DEE DEE ROCKS… BUT STILL NEEDS HELP:
Dee Dee Williams, former singer of Lost in Space, promoter, original owner of Texas Trash, and iconic figure of the local scene since the ’80s, was paralyzed from the waist down after an accident years ago and now lives in a rehab home. The “Dee Dee Rocks Reloaded” fundraiser will be at Nightrocker Live ($5, 605 San Pedro) on July 6 from 7pm to 2am and will feature live music (Hogbitch, Scorpio Rising, Dixie Hammers, and more), DJs (DJ Plata, DJ Viejo), 15-minute chair massages by Tranquil Therapeutic Massage and other surprises I don’t want to spoil. The big headliner comes from the ’70s and ’80s: Austin/SA’s The Next, which reunite with all but one of the original members. The only “problem” with this fundraiser is that this particular Saturday has lots of tempting shows. My suggestion: let’s help Dee Dee and, if you’re strong enough to resist the fundraiser’s surprises, you can go to any of the other following shows:
PURO PINCHE, SORT OF:
In Los Angeles I knew about “pinche,” but the “puro pinche” expression is all San Antonio and belongs to everyone. Nevertheless, to call a local rock festival “Puro Pinche WTF Festival” is a little… misleading, to say the least, since popular Puro Pinche music blogger Stephanie Guerra is not involved in the event. Having said this, the WTF Fest unites lots of up and coming bands (Taco City, The Zukinis, Use of Time, Sideline Rookies and 11 more) Saturday at Thirsty Camel Bar and Lounge ($5, 3pm-2am, 5307 McCullough), and I love how organizer Eric Barragán plugged the show on FB: after posting the lineups, showtimes and general info, he closes by saying “THESE ARE NOT APPROVED TIMES,” “NONE WILL BE CHANGED,” “TIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE,” and “BANDS WILL NOT BE IN ORDER TO FLYER.” A classic WTF moment.
SUMMER LUST:
To make things even more difficult, the Summer Makes Me Want You Fest at White Rabbit ($10, 2410 N St. Mary’s) on Saturday has 17 bands (including Houston’s The Blackout Heist, Florida’s Set & Setting, a handful of Austin bands and locals like Lonely Horse and Islands & Tigers), plus art by Rock Salt Art, Vijay Isham, and others, making this arguably the best local summer art/music fest.
BAND TO WATCH:
Violet Sphinx is a three-piece psychedelic/garage band recording their first album, tentatively due in time for Halloween. Formed last summer with Sheila Vásquez on guitar, Josh Delarosa on drums, and Adrian Songbird on guitar, they suffered a setback when Vásquez got into an accident. “Basically an asshole in an SUV ran me over on my moped,” she told the Current. “I’m still dealing with this whole cheating death thing and actually just received two surgeries, so through this healing period we are working hard to get our album out and get our sound down tight.” It appears the hard work is paying off. “They played with us at Jack’s,” Langton Drive’s Christine Rebel said. “They are really good and sound like the Pixies. I was blown away when I saw them.”
SPEAKING OF WHICH…
Langton Drive is searching for a studio to record their second EP, possibly five or six songs to be released in August followed by a couple of mini-tours and a full-length in the winter or early 2014. The mini-tours in and out of Texas will include East Coast dates with Vanilla Sugar in October.
KUDOS TO:
The Copper Gamins, the Mexican (and honorary San Antonian) garage/blues duo signed to Austin/SA label Saustex for playing L.A. gigs at La Cita, The Echo, and The Satellite late last month.
Send your scoop to [email protected].
