FRIDAY VIDEO THREESOME: MARCH 21ST

Every Friday that falls on a day that is a prime number (not really, just trying to disguise our irregularity in posting) we like to highlight three videos that deal with Denton. We call it the Friday Video Threesome which may be slightly misleading. Sorry. It gets hits, though, so that's nice. Anyway, here are three videos. Enjoy your weekend, Denton. 


NBC recently did a piece on Denton's food truck scene. See some quick footage from your favorite chefs atop four wheels. 

Here's local faves, Chambers, playing "Friend Song" at the recent Sofar Dallas showcase. Acoustic and very intimate. Did y'all ever get a chance to read our interview with them last February? 

Two weeks ago, we re-posted a video interview we did with Clay Rozell from Bookish Coffee from several years ago. Here's a more recent one from Alec Gates. Watch 'em both and see the differences in equipments and roasting methods that Bookish Coffee has made in just a few years. 

3 SONGS MARCH 2014

Levi Cobb & the Big Smoke

Levi Cobb & the Big Smoke

Once a month, we like to take a quick look into the Denton music scene and highlight three songs from a few local bands. It’s pretty much made us masters of Soundcloud and Bandcamp, but they haven’t given us any trophies or anything...yet. The crazy thing is that we've done enough of these now that we need to start adding in the year to the title. This month, we hear from the likes of a Denton mainstay in Def Rain, and two other new-to-us bands. Read on for more!


Any band with an apostrophe at the end of their name is okay in our book. Denton used to have a lot of shoegaze and then it all just kind of fizzled out. That couldn't have been the national shoegaze scene fizzling - My Bloody Valentine just released their first album in 20 years in 2013 - so we're happy to see the sound emerging in Denton again. Blessin's sound is lazy in a wonderful way. "Mono," the song embedded above, has an almost surf rock like vibe to it as it drones on for three minutes. Yo La Tengo fans may find themselves enjoying the innocuous noise rock guitar solo towards the end. 
 

Def Rain features Ashley Cromeens of Denton's late, great alt-rock band, Record Hop. Her music seems to have taken a big left turn in this new duo. This may be due in part to her partnership with Grant Ring. The two  and a laptop form main crux of Def Rain. And while this may be very stylistically different from what Cromeens has done before, Def Rain is minimalist electronic pop of the best kind. "Only Of," taken from the EP Pour Le Corps is centered around a looped synth arpeggio and builds muddled vocals and beats throughout, only to leave you in a thick, palpable haze of electronic wonderment by the end. We're interested to see where Def Rain goes next. 

Being a group of alcohol-loving Dentonites, it's hard for us not to fall for any song that features a well-picked banjo at the heart. "Heartsick Man" from Levi Cobb and the Big Smoke has just that plus some. This Denton folk rock band has been playing together since 2010 and recently put out a brand new full length entitled Troublemaker, and it's pretty danged good. You can listen to the whole thing here. "Heartsick Man," is the intro song from that album and does a great job of setting the tone. The male/female vocal harmonies are as lovingly sweet and sticky as strawberry taffy. Can't wait to catch these guys (and gal) live. 

THE DEN10: MARCH 19

It's officially spring now, y'all. Thank goodness. All those ice days and time off were wearing us out. Now we can all just go back to being one of the greatest little cities ever and keep on keeping on. It's time to get our rain and festival on. You guys have fun going out this week, we'll be running around trying to keep up with you all. Don't forget to tag your pics and grams with #WDDI to be included in Monday's What We Did post.

Oh yeah - see you on the courthouse lawn Tuesday night! 


WEDNESDAY, March 19th

OSDH Social Run 1 Year Anniversary I Oak Street Drafthouse I 6:30PM I Free

Beer, running and a raffle for Luke's Locker. No better way to spend a Wednesday night. 

THURSDAY, March 20th

Angela Berens/John Sturino Jazz I UNT On The Square I 7-9PM I FREE

Start the weekend a day early and catch a little quality jazz on the square. 

FRIDAY, March 21st

Third Friday Music and Art Showcase I Innovation Greenhouse I 4-9PM I FREE

Innovation Greenhouse is having an art and music showcase alongside Austere Magazine and the Waffle Wagon at UNT. If you want to have a glance at some of the great stuff coming out of UNT's campus, here is a great way to check out what is going on. We're happy this appears to be an ongoing thing now. If you want to learn more about The Waffle Wagon, read our interview with owner Rachel Black here. If you want to find out more about the musical guests, we featured Dome Dwellers in our 3 Songs column twice before

Cold Connections Opening Reception I UNT On The Square I 6-8PM I FREE 

Birds of Night/Savage and the Big Beat/Vagabond/Ether After I Dan's Silverleaf I 8PM I $10

SATURDAY, March 22nd

3P Challenge I Denton Greenbelt 

Running, biking and canoeing aren't a bad way to kick of a Saturday morning with the family. 

Karaoke Night I Crossroads Bar I Free 

You may not have ever been into Crossroads, but you sure should head there now. They have by far the best karaoke night in town. That's right, grab a buddy, practice your Peter Gabriel and get on board. 

SUNDAY, March 23rd

Hares On The Mountain I Dan's Silverleaf I 5PM I Free

Duh. 

MONDAY, March 24th

The Yarn Bomb Craft Party I Oak Street Drafthouse I 5PM  

Crafty with a cause, y'all. SCRAP is launching a fundraising campaign where yarn bombing and pink flamingos are involved. We see only wonderful possibilities and loads of fun with this. Their campaign just launched earlier this week and we highlighted it in our recent Crowd-funding post. We may not know how to knit, but I have a feeling that a beer and some inspiration would go a long way in this effort. If you're wondering to yourself, "What the hell is yarn bombing?" click this link to find out more

TUESDAY, March 25th

Movie on the Courthouse Lawn I Courthouse Lawn I 8PM I FREE

We're teaming up with our buddies at COLLAGE to host a movie on the courthouse lawn. Bring a quilt, a few boxes of milk duds and join us on the lawn for a viewing of Wes Anderson's movie adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic,The Fantastic Mr. Fox. 

 

 

DENTON CROWDFUNDING: MARCH

The (Mostly) Movie Edition

Every once in a while, we like to turn our web browsers (read: Chrome) to Kickstarter and IndieGoGo to check out what the world of local crowdfunding has to offer. In this case, it's mostly movies. 

It’s been a while since we last took a while at the Denton crowdfunding scene. For those not in the know, crowdfunding is sourcing money from friends, family and invested peoples through the internet to help fund your project, idea, or startup. Zach Braff did it. That new Veronica Mars movie did it. Maybe they inspired this recent glut of Denton movies and short films to turn to Kickstarter to find some money, too. 

Have a look through the following three campaigns and decide for yourself if one tickles your fancy. If so, hurry over to their page and donate. You’ll feel good about yourself for the rest of the day and maybe get a prize or credit later on.

#SavingScott is a hopeful short film from UNT students about a Youtube celebrity with a major lie that inevitably overtakes his online identity. While we're usually averse to movies with hashtags in the title, this short film sounds fairly interesting. Also, if you've ever just wanted to put an "Associate Producer" credit on your resume or something, you can do that if you donate $100 to #SavingScott. Donate here

 

The Phoenix is a horror/thriller period piece set in the 60's about a murder investigation. The film is from Amanda Barajas who is a member of UNT's Advanced Film Program. Barajas is looking for funding for things such as lens rentals, permits, and even craft services. A pledge of $25 will net you an 11" x 17" poster of the film. You can donate here. 

Amygdala is a personal project from Jordan Sutton about a man's life after suffering a debilitating brain injury. This movie is  different from the above two Kickstarter projects in as much as it has already been filmed. The movie was shot earlier this month and Sutton and his crew are just looking to recoup certain expenses and gain some money to help submit Amygdala to festivals and the like. This is another UNT student film that was shot with a Red Scarlet. You can donate here


 

There are also a few non-movie campaigns going on right now, too, believe it or not. This gestural-friendly Arduino module on Kickstarter from Dentonite Grabo, has just surpassed its goal of $10,000. If you're the type to tinker with a Raspberry Pi at home, you should kick it up a notch and look into this. You can still donate at the early bird price and get your own GestureR Tiny for only $16. 

 

Last, but not least, our friends at SCRAP Denton have just started their campaign to raise money for their education programming for both adults and children. It sounds as if they want to do it up big with their classes - they even plan to offer SCRAP Camp for kids this summer -  and we'd really like to see it happen. They're looking to raise a total of $8,500 and the campaign has 39 days left as of today. There are some pretty cool perks, as well. A donation of $75 will get you a pass to one of their future adult classes - well, that plus the satisfaction of having backed a potentially very cool thing. You can donate here

WHAT WE DID: MARCH 17TH

Spring break is over. We hope you're back at work or school and slowly making your way through the day just like we are. After all, misery loves company. At least we got some beauty in over spring break, though. The weather was (mostly) nicer than we could've imagined and a lot of your photos from the past seven days showcase that fact. We're not sure yet what's in store for the next week (we haven't read Glen's Den10 yet), but we're hopeful that it's gonna be a good one. Remember to tag your pics with #WDDI to get included in next Monday's What We Did. Have a great day!

Did you read in that intro paragraph where we said we had good weather? This is what we meant. Of course, you kind of have to take a photo of the courthouse when the weather is nice (we think there's a law about it in town). 

Did you read in that intro paragraph where we said we had good weather? This is what we meant. Of course, you kind of have to take a photo of the courthouse when the weather is nice (we think there's a law about it in town). 

Shaina Sheaff enjoyed the sunshine the right way. By the way, nice hammock. Now we're jealous. 

Shaina Sheaff enjoyed the sunshine the right way. By the way, nice hammock. Now we're jealous. 

A few people took advantage of the weather by taking a hike around Denton. We hope they packed a thermos full of local coffee and grabbed a few Bearded Brothers Bars to keep them nourished. Photo by @joshpiers. 

A few people took advantage of the weather by taking a hike around Denton. We hope they packed a thermos full of local coffee and grabbed a few Bearded Brothers Bars to keep them nourished. Photo by @joshpiers

The best part of the Wednesday night social run at Oak Street Drafthouse is the tasty beer at the end. Proof is in the picture - thanks to @mkernan. 

The best part of the Wednesday night social run at Oak Street Drafthouse is the tasty beer at the end. Proof is in the picture - thanks to @mkernan

Oh yeah, did we mention there were rainbows aplenty in Denton on Saturday? Double rainbows in some areas, even. Nobody seemed to know what it meant on Instagram. Too bad it didn't turn into a quadruple rainbow, though. Photo by @zach_ashcraft. 

Oh yeah, did we mention there were rainbows aplenty in Denton on Saturday? Double rainbows in some areas, even. Nobody seemed to know what it meant on Instagram. Too bad it didn't turn into a quadruple rainbow, though. Photo by @zach_ashcraft. 

We're still "researching" our favorite local coffees. Did you know you can buy Coffeewright, Bookish, Seven Mile and Macaroni Island beans from Recycled now? Also, anybody else ever noticed the Coffeewright logo kinda sorta looks like a robot on a t…

We're still "researching" our favorite local coffees. Did you know you can buy Coffeewright, Bookish, Seven Mile and Macaroni Island beans from Recycled now? Also, anybody else ever noticed the Coffeewright logo kinda sorta looks like a robot on a toilet? 

More "research." The classic combo of locally roasted coffee and great jazz continues to delight us at Recycled Books. Photo by @glenfarris. 

More "research." The classic combo of locally roasted coffee and great jazz continues to delight us at Recycled Books. Photo by @glenfarris

Sol Kitchen made RipRocks look pretty rad. Photo by @veeveemarie. 

Sol Kitchen made RipRocks look pretty rad. Photo by @veeveemarie

We're still impressed at just how few crying children we've seen fall down at Lone Star Roller Rink. 

We're still impressed at just how few crying children we've seen fall down at Lone Star Roller Rink. 

We checked out the Lego Builder's Club at Emily Fowler Library last Friday and had a great time. Their next meeting is next Friday, March 21st at 4:30pm. Take your 6 - 11 year old and watch 'em build. 

We checked out the Lego Builder's Club at Emily Fowler Library last Friday and had a great time. Their next meeting is next Friday, March 21st at 4:30pm. Take your 6 - 11 year old and watch 'em build. 

Time to change your scent profile for the new season, bearded fellas. The DIME Store has recently stocked Austin St. Apothecary's new seasonal beard tonic. Photo by @mkernan. 

Time to change your scent profile for the new season, bearded fellas. The DIME Store has recently stocked Austin St. Apothecary's new seasonal beard tonic. Photo by @mkernan

The wind knocked over 7-11. Like, literally knocked it over. This, coupled with the portion of the car wash place across the street that fell over two ice storms ago makes us think this stretch of University gets the worst of Denton weather.  P…

The wind knocked over 7-11. Like, literally knocked it over. This, coupled with the portion of the car wash place across the street that fell over two ice storms ago makes us think this stretch of University gets the worst of Denton weather.  Photo by @thedapperbat. 

One Dentonite headed to their home city of Miami and caught a whiff of Pollo Tropical. Get ready Denton because they'll be here soon! Photo by @dcruz32. 

One Dentonite headed to their home city of Miami and caught a whiff of Pollo Tropical. Get ready Denton because they'll be here soon! Photo by @dcruz32

Another beautiful day photo. Can't beat these, can ya? Photo by Zach Ashcraft. 

Another beautiful day photo. Can't beat these, can ya? Photo by Zach Ashcraft. 

We were going to tell Shaina Sheaff that since she seems to love the sky so much she should just marry it, but turns out the sky is already engaged to be engaged. 

We were going to tell Shaina Sheaff that since she seems to love the sky so much she should just marry it, but turns out the sky is already engaged to be engaged. 

Gungor photo by Jade Chessman. 

Gungor photo by Jade Chessman. 

Nite playing at Dan's Sunday night. Photo by @chinaskythefury. 

Nite playing at Dan's Sunday night. Photo by @chinaskythefury. 

Lean Machine has become the de facto Denton food truck with the Waffle Wagon taking some time off due to injury and Shiitake Swerve coming out sparingly. With sandwiches like these, though, we ain't complainin'. Photo by @discoverdenton

Lean Machine has become the de facto Denton food truck with the Waffle Wagon taking some time off due to injury and Shiitake Swerve coming out sparingly. With sandwiches like these, though, we ain't complainin'. Photo by @discoverdenton

Photo by Zach Ashcraft. 

Photo by Zach Ashcraft

Yes ma'm @shainasheaffphoto we think that Taco Thursdays are a valid day of the week. We also dig Taco Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays... Okay, maybe we just love tacos. Also, hand over those tacos from El Taco Rico, …

Yes ma'm @shainasheaffphoto we think that Taco Thursdays are a valid day of the week. We also dig Taco Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays... Okay, maybe we just love tacos. Also, hand over those tacos from El Taco Rico, they look delicious. 

SPRING BROKE

The DCTA station will connect you to spring break activities out of Denton. Photo by Jordan Smith. 

The DCTA station will connect you to spring break activities out of Denton. Photo by Jordan Smith. 

We're smack dab in the middle of spring break and couldn't be happier about it. It helps that several of our respective jobs actually give us these days off. You can be jealous if you want. Anyway, you may find yourself with an unusual abundance of free time this week. If you have children, it may even be a bit too much free time. We've got you covered. There's actually a lot going on this week that you can take part in. Below is a list of several different activities that are happening this week. Some are for adults and some are for kids. Either way, make sure you get out of the house while the weather is nice and do something. You've already finished season 2 of House of Cards, dudes. Nothing else is there to hold you back. Read on for more. 


Johnson Branch State Park is having an awesome series of events at Lake Ray Roberts this week including geocaching, bird watching, and even some nature photography classes. The area is only a short drive north and these events are great for kids and adults. You'll not only be outside, but right smack dab in the middle of nature, too. More info can be found at their Facebook page

The Emily Fowler branch of the Denton Public Library is hosting a series of events for your little one. Events include a class on suminagashi marbling and even a baby sitter certification course. So if you want to legitimize your babysitting game, now is the time to do it. More here. The North Branch is having a "Spring Break Spectacular" with all sorts of activities spanning the entire day. You can find their list of activities here

Pig out! Finally take a day to explore the EMTC or do some progressive dining of Denton's finest breakfast joints in the form of the tour de pancake (yeah, we just coined that). Make elaborate plan to taste all of the pancakes in town starting with the sampler plate of crazy flavors from Seven Mile and the johnnycakes at Loco and try to hit all of the tasty pancakes between there and Sidewalk Bistro in the span of the week (or the span of one morning if you stomach can withstand the carb influx). 

Post up at Oak St. Drafthouse at least once if the weather continues to hold up. An afternoon made up of friends playing Cards Against Humanity (buy it at the comic shop on the square) and cornhole with a pint of Greenbelt Farmhouse Ale sounds like the perfect way to celebrate no class, no work and no worries. Extra points for hitting up a food truck. 

If you haven't taken the time to take the train up to Dallas to go to the Perot, the DMA (free for all y'all!) or Klyde Warren Park, now is your time. All three have excellent programs happening during spring break that you'll love whether you're 10 or 32. Don't forget to make it super easy on yourselves and download the Go Pass for those A-Train and DART tickets so you have one less thing to loose in your purse or forget in your pockets. Maybe some day we'll have an awesome splash pad like the one in Klyde Warren Park somewhere in Denton. We can dream, right? 

Drive down 380 to the greenbelt and bike around. 

Lone Star Roller Rink is one way to remember your youth - $5 bucks will get you in, skate rentals are only $3 and they're even free if you've got a college ID. This is great way to spend an afternoon, rain or shine. When was the last time you tried to impress someone by skating backwards, and not hold onto the wall for dear life? 

The city has a number of Spring Break camps and programs available this week that go all the way up to age 16. You can check out the long list here which happens to be as diverse as the parents checking out the website. The day camps go from the engineering elements of LEGOs all the way to skateboarding. That sounds way more interesting and exciting than spending 12 hours a day in front of reruns of Spongebob Square Pants. 

Of course, don't forget to check out our Den10 and don't miss the many gallery openings, comedy nights and outstanding shows that are a part of the fabric of our city no matter what week of the year it is.