My Denton Music spotlight: Teenage Cool Kids

by Josh Hogan of My Denton Music

This year has certainly been an exciting one for the Teenage Cool Kids. In fact I can not think of another band whose members have been put through such a gauntlet with as many ups and downs as these guys have been through in 2009. Let's see, things got started early on in the year when in February their fantastic album Foreign Lands was delayed until just about a month ago. But it was worth the wait. Foreign Lands is a wonderful compilation of indie rock songs that at times border shoegaze but never actually crosses over into the genre. The mix of fuzzy indie rock guitar and a fast paced beat makes for a perfect summer soundtrack anyway, even if it was intended to be released in very early spring.

Then in March the band ventured South to the town of Austin for the post NX35 party, otherwise known as South By Southwest, where they received a pretty good amount of attention and praise from those who saw them perform.

However, it was nothing compared to attention they were about to get upon returning home to Denton. That following week, the band was served with a cease and desist order by the Chicago rap duo The Cool Kids for a copyright name infringement. Okay, we are not going to go very deep into this for two reasons. First, the whole thing was just ridiculous and I find it hard to believe that the two artists from "The Chi" did not realize that themselves before going ahead with the lawsuit. Second, I am sure you heard all about it when it was actually going on. The whole ordeal got attention from newspapers, web-zines, and blogs nationwide.

So the whole thing basically blew up, the Teenage Cool Kids got some national exposure out of it, and eventually (and rightly) were able to keep their name. But somehow I doubt that all the attention was worth the legal hassle that came with it.

And now comes the news of guitarist Andrew Savage's side project, Fergus and Geronimo, which he formed alongside Jason Kelly of The Wax Museums, a band that appears primed and ready to take off. Ever since the release of their demos on MySpace, we have watched them get hotter and hotter, and I would expect them to finally reach a boil by the end of the summer. We should have an interview with Savage and Kelly sometime in August before they embark on their first national tour. They will be playing (somewhere) in Denton on August 14 before a whirlwind tour of bars and house shows across the West Coast and Midwest this fall.

And somehow, through it all, the Teenage Cool Kids have made it to the end of July unscathed. They have been put through one hell of a test this year and they have passed. And things are certainly looking good for the group. They will be alongside Fergus and Geronimo for much of the nationwide tour and with Foreign Lands loaded in their arsenal, they could be on the way to some really great things.

Check out the title track Foreign Lands in this outstanding video by Katie Rogers and Connor Lloyd Crews.

• Staff
• Verified User
• Anonymous