I can’t remember the last time I had a musical experience. I’ve been to a bunch of shows over the past year, and a couple of ’em have had their moments. But none, in my admittedly defective memory, incorporated visual and dance elements or did anything that created some sort of vibe.
There was that Spoonfed Tribe show at the Ridglea Theater that was pretty cool, and The Lion King in Dallas was tight, but Spoonfed was mostly a concert with groovy lighting and The Lion King an out-and-out musical. Maybe you’re happy there’s not much of what I’m talking about – the concept of an experiential band goes hand in hand with “expressing yourself” and toking out and universal health coverage and a dozen other somewhat flowery, somewhat pollyannish ideological subtexts that “normal” Fort Worth wants no part of.
But we don’t care about the naysayers, just The Par-tay, and one of the finest bringers of The Party is the Skin and Bones Drum Cult, a collective of artists from locals Peach Truck Republic, Kobetich and Huber, Confusatron, Pablo and the Hemphill 7, Sleeplab, and Spoonfed. Also involved are musicians from AAA, former Fort Worthian Daniel Katsuk’s solo-group project whose members, including Katsuk, now call Denver home. The Cult doesn’t play out much, probably because, well, Katsuk calls Denver home, but when they do, it’s the kind of experience that’s rare around here and worth the time. On Friday, the Day of the Dead, Skin and Bones will perform at Embargo, 210 E. 8th St. in downtown Fort Worth (or “SoDo,” if you’re nasty). There’s no cover, and The Party starts at 10 p.m. Call the club at 817-870-9750 or visit www.myspace.com/theskinandbonesdrumcult.
… OK, tonight (Wed.) is the debut of an unnamed trio, but before you stop reading, just know that A.) they’re opening for The Burning Hotels, B.) they’re built from two-parts Vincent, an outfit from California with roots here, and one-part The Hotels and The Red Herrings, and C.) they’re excellent – my humble opinion based primarily on the songs on www.myspace.com/vincent. The show is at The Moon, 2911 W. Berry St. Call the club at 817-926-9600. … Elsewhere tonight (Wed.), local singer-songwriter and, until now, perennial sideman John Zaskoda is celebrating the release of his debut album, Low Budget/Hi-Fi, a collection of often Beatles-esque blues tunes – if you can imagine that – that were recorded intermittently over the past 10 years.
Adding to the disc’s musically brilliant luster is a crack group of backing musos, including bassist John Shook, organist Andrew Skates, dobro player Roger Ray, harmonica player Gary Grammer, and drummer Brandon Wallace. There are moments of straight bar-blues, and Zaskoda’s voice has that back-of-the-throat growl that’s common among the style’s most famous practitioners, John Mayer and Kenny Wayne Shepard, who are both young white guys but sound like 90-year-old black men. The disc even offers a little Bobby McFarrin-ish scatting and beat-boxingr. The show is at The Mule Pub, 5731 Locke Ave. Call the club at 817-732-5399 or visit www.myspace.com/johnzaskoda.
Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.
