Thursday, February 1, 2007

Boca Tinta Listening To: at Club Dada comes to an end

By Erin Rice

Darn it! What has become a regular Thursday evening plan for many Dallas indie, alternative, rock, alt-country, whatever lovers bids us all a heartfelt adieu tonight. The Listening To: series at Club Dada, as we currently know it, is coming to a close.

Wait, does that say "farewell?" NOOOOO!!!!!!.......NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

After announcing on Boca Tinta that Listening To: was ending, Amanda Neuman, the woman behind the LT: scenes, sat down with me to talk about some of her experiences creating this music series. Let me start by saying I did not have to ask one question during the whole interview. Her emotion poured out right from the start and it was obvious that Listening To: was not a job to her, it was a passion for local music.

The series started almost incidentally and snowballed into what it has been for so many months now. Starting with the Artist in Residence Series, she was then put forth on the task of just organizing the entire lineup of a single show for Club Dada. The lineup came together so easily that Dada's owner suggested that Amanda put together a weekly show. Immediately after agreeing, she asked herself, "What did I just do?" From that moment on she not only booked the bands, but she created the flyers, did most of the promoting, and ran around "backstage" keeping things going during the show, including one incident when she called a friend from a band not performing that evening to borrow his bass strap for a band member at her show who had lost his.

It was little gestures like the one above that she feels helped her book shows and make bands want to come back. Amanda explained that she was shocked in the beginning to learn that much of what she did to prepare for a show was not the standard. "I would do simple things like email the band to tell them what time they were playing and when to load," she said, "many of them weren't used to that." Hopefully it's that kind of respect for the bands that will catch on in Dallas. For her it was just the right way to treat other people.

While she tearfully says goodbye to her responsibilities in Listening To: Thursdays, she's looking forward to working behind the scenes and giving more focused attention to the bands she manages. What else is she looking forward to? "Having time to do laundry." Eh, it's the simple things sometimes.

To show her gratitude* (a word she used more times in the interview than I can count), this final Thursday Listening To: features an amazing lineup of bands with whom she's made friends throughout her work in Dallas music (see flyer above). Even better? This dang fantastic show is free. You heard me, free. Put your five bucks back in the old pocket, Scrooge McDuck. Have a good free-ish time (probably have to buy some alcohol, if that's your thing) and wish the people that have kept Listening To: going for as long as it has well. Hopefully Club Dada will be able to continue some form of this successful event, but that might just be something you will need to try to convince the owner of after a few G&Ts. Good luck.

*I'm not one for "shout-outs", but during our interview Amanda expressed said gratitude for several people who have helped her create this great music series and I would be remiss not to pass on those sentiments. Here goes: Everyone at Club Dada, J.D. Whittenburg, Eastwood, Travis Hopper, Doug Burr, Cindy Chaffin, Jeff Jones, I believe she mentioned the other Boca Tinta peeps, and all her family and friends. If you are on this list, she is grateful for you. If you are not on this list, that doesn't necessarily mean she is not grateful for you, it probably just means I can't take notes that quickly.

Related stories

• Memorable music interviews: 2007 (Dec. 25, 2007)

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• Arts > Popular Music

Comments

Bill Holston Verified

amanda newman is the real deal. You couldn't ask for someone more interested in the people who run the bars, play in the bands and fans and friends of the musicians. muchas gracias mi amiga.

Thursday evenings have been a rare treat. This community of people that have been forming though will find new ways to continue to connect.

1 year, 7 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )