Two dozen bands not accepted to 35 Denton play independent festival

by Sarah Blaskovich

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The fest is free.

DENTON — While Denton will be stocked with concerts during the music festival 35 Denton on March 8-11, a group of musicians are planning an entirely new event on the same weekend.

Called 35 des Refuses, the show on Saturday, March 10 includes some bands who applied to play at 35 Denton and weren't placed on the roster, with the exception of Denton hip-hop group Fab Deuce, which is playing both 35 Denton and 35 des Refuses. Bands at 35 des Refuses are chipping in to cover necessities like a stage and sound equipment, and attendees will find free beer (for those 21 and up) and free food. The fest is at A Creative Art Studio in Denton.

Richard Haskins, frontman for the Denton punk band The Wee-Beasties and organizer of the event, says the festival is a grassroots effort that won't make money but will support local music.

"We're not an anti-35 festival. We're in addition to [the] 35 festival," he said. "The fact that they're putting that on is whatever, but we're doing this other thing." However, the festival gets its name from Salon des Refuses, an art event in France in the 1800s that featured art rejected by the government. Similarly, 35 des Refuses feature some bands that weren't picked to play 35 Denton.

Organizers of 35 Denton say they encourage the event. "We think it's wonderful," said Bradford Purdom, director of promotions. "It's part of the culture. It fosters Denton being a music town."

The headliner is Denton polka group Brave Combo. The band has decided to begin its set with Christmas music because they didn't play the Denton Holiday Lighting Festival in December for the first time in almost 20 years. "We thought it'd be kind of funny to get to play the Christmas music that we didn't get to play on the square," said Carl Finch of Brave Combo.

Haskins' band The Wee-Beasties will also play. The band performed on the Denton square at last year's 35 Denton (then called 35 Conferette), and Haskins' performance created quite a stir.

"Our band is ... an act. It's not offensive, but it can be risque at times, sort of raunchy," said Haskins, who wore a Speedo and was surprised his band was booked in the early evening, in an area popular with families. "We asked the guys, 'OK, you have us booked at 6:30 in the evening on the Denton downtown square, which is the time period when perhaps a lot of moms and kids are wanting to buy ice cream.'"

His stripped-down attire came as a shock to some, but Haskins said it's all part of the performance. "I get hot when we play. If you have a job to do and you have a uniform that helps you do that job better, you should wear that uniform."

You can expect a similar performance from him at 35 des Refuses.

The gig includes performances by Brave Combo; The Wee-Beasties; UVER; Fab Deuce; Rude King; Juicy the Emissary; Muenster MC; Band Nerds; Hatch; Street Hop; Shottaz; Lovesick Mary; SonAS; Dang 'ol Dixon; Xegesis; TLiT; Mooseka; Lorena Swan; Whiskey Tongue Burlesque; Polly Maynard; Infidelix; Digo; Didit; Robert Hokamp Jazz Odyssey; Dub Commission; Frank Twitchy; and Wild Bill.

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