TYLER HICKS
Mark your calendars, call a babysitter, and put it in your BlackBerry (if you’re living in the year 2007) because Dan’s SilverLeaf is the place to be on Sunday, October 11th. In a move befitting the month of October, beloved Denton band Spooky Folk will headline a concert that includes Fort Worth’s Whiskey Folk Ramblers and Oak Cliff’s Siamese.
The show is a benefit for Bright Mosaic, a new autism therapy center started by Spooky Folk drummer Chris Brown (EDITOR's NOTE: Not that Chris Brown, y'all). The center was approved for opening, and now hopes to raise $5,000 to finalize construction costs. The event starts at 6 PM and includes food and raffle in addition to a silent auction and a limited run of band merchandise that cannot be found anywhere else. All proceeds will go to help Bright Mosaic build build an aquaponics greenhouse and science center for their students.
To gear up for the show, we talked to the members of psychedelic art pop band Siamese. Specializing in a blend of choreography and elaborate set designs, the group is made up of four faces that Denton audiences may find familiar: Teddy Georgia Waggy and Nicole Marxen-Myers of Moonbather and Mount Righteous, respectively, Fox & The Bird’s Paul Grass, and Paul Alonzo, who plays in Missile.
WDDI: Tell us about Siamese. How did y'all get started?
SIAMESE: Nicole and Teddy had been talking for almost three years about starting a band that had a visual and theatrical side, writing songs and making up story lines and character arcs as a way to inspire the set design and performance. They both really like glam rock musicals like Phantom of the Paradise, the concept of alternate personas and malleable identity.
But yeah, it was kind of a lavish and oversized undertaking that was hard to pull together until this year, when Paul and Paul joined. They're really solid musicians and songwriters who also like building things and making costumes and all that. Once we all started playing and writing together last January, everything fell into place.
How did you get involved with Bright Mosaic and the fundraiser event?
Chris, the founder, and Teddy have been friends for years, so she's gotten to be around to see Bright Mosaic develop from the beginning. Teddy would come over to his house and he'd have filled the basement with tilapia for an aquaponics system, or created a light installation room for the kids to have color therapy. The man is proactive.
What are you most excited about in regards to the show on the 11th?
Apart from the excitement of the school opening and the whole shebang, we're also excited to play with Spooky Folk. We've all loved their music and been friends with them for a while, and for Teddy they were part of the soundtrack of her angstiest, coming-of-age-iest years.
If you could pick one Siamese song that sums up the band, what would it be and why?
We all have different answers for this. There's a song Nicole wrote called Coyote that's kind of ominous and jittery, that's probably our dark side. There's one called Youth In Asia that has bummer lyrics but a really satisfying guitar solo at the end, that's probably our light side. The song on our website, Savage High, is the middle ground. It's got pop sensibility, but there's some fuzz creepers in there too. Teddy also tries to sing the chorus like she's Frank Sinatra. Mostly she and Nicole both just want to be old crooner dudes.
Apart from the show on the 11th, where can Siamese be seen in the coming weeks and months?
After the benefit our next show is in Norman, OK in November, and then we'll be back in Dallas on December 4th with Daniel Markham. We'll probably book some more stuff in between, though.
Thanks, Siamese!
Music and further information about the band can be found at their website and below are the dates and locations of the group’s upcoming shows.
- October 11th – Denton, TX at Dan’s SilverLeaf with Whiskey Folk Ramblers and Spooky Folk
- Nov. 14th – Norman, OK at Opolis with Josh Jones
- Dec. 4th – Dallas, TX at Sundown at Granada with Daniel Markham
Tyler Hicks is a writer and journalist from Dallas, TX. He enjoys Hitchcock movies, iced coffee, spending time with his four dogs, and following politics when it doesn't make him too sad (which is rare). He loves to interview and profile fascinating characters in Denton and all over. Check him out here.