Don’t forget, kiddies — the Mr. Peppermint 79th Birthday Party is tonight at the Granada Theatre in Dallas. I’ll be there recording schtuff for the next episode of DAMradio, so get your ass on out and support a really great cause (the American Diabetes Association) and a really great man (Jerry Haynes).

My tech support gig has me travelling around Dallas a lot — a lot — and in between stops, I’m listening to my iPod, or local radio, however briefly. Today, while listening to JACK-FM, I heard an ad from the National Association of Broadcasters promoting… radio.

Bear in mind, I’ve worked in radio a couple of times. Up until the iPod provided a real alternative to the variety a radio station could provide, there was an arrogance in the way radio stations positioned themselves. Now, they’re truly scared about losing sizeable chunks of their audience, becoming irrelevant.

Save the comments about how Dallas radio sucks — it’s this bad all over the country. With exceptions such as KCRW, the Los Angeles NPR affiliate, radio in America has done nothing but suffered through homogenization. When the FCC allowed corporations like Clear Channel to purchase as many stations in a given market as they could afford, it opened the door for a select few analysts and programmers to make all of the decisions on what you got to listen to.

[Good Old Days Syndrome = on] Growing up in Dallas, I had KZEW and Q102 introducing me to new music. Redbeard, Jill Savage, Mike Rhyner, George Gimarc, Charlie Jones… they weren’t just “annoying DJs” filling the space between songs with mindless pratter. They were people who were passionate about music, and loved what they did. They gave me a foundation of wide-ranging styles of rock. They were that cool friend who came over and said, “Here, give this a shot.” [GODS = off]

With very few exceptions, that simply doesn’t exist anymore. And radio listeners are the ones who suffer for it… until they all move over to Sirius, XM, or their iPods.

More photos to post. These were sent to me by Matt Hawthorne who got the chance to see this building blow up this morning. It’s like fireworks. Big crowds and big explosions.

For reasons behind this building’s demise check out this article from the Dallas Morning News.

I’m trying hard to get us one of those image filled headers, so here’s some more photos from a great art show hanging at the Magnolia right now by Matt Hawthorne, a good friend of mine.

For more information about the show click on this flyer:

Or visit www.matthawthorne.com or pigeonstoneproject.com.

Also be sure to check out Matt’s very talented wife, Mary Emma, who is showing her paintings in a few shows in Dallas at this very moment. Here’s the flyer for her current work at 500x:

Or visit www.maryemmahawthorne.com or www.500x.org for more info as well.

hello is anyone there is anything going on in dallas i should know about? i stay alone in my apt and have nothing to say anymore about the city at large. this may symptomatic of others in the dfw area.

The grand opening for and/or gallery is tonight, Saturday 1/28 from 6-10pm!

Show #1: Tom Moody + Saskia Jorda
January 28th – February 28th

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Tom Moody is a visual artist based in New York, and an ex-Texan who covered Texas in Artforum for a number of years. His low-tech art made with MSPaintbrush, photocopiers, and consumer printers has appeared in solo shows at Derek Eller Gallery and UP&CO and numerous group shows. His weblog begun in February 2001, was recently recommended in the Art in America article “Art in the Blogosphere,” and his web video “Guitar Solo” made its live audience debut this month in “23 Reasons to Spare New York,” curated by Nick Hallett at Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg, NY.

Saskia Jorda, also from New York, completed the UTD/Southside Artist Residency here in Dallas several months ago, and the Skowhegan Residency immediately after that. She has exhibited recently in the U.S. in New York, Missouri, North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, and in Europe in Ghent, Belgium. She lives and works in New York City where she creates drawings and sculpture based on obscure anatomy information. The 3D works we’ll be showing are equally cuddly and gross.

ABOUT THE EVENT
At the reception, we’ll have a VJ performance using Alexei Shulgin’s latest software-art project, W.I.M.P..
Backyard to smoke in.
No snooty vibe here..
but it looks nice.
Free wine/bev, thai food appetizers, admission.
You and your family/friends won’t want to miss this.

www.andorgallery.com

DIRECTIONS
at the corner of Peak and Bryan near the AT&T building
4221 Bryan St. “b”
Dallas, 75204
214-824-2442

If you haven’t had the chance to check out this show yet, it’s well worth the trip to Denton. Oh and if you need a good idea for a Valentine’s Day gift that keeps on giving, check out the $10 GOCCO prints!

Art Prostitute Presents…
Thank You…A collection of thoughts.
NEW WORKS BY STEVEN HARRINGTON & JUSTIN KRIETEMEYER OF NATIONAL FOREST DESIGN
January 7, 2006 to March 1, 2006

ART PROSTITUTE :: 210 E. HICKORY :: DENTON, TX 76201 :: 940.381.1526
If you cannot make the exhibition, but still wish to support, all work will be available for viewing and/or purchase on our site the friday after the opening.
http://www.artprostitute.com

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Founded by Steven Harrington and Justin Krietemeyer, the design studio National Forest has, in a short time, established an impressive list of clients that include Urban Outfitters, Element Skateboards, Rolling Stone Magazine, Nike, Capitol Records, and Sony. With design projects spanning from print and illustration to interactive and motion graphics, National Forest brings an artistic background, love of culture and collaborative approach to all endeavors. Recently, a new studio space, potted plant, and east coast imported employee have added some new inspiration for the future of the growing forest.
http://www.nationalforest.com

On my way to look at a couch last night, I happened to see a sign in someone’s yard regarding the Wright Amendment. Simply put, the words did not fall on the side of the line where the majority of the people are on the issue. Then I started wondering – whose yard was that? Someone with AA? Someone with DFW? Who ever it was, I am sure they are unaware that a pre-planned trip from Austin to New York (JFK), non-stop, on JetBlue will run in the neighborhood of $177, but the same trip on AA leaving from DFW is nearly $100 more. Top that with the fact that the cheapest flight to JFK from DFW is on ATA and it is still $10 more than JetBlue, and there is a stop in Chicago.

With the lifting of the Wright Amendment, I think we would not only see more competitive fares, but also more competition in general, with carriers like JetBlue willing to finally come to DFW (or Love Field) because AA will have lost its thunder and no longer be able to bully the smaller airlines.

And I am not getting that couch I went to see. I am getting another one.

Deep Ellum has been getting a lot of negative press lately, spawned from the closing of some long-standing music venues like Trees and Dada. The news attention is quite disheartening to a lot of people that have businesses in that area. The recent articles in the Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Observer paint scenes of a boarded up landscape filled with crime, gangs, and lawlessness. What these articles failed to offer was any hope for Deep Ellum, leaving their readers to side with them and write off the area as dying, expecting the public to turn their backs while Deep Ellum releases it’s final breath. Pamela Irwin’s article poses the question, “Why doesn’t anyone seem to care?” Well, there are some who do, and who plan on doing what they can to turn things around.

In June, we are relocating the Art Prostitute Gallery and Boutique to Commerce Street in the heart of Deep Ellum. Already feeling like concerned community members, I recently had the chance to sit for a spell with the Deep Ellum Association president and discuss some of the concerns, and plans for initiating a turn in perspective toward this culturally valuable area of Dallas. As we started making plans to move to Dallas, Art Prostitute deliberated for quite some time as to where we were going to call our new home. With all this recent press on Deep Ellum, we are now more satisfied than ever with our new location. Instead of being fearful and swayed by all the dirt flung about in the media, we view it as the place in Dallas that can benefit the most from what we want to bring to the city. We are looking forward to being a part of a close-knit art, music, and residential community. Already Deep Ellum offers opportunities for businesses and residents to be an active part of events like the upcoming Deep Ellum Arts Festival in April, in addition to other film and music festivals that happen throughout each year. What other part of Dallas offers these kind of culturally diverse community events in one location? Already there are great places to eat, to hang out, and live in the area. Already there is a rich cultural history to build on. Plans are in the works to bring some great things to the area. Talk of free wi-fi across Deep Ellum, building restorations, and making the area just feel cleaner are quickly turning into actual plans. There is some excitement for the future Deep Ellum, it’s just that the buzz at the moment is being made between a few bees. Regardless, where there’s bees, there’s honey.

Of course re-building confidence in Deep Ellum is not going to happen overnight. The whole process of re-building a sense of community starts with actually being a part of the community. Art Prostitute is excited to be a part of it all. With each recent visit to Deep Ellum we’ve made in preparation to our move, we have already been approached by residents, business owners, and the like who greet us with warm smiles and already are making us feel welcome.

If you happen to read this post today, while still at your office / coffee shop / babysitting gig, and have somewhere to drive… anywhere in the Metroplex, watch the hell out. The area’s finest are out en masse today, looking to hand out tickets. I’ve seen speed traps in no less than five suburbs, and at one area in east Fort Worth, there were patrolmen in the middle of the intersection, controlling traffic. If you were driving without your seat belt on, or your tags were out of date, they asked you to pull over.

No, I didn’t get nicked. Thanks for asking. (Knocks on wood. A LOT OF IT.)