Two new albums from two sweet local bands are on the way, and both have been a long time coming. One of the groups, Goodwin, has been relatively quiet, while the other, Darth Vato, has been playing a lot of gigs – as usual.
To explain away the delays, both bands blame time, money, and perfectionism. “Our budget’s been pretty tight,” said DV bassist Steve Steward, “thanks to our old van, The Grampus – which sucked up money like a coke-addled uncle – and because we took a long time to write and develop the songs.” Goodwin frontman Tony Diaz’s excuse? As he writes on www.meetgoodwin.net, the band’s web site, “The reasons are boring and ridiculous!” I can understand the time and perfectionism things, but money?
Ha! Diaz is guest-host of The Good Show on KTCU/88.7-FM, and Steward is one of our contributing writers – don’t tell me their luxury German sedans aren’t being spit-polished with 10-dollar bills by tuxedoed manservants as we speak. Still, there’s no reason to let Goodwin’s and DV’s vicious lies hold anyone back from appreciating the musical results. One track of Goodwin’s is up now on www.myspace.com/meetgoodwin, and, true to the quartet’s signature sound, “2 Again” is driving and hyper-melodic. The unnamed CD was recorded at Meow Mix Studio – home of Goodwin bassist Matt Hembree (who’s also in, like, 20 other bands, including Pablo and the Hemphill 7 and The Underground Railroad) – and at the suspiciously named Goodwin Audio (Diaz’ penthouse suite at The Tower?).
Except for one track, the entire thing was mixed by producer Bart Rose at First Street Audio. Look for it in early 2008. DV’s new one, Oh No – We’re Doing Fine, is set for a March ’08 release. Recorded at Skyline Studios in Dallas with Jordan Richardson (Oliver Future), Josh Robinson, and Tim Kimsey (Pantera, UGK) over a period of 28 years, Oh No, Steward said, is not an angsty album, but “All the hassles of being an adult have sort of kept us hungry and frustrated, and it’s come out in our songwriting.” Unlike DV’s two previous EPs, Aloha Chingaso and The Seven Seas, and the 2005 full-length Havoc, Oh No is decidedly rather unpolished.
“More than anything else, we aren’t being anything but ourselves here,” he said. “Since Seven Seas, I’ve been telling people our sound is an amalgam of Black Flag, Black Sabbath, and Black Uhuru, and I think we’ve gotten pretty close.” In any case, there’s no doubt that Oh No – We’re Doing Fine will have its party-starting moments. For more info, visit www.darthvato.com or www.myspace.com/darthvato. Speaking of parties, the trio will play on Saturday in the TCU region at The Moon (2911 W. Berry St.; 817-926-9600) with party-starters extraordinaire The Rivercrest Yacht Club. Riding, um, high on their bad-ass, Beastie Boys-ish eponymous debut album, the two-white-boys-and-a-blue-gorilla threesome of MC Generic – also known as Weekly staffer and international man of leisure Eric Griffey – plus DJ MC DDS and Heffminster de la Roca has only one gig under its belt, but has inexperience ever stopped anyone from getting onstage and rocking the mic? I don’t think so.
For more, visit www.myspace.com/rivercrestyachtclub.
Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.
