The GO-GO Rillas are North Texas’ “#1 monkey-surf-garage-rock band,” which feature their own dancers during the set – the GO-GO Galrillas. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Wandering around North Texas, escaped gorillas are playing monkey-surf-garage-rock to amazed crowds – capturing the child-like spirit of music while wearing fez hats.
The GO-GO Rillas are a high-energy band filled with mischievous monkeys whose colorful backstories range from being casino blackjack dealers to the last primate sent into space by NASA.
The Devil’s Darlins at Tulips FTW. Photo: Jessica Waffles
The Devil’s Darlins are known for their rockabilly vibe, and their lineup of original songs are composed by keyboardist Nancy. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Janie Frances sings lead and plays rhythm guitar in The Devil’s Darlins. She has been a professional singer for twenty years and majored in classical music at TCU. Photo: Jessica Waffles
The GO-GO Rillas performed over the weekend at Tulips FTW with Mean Motor Scooter, The Devil’s Darlins and The Koffyns.
The playful energy on stage supplied by The GO-GO Rillas (and their dancers, the GO-GO Galrillas) fed the clamoring crowd, who came out in droves to dance.
Bango of the GO-GO Rillas. Photo: Jessica Waffles
The GO-GO Rillas performances are well-rehearsed, as some of their songs include synchronized choreography with the gorillas. Photo: Jessica Waffles
The Go-GO Galrillas add energy to the stage. Photo: Jessica Waffles
The Go-Go Rillas specialty amp. Photo: Jessica Waffles
The GO-GO Rillas released their debut EP Banana Party in 2019, followed by their 2022 EP Buggy Gang Banana Party.
Their next shows are June 3 at Trinity Park (Fort Worth) for the Fort Worth Library’s Summer Reading Kickoff event, June 17 at 4 Kahunas Tiki Lounge (Arlington), and July 1 at Killers Tacos (Denton) with The Two Watts and Toxic Madness.
When Bingo’s not working the bass, or “shreddin’ the gnar” he’s hard at work on his next screen play “Gidget goes Bananas.” Photo: Jessica Waffles
The ending number with the Go-GO Rillas at Tulips FTW. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Fans caught some photos with the Go-GO Rillas after their set at Tulips FTW. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Fort Worth’s Mean Motor Scooter has been hard at work on a new album called Day Dreamer, which will include over 11 songs total (with some interludes).
The band released their well-received singles “Wastoid,” “Slacker” and “Human Suit” last year, collectively receiving over 84,000 listens on Spotify.
KXT also premiered the music video for “Slacker” in September of 2022.
Mean Motor Scooter closed out he show at Tulips. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Joe Tacke of Mean Motor Scooter on stage at Tulips FTW. Photo: Jessica Waffles
“As for the vibe of the [new] record,” MMS leader Sammy Kidd said, “I wanted it to flow almost like one song. I didn’t want it to be boring, so I change it up plenty. But it’s a record, so I want the one full piece to be one thing. It all lives in the same universe.”
The album is about daydreaming (as the title suggests), but also about living inside your head, sometimes disassociating, and realizing that imagination is a beautiful thing.
“Consciousness is something we receive,” Kidd said. “Our brains are like a radio. I think it’s the point to life, the only meaning you can prescribe to it.”
Mean Motor Scooter is gearing up towards adding a new yet-to-be-named lead guitarist to the band. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Sammy Kidd of Mean Motor Scooter on stage at Tulips FTW. Photo: Jessica Waffles
“I want this record to have a feeling throughout. Living can mean a lot of things to many different people. But we all know what it feels like to feel alive,” Kidd said.
The writing of the record came in cycles, as Kidd started, finished, rewrote, reorganized, wrote new songs, nixed songs and whittled the pile of over 50 songs into a cohesive collection.
MMS’s new drummer Mike Surdel “raised the bar for professionalism,” Kidd said. “Mike has great ideas, and it’s always something that works. It’s neat that he’s definitely on the same page as us.”
A new yet-to-be-named lead guitarist will be joining the band soon, and will be lending their talents to the upcoming record as well.
Mean Motor Scooter fans made a small mosh pit in front of the stage at Tulips. Photo: Jessica Waffles
The next music video from Mean Motor Scooter will come with their song “I Don’t Know Why,” and will be in the horror-comedy genre. Photo: Jessica Waffles
“I wanted to write this record since I was 15 [years old],” Kidd said. “This is the music I would’ve written for myself at 15. The original reason I wanted to start playing music was to do this record. It’s an ode to my 15 year old self. Whenever ‘Wastoid’ did well [last year], it warmed my heart. I thought, ‘This is the time to put this record out.’ I’m over the moon.”
Catch Mean Motor Scooter June 1 at House of Blues (Cambridge Room) opening up for Olivia Jean.
Sammy Kidd wrote nearly 50 songs for the new record, ultimately whittling it down to a selection that fit together cohesively. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Jessica Waffles is a freelance photographer/videographer and regular contributor to KXT.
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