Foe Destroyer decides it's time to go

Back in March, Sarah Crisman, formerly of Pegasus News, broke the bad news that Denton rockers Oso Closo would be no more. I was driving home that night listening to the radio, and the nighttime jocks were talking about Sarah's story. Indeed, Oso Closo was so critical to the local music scene that the news of its breakup was news. The band had had an amazingly dedicated following, and yet its members never seemed to take themselves too seriously. (Watch the Chipotle burrito jingle video, and you'll see).

For a brief while, there appeared to be a silver lining: The remaining members, sans frontman Adrian Hulet, continued on with a new band, Foe Destroyer. But Friday at the Grotto on University, Foe Destroyer played what will probably be its farewell concert. New projects and family commitments prompted the breakup this time.

"Music in general," said Danny Garcia (the band's frontman) "is like totally selfish and totally selfless at the same time. You go on tour and you leave everyone, you're like, sorry, f___ everyone I know and love, I'm doing this for myself. But what really you're doing is you're going to entertain a bunch of random people you don't care about or know. It's always dancing on that line."

Foe Destroyer played magnificently Friday night. Garcia's vocals had a Polyphonic Spree quality to them, with a rougher edge and without the gimmicky choir. The instrumentals were precise and yet had an unexpected dissonance at times that was used to great effect.

These guys possess a serious UNT jazz pedigree (the name Foe Destroyer came from a song that the band's guitarist, Chris McQueen, wrote for the UNT One O'Clock Lab Band). But lyrically the band strives for a universal appeal -- something "so personal everyone can relate to it," McQueen said.

Garcia and McQueen write most of the lyrics; each band member writes his own music. The end result is a well-thought-out, yet still organic sound. Perhaps even more important than the band's musical skills is the bond between the members -- something that comes through powerfully when you watch it live.

"I think being friends with the people in your band has a lot to do with it. It has a lot to do with the chemistry music-wise," Garcia said.

Midway through our interview, drummer Ryan Jacobi tried to sell me his vintage Vistalite acrylic drums. After the laughter died down, he admitted that he didn't think he would need them anymore with the band breaking up. McQueen is moving back home to Austin, bass player Andy Rogers will be playing in a bluegrass band called Boxcar Bandits, Jacobi will be headed for Plano with his fiance for her new job, and Garcia, well, he says he's working on a musical production of Jurassic Park. ("It's like Juno meets Jurassic Park.") The guys don't want to totally close the door on playing together in the future (Garcia says it's a "big fat maybe" that they might reunite at some point), but that didn't lessen the poignancy of all this. North Texas has lost one of its most intriguing and ambitious bands.

Check out its MySpace page at www.myspace.com/foedestroyer. The only songs the band recorded are there.