Monday, October 28, 2013

Featured Shows; Week of 10/27/13

Hello all my fellow Texas music goers! This week in DFW, there is plenty of live music to sufice your spooky Halloween party appetite. Without further ado, your weekly Live Music DFW featured shows:

Monday 10/28
Let's start off this week with a little Reggae Monday! Head on down to the Sundown at Granada to catch the David Willingham Project, a local act who has a residency at Sundown this month. Check them out, more show info here.



Tuesday 10/29
Tuesday marks a night of Jazz with 508 Park Ave at the Absinthe Lounge. Based here in Dallas, they are a crossover band that combines a unique sounds of Jazz, Funk, Rock and Soul. Show info here.



Wednesday 10/30
Smile Empty Soul, a band from California leads a Hard Rock-filled night at Trees. On Wednesday. Together since 1998, they've put out 6 studio albums, and 2 EPs. More show info can be found here.



Thursday 10/31
A night of spooky good fun, as we celebrate Halloween here in DFW at the House of Blues. Their event The Rocking Dead Halloween Extravaganza, will have musical acts on all stages throughout the night, as well as headliners Graceland Ninjas (Elvis Impersonator-fronted party band), and Here Come the Mummies, a Funk/R&B group out of Tennesee, that performs in full Mummy costumes. The whole night of music costs $15, additional show info can be found here.


Friday 11/1 A Live One, Phish tribute form Austin brings their famed Halloween show (Emulating Phish's Annual Costume Musical Set) to Dallas with 3 sets of music on the outdoor Stage. The costume album has not been disclosed yet, but previous years of A Live One's Halloween have been Prince's Purple Rain and the Blues Brothers Soundtrack. Friday at the Green Elephant, more show infor here.

Saturday 11/2
Granada is a funky good time with Galactic & Dirty Dozen on Saturday. Both hailing from New Orleans, this promises to be a night of Funk, ROck and Jazz. Together for their Halloween 3 night run, Galactic and Dirty Dozen will pack the house Saturday at 9pm. More show info here.


That's it for this week of live music in DFW! Thanks all for continuing to read, and please, we always love to recieve feed back so leave a comment or post on our FB page. Thanks everybody and keep jammin' my friends!
-SW

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Short Interview with Tyler Grant of Grant Farm

 So, last Friday, a buddy of mine and I went to Sundown at Granada looking for some free music. Not ever having heard of either band (that's right, this particular night was a double performance at Sundown.) we decided to take a chance.

While the act down on the main stage was very talented musically, I couldn't help but feel that JD and the Straight Shot was just an excuse for "lead singer" Jim Dolan (Owner of NY Knicks) to get up and sing karaoke to impress potential business contact. That being said, he did surround himself with many very talented musicians, and never missed a lyric (partially because he had a screen with lyrics on it).

The second group, who performed on the rooftop patio this evening, was Grant Farm, a Bluegrass Jam Band with ties to some major touring acts. These were the guys to see that night, and we knew it.

Former members of Leftover Salmon, The Drew Emmitt Band, Emmitt-Nershi Band, came together to form Grant Farm; a 4-piece group from Boulder Colorado which have featured in their performances members of The String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Motet, Head For The Hills, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Dumpstaphunk, Tony Rice, Larry Keel, Keller Williams, Jon Oates, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Disco Biscuits, Abigail Washburn and Peter Rowan. With the help of Thorn and stellar bassist Keith Moseley of The String Cheese Incident, the electric Grant Farm started rehearsing in early 2011. Performing locally lead to a hefty festival run including Yarmonygrass, Four Corners Folk Festival, NedFest, Fort Collins Bark n’ Bluegrass, Riverfront, and Harvestival.

 

At set break, I was able to get a short interview with the man behind the band; Tyler Grant.

Scott Wayne - How long have you all been playing together?
Tyler Grant - "We've been around for about three years, we started off as a Bluegrass group. Andy Thorn from Leftover Salmon and myself, we were in the Emmitt-Nershi Band and we started this as our side project. It then evolved into this sort of Rock 'n Roll/Rootsy group that it is now."

SW - So this is your first time playing in Dallas?
TG - "... in Texas, we're playing SXSW (South By Southwest); we're part of a group called Spokesbuzz that's based in Fort Collins, and they do a band exchange program with several different cities, Lafayette LA, Nashville, Asheville, and Fort Collins. But they also all of their groups from Colorado to SXSW for a showcase. We'll be part of the Spokesbuzz Showcase at SXSW this March. And this weekend we've got Poodie’s tomorrow night (10/12 outside of Austin), we've got the Saxon Pub in Austin on Sunday."

SW - So you are doing a little Texas Run then?
TG - "Yeah, and then we are opening three shows for Greensky Bluegrass in Baton Rouge, Mobile, and Memphis. And this whole tour is routing to Mulberry Mountain for The Yonder Mountain Harvest Fest. (10/17-19) It's a great festival, the same place they do Wakarusa."

SW - What do you enjoy most about playing with Grant Farm?

TG - "It's a fruition of all the efforts I want to put out and into the scene right now. I feel like we are giving it something that the scene needs, getting back to a little bit, kind of Rootsy, and Rock n' Roll, and Country...Of course Bluegrass influence because I am a Bluegrass guy. We're just putting it out there and trying to write the best songs we can, and really it's just happening; it's hard to explain. It's just happening and we're on the bus, love it!"

Seeing as there was a noise complaint, we never did get a second set, so when the official interview ended my buddy and I chilled with the guys in the band. I am now the official authority on Grant Farm's return to DFW, as they said I'll be the first to know! Next time we will blow them away with an excellent turn out, and we'll show 'em just how much we like Jam-Grass down here in Texas!

SW

Tyler Grant - Guitar/Vocal
Adrian Engfer - Bass/Vocal
Sean Macaulay - Drums/Vocal
Stephen Thurston - Keyboards/Vocal

Monday, October 14, 2013

Featured Shows; Week of 10/13/13

Hello readers, and welcome to another week of Live Music DFW's featured shows. This week there are some real treats, so many in fact that I could not feature them all here. So please, if nothing here appeals to you, please visit our event calendar linked to our Facebook page and the top of this blogspot. I hope ya'll enjoy the great music DFW has to offer this week, and now here is just a small taste of what you can find locally.

Monday 10/14
Ukulele music like you've never heard before. Jake Shimabukuro, alone and acoustic, brings all sorts of music to life with his lively Ukulele playing. He performs at the Granada Monday night, more info here.



Tuesday 10/15
Some Fort Worth Rock with Sally Majestic on Tuesday at Lola's Saloon. Openers include Thicker than Thieves, Lazy Summer, and our friends, The Effinays. More show info here.



Wednesday 10/16
Famed- Jazz Trumpeter and member of the "Fist Family of Jazz", Wynton Marsalis is to play at the Lincoln Center Orchestra in Bruton Theater. He, along with his whole family, are a house hold name in American Jazz. More info on that show is here.



Thursday 10/17
Folk superstars, Elephant Revival bring that Roots/Americana music to the Live Oak in Fort Worth Thursday. Currently on tour, Elephant Revival is a band on the festival circuit, and will be playing Yonder Mountain String Band's Harvest Festival this upcoming weekend. More show info here.



Friday 10/18
Swampy, Soulful Blues from JJ Grey & Mofro comes to the Granada on Friday night. These guys put on a funky, good show. Make sure to catch the afterparty next door with Gravity Feed at Sundown. Show info here.

 


Saturday 10/19
Starting on Friday, The Index Fest begins with Live Music DFW fan-favorites Larry G(ee) and Sister Sparrow (read Live Music DFW interview here). As for Saturday, headliners include Warpaint, Ishi, J. Roddy Walston, Glassjaw, and Marijuana Deathsquads. 2-day tickets will run $59, and a 1-day is $39. More info on the festival that takes over Deep Ellum can be found here.

 

That is it. I hope everyone enjoys their week of music, discovers something new (I know I did, post coming this week), and keep jammin' my friends.

SW