Entertainment

Last year, North by 35 came home to Denton. What was once an annual day party at South by Southwest in Austin transformed into a four-day local music festival.

Crowds were healthy at several of the showcases at last year's "conferette." But it seems NX35 chief organizer Chris Flemmons and his staff are aiming higher for the second edition, which starts today. In addition to dozens of Denton and Dallas musicians, this year's fest offers a keynote talk from Chicago superproducer Steve Albini (Pixies, Nirvana). There will also be sets by such buzz-worthy touring acts as the Walkmen, Health and DJ Momjeans (also known as actor Danny Masterson).

NX35 peaks with a free outdoor concert Saturday featuring hometown heroes Midlake and Oklahoma icons the Flaming Lips. The Lips are famous not only for their epic psych-rock tunes, but for wild, unpredictable live shows and over-the-top visuals.

We chatted with Lips frontman Wayne Coyne on the phone earlier this week from his Oklahoma City home.

You always have some exciting visual and interactive elements to your live shows. What are you planning for NX35?

Well, I think people know enough about what we do to where folks will tell their friends, "Hey, you've got to see Wayne shoot those fireworks out of his bullhorn!" There are a lot of things that look great on your cellphone photo from the show. And we want that. But in some ways, when we talk about the big flamboyant moments, I think those only work because of the music and what the musicians are doing onstage. I know we're playing with Midlake, and I love those guys because they are really about the music and the playing. We would say that all that matters for us, too – it's like having vitamins in your milk. But if you ask me what kind of milk, I'll say it's like multicolored ... milk ... So yeah, I'd say the Flaming Lips are that. But the audiences really give us their love, and it's a powerful moment. I know I am spraying pink smoke bombs at people, but what I'm really trying to say with that is that we're all here doing this now, and we're trying to obliterate everything else. Just let go.

So Stardeath will have its own set?

Yeah, that's a nice extra bonus. [Guitarist- keyboardist-vocalist] Dennis [Coyne] is, of course, my nephew, but they are just a great group. To spend the day with Midlake and Stardeath, to me that is a day of my life. I'm gonna wake up and be with these people doing these things. As much as I can, I wanna be around cool people. People who are doing cool stuff and trying things. So many in the music biz are jaded and cynical. We're not, and I don't wanna be around people who are.

What's next for you? What are you obsessing about these days?

We did such a barrage of things as last year was winding down. And strangely enough, we've kept the push going. I've started to consider making another movie, maybe in my backyard, enlisting my friends, and Steven [Drozd] has come up with strange, exotic music that's inspired me. We made a video the other day for a song off Embryonic, called "Powerless." It has an insanely sadomasochistic woman and a monkey in it. Like I said, my neighborhood is a little dangerous, so I had to hire a couple of security guys to make sure some thugs didn't come up and, I don't know, steal our monkey. NX35 Music Conferette

The NX35 Music Conferette is today through Sunday at venues around Denton's Courthouse Square. It includes daytime panel discussions and nighttime showcases by dozens of acts, including the Walkmen, the Black Angels, Neon Indian, Sarah Jaffe and more. All-access wristbands are $65, single-night wristbands are $20. Single wristbands for Saturday night are sold out. nx35.com. READ MORE of the Q&A with the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne at quick.dfw.com/music.