Erykah Badu and her DJ collective, the Cannabinoids, will represent their state at this weekend's Red Bull Sound Clash event. The concert is tied in with Texas-OU festivities; it pits Badu's group of locals against Oklahoma-based indie-pop act Shiny Toy Guns in a friendly battle of the bands.
The free concert will happen Friday night at the AT&T Plaza in front of American Airlines Center. To find out more about Sound Clash, we caught up with Badu by phone from her Dallas home last week. We also managed to ask her about her frequent tweeting, the second volume of her New Amerykah album and more.
How's everything?
Good. Everything's good. I'm getting ready to go to Russia in the morning.
What's in Russia?
I have a show. I think this is my second year having a show there, in Moscow.
What's your impression of it?
It's beautiful. The architecture is really beautiful. It's just like you would imagine. Very windy. Kinda reminds me of a mini-Miami though. Very Westernized.
Tell me about the Sound Clash event coming up. How'd you get involved with it and what will it entail
It's a Red Bull function, and how it works is, one band battles another band with a little friendly rivalry. There's a big stage, and we go back and forth doing a combination of one another's songs and an interpretation of another song, then we kinda end with a finale. We get together and meet each other and rehearse beforehand.
Kinda like the tap-dancing "challahnge" on that old 'Cosby Show' episode?
[Laughs.] Yeah, challahhhhhnge. We're gonna go against Shiny Toy Guns.
Are you familiar with their music or getting familiar as you get ready for the event?
Oh, yeah, the Cannabinoids and I are studying their stuff and listening. We've had a couple of powwows about the kind of sounds we want to use to change their music up a little. I'm even more interested to see how they are going to interpret our songs.
The Roots have done a Sound Clash event before. Have you gotten any insight from them?
I haven't talked to them about it. ?uestlove's been pretty busy. He's working on the Jimmy Fallon show. But I do plan to get some inside information about it from him.
I had my second opportunity this year to witness singer-songwriter Greg Laswell's (above) greatness. Like his Prophet Bar appearance several months ago, his set at the Granada was simple and spare, though this time, he didn't even have a small backing band, it was just us and him. His voice was in fine form, especially on favorites "How the Day Sounds" and "I'm Not Out." Bravo! But when you come back, Greggie, would ya please bring everyone required to play "Days Go On"? Please?
Greg was actually the opening act for Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop (below), the lead singer and lead guitarist, respectively, of the highly regarded Scottish alt-rock band Travis. Not being familiar with their work, I hadn't planned on staying for long, but Healy's mesmerizing vocals and hilarious stories -- which required a slideshow -- kept me glued to my seat. Fabulous night overall.
On a related note, the Granada show was all seated -- even on the floor. I'd never seen an arrangement like that there, where guests were ushered to their seats. I kind of loved it!
Shout-out to my friend, Elijah Wheaton, for sharing his terrific photos of the show
The five-man Broken Lizard comedy troupe has won over fans of naughty, juvenile humor with a silly-movie trifecta: Super Troopers, Club Dread and Beerfest.
Now the guys are on a comedy-show tour promoting The Slammin' Salmon (redband trailer here), their new flick about restaurant waiters competing with each other for a cash prize (it hits Dallas in December).
I got a chance to talk to cast members Kevin Heffernan (who directs the film) and Jay Chandrasekhar (who takes a break from his usual directing role) in advance of their stop Saturday at the Lakewood Theater.
Heffernan said he jumped at the chance to direct when the writers strike kept Chandrasekhar (who also helmed the film version of The Dukes of Hazzard) from doing it.
"I had always been involved in post-production and had good knowledge of how it all works," Heffernan said. "It was a pretty comfortable situation for me because it was the same family of people I've always worked with."
The family vibe is apparent on the current comedy tour.
"Our roots are in doing live sketch shows," Heffernan said. "This year we did some live interaction with the audience at South by Southwest and got the idea of doing this tour. It's original sketches, each guy's stand-up, and on top of that we do characters from the movies."
"This weekend we'll do Houston, Austin and Dallas in three days, so we'll just get a van like the old times and drive around."
TICKET GIVEAWAY: Want to be one of the audience members helping the Broken Lizard guys out on Saturday? I've got five pairs of tickets up for grabs. Be one of the first five to e-mail hhauk@quickdfw.com with the subject line "I'd like a litre of cola." Tickets are gone; thanks for playing!
And read on after the jump for my complete Q&A with Chandrasekhar, who plays a character in the new movie named Nuts.
Denton folk troubadour Daniel Folmer is beginning the fall with another new album, a follow-up to January's unexpectedly poppy collection The Roaring Twenties. This new set, Dead End, is a return to the lovelorn, lonesome sound for Folmer, and will be released with a show Saturday at J&J's in Denton.
The singer actually recorded Dead End's tracks - including the goodbye-letter title track and the lilting love ballad "Open Arms" - early last year with producer John Congleton.
"It was written right during a time when my girlfriend had left town and my closest friends were all moving away at once," Folmer told us in an e-mail. "Basically, it explores the ideas of loss and being left behind to sort out the mess. Though I was very active in school, music, hockey and work, I felt very much alone and very sedentary without my comrades."
Let's take a moment to meet the rappers and the producer for this year's Texas-OU hip-hop battle.
PIKAHSSO (rapping for Oklahoma)
A.K.A.: "Buck Buchanan," a nickname my granddaddy called me, 'cause I was big when I was a kid.
Favorite rapper: Big Daddy Kane
Favorite football player: Tony Dorsett. When I was little I used to look up to him for some reason.
If you played football, what position would you be? Probably wide receiver. I've always thought that was a cool position. And all the cheerleaders love wide receivers.
Why you should win the battle: Because I'm the underdog as OU, being that we're in Texas land. Nothing more beautiful than an underdog winning a championship, battle, game or whatever.
Go right here to see Pikahsso and Tahiti duke it out for the title. Watch the video, download the track (produced by VohnBeatz), leave your comments and vote for a winner.
I'm one of those freaks who never owned a copy of Maurice Sendak's short-but-brilliant book about a kid who deals with his anger by going somewhere else, somewhere wild. But I made sure I was well-versed going into Monday's preview screening of the new movie adaptation of it, helmed by, ahem, Adaptation director Spike Jonze.
There was significant hemming and hawing online and elsewhere (OK, pretty much online) about whether Jonze would alter the simple, iconic nature of Sendak's story with his quirked-out indie tendencies. Well, the cynics should rest here, because the movie stays as true to the book as it possibly can, with the understanding that a screenplay's going to have to be fleshed out.
For one, Max's mother (Catherine Keener) is a lot more sympathetic from the beginning of the story than the mother in the book. And there's more explanation as to why she and Max (played by uber-talented child actor Max Records) would have the kind of falling out that would drive him away into his own imagination.
The monsters young Max encounters in his imaginary world have names and personalities, and are voiced by a ragtag group of brilliant actors. He meets them in a tumultuous moment for their monster family: The lovable but irascible Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) is throwing a kind-of tantrum, to the dismay of the other monsters (including a passive agressive Catherine O'Hara, a meek Paul Dano and a loyal-but-frustrated Chris Cooper). He's mad for lots of reasons, but one that immediately becomes clear is the absence of KW (voiced by Six Feet Under's Lauren Ambrose) from their group activity.
V is for Visitors, because the State Fair of Texas wouldn't be much without all of you! Part of the fun is people watching, as you roam around the fairgrounds. You never know who (or what) you might see, so have a camera ready!
Were you captured by our cameras this past weekend at The Dubliner? Click on the picture to see Quick's Club Cam gallery. And check back next Thursday for a new slideshow.
Three former members of Sorta all have solo projects now. Trey Johnson is riding high on the strength of his melodic pop collection Mount Pelee. Danny Balis has enjoyed healthy sales and critical acclaim for his old-school country album Too Much Living. And Ward Williams will be in from Nashville, where he's chasing his music dreams. This bill is dubbed a "song swap," so expect some nice collaborations. 8 p.m. All Good Cafe, 2934 Main St. $10. 214-742-5362. allgoodcafe.com.
Denton's punk-influenced Uptown Bums are young and unbridled, but with a keen sense of melody. They open for buzzed-about headliner Vivian Girls at this show. Also featuring Dallas' True Widow. Get there early. 9 p.m. The Cavern, 1914 Greenville Ave. $12-$15. 214-828-1914. thecaverndallas.com.
Living legends don't get much better than Buddy Guy, who has been singing the blues and wailing on his guitar for 50 years, and inspiring such guitarists as Clapton and Hendrix along the way. Catch the Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member for a sturdy dose of Chicago blues. 8 p.m. House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. $27.50-$85. ticketmaster.com.
G4 Ent. and Party Chaser present the Texas/OU Kickoff Bash at Plush. DJ ASAP spins hip-hop and dance. Ladies enjoy complimentary champagne until 11 p.m. 10 p.m. 723 N. Pearl St. $10 for guys. 1-888-657-5874. plushdallas.com.
Extended happy hour at Barcadia. Happy hour specials until 8 p.m. Doors open at 4 p.m. 1917 N. Henderson Ave. No cover. 214-821-7300. barcadiadallas.com.
Access Dallas presents the Rivalry Party at Purgatory. Those wearing Texas or OU shirts get in free until 11 p.m. Beer pong and flip cup tournaments all night. Best body contest for ladies. Doors open at 10 p.m. 2208 Main St. $10. 972-567-3068. accessdallas.com.
DJ Woody Rosen at Excuses. Woody spins house and neo-soul, following a spoken-word presentation. Music starts at 10 p.m. 3025 Main St. No cover. 214-741-1111. excusesdeepellum.com.
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