One-night only. It’s a relative concept, and a central philosophy for show-goers who witness musicians’ growth over time. To them catching someone play her first show, then her fifth, then her twelfth, even with the same band, playing the same songs, is an entirely different and equally essential exchange. They see her solo show, her side project. In watching others the same way they become an institutional memory that joins wildly disparate parts. Every night happens once. So you better not miss it.
For 20 years the Denton-born Rock Lottery and its committee have been around to facilitate a microcosm of this arc of time, eventually in cities around the world. It’s an accelerated way to feed exactly the audience who values a single musician’s capacity for possibility: the local music audience, which in every way defies that static word scene as do the musicians they follow.
Five bands are born in the morning from a shuffled list of 25 musicians who vary in capability and aesthetic. In Denton’s case, they’re all connected somehow to North Texas. That night, each group performs the songs they’ve managed to write throughout the day. Proceeds go to a cause of the committee’s choice. Pretty much every year, the show becomes a one-in, one-out homecoming of sorts. Word came early this morning from co-founding statesperson Martin Iles and the committee behind Rock Lottery that the 16th iteration (minding the gap years) and celebration of two decades since this founding of the “busman’s holiday” happens October 14 at Dan’s Silver Leaf.
In a cohesive turn, the beneficiary this year is community-funded radio station KUZU 92.9. The past two years’ proceeds have gone to CASA of Denton County; it’s not unprecedented for the money to nurture a radio station, as Seattle’s chapter has thrown funds to KEXP before.
Tickets for Rock Lottery 16 are on sale and the lineup is out. At first blush, the list is an earnest, almost tender selection of deeply invested, perpetually curious songwriters and players. Leaders, really, who take utility to another level. Like Katie Reese of Thin Skin. A steady firestarter on guitar and a font of loud and clever verses, Reese has showed her range lately with projects like Candy and The Suckers.
Daniel Francis Doyle, the prolific multi-instrumentalist and raconteur who can communicate urgency even over a reggae beat, holds court often for one-man drum and guitar loop sets. Sudie, who’s as much that-person-shutting-it-down at a random karaoke night as she is the performer improvising avant-leaning pop for an audience at a mid-sized venue. There’s Priya Patel (young act Silk Shaft) as a resident haunt with her ominous vocals and guitar; Stephanie Burns’ raucous, driving punk lines as heard with Lizzie Boredom, Randall Minick as a tinker-er apparent on synths with Felt & Fur. Much more of note, all in this release:
ROCK LOTTERY 20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION10:00AM – 25 MUSICIANS… 10:00PM – 5 BANDSROCK LOTTERY 16 | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017 | DAN’S SILVERLEAFBENEFITTING KUZU 92.9FM IN DENTON, TEXAS
Sudie Abernathy Sudie | Tyler Adams Pinebox Serenade | Ellie Alonzo Sunbuzzed | Josh Berthume | Stephanie Burns Lizzie Boredom | Chelsey Danielle Pearl Earl | Danny Diamonds | Daniel Francis Doyle Early Lines | Jabari English Lil Durt | Torry Finley Tornup | Teddy Georgia Waggy Midnight Opera | Ian Hamilton Nervous Curtains | John Hodge Razorbumps | Dale Jones New Science Projects | Dahlia Knowles Lorelei K | Randall Minick Felt & Fur | Nick Norris Bonnie & Nick | Alan Painter Black Sea | Priya Patel Silk Shaft | Katie Reese Thin Skin | Trent Reeves Mink Coats | Bella Scott Mimisiku/Frejyalune | Brad Steiger Barbara Black | Avery Taylor Kira Jari | César Velasco Thin SkinHosted by Scott Porter with sounds provided by KUZU.The RL16 20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION will include live screen printing of RL16 band t-shirts by PAN ECTOR and band posters created same-day by d/D/FW artists (names to be announced). All proceeds from the sales of t-shirts and posters will benefit KUZU 92.9FM.DAN’S SILVERLEAF 103 Industrial Street Denton, Texas (940) 320-2000Morning admission at 9:30AM. Evening doors at 8:30PM. Evening event starts at 9:30PM.Morning admission is $20.00 (includes entry for selection ceremony and breakfast). Evening general admission is $15.00. Online tickets available at dansilverleaf.com.KUZU is Denton’s non-profit, free-form community radio station. KUZU’s programming is entirely community funded, operated and produced. Denton listeners can tune in terrestrially at 92.9FM, with a worldwide signal available at kuzu.fm/streaming.Event organized and musicians selected by Chuck Crosswhite, Andi Harman, Shashenka Lopez, Lance Martin, Scott Porter and Ryan Williams. With production assistance by Martin Iles and Chris Weber.ABOUTThe ROCK LOTTERY concept is simple, but effective. Twenty-five musicians meet at 10:00AM at the evening’s performance venue. These volunteers are organized into five bands through a lottery-based chance selection. The five different groups are then released to practice at different locations. The musicians have twelve hours to create a band name and three to five songs (with a one cover song limit.) The bands then return to the venue by 10:00PM and perform what they have created in front of a waiting audience.The twenty-five musicians included in this experiment are carefully selected to represent a wide variety of musical styles. This event will bring together many facets of the music community that may seem incompatible, as well as musicians whose interests may conflict. The challenge for these participants is to try and go beyond their personal and musical differences and work together to create a unified group project that contains the personal styles of each of its members.BACKGROUNDInstigated by Denton’s Good/Bad Art Collective in 1997, the ROCK LOTTERY has become a highly-anticipated music event throughout the United States. In addition to spawning official sister events in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Seattle, the RL concept has been emulated around the world with events in Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Columbus, Louisville, Ottawa ON, San Francisco, Washington DC, Victoria BC and Jeonju, South Korea.In its twenty-year history, the three cities hosting an official ROCK LOTTERY have featured over 800 musicians and raised over 45K for charities as diverse as Arts Corps, CASA, Daniel’s Music Foundation, Denton County African American Museum, Feel the Music, Friends of the Family, Harmony Program, KEXP, Parkland HealthPlus, Rockaway Renegades: Sandy Relief, Save Fry Street, The Vera Project and more.Musicians who have volunteered their time and talent over the last twenty years come from a variety of acclaimed national and international acts including Baptist Generals, David Bazan, Bedhead, Brave Combo, Brutal Juice, Built to Spill, Centro-matic, Corn Mo, The Dap-Kings, Father John Misty, The Head and The Heart, King Crimson, Lift to Experience, Damien Jurado, Midlake, Ministry, Mudhoney, Murder City Devils, My Morning Jacket, Oneida, Parquet Courts, Pinkish Black, Polyphonic Spree, Psychedelic Furs, The Rapture, The Roots, Riverboat Gamblers, Sarah Jaffe, Slobberbone, THEESatisfaction, Swans, They Might Be Giants, Toadies, True Widow, Reggie Watts and Yeah Yeah Yeahs among many others.For the twenty-five brave musicians involved in ROCK LOTTERY 16, plus the event organizers, volunteers, venues and businesses, this busman’s holiday aims to inspire experimentation, collaboration, and community.
