Arkie Opteryx Records

 

   During an early morning recording session Arkie Opteryx managed to knock out what will be the premier release under the new moniker. 

   Reaching back to our early days playing together we dusted off  the irreverent 

'Trainwreck', originally composed on a banjo near the end of the 1st "The Arkies" era. 

"33 Words" was a collaboration of writing and composing music that came together seemlessly as if the universe guided the creative process. Full of darkness, light, hope, and joy with a quirky 3/4 time

"Keep Smiling" is a folksy look at trying to keep a positive mind state when dealing with lifes' stressors.

"Romantic Fire" is a rebellious dance song that takes off on a psychological journey of musical freedom. 

Mark your calanders

 The countdown has began!

¡Arkie Opteryx Arises!

   After working for over a year on The Mal Arkies album we can proudly say it is in the works. With such a large band its hard to keep all the pieces static. Life often presents factors that keep the shape of the things fluid. 

    The band taking an indefinite hiatus after wrapping the album was the perfect opportunity to go back to my roots with my Folk trio with OG members of 'The Arkies'. Feeling like the old name needed a fresh spin for this reinvestment in ourselves. 

   Thus 'Arkie Opteryx' was born. 

As a blessing from the Folk music gods we had the opportunity to play one of our original tunes too a crowd of Northwest Arkansas' talented folk musicians. We couldn't have been more pleased. If the nerves weren't high enough for our debut performance as Arkie Opteryx we quickly realized we would also be performing after and in front of the legendary ' Trout Fishing In America" long time heros and musical inspiration to all of us. 

 Arkie Opteryx plan on reuniting with parts of the old operation in the near future to bring you more music, more art, and more community building. Until then we'll keep striving to be the best versions of ourselves we can be. 

The Mal Arkies Studio Sessions

 With so many moving parts I decided to tag in Aaron Beau Cousins from Cousins Music in Fort Smith, Arkansas to take over the responsibility of recording a quality recording to present to our fans. 

The Mal Arkies @Cousins 3/7/25

 

We are all so pleased with the turn out and the incredible crowd response throughout the night. I certainly did not get enough photos but did get some shots of Fat Dracula and Untight along with the audience. Thanks again to Cousins Music for helping make our dreams come true.

We are all so pleased with the turn out and the incredible crowd response throughout the night. I certainly did not get enough photos but did get some shots of Fat Dracula and Untight along with the audience. Thanks again to Cousins Music for helping make our dreams come true.

The Mal Arkies Rising

 

   This February The Mal Arkies enter a focused period of work to polish and refine a dozen original songs. This month of music builds up to the March 7th premier show at Cousins Music in Fort Smith, AR with supporting acts Untight (Fayetteville, Ar) featuring Sam King.  'Fat Dracula' (Tulsa, OK) Featuring Dave and Kris Dean. 

    Utilizing that steam The Mal Arkies start recording the debut LP that same weekend. A limited 1st pressing will be released on vinyl, cassette, and digital and will be available for purchase on Bandcamp with a tentative release date of April 20th. 

The Mal Arkies get Graphic

 Graphic Design that is,  Mic Burns commissioned his wife Aja to help design a logo for the band. With J R.R. Tolkiens signature as inspiration as well as Aldous Hardings cover art for Designer,  Aja started sketching with pen anda random box to sketch on we landed on an exciting option. Taking that sketch into her digital tablet she meticulously measured, graphed, and put stylus to pad and a few days later we options. 

 Thanks to Aja Burns for the incredible graphic design. 

It's Christmastide for The Mal Arkies

 

A playlist curated by the band

 Tune in to listen to a new song chosen by one of the band members weekly. This is a way we can share our musical inspiration with each other to help have a sense of shared influence. Knowing what drives and inspires some of our creative juices helps us to better see each other's vision. 

                                    TUNE IN

The Mal Arkies Studio Sessions

 We are back at it getting some retakes using the portable studio.