I Like This Song - Siberian Traps' "Lemon Balm"

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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A film by Peter Marsh, shot in Fort Worth, Texas. "Lemon Balm" is from the upcoming Siberian Traps album Indicator, to be released on Dreamy Life Records on June 9, 2017. "Lemon Balm" words and music by Seth Reeves, Chiefchickencharlie Publishing. Performed by Siberian Traps.

Today's featured song is the lead single from Siberian Traps' forthcoming LP Indicator, a Dreamy Life Records jam sandwich 'bout to hit your ear mouths on June 9th.

The 'Traps are set - c'mon, I know you liked that pun - to celebrate the album's release this Friday night at Shipping & Receiving with Son of Stan + Programme + Super Secret Records' New Berlin.

Party starts at 8pm, full event details posted here.

Siberian Traps - Photo greatness by Walt Burns

Before we move forward, y'all should know there's a killer write-up on Indicator posted over at Aesthetic Magazine; highly recommend you give it a read. The article provides some wonderful insights into the music video's production process as well.

And now I'm gonna talk about actual irl Lemon Balm for a few 'graphs because that's how we do here at FWN.

Lemon Balm: The flower that holds the power

Lemon Balm or 'Sweet Melissa' as it is commonly known, has several medicinal properties, making it one of the most beloved plants in the history of humankind (at least for the past 2,000 years anyway).

More so than anything else, Lemon Balm serves as a mild sedative that helps curb stress and anxiety. HELLO! I'm so familiar with stress and anxiety my old law firm was called Scott-Jackson, Stress, & Anxiety LLP.

I've grown Lemon Balm for the past 15 years, I mean, golly, it's practically another family member with its social status resting somewhere between our dog and our goldfish. So one can imagine my delight when the 'Traps dropped this single and music vid.

When I watched the video I perceived a visual representation of Lemon Balm taking hold, the embodiment of its medicinal properties slowly starting to activate.

The video begins with Cameron Smith (War Party) walking alone, robotically striding forward passing by other folks seemingly stuck in the same manic cycle of day-to-day stress.

However, as the video progresses, you can clearly witness the exact moment the 'Balm hits with Smith breaking free of that mechanical pattern via some wicked carefree dance moves (check the 2:55 mark of the video).

The rest of the video's cast subsequently break away as well, taking in a friendly tennis match en route to fully escaping the 'day-to-day' anxiety of the human hamster wheel. Truly fascinating imagery created by the video's director, Peter Marsh (also War Party).      

Big final s/o and congrats to Siberian Traps on the new album and music video, can't wait to get our hands on the record this Friday.

Lookie y'all, this was a lost cause from the start, they had me at Lemon Balm ... I like this song.

Radness gig poster for the album release show - Poster Design by Tony Ferraro 

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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.”

I Like This Song - Majik Taylor's "Hold On, Sanity"

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 lead single from Majik Taylor's forthcoming debut LP Bad Faces, a Get With It! Records joint flying your way May 12th.

As fate would have it, Majik Taylor is slated to perform this Friday night (May 12th) at Fort Worth's newest venue Main at South Side (aka MASS) with Signals & Alibis + ATX'er Julian Neel.

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

There's so much magic happening in this Majik Taylor musak vid-yo that we are officially changing our name to David Blaine Noise. Srsly, I already fwd'd the directive to our IT guy. 

Look, we try to hide our bias for everything Get With It! but THEY KEEP MAKING HITS! (More hits than Sony anyways).

I mean, what would you have us do? 

Get With It! Logo via GWI Facebook Page

Now, let's see here.. what clever but not-too-clever way can we go about breaking down this song??

Hmm??

Well, Shia doing a pretty great job of it.

Or should we go full Olsen twin?

G.O.B. perhaps??

Not sure which GIF best represents our feelings towards this track, but I do know this: I like this song. 

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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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

I Like This Song - Animal Spirit's "Doom Surf"

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 and accompanying music video comes from Animal Spirit and their soon-to-be-released album "This is Relevant," due out in February.

New music from this wondrous Fort Worth band started my 2017 on the right foot when they released the above vid for "Doom Surf" this past New Year's Day.    

If this track is a harbinger of what's to come, get stoked about their new record Fort Worthians.

Wait for it. Wait for it.

#Wait4It

*waiting*

*still waiting*

*ok, this is getting ridiculous*

I.

like.

this.

song.

Image via Animal Spirit'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 - Sudie, War Party, The Cush at Barcadia

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

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This week we are delighted to feature Cody Soape's dreamcicle of a poster for a show taking place Monday Dec. 19th at Barcadia (Fort Worth location, duh!). The astral lineup of Sudie, War Party, and The Cush make this gig poster extra sidereal. 

The ice cream cone-shaped design cross-pollinates divinely with the stratified imagery of planet Earth's delicious layers. My eyes wish to devour their way down to the seaweed flavored bottom, but alas, my ravenous craving is counter-balanced by my desire to slowly take in every inch of strata as I move down its celestial ladder slide.

The Frank Stella/Peter Max-ish color palette drive it home for me. The colors man, the colors. My word. Artists like Cody Soape make our job easy.

Side bonus: below are some music viddyoze from the night's lineup - see you fellow Fort Worthians Monday. 

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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.”