Back in the main auditorium the audience sits inauspiciously waiting for something their minds are incapable of conceiving. I scan their brain pans with my deft telepathic skills to hear a collective “Just another wispy Fort Worth singer-songwriter.”

The band’s sheer show of force strikes down this ridiculous notion with a masterful opening performance of the hit single “Sprung;” a track that has since been world premiered by 96.7 FM on the Local Ticket Show w/ Mark.  

The Steve Gnash Experience in Full Swing – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

From there, the band dives into “Coughdrops,” a track I have heard before thanks to my advanced copy of the record. “Coughdrops” incites the audience to MOVE. And MOVE they did!

Mista Deezy Feelin’ the “Coughdrops” – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

The remainder of the set sways seamlessly from song to song with nary an interruption aside from a moment of exuberant prayer in dedication to Pop goddess Britney Spears.

Gnash Praying at The Alter of Britney – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

The besiegement of sexy sound lingered, fluttering about the Live Oak’s microsphere for minutes upon the set’s conclusion. Nobody speaks. The audience, they sit in silent stupefaction as time ticks by until finally an uproarious applause ignites nearly burning down the red velvet stage curtains that have since been shuttered.

As I left the venue, the same dazed expression as before falls upon my face only this time the daze consists of wonderment and achievement not that of nerves and anxiety.

For once in my life, the planet of Me has a star. Whether I’ll ultimately catalogue as an insignificant dwarf ice planet or a gas giant such as Jupiter, being tethered to Steve Gnash’s sun gives me a boundless sense of purpose because either way I am now embedded in his orbit.

Well, until my Uber ride back home arrives anyway.

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about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), Prairie Schooner (University of Nebraska Press) and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”