Twenty Seven years in the making, Fry Street Fair certainly has its history. When I first moved to Denton five years ago, I was shocked and delighted at such an environment engorged with artists. Coming from a town with very few creators and an overabundance of consumers, Denton was a breath of fresh air. Told by on old friend of a newcomers surprising insight, I couldnt help but laugh:
NC: So, do you go to school here?
F: No.
NC: Oh, so youre in a band.
And indeed, he was.
I cant say that I have any firsthand knowledge of Fry Street Fair before it took its absurd detour to Dallas. I had never attended. Opinions I have encountered secondhand, however, are mixed yet enlightening. Denton resident Rob King appears to prefer a larger crowd:
I used to come here with my friends starting in 2000, back when there were 20,000 people here instead of the meager expected 2,900 something well have this year if its anything like last year although we have room for 4,800.
Levi, another local resident, also claims that he prefers larger crowds to those that have shown over the past two years, but adds that he also prefers Denton bands to the influx of bands from Dallas and surrounding areas that frequented at previous fairs. Even Police Officer Sweet who is working his twelfth fair is surprised and seemingly a little disappointed at the low turnout. Perspectives of band members, however, prove to be quite different. Warren, of Warren Jackson Hearne and the Merry Murdre of Gloomadeers and Spitfire Tumbleweeds, while attending his fifth FSF is blunt about his feelings toward previous fairs:
Before there were a lot more assholes trying to kick your ass so, I like it better now.
Scott Porter of Spitfire Tumbleweeds, Record Hop, and Fabulous Badsses, also prefers seeing Fry Street Fair return to its roots:
Oh, I like seeing it this small. From what I hear from my older friends, this is sort of how it started out. It was smaller, more uh, you know, you had less weirdoes coming in from Dallas and Fort Worth to just sit around, get hammered and cause trouble.
Despite a few minor complaints that size does matter, it is safe to say that Dentons second year of FSF reclamation was a success. The populace was sufficient, local and not heinously out of control. The mood was relaxed and enjoyable. Aside from some minor glitches with sound personnel and equipment the performances went on without flaw. We were one big, happy family again. As for the shows I witnessed personally, here is the rundown:
Hand of Onan was first to hit the Fry Street stage. It was good, old fashioned rock enriched with hilarious, identifiable lyrics. The interaction between band members was great. It was clear they were having a great time, as was the audience.
Knee Pad played Delta Lodges backyard stage next. I had never seen this band play before and was quite impressed. They had an excellent stage presence complete with matching sailor (?) costumes. Their instrumentals were kick ass hard rock driven by metal vocals. Their overall performance was solid.
Next up at the Fry Street stage was Warren Jackson Hearne and the Merry Murdre of Gloomadeers. This is a band that has been pretty interesting to watch over the past few years. Aside from Mike McNasty and Warren himself, the entire lineup of the band has changed. Though the music has remained the same, the overall mood and energy dynamic has changed as well. The new lineup is considerably more eclectic than it has been in the past, different people with different backgrounds bringing totally different styles to the table. Between Tamaras smiles, JCs dancing and Pauls overall humorous demeanor, the Gloomadeers have become rather joyous. Nonetheless, their performance was as offbeat and enjoyable to witness as always.
Next on the backyard stage was Fra Pandolf. This is one band that Id heard a lot about, but had never seen perform. Their style embodies slightly experimental noise rock. Though there was no solid formation or much interaction between band members, it was clear that there was a lot of passion and intensity behind the music. It almost seemed as if there were four different musicians on their own individual planes of existence somehow performing together on stage. The music was good, though the vocals were hard to hear and the style was a little trite.
Next up to the Fry Street stage was Mugzu. I am never disappointed seeing this band play. From friends that have been around Denton longer than I have, I have heard that when Mugzu started out, they were pretty bad. It has been my experience and the experience of others that these guys just keep getting better. It is sheer, fast, driving metal with excellent vocals. I couldnt help but smile at seeing the mosh-pit form near the fence partially because of its existence alone and partially out of relief that I was not in it.
Pops Carter, adorning the backyard stage, was as smooth as always. He and his band charmed the audience with their classic blues and jazz performance. His vocals were excellent, the guitarist kicked ass and the audience seemed pleased in that there was a lot of hippie lawn dancing which commenced.
Back on Fry Street was none other than Texas Gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman! During his brief speech, Kinky discussed some of the main points of his campaign, among them increased salaries for teachers, the slots for tots campaign proposing legalization of casino gambling to raise money for childrens health care, the allowance of prayer in school and gay marriage and increasing the use of biodiesel fuel by offering free parking to vehicles which use it. Needless to say, Mr. Friedman effectively worked the crowd into a pleasurable frenzy.
The next band up on the Fry Street stage may be one of the few bands that could successfully follow Kinky Friedman. Spitfire Tumbleweeds rocked the proverbial house as usual. Their unique blend of ass kicking, dark, chaotic rock with a blatantly southern twist combined with their party on stage energy dynamic makes every show a fantastic time. Unfortunately, this performance did not seem to round up its usual undying, drunken affection from the audience.
The following backyard band was Bagg. Bagg is a pretty typical jam band comprised of excellent musicians possessing the uncanny ability to induce hippie dancing wherever and whenever they perform. This occasion was no exception. There is a single word I jotted down in my notes to sum up the performance: Funktastic.
Closing the evening on Fry Street was Record Hop. This band is never disappointing. Ashleys unique vocals are the perfect accessory to the bands insanely noisy, but solid hard rock sound. It was raw. It was good. I left the festival and walked out alone into the twilight escaping the crowd; it became the beautiful, fading haunt that escorted me to my car.
Now that you are fully acquainted with the 2006 Fry Street Fair, I thought it prudent to bring to your attention a band which deserves a gracious salute and farewell. Cheers to this years departing band, Fabulous Badasses. Upon seeing Fabulous Badasses play on the backyard stage, I wrote only two words to describe their performance: ridiculously metal. These musicians are unbelievably talented. Their performance was raucous, tight and a hell of a good time. This band will definitely be missed.
Birth to Burial was the one band I saw at the Texas Jive stage. Though Ive heard a lot about this band over the years, I had never seen them play and was glad to be able to witness one of their last performances with Rob Black on bass and vox. Their music is good hard, but melodic rock. I got a really genuine vibe from the performance. These guys are obviously very talented and very creative. Despite some minor mic problems, the band was received extremely well by the audience. They are much loved and it will be interesting to see what change comes to the band with new bassist John McCain (Zest of Yore).
Having no intention of closing on such a depressive note as band breakups, my departing sentiment is more of a query to be propositioned to Denton as a whole: Where do we go from here? Denton is a creative Mecca. Whether you love it here or hate it here, its hard not to notice the music, art and general creativity that fuels this town. The question is, is it thriving or dying? Or maybe its just mutating. With the impending demolition of Fry Street for the sake of consumerism and the movement of artists and musicians out of town, do we have what it takes to maintain our creative center or are we simply looking toward greener pastures elsewhere? My proposition is unity and multimedia. Too many artists in this town are polarized in their own genre. Musicians are musicians, visual artists are visual artists and writers are writers. There has been some recent hybridization of these mediums with such developments as The Porch and The Fold, but these outlets need to be fostered to progress. Part of Robs main motivation in leaving Birth to Burial is to do just that:
We really started this band full of piss and vinegar and now were kind of just being happy with playing shows around here and thats fun, but thats not what I want to do. Actually, myself, Scott Porter and Cody Robinson are opening up a venue called Secret Headquarters and were going to do shows and art events and book signings. Im just interested in promoting other people for the time being. Maybe down the road Ill start playing again, but right now I want to do out of the ordinary stuff, I just dont want to put on a show and have people show up and leave, I want to start doing stuff a little out of the ordinary.
If this town can maintain its creative scene as an open collective, embodying artists of all kinds, there is no doubt that it will continue to strive. Boredom will kill art at all costs. Art is not about safety or comfort. It is not necessary to look elsewhere for inspiration if inspiration can be created from within.
Shelley Phlegar
Denton Cohesion
To see the Photo-Art of the fair by Jay B. Stevens, go to address below.
http://www.digitalreflections.biz/FSF06~web/index.htm