Five Fortress Festival Photo Galleries

RTJ bringing down the house - Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

Fortress Festival Brings "Wow" Factor to Fort Worth

The inaugural Fortress Festival turned out to be as visually-pleasing as it was musically-pleasing.

Between the psychedelic visuals of the Will Rogers stage and The Modern stage's unique floating platform, our collective eyeballs experienced one heck of a weekend!  

Speaking of, we hope you enjoyed (er, survived) our live social media updates throughout the weekend!

FWN had two orangutans embedded at Fortress Festival to keep you posted on all the action in real-time (geez, you're welcome! orangutans are very expensive to feed ya know).

We'll have a wrap up feature posted soon as well.. there are lots of stories to tell :) 

In the meantime, kickback, relax and soak it up Fort Worth; you deserve it!  

All photos by Prewitt Scott-Jackson

Run The Jewels 

Run The Jewels dominated the inaugural Fortress Festival - Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

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Peter Hook & The Light 

Peter Hook & The Light lit up The Modern stage - Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

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Slowdive 

Slowdive shoe-gazed Fort Worth w/ a breathtaking performance - Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

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Golden Dawn Arkestra 

GDA danced under the Sun on The Modern stage - Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

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Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats 

NRATNS grooved up Fort Worth - Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

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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), 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.”

Fortress Festival Survival Guide: Come With Us If You Want To Live

Image courtesy of Fortress Festival

HAPPY FORTRESS FESTIVAL WEEK!

Pardon our celebratory ALL CAPS intro but we are super-hyped about Fortress Festival this weekend!

And while being super-hyped is all well and good, super-hyped does not equate to being super-prepared.

But don't worry y'all, we got you.

Hellbent on producing the most epic music festival survival guide ever, the crew and I locked ourselves away in the FWN lab* for over two weeks!

Unfortunately for you, this is not the most epic music festival guide ever; this is just a tribute. Hat tip to Tenacious D for the zinger!

DISCLAIMER: So it didn't take two weeks and this "lab" looks more like my Mom's basement. However.. we had nothing to live on save for warm champagne and canned ham; sacrifices people, sacrifices. Like seriously, two of our interns died making the following guide, so we really really really hope you enjoy it! Truly! 

Wait. What's that? You still don't have tickets? No prob, limited tix still available right here!

Enough of all that, let's get to the guide!

LINEUP/SET TIMES

Image courtesy Fortress Festival - Hey you. Yes, you! This is your cue to save this image to your smart phone

This lineup is crazy good. I mean...

Run The Jewels in the 817? Are you kidding me???

Peter freakin' Hook, he of Joy Division & New Order???

Slowdive touring in support of a new record due out May 5th?

Purity Ring? Stranger Things composers S U R V I V E?

Add in all the stellar local talent set to perform this weekend in the Ft. Worth Cultural District and holy Toledo Batman, we got ourselves a music festival!

ICYMI Episode IV: We recently featured a music video from every single Fortress Festival performer.

Here's a opportunity to familiarize yourself with the lineup in music video format:

Music Videos for Every Fortress Festival Performer Pt. I 

Music Videos for Every Fortress Festival Performer Pt. II

ICYMI Episode V: Check out our Fortress Festival artist interviews !!

1. Peter Hook

2. Sudie

3. Ronnie Heart

SUPER BONUS: Gee, idk, Fortress Festival curated this killer Spotify playlist!

TRANSPORTATION 

Image via Fortress Festival Facebook page - Catch a ride to Fortress Festival on bus.com

There are several paths that lead to Fortress Festival and while you must forge your own, here are a few suggestions:

1. Hitchhike - Ok, so we don't really recommend this because I'm 99.999% sure doing so exposes us to some sort of liability; but ya know, it's technically an option.  

2. A bike - Seriously, tons of great biking trails link up with the festival's grounds. Peep the Trinity Trails website here. Or check out Funky Town Pedicab if you'd rather pay someone else to do the pedaling.

MEGA BONUS ALERT: You don't even need to own a bike when you got the City of Fort Worth's B Cycle ride share program! 

3. A bus - Fortress Festival and Bus.com teamed up to provide festival goers with very reasonably priced options starting at $12. Why drive and play the parking game? 

4. A car - Pretty self-explanatory. A friend's, your own, your dad's, steal one (Wait, don't do that! See above-referenced mention of liability!!!), there's a Lyft station on-site, or perhaps save on gas via an irl Fred Flintstone car.    

5. Teleport - For superheroes only or idk, maybe that Sir Capt. Hot Topic Criss Angel dude.

FESTIVAL MAP

Image courtesy of Fortress Festival - Cue #2: Save this image to your smart phone!

OMGee! This is the best looking map since The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on SNES!

The beer mug icon immediately caught my attention. Hmm, not sure why???

Anywho, I'm personally going to hit up the merch booth and that Indigo Yoga space on the lawn near the Modern pond.

Food. Food. So much..............food! Yummyyyyy foooood!!! Don't worry, we get to the food vendors a little further down.

The positioning of the stages closed it down for me. Look at that Modern stage placement! Look at that Will Rogers open space!

Get stoked y'all!

Get STOKEDQQKCDDECDQEDQED!!!

SNES Zelda Map - Me: You think they hold music festivals in Hyrule? You: I wish

VENDORS

Image courtesy of Fortress Festival 

ATTN All Foodies - You'll be glad to hear that in addition to curating this amazing lineup of artists, the Fort Fest folks did some mighty impressive work with their food roster too.

Salsa Limón is a Fort Worth institution. Period. Nothing else to say here. 

Get your Medi food on with Shawarma Point or if you're like me, you'll be eyeballing dumplings from Cannon Chinese Kitchen. 

Immediately upon devouring said dumplings, you'll find me making a bee line to cool down with a couple Alchemy Pops.

*Cold Brew Coffee & Cream pop over here please!*   

But hold on a sec, check out the non-food vendors scheduled to be on-site.

The Daniel Daniel and I will be covering the event so I'm thinking we'll finally get our FWN family portrait taken in the Folsom Photo Bus.

Probably pick up some prints from Garageland or make some of our own at Pan Ector!  

While we're at it, gonna stop by Mama P's to pick up a new "tobacco pipe" for my uncle Jay .. snoogens.

Show Poster courtesy of Fortress Festival

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: HAVE FUN!

To be honest, you don't need this guide. You'll have fun no matter how you slice it.

But if our guide did indeed prove useful to you, it's comforting to know our interns did not die in vain:)

Stay hydrated y'all, look out for each other, and most importantly, have fun Fort Worthians!

Regretfully yours,

Xoxo,

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), 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.”

Gentle Reminder Letter: Record Store Day In The Fort

Image via RecordStoreDay.com's Press Release

Dearest Fort Worthians,

We are writing you today as to remind all thee great citizens of our mighty metropolis(?) that there will be much party to be had this Saturday, April 22nd.

Mucho mucho party.  

Ya see, this Saturday is Record Store Day. According to the official Record Store Day website, 2017 marks the 10yr anniversary of Record Store Day.

In fact, RSD has grown so much since its inception, there are now stores from every continent participating (except Antarctica, 'cause penguins).

Enough with the history lesson, let's move on to the party(ies).

All of Saturday's events are free to attend and all feature insanely stacked lineups. 

Besides that, all these events take place during the day which means they provide one and all with a legitimate excuse to day drink!

Last but not least, it is imperative we citizens support our local record stores. They are the lifeblood of our scene. If anything, this Saturday represents a great opportunity to celebrate our record stores and their contribution to our community.

Now that we've performed our civic duty, time to let these parties speak for themselves. For more details, click the images below to link up with each event's Facebook page.

Regretfully yours, 

XoXo,

FWN

Doc's Records feat. Movie The Band, Steve Gnash, High Art, Heater, Beach Priest, Starbass 

Image via Doc's Records Facebook Page

Dreamy Life Records feat. Acid Carousel, Sealion, Son of Stan, Sub Sahara, War Party, Teenage Sexx, Loafers

Image via Dreamy Life Records Facebook Page

Chief Records feat. Audry Oliver, Jason Eady, Tommy Hooker, Joe Savage, Holland K. Smith, Jackie Darlene, Michael Lee

Image via Chief Records 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.”

10 Questions Interview - How's My Driving

Welcome to FWN's 10 Questions Interview. We are honored to have our friends from How's My Driving join us today.

Party it up with HMD next weekend at Caves Lounge for a Bee-B-Q feast featuring fellow punks From Parts Unknown and The Dolly Llamas. Free BBQ & Beer !! (while supplies last). Full event details here.

SUPER TRIPLE BONUS NEWS: Yesterday on social media we spotted HMD cooking something up in Ben Napier's lab at Green Audio Productions. HMD guitarist Carson So confirmed with FWN that they are in fact currently laying down tracks with Sir Napier of FortWorthshire ... better keep those ears peeled Fort Worthians! 

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HMD slayin' Three Links - Photo Courtesy How's My Driving

1. Dogs or Cats? Why?

Carson:  Dogs for sure.   You wouldn’t take a cat to the park…or could you?

Eric: Definitely dogs. I'm not down with stanky litter boxes--I'd
rather clean shit up outside...

DJ:  Dogs, because dogs

Tony:  Dogs, cats are pricks

2. Aliens. Do they exist?

Carson:  I’m sure in this universe, there’s another form of life out
there.   Killer Clowns for outer space was a documentary.

Eric: I've never had any close encounters but it's hard to make the
argument that they don't exist. They have to-right?

DJ:  Sure, have you seen our president?

Tony:  Tom Delonge tells us they do, when is he ever wrong?

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

Carson:  Love is a drug

Eric: Again, very hard hitting questions. This one's tough. I don't
fancy myself an addict so I feel lucky that I'm able to stay content
with smoking herb daily and drinking beer whenever it's time to party.
That being said, the old school "H bomb" was pretty awesome!

DJ:  Netflix and gummie bears, any order

Tony:  Beer

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

Carson:  I’ll take brown with my poutine

Eric: GuessI'll go white...but I'm probably only saying that because
I haven't sampled enough different brown.

DJ:  White, but I'm not racist.

Tony:  Brown, but only from KFC

5. Favorite weapon of mass destruction?

Carson:  Rick Astley

Eric:  I'll refer to question 3 and go "H bomb" here too. Plus the H
bomb generates that sweet mushroom cloud.

DJ:  The Trump

Tony:  The internet

New HMD logo making us thirsty - Image Courtesy of How's My Driving

6. Favorite marsupial?

Carson:  Wombat

Eric:  Gotta go kangaroo. They "kick" ass ;)

DJ:  I love me some french onion.

Tony:   Sugar Glider

7. Favorite Superhero?

Carson:  Wolverine

Eric:  The Amazing Spiderman

DJ:  Eric Gumm, yes he is my fucking hero

Tony:  Black Dynamite

8. Did Dez catch it?

Carson:  V.D.?

Eric:  Sigh...That catch, ruled not a catch (which it was), will
forever leave me wondering what could've been--I hate it for Romo way
more than Dez, another classic example of why ole Tones Romes' legacy
in Dallas will be tainted

DJ:  Damn right he did

Tony:  Dez who?

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

Carson:  Fire breathing dragon.  Animality!  TOASTY!!!!

Eric:  Man, definitely gotta go something like an eagle because flying
would be cool as hell. Or would it be just as cool to be a sponge...

DJ:  A Dire wolf.  GOT, bitches

Tony:  A human.

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

Carson:  Milla J is what I say!

Eric:  Might have to go Jordan but it's close...I'm not so sure
Michael Jackson made is big of an impact on music as Jordan did
basketball. How can anyone possible know that.

DJ:  Milla is def my girl.

Tony:  Milla Jovovich

HMD recently opened for Guttermouth at Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill

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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 - The Fibs' "Carbon Monoxide"

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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Released by Dreamy Soundz Records -- Music recorded & produced by Jennifer Rux at Dreamy Soundz -- Video produced by the Fibs

Today's featured song comes from The Fibs' Hex Hex Hex, a Dreamy Soundz EP that debuted in 2014.

The Fibs are primed to perform tomorrow night at The Boiled Owl Tavern with fellow Dreamy Lifers Alex and Maria + out-of-towners Boketto The Wolf (NY).

Music starts at 9pm, full event details posted here.

The Fibs in action - Photo Credit - Prewitt Scott-Jackson

If you get the feeling you recognize the above photo of Fibs' guitarist/vocalist Preston Newberry it's because I took said photo and have since plastered it gratuitously all across Fort Worth Noise's social media platforms.

Just fyi, for your future reference and all: double foot pedal magic tricks always have a home here at FWN. 

Btw, I passed on a Bandcamp or Soundcloud embed today and opted for this kick-ass diy music vid produced by The Fibs. Gaw lee y'all(!), if you wanna take yer eyes on a visual vacay we highly rec watching the viddy yo in its entirety.     

Enough of all that, time to break this song down Dad-joke style...

The band may be called The Fibs but I ain't fibbin' when I say, "I like this song."

The Fibs' album artwork for Hex Hex Hex - Image via Dreamy Soundz Bandcamp

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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 - Jetta In The Ghost Tree's "Clandestine"

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 Jetta In The Ghost Tree's Clandestine Vol. I, an Idol Records full-length that debuted in Spring 2015.

You can catch Jetta in their element this Saturday at Lola's with Shadows Of Jets, Garrett Owen, and ATX's Shapescenes.

If you haven't experienced Jetta live I highly recommend marking your calendar for this one. Ya see, this bill is a family affair. 

Jetta recorded Clandestine Vol. I at Taylor Tatsch's AudioStyles studio >> Tatsch heads up Shadows of Jets >> Einhorn is Finkle >> Finkle is Einhorn

Why does this matter? I'll tell you. 

In my experience, bills that feature "frands" (like a friendship but between two bands) produce a much better overall show vibe. Fans, bands, venue staff; everyone benefits when frands are involved.

Like, I can't stand a bill that doesn't feature at least one set of frands. You know the type of bill I'm talking about.. when the bands don't know each other, when the other bands and their fans simply wait for your set to end. Bleh, gross.

None of that will be happening Saturday at Lola's. Count on it. 

Show starts at 9pm, full event details posted here.

Image via Jetta In The Ghost Tree's Facebook Page

Now that we've launched "frands" into the vast depths of pop culture vernacular, let's get down to the business of the day. 

For this analysis I turn to one of my favorite translation apps, THE YODA-SPEAK GENERATOR (no worries, thank me later for introducing you to this wonderful language tool). 

*drumroll*

This song I like. Yes, hmmm.

I Like This Song "Yoda-style" - Screengrab from Yoda Speak Generator 

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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 - Dane Rousay

Welcome to a special edition of FWN's 10 Questions Interview. We are honored to have San Antonio's Dane Rousay join us today. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the article for five additional SUPER DOUBLE BONUS DRUMMER QUESTIONS !!!

Rousay's new record, Blip, will be released this Thursday, April 13th. We got the lead track embedded below for 'yer ear drums.

Speaking of drums, we may brand Rousay as the Stephen Hawking of Drummers. Take a look at how he described his process for making this unique record:

"This album is a percussion composition/improvisational effort in the area of chance composition and chance operations. Many of these pieces went through chance processes of assigning numbers to different drums and objects and then programming the computer to flash these numbers randomly at a fast pace on the screen..."

Catch Rousay in Fort Worth this week on April 14th at Shipping & Receiving w/ Richard Haskins (everyone in town has a fun Haskins story, I'll save mine for another day) & Animal Spirit. Full event details here.

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Image via Dane Rousay's Facebook Page - Photo by Oscar Moreno

1. Dogs or Cats? Why?

DR: Dogs. I need that something that loves me.

2. Aliens. Do they exist?

DR: Ask Blink 182, not me.

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

DR: All my prescription pills to keep me from losing my mind.

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

DR: Brown.

5. Favorite weapon of mass destruction?

DR: My drums.

6. Favorite marsupial?

DR: Wombat.

7. Favorite Superhero?

DR: Eh, no one is that super.

8. Did Dez catch it?

DR: Are you kiddin'!

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

DR: A snake. Conquer my fear of them once and for all.

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

DR: Michael Jackson. Questlove said it so I have to agree. 

Blip hits the shelves this Thursday

SUPER DOUBLE BONUS DRUMMER QUESTIONS !!!

1. Double kick pedal ever or nah? 

DR: Never live but there's nothing like going through a snare solo with your feet. Highly recommend. 

2. Favorite brand of drumsticks? 

DR: I used to be a Vic Firth person but Vater has won me over. Something about those V's man. 

3. Are you one of those drummers that never have a drum key handy or one of those kind that have like three of them on your keychain? Somewhere in-between?

DR: Haha, always three. Seems like I have more drum keys than any other kinda keys.

4. List your three favorite drummers (not necessarily which ones you think are the best, but the ones you like the most, that have influenced your new record the most).

DR: Milford Graves, Greg Fox, and probably Jacob Richards (goes under the moniker "BATTERY")

5. You play barefoot or with shoes on? If with shoes, what are your "go-to" drumming shoes brand-wise or genre-wise (skate shoes, combat boots, flip-flops, etc.)      

DR: I very recently bought some dress shoes and for some reason the lack of grip on those things are like a free jazzer's dream.

Tour Poster via Dane Rousay's Facebook Page - Photo by Oscar Moreno

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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.”

Tonight This Morning

Welcome to Tonight This Morning hosted by John Oliv... I mean, so yea, we may have ripped off their name but only kind of, sort of.

In this space FWN previews the Fort Night ahead so you don't have to.   

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Be yourself this fine Friday Fort Night!

Here's a quick look at three good hangs happenin' in Fort Worth tonight.

1. Friendship Bracelets, Kyoto Lo-fi, Dead Sullivan, Warren Heuristic at The B-Side

Image via The B-Side Facebook Event Page

Here's a great opportunity to check out Fort Worth's newest DIY spot, The B-Side at Green Audio.

The B-Side is the brainchild of Ben Napier (Sally Majestic, Bogus Green, Green Audio Productions).

Just when you think one person couldn't do anything more for the scene, right? Napier does so much for the scene that we are starting to wonder if he's some kind of music cyborg from the future ... he just can't be human!!

Doors open at 8pm, music starts at 9pm. Full event details here.

2. Whiskey Folk Ramblers, Luke McGlathery (CD RELEASE), Michael Lee at Lola's

"Sex in the Mornin'" from McGlathery's new record - Written by Nicholas Ginbey

New music from Luke McGlathery? 

What other reason does one need to attend this show??? I think I'll stop typing now.

Music starts at 10pm w/ Michael Lee. Full event details here.

3. Tattoo Expo Afterparty feat. Royal Sons, Novakain, Gypsy Sun Revival at The Aardvark

Image via The Aardvark's Facebook Page

Do you like tattoos? Yes.

Do you like Royal Sons? Yes. 

Do you like BBQ? Yes.

Okay then, this show is for you!!

Get free admission with your tattoo expo wristband or it's $10 at the door. Full event details here.

BONUS: Here's a Royal Sons promo viddy hose to get ya hype for tonight!

Have fun kids!

xoxo,

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 - Beach Priest's "My Bestie Done Left Me"

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 Beach Priest's 2016 album COOL YOU GONR. 

And oh yeah, btw, Beach Priest performs tonight at The Boiled Owl Tavern!

This is a FREE show with a suggested $5 donation and the bill features a great mix of local electronic acts in the form of Loose Pony, Blood Handsome, and Starbass Laboratories.

Music starts at 9pm, full event details posted here.

Image via Beach Priest's Soundcloud

We're pretty set in our ways for the I Like This Song series. We never say much about the music itself besides, "I like this song."

However, in this series, we DO rather enjoy fleshing out album concepts; song and album titles, album visuals, etc., pretty much everything but the music itself.

On BP's Soundcloud page he notes that he "wrote this (album) about the end of my closest friendship."

Thought to myself, "I like where this is going." 

Then I noted the album title, "Hmm, like it again."

Then this song title stood out in an album's worth of amazing song titles.

Lastly, I finally listened to the song and the deal was sealed! 

I recommend giving the whole album a listen but given we had to choose one, I felt "My Bestie Done Left Me" set the tone for the record.  

I also thought the snail pic chosen as the album cover art meshed well with the record's theme. I mean who hasn't had a friendship that felt like it plodded along, leaving a trail of slime behind in its wake??

Now then, get me a bottle and put me on a beach ... we'll provide the message ...

FWN cannot provide a tracking number for this message

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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.”

Fortress Festival Interview - Peter Hook

Today we are extremely honored to have Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order, Peter Hook & The Light) talk to us about his experience playing synths, his favorite places to visit on tour, and BONUS ALERT: we got the scoop on what to expect from his upcoming Fortress Festival performance!

We'd also like to welcome Lyle Brooks, who sometimes exists as The Flashbulb (IG:@flashbulbtx) to the FWN family. Tho his vision comes and goes, we are pleased to report his ears are in working order. 

For tix and more info on Fortress Festival, click here.

UPDATE (05/01/2017): FWN captured live performance photos of Peter Hook & The Light's mystifying Fortress Festival performance! Scroll to the end of the interview to view the gallery. Enjoy! 

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Image via Peter Hook & The Light Facebook Page - Courtesy James Masters

1. Speaking from personal experience, your bass work was a major influence on many adolescents who obtained bass guitars. Repeating tracks, I'd hope to glean an invisible force beneath the bass lines. What were the sounds you sought when you set out playing? 

Well at first I didn't really have a plan & did not really set out to do anything - I didn't even know what a bass guitar was! But we worked very hard to master our instruments and I eventually began to develop a way of playing that I felt was a bit more interesting than what I'd heard from other bass players. I really liked to play high up the neck which was quite novel & Ian Curtis in particular encouraged me to keep doing that. It became my calling card so to speak - I found certain guitars and certain pedals that allowed me to further develop that sound and I have stuck with them ever since.

2. What were your first experiences with synths? How would you say the instrument most impacted music making for you? 

It took a while to get to grips with them to be honest - especially when compared to Bernard and Steve who were a lot more technologically minded than I was - I was the guy who just wanted to rock out on the guitars all the time! But eventually I got my head around it all and was able to contribute plenty of ideas on synths and sequencers as well as on the bass. It all had a big impact on our music as you can tell when you listen to early New Order tracks when compared to tracks from 10 or 15 years later.

3. So great to hear these songs again with fresh life behind them, was there much fuss from the die-hard loyalists about The Light's versions?

It was weird because a lot of the criticism which we received was before we even started playing - people were saying that I shouldn't be doing it & that it wasn't right without the others. But then when we started playing and people could see that we did a good job and showed the songs the care and respect that they deserved, it all got a lot easier. And now after 7 years of touring with The Light I would like to think that everyone knows how good a job we do and we have been very successful all around the world.

4. How has the experience been like working with the Classical Hacienda project? 

It's been a very difficult thing to put together just because it's very hard to achieve that perfect marriage between dance music and classical music. It's also very hard from an organisational standpoint simply because there are so many people involved - 70 in the orchestra and what feels like 70 more on the crew. But it has been a great experience to see how all those people work, the musicians are amazing, and it's been a very rewarding one because all of the shows so far have been great.

5. Any new cities you've discovered on this tour? Favorite spots to return? 

I'm always excited to still be visiting new places - it's amazing to go somewhere new after 40 years of touring as a musician. A couple of years ago we made it to Mongolia to play at a festival which was amazing, a great experience. And it was with the Light that I also made it to other places for the first time too - Israel, Russia, Chile, China... It has been great to take the music all around the world again. I am always keen to return everywhere!

6. Can fans expect performances from any particular records or will you survey both New Order and Joy Division? Does a version of "Tokyo Joe" ever make its way into a set list? 

Well at the moment at headline shows on this tour we are playing both Substance albums by Joy Division & New Order in full, it's almost a 3 hour show! But at the festival in Fort Worth we have just been asked to play a bit of everything, from both bands, which to be honest is probably better to do at a festival. We'll be playing all the hits! As for Tokyo Joe no we have never played that one but who knows! It's a killer bassline...

7. Five years on, how has the Music Industry Management & Promotion Programme at Central Lancashire fared? Brilliant Idea, I'm curious if other you've seen other institutions developing similar concentrations? 

I'm very proud of the programme and was delighted to be asked to become involved. The staff at the University and Tony Rigg in particular have done a fantastic job. The students enjoy the course and it gives them hands on experience in the music industry which is great. The numbers of people enrolling in the course keeps increasing every year which is a great credit.

Fortress Festival is right around the corner!!

UPDATE (5/1/2017): Fort Worth Noise's Prewitt Scott-Jackson snapped some photos of Peter Hook & The Light's Fortress Festival performance! (click thumbnail to enlarge)

Peter Hook & The Light perform at Fortress Festival - Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

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about the word writer person:

Lyle Brooks sometimes exists as The Flashbulb (IG:@flashbulbtx). Among a plethora of other cool things & happenings, Lyle has fetched water for John Cale, made copies for Morton Subotnick and once lit Jim Jarmusch's cigarette out in front of a Merzbow show. He has eaten Mexican food with Fungi Girls and Italian food with Yells at Eels and documented them both. Tho his vision comes and goes, we are pleased to report his ears are in working order. 

I Like This Song - Acid Carousel's "Higher Than The Beatles!"

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 title track from Acid Carousel's forthcoming double LP, Higher Than The Beatles!

On March 7th the band announced the album will be released via Fort Worth's Dreamy Life Records, due to hit stores.. what do ya know, on April 20th.

Fresh off their successful Acid Spring Break !!! tour, you can catch the Acid Carousel cult in Fort Worth early this Friday night for Happy Hour at the Dreamy Life Records store. Event starts at 6pm, full details here.

Album Cover via Dreamy Life Records Bandcamp / Band Photo by Annie Nelson

Before delving into our expert musical analysis I'd like to give a hearty FWN s/o to Acid Carousel for all of the above.

I swear by every forest goddess I worship that between the music video and the album cover, the visuals associated with this record coulda made Utopiates' author Richard Blum blush.

"Higher Than The Beatles" is a bold claim to be sure but the Acid Carousel gang seem to back it up. I'll frame it this way: more than any other band in the 'plex, I wanna be on-board THIS band's tour bus.

Know what I'm saying?? 

The Acid Carousel Handbook perhaps?

Oh, that's right. Now I owe y'all a highly sophisticated musical opinion. Hmm, let's see....

Me: I LIKE THIS SONG! WHY AM I TYPING IN ALL CAPS?? IDK. FUCK IT. I THINK IT'S BECAUSE I LIKE THIS SONG!

Someone: Maybe it's because you took a lot of acid to find your mode to write this article? 

Me: IDK AF. I LIKE THIS SOOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG!!!GGGG!!!GGG!!GG!GG!  

Image via Acid Carousel'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.”