Show Poster of the Week - Traffick Jam 2017 at The Grotto

Once a week FWN features a show poster from the Fort.

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This week's featured show poster promotes tomorrow's benefit concert for Salvando Corazones, a Costa Rica-based non-profit organization that provides housing and other critical services to survivors of sex trafficking.  

Panic Volcanic's Ansley "The Destroyer" Dougherty will be hosting this event at The Grotto featuring a ton of local star power in the form of Lindby, Zach Nytomt Band, Tripp Mathis and the Traitors, Dead Vinyl, Arenda Light (replacing Animal Spirit in the lineup), and Panic Volcanic.  

The Fort Worth community has come out in full support of Traffick Jam with local artists offering artwork to auction as well as local businesses donating gift cards for raffle. 

A silent auction will be held throughout the event with work by the following local artists on display: Walt Burns Photography, Ronnie Heart, Artwork of Sarah Ayala, Ann Gilloon, Bailey K Chapman, Ryan Sheffield, Jeremy Joel, Billy Mabrey, Ashlee Cave, Joyterra, and Arrowhead Leather Shop.

These awesomely supportive local businesses have donated gift cards and other items for tomorrow's raffle:

• The Felipe Armenta Package - $25 gift cards to Press Cafe, The Tavern, and Pacific Table
• Martin House Brewing Company Tours
• Tokyo Cafe Gift Card
• Kids Who Care Musical Theatre Ticket Vouchers
• The Boiled Owl Tavern gift basket with a large growler, pint glasses, stickers, a t-shirt and a $25 gift card
• Gracefully Jane Boutique Women's blouse and Gift Card
• Rodan + Fields Premium Skincare products
• Casa Manana Ticket Vouchers
• Shinjuku Station gift card
• Taco Heads gift card
• Four Corners Brewing Co. Tours
• Spiral Diner & Bakery gift card
• 60 Minute massage courtesy of Sam Stroheker
• Arts Fifth Avenue Gift Card
• Dreamy Life Records and Music $50 gift card
• Cloudland-Recording Studio 4 Hours Studio Time

Doors open at 5pm, music starts at 7pm with Lindby. Full event details here.

If you're like me and you cannot make it out to the show Saturday, please consider donating to Salvando Corazones at this link.   

Image via Ansley The Destroyer Dougherty's Facebook Page - Photo Credit: Michelle Stiffler

As it would turn out, Ansley Dougherty is the responsible party for this show poster design. What doesn't she do?? Honestly?!! #TheDestroyer2020

Throughout our Show Poster of the Week series we have discussed at length one design aspect above others: the designer's ability to align the poster's aesthetics with the event's aesthetics. In this regard, The Destroyer aced it!

Before we get into that, another thing I'd like to point out is how hard it is to fit A LOT of information on one poster without it looking like a jumbled mess. Dougherty had her hands full with this one and yet, the spacing of the text makes it fit together nicely like made-for-each-other puzzle pieces.

Moving along to the design. 

The color gradient immediately pops out as Dougherty pays homage to Salvando Corazones by incorporating the flag of Costa Rica into the design. 

Costa Rica's Flag

The heart-shaped hands are a direct tribute to Salvando Corazones as well. The name Salvando Corazones translates to Saving Hearts, and on the homepage for Salvando Corazones' website, this photograph below is the first image you'll find: 

Screen Grab from Salvando Corazones Website

On the surface one may look at this poster and not think much of what lies beneath the design choices. But if you take a quick peek behind the curtain, you will discover it's easy to commend Dougherty for designing a poster with such a powerfully warm message of support. 

What amazing people we have in this community y'all, truly inspiring. FWN would like to extend a great big virtual hug to Salvando Corazones, to Dougherty, and to everyone that's helped organize this benefit concert tomorrow.  

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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.”

10 Questions Interview - Always The Alibi

Welcome to FWN's 10 Questions Interview. We are honored to have the guys from Always The Alibi join us today. 

Instead of answering individually, the band joined forces to collectively provide us with answers!

Be sure to catch ATA in Fort Worth this Sat., March 4th at Hop Fusion Ale Works and a week later on March 11th at Gateway Park in Fort Worth for the Tater Tots & Beer Festival (which btw, sounds like a super tasty festival. I mean, they had us at 'Tater Tots & Beer').

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Photo Courtesy of Always The Alibi

1. Dogs or Cats? Why?

Definitely Dogs.  Rich (drums) has two and Nick (bass) is allergic to cats.

2. Aliens. Do they exist?

Maybe…the universe is a big place. 

3. Drug of choice? (None is not an option btw)

Performing our songs in front of an audience. And of course Shiner Bock.

4. Brown or white gravy? (Neither is not an option btw)

Is there a difference?

5. Favorite weapon of mass destruction? 

Bazooka

6. Favorite marsupial?  

Wombats. For sure!

7. Favorite Superhero? 

Batman or Ironman because they’re just regular dudes that have badass armor suits because they are rich.

8. Did Dez catch it?

The ruling on the field said otherwise…

9. When you die, if you were given the choice to come back as any animal, which would you choose?

Sasquatch or any Pokemon.

10. The best MJ is: Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Mike Jones, or Milla Jovovich? 

Michael Jordan #23 who’s most well-known for Space Jam and funny memes.

Poster Courtesy of Always The Alibi

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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 Walk in The Wastes with Vault Dweller

“Jesus Christ Parker!”

Shannon Paine-Jesam, drummer for Dallas’ experimental grindcore band Vault Dweller, broke away from his slice of pizza just in time.

His warning proved enough as Vault Dweller’s guitarist Parker Turney laid waste to the ambushing pack of zombie-like ghouls with a few well-placed assault rifle bursts.

No worries y’all, this ain’t the apocalypse (yet).

This is Fort Worth Noise playing Fallout 4 with every member of Vault Dweller.

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Members of Vault Dweller Playing Fallout 4 (Pictured from left to right, Emma Lylte, Todd Thompson, Shannon Paine-Jesam, and Parker Turney)  - Photo by Prewitt Scott-Jackson

The Lead-Up

For those unfamiliar, Fallout deals in dystopia. It's set in a desolate post-apocalyptic environment. And while we don't currently find ourselves living thru the apocalypse, these are rather dystopic times.

This Saturday, March 4th, Vault Dweller fights back the baddies by performing at Three Links for a 1919 Hemphill benefit concert.

iill, Obstruction, and TBA round out the bill (btw, TBA is an actual band in this instance, a rad one from Fort Worth at that). Please click here for full event details. 

1919 Hemphill is a sacred temple of a DIY safe space that has found itself recently under attack by neo-Nazi fuck sticks on 4Chan. 

In short, after the Oakland Ghost Ship warehouse fire, Nazi trolls on 4Chan produced a list of DIY safe spaces across the country propagating a directive for their Nazi brethren to call upon authorities to inspect said safe spaces in their local area.

Fort Worth authorities shortly thereafter received several complaints from this army of pathetic Pepe memes, forcing their hand to move on 1919 for code violations.

What these low life shits didn't count on was the strong support of the Fort Worth and greater D/FW music and arts communities coming out in full force against them, swiftly raising over $10k to help 1919 get the property on Hemphill up to code. 

However, there's more work that needs done and thusly more money that needs to be raised. Saturday's event at Three Links furthers this fundraising effort.

Gig Poster for Saturday Night's Benefit Concert - Image via 1919 Hemphill Facebook

Besides diving into Vault Dweller's involvement with 1919 fundraising efforts, I semi-mapped out Fallout/music parallels that required exploration.

Generally-speaking, RPGs - not just Fallout - pair well with musicians. It’s just a fact. 

The non-linear nature of an RPG like Fallout provides creative space for gamers to play in. Like a practice space for bands, anything can happen in a sandbox game. It’s your world to forge, not the other way around.

Now then, time for the real reason this all came together: I am a Fallout nerd-supreme. This fact was beyond confirmed by the end of the gaming session. 

As a teenager, besides playing music, video games provided me an escape. I always held a preference for RPGs but in 1997 an IT guy working on my step-dad's computer asked if I had played Fallout yet.

That guy, some random IT guy from Bedford, TX, changed my life. I have played and enjoyed every game in the series since. Nowadays it's the only game I play (besides a few sports games while drinking with friends). Other games are just that, they are meaningless to me.  

Given all of the above, I finally worked up a message to the band to see if they'd be down to walk the wastes with me. Emma Lytle, the band's vocalist and foremost Fallout gamer, worked out the logistics and we aimed to meet up Monday, Feb. 6th.

This gaming sesh was on!

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Vault Dweller Live at Spinster Records - Image via Vault Dweller's Facebook Page

I drove out to the 214 and pulled up to the address given to me but somehow I managed to knock on the back door instead of the front. I’m a lot like Dogmeat in the sense that I am somewhat of a lost puppy. 

I waited.

Then I waited some more.

5 minutes later, standing on the doorstep with my PS4 in hand, I started to get the sense a pack of feral ghouls could be ambushing my ass soon.

Instead, Emma rescued me from the porch and led me to Fallout playing, music writing bliss.

Once inside I struggled with powering up the PS4. My baby doesn’t travel often, took a little while to get its sea legs I suppose.

In the meantime I acquainted myself with the band.

Bassist Todd Thompson joined the other three band members on the couch along with Emma’s boyfriend Eddie and their two cats, Charlie and Zoey.

Charlie was active and friendly; he immediately swooped in for a petting, giving me a shot of confidence that I’d get the Playstation working soon.

That “confidence” was short lived however as Zoey, resting high above in her sleepy perch, shot me a disinterested cat look that said, “Meh. Who the hell is this loser??”   

The PS4 finally fired up after a lot of finagling with the wires and the controller. 

In my best Dirk voice I thought to myself, "Take that with you Zoey!" 

With the PS4 humming along, it was time to get down to business.

As is the case on any Fallout campaign, in spite of my cursive-walking thru life, I did have a few objectives that clearly needed to be met.

For this story, those objectives went something like this:

1.      Interview the band, particularly about the 1919 benefit show.  

2.      Have each band member create their own vault dweller using Fallout 4’s character generator.

3.      Play lots of Fallout!

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Interview

I handed the controller to Parker and pressed record on my iPhone voice memos utility.

I asked how long they had been together. 

Everyone paused until Shannon said, “It’s been since January of last year.”

They all seemed a little shocked it had been a year already. 

Emma playfully chimed in, “Happy Anniversary guys!” 

This interaction encapsulates the vibe of the band. Contrary to the grave tones found in their music, everyone in the band is super laid back. I'd pay good money to watch the comedic banter Shannon and Parker displayed throughout the night.

I asked Shannon, "How do you play drums that fast?"

He replied, "The boring answer is time and practice."

To which Parker challenged, "What's the dank answer???"

After some shared laughter among the group, Shannon conceded and gave us the dank answer: "Being so furious at your instrument ... just destroying the circles around you."

His answer segued nicely into my next question...

"Like a tasty sesh of Fallout, do you find playing music provides an escape from the insanity? And also, at the same time, perhaps it doubles as your way of fighting back?"

Parker humored me, "I can see the parallel. It being a release, like blowing up enemies or making a lot of loud noise (with music)." 

Shannon seconded, "I did break my snare head at our first show."

"In general, I find musicians prefer RPG games due to the inherent freedom/space for creativity found in them. Do you see those parallels in a non-linear game like Fallout?" 

"There's a certain aspect to the freedom that I like. Personally," Emma motioned to herself, "Fallout for me kind of opened up my mind to what the world is coming to. The humanity of it. The aspects of propaganda and how societies function before and after."

"I see it," Parker added. "Exploring a expansive world, like with music, you can write anything."

"So I wanted to talk about the 1919 benefit. Have you played 1919 before?"

"Oh yeah," Parker confirmed.  

"I think it's great you're playing this benefit show. I went thru that whole 4chan thread, that shit was crazy."

"I just can’t believe people waste their time," Emma demurred. "If I hated something that much I wouldn’t waste my time and go there, and scope it out to call the fire department. 1919 is about the music. Anyone is welcome there even if you are a shithead. As long as you’re respectful. There's other DIY spaces this is happening to and they're not making enough money to cover expenses. It's really sad." 

"I read all the lyrics for your songs on Bandcamp. The Vault Dweller from the game essentially serves as a vessel of justice that sticks it to the man, whether that's the Brotherhood (i.e. Neo-Nazis), The Enclave, etc. Basically, the Vault Dweller is a truth seeker. So Emma, with that said, is that what the lyrics for 'Vault Dweller' and 'War of the Words' address?"

Emma: "For pretty much everything I write lyrically I don’t ever want to be super specific about one thing, especially with Fallout. I just like the general concepts. Even if they enjoyed living in the vault, the general concept was they were lied to, they were forced there, they were coerced there, and ya know, that’s fucked up!"

What about track 3? "Forced Evolutionary Virus." Is this song about Fallout? If so, is it about Super Mutants or Deathclaws?

"Totally about Fallout," Emma confirmed, "this is about Super Mutants."

How about the album title, Fucked Up Lizard People, which doubles as the title of track 6. Is this a reference to David Icke and his conspiracy theories?

Everyone laughed about this because, as it would turn out, I wasn't the first to ask.

Emma: "It seems like every time we play (shows) someone always goes on and on about this conspiracy. I know we have a whole song about fucked up lizard people, but it's not about that. Someone mentioned it was about Hilary Clinton around the time of the election and we were like, 'It's not about Hilary Clinton!' If you haven't noticed, we're all pretty goofy. I think I decided to write about it because one day at practice Shannon kept calling us fucked up lizard people."

Shannon provided further background on the name, "I actually got that name from Eddie (Emma's boyfriend). We were making up D&D characters and Eddie said, 'you could be a Fucked Up Lizard Person.' So that's where we got it from!" 

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Character Creation

Perhaps some of the best times that night came from each of the band members creating their own likeness using Fallout 4's character generator.  

I had this idea where the band would design their own characters that I'd later arrange in Photoshop, making it into a photo strip or something. Essentially, the end goal was to create an art project with the band; a metamodernist collaboration between the two parties if you will. 

Each band member took their time carefully crafting their character. Many laughs were shared as they tested out the seemingly endless amount of options made available by Fallout 4's character generator.

After each member finished their character, I took a photo of it with my phone. Emma later emailed me a file of the band's logo.

Next I downloaded a font that Emma suggested; the Fallout-inspired Overseer font.

Lastly, I uploaded everything into my archaic desktop and ...

... voilà!   

Image created by Vault Dweller + Prewitt Scott-Jackson 

If you look below at this photo of the band you can see they all portrayed themselves rather accurately.

Image via Vault Dweller's Facebook Page - Pictured from left to right, Emma, Parker, Shannon, and Todd

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Play Lots of Fallout!

I mentioned I'm a Fallout nerd-supreme, right? Then please know for a good portion of the night we simply played lots of Fallout!

Parker went first. They said he was the least experienced Fallout player so we started there. 

I liked watching Parker play because he played with a level of reckless abandon that more than deserved our admiration. He shot anything that moved. Anything. That included all my in-game allies who were none too happy about it.

Shannon was up next. There was a little more method to Shannon's mayhem as he savagely slaughtered his way around the wasteland.

Shannon also proved to be a jumper. You know how there's always someone that keeps walking their character right off a building, offing themselves? In our sesh, that person was Shannon. His jumps were pretty epic really, mucho style points.

Todd, who had been quiet throughout the interview, took control next and let his Fallout-ing do the talking. Todd methodically worked a gang of raiders, delivering skilled headshots to most of them in a wonderful tactical display.

Emma got her hands on the controller next and proved to reign supreme. She conscientiously cruised around Far Harbor, an area she'd yet to explore in her own Fallout campaign. Like any hardcore Fallout gamer, she looked over every detail of this world that was new to her; she savored every pixel as it came across her screen.

I connected to her style of play instantly. It was less about the shooting and more about exploring the world in which she found herself. 

Prewitt! What? You thought after a night's worth of Fallout talk I was going to keep myself from that controller? You must be joking!

At the top of the night Emma noted my player's level ranking which is pretty outrageous and somewhat embarrassing (I play A LOT of Fallout, like A LOT A LOT). The exceptionally detailed nature of my settlement building also impressed Emma and once again I felt somewhat embarrassed because I apparently out-nerded everyone in the room.  

Not wanting to disappoint, I started by returning to one of my many stash houses to dig up this wicked customized harpoon gun I had come across earlier in the game. From there I entertained the band with many a tasty slaying.

These warm-up shootings gave me a bit of false confidence. The band had decided it would be best if I took out Fallout 4's religious nuts, The Church of the Children of Atom. 

It started off well enough as I made quick work of the cult leader, High Confessor Tektus. Soon after however, as I stepped out of his quarters, his legion of followers zapped me into a pile of radiated goo with a crushing vengeance.

And with that, after 4+ hours of good hangs, our night had concluded. 

I thanked the band for their generous hospitality - even Zoey, the grumpster cat - and made my way back to the 817.  

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The Vault Dweller and Dogmeat - Image from Fallout 4

"War. War never changes." 

In the cinematic introduction of every Fallout game a narrator recites the line "War. War never changes." And while on the surface this quote seems to suggest that war is always fucked up, that war is always cold and hard and sad, I believe the quote is more nuanced than that.

I believe it also implies that in spite of war, there is always a light, a beacon of hope. A hero ultimately unveils that the good bits of humanity yet exist under the darkest clouds of war. For the Fallout series, this hero has always been the Vault Dweller.   

The dualistic dynamic nature of the Vault Dweller is what makes the character messianic. The Vault Dweller is magnanimous in a cruel world and yet, can prove ultra-violent when violence is necessary. I mean, it's going to require something more than charisma to stop the oppressive likes of the Brotherhood and other Fallout Nazi-esque factions.

Given this context, the band Vault Dweller more than lived up to their namesake.

Vault Dweller's music is louder and faster than yours with lyrics and vocals that rival the voracity of a hungry pack of deathclaws. As evidenced by the 1919 Hemphill benefit, they are more than prepared to get their hands dirty and take these alt-right shitheads straight on. 

At the same time, you will be hard pressed to find a band more generous with their time. A band that enjoys life as much as they do.  

I am honored to walk today's IRL wasteland with the likes of Emma, Todd, Shannon, and Parker. If they are the Vault Dweller, you can call me Dogmeat.  

I hope to see you all at Three Links this Saturday, first Nuka-Cola's on me :) 

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SUPER DOUBLE BONUS UPDATE: Fort Worth Noise attended the 1919 Benefit Show at Three Links and took the following photos and video of Vault Dweller's performance. Safe travels Wastelanders!

Vault Dweller Video

Vault Dweller at Three Links Photo Gallery (click thumbnail to enlarge)

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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.”

I Like This Song - Vodeo's "Hey Look I'm a DJ" Ft. Matt Mabe & Morris Holdahl

I Like This Song celebrates songs by local bands sans clichéd music journo over-analysis.

The furthest we take the dissection of songs featured here is, well, you guessed it: "I Like This Song." 

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Today's featured song comes from Vodeo's 2017 Sylvainia Sessions. The track debuted last Monday on Youtube with a video that can only be described as dance pants bliss.  

I thought I recognized my parents as one of the dancing couples but then I recalled the fact that my parents dance like two giraffes trying to give each other high fives.

If you dance like two giraffes trying to give each other high fives, please don't let that deter you from dancing this Friday night as Vodeo performs at Magnolia Motor Lounge w/ Darkbird (ATX) and Kevin Aldridge & The Appraisers.

Doors open at 9pm, Vodeo kicks off the music at 9:30. Full event details here.

Say hello to my little ... I like this song.

Image via Vodeo's Facebook Page

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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.”

I Like These Songs - Girls To The Front! Benefit Concert

Welcome to a special edition of I Like This Song.

I Like This Song celebrates songs by local bands sans clichéd music journo over-analysis.

The furthest we take the dissection of songs featured here is, well, you guessed it: "I Like This Song." 

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Image via Girls Rock Fort Worth Facebook Page

Lookie here y'all, one song simply won't do. Not for an event of this magnitude.

Tomorrow night, Shipping & Receiving will host Girls To The Front!, a concert benefiting Girls Rock Fort Worth feat. The Crystal Furs, Rachel Gollay, The Cush, Alex & Maria, and Ashley VanArsdel.   

Doors open at 7pm, music starts at 8pm. Click here for full event details and please consider clicking here to donate to Girls Rock Fort Worth.

Without further ado, I like these songs...

The Crystal Furs - "Miss Hughes" 

Rachel Gollay - "Fight or Flight"

The Cush - "Orange Like Water"

from the album Transcendental Heatwave - directed by Dreamlike Pictures

Alex & Maria - "Mr. Provider"

written by Maria Demus - filmed by Luke McGlathery

Ashley VanArsdel - "Strange Lady"

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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.”

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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Dead Mockingbirds

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Redeye

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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.”

Show Poster of the Week - Arenda Light, Taylor Craig Mills, Ryan Wilcox at The Grotto

Image via Arenda Light's Facebook Page

Once a week FWN features a show poster from the Fort.

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This week's featured show poster harks back to the '50s and '60s tin toy robot craze.

These little doods became super popular as the Space Race ramped up between the USSR and the U.S. in the mid-1950s. I find this parallel compelling given the White House's current status as "Kremlin West."  

Anywho, the poster promotes a lip-smacking lineup at The Grotto this Friday, Feb. 24th feat. Arenda Light, Taylor Craig Mills, and Ryan Wilcox.

Doors open at 9PM, full event details here.

Aaron Wright put this show poster together by repurposing a fictional toy company ad, transforming it into something that heightened our interest in Friday night's event.

Original Toy Poster by John Golden

Wright certainly got the font right, syncing it up nicely with the original image's look. When repurposing an image I always find the toughest part to be recreating or placing the original font. 

Kudos to Wright for slaying that aspect.

Additionally, I like that Wright went with red over yellow.

Red is for passion. Red is for blood. Red's energy, simply stated, has a way of drawing people in.

The tin toy robot iconography always appeals to me. I mean, without question, we are certified Sci-fi geeks here at FWN. Could that have something to do with our decision to bestow this unrivaled weekly award to Wright?

Maybe, but fuck it. Conflict of interests be damned! 

We verily enjoyed the job Wright did with this one and we hope it encourages you to kick back a few at The Grotto this Friday.

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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.”

Sound Advice - Should We Battle Other Bands?

This is FWN's 'Dear Abby' column: musicians send us questions, we post them with answers and a fun made-up pseudonym.

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Musicians LARPing >>> Musicians "Battling"

Dear FWN,

Our band received a well-thought-out mass email asking us to play in a Battle of the Bands next month in Deep Ellum. Seems legit, right???

I know BotBs have a bad rep but are they really all that bad? 

Best regards,

Ron D. Corna

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Dearest Ron,

Just so we are 100% crystal, let's bullet point this joint:

• Run far the fuck away from that email
• (Seriously, far the fuck away!)
• (That's not far enough Ron)
• Take a hot shower
• Have an IT guy wipe your entire computer
• Finally ... REPENT REPENT REPENT my son for even considering the possibility

*wipes sweat from brow*

Regretfully yours,

FWN

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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.”

I Like This Song - Cody Lynn Boyd's "Freaks Of The Night"

I Like This Song celebrates songs by local bands sans clichéd music journo over-analysis.

The furthest we take the dissection of songs featured here is, well, you guessed it: "I Like This Song." 

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Today's featured song comes from Cody Lynn Boyd's 2016 full-length, The Late Recordings.

This song has a pulse, it really cuts. If for some reason you find yourself not singing along with the refrain "I am a freak of the night," you may want to visit the clinic to confirm you ain't one of them lifeless zombies Boyd sings about on the record.

CLB can be found on stage this Wednesday, Feb. 22nd at The Live Oak w/ Dead Mockingbirds and that spicy dudeness Sir Steve Gnash (ICYMI, check the feature we did on Gnash back in November).

Doors at 8pm, full event details posted here. Btw, THIS SHOW IS FREE!!! 

Okay y'all, thinking this one deserves the oldest trick in the book treatment:

[taps your right shoulder while standing on your left then screams "I like this song!" in lieu of "I gotcha!"]

Image via Cody Lynn Boyd's Facebook Page

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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.”

Show Poster of the Week - Animal Spirit's CD Release Show at Lola's

Once a week FWN features a show poster from the Fort.

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This week's featured show poster has me seeing stars! And for the record, let it be known that astral-themed show posters always have a home here at Fort Worth Noise.

The poster promotes Animal Spirit's CD Release Show, a celebration of their new album This Is Relevant.

The shindig starts at 9pm and it's all goin' down at Lola’s this Saturday, Feb. 18th. Trái Bơ and Dome Dwellers kick off the night. Full event details here.

So who designed this beauty? To find the droid we're looking for we need not look further than Saturday night's bill, as Dome Dweller's Michael J. Slack stands the guilty party. Btw, the constellation/DNA imagery doubles as the album artwork for This Is Relevant.

Besides the fetching conglomeration of somber blue hues, the concept behind the design warrants focused attention.

It's widely known and romanticized that humans are made from stars but how much so is less well-known. No worries, we got you: Capt. Google says stardust comprises 93% of human body mass.

NINETY-THREE PERCENT!!!

If anything, the romantic-types aren't romanticizing this fact enough. We are walking, talking stars ... every one of us.

Given this context, the brilliance in Slack's design becomes more discernible. In amalgamating stars with a DNA double helix, Slack expertly captures a visual representation of humanity's sidereal evolutionary process.

I'm probably reaching here, but stay with me -- what if this exploration we've conducted today answers the question all of us are asking ourselves?

You know the question. What exactly does the "This" in This Is Relevant refer to? Like, what is "This"? What is relevant? The album? The band?

I think it's more than that. I think this fact is relevant, this fact that we humans are made from stars.

Through this choice of artwork, Animal Spirit and Slack are implicitly sending a message of hope: that we are all relevant. That human life is relevant and by right, the music and art we create is relevant. It's a beautiful message, one that's been well-received by this lowly writer.

Congrats to Animal Spirit on the new album and to Slack for a design that inspires. FWN will be all up in Lola's Saturday, so hope to see you there!

BONUS CONTENT: To get ya hype for Saturday, here's music videos for two songs off This Is Relevant

"Revenge" the first single from the new album This Is Relevant by the band Animal Spirit - Directed by Rue Dwyer - Produced by Rue Dwyer & Animal Spirit

"Doom Surf" the Second single from the new album This Is Relevant by the band Animal Spirit - Directed by Brian Bailey - Produced by Brian Bailey

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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.”

I Like This Song - Daniel Markham's "Disintegrator"

I Like This Song celebrates songs by local bands sans clichéd music journo over-analysis.

The furthest we take the dissection of songs featured here is, well, you guessed it: "I Like This Song." 

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Today's featured song is the opening track and namesake of Daniel Markham's celebrated 2016 full-length album.

For this running feature we typically embed links to songs on Bandcamp, but Markham's black-and-white monochromatic music video forced our hand. S/o to Judd Myers and crew for the quality film and production work.

You can catch Mr. Markham on stage this Friday, Feb. 17th at The Grotto w/ two euphonious Fort Worth bands in the form of Un Chien and Jefferson Colby.

Doors at 9pm. DM kicks off the show at 10pm. Event details posted here.

This one is caps lock worthy y'all ... I LIKE THIS SONG

Image via Daniel Markham's Facebook Page

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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.”