Crosstown Sounds 7.31 // Creature Feature: It’s All in a Name

Yes, I am the animal-loving nut in our office who loves a play on words and a great pun. Am I the wildest person on staff? Not even close. Well, wait. Maybe? Either way, with the Crosstown Sounds column coinciding with our annual Creature Comforts animals issue this week, I asked my music contacts some, uh, squirrelly questions along with my usual gig-info request. For example, if their band is named after a creature of some sort, I wanted to know why. Our gang did not disappoint.

When Cut Throat Finches first formed, they were on the hunt for a bird name for reasons still unknown. “ ‘Eagles’ were taken, ‘hawks’ taken, ‘mockingbirds’ taken, ‘doves’ and ‘quails’ taken,” says frontman Sean Russell. “Nobody wanted to be a ‘finch.’ Then we found a specific finch and took it! Tiny little worm-eating shitbirds.”

Cut Throat has only one gig this month, “opening” for Santana and Counting Crows at Dickies Arena (1911 Montgomery St, Fort Worth, 817-402-9000) on Thu, Aug 15.

“More birds!” Russell said. “And by ‘opening,’ I mean, we play outside the event on the grounds for free, but it still counts.”

One “hawk”-taking band is back in action after some time away from local stages. On Fri, Aug 30, Fort Worth’s house-shaking, soulful Quaker City Night Hawks will swoop into Tulips FTW (112 St. Louis Av, Fort Worth, 817-367-9798), the site of at least two other animalized gigs: Monkeys on a String (Sat, Sep 28) and Blu DeTiger (Sun, Sep 29).

Taking their name from a shepherd/lab mix, Sheprador is a sharp, new Americana band from the Fort whose second-ever show is Sat, Aug 17, at Double Wide (3510 Commerce St, Dallas, 469-872-0191).

“Honestly,” frontman Garrett North recently told us, “I didn’t have any intentions of playing shows, let alone go on the road … but … we have several [concerts] lined up. Part of being in a band around here is that you see the same bands at the same places every five weeks or so. I want to get out to Denton and Dallas, Austin, wherever we can go.”

The character that Darstar is named after has an owl as a familiar, hence “we use owl props onstage,” says frontwoman Lisa Hardaway. The band’s next show is at Club Dada (2720 Elm St, Deep Ellum, 214-742-3400, $15) on Mon, Sep 9, with Spring Palace, Teal Stripe, and a supergroup of sorts coming through Big D on the way to support Built to Spill in California. Featuring members of Rocket from the Crypt, Pinback, and No Knife, miniaturized hail from San Diego and specialize in indie rock.

Darstar also just released a new song. “Chubby Thighs” is available on all streaming services, and an unofficial video will have hit the innerwebs by the time you read this.

The guys from Slow Moving Snakes are helping Broke String Burnett & The Big Iron celebrate a new single at The Cicada (1002 S Main St, Fort Worth, @The_Cicada_FTW) at 9pm on Fri, Aug 30, along with Mighty Dark To Travel. Cover is $10. Snakes frontman Chad “Johnny Ponderosa” Bennett says the name of his country band was inspired by a couple Tom T. Hall songs. “There is a line in the song ‘I Love’ that says, ‘I love slow-moving trains.’ ”

Hall also wrote a famous little ditty from the 1970s called “Sneaky Snake.” “These are two songs I used to sing to — or play the record for — my sons,” Bennett said. “We would change up the lyrics to be funny. I thought ‘Slow Moving Snakes’ would be a good band name.”

Buzzy quartet The Crane Wives and their three-part harmonies will alight their perch in Michigan and descend upon Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall (122 E Exchange Av, Ste 200, Fort Worth, 817-900-9300) at 8pm on Sun, Oct 20. Tickets are $25.

While not named after any creature, Toxic Madness has a lead vocalist with a special, rabid stage name. “They call me the Tasmanian Devil because of the energy I put out during shows,” says frontman DJ. Toxic Madness’ next gig is 8pm Fri at Longhorn Ice House (1901 W Northwest Hwy, Dallas, 972-707-0884). Cover is $5. The band then plays the Haltom Theater (5601 Belknap St, Haltom City, 682-250-5678, $10) at 8pm on Fri, Aug 23, and Nine at the National (1401 Elm St, Deep Ellum, 469-726-4121, $15) at 8:30pm on Sun, Aug 25.

Simone Nicole will perform with Hayden Miller, Runaway Sky, and Kansas City as the Swallowtails (more birds!) at The Cicada (1002 S Main St, Fort Worth, @The_Cicada_FTW) at 7pm Sun. Cover is $10. Nicole will also have some free shows this month: at Fort Brewery (2737 Tillar St, Fort Worth, 817-923-8000) from 7pm to 10pm on Fri, Aug 9; at The Cicada from 4pm to 7pm on Sat, Aug 14, as part of an artist showcase with Gabby Minton and Jana Renee; at Heim BBQ River (5333 White Settlement Rd, Fort Worth, 682-707-5772) from 5pm to 8pm on Fri, Aug 16; and at the AC Hotel (101 W 5th St, Fort Worth, 682-291-0700) on Sat, Aug 17.

The Matthew Show’s namesake recently took in a heavily pregnant stray cat. “Now, I have three cats in my apartment,” he says happily. Find Matthew flying solo at some free shows: at Fort Brewery (2737 Tillar St, Fort Worth, 817-923-8000) at 3:30pm Sat; at Aloft Hotel (334 W 3rd St, Fort Worth, 817-885-7999) at 9pm on Sat, Aug 10 and 17; and at Heim BBQ River (5333 White Settlement Rd, Fort Worth, 682-707-5772) at 5pm on Sat, Aug 24.

More creatures will appear in this column in future months. After all, don’t you want to hear about Lyle the Therapy Gecko and GWAR coming to North Texas this fall? That’s what I thought. As for more non-animal-related gigs for August, see the extended version of this column at FWWeekly.com later this week.

“What about my band?” I’m glad you asked. If you’d like to be included in future Crosstown Sounds columns, please send an intro email to me at Jennifer@FWWeekly.com. I’d be glad to add you to my monthly … cattle call. Do it!

Looking for a pet-friendly apartment? Read about how Kessler Apartments is a haven for your furry friends in Living Local.