Division Brewing betting on beer and bands

It was Panther City Pep Rally weekend in Funkytown, when members of various groups across the city form ’90s cover bands for one night.

While I know everyone loves those shows, I was looking for an original-music fix. Back in December, I told you about Charlie Debolt and his band, Roar Shack. Well, Debolt posted a message on Saturday saying that he was running sound for a show at Division Brewing in Arlington. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to get out of town and try a new joint.

Turns out Division Brewing is not on Division at all — it’s stuck back on Main Street in an industrial park. As I pulled up to the brewery, I could hear the psychedelic sounds of Gypsy Sun Revival coming from around back. A surreal kind of slapback echo effect was going on in the street as the sound bounced off of a distant building.

I made my way to where the band was set up under a tent, and a small crowd was gathered enjoying the music, the cool night air and craft beer. These guys — Lee Ryan (bass, vocals), Will Weise (guitar) and Ben Harwood (drums) — have an acid-rock vibe, with a little bit of Black Sabbath in there somewhere. I was sad I missed so much of their set.

The brewery is the dream of Arlington residents Wade and Tami Wadlington, John Purdy and Sean Cooley.

“[We’re] just a couple of guys who wanted to open a brewery. We’re real passionate about brewing,” Wade Wadlington said. “We were able to figure out a way to invest our retirement and a little bit of money that we had and did it on a real small scale, so we own it 100 percent.”

When you think of craft beer and live music, Arlington doesn’t come to mind. But for Wadlington, it was a natural choice.

“I was raised here,” he said. “My kids go to school here. It’s our community.”

The brewery shares the open space behind it with the Cosmic Crow Collective, an eclectic store with a delightful hippie vibe. While Gypsy Sun Revival broke down, I wandered in the back door and looked around. The store is packed with vintage clothing, artwork, locally roasted coffee and musical instruments.

Owner Tammie Carson keeps instruments available so musicians can just come in, pick up a guitar and start playing. She and Wadlington collaborate on the live-music events, sharing the space and customers. Both Wadlington and Carson seem committed to local music.

“I love music,” said Wadlington. “I’m a guitar player but not a good one. We’re trying. I don’t know if it’s going to work, but we’re trying really hard to make it work.”

Up next was Funeral Horse out of Houston. The band — Paul Bearer (guitar, vocals), Jason Argonaut (bass) and Chris Bassett (drums) — has been described as stoner metal, and that fits as good as anything. The stage show was entertaining, with what had to be the most precise, on-point drummer I’ve ever heard in a brewery parking lot in Arlington. He had my attention from the first beat.

Finishing out the night we had Stone Machine Electric, a duo of William (Dub) Irvin (guitar, vocals) and Mark Kitchens (drums, vocals). They had a trippy, psychedelic sound that fit the mood of the evening perfectly.

The party was still going strong as I headed out into the night. This won’t be my last trip out to this place; I see much more music in Arlington in my future.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Division Brewing betting on beer and bands."