Don Perry
Neighborhood Texture Jam
Who among us can honestly say they’ve never fallen into the Borax factory of someone’s love? Neighborhood Texture Jam, veterans of the 80s and 90s Memphis scene, will address that musical question Saturday at the Railgarten. In a nod to their longtime fans, rejecting the ageism implicit in late night start times, they will play on the early side. The show will be walker- and hearing aid-friendly. Segways are optional.
Gestating around 30 years ago out of the rich compost of the Antenna Club scene, the group has proved over the decades that this idea has legs, with reunion shows staged every few years.
The band’s emblem, a single high-platform shoe, is enigmatic, partly because it’s just a single shoe (what’s up with that?), partly because their proclivities tend more toward industrial-strength riff rock and punk. If the shoe suggests a hint of glam, it is buried in pile-driving sounds more likely appropriated from President’s Island. Indeed, rhythmic technician Greg Easterly may have pilfered his haz-mat-approved steel barrels from such a place. For every gig, he picks a new location from which to steal his instruments, the smells of the respective 55 gallon drums contributing to the unique character of every show.
Playing the Railgarten brings with it the added benefit of a good sound system, the better to hear singer Joe Lapsley’s lyrics with. The songs, exuding a canny political awareness, might range from the history lesson of “Old South” to the happy-go-lucky “Rush Limbaugh-Evil Blimp.” Expect a rollicking good time punctuated with bizarre theatrical touches.
Neighborhood Texture Jam "Live at Young Avenue Deli, Memphis, TN" from Price Harrison on Vimeo.
Neighborhood Texture Jam awakens for early show!
NTJ – Memphispalooza happens Saturday, Aug. 5, at the Railgarten, 7:30 pm.
