Songwriters can often canter by on their high horse, claiming to be a contemporary Virgil or Homer with stanzas in hand. So it’s a breath of fresh air when you come across truly talented self-deprecators like Austin-via-Irving singer-guitarist John Wesley Coleman III. Coleman calls himself a “trash poet”, eschewing hubris in favor of fun, accessible material, be it through standup comedy, movie scripts, books or music. Since his rowdy 2009 debut Steal My Mind, Coleman’s incorporated the most raucous bits of garage, indie rock, lo-fi punk, and even a bit of ’60s skiffle into his earworm formulas. And while he’s fine tuned some of his techniques to appear at least adjacent to what’s considered “professional”, his idiosyncratic style’s remained intact.
Coleman’s saga continues on October 14th with Kiss Apocalypse, produced by White Denim’s Steve Terebecki and mixed by Cat Power engineer Stuart Sikes. Kiss Apocalypse features familiar Austin favorites like Moving Panorama’s Leslie Sisson, Trail of Dead’s Jason Reece, and more, for a full-length fireball of beautifully-flawed local artistry. The record release show is October 16th at Saddle Up and John Wesley Coleman III plays tonight at Chess Club along with openers Narrow Haunts and Blair Brown & The Western Hearts starting at 9PM. Between those two easy opportunities to witness Coleman’s uncouth commentary, there’s no excuse not to make some new memories that’ll let you “Talk About the Good Times” later on.
