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Fire in the Water, Earth in the Air: Legends of West Texas Music
by Christopher Oglesby
Published by the University of Texas Press:
"As a whole, the interviews create a portrait not only of Lubbock's musicians and artists, but also of the musical community that has sustained them, including venues such as the legendary Cotton Club and the original Stubb's Barbecue. This kaleidoscopic portrait of the West Texas music scene gets to the heart of what it takes to create art in an isolated, often inhospitable environment. As Oglesby says, "Necessity is the mother of creation. Lubbock needed beauty, poetry, humor, and it needed to get up and shake its communal ass a bit or go mad from loneliness and boredom; so Lubbock created the amazing likes of Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Terry Allen, and Joe Ely."

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Dim Lit Daylight on Diversity:
Touring Band Dim Lit Daylight Speaks About Diversity in Music
by Chelsea Roe, contributing writer - March 9, 2008.
Chelsea Roe is a contributing writer for virtualubbock.com. She lives and writes about her life in Lubbock. This article originally appeared in the Texas Tech University Daily Toreador.

With three states including our own within its reach, Lubbock is sure to attract a diverse selection of artists stopping through town on their way somewhere else. On Friday night at Harrigan's Bar and Grill one such band made an appearance- taking time to visit us all the way from Pasadena, CA. Using a voice born for radio-making it more pop by the use of falsetto ranges- and songs you might someday find on "One Tree Hill" soundtrack Dim Lit Daylight showed Lubbock what West Coast music is all about.

Not unlike the local band Spivey, Dim Lit Daylight sports only two people of which there is a bassist-Anthony Montanino- and a guitarist-Joshua Free- who sings and plays with effects at the same time. More often than not they sounded like a full band playing. The technique they used to create this sound was quite different. Free attached an IPOD to the front of his guitar and linked through his effects as well, so that with the touch of a button they could play against previously recorded tracks from their days in the studio- unusual but very effective.

Dim Lit Daylight has been touring around the country for nearly 3 years straight, taking time only to stop in at the studio to record albums- they are currently making headway on their third. The band has made some selections available for free download through myspace, supporting the digital media movement to make music more easily available.

Harrigan's could just be the perfect place for intimate open-mic nights but agreeably that it might not have been their target market to play to on that particular night. This night they were just two guys sitting on stools truly connecting to their own music and hoping to open someone's eyes to a different sound. "We played with a little less trying to compete with the volume", stated Free.

Roe: "What's been your experience in Lubbock when you've come through before? Why Lubbock to begin with?"

Montanino: "It's part of our loop. We've been traveling through West Texas."

Free: "Something we've noticed is that every time we come here there's a split group. There's just some who aren't about it at all but they are still kind and appreciate what we do. It's just not their style. But then we have people that are grateful and are like oh my God I can't believe you came here."

Free is definitely on to something now- the interest in Lubbock is more widely ranged than you'd expect from a town in the middle of nowhere yet the lack of enthusiasms from patrons actually making it out to see the shows can make Lubbock its own worst enemy too.

Free: "I guess the answer to that though is the more places you can get yourself the better regardless of where it is because no everybody has access to all of the major media outlets. The more people are exposed to different types of music the more the market opens up. Very much a part of it is someone in the local scene opening up and saying hey here's maybe something outside the scope of your experience."

Montanino: "We come to play our best even if there's only a few people."

Free: "Like you said before, if the scene is going to grow here, it has to be able to embrace all types of music."

I leave you with one last thought Lubbock… East Coast, West Coast, rock, country, tribal, reggae, rap, hip-hop- it's all right here in our own city and though it may not be one person's particular style, Lubbock can at the right times be quite accepting of diversity. As the underground scene continues to blow up, open yourselves up to the idea of experiencing the differences each new artist possesses. Who knows, you might just find something you never thought you'd like right around the next corner.

More Articles by Chelsea Roe - Chelsea Roe is the music critic for the Daily Toreador at Texas Tech University

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