Elm Street in Deep Ellum has darkened a bit in the last week and will darken even more next week. Club Dada? Gone. Trees? Soon to be gone. (Well, it might only be temporary for one or both of them: Dada posted a sign on the door saying they\’d \”reopen after Christmas\”, and the Observer article I read wasn\’t able to completely confirm Trees\’ fate by press time.)

I only played at Club Dada once and that was two(?) years ago with Deedle, where we \”acoustically attempted\” some Descendents, Ramones and Tom Petty covers for an audience of eight. Dada had always been the 21 and up joint that I avoided playing at because it was, well, 21 and up. My only real memory of the place, besides walking by it a thousand times on the way to Trees, is hearing from numerous people that they had \”really great sound there.\” I mean it, I heard that so many times over the years that I finally just started accepting it as fact. (I\’ve even used the ol\’ Dada has really great sound line myself once or twice on occasion.)

Trees, on the other hand, is a veritable walk down Memory Lane for me. I saw many of my all-time favorite shows there, important shows like Green Day (1994), Rancid (1996), and the more recent They Might Be Giants\’ double-header (2004). It was always the top Deep Ellum club in my eyes and was probably the only club in Deep Ellum where I actually saw more shows than I played. In fact, I also played there only once: in 2002, when my old band, The Fitz, briefly reunited to play an Adventure Club birthday show.

My old, old band, Ed Banky\’s Car, used to try to play at Trees. We sent in demo after lame demo, left messages, even attempted to go there for a face to face chat a couple times, but never were able to land a show; always a maybe – never a date. Funny enough – though \”funny\” is kind of a, well, funny word to use here – the week after my brother passed away and, consequently, the week after Ed Banky\’s Car ended, I got a call from, wouldn\’t you know it, Trees asking if we wanted to fill a freshly vacated Saturday night slot.

Honestly, I all but gave up on most Deep Ellum clubs a couple years ago, partially because most of them were really starting to get good at ripping off their bands and customers, but largely due to the fact that 41 Gorgeous Blocks could never seem to draw more than a handfull of people at the lame timeslots we always managed to get dealt.

I guess we\’ll see how this all plays out – the club closings, I mean. But even if both bounce back, it still paints a pretty grim picture about what\’s actually happening out there. Both closings, as I understand it, were due to money problems, which I can only assume exist at more than just Trees and Dada. Deep Ellum is certainly not the place it once was. But, you know, that\’s what people have been saying for more than a decade now. Even since before I saw all those important and favorite shows of mine.

Just in time for Christmas, the entire 41GB recorded catalogue is on sale! You get ALL of the following for only $15 postage paid:

1. 2000\’s \”An Emotional Young Person Just Like Yourself\” full length CD
2. 2001\’s \”It Isn\’t Supposed To Be This Way\” full length CD***
3. 2002\’s \”Swallow the Sandwich\” EP
4. 2003\’s \”Well…\” EP
5. 2004\’s \”Well I Sorta Know How You Feel\” full length CD
6. 2005\’s \”Resigned\” EP***

*** due to quantity limitations, \”It Isn\’t Supposed To Be This Way\” and \”Resigned\” do not include artwork. All others will be new, shrink-wrapped CDs.

- Not sure about PayPal? Learn more.
- Don\’t have a credit card? Email for more payment options.
- Don\’t live in the U.S.? Email for shipping costs.
- Don\’t need all of the CDs? Want a shirt with your order? Ask about our other deals.

Offer valid thru 12/31/05. Then we start ripping people off again.

Our buddies from Beaumont, Joe Jitsu, will be appearing with us at Tony\’s on Saturday, along with local greats, The Immigrants.

Show starts at 9. It\’s all ages and free. Be sure to come hungry.

Click for info and map.

I sure wish more people would shoot their mouth off like Joe Queer:

When did it stop being about the songs and start being about the clothes you wear and the label you are on and making rock stars of fucking idiots with mohawks?Punk used to be for everyone and now it\’s all snobs…….it\’s all about the money.No one says a word about all this BS by and large.You shoot your mouth off in this day and age you make a pretty big target.

(via Weasel Manor)