One of the coolest batch of tunes to come out of Fort Worth in the past couple of weeks is from … Los Angeles? Fort Worth native Jordan Richardson decamped for L.A. years ago to pursue rock stardom –– and everything, well, everything went pretty much as planned. For the past few years, he’s been the drummer in the Relentless7, a guitar-splendored quartet fronted by major-label college-radio superstar Ben Harper. Amid his Relentless7 work, Richardson has also managed to form his own band, the stoner-rock collective EPIC RUINS, featuring an array of notable Fort Worth musos, including bassist/co-songwriter Steve Steward (Vorvon), vocalist/rhythm guitarist Sam Anderson (Quaker City Night Hawks), and saxophonist Jeff Dazey (Josh Weathers & The True+Endeavors, Gunga Galunga, Dazey Chain). And Richardson also has managed to do his own thing. Up until recently, Son of Stan was a DJ sort of thing. Now it’s a band. Kinda. Posted now on www.soundcloud.com/son-of-stan are several rough mixes of songs that Richardson has written, performed, and recorded by himself. They sound like the handiwork of at least three people, but he’s the only captain of the ship. He’s planning to do five more tunes to comprise an album to be released digitally soon. With the exception of one track, the acoustic “Motorcycle,” the sound here is Old Wave pop, all bouncing guitars, synth washes, and bubbly beats, a little Clues-era Robert Palmer and Buildings and Food-era Talking Heads, everything laced with Richardson’s wispy, distant, echoing voice. The first track, “Corsica,” is a snappy jaunt that has a hauntingly sweet, chamber-pop vibe that’s somehow unique yet oddly familiar. Richardson plans to perform live soon.
Everyone who’s anyone in the Fort Worth blues scene will perform on Sunday at Keys Lounge (5677 Westcreek Ct., 817-292-8627) as part of a memorial concert for legendary Fort Worth blues-rock guitarist Mace Maben, who lost his battle with cancer last week at the age of 60. Johnny Mack, James Hinkle, Josh Weathers, Gunzy Trevino, Guthrie Kennard, Bobby Counts, Buddy Whittington, Holland K. Smith, and others will all be there. A memorial service for Maben will be on Saturday at 2 p.m. at All Saint’s Episcopal Church, 5001 Crestline Rd. in Fort Worth.
For years, keyboardist/vocalist Daron Beck and drummer Jon Teague played in The Great Tyrant, a doom-metal trio whose third member, bassist Tommy Atkins, died a couple of years ago. After a short respite, Beck and Teague decided to go on musically though no longer as TGT. As the orchestral-doom-goth duo Pinkish Black, Beck and Teague have played dozens of shows over the years but have only recently been able to pause long enough to do some recording. The result is Pinkish Black’s eponymous debut album, a vinyl-only release set for May 10 on the North Texas label Handmade Birds. Recorded in May at The Echo Lab in Denton with Matthew Barnhart (The New Year, The Polyphonic Spree, The Drams) and mastered by James Plotkin (Khante, OLD), Pinkish Black clocks in at a little over a half hour. The Handmade Birds folks got turned on to the band from a friend. Vinyl, Teague said, “requires a more conscious consumption, as well as offering a larger, more physical piece of art.” He also imagines that the material will be available digitally after the platter has been out for a while. Heavy stuff.
Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.
