Hello Big D

“America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, bad-ass speed.” – Elenor Roosevelt.

Ok, so she didn’t really say that, but it’d be cool if she did and at the very least it would be an accurate statement. I don’t need to go into it, but we Americans know we loves the car. It just expresses our view of freedom so succinctly. Just seeing a red sports car can get us excited. We even have shows where we just look at new cars, or hell, even old cars just sitting there. And sometimes we have events where we just watch cars go fast.

Car racing has been around since the car was invented. And here in the Big D we have a great track to go watch cars going fast, really fast. Texas Motor Speedway opened in February of 2006 and has since been a home to the NASCAR and IRL racing series.

I know what you are thinking what could be more redneck than a NASCAR race. Well to be honest… not a lot and that is exactly what I thought. I had never been to a race, but I was lucky enough to be a guest to the Samsung 500 in April. I had more fun than I have had in a long time. In the stands before the race, I had butterflies in my stomach. There was a certain electricity in the air. And when they yelled “Gentlemen start your engines!” and all of the drivers started their cars, I was smiling ear to ear. I felt like a 10 year old kid. Those screaming engines, bright pretty cars and the rumbling in the stands was enough to make me get out of my seat. And stand I did until well after the green flag dropped.

I had heard it was going to be loud, but i couldn’t have know it would be that loud. I had heard the cars were going to be fast, and trust me they were fast. At full speed the cars made it around the 1½ mile track in about 30 seconds. I had heard there was a lot of beer, but I was in college the last time I saw that many empties. Come to think of it when if Texas Motor Speedway has a theme it is “More = More.” Maybe that’s just a theme they inherited from Texas herself.

Needless to say the race far exceeded my expectations. Since my first race I have been back to Texas Motor Speedway again to see the IRL IndyCar Series race. And it was different, but easily just as cool. If you haven’t had a chance to see a race I highly recommend it. I will be there in November, maybe I will see you there.

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Do you remember that scene in Armageddon when Bruce Willis pushes Ben Affleck into the future space capsule, thereby ensuring that he’d be the one to lay down his life in order to press the button that destroys the asteroid? Do you happen to remember Bruce stumbling into a super cool record store to waste time until there were only like two seconds left on the doomsday fun clock? Well, Good Records is just like that record store. Ok, that didn’t happen, but I think it’s always wise to relearn the lessons taught by Bruce’s rugged team of reluctant heroes.

And if there were an outlet for all of your record buying needs situated on a death meteor hurtling toward our eastern seaboard, I’d imagine that it might be Good Records-esque…mostly because retired drillers occupy the front counter. Ok, that’s not true, either. In fact, none of this is relevant, but you should give Good Records a shot. Considering the dearth of quality record shops in our fair burgh, it has to be high on your Dallas to-do list.

All the hippest and nowest (not a word) cd’s are super organized and ready for perusal in Christmas light enhanced rows. It’s easy to find whatever super cool Japanese Neil Diamond bootleg you “need,” but I wouldn’t recommend it…you don’t want to face the oil-covered staff with such a disreputable purchase. If you want high fives about the new Animal Collective, though, this be yer place (pirate talk?). The cherry on top of their rad selection of new stuff (that you say you’ve heard despite only having read about it on Pitchfork and Insound) is their growing selection of new and used vinyl lp’s. If you think it’d be cooler to have the Brighten the Corners reissue on vinyl (you’re right), then consider such a need fulfilled.

I like records, and I Iike cd’s…but I triple like excellent bands playing free shows. Guess what, people of earth, they have an amazing roster of bands playing in store every week, too. It’s actually a pretty nice venue, what with their Astroturf stage and opium den (ssshhh). I shuffled off to the Brightblack Morning Light concert, at which pixies were floating freely and sprinkling pink dust into everyone’s ears…and offering freshly cured meats. Sweet tunes and amazing sandwich fixins? Count me in. But really (this is how a fifth grader starts a sentence), the space is quite conducive to live performances and offers an intimate venue for free. You would be well-advised to catch your favorite band there…and buy some records…and visit the pixie deli counter. Yum-yums on all counts.

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Art Prostitute was founded in Denton in 2003 and quickly gained global recognition as being an outstanding design/art publication featuring some the most talented and relevent creative minds out there. Since then they’ve moved their gallery to Deep Ellum into the space shown above.

The show openings here are always a blast—they had free Shiner on tap at the last one I went to, not to mention a bunch of jaw-dropping work. If you think most “art galleries” are stuffy and pretentious, then this will be a breath of fresh air. And it’s because of the founders, Brian Gibb and Mark Searcy. They do a great job of finding artists/designers who live and breathe creativity—people who truly depend on creativity for their survival. At least this is the vibe that I got out of it. You won’t be dissapointed. They also have a nice little collection of art books and lots of other cool stuff for sale. Here’s a map.

Thanks to Justin Childress and Christina Childress for the photography.

Art, Design, Junior, Live Events | 1 Comment

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Honestly, what is more local than a local band? My guess–a local band at a great local bar with local celebrities.

Saturday night I went to see Dallas’ own Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band, Pepper Theft at the Stoneleigh P. With Brad Smith on lead vocals it is about as close to Anthony Kiedis as you can get unless you play a mean bass in your whitey tighties. Pirating John Frusciante, Michael Gruber plays lead guitar by night, but you might know him better as Grubes on the Ticket 1310 A.M. Tying everything together is Russ Aaron on bass and Jack Beesley on drums. It was a blast hearing some of my all time fave Pepper songs  like Under The Bridge and Give It Away.

I have always loved the Stoneleigh P. They have some great food. My favorite is the Rancho Deluxe Burger. They also have an awesome brunch on the weekends. Probably the best thing about the Stoneleigh P is on most nights you can go there and just have a drink on their great outdoor porch. I would say that live music is really the exception instead of the norm, but it is nice change of pace. Also on any given night you might see Luke or Owen Wilson who are also fans of this local gem. If you do see them, though, don’t be a jerk and let them enjoy their drink. Just revel in the fact you both know about the Stoneleigh P.

Seeing friends, dinking cold Red Stripe, and listening to local music is one of my favorite things to do and it helps block out the governments ELF mind control.

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