Concert review: Spooky Folk at Hailey’s in Denton (July 3)

by Rachel Watts of My Denton Music

There are very few justifiable reasons for not being at Hailey's on Friday night, and here's why -- Spooky Folk.

Spooky Folk's almost eerie ambience and folk roots are what attracted a lively and very responsive crowd to Hailey's Friday night. Although they weren't headlining, they brought an energy to the place that added volumes to the crowd's level of praise and "get down-ness." For their first Hailey's performance, they were wedged in between the two softer, solo acoustic sets of Miss Celia and Clint Niosi, followed eventually by the always entertaining Delmore Pilcrow. Although Spooky Folk was shy of their bassist/keyboard player Scarlett Wright this time around, it appeared that nothing could detract from their seamless performance. Or high spirits for that matter.

Their newest song "Bible Belt," performed not even a handful of times, was the best possible choice for the start of the set, as well as for the kick start of the Fourth of July weekend. If you're asking yourself why, or what makes it so damn incredible, perhaps the only advice I could give is to get yourself to their next show, since they don't have any records presently for sale. The reason? They haven't recorded one yet.

If you're really jonesin' to get your hands on a couple of their tracks, lead singer Kaleo Kaualoku has recorded solo versions of the songs "Rare Bird" and "I am a ghost" on a compilation of mostly local solo artists called Songs to Burn, by Wow Signal Music Company. You can stroll over to Recycled Books to pick that up today, and it includes tracks by The Baptist Generals, The Slow Burners and others.

Although Spooky Folk is still nailing down the details, they see recording in their near future. Their sound is one to be admired and their music is such that it longs to be heard, whether locally or otherwise, therefore recording seems to be the next logical step for the fivesome. Until then, they've lined up several shows this summer, including one at J&J's Pizza on July 9th and a show at The Schoolhouse at 914 Bolivar St. on July 30th. The entire lineup for the 30th is still being worked out, since it will be the first show held at the new venue by I Love Math Records, the homeowners hoping to put out Spooky Folk's first album.

All in all, everyone wants a piece of the Spooky Folk pie. The band's exposure has steadily grown little by little amidst the Denton local music scene, and continues in an upward climb, regardless of the fluctuations in members and instruments throughout the past year. Following Friday night's performance, 88.1FM held an interview with Kaleo Kaualoku on "Infrequent Exposure" Saturday night at 7:30, outlining the small success that has recently begun to surround the band and its talent.

You can check out more of their music and upcoming shows at their MySpace page.