Fifteen years doing anything is admirable. A local band enduring that long? Downright rare.
Self-described “outlaw country garage rock” band Ottoman Turks knows how fortunate it is to make to this milestone, so to celebrate, the Dallas-based quartet is going to do one of the things it does best — party.
The band — Nathan Mongol Wells, Joshua Ray Walker, Billy Law and Paul Hinojo — will preside over the inaugural Turkathon on Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Granada Theater. The night will feature a set from the Turks, of course, as well as performances from the various solo offshoots (Wells and Ten Gallon; Law and the Baby Boys), and what’s being teased as “a big, big secret guest.” (Sorry, no spoilers here.)
“I think a big part of being a musician is just continuing to do it,” said Law during a recent conversation. “There are so many great bands that fizzle out just because it’s hard to keep throwing your stuff against the wall. For us to be still remaining in whatever capacity is awesome.”
As Law explained, the idea for a celebratory event was almost an afterthought.
“It’s funny because we’ve probably been hanging out more than ever outside of playing music, but we wanted to jump back in and remind people we’re still alive,” he said. “It just so happened that this is year 15, and also, we’ve never had all of the solo acts together leading up to it. It just makes sense, because all of three of us … when we’ve put on our own solo shows, there’s a lot of times we have guests up to try and make it as much of a family affair as possible.”
So, what lies beyond marking 15 years as a band? “I hope a 30-year anniversary show,” Law said, although he did allow the band is “almost finished” writing the follow-up to 2021’s Ottoman Turks II, the foursome’s most recent studio album, with an eye toward getting into the studio late this year or early next.
“I wouldn’t still be playing music without the people in Turks, and I imagine they probably feel similarly,” Law said. “When you’re a local musician, you have to have someone that understands what it’s like, that you can talk to, and it helps even more when they’re not in the same band as you. … It’s so grounding to have someone you can complain [to] and bounce ideas off of — I think that’s what makes you last, or as least, that’s the case for me.”
TURKATHON: A Celebration of 15 Year of Ottoman Turks at Granada Theater, Dallas. 7 p.m. Aug. 24. Tickets are $15-$20.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
