You’d think that in a town like Fort Worth, with so many outstanding bands, there’d be a bunch of super-groups, elite bands in which at least half the members play in other groups as well. But with minor exceptions, most of the guys (and girls) in Fort Worth’s elite bands don’t play in other projects. So to the short list that includes EPIC RUINS, The Longshots, and the much-ballyhooed-but-still-never-seen Grackles, we can now add Jacob Furr & The Only Road, a brand spankin’ new vehicle for the Americana Fort Worth singer-songwriter that features standouts from two other local bands: keyboardist Jordan Kline from Ice Eater and guitar wiz Landon Cabarubio from Cleanup. After coming together about three months ago with drummer Ken Jones and bassist Dusty Irving, the band recently played a couple of shows, one in Dallas and one in Austin, and will debut in the Fort next Wednesday, the 25th. The venue is The Basement Bar in the Stockyards (105 W Exchange Av, 817-740-0100), and the bill includes two spellbinding Fort Worth openers: the dreamy Madràs and elegantly riotous Jake Paleschic & Patriot. “I decided to start this project to give the songs I’ve been writing more room to breathe and expand outside the normal singer-songwriter thing,” Furr said. Some of his new material, he said, demands a full band. Furr’s existing tunes, captured on three recordings –– including January’s Farther Shores, a nominee for EP of the year in our 2012 Music Awards –– “found new ways to exist through the band,” Furr said. “It’s pretty cool to see them grow that way. They do not sound like the folky thing I’ve been doing for the past year.” Jacob Furr & The Only Road plan to tour this fall and do some recording –– like all of Furr’s material, the new stuff will be produced by Furr at his home studio. The Basement Bar show is free. “I’m pretty damn excited,” Furr said. … In addition to the Vorvon show hinted at in our Music feature, above, there’s another big “CD” release show happening this weekend. On Friday at The Grotto (517 University Dr, 817-882-9331), Austin’s Look Mexico and the indie-rocking Fort Worth outfit Mailman will open for knotty Fort Worth guitar-prog rockers Cleanup, who’ll be celebrating the release of their debut EP. Recorded at the quartet’s rehearsal space in Alvarado at the end of June, Wherever Your Place May Be is five tracks long and was co-produced by the band and Secret Ghost Champion frontman and Madràs drummer Ben Hance (with drums recorded by Ben Napier). With the exception of one track, a semi-improvised interlude, the material was written before the departure of the band’s former drummer and the arrival of his replacement, Riley Pennock, whose family owns the Alvarado rehearsal/recording space. “Each song is pretty much how we play it live,” Cabarubio said. In honor of the band’s time in Alvarado, audio clips of cicadas chirping and Pennock’s dog rustling around the backyard were added to the disc. “So the album is kind of like a night jamming at the Pennock house,” the guitarist said. Contributors include saxophonist Jeff Dazey (Josh Weathers & The True+Endeavors, Gunga Galunga, Dazey Chain) and guitarist Roby Scott (Secret Ghost Champion).
Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.
