Sofar Sounds DFW: January 2014
WellâŠjust a little heads up, reading this might piss you off a little bit. With that being said, Iâm going tell you about a movement going on that more than likely have not been invited to. Not because your not cool enough, or that you donât have enough money (itâs free). There are hundreds of people that apply for entry in the DFW area. How many people are invited to attend, is based on the size of the space. The âguest-list-guruâ painstakingly selects the lucky music lovers, based on a few criteriaâŠ#1 How long has it been since âyouâveâ been to SOFAR a show? #2 Have âyouâ ever RSVPâd to one of our events and been a no-show? #3 Is it âyourâ turn? Bottom line? If your name is chosen, you will receive the secret address to the event 2 days prior to the show. The full band list is kept secret until the day of the show. The locations are random but one thing you can count on, is that the level of intimacy between you and the bands will rival any you have seen before. Sofar Sounds is what they call it and it is probably the coolest thing to happen to live music around the world since that wonderful day in 1779 when my man Gaetano Vinaccia gave the world the first acoustic guitar. Â
 The following is my account of Sofar #589, an event I was lucky enough to be invited to...I opened the e-mail I had been expecting to find an address and 3 simple rules. 1. Shush. Donât talk during the performances. 2. Stay until the end. 3. Support the bands, i.e. follow them online, talk them up, buy âmerchâ and attend future shows when possible. Sound fair enough? No problem. We arrived at the address in an East Dallas neighborhood with thirty minutes to spare, punctuality is key! Once the doors shut you are out of luck. We noticed quite a few people looking for parking and quite a few already walking towards the house. We entered through the garage and quickly got stopped by the âList-keeperâ Although everyone was friendly there was the definite air of No TicketâŠNo Taco. She checked for our names, crossed us off and gave us the nod. We were in. Immediately you couldnât help but notice the vibe was that of a small house party. People chatting, drinking beers and the usual but there was a definite lingering anticipation of what was to come. We made our way through the kitchen and into the dining room that was furnished with nothing more than musical instruments that the first band had previously set up and we stepped out onto the back patio. This was obviously the smoking section/ Green room. Still not knowing who was actually playing, I started asking around. Hereâs the list: Chambers (Denton, TX), Taylor Baker (Austin, TX), The Roomsounds (Dallas) and wrapping it up would be a Band called Friendly Savages (Austin, TX). Our MCâs for the evening were local East Dallas natives John Pedigo and Taylor Young who make up a band called The Oâs. If you have ever seen these guys play then youâve heard their back and forth comedy stylings. They should make great hosts.
Letâs get down to business.
 Up first was a band from Denton Texas known as Chambers. They were a 4-piece group that consists of Piper Johnson on vocals and keyboards and a bit of small percussion, Judson Valdez on guitar and vocals, Chase Johnson on drums and vocals and Daniel Pelletier on bass guitar.  Their first song âStrange Visitorâ, started out with Piper slowly rocking some percussion when she started singing she definitely got your attention with some great high notes. She played the keys then Chase joined in for some wonderful melodic harmonies. They played 5 songs with Chase on drums and occasionally throwing in some Xylophone. Which mind you, all is sounding amazing with the acoustics of this furniture free dining room and kitchen. Instruments were switched around a few times reminding you of the musical schooling this foursome has had in the past. UNT is in the groupâs blood and teaching/sound engineering are primary jobs for multiple members. At one point between songs Daniel spoke about how different it was playing so softly to a crowd. When I asked Chase about the comment during a later conversation he expounded by saying âOne of the things we loved about Sofar was the fact that during our shows we like to take people on a journey. Some soft parts of a song are followed up with louder intense sections. During shows at live music venues or bars itâs not as easy to showcase that experience while playing over conversations and what not. He followed up with. âWe love playing to our crowds regardless, but Sofar was special in the fact the room was completely quiet and the crowd was following our every noteâ. They ended the 5 song set with âFriend Songâ a song they explained would be a special treat due to the fact there was not a recorded version of it anywhere that they knew of. I thought they wrapped it up perfectly because for all of us sitting on the floor, we felt like our new friends had just played us a special private performance. Check these guys out chambersmusic.net for show dates and links to their Twitter/Facebook.
 After a small break for load out and load in, our next artist up was Taylor Baker from Austin Texas. I tell you, there is something about a girl with a banjo that just says sit down, shut up and watch me work! This two-piece from Austin just recently scaled down from a 4 and 5 piece to just herself on guitar, banjo and vocals and Drew Walker on guitar and trumpet. With her soulful crooning and emotional lyrics she was a perfect fit for this room. It was also easy to imagine her putting some of her songs together in similar homey surroundings, minus the 60 people staring at her of course. They opened with âSun Songâ.  Her voice had great range, but not so much that it distracted you from what she was singing about. It was just right. The trumpet Walker was blowing on in a few songs was a very fresh addition to an already unique sound they had to offer. âHere we go again, thinking this ride will never end.â is the opening line from âGold Dustâ and a great ride it was. Only bad thing was that the ride did end, only 4 songs later. They wrapped up with âCloserâ.  Taylor and Drew both are slowly becoming quite involved in the Sofar movement, this being the 3rd show they have played and one of the three actually being hosted by Walker at his home in Austin. They will be recording an EP in February so keep your eyes out for that. You can find videos, show dates and band info at taylorbakermusic.com. Links to their Facebook/Twitter accounts are there as well. In Gold Dust she singâs âWhen its all said and done, did we say anything at all? Will we build it just to watch it fall?â Well Taylor, you just keep saying what youâre saying because it doesnât look like anything is going to be falling anytime soon. The sky is the limit.
Next up was a local Dallas band, The Roomsounds. Beers in hand, dirty blue jeans and 4 pairs of boots, these guys oozed rock and roll. Fronted by Ryan Michaels on lead vocals, lead guitar Sam Janik on guitar, harmonica and slide guitar, Red Coker on bass and Dan Malone on drums and percussion. All but Red come from Connecticut and thankfully they enjoyed the fit of Red (Oklahoma) seeing how he was the only guy to answer their ad on Craigslist. While living just a mile a way from the other three it seemed like âMusical Destinyâ. These guys say they are giving people a young twist to some old rock and roll. Normally playing full on, plugged in rock shows I was curious to see them stripped down. They did not disappoint. I asked Michaels later how he felt about Sofar and he said he loved it. Since he writes most of their songs on a acoustic guitar he knew they would translate well for the crowd with a little fine tuning. After the first song âChasing a Foxâ ended the completely quiet room exploded. The band told a few jokes and thanked the crowd for coming while Red bummed a few swigs of beer from the person in the crowd closest to his bass amp perch. The only thing plugged in I might add. The whole crowd joined in during the chorus of âYou couldnât break my spiritâ Which is as much of a rock and roll anthem to come out of Dallas as any Iâve heard in quite a while. They rolled through a few more songs and the two acoustic guitars sounded great along side an upright blue leather suitcase that that had been fashioned with a kick pedal. Malone was using this for a bass drum. A. It sounded great and B. It looked like it could have been carried on tour, by one of the rock bands from the 70âs that has obviously greatly influenced these guys music. Not to mention their fashion. They played 5 or 6 six tunes that the crowd ate up asking for more. Go to theroomsounds.com for show dates and a link to the video for âCouldnât break my spiritâ. Also check them out on Facebook. As for myself? I definitely will be seeing more of these guys the first chance I get.Â
The last band up was Friendly Savages from Austin Texas. A foursome including, John McDonald on guitar and lead vocals, Josh Coulter on guitar and mandolin, Michael Summers on bass and Malcolm White on banjo and keys. Nice clean-shaven guys in and button down shirts, they came wielding an acoustic guitar, electric stand up bass, a mandolin and a banjo. I heard them warming up on the side of the house a few minutes before so I knew these guys meant business. Out of the gate the guitar and banjo filled the room beautifully, and then came the harmonies. Man could these guys sing. It looked like everyone but the banjo player was singing. The way he was plucking that banjo you didnât even care. He totally got into it, rocking back and forth the whole time. He made it impossible to get a focused shot, (see attached picture). In talking to the guys later, one of the guys works in the music department at Austin Ridge Church, which has a very strong music program. One works for a company which aids Spanish speaking employees learning English, one guy is a computer programmer and the last works for Google. In my opinion they should quit their jobs and play music for a living. The lead singer studied a capella in college and obviously he has shared his knowledge with his band mates. The combination of the three of them singing sounded amazing in this space. Oh and then add guitar a bit of mandolin and some banjo. The upright bass was just gravy. They started out with âI have your ghostâ and when they finished the applause from the crowd showed immediate approval. They went into âNatchez Traceâ and with each song the banjo started to be more and more apparent. During âHer locket on a chainâ they had the crowd fighting not to sing along, (remember your supposed to remain quiet during the performances), which I give them a lot of credit for, seeing how they were from Austin I wasnât sure how may people even knew their music. Thatâs how catchy the tune was. They played one more tune and then asked the few people and any other band members that were out back to come inside and close the door. Asking everyone to stand up, they announced that they wanted everyone to sing along to their final song which was going to be âIâll Fly awayâ A hymn written in 1929. They started out softly and the crowd gently started singing along. As the song went on the crowd started getting louder and louder and before you knew it was a full on sing along, Choir style. I have to tell you being part of 60ish people singing âIâll fly awayâ in a dining room with no furniture is something I wonât forget for a good while. My appreciation for the Sofar experience grew as the show went on and I couldnât have asked for a better ending. Check out www.friendlysavages.com for more info and show dates. Ok. SofarâŠIâm hooked. Now I just have to wait and hope to get invited back. The next one is scheduled for March and the rumor is that a band for the U.K. on the way to SXSW might be involved. Go to www.sofarsounds.com click on your city and fill out the form to get on the list. You never know. Maybe youâll get invited. Iâm heading out now to buy a lucky rabbitâs foot, throw a penny in a fountain, look for a four leaf clover, hang a horseshoe, rub a Buddhaâs belly and any other thing that might give me the edge to be one of the names chosen. Those names will be invited to be a part of the movement in music they are calling Sofar Sounds.
 Words and Photography by: Chad Davenport
The Local Yokel Show
www.localyokelshow.com










