“I didn t feel comfortable putting out music until I actually went through something, because I wanted all of my songs to be relatable, Hawkins says. I really had something to talk about when I went through a tumultuous relationship. At the time, I had fallen into a depression and I stopped actually recording music for a minute. And then I had to get back to it.”
Hawkins wrote
Mixed Emotions “on and off” between the ages of 20 and 25. His song Situationship was inspired by an old flame, and Hawkins defines the term as “more than friends with benefits, but less than relationships.”
“I came up with the idea last May,” Johnston says. “It was supposed to be a one-off thing, but it went so well I decided to try it again. Next thing I knew, it was a monthly event.”
An intimate audience might not be the right description of the crowd, but it is not at all crowded with its small but loyal following. The main performance spot is in front of a giant wall covered in graffiti referred to as Graffiti Wall, but Covert Concerts has plans to move around to a different spot each month.
The show is powered by a generator, and though anyone can sign up to play, the bills are mostly rock and metal. The event is promoted as not having everything a typical venue might have (like bathrooms), but it has been well received by interested performers, and Johnston has had no trouble getting enough bands to play each month.
This week, both Elm and Main Street were sleepy by non-pandemic Thursday night standards, but there was a sense of optimism in Big D s barhopping crowds. The vibe at Deep Ellum Candy Co. was joyful; people were smiling, laughing and having fun.
Delilah DuBois, a maskless burlesque dancer, brought the house down with her seductive sashay on the same stage where BB King once made “Lucille” sing. Her tip bucket-toting assistant, however, was masked up perhaps as a safety precaution or possibly as a wardrobe strategy to keep the focus on DuBois.
Bottled Blonde had DJ Zillamatic playing an open format set until 2 a.m., and while the bar had the green light to party like it’s 2019, they said they’re taking baby steps. A few folks were wearing masks (most were not); the decision is left to the people.
Perhaps the biggest story in local music news has to do with Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to lift the statewide mask mandate and open Texas back up entirely while the pandemic is still very much going on and this state is ranked 48th in vaccine rollout.
The owners and operators of several
Dallas music venueshave responded to the governor by maintaining their mask policies for the sake of protecting their staff, and, well, all of us. Dallas musicians have also spoken out about their preference to continue performing at drive-in concerts and low-capacity crowds for their own and their fans’ protection.
Nick Wright, a psych-rock artist in the band Caved Mountains, says it’s not the right time.
“We would love to do it. There’s a lot of excitement to go play shows, but it’s not the right thing to do,” Wright says. “Right now we’re focused on health and making sure people don’t get sick. We’re practicing here at my house. We’re not going into a jam space.”
Wright and the Caved Mountains worry that practicing in a space where other bands have also recently practiced could put them at risk of catching COVID. Since Grail Fest (a live-music listening and record-digging event that Wright had in the works since 2019) was canceled when the pandemic hit in 2020, the band has not done any live shows and isn’t planning any until it’s safe.