Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Ryan Thomas Becker, who calls Denton home, recently teamed up with his RTB2 bandmate Grady Don Sandlin, Eaton Lake Tonics’ Tony Ferraro and Oso Closo’s Andy Rogers to do a six track EP as Ryan Thomas Becker And Last Joke.  None of the songs on the now available Last Joke Band EP are actually theirs, so I like to look at it as a tribute to some of Becker's favorite Texas songwriters/friends, including the Austin-based Randy Reynolds of Leatherbag.  Check out the band's version of one of my favorite Leatherbag tunes below.  I think they really put their own stamp on the rollicking, carefree tune.

:Ryan Thomas Becker And Last Joke - Tom Petty Summer (Leatherbag Cover):

My local show pick for this week is an alternative to this weekend's FunFunFun Fest madness. On Friday, you can check out Wiretree, The Alice Rose, Silver Ships, and Cartographers at Skinny's Ballroom. Come out and support Wiretree before they cross the Atlantic for a handful of shows in Spain and the UK. They released one of my favorite local albums of 2011, Make Up.

This bill of bands is chock full of top notch Texas pop/rock. Wiretree (10 pm), The Alice Rose (12 am), and Silver Ships (9 pm) are all from Austin, and Cartographers (11 pm) bring their quirky pop stylings from San Antonio.

Check out Wiretree's video for The Shore featuring cool animation from Eric Power :

:Wiretree - The Shore:

- Jennifer Leduc -



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