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February 2009
Tickets for Spoon at Scoot Inn on sale 10 a.m. TODAY
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. TODAY for an April 21 Spoon gig at the Scoot Inn. Here is the link to buy tickets.The show is a Transmission Entertainment production and is 21+.
Thanks to Ultra 8201 for the heads-up.
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SXSW: Win passes to Perez Hilton and Red Bull Moon Tower parties
The A-List scavenger hunt is back! We’re giving away passes to two of the most exclusive SXSW afterparties. One lucky reader will win a pair of passes to the invite only Red Bull Moon Tower party which keeps the SXSW Music fest rocking into the wee hours of the morning. The party will take place in East Austin from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night of the fest. Another reader (plus a guest) will be heading to Perez Hilton’s invite only Saturday night SXSW blowout courtesy of Austin360.
To enter, click through the 14 most recent A-List photo galleries to find three SXSW code words. Email the code words to austin360contests@statesman.com. Official contest rules.
The contest will end at 11:59 p.m. CST on March 15, 2009 and winners will be selected at random. Happy hunting!
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Clifford Antone Inducted into the 2009 Blues Hall of Fame
The Blues Foundation has inducted Clifford Antone inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Antone joins singer Irma Thomas, Taj Mahal, Son Seals and the Reverend Gary Davis, as well as discographer Mike Leadbitter and radio programmer and producer Bob Porter will be the non-performers inducted this year.
The following singles or album tracks will be inducted during the ceremony:
Singles “Boom Boom” by John Lee Hooker “Caldonia” by Louis Jordan “Sitting on Top of the World” by the Mississippi Sheiks
Albums: Alberta Hunter, “Amtrak Blues” T-Bone Walker, “T-Bone Blues” Various Artists, “Blues With a Feeling (Newport Folk Festival Classics)”
The induction ceremony will be held at the Blues Foundation’s Charter Member Dinner May 6 at the Memphis Marriott Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee, the night before the 30th Blues Music Awards.
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Free SXSW parties!
Chicago’s Bloodshot Records has announced the lineup for their SXSW party Friday, March 20 in the back of Yard Dog. The party, which celebrates the 15th anniversary of the roots-heavy label, is open to the public.
Set times:
12:15 Walter Salas-Humara / I’m Not Jim
12:45 Andre Williams
1:15 Charlie Pickett
1:45 Dex Romweber Duo
2:15 Ha Ha Tonka
2:45 Exene Cervenka
3:30 Deadstring Brothers
4:15 The Meat Purveyors
4:45 Justin Townes Earle
5:15 Scotland Yard Gospel Choir
5:45 Waco Brothers with Rosie Flores
The same day and times, the 7th Annual Sin City Social Club takes place at Maria’s Taco Xpress. Playing from noon on are: Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles, Pehr Smith Band, Tim Easton, Stone River Boys, Susan Marshall, Shurman, The Deep Vibration, Ian Moore, Austin Hartley-Leonard, Randy Weeks, Mike Stinson, The Mother Truckers, Heybale! and more.
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So, who was able to actually GET a ticket to Leonard Cohen>
As a friend said to me today, “I don’t know anyone who was actually able to buy a Leonard Cohen ticket.”
We would like hear your Leonard Cohen ticket buying stories. Please post them below.
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Sugarland coming to Austin
Multi-platinum and multi-Grammy winning country duo (or group, when they add their full band) Sugarland plays the Frank Erwin Center April 30.
Tickets are $35 and $45 and go on sale 10 a.m. March 6 from all Texas Box Office Outlets. Charge-‘em—by-phone at 512-477-6060 or 1-800-982-2386 or order online at TexasBoxOffice.com.
The crew’s 2008 album “Love On The Inside,” picked up two Grammys (Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group and Best Country song for “Stay,” a tune that dates back to 2007; man, those Grammy “years” are weird).
Openers include Billy Currington and Eric Hutchinson
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Review: Joan Baez at Paramount Theatre
She’s now a genuine diva. Not the manufactured, self-labeled kind who keep popping up. Joan Baez earned her diva bona fides over the past 50 years of singing with an ethereal voice and marching with a steely resolve.
So she can raise her hands diva-style all she wants, as she did Wednesday night at the Paramount Theatre, and simply smile at the outbursts of adulation flung her way. The audience members, many of them women of a certain age, knew most of the songs but didn’t need to be led along on the kind of sappy singalongs all too common these days. Instead, they simply took in the songs for all the sincerity that Baez puts into them (except, of course, for the requisite Dylan number mocking his nasal phrasing — this time in a verse of “Love Is a Four-Letter Word”).
Baez’s humor on stage remains a counterbalance to the weighty material about injustice, war, loss and love that she interprets so well.
Her funniest story at the Paramount involved the re-marriage of her 91-year-old, dying father to her mother after a long divorce. She had to talk her mother into the idea and then get him to honor the bride’s single request: that he wear a tux instead of his usual sloppy attire. When Baez, as ring bearer, handed him the band during the ceremony, his addled response was “What’s that for?” She allowed but a brief pause for laughs before singing the gorgeous opening lines of “Forever Young”: “May God bless and keep you always/ May your wishes all come true.”
God certainly was around for this show and its sampling of songs from her newest album, “Day After Tomorrow.” She praised Steve Earle (who produced the CD) before singing his something-for-every-kind-of-believer “God Is God” and thanked Eliza Gilkyson for her timeless “Rose of Sharon.” Then she set sail with “Gospel Ship” and circled back to Earle’s belief in an eventual peace in “Jerusalem.”
With strong backing from three string guys and her son Gabriel Harris on percussion, Baez satisfied with plenty of classics as well, many by or about Dylan. The unexpected turn came when she whispered a change-up to her band and launched into the schoolgirl frivolity of Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World.”
For this night at least, the 67-year-old veteran of so many wars and weary times avoided political asides to have a little fun in between calling on a voice that still takes us to a higher place.
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Behind the Buzz: St. Vincent
St. Vincent at the church could be the hottest ticket at South By Southwest this year.
“I did everything backwards on this record,” Clark said in a recent phone interview from her home in Brooklyn, with a fuzzy connection that made it hard to make out every fourth word. “I started with very complicated arrangements. Before I wrote any lyrics, I would watch some of my favorite films and write soundtracks for some of the scenes.” She wrote clarinet lines on the guitar and used the computer to come up with other parts. “Then I would write melodies and try to make each song as economical as possible.” The 26-year-old Clark has said her intention was to create “technicolor animatronic rides.” Produced in Dallas by John Congleton (Modest Mouse), the result is a huge sound that doesn’t forsake the core.
“I think the main difference between this album and the first (2007’s acclaimed “Marry Me”) is that these songs are all connected to each other,” she said.
Born in Tulsa, Okla., Clark grew up in Dallas, the middle of nine children. Asked if growing up in such a big family, where everything’s always going on at once, had an effect on her active arrangements, Clark simply said, “Hmmm.” She’s careful not to give away too much, including specific inspiration for her songs.
“I didn’t start writing this record until March of 2008 and all these songs are very much a part of that time,” said the former Polyphonic Spree guitarist, who received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music right out of Lake Highlands High to study guitar.
It should be noted that Clark can absolutely shred on the guitar. That sets her apart from the other singer-songwriters whose melodies can be called coy. “I’ve never owned an acoustic guitar,” she said. She got her first electric in 1994 when she was 12 and has been married to it ever since. There’s power in the beauty and beauty in the power of “Actor,” which should be on many “best of” lists at the end of the year.
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Weekend Picks: Bollywood, bar room blowhards and a birthday bash for the Man in Black
FRIDAY
Johnny Cash Birthday Bash at Continental Club. This is a benefit for KOOP radio. Featured acts include the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, Buzz Cason, Jeremy Steding, the Band in Black, Long Gone Daddys, Lucky Tubb & The Modern Day Troubadours and many more. 7 p.m. $15, $12 if you wear black. —- Joe Gross
Bollywood Bash at the Mohawk. In the post “Slumdog Millionaire” age will there be a surge of American interest in the glitzy, schmaltzy, awesome spectacle that defines the majority of Indian cinema? Ah, a girl can certainly hope. The glibly named DJ Aleem and the Flying Paneer Sisters provide musical entertainment and prizes will be awarded for best Bollywood costumes. $10. —-Deborah Sengupta Stith
Grimy Styles, Ohn at Flamingo Cantina Austin’s dub scientists Grimy Styles are joined by lush electro-jazz fusion artists Ohn for an evening of fuzzed out textural grooves. —-D.S.S.
Also recommended
- Keller Williams at Antone’s
- Cruiserweight, Schatzi at Emo’s
- G. Love at Stubb’s
- Chili Cold Blood at the Hole in the Wall
SATURDAY
Flogging Molly, the Aggrolites, the Mighty Stef at Stubb’s.L.A. hard rockers turned Celtic minstrels, F. Molly is the draw here, but come early for Stefan ‘The Mighty Stef’ Murphy, the Dublin pubrocker who has recorded with both Shane MacGowan and the late, great Ronnie Drew. His arching new single ‘Downtown’ sounds nothing like his Nick Cave/Clash earlier stuff. This show is technically sold out. —- Michael Corcoran
Also recommended
- Jeff Lofton’s tribute to Miles Davis at Elephant Room
- Steve Forbert at the Cactus Cafe
- Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, American Graveyard at Antone’s
SUNDAY
Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Homecoming concert at the Paramount Theatre. The fifth annual celebration honoring Texas songwriters. This year’s honorees include Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Michael Martin Murphey and Allen Shamblin. The concert and awards ceremony will feature performances by this year’s honorees in an intimate, in-the-round songwriter showcase. Obstructed-view seats might still be available. 7 p.m. $37-$87. — J.G.
Also recommended
- The Pretenders at Stubb’s
- the Points, Manikin at Beerland
- Tosca String Quartet at Alamo Ritz
- Brightblack Morning Light at the Mohawk
- Misery Index, the Faceless at Emo’s (early show, doors at 4 p.m.).
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Rachael Ray party line-up announced
It’s called (and we’re not making this up) “Rose’s Mojito and Rachael Ray’s Feedback: A Smorgasbord of Hot Bands and Hot Food,” according to Entertainment Weekly who broke the line-up this morning. The party is March 21 at Maggie Mae’s,
Highlights include the surviving members of proto-punk founders the New York Dolls, SXSW regulars the Hold Steady, Austin’s Bob Schneider, Portland rockers the Thermals and increasingly popular Los Angeles outfit Airborne Toxic Event. Ray’s husband, John Cusimano, will also appear with his band, the Cringe.
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Tribute to Bill Hicks tonight!
It’s on short notice, but the Cap City Comedy Club has put together a tribute to the man who put them on the map (as the Laff Stop) on the 15th anniversary of his death from pancreatic cancer. Bill’s early comedy partner Dwight Slade will perform, plus they’ll be showing the 2007 Hicks compilation “Squeegee Your Third Eye.”
The show will benefit the Bill Hicks Foundation for Wildlife Rehabilitation, an Austin organization that nurses raccoons and other wild critters back to health.
Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased at the door, via phone @512-467-2333 or online at www.capcitycomedy.com. The club is at 8120 Research Blvd.
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Austin Music, Vol. 8 release party
You know Rose Reyes of the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau is a true music fan when you hear the songs ahe selected for “Vol. 8” of the “Austin Music” series, a CD used to promote live music in town. Starting with Drew Smith’s “Nilsson Sings Newman,” through Dan Dyer’s “Play On Little Children” and Randy Weeks’ “That’s What I’d Do,” the CD contains some of the best recent local recordings.
To celebrate the CD release, Antone’s will host those three acts Thursday Feb. 26 from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., plus short sets from two Elephant Room regulars, Kat Edmonson, whose original composition “Lucky” is a highlight, and the great trumpeter Jeff Lofton.
Cover is $10, but you get a copy of the CD, which also includes a handy guide to Austin music clubs, divided by districts, plus musical attractions.
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Meet the SXSW band: Girl in a Coma
What do you hope to accomplish?
Mainly our goal is to expose ourselves and meet other bands we could tour with in the future. You never know who’s going to catch your show.
What music can you not leave town without?
EVERYTHING. Before we had iPods we would make massive amounts of mix CDs for the road. Ranging from Patsy Cline to Babes in Toyland.
Last song downloaded?
Hurricane Jane… Black Kids.
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
Bean and cheese tacos with a Big Red.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
I don’t think any of us have a favorite. As long as it doesn’t smell.
What’s your favorite Austin memory?
It’s always the people that make Austin for us. They’re always into our shows … and Austin kids have crazy dance moves.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
I don’t know how late this place stays open and it’s not considered a fast food place… but it’s Veggie Heaven MMMMMm. Lucky 7.
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
Day parties.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
If you pretend that you’re working…you’ll pass the class.
Does your band have a pre-show ritual? Any superstitions?
We have to get into a circle and do pelvic thrust.
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?
Green and Tai Dee.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
Seeing Babes In Toyland at Sunken Garden theaters here in San Antonio.
What TV show s are you recording back home while you’re in Austin?
None of us have a fav show. Call us crazy.
Do you have a favorite celebrity chef?
Rachael Ray (Nina)
A celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Lindsey Lohan (Jenn)
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
That we do it all for you.
(Girl In A Coma photo by Salvador Ochoa/Special to the American-Statesman)
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Talking to the Pretenders’ Martin Chambers
Drummer Martin Chambers effortlessly swaps trashcan fireworks (“Middle of the Road”) and rainy blues (“2000 Miles”) throughout the Pretenders’ greatest hits. Highest points (“Brass in Pocket”) fuse the turbulent ebb and flow. Expect surprises when the band supports its roots-rock departure “Break Up the Concrete” Sunday night at Stubb’s.
“We’ve been playing obscure country songs (by bands) that have great pedal steel players and pickers,” Chambers says. “Everybody has their chops.”
American-Statesman: How’s the tour going?
Martin Chambers: The tour has been going very well, indeed, and we’ve had some really good nights. It’s nice having James Welbourne on guitar. He’s set a fire underneath this band big time.
Chrissie has said she doesn’t want to tour as a greatest hits package.
Well, having to reproduce everything all the time is the worst part of having to be in a band. Going out and doing the old songs. She had to make a record. We went into the studio in 2007, and she wasn’t particularly happy with it. So, she sacked Adam Seymour, a great guitar player and friend of mine, and I had to find her a guitar player. I found James, and they made (“Break Up the Concrete”). They went into the studio without me. I said, “If you don’t want me, carry on.” I want to go on the road, and I don’t need to play on the album to do that.
There were no hard feelings?
Absolutely not. I know the way she works and what she’s gonna do. It’s been good for me to be that way over the years and know what she’s thinking. I know what she needs to do. It’s as simple as that, really.
Has your relationship with Chrissie evolved over the past 30 years?
No. She does what she likes, and I understand. I don’t think it has evolved (laughs).
Eric Heywood (Son Volt) adds a great dynamic with pedal steel.
Yeah, the pedal steel just brings that slightly western flavor to the whole thing. James is slightly inclined in that way, too. They’ve helped songs like “Back on the Chain Gang,” and then that blends with the new songs really well. It works. I don’t really analyze music too well. I just know what’s working and what isn’t. We’re trying to think of more songs that we can do from the past maybe because we’ve got pedal steel. At the moment, we’re just working on the newer songs and the older ones that we’ve brought up to speed.
Who picks the country covers?
Those songs come from Eric and James, who are battling computers on the bus. Eric will play a couple and James will play a couple. Some of the songs are quite old, but the playing ability is unbelievable.
You elevate your cymbals higher than most drummers. What does that bring to the performance?
It’s just presentation. I like to perform - and if you’re just tapping around, it’s not very visual. I like to have to reach and be a little more gregarious on the drum kit. It’s physical, too. You can see me get a little red in the face (laughs).
The Pretenders perform at 8 p.m. Sunday at Stubb’s. 801 Red River Street. Advance tickets are $32-$35. 888-512-7469; frontgatetickets.com.
(Photo of the Pretenders from Big Hassle Media)
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Amazing bill Sunday at Momo’s
When a member of the family needs help, there’s no question about pitching in. Kate Tomich of Momo’s had knee reconstruction surgery earlier this year and won’t be able to go back to bartending for months, so there’s a benefit Sunday at Momo’s.
How is this for a lineup of local luminaries?
Del Castillo 3 p.m.
Kacy Crowley 4 p.m.
Johnny Goudie 4:30 p.m.
James Hyland 5 p.m.
Amy Cook 5:30 p.m.
Bob Schneider 6 p.m.
Drew Smith 6:30 p.m.
Patrice Pike 7:30 p.m.
Suzanna Choffel 8:30 p.m.
Dan Dyer 9:30 p.m.
The Band of Heathens 10:30 p.m.
Warren Hood 1130 p.m.
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SXSW firms up free Auditorium Shores shows
M. Ward, Cold War Kids and Elvis Perkins in Dearland will play a free show on the shores of Lady Bird Lake Thursday March 19 beginning at 6 p.m.
On Friday, Towniefest will feature ARC Angels, Raul Malo and Bob Schneider.
Saturday’s Auditorium Shores concert will be headlined by Explosions In the Sky at 8 p.m., preceded by Baltimore’s Beach House. Kid-friendly music starts at noon on that Saturday.
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Echo & the Bunnyman to headline Spin party
Spin magazine has just announced the lineup for their annual SXSW party at Stubb’s on Friday March 20. Echo and the Bunnyman will be joined by Black Lips, Glasvegas, Justin Hawkins of the Darkness’s new band Hot Leg, Cut Off Your Hands, Passion Pit and more.
The party is invite only.
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Austinite Chris Tomlin score seven Dove award nominations
Contemporary Christian music artist and Austin resident Chris Tomlin is the lead nominee for gospel music’s Dove Awards with seven nods.
Among the awards he was nominated for include artist of the year, male vocalist of the year and song of the year for “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone).” If Tomlin wins male vocalist, it would be his fourth trophy in that category.
Tomlin is on tour and was not immediately available for comment.
The 40th annual Dove Awards will be April 23 at the Grand Ole Opry House.
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Black Angels head up second Psych Fest, Sky Saxon drops by Austin for the first time
Noted Austin band the Black Angels, whose Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd and 13th Floor Elevators fandom has been amalgamated into something nicely thunderous, are headlining Psych Fest 2 at the Radio Room on March 13-15, the weekend before the insanity of the SXSW music conference starts. Tickets are $15 a day or $45 for a three-day pass.
I wrote about Austin’s psychedelic past, present and future seven years ago (!) here.
Participating bands include former SXSW buzz act A Place to Bury Strangers, rhythmic-undertow masters Dead Meadow, hipster gods Wooden Shjips, Austin next big thing candidates the Strange Boys, and more, including two ringers.
Go here for full set times and ticket info.
Austin O.P. (original psych) band the Golden Dawn performs their 1968 album ‘Power Plant’ from start to finish.
The other ringer is Sky Saxon, genuinely legendary guitarist with ’60s garage monsters the Seeds. Saxon will be hanging out and signing at Antone’s Record Shop the Saturday before Psych Fest (March 7) at 4 p.m. This is his first appearance in Austin. Expect a set from Austin rockers (and Saxon’s Austin back up band) Shapes Have Fangs (who have a new split single with Cavedweller).
Radio Room, on the site formerly known as Bourbon Rocks on Sixth Street, is the latest venture from Transmission Entertainment. Psych Fest 2 is something of a warm-up for the venue before SXSW shows.
That said, Radio Room will close right after SXSW, as it is not yet ready to be a full-time live music venue. When will it be open?
“I’m not sure what the full-time opening date will be,” Transmission co-owner Graham Williams says. “We’ll have a rented set-up stage for SXSW. To build a real stage will take a little more time, but the inside bar should be open sooner rather than later.”
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Random Beatles post: Newly surfaced 11-minute version of “Revolution?”
This Beatles outtake of “Revolution” has surfaced in the past few days. Eleven minutes of heaven and jam and weirdness.
If it’s a hoax, it’s pretty great one. If it’s real, one suddenly holds out hope for that mythical 24-minute version of “It’s All Too Much.”
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Meet the SXSW band: Glacier Hiking
(Photo of Glacier Hiking by Jesse Jenkins/Special to the American-Statesman)
Ross Golan of the Los Angeles band Glacier Hiking answers our questions:
Have you been to SXSW before?
Yes. My first trip, I opened for the Strokes at the Iron Cactus. The second one, I got interviewed by Wayne Coyne on the Tonight Show. And this time…
What do you hope to accomplish?
Accomplish? To finish our showcase with gusto.
What music can you not leave town without?
For the 11 beautiful hours from El Paso to Austin, we usually get in a book on tape about some celebrated politician whose legacy has pedagogically descended through scores of generations… That being said, once we listened to “Piece of Me” by Britney Spears for a six-hour drive from SF to LA.
Last song downloaded?
“Dance To The Music” - Sly and the Family Stone… researching some of their back ups.
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
More alcohol.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
My gray hoodie.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
Focus on you, not your social life. The cool kids are not the ones answering these types of questions. They’re home reading the answers.
Does your band have a pre-show ritual? Any superstitions?
Pleading the Fifth.
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?
I’ll go with Walker Bros Pancake House.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
I’d been playing and seeing concerts my whole life. But the OK Computer/Kid A tour made me an artist.
What TV shows are you recording back home while you’re in Austin?
“24,” “Big Love” and “American Idol”
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
If you show up, you will be forced to sing along. It’s how it is. If you’ve seen us, then you understand. If not, I’ll see you in Austin.
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Last chance for $129 SXSW wristbands
South by Southwest has announced that they will keep selling the $129 wristbands online at wristband.sxsw.com until 9 tonight. Tomorrow at noon, 500 more will go on sale online for $165 to Austin residents only. All purchasers must use a credit card with a local billing address.
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Musicmania Top 10 for the week ending Feb. 22
1. Rob G/Trae, ‘Both Sides Of The Fence’ (Prez)
2. Charlie Wilson, ‘Uncle Charlie’ (Jive)
3. Trae, ‘Diary’ (Oarfin)
4. E.S.G., ‘Digital Dope’ (Gracie)
5. Lil’ Keke, ‘Loved By Few Hated By Many’ (TF)
6. SPM, ‘Last Chair Violinist’ (Dope House)
7. Jamie Foxx, ‘Intuition’ (J Records)
8. Z-RO, ‘Crack’ (Rap-A-Lot)
9. Keyshia Cole, ‘A Different Me’ (Geffen)
10. Plies, ‘Da Realist’ (Atlantic)
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CD review: U2 ‘No Line on the Horizon’
U2
No Line on the Horizon
(Interscope)
The operative words for decoding the new U2 album are: Brian Eno. The longtime U2 producer is having quite the comeback, collaborating with David Byrne here (last year’s “Everything That Happens Will Happen Today”), producing Coldplay’s very own U2 record there (the Grammy-wining “Viva La Vida”).
Eno and longtime U2 co-helmer Daniel Lanois both get writing credits on all but two songs on “No Line On the Horizon” and the effect is more in line with Eno’s records with Byrne than something by those four blokes from Dublin.
Gauzy and proggy with spawling outros and angelic synths, think of “No Line,” which hits stores Mar. 3, as an Eno album with Bono belting and warbling over top. The other three are clearly playing - that’s obviously Edge’s guitar in there and Larry Mullen’s signature, militaristic semi-breakbeats abound.
But there’s a disconnect, like the band is playing the complicated songs and saving their creative juice for selling these songs on the road, which is what U2 does best, anyway.
The title track opener pops like the Big Bang, all widescreen atmospherics and some decent one-liners from Bono (“She said, ‘Time’s irrelevant, it’s not linear’/ Then she put her tongue in my ear” Ta-dow!). Bono’s gospel belt on “Moment of Surrender” contrasts nicely with the synth burbles and stealthy melodic lines, while “Magnificent” rhythms harken back to the band’s electronica-inflected 1997 album “Pop.”
In fact, “No Line” seems like a sequel to the much-maligned “Pop,” an album that had nothing to do with its title. Older and wiser now, the band is futzing with the formula, but there’s enough in the songs keeping with the sound of 21st century U2, Inc. that fans won’t run screaming.
“Unknown Caller” brings everything together - keyboard drone, rolling drums, bird calls, strings, interlacing star-light guitar lines, anthemic horns, a slightly goofy Edge guitar solo and Bono contrasting the natural (“Sunshine/sunshine/I was lost between the midnight and the dawning”) with the artificial (“Force quit!/And move to trash!”), a difference Eno has been playing with his whole career.
There’s also a terrible single (“Get On Your Boots”) and two high-octane non-Eno, Steve Lillywhite-produced songs (“Breathe” and the unfortunately titled “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”) that don’t make much sense with the rest of the record, but would have made a killer non-album single, say, eight or so months from now.
But for maximum Bono/Eno (Beeno?) effect, program your CD player 4-3-2-1-7-8-9-11, which carves a spotty 53 minutes into the best 41-minute prog rock album with Bono singing you’re going to hear this year.
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CD review: J.J. Cale “Roll On”
J.J. Cale
“Roll On” (Rounder)
About a year ago an editor for a respected music magazine (no longer publishing) pitched me on writing about some artist I wasn’t so hot on. “How about J.J. Cale?” I suggested as a substitute. Long silence, as all he heard was that I wanted to write a big article on the guy who wrote “Cocaine” and “After Midnight” for Eric Clapton. Man, is Cale underrated. He’s Gatemouth Brown in a B.B. King world.
It’s impossible to write about this Okie without using the word “groove.” On his new album “Roll On,” which hits stores tomorrow, Cale gets deep on in it, as the listener’s sway becomes a given and part of the percussion. “Down In Memphis” and “Oh Mary” are what Bob Dylan was going for on “Modern Times,” but without the weight of being Dylan, Cale serves the blues rock like the best $1.99 breakfast you’ve ever had.
First time I played this CD I was surrounded by unmoving traffic without feeling stuck. This is Chuck Berry rocking on the porch with his foot keeping the rhythm and his guitar stirring the night air. It’s pure music that just knows what’s right.
Playing most instruments himself, Cale was able to get out the music in his mind here, with all its simple majesty intact. Nobody can hit it hard and soft at the same time, and still carry a melody, like this 70-year-old boogie minimalist.
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Paul Skelton 1953- 2009
Austin Telecaster twangmaster Paul Skelton passed away Sunday morning after a battle with lung cancer, said Cornell Hurd, his bandleader and friend of 33 years. Skelton was 55.
“He was truly, truly an amazing man,” Hurd said of the “musicians’ musician” who backed several singers and also worked for for Collings Guitar for 13 years. Skelton first toured with Cornell Hurd and the Mondo Hot Pants Orchestra in 1977, on the heels of novelty hit “Bicentennial Boogie.”
“He could play anything from jazz and rock ‘n’ roll to country, but he never overplayed,” says singer Penny Jo Pullus, who hired Skelton to play on her three albums. “We wouldn’t need to practice (before a gig). You’d just tell Paul the key and he was ready to go.”
Skelton moved from California to New York City in the 1980s and worked in quality control for ESP Guitars, then worked assembling and repairing guitars for Matt Umanov’s shop in Greenwich Village. “Paulie was very skilled,” says Umanov. “We always thought he was a native New Yorker because he was so ornery, which we loved.”
Skelton and Hurd reunited musicially in 1987, when Skelton joined the Cornell Hurd Band. He held that post for 22 years until he recently became too ill to perform.
Besides playing with Hurd, Skelton played on most of the Wayne “the Train” Hancock records and with Texana Dames, Ted Roddy, Libbi Bosworth, Mandy Mercier and many more. Skelton was also a regular at the annual birthday bash for Buck Owens at the Coninental Club.
“He was kind of a Walter Matthau character, with his surly, sarcastic wit,” says Steve McCreary, general manager of Collings. “But he was a real sweetheart.”
Born in El Paso, Skelton moved to the San Jose area with his family as a kid. It was there in his early twenties that he met Hurd.
“I’ve lost Danny Roy Young and Paul Skelton in the past few months,” said Hurd, also referring to his beloved rubboard player. “And I don’t think as long as I live I’ll meet another person like the two of them.”
Skelton is survived by wife Anne and 16-year-old son Jess. The funeral will be held 2 p.m. Thursday at Austin Memorial Park at 2800 Hancock Drive.
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Buddy Miller suffers heart attack
He apparently had the heart attack Friday in Baltimore and had triple bypass surgery. More details here.
Miller played the recent Grammy Awards and was in Austin last fall, playing the Austin City Limits Festival with headliners Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
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Meet the SXSW band: Monte Negro
Guitarist Jason Li Shing of Monte Negro, a band that has played SXSW before and also is party of the BMI showcase, answers our questions.
What do you hope to accomplish?
The sheer pleasure of playing is already an accomplishment for us.
What music can you not leave town without?
DJ Diplo and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
Last song downloaded?
Last album bought was Santogold, it’s really great.
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
Sleep
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
A blazer
If you’ve been to Austin before, what’s your favorite memory?
Our first visit to the Whole Foods Headquarters.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
In-N-Out Double Double and for us veggies pizza.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
I learn more things on my own.
Does your band have a pre-show ritual? Any superstitions?
A spiritual hug.
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?
M Grill Churrascaria
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
Emmanuel — a Mexican romantico artist who melted every chica’s heart and he wrote some really catchy ballads.
Also U2, that’s the band that made me give up my career as a doctor to become a musician and throw it all away.
What TV shows are you recording back home while you’re in Austin?
Ain’t got no television.
Do you have a favorite celebrity chef?
Jose Andres
A celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
My girlfriend agrees with this - Natalie Portman, es bella.
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
Raw rock ‘n’ roll with a splash of eclecticism.
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Meet the SXSW band: Jedd Hughes
Jedd Hughes out of Nashville was at SXSW about five years ago. He’s part of the Rock Camp/BMI show March 18.
What do you hope to accomplish?
I hope to get as many people as possible talking about my music.
What music can you not leave town without?
I always leave with a brown paper bag full of records from Waterloo.
Last song downloaded?
Brett Dennen, “Ain’t No Reason”
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
Two Berocca (made in Australia) in an ice cold glass of water.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
My dark blue leather jacket.
If you’ve been to Austin before, what’s your favorite memory?
Favorite is seeing Daniel Lanois.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
Fish tacos at Gueros.
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
Day parties.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
The Beach Boys Greatest Hits
What TV shows are you recording back home while you’re in Austin?
“Brothers and Sisters” and “Flight of the Conchords.”
A celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Gwyneth Paltrow… She gave Radiohead the best intro at the Grammy’s.
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
That it’s not born out of some TV show.
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Willie reaches out to the Prez
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It’s official: Cohen to kick off tour in Austin
The rumor has been confirmed: Leonard Cohen will start the North American leg of his world tour at the Long Center April 2, promoter AEG Live announced today. Tickets go on sale Friday Feb. 27 and can be purchased at the Long Center box office, charge-by-phone at 512-474-LONG or online at www.thelongcenter.org.
The 74-year-old Cohen, who hasn’t toured the U.S. in 15 years, will be joined by Sharon Robinson and the Webb Sisters on background vocals, Austin’s Roscoe Beck on bass, Neil Larsen on keyboards, Bob Metzger on guitar, multi-instrumentalist Javier Mas, Rafael Gayol on drums and Dino Soldo on sax. Gayol is well-known to Austin audiences for his work with Bob Schneider, Joe Ely, Patty Griffin and others.
The tour was announced following a one-off concert at the Beacon Theater in New York City Thursday. Here’s the setlist from that three-hour “warm-up” show:
Dance Me To The End of Love
The Future
Aint No Cure For Love
Bird on the Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who By Fire
Chelsea Hotel
Hey That’s No Way/Sisters of Mercy
Anthem
Tower Song
Suzanne
The Gypsy’s Wife
The Partisan
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
I’m Your Man
Poem
Take This Waltz
So Long Marianne
First We Take Manhattan
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will
Democracy
I Tried To Leave You
Whither Thou Goest
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Weekend Picks: Roots guitars, swapping songwriters and hairy men
FRIDAY
Tailgators with Evan Johns at Evangeline Cafe.They’re going to need a bigger room. Don Leady and Evan Johns, the guy who replaced him in the Leroi Brothers, are two of the finest roots guitarists ever. Wouldn’t it be great if Evan, who lived in the Northwest for years after leaving Austin in the mid-’90s, got up there with Redd Volkaert at the Continental the next afternoon? —-Michael Corcoran
Austin Beard and Moustache Contest at the Mohawk Because nothing says Friday night like tunes, booze and hairy men, our favorite ironic anti-hipsters from Misprint Magazine present this third annual tribute to facial hair. Local comedian, the appropriately named Matt Bearden hosts and musical entertainment will be provided by Cavedweller and DJs Andy the Mouth and HugeC. —-Deborah Sengupta Stith
Also recommended:
SATURDAY
Platinum Songwriter’s Series with Drew Womack, Billy Callery and Monte Warden at the Saxon Pub. Warden had the idea to host a monthly song swap session with hit Nashville writers about a year ago and the series is getting raves. A former Sons of the Desert, Womack wrote No. 1 hit ‘She’s Got It All’ for Kenny Chesney. Callery is a notorious Texas figure who wrote ‘Hands On the Wheel’ for Willie Nelson’s ‘Red Headed Stranger,’ then used the money to nearly disappear. He’s found the Lord, so expect to hear some gospel, too. 7 p.m. $10. —- M.C.
Gary Clark Jr., Bavu Blakes at Antone’s Celebrate with Gary Clark Jr., Austin’s young lion of the blues, on his birthday, then check a set by Bavu Blakes and the Extra Plairs, an all-star hip-hop ensemble who rocked the rhymes and brought the funk at last year’s ACL Fest. —-D.S.S.
Also recommended:
- The Eggmen with strings at the Paramount Theatre
- AA Bondy at Emo’s
- Lil’ Cap’n Travis at Club Deville, Pop Unknown reunion at Mohawk
- Sounds Under Radio at Stubb’s (inside)
SUNDAY
Warren Hood & the Hoodlums at Momo’s. The early spirit of the South Austin Jug Band returns with original fiddler Hood and his jazz-ready band. Plus, you never know who’ll get up and jam. 618 W. Sixth St. 479-8848. — M.C.
Also recommended
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SXSW meet the band: Beep Beep
- ‘Secrets for the Well’
- ‘Mermaid Struggle’
- ‘The Lion’s Mouth’
- ‘The Whispering Waves’
- ‘Goodbye Sunshine’
The members of Beep Beep — Eric Ray Bemberger, Ian Edward Francis, Darren Wayne Keen and James Michael Shannon Reilly — answer our questions from Omaha, Neb.
Have you been to SXSW before?
Eric: Yes and no. Not Beep Beep, but I was present in ‘99 touching guitar for Bright Eyes, and Darren has shown his rainbow before. I got to stand in line with the Donnas for the CAN film; this was before they turned 21.
What do you hope to accomplish?
Eric: We strive to emulate the sun as much as possible. Something that actually produces energy, fosters life, etc.
What music can you not leave town without?
Eric: Kenny Chesney’s Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates. Jimmy Buffett
passed the torch like an island-themed baton; Kenny continues to lead the way
with its guiding light. “Enchanted Islands” (the band’s 2009 release) is our humble tribute to the man and his vision.
Last song downloaded?
Eric: Don’t download unless it’s something I’m too lazy to transfer from LP to digital on my own. The last examples of that would be Ornette Coleman’s “Virgin Beauty” and Bryan Ferry’s “In Your Mind.”
James: Last album was “Heaven on Earth” by Belinda Carlisle.
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
Eric: Don’t consume alcohol/never been drunk. So, I guess my cure would be
to drink diet cola instead the night before, and presto, no hangover!
James: Practicing “Enchanted Islands” synth flute parts!
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
Eric: My red stone-washed Keith Urban tee from his Golden Road tour (tied with
Be Here for my favorite KU LP). I accidentally left it in Head of Femur’s bathroom; they still won’t give it back to me. A form of intervention? I believe it’s currently in Thailand.
If you’ve been to Austin before, what’s your favorite memory? Least favorite memory of Austin?<br>
Eric: Had the best ice-cream of my life @ Mother’s Cafe. Mind you, I don’t care for ice cream cuz it’s always made with too much sugar, AND I don’t usually care for soy or rice milk versions as they usually taste more odd than good. Their rice-cream has the best vanilla flavor I’ve ever experienced, not too sweet. Can’t wait to go back! Spent hours hiding in Emo’s dressing room trying not to vomit, trying not to talk to people so I wouldn’t vomit, trying not to smell food while talking to people so I wouldn’t vomit, etc. I missed out on quality time with a wonderful fan who overcame great obstacles to attend our show. I felt like such a jerk.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
James: D’leons Authentic Mexican sludge. Hands-down and cholesterol-up. I also like to take women (and Eric) to IHOP when I’m feeling especially
frisky.
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
Eric: I’ll go wherever I’m more likely to learn something.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
James: I learned that “Man in the Mirror” by MJ is not good second grade make-out music. The content is simply too deep, too close to the truth to be conducive to smooching.
Does your band have a pre-show ritual? Any superstitions?
James: Ever since “the incident” we’ve been shying away from “the ritual.”
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?
James: What don’t you understand about D’leon’s and IHOP?
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
James: Watching my cousin in New Florence, Penn., mimicking “Flight Of the Butterfly” by Eddie Van Halen when I was 9 yearr old. That changed my life; I suspect it would have changed yours as well.
What TV shows are you recording back home while you’re in Austin?
Eric: None. No time for TV. Busy busy busy! My wife is a Bravo fanatic, so I get “Top Chef” and “Flipped Out” highlights from her. Our best friends have uber cable, and so we occasionally get invited over to watch “Big Love,” or “United States of Tara.”
James: NONE. It’s not 1985.
Do you have a favorite celebrity chef?
Eric: Alton Brown. Good Eats with it’s Marc Ribot-era Tom Waitsish theme is the most entertainingly educational food show, period. I don’t think he’s technically a chef though. I stop whatever I’m doing if he comes on the tube.
A celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Eric: Whoopi Goldberg
James: I’m gonna have to go with Chloe Sevigny. She loves The Smiths and
so do I. We’d be perfect for each other.
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
Eric: For some reason, birds are enthralled by my singing voice. It can become problematic as they perch on anything outside a 5’ radius to intently observe my cooing. They tend to attack any bystanders refusing to cooperate as roosts.
James: People should know that after we play our music, we need a place to sleep and something to eat.
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Supergroup to unveil at SXSW
Former members of Cheap Trick, Smashing Pumpkins, Hanson and Fountains Of Wayne will play their first major show as Tinted Windows at SXSW March 20, according to a Billboard report.
Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Hanson middle brother Taylor Hanson and Fountains bassist Adam Schlesinger have recorded their debut album, which is expected to be released soon after SXSW. The band’s debut will be at Pangaea.
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SXSW band preview: Anchorsong
Anchorsong is a solo project out of the UK. The man behind it is Masaaki Yoshida from Tokyo. He’s making his first trip to both South by Southwest and Austin.
What do you hope to accomplish?
I want to be a dark horse and be chosen as one of the best acts. Also I hope to meet some unique musicians whom I can collaborate with in the future.
What music can you not leave town without seeing?
I definitely can’t miss Martina Topley Bird and Gang Gang Dance. I’m also looking forward to seeing Neil Thomas who is the singer from the live band of Matthew Herbert.
Last song downloaded?
The a capella version of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) by Beyonce. I’m going to use it in a very unique way for my showcase at SXSW.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
I like to wear a hat. Especially when I perform.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
Wendy’s, 1/2 lb. Double with Cheese.
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
Day parties.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
Girls don’t like a boy who is too skinny.
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?
Mos Burger.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
Concert: DJ Shadow at Roseland Ballroom in NY 2002.
Album: “Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness” by the Smashing Pumpkins.
What TV shows are you recording back home while you’re in Austin?
“Prison Break” season 4
You’re ordering pizza for the band: what’s on it? And where do you call?
Bacon and German Potato. Pizza Hut.
A celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Alicia Silverstone on some Aerosmith video clips. I was 11.
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
You have no idea what Anchorsong is until you see it live.
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SXSW band preview: Angry vs. The Bear
Angry vs. The Bear travels to our fair city from the United Kingdom. The band members — Mitzi Fox, MC Freak, Baron Darker and Sir Neville de LonsenseIt — are making their first visit to South by Southwest.
What do you hope to accomplish?
To bring some of our English eccentricity to the American public!
What music can you not leave town without?
Our own as it would be pretty tricky to play it otherwise…
Last song downloaded?
We don’t download stuff - we prefer CDs - something you can hold in your hand.
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
More beer.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
Pink skinnies, mass jewelry and multiple belts are pretty much a staple part of our wardrobes…
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food
franchise and what do you order?
Bodrums’ Kebab House. Doner Meat and Shish Mix - Extra large. Oh and a portion of chips, an extra portion of salad and an extra coleslaw. Apart from Mitzi who’s a dirty vegetarian.
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
With hair as big, and as outfits as wild as ours we were born to party!!!
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
Always take a drink of water with you when you go to bed because its always too much effort to get up and get it once you’re settled. (P.S - I went to boarding school - Sir Nev.)
Does your band have a pre-show ritual? Any superstitions?
We have a mass orgy like Fleetwood Mac - Sir Nev.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
A varied and honestly quite distressing bunch in the form of Take That, Jive Bunny, Five Star and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
A celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Sir Nev - David Dickinson. I even have a picture of him in a trinket that I wear at all times. The man is a legend.
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
It’s eccentric female fronted electro pop! It’s frantic! It’s noisy! it’s colourful! And it’s most definitely a spectacle! And no we’re not gay.
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Clarifying the Touch and Go story….
Here is what I originally wrote.
Again, it looks like they hope to return to being a good old fashioned indie label once they get out of the distribution business. So, yes, whenever that next Shellac record arrives, it will have a home. We think.
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SXSW wristbands on sale now!
Just to reiterate a few rules from http://wristband.sxsw.com, where you should go if you want to be among the first to buy a wristband today:
- This year all advance wristband sales (meaning the initial round of 4,000) will be online at http://wristband.sxsw.com.
- In this first-come, first-served sale for Austin area residents only, wristbands are $129 (includes sales tax).
- You will pick up your wristband at the event (March 17-21), and will need to place it on your wrist at the time of pick-up.
- You can buy only one wristband for yourself and one for a friend whose name and e-mail you must provide at time of purchase.
- All purchasers must use a credit card with a local billing address. The name on the credit card must be one of the wristband users.
- Wristbands will be available online at the $129 rate until they sell out or until March 9, 2009, whichever comes first. After that, additional wristbands will go on sale at a higher price to be announced. The list price for SXSW ‘09 wristbands is $180 each.
- All wristbands are assigned by name and are non-transferable and non-refundable.
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SXSW band preview: Arabrot
(Sonicbids)
Outta Oslo comes Arabrot, playing SXSW for the first time. Singer/guitarist Kjetil Nernes answers our questions.
What music can you not leave town without?
Anything by Scott Walker, Captain Beefheart, Burzum or Creedence Clearwater Revival. Who did I forget?
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
More drinks of course
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
My hat, but I’m not sure what the band’s fav piece of cloth would be.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
Ever heard of those dodgy Norwegian kebab shops?
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
Eh, probably none of them.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
English, I guess.
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?
Revolver Kitchen in Oslo.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
It must have been Nirvana’s Live Tonight Sold Out VHS. Fantastic stuff.
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SXSW: Hot hip-hop at the Music Hall
Just got the lineup for the ridiculous lineup of hip-hop all-stars that will be hitting the Austin Music Hall on Saturday, March 19 during the SXSW music festival:
1 a.m. - 2 a.m. - Dead Prez
12:35 a.m. - 12:55 a.m. - Bazaar Royale
12:10 a.m. - 12:25 a.m. - Rick Ross
11:30 p.m. - midnight - Bun B
10:55 p.m. - 11:20 p.m. - B.o.B
10:25 p.m. - 10:45 p.m. - Kidz In The Hall
10:00 p.m. - 10:20 p.m. - Mistah FAB
9:20 p.m. - 9:50 p.m. - Killer Mike
8:55 p.m. - 9:15 p.m. - Balance
8:25 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. - Al Kapone
8:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. - Damm D
Also, Big Boi (Outkast), Dallas Austin and K’Naan will be at the Music Hall on Thursday, March 19 during the festival. I have to say, I caught Somali/Canadian rapper K’Naan at Antone’s a couple years ago when he opened for Damien Marley and his performance moved me deeply. I mean, I laughed, I cried, I left feeling like I’d had some sort of religious experience. It was something seriously profound. Your girl will be in the house for that one.
(Pictured: K’Naan. Photo by James Minchin MYSPACE.COM)
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NPR at SXSW
National Public Radio will host two shows at SXSW this year- Wednesday March 18 at Stubb’s and Thursday March 19, during the day at the Parish. The Stubb’s show will feature the Decemberists doing their new concert in sequence, plus North Carolina’s Avett Brothers and Austin’s Heartless Bastards.
The Parish day party, which is open to the public (space limited) will feature Blitzen Trapper, with earlier sets from K’NAAN, Dirty Projectors, Blind Pilot, the Get Down Stay Downs, Thao Nguyen and more. That show starts just after noon.
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RIP Touch and Go Records
Time Out is reporting what were mere rumors yesterday: Touch and Go Records will no longer be signing new bands. The label switch to a curatorial state dedicated to keeping its (fairly amazing) catalog in print.
In other words, Touch and Go is pretty much kaput. Serious layoffs are expected. (Anyone looking for an experienced indie label staff?)
That said, they will still be showcasing at SXSW Friday, March 20 at Flamingo Cantina; look for sets from Mi Ami, Crystal Antlers, Sholi, All the Saints and the Uglysuit.
Oh, man. This is too bad.
Make no mistake: Records that Touch and Go released changed people’s lives (and I include myself in that group). Slint, Big Black, Die Kreuzen, Butthole Surfers, the Jesus Lizard, Scratch Acid, Shellac, Dirty Three, Bedhead, Rodan, Didjits, Rapeman, Pegboy, Don Caballero, Blonde Redhead and dozens and dozens more.
Touch and Go has a cool (and complicated) history with Austin bands.
They released records by Scratch Acid (and the Jesus Lizard, which featured two members of Scratch Acid). They releaed records by the Butthole Surfers.
They distributed Surfers drummer King Coffey’s amazing label Trance Syndicate and, for a while there, Craig Stewart’s excellent label Emperor Jones.
Then they stopped releasing records by the Butthole Surfers.
Without question, they were and are one of the best record labels ever.
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CD Review: And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, “The Century of Self”
Larry Kolvoord AMERICAN-STATESMAN
… Trail of Dead
‘The Century of Self’
(Justice/Richter Scale)
3 stars
Louder than any actual sound on the album, ‘The Century of Self’ sends out one deafening signal: This is the album that onetime Austinites Trail of Dead should have made after ‘Source Tags and Codes’ (Interscope, 2002), the band’s major label debut that, according to reviews, was a seminal moment in 21st century rock music.
That’s also the collection’s main weakness: ‘Century of Self’ is so obviously a return-to-’02 move that it’s a little jarring — bigger guitars, a little less piano (but not less enough).
After two albums that sounded increasingly progressive, the band tanked critically, spending artistic capital far faster than they had made it. Their moment seemed past; ‘Century’ plays out like a bid to recapture it.
They still can’t resist six-minute songs with a bunch of sections. ‘Isis Unveiled’ opens with and then returns to high-octane Olde English folk chordings. ‘Halcyon Days’ is about three cool short songs. They still can balance the epic with the simple: ‘Bells of Creation’ builds on a repeated piano chord into a stellar anthem. ‘Fields of Coal’ is a thunderous Jason Reece song, always a welcome moment. ‘Luna Park’ might be the band’s finest ballad moving from acoustic melancholia to an epic finish. But the end is given over to instrumental filler that suggests someone wants to do soundtracks (‘An August Theme’) and a two-part tune (‘Insatiable One,’ ‘Insatiable Two’) that would have worked much better as a stand-alone single released, say, eight months from now.
It’s nice to hear this once-thrilling rock band sounding like a rock band, and ‘Century’ is certainly the best album from this 15-year-old band since ‘Source Tags.’ But it’s hard to tell what that means anymore.
Check out And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead playing Tuesday at Waterloo Records.
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SXSW wristband info
We’ve received this statement from SXSW:
“When will South By Southwest wristbands go on sale? Be among the first to find out! Just text the word “join” to 47979 then as soon as wristbands go on sale you’ll be notified! They will be sold online only at http://wristband.sxsw.com for $129 (includes sales tax) to Austin area residents until they sell out. (That’s $10 cheaper than last year!) In this first come, first-served sale, you may purchase up to two wristbands - one for yourself and one for a friend whose name and email you must provide at the time of purchase. All purchasers must use a credit card with a local billing address. The name on the credit card must be one of the wristband users. Wristbands may be picked up at the Austin Convention Center during the event and will need to be attached at the time of pick-up. For more information, go to http://wristband.sxsw.com. The South By Southwest Music Festival takes place Wednesday, March 18 through Sunday, March 22 featuring over 1800 bands on over 85 stages. The music festival schedule can be found at http://sxsw.com.”
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CD Review: ‘The Truth According To Ruthie Foster’
Ruthie Foster
“The Truth According To Ruthie Foster” (Blue Corn)
three stars
Ruthie’s in a rut, albeit one lined in gabardine. Even as this new Memphis-cooked LP is getting some of the best reviews of Foster’s career, it breaks no new ground and leans too heavily on typical Ruthie covers (Patty Griffin, Eric Bibb) and formulaic originals. At this point in her career, the Austinite with the Olympic voice should be creating music that lasts longer than until her next release. This album is even titled like 2007’s “The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster.”
The difference here is guitarist Robben Ford, the former Joni Mitchell sideman, who gives Foster her most dynamic backing musician yet. His tone on “Nickel and a Nail” gives the O.V. Wright cover needed personality and Ford channels both Curtis Mayfield and Little Milton on the bluesy Foster original “Dues Paid In Full.” Fans of stellar electric guitar playing will get their fill here.
Produced by Chris Goldsmith, who brings such wonderful coloring to the records he’s made with the Blind Boys of Alabama, “Truth” has a warmer sound than “Phenomenal,” which better showcased Foster’s voice. But it’s a sideways step, not a stride forward.
Like a naturally gifted student who doesn’t apply herself, getting by on basic intelligence, Foster settles for the B minus her soulful vocals ensure. The material’s just not that special.
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DVR alert! Willie and the Wheel on Letterman tonight
Willie Nelson and Asleep At the Wheel will be appearing tonight, Monday, on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” Letterman band leader Paul Shaffer played on the “Willie and the Wheel” CD, so maybe he’ll sit in.
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Louie Bellson, 1924-2009
The music world lost an alltime great over the weekend. Jazz drummer Louie Bellson, the only white member of Duke Ellington’s orchestra of the early ’50s, died on Valentine’s Day. He was 84.
Gene Krupa was the king of swing drummers and Buddy Rich was more flamboyant- offstage and on - but Bellson was up there with all the greats in terms of talent and originality. He was the first to use double bass drums, but his playing could also be gentle and reflective. Because he was married to Pearl Bailey from 1952 until her 1990 death, Bellson became something of a celebrity drummer and he’d do the Carson show on occasion. But he’s more celebrated for the music he played, starting with stints in the great bands of Benny Goodman in 1942 and Tommy Dorsey after that.
Check out this sick solo:
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North Texas Irish Fest next month
Dallas gets a bad rap, not just for what happened in November many years ago, and it’s unwarranted. I lived there from 1992- 1995 and had no problem with the city.
Big D has got three main things that Austin doesn’t have: the Dallas Cowboys, real music history and the North Texas Irish Festival. This year’s fest will be at Fair Park March 6-8. Click here for more details.
I’ve been a few times to the NTIF and plan to drive up from Austin this year. Not for the lineup, which I’m sure is fine, but for the whole vibe. Austin’s Ed Miller is once again one of the main performers, and he’ll tell you that there’s no other family friendly festival like NTIF. And with the newish DART trains (make that four things Austin doesn’t have) stopping right at the entrance, it’s even easier to get there (and you don’t have to count your pints of Big G.
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CD review: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Self-titled
(Lightning Rod Records)
Jason Isbell kicked up enough red dirt with Drive-By Truckers to forever cloud his sweet home Alabama. The 30-year-old’s ‘Seven-Mile Island’ — a quavering blues fueled by righteous slide guitar, sharp and dirty — swirls the debris. “Mary’s crying because she can’t hold water,” Isbell sings on the album (out Tuesday) opener, “and her clothes don’t fit her right. She used to say that she wanted a daughter, but now she only wants a Saturday night.” Isbell’s hopeful drifters struggle for purchase on sunlit tomorrows before swiftly boomeranging backward.
Trucker deluxe echoes, but Isbell immediately broadens his horizons. Increased ambition redoubles impact. In fact, the most transcendent swatches of “Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit” — a meaty fistful of fuliginous country (“Cigarettes and Wine,” seven minutes straight out of early Jack Ingram), glittering power pop (“However Long”) and tinny funk (“The Blue”) - spider web from Muscle Shoals soul. A significant cut above 2007’s “Sirens in the Ditch,” Isbell’s propulsive yet rather unremarkable solo debut, nearly everything connects.
Especially when he shadows seemingly direct narratives with self-reflection. For example, the gorgeous “Sunstroke,” ostensibly an unsentimental wartime meditation, may peripherally mirror critics’ post-Truckers aims and expectations. “Here it is, morning for some folks,” he sings. “Twilight for those of us left. Answer these questions for everyone, so maybe they’ll stop asking me: What really happened? Where is your masterpiece?”
Try the immediate horizon. This buoyant collection arcs and evolves with a forceful ascent toward the apex. (Check out for-hire Son Volt keyboardist Derry deBorja punching at the moon on “Soldiers Get Strange” and “Good.”) An easy high-water mark, “Streetlights” resonates deeply. Isbell reconciles reach and reproach - “Could my dreams take up too much space,” he ruminates, “I never find a place that’s big enough” - as succinctly and successfully as Whiskeytown’s “Avenues.” Flawless.
Recommended: “Seven-Mile Island,” “Cigarettes and Wine,” “Streetlights”
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SXSW grids: What jumps out
Now that the SXSW schedule has been released we can see a few curious developments. To wit:
Transmission Entertainment’s delayed Radio Room at 508 E. Sixth Street will be open in time for SXSW.
There’s only one free Auditorium Shores show so far on the schedule: The ARC Angels, Raul Malo and Bob Schneider on Friday March 20. Organizers are still firming up Thursday and Saturday Auditorium Shores lineups.
Headhunters on Red River, which usually does its own thing, is an official venue this year. Same with Speakeasy, which is on and off with SXSW it seems.
Beerland isn’t.
Esther’s Follies is an official venue. As is the new Sol y La Luna (formerly Emo’s Lounge) at Sixth and Red River.
New venues include The Independent at I-35 and East Fifth, the Music Gym at 815 E. Sixth, the Ranch at 708 W. Sixth St.
**But perhaps the biggest venue news is that the massive Spiro’s Amphitheater, which can handle about 2,000 folks, is official this year. Some years it isn’t.
- No word yet on when wristbands will go on sale. There won’t be any advance notice on that.
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SXSW schedules now up
Check out when bands are playing, what panels are scheduled ….
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Review: Andrew Bird at Paramount Theatre
(Our Matthew Odam’s take on Bird’s show.)
Andrew Bird may have looked lonely standing by himself before the Parmount’s sold-out crowd on Thursday night, but he certainly didn’t sound it.
Armed with nothing more than a violin and an electric guitar, the pencil-thin songwriter took the stage dressed in a sleek navy blazer and brown slacks and proceeded to pluck, strum and draw his bow across his violin to produce sounds that ranged from mournfully sinister to yearningly optimistic.
But Bird rarely let one instrumental part stand on its own for long. Backed by four speakers shaped like giant phonograph horns, he looped countless violin lines over vocal filler, claps and, of course, his impossibly powerful whistles. In effect, what looked like a solo act sounded more like a dynamic, textured, one-man orchestra.
For the first 20 minutes of the nearly two-hour performance, Bird didn’t play a single song from his albums. Instead, he constructed soaring classical compositions that, surprisingly, were some of the most gratifying moments of the set.
“Sorry, I had to indulge myself,” he said as he kicked off his Italian boots. “I played Carnegie Hall the other week, and I think this sounds just as good.”
The album cuts were just as captivating. The plucked violin loops that backed “Plasticities” were so rhythmically powerful they nearly made up for the absence of a drum set. And Bird’s spastic movements and guitar stabs during “A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left” brought to life the disjointed theme of the song.
Bird left the stage after a few more album cuts and a couple of covers, but was called back twice for an encore. For the final song, he set aside the loop pedals and relied on nothing but his violin and the haunting melodies of “Weather Systems,” showing that no matter how he chooses to play his songs, Bird knows how to make them resonate.
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Lil John and Tori Amos added to SXSW
Universal Republic Records will host a showcase of its acts Thursday March 19 at La Zona Rosa, with rapper Lil Jon and piano chanteuse Tori Amos headlining. Gabriella Cilmi, Iglu & Hartly, Erin McCarley, Rocco Deluca and the Burden and Steel Panther are also on the bill.
We also have a free, no RSVP party to announce: Gorilla Vs. Bear will throw down at the Peacock in East Austin on Thurs. March 19. White Denim and Harlem are representing Austin, with Vivian Girls, WAVVES, Here We Go Magic and others on the bill.
Click here for music samples and more details.
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Pop Unknown announces reunion show
Six years after breaking up, Pop Unknown are getting back together for a show at the Mohawk Feb. 21. Since some diehards are flying in for the show, the band will keep the party going the next day at 1114 East Cesar Chavez St. from 3pm to 8pm.
Playing acoustic sets Feb. 22 will be Chris Simpson and members of Zookeeper, Mitch Billeaud and members of the Lemurs, Marc Ferrino and members of Black Before Red, Christian Kyle and members of Schatzi, plus more.
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Review: Fred Eaglesmith, Southpaw Jones at Cactus Cafe
Fred Eaglesmith’s wisest cracks are as timely as his tales timeless.
He fired both a mile a minute Wednesday at the Cactus Café. “We were in Houston last night,” the popular Canadian storyteller said early on. “They’re just as out of money as you are. We’re here watching your reverse socialism: taking from the bottom and giving to the top. Castro’s in Cuba looking up like the RCA dog. ‘What are they doing up there?’” As the crowd rolled and hollered, Eaglesmith picked up a yellow bullhorn. “You should try to laugh when you’re alive because you can’t when you’re dead!”
No problem. The Juno award winner, nominated again this year for his rural epic “Tinderbox,” exploded laughter all night. His cantankerous, bone-dry humor well tempered weighty stories wrestling hardship with heart. Eaglesmith and his combustible trio fueled new material - particularly the haunted hymnals “I Pray Now,” “Fancy God” and “Get on Your Knees” - with a zealot’s urgency. “Brothers and sisters,” he howled and growled, hands shaking feverishly, “I’ve been sent to you to save your souls. Jesus told me to save your souls.”
Maybe he did. The relatively sparse group - mostly middle-aged “Fredheads” filling about two-thirds capacity - reacted as enthusiastically as saved sinners. Splitting time between electric and acoustic sets, Eaglesmith climaxed with the greasy cautionary tale “Alcohol and Pills” and Kasey Chambers’ favorite “Water in the Fuel.” The 51-year-old deftly tempered his Dudley George murder ballad with a priceless deer joke. Ask for it in April: Eaglesmith is scheduled to return for the Old Settler’s Music Festival.
Meantime, keep an eye peeled for opener Southpaw Jones. The Austin resident’s cheeky skewers “Legitimate Film,” “The Last Remaining Beatle” and “Fatty Arbuckle” proved an inspired pairing. “Yeah, I lost it,” Jones laughed, butchering a verse. “I hope you weren’t too nervous for me there. I do have a day job.”
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SXSW wristbands on sale soon
They’re ditching the lottery system from last year and selling online. The price will be $129, $10 less than last year. Details on the procedure here (the on-sale date has not been announced yet, but they say it will be “soon”).
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A week of U2 on Letterman
The Associated Press reports:
Make room, Paul Shaffer. U2 will be on David Letterman’s “Late Show” for a full week to promote their upcoming album. The band will be Letterman’s musical guest each night from March 2 to 6. It’s the first time a musical guest has been given a solid week on the CBS show. U2’s new album, “No Line on the Horizon,” is to be released that week. The band played its first single, “Get on Your Boots,” to kick off the Grammy Awards on Sunday. The band last appeared on the “Late Show” in October 2001.
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Weekend picks for 2/13-2/15
Black Angels’ psychedelic side project, the Viet Mihn, along with others perform at Emo’s on Friday, White Ghost Shivers host a Valentine’s Day Massacre at the Mohawk.
FRIDAY
- DJ Spooky at the Mohawk
- The Black Angels Side Projects Night: the Viet Minh, Christian Bland & the Revelators, the Shine Brothers at Emo’s
- American Graveyard at Jovita’s
- Alejandro Escovedo at the Cactus Cafe (night two)
- Golden Bear at Club Deville
- Annuals, Jessica Lea Mayfield at the Parish
- Agnostic Front at Red 7
- Brian Beattie, Lee Barber at Flipnotics
SATURDAY
- Citizen Cope at Stubb’s
- Ramsey Lewis at the Paramount
- Hayes Carll, Jonny Burke at Saxon Pub
- Speedealer, Buzzcrusher at Emo’s
- Jungle Rockers at Trophy’s
- White Ghost Shivers Valentine’s Day Massacre at the Mohawk
- Los Fabulocos featuring Kid Ramos at the Continental
SUNDAY
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A.J. Vallejo update!
Rock band Vallejo has posted the following message on its MySpace blog:
“Today at 8:35am, while performing a routine stress test due to reported chest pains, A.J. suffered from a mild myocardial infarction attack. He was immediately administered to the ER where doctors implanted a stent into a blocked valve that was discovered in his heart.
A.J. is in stable condition and recovering well in the company of his family.
As of now, all Vallejo shows have been postponed until further notice.
Please stay tuned for updates as we all keep A.J. in our prayers and wish him a speedy recovery.”
The band’s manager Randy Willis said that A.J., who is in his late thirties, had been experiencing chest pains for about a week and the diagnosis was strep throat. He went into the hospital last night and had the mild heart attack this morning.
New Pangaea live music booker, and longtime Vallejo friend Danny Crooks had said that A.J. had intended to perform at Pangaea tomorrow. But Wills said doctors today ruled that out and the show has been postponed.
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SXSW band preview: Kim Beggs
From Canada, specifically the Yukon, we hear from Kim Beggs, who was also an official showcase act in 2007:
What do you hope to accomplish at SXSW?
Secure Distribution in the US and internationally for upcoming album. Secure a US booking agent and bookings, get my already recorded music (two albums) into film and TV.
Last song downloaded?
I buy CDs. Patty Griffin.
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
Hair of the dog, bacon and eggs.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
My hoodie, my hat.
What’s your favorite memory of Austin? Least favorite?
Favourite: Pete Townshend, Eliza Gilkyson and Emmylou Harris music and talks.
Least favourite: missing Steve Earle. Getting stopped by the cops for driving down a one-way. But they were OK. I was worried though.
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
Both. It is expensive to come here so I had better make it worth my while.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
Don’t round off the decimal place until the end. Don’t share everything with your
friends. That is how you keep them honest.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
Stacey Earle and Iris Dement. Live in concerts.
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
Sweet Oldtyme Country Original Roots Music. Kim Beggs Trio with Todd Livingston and Brian Kobayakawa.
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SXSW band preview: Telepathe
(Photo of Telepathe by Eliza Douglas)
Representing Brooklyn — Telepathe answers our questions.
Listen to the band’s song “Lights Go Down” off their album “Dance Mother.”
Have you been to SXSW before?
Yes, we went last year. It was a total blur. If I remember correctly we played 7 shows in
3 days…
What music can you not leave town without?
Black Box
Last song downloaded?
Salem, “Dirt”
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
Sleep. Salted raw lemons.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
My Reebok pumps
What’s your favorite memory of Austin? Least favorite?
Well our least favorite is when our muffler fell off our van a few miles outside of Austin on our way to a show.
Favorite memory or memories: Eating delicious tex-mex food all over the city.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
Video editing.
Does your band have a pre-show ritual? Any superstitions?
We take turns standing on our head and spinning each other around.
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?
Tandem in Bushwick. They have 2 items on the menu, delicious.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
Jay-Z Unplugged
Do you have a favorite celebrity chef?
Julia Child
A celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Lil’ Wayne
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
We sound just like everything else.
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Andrew Bird at Waterloo Records
Thursday’s Andrew Bird show at the Paramount Theatre is sold out. Check out the scene as the singer, who will be back for SXSW, plays Wednesday evening at Waterloo Records.
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P.J. Harvey, Perry Farrell added to SXSW
(P.J. Harvey and John Parish)
The Oak Ridge Boys at SXSW? The quartet brings a touch of Branson when they sit for an interview at the Convention Center March 19.
Among the performers just announced are P.J. Harvey and John Parish, Steve Aoki, Ladyhawke, LMFAO, MSTRKRFT, Reigning Sound, Rox, School of Seven Bells and That Petrol Emotion. The big rumor is that Janes Addiction will play a reunion show at Pangaea. More on that if we hear more.
Harvey and longtime collaborator Parish will perform live for the first time ever at SXSW on March 21. Their album ‘A Woman A Man Walked By’ comes out March 31.
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ACMA nominees announced
The Academy of Country Music Awards nominees were announced today. In Austin connections, the Eli Young Band was nominated for best new vocal group or duo.
From the Associated Press:
Brad Paisley leads all finalists for the Academy of Country Music Awards with six nominations, but the biggest surprise might be former Trick Pony singer Heidi Newfield’s five nods.
Paisley was nominated Wednesday for entertainer of the year and male vocalist, an honor he won last year. He’s also a finalist for record, song and video of the year for “Waitin’ on a Woman,” and for vocal event of the year for “Start a Band” with Keith Urban. Newfield released her solo debut, “What Am I Waiting For,” last August after 10 years with Trick Pony. She’s nominated in five categories, including song of the year and video of the year for “Johnny & June,” an ode to the late Johnny and June Carter Cash.
The Academy of Country Music Awards air on CBS from Las Vegas on April 5. Kenny Chesney, the ACM’s entertainer of the year four years running, received four nominations, including another in the coveted entertainer category. A fifth straight win would tie him with Alabama for the most consecutive entertainer trophies.
George Strait and Jamey Johnson also received four nominations apiece. Johnson, a relative newcomer, is up for top new male vocalist, as well as single record of the year and song of the year for his hit “In Color.” This is the first time Johnson has been nominated as an artist. He won song of the year honors in 2006 for co-writing Strait’s “Give It Away.”
For the first time in her career, Carrie Underwood is nominated for entertainer of the year. Historically, women don’t get nominated too often in this category. If she wins, she would become the just the seventh female to take the award, putting her alongside Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire and, most recently, the Dixie Chicks in 2000.
Several categories will be opened up to interactive fan voting, including entertainer of the year for the second time. Last year’s winner, Chesney, took issue with allowing fans to choose the show’s top honor instead of ACM members, saying the method amounted to “complete disrespect” of the artists because it turned the award “into a sweepstakes to see who can push people’s buttons the hardest on the Internet.” Online voting will begin Friday on GACTV.com.
For a complete list of nominees, go here.
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A.J. Vallejo has mild heart attack
Rock band Vallejo has posted the following message on its MySpace blog:
“Today at 8:35am, while performing a routine stress test due to reported chest pains, A.J. suffered from a mild myocardial infarction attack. He was immediately administered to the ER where doctors implanted a stent into a blocked valve that was discovered in his heart.
A.J. is in stable condition and recovering well in the company of his family.
As of now, all Vallejo shows have been postponed until further notice.
Please stay tuned for updates as we all keep A.J. in our prayers and wish him a speedy recovery.”
The band’s manager Randy Willis said that A.J. had been experiencing chest pains for about a week and the diagnosis was strep throat. He went into the hospital last night and had the mild heart attack this morning.
New Pangaea live music booker, and longtime Vallejo friend Danny Crooks had said that A.J. had intended to perform at Pangaea tomorrow. But Wills said doctors today ruled that out and the show has been postponed.
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Little Steven to host garage showcases at SXSW
Besides speaking at SXSW, Little Steven Van Zandt will emcee a couple of garage rock showcases. The Cocktail Slippers, an all-girl band from Norway, and the Chesterfield Kings are two bands confirmed, with more to be announced later.
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(More or less) final Chaos in Tejas line-up
Man alive. Austin City Limits is the big mainstream one, South By Southwest is the industry confab, but Austin once again asserts itself as one of the U.S.’s hardcore punk meccas with the strongest line-up the Chaos in Tejas festival has ever delivered.
The show is May 21 to 24 at Emo’s and elsewhere.
Some highlights:
Amebix, whose triumphant show at a freezing cold Emo’s was covered here and here.
Veteran proto-streetpunk/Oi! band Cock Sparrer
Japanese hardcore supergroup Judgement
Japanese hardcore vets Crude
Hard rock slowpokes Harvey Milk, in the middle of a nice little comeback that launched at SXSW last year
Cro-Mags, about whom people were pretty impressed at last year’s Fun Fun Fun
High wattage up-and-comers include noise rockers Drunkdriver, Baltimore oddballs Ponytail and no-fi songwriter Kurt Vile.
Cock Sparrer (UK, only us show)
Amebix (UK)
Judgement (Japan)
Crude (Japan)
AI (Japan)
Harvey Milk
Cro-Mags (jam)
Severed Head of State
_UK (ex Chaos UK)
Pierced Arrows (ex-Dead Moon)
Outlaw Order (four-fifths of Eyehategod)
Peligro Social
Destino Final (Spain)
Annihilation Time
Brutal Knights (Toronto)
Midnight (Cleveland)
Warcry (Portland, Ore.)
Unit 21 (Dallas)
World Burns to Death
Young Offenders (San Francisco)
Mind Eraser (Boston)
No Tolerance (Boston)
Obliteration (first show)
Iron Age (atx)
Hex Dispensers (atx)
Kurt Vile
Doomsday Hour
XYX (Mexico)
Porkeria (McAllen)
Nodzzz
Canadian Rifle (Chicago)
Sacred Shock (atx)
Drunkdriver
Deskonocidos
Vaaska
Ponytail
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NY Dolls, Katy Perry, Third Eye Blind added to SXSW
The full lineup of nearly 1,800 acts has been released with some notable names added. The New York Dolls, who killed at the Spin party three years ago, will be back, along with Katy Perry, the Grammys banana girl, plus last year’s soul sensation Darondo.
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SXSW band preview: Bomani D. Armah and Project Mayhem
(Sonicbids)
Bomani D. Armah, who will be here for the first time with his Project Mayhem out of Washington, D.C., answers our questions.
What do you hope to accomplish at SXSW?
This is just one of many steps in my continuing plot to take over the world. I hopefully will have the world conquered by National Watermelon Day (August 3rd). We are hoping that we get more gigs off of this. And even if we don’t, we got to see 8Ball and MJG live! I’m also looking forward to meeting other working musicians and trade ideas.
What music can you not leave town without hearing?
I can’t wait to see Janelle Monae. I’m still going through the list trying to figure out who else is performing.
Last song downloaded?
I downloaded every Art Blakey album I could find.
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
Nah. I have many vices, but heavy drinking isn’t one. My bass player, D’Salaam, is my drinkin’ patna, and we keep it cool.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
I just made a T-shirt with Martin Luther King’s mug shot from when he was arrested on the streets of Birmingham. I wore it once, performing at the Washington National Convention during the Inauguration, and won’t ever wear it again.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
Being a back-sliding vegetarian, it’s hard to get something late night on the go. I just go with fries wherever I am. I especially like veggie chili cheese fries from Ben’s Chili Bowl when I’m home.
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
I’m torn right now, but probably the panels. I figure that would take me closer to world conquest than the parties.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
My poetry classes where great. I learned a lot work shopping and explicating poetry at the University of Maryland, I hope to go back and get my MFA (expletive arts degree) eventually. The other thing that I learned was that hustlers are the only ones who make money AND retain their freedom. The work I did in extracurricular stuff like my high school choir and Iota Phi Theta taught me more skills that I’ve used in my career than my classes.
Does your band have a pre-show ritual? Any superstitions?
Not really, unless you count my band mates cutting on how ashy my feet are. They’ve finally realized that I’m gonna perform barefoot regardless. We hum and beatbox through the entire set, then we talk music and business until we get on stage. My band is a group of grown men who are in the music and education business full time, just like me. D’Salaam, James, Mahiri, Robbie and Sean make up an extremely funky, excentric yet level-headed band.
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?<br>
Sankofa Video and Books, Kramers Books and Afterwards, Soul Vegetarian, Busboys & Poets, Artmosphere, Senbeb, the Diner in Adams Morgan. It’s as important that you have wireless connection, and more than two vegetarian dishes on the menu, than anything else.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
I grew up in a Baptist church, my tape deck was filled with John P. Kee and Richard Smallwood. That’s where I got my appreciation for the power of music. I learned to play drums and piano because the small church I attended in off Bladensburg road in the Trinidad section of D.C. didn’t have either when I was 10. After that, go-go music was the most important live music for me. Especially Junk Yard, Back Yard, N.E. Groovers and the Huck-a-Bucks. Those where the bands that where the hottest when I was in high school in PG County. I use to love going to the Black Hole and the Taj Mahal back in the early and mid-’90s.
KRS-1 made me pay attention to hip-hop, Tribe Called Quest made me like hip-hop, Outkast made me love hip-hop, and Ludacris made we want to dedicate myself to doing hip-hop. Hip-hop took me out of the world of gospel and go-go and then led me into jazz, funk, R&B, reggae, and rock. I feel like my music sounds like all those ingredients, in that order of importance.
What TV shows are you recording back home while you’re in Austin?
The Daily Show, Colbert, and the UFC. That’s about it, I’m a recovering TV addict. I’m really a radio guy. By the way, what station is NPR? And where can I find the Stephanie Miller Show and some Be-bop Jazz when I get to Austin?
You’re ordering pizza for the band: what’s on it? And where do you call?
Cheese and every veggie they got at the shop. I’m paying for the pizza so everyone else gotta deal with it! We hitting a long road trip to get to Austin, maybe I can get you more details when I get there.
Do you have a favorite celebrity chef?
I like the guy who does play-by-play on the “Iron Chef.” He’s got his own show where he breaks down the science of cooking, can’t think of his name right now.
Which Web sites do you check every day?
msnbc.com, rhymeswithsnitch.com (don’t ask) Worldstarhiphop, nahright.com, fusicology, the NY Times and the Washington Post. I check out itsthereal and illdoctrine pretty regularly. I wish they updated more often. I assume this is a family friendly publication, so any other site I would list would not I make it to print. Oh, and of course, Facebook. In 2011 Facebook ID’s will legally replace Social Security numbers. Then I check several sites for business like constant contact, reverbnation, myspace, imeem, paypal, cdbaby, tunecore.
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
I have a high energy show, very percussive, very aggressive, but not mad at all. I try to take people all over the place. Some songs are blatantly happy, and others are a kick in the head, but all of them are extremely musical and percussive. My songs are so much fun that you don’t notice that they’re informative, and then I hit you with some ignorant (stuff) just to keep you off balance. Project Mayhem is basically an all star band from the U Street scene in D.C. You gotta check us out!
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Happy Valentine’s Day from Black Joe Lewis
Fresh off the release of their self-titled EP on Lost Highway, Austin’s Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears bring you this “
http://www.myspace.com/blackjoelewis
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SXSW band preview: Act of Congress
Guitar player Chris Griffin talks about his band, Act of Congress, out of Alabama.
Listen to the band’s song “She Knows Her Way Around
Have you been to SXSW before?
Nope, this will be our first journey to the great state of Texas.
What do you hope to accomplish?
2008 was a year of building a home town draw. This year we are exploring the Southeast. Being invited to SXSW is a great added honor. We hope, like everyone else, to be noticed. We believe in Act Of Congress, and think music fans in Texas will as well. Plus fans think our fiddle player is hot.
What music can you not leave town without?
Monte Montgomery is originally from our home town of Birmingham. He goes where we go.
Last song downloaded?
“How Far We’ve Come” by Matchbox 20
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
The Bible.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
My hoodie with pre-cut thumb holes.
If you’ve been to Austin before, what’s your favorite memory?
I’ve been to Austin vicariously through “Austin City Limits” and the television. Eric Johnson was great, Coldplay was another favorite.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
Jamocha shake, Arby’s
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
Being different leads to a fan base.
Does your band have a pre-show ritual? Any superstitions?
We rehearse a lot. Adam (lead singer) watches “The Office” to clear his mind.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
This interview is great because as the guitar player it’s totally biased! I’m a Big Darrell Scott fan. We opened the John Mayer VIP area last year. He was the best concert I’ve seen. … super motivating.
What TV shows are you recording back home while you’re in Austin?
I don’t have cable. I need to get on this converter box thing.
You’re ordering pizza for the band: what’s on it? And where do you call?
I would order Papa John’s Chicken and Pineapple. Adam would do Pizza Hut cheese. Tim would just eat the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches he brought from home. Bethany — you’d have to ask her.
Do you have a favorite celebrity chef?
“Hell’s Kitchen” guy (Gordon Ramsey). His new show where he goes to other restaurants is great. He lit this chef guy up last week.
A celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
I wrote this piece called Kiera’s melody after watching Kiera Knightly in “Pride and Prejudice”. My wife didn’t like that too much, so now it’s called “Gabby’s Melody.”
Which Web sites do you check every day?
Myspace, Gmail, Fox News.
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
We get a lot of early Nickel Creek comparisons. That’s cool with us. We love Nickel Creek. If you love good songwriting, playing and a band that consistently sells out in their home city, Come see Act Of Congress. We’re super pumped to meet you.
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SXSW band preview: Turbowolf
(Sonicbids)
From the British Isles comes Turbowolf, who collectively answered our questions. Download the band’s song “Ghost Hunt.”
Have you been to SXSW before?
No, we’ve only heard the stories, isn’t it like a big teddy bear’s picnic but with more blood and sweat? We brits are gonna be well at home there.
What do you hope to accomplish?
We wanna destroy the place with our enormous sounds and start a global Turbowolf movement. We’re all thinking about getting giant tattoos of cow skulls across our chests, too.
What music can you not leave town without?
It’s a tough call, liking so many kinds of music but if there’s one thing, it’s gonna be Pantera. Every time. Unless it’s ELO.
Last song downloaded?
Tweak Bird my friends, they rule, and they’ll be around here somewhere I’m sure.
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
Press on with some more booze! Or some kind of sugary breakfast the way you kids love it.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
We always have a glove of some kind, not always the same one though. You know, the kind you always see looking lonely in the gutter, they follow us around.
If you’ve been to Austin before, what’s your favorite memory? Least favorite memory of Austin?
We’re gonna be testing this question out as we go, so waiting for anything good or bad to happen! Less o the bad stuff though, thanks, chaps.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: What’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
We’re strongly into noodle king, but since we’re gonna be far from home so we’ll have to seek refuge in Denny’s, or else any other place that’ll give us something for a dollar.
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
Hey, we’ll go wherever the action is. Some kind of poster thing’s going on too, right?
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
Advanced helicopter dynamics? It really helps when you’re stuck in the toilet after too many curries.
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?
Noodle King, man. So cheap and soooo much food!
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music yourself?
Donington Monsters of Rock ‘96, without a doubt. Dog Eat Dog, Fear Factory, Paradise Lost, Biohazard, and a day of sunshine for once.
What TV shows are you recording back home while you’re in Austin?
Well “Two and A Half Men” is running constantly while we’re away which is a frightening thought, but there’s sure to be some newer episodes to catch while we’re here!
You’re ordering pizza for the band: what’s on it? And where do you call?
Our pizzas are garnished with gold, toys, chaps, chicks, German salami, and iron filings. Most places serve this but we’d call Dominos for the quickest service.
What should SXSW audiences know about your music?
They should know that there’s a party to be had, they just have to work out how to join in whilst simultaneously having their ears sliced like soft fruit.
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SXSW band preview: An Horse
(Big Hassle Media)
An Horse (Kate Cooper and Damon Cox) out of Australia will make its first stop at SXSW this year. Kate Cooper answers our questions.
What do you hope to accomplish at SXSW?
I guess we are in a fortunate enough position to already have a label in the U.S. and a team of people who believe in us, we will just go in and do what we do best. Which is playing. Hopefully people will enjoy the show. Anything else that comes out of it is a bonus.
Last song downloaded?
I just downloaded Metallica, “Ride the Lightening” and I uploaded the Go-Betweens “Spring Hill Fair” to my new hard drive. I am in the process of restoring my iTunes library. Old hard drive died and took many of my true loves with it.
Do you have a favorite hangover cure?
I don’t drink too much. That’s my first cure. Damon tells me chocolate paddle pops do the trick. Do you have them in the U.S.? Delicious chocolate ice cream. Basic really. And Vegemite which is rich in Vitamin B. Recently we were in Denver and we ate at a really nice bar that had this breakfast item that was meant to cure hangovers. I wasn’t hung over but I got it and it made me feel amazing. It was fries and on top of that scrambled eggs and green chilli in a bowl. Amazing.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
I have a few favorite western shirts. They are perfect to take on tour because they rarely need to be ironed. I like to look crisp and sometimes this is hard on tour. Western shirts look crisp, they hide stains and generally they fit well. For some strange reason people give me western shirts all the time. I think it’s because often they are very small boys sizes. It works for me.
It’s late, you’re hungry and time is short: what’s your go-to fast food franchise and what do you order?
In-N-Out (Burger). If there is no In-N-Out I go hungry.
Are you more likely to go to day parties or SXSW panels?
Ha! I am more likely to be reading or sleeping at our hotel. But I would definitely prefer to see bands than people talk about the music industry.
What’s the best thing you learned in school?
I went to a strict all-girls school. I learned a lot of things. Probably the best thing I learned was not to talk back to the school priest even if he is your best friend’s father. You will still get punished.
Does your band have a pre-show ritual? Any superstitions?
We generally jump around like idiots and do a few power high-kicks!
What’s your favorite restaurant back home?
I love this amazing Vietnamese restaurant aptly titled The Vietnamese. I probably eat there three times a week. They make this amazing vegetable curry noodle soup. It is full of fresh chili and cures most everything. I am trying to get sick of it so I can stop craving it constantly.
What was the concert or album that made you want to play music?
The first concert I ever went to was the Rolling Stones on the Voodoo Lounge tour. My dad let me leave school early. That was a big deal. That stadium concert changed my life. The second concert I saw was Bob Dylan supported by Patti Smith. Say no more.
You’re ordering pizza for the band: what’s on it? And where do you call?
Ohhh that’s tough. Minimal is best. I like Napolitana - cheese, tomato, olives and anchovies.
Do you have a favorite celebrity chef?
There is a great Australian chef called Kylie Kwong. She is mesmerizing.
A celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Owen Wilson.
Which web sites do you check every day?
The Sydney Morning Herald.
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Musicmania Top 10 for the week ending Feb. 8
Z-Ro, ‘Crack’ (Rap-A-Lot)
Lil’ Keke, ‘Loved By Few Hated By Many’ (TF Records)
Z-Ro, ‘Crack Screwed’ (Rap-A-Lot)
Plies, ‘Da Realist’ (Atlantic)
Trae, ‘Streets Advocate’ (Oarfin)
Jamie Foxx, ‘Intuition’ (J Records)
Keyshia Cole, ‘A Different Me’ (Geffen)
SPM, ‘Last Chair Violinist’ (Dope House)
T.I., ‘Paper Trail’ (Atlantic)
Scarface, ‘Emeritus’ (Rap-A-Lot)
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Benefit for Artz Rib House on Feb. 22
Owners Art Blondin and Zenobia Sutton closed the Austin barbecue and music institution briefly last month because of financial problems brought on by the slowing economy and medical bills. A quick fund-raiser helped get the doors open again, and now a bigger event, one in a series planned by friends and family, has been scheduled for Feb. 22 at Scholz Garten, 1607 San Jacinto (corner of 17th and San Jacinto).
The lineup:
4:15 p.m.-4:45: Jon Emery and Art Blondin
5 -5:30: Ephraim Owens
5:45 - 6:15 Slaid Cleaves
6:30 - 7: Warren Hood
7:15 - 7:45: Carolyn Wonderland and Shelley King
8:00 - 8:30: Redd Volkaert and Cindy Cashdollar
8:45- 9:15: Austin Lounge Lizards
9:30 - 10: Del Castillo
If you cannot attend but would like to donate, send checks to:
Art Blondin
C/O Rene Britt
P O Box 91092
Austin, TX 78709
To donate auction Items or to volunteer for help:
Pam Golightly
saveartz@gmail.com
512-477-1178
or
Linda Branson
Out of the Past Antique Store
5341 Burnet Road
512-371-3550
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Did you get Springsteen tickets?
The April 5 show at Frank Erwin Center is sold out, and we’re hearing various reports about people’s ticket-buying experiences — whether online or at an outlet. Tell us about yours in the comments section.
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Review: Don Caballero at Red 7
Whether it was the result of poor venue planning, overly ambitious supporting acts or arrogance from the headliners themselves, instrumental rockers Don Caballero played a set less than an hour long Sunday night at Red 7, likely leaving some fans feeling shortchanged.
Preceding Pittsburgh’s progressive math masters was DD/MM/YYYY, a hard-hitting five-piece from Toronto that ripped through abrasive guitar riffs and screeching keyboard lines backed by two drummers who banged out syncopated rhythms in off-kilter time signatures.
But by the time the 40-minute performance was done, it was already 12:40 a.m., and Don Caballero had yet to lug their gear onstage. Slowly, the band members rolled out a light orange carpet for drummer Damon Che’s set and readied a video camera to record the performance.
When the headliners eventually started playing a little after 1 a.m., the crowd was ecstatic. Che didn’t exhibit much movement as he pounded out his rapid-fire rhythms, but they often sounded like the work of more than one player.
Guitarist Gene Doyle’s performance was almost as mind-boggling, as his fingers danced over complex riffs that were then looped back through his effects pedals. It wasn’t quite as entrancing as original guitarist Ian Williams’ signature two-hand tapping, but it showed that this latest incarnation of Don Caballero holds its own.
One of the highlights of the show was the performance of “Palm Trees in the Fecking Bahamas,” a simpler, more melodic tune from 2006’s “World Class Listening Problem.” Unfortunately, the moment was short-lived, as the band had to leave the stage a little before 2 a.m. without enough time for even a short encore.
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Grammy Live blog.
Hey folks,
Welcome to the Grammy Live blog!
In Grammy awards handed out off-screen….
Austin beats Austin: Ruben Ramos & The Mexican Revolution’s “Viva La Revolucion” beat Tortilla Factory’s “All that Jazz” for best Tejano album.
Best Country Instrumental Performance went to Brad Paisley’s “Cluster Pluck,” which included James Burton, Vince Gill, John Jorgenson, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Steve Wariner and Austinite Redd Volkaert.
Those were the only two Austin winners.
B.B. King’s “One Kind Favor” beat “Pinetop Perkins and Friends” for best traditional blues album.
Dr. John And The Lower 911’s “City That Care Forgot” beat Marcia Ball’s “Peace, Love & BBQ” for best contemporary blues album.
Here is Jeanne Claire van Ryzin on Conspirare’s losses.
7:04 - Hey, it’s Whitney Houston. Congrats on beating every death pool there is. Someone is Vegas is bummed, but we are happy for you.
7:05 - Whitney wants to shouts out Clive Davis. I bet you do, hon. Without him, you might still be in church somewhere, totally clean and not as rich.
The Grammy for Best R&B album goes to Jennifer Hudson. She’s had pretty much the worst year ever and, unlike too many R&B singers, she almost never oversings the song. Nice job keeping it together, Ms. Hudson. You’re a class act.
And now…The Rock!
7:09 - The Rock riffing on how much he loves the Grammies pretty much tells you how much they have to do with music.
7:10 - And now….Justin Timberlake, who at least has put out a few good records. Man, that two jokes in a row that didn’t land. Even folks AT the Grammies are in a bad mood.
J.T. singin’ “Let’s Stay Together” with Al Green
Three minutes in we have yet to see Keith Urban. Oh, there he is, taking a guitar solo for reasons that remain obscure. Boy, not much of Boyz II Men, huh? But Green can still hit that note.
7:23 - Coldplay rocking the piano ballad. Jay-Z is spitting along. Oh, Jay. Thirteen years since “Reasonable Doubt” means rapping with Coldplay, huh? Ten years ago, you would not have been seen with someone wearing a jacket that ugly.
7:25 - And into “Viva La Vida.” You know, Chris, Bono is standing RIGHT THERE. You think he doesn’t get a little bugged at the gimmick infringement?
My wife notes that Martin dances like my almost-four year old.
7:28 - Um…is Carrie Underwood wearing shorts? And bondage gear? I think our EA is gonna have a seizure she’s freakin out so hard on that outfit. Wait, it’s a skirt. Don’t call 911.
7:32 - A slightly possessed looking Sheryl Crow and a taller Lee Ann Rimes. “Stay” gets the nod for Country Performancer, Duo or Group, surprising exactly nobody.
Jennifer Nettles and Joely Richardson: separated at birth? (Someone ask Jennifer’s mom, who is at the ceremony.)
Nettles mentions that she wants to look cool for Coldplay. Oh, honey. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LOOK COOL FOR COLD PLAY. There is nothing cool about Coldplay. Just ask them. Or Bono.
7:41 - God bless you, Duffy, but do not attempt to sing with the Rev. Al Green. Song of the Year goes to….Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” Martin apologizes to Paul McCartney for stealing the Sgt. Pepper outfits. I can think of other things that dude needs to apologize for, but those clothes are not a bad start.
7:45 - A politically aware (sort of) Kid Rock is an odd thing for everyone involved. Ok, that didn’t last long. Now he’s back to singing about singing “Sweet Home Alabama.” He is, however, both singing better and dressed better than Chris Martin.
7:53 - Why exactly is Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus playing together for the first time a big deal? Oh, wait. Miley was just 15 and the song is about being 15. That said, Swift is all of 19 years old and recently released one of the most popular albums of the year. There’s a fair amount of evidence that might be the most talented country songwriter of her generation. Miley is a TV actor with a pop career.
The wife: “It’s like watching Taylor sing with someone who’s playing her in a TV movie.”
Word.
7:58 - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss take best pop collaboration with vocals. Seriously, who doesn’t like these two? Their gig at ACL last year was astonishing, that album is a blast, someone give them an even cooler award.
8:02 - Jennifer Hudson blowing minds right now. Amazing performance. Everybody on their feet.
Texas Grammy note: Best Hard Rock Performance goes to “Wax Simulacra” by the Mars Volta, only some of whom are from Texas. Not a great night for Texas artists so far.
8:10 - Stevie Wonder busts out his vocoder to back up the Jonas Brothers, all of whom are cooler than Coldplay. Come on, you think Chris Martin would do better on “Superstition?” I say thee nay! I am with this collabo.
8:15 - What’s good, Blink-182. Come on, Travis Barker, take a swing at Chris Martin with your good hand! “We’re not the heaviest of rock bands.” YOU ARE NOT FUNNY, MR. MARTIN. NOBODY ACTUALLY THINKS YOU ARE HUMBLE AND JUST HAPPY TO BE THERE. Take your trophy and return to your seat. Oh, they did. OK then.
Texas Grammy note: Kirk Franklin’s “Help Me Believe” takes best gospel song.
8:22 - Craig Ferguson breaks the completely unfunny streak. Sadly, he also has to introduce Katy Perry. Who. Cannot. Sing. At. All.
Her voice is as bad as Coldplay’s outfits. (Thanks, Sharon!)
Somewhere, Simon Cowell is smiling widely, his worldview of people actually having to sing if they would like to sing in pop music entirely justified.
And an entire auditorium claps politely.
8:27 - Speaking of sketchy singing voices, hey, Kanye!
8:29 - Wait, Bob Newhart won a Grammy for best new artist? Adele scores best new artist. I am in favor of her fame. Please don’t pull a Winehouse, dear. Adele plays La Zona Rosa on Mar. 12. This should move some tickets.
Texas Grammy note: Los Tigres Del Norte’s “RaÃces” takes best norteño album.
8:37 - Morgan Freeman co-signs the existence of Kenny Chesney. OK, that was a little odd.
8:41 - Record of the year goes to….Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s “Please Read the Letter.” Yea, old people!
Plant on making the album.”We gave ourselves three days….If it doesn’t work, I’ll go back to Wolverhampton.”
Robert, you are the man. Everyone up there seems so casual and who cares about it. Remember when rock was like that? (OK, neither do I, but I’ve seen pictures). Half of Led Zep now has a Grammy, as that song was a Plant-Jimmy Page joint.
8:54 - M.I.A. Weezy, Jay-Z, Kanye and T.I. just owned (or as the kids say “pwned”) the entire show. M.I.A. up there nine months preggers is the most hardcore thing I’ve ever seen, anyone has ever seen, on a Grammy stage.
9 p.m. - McCartney was, um, fine. Grohl was doing what (let’s face it people) he does best. Still a little weird seeing Sir Paul up there.
9:05 - Somebody turn up Charlie Haden’s microphone. The man is a god. Best male pop vocal goes to….John Mayer.
9:11 - Sugarland plus Adelle equals everyone finding out that Jennifer Nettles is not that hot of a singer and that Adelle is one some old school soul action.
9:19 - Radiohead are on some Fleetwood Mac stuff: “15 Steps” with USC Trojan marching band. Thom, you have terrible hair, but you sure can dance. Chris Martin, that is what’s up, son. Just awesome.
9:31 - T.I. and Justin Timberlake are not too shabby on “Dead and Gone.”
9:37 - Dear Neil Portnow: Using the new President’ catchphrase to promote your organization is not a good look, I don’t care how many Grammy awards President Obama won. (He has won two, which Portnow seems awfully proud of.)
9:38 - But everything is OK now, because there’s Smokey Robinson, one of the greatest pop lyricists who ever lived.
9:39 - Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo join Smoke and Abdul “Duke” Fakir for some Four Tops tunes. Foxx kinda killing it.
9:44 - Now I want to hear some bootlegs from the last Radiohead tour.
Austin note: Mohawk owner James Moody is a dead ringer for the sheriff from that new show “Harper’s Island.” Just saying.
9:47 - Josh Groban just introduced the god Neil Diamond. THIS IS NOT VERY NICE TO NEIL.
Neil still has his voice. Like Plant, he doesn’t seem to take himself all that seriously, which rules. Dude has the whole crowd singing along to “Sweet Caroline.” McCartney REALLY REALLY into it. That ruled.
Now it is time for dead people. Rick Wright, Eartha Kitt, Buddy Miles AND Mitch Mitchell. Teo Macero (jazz producer best known for groundbreaking work with Miles Davis during the fusion years, without whom Radiohead would sound VERY different).
Norman Whitfield.
Odetta doesn’t get her own screen? FOR SHAME, GRAMMY.
Static Major: Man, that’s depressing.
Rocksteady god Alton Ellis. “Come get ready/ come do rocksteady, yeah:” Man, I played that song a lot in college.
“Batman” theme composer Neil Hefti.
Isaac Hayes: Just got two reissues in the mail, including that bonkers disco album.
Bo Diddley closes it out, what with him being the man.
Now the surprisingly lifelike BB King and waxy John Mayer and Aussie countryman Keith Urban all up there playing “Bo Diddley.”
I can’t lie, I’m kind bummed that one of the greatest frontmen on all time was given no love in that montage.
10 p.m. - It is now 10 p.m. Central time. The Grammy awards have been going for three hours. Time to wrap it up, guys.
10:02 - It’s Gary Sinise, probably because CBS is the CSI network.
10:03 - Three-time Grammy winner tonight Lil Wayne rapping with Robin Thicke. (By the way, if you missed Wayne’s interview with Katie Curic, Google it right now. Amazing and bonkers.)
Wayne, Alan Toussaint and horns now embodying the whole history of New Orleans music. (Check out Texas native Ned Sublette’s excellent book for more.)
10:23: Producer of the year Rick Rubin? Boo-urns.
10:23: Album of the year is “Raising Sand” by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. RP/AK big winners of the night. A big win for old over young, which seems VERY Grammy.
Plant: “In the old days we would have called this selling out.” Word, son.
Again, this is a good album and they killed at ACL, but I was holding out for Wayne.
That said, a win for Rounder Records is a win for a good indie. T-Bone Burnett gets the last word (oops, there’s Billie from Green Day).
1027 - Take us home, Stevie Wonder! Good night!
Complete list of 51st Grammy Award winners
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Most improved: Lisa Rinna and Joey Fatone
“Fashion is meaningless” - Flea
I guess I was in a trashy mood, but somehow I found myself tonight watching the TV Guide Channel’s Grammy red carpet show, co-hosted by Lisa Rinna, her popping-out right breast and Joey Fatone. Last year, or maybe it was the year before, I watched these bumbling co-hosts present a couple of the dumbest, most uncomfortable and annoying hours in modern TV history.
Maybe I was in the mood for another trainwreck.
But the red carpet show tonight was pretty good, with compliment machine Rinna coming off as a genuine “where my girls at” kinda gal. Experience counts for much, as she was really connecting with the artists. The energy seemed unforced. And the acts seemed to really want to be there instead of fronting the usual kidnapped pose. Fatone still interjects too much of his past, and he couldn’t ad lib a belch at a Dr. Pepper drinking contest, but he seemed to put the subjects at ease because, well, he was a Backstreet Boy for godsakes and now he’s just trying to make a living. Haven’t seen a rebound like Rinna/ Fatone since Sofia Coppola made up for “Goldfather III” with “Lost In Translation.” Joan Rivers was turning in her grave.
One of the best interviews was Katy Perry, whose music’s pretty lame, but she impressed me with her honesty and quick wit. And those green eyes! Jordin Sparks was also someone I didn’t think I’d like, but she came off so real, so cool.
Kind of a dud was Jack Black, who’s either too cool for the room or he’s become as tired of being “Jack Black” as we are of seeing him that way. JB did get to plug a Feb. 28 show at the Ryman in Nashville with his father in law, the legendary Charlie Haden, who’s been known to play some tenacious B.
I know Fatone was in N’SYNC.
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Whitney’s back — again?
On reading this glowing report on the rebound of Bobby-free Whitney Houston to the limelight, it reminded me of when I made the all-time partycrasher honor role by getting into Clive Davis’s Grammy party at the posh Beverly Hills Hotel ten years ago to witness what was heralded as the triumphant return of La Whitney.
I post this as a cautionary note that Houston’s recovery won’t happen on a single night, but one day at a time over a long stretch. But also I just want you to know how cool I was to get into this black tie affair, where the guests included Jerry Seinfeld, Magic Johnson, Mary J. Blige, Tom Cruise and many more celebs, while wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
I had planned to check out the action from the hotel lobby and nearby Polo Lounge, knowing I had about as much of a chance getting in as I did throwing out the first pitch at Dodgers Stadium. Then the head of Arista, Davis was going to unveil a new project at the party: the Carlos Santana duets album which would become the biggest blockbuster of 2000, though no one could’ve predicted it at the time.
So I’m sitting there near the entrance, wondering if I’d be able to expense a $9 beer, when the publicist in charge motioned for me to come quick. “Clive would love you to see this,” she said, putting an all-access pass over my neck, and sorta giving me a shove in. Onstage, Santana was jamming with Wyclef Jean and all the celebrities were standing up and I found a little corner of the ballroom to hide in. Then Whitney came out and sang “Heartbreak Hotel”- not the Elvis song - and everyone was ooing about how great she looked and sounded. This was after disheveled and out-of-it photos of her had been platered all over the checkout counter magazines.
Suddenly about four security guards set on me, Mr. Sore Thumb among the hand models, and escorted me out. But I’d been to Clive’s legendary party and- to tell you the truth- it seemed pretty dead.
As for Whitney Houston, who gave away so many years, let’s hope she continues to get that talent back.
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Total Abuse, others remind one just how good Austin can be
It is both too easy to praise, and too easy to dump on, the Austin music scene.
I can certainly understand why people get sick of hearing about how great it is all the time. Austin’s status as a live music mecca get shoved down everyone’s throat constantly. And there’s ample evidence that too many Austinites treat live musicians like jukeboxes, something to be yammered over while they get hammered. The parking downtown is terrible and the traffic is worse.
But right now feels like an amazing time for Austin’s underground.
Friday night at Red 7, Total Abuse delivered such a viscerally overwhelming set of punk-shaped white guitar noise that I was totally sated.
I needed to see no more rock that night, such was Total Abuse’s rock power (let’s here it for two-guitar hardcore; peace to late-model Faith, Minor Threat circa “Out of Step” and those Black Flag ‘82 demos).
Headliners Monotonix were known for their frenetic live show, but I’ve seen them about four times since they assaulted Austin at last year’s SXSW. So I split.
Today I heard a work tape of some new material from the excellent The Young, heard the new album from the reliably odd Elv!s , which felt appropriate a few days after the passing of one of the greatest rock frontmen of all time (more on that later), a guy whose music the folks in Elv!s clearly loved.
Tonight, there’s hideous metal with Doom Siren at Room 710 or wicked hardcore with the Altars at Club 1808. Houston-based Z-Ro at Spiro’s, so popular here he might as well be an honorary Austinite. There’s Afrofreque at Lambert’s.
I know the hype gets tedious, but Austin sure can deliver.
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MacGowan sings Townes
In one of the most chilling covers heard in awhile, hard-living songwriter Shane MacGowan, who’s back with the Pogues, sings Townes Van Zandt’s “Waitin’ Round To Die” as a guest on The Mighty Stef’s new album “100 Midnights.”
Led by Stefan Murphy (who’s been pegged sort of a Dublin garage rock version of Nick Cave, though new single “Downtown” sounds nothing like that), the Mighty Stef plays Stubb’s Feb. 28 with Flogging Molly. To sample some of Stef’s music, though, sadly not the Van Zandt cover nor the duet with the late, great Ronnie Drew on “The Mero,” go here.
The Mighty Stef will also be playing SXSW next month.
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Maggie Mae’s to open tonight
Although it was part of a three-alarm fire this morning that damaged several businesses on Sixth Street, Maggie Mae’s will be open tonight, said Octavia Aydlett, the club’s business manager.
The building suffered minimal water damage and some damage to its rooftop because of the fire, but the ground floor will be open, Aydlett said.
Guitarist J.T. Coldfire is scheduled to perform, according to the club’s Web site.
Austin Firefighters battled two blazes across the street from each other this morning on Sixth Street. One firefighter was injured.
Fire officials were notified of the first fire around 5 a.m. and arrived to find the Blind Pig Pub, Maggie Mae’s and the Black Cat tattoo parlor all engulfed in flames.
A second fire started across the street at the Vice Dance Club, 300 E. Sixth St., Battalion Chief Harry Evans said. That fire started while crews were working the first blaze, Evans said.
Both fires have been extinguished, and both were accidental, officials said.
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Fires on Sixth Street - what’s next for musicians?
We’re checking in with some of the bands who regularly play Maggie Mae’s and the other affected spots, and we’ll update as we get their reactions. Some are just hearing the news.
Bluesman Alan Haynes was about to start a Sunday night gig at Maggie Mae’s. That looks to be on hold at the moment.
“I was hoping to make a little extra money,” Haynes said. “I have bills to pay and a daughter to feed. That’s a real shame. I was looking forward to it. Gary Clark was going to sit in with us on drums.”
Haynes also has a steady Friday gig at One 2 One.
Read more about the fires that damaged the Blind Pig Pub, Maggie Mae’s, the Black Cat tattoo parlor and Vice Dance Club here.
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Review: Will Johnson at Mohawk
Although it will come as no surprise to his fans, Centro-matic songsmith Will Johnson can sing. Late Thursday night at the Mohawk, Johnson’s voice was both gritty and melodic, accompanied only by a hollow-bodied electric guitar. Johnson, who recently made an appearance on New Year’s Eve with My Morning Jacket at New York’s Madison Square Garden, seemed at home with the role of solo troubadour.
“My name’s Will,” he said, thanking the audience as he began a set in which he bobbed around on stage with his guitar and poked fun at the fact that “Dances With Wolves” star Kevin Costner was playing across town with his band at Antone’s (“What the hell is going on in there,” he asked). Despite the sense of humor, Johnson remained very focused and serious as he offered up a sampling of his never-ending catalogue, including “Atlanta” off Centro-matic’s 2007 album ‘Operation Motorcide’ and “Closing Down My House” from his solo effort, “Vultures Await.” He cracked a rare smile toward the end of the set when he led a sing-along he admitted was cribbed from the Stones’ “Waiting on a Friend.”
Johnson also played an unrecorded Woody Guthrie song, (“Corrine”?) which he said had been sent to him a day earlier (without music) and was part of an upcoming project being planned for the spring. Guthrie is a good fit for Johnson, whose subtle drawl and messy hair conjures shades of Guthrie’s train-hopping folk singer persona.
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5th annual Carl’s Corner grand opening
They say it’s really going to happen this time. The Carl’s Corner truckstop/entertainment complex known as Willie’s Place is now officially fully operational 140 miles north of Austin. Willie will be backed by Asleep At the Wheel, who have a new Western swing collaboration, at festivities Feb. 24 and 25.
The shows take place at the 1,000-capacity Earth Bio-Willie Theater.
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Ruthie CD is most added on Americana radio chart
“The Truth According To Ruthie Foster,” recorded at Ardent Studio in Memphis, was the most-added CD on the Americana radio chart this week. Foster celebrated the release Tuesday with an in-store at Waterloo Records and a sold-out show at Antone’s later that night.
Featuring an all-star cast of Memphis sidemen, the CD mixes five Foster originals with covers of tunes by Patty Griffin, Eric Bibb and “(You Keep Me) Hangin’ On.” It was produced by Chris Goldsmith, who has helmed projects by the Blind Boys of Alabama and Ben Harper.
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Weekend picks for 2/6-2/8
This weekend Pat Green makes an in-store appearance at Waterloo, the Mother Truckers kick it Continental style, and Shawn Colvin gives an intimate performance at One World Theatre. Don’t forget to pay tribute to Bob Marley at the Flamingo Cantina and let loose with DeVotchKa at Antone’s.
FRIDAY
- Monotonix, The Strange Boys, Total Abuse at Red 7
- World Burns To Death at Room 710
- Gov’t Mule, Disco Biscuits at Stubb’s
- Tom Russell at the Cactus Cafe
- Sax Pack at One World Theatre
- Bob Marley Birthday Tribute at Ruta Maya
- Rescue Mission at Mohawk
- Pat Green at Waterloo Records
SATURDAY
- Susan Tedeschi and James Hunter at La Zona Rosa
- Shawn Colvin at One World Theater
- Joe Ely at the Cactus Cafe
- Brave Combo at Jovita’s
- Mother Truckers at the Continental Club
- Weird Weeds at the Beauty Bar
- Les and the Funk Mob at Speakeasy
- Blaze at the Elephant Room
SUNDAY
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Mingo Fishtrap to play benefit Sunday
Add a big helping of funk gumbo, in the personage of Mingo Fishtrap, to Sunday’s benefit for Elizabeth Parr at Antone’s. The lineup includes Dale Watson & The Lonestars, Van Wilks, Casey McPherson of Alpha Rev, Lucky Tubbs & The Modern Day Troubadours.
Parr, who has been battling cancer, is the mother of publicist Pam Blanton, a longtime friend of Austin music. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Tickets at the door are $15.
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CD review: Two Tongues ‘Two Tongues’
Two Tongues
‘Two Tongues’
(Vagrant)
As the collaboration between Max Bemis of Say Anything and his idol-turned-best-friend Chris Conley of Saves the Day, Two Tongues seems like the answered prayer of fans of the last decade’s emotionally charged punk.
The band itself even declared months in advance of the self-titled debut that the album would be a cross between Saves the Day’s “Through Being Cool” and Say Anything’s “Is a Real Boy”— a sampling of each band’s most innovative and raw releases.
But while the collaboration is a fun and welcome one, it doesn’t live up to the hype. Granted, when album opener “Crawl” explodes amid a pounding, bass-driven beat, it’s clear that Bemis’ rough-edged snarl was meant for Conley’s nasal croon. And the two certainly know better than most how to alternate between dissonance and melody within the confines of a pop song. The fuzzy, angular riffs that fade in between jutted power chord blasts in “If I Could Make You Do Things” exhibit a perfect play between tension and release.
But the duo misses the mark lyrically. Where Bemis once paid tribute to “this dude, each night, same, table who creates and crumples up … eyes wide from sipping endlessly his endless coffee cup,” and Conley dreamt of a missed one’s face in a stranger’s on a train after “the sun had sunk into New Jersey” through the “glass light conduit,” together they now pine for vague, unnamed female counterparts with words that are practically interchangeable between songs.
Maybe the songwriters no longer see lyrics as their selling points. They certainly put time into their music, from the Beatles-tinged melodies in “Don’t You Want to Come Home” to the bouncy lead work in “Silly Game.”
But if you don’t have something compelling to say, why let your tongue loose in the first place?
Recommended tracks: “Crawl,” “If I Could Make You Do Things”
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Live review: Killers at Erwin Center
(Brandon Flowers performs Tuesday night at the Erwin Center. Photo by Torey Mundkowsky/SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
“Where have you been all night?”
When Brandon Flowers, the charismatic and gymnastic frontman for the Killers emerged for the obligatory encore Tuesday night at the Erwin Center, he finally heard and saw what he’d been looking for: 7,000 fans on their feet, screaming, arms raised over heads.
The band from Nevada, whose gaudy, over-lit, almost psychedelic stage set looked like the Vegas Strip on a bender, had ended their primary set with a gloriously epic “All These Things That I’ve Done,” the crowd taking over on the “I have soul, but I’m not a soldier” line. As they finally felt the full power of the Killers, the reaction to that song was like the audience saying “Where have you been all night?”
The great newish single “Human,” with its curious “Are we human or are we dancer?” chorus, was an early highlight, as was a frisky, punkish cover of Joy Division’s “Shadowplay.” But too much of the first hour was filled with thudding quasi-disco numbers like “Joy Ride” and the characterless “Losing Touch” from most recent CD “Day & Age.” Throw in one of the worst covers ever- “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town” by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition- and you’ve got a dirigible carrying too much livestock.
Mark Stoermer’s teeth-rattling bass swallowed up cool flourishes like White Castle sliders at 3 a.m., even making Dave Keuning’s essential guitar part on “Mr. Brightside” a moot riff. When the keyboard-dabbling Flowers took over on bass on “For Reasons Unknown,” there was still too much bottom, but the rockin’ song eventually won the rumble.
With Flowers’ Kinksian melodies validating the early MTV synth rock backing, the Killers are one of the most interesting and engaging acts to emerge in the 2000s. But with only three studio albums, the band often came off as the Fillers Tuesday night. Just as the new “Day & Age” CD gave us “Human” and show-opening “Spaceman,” each ensuing album will make the live show two or three songs stronger. This isn’t a band like Devo or the Cars, who say everything on the first album and half of the second. Flowers is too gifted a songwriter, too driven a performer, to pull up now.
Even at a sold-out Erwin Center (curtained in half), with an impressive special effects show, the Killers seem very much a work in progress. For every “Somebody Told Me,” a nifty ode to Brit pop, there was a “Neon Tiger,” all flash and no teeth. But there is great hope with this band, who are sensations in England. With more golden material and less four-string mud, they can take that dividing curtain away the next time they play the Erwin Center.
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Bonnaroo lineup announced
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival announced its lineup today, and The M.O. thinks it looks pretty incredible.
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Promoters pull plug on Langerado
Forbes magazine has forecast a dire concert season coming up, with some promoters even installing layaway plans for cash-strapped fans. The first casualty is Miami’s Langerado Music Festival, which was to take place March 6-8. The indie rock/ jam band fest has been canceled due to slow ticket sales. In its 7th year, but the first year in downtown Miami, Langerado had booked such acts as Death Cab For Cutie, Snoop Dogg, Broken Social Scene and Modest Mouse, but lacked a powerhouse headliner, such as Paul McCartney at Coachella in April.
In a press release, Langerado co-promoter Ethan Schwartz said, “Langerado has always put the fan experience first. Unfortunately, during these difficult economic times, and facing a first year in a new venue, it’s become apparent that we cannot execute a production that lives up to the high standards of our past events. Putting Langerado on hold was the toughest decision we have ever had to make. We are very grateful for the support of the greater-Miami community and the music community during this difficult time.”
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Decemberists added to SXSW
Portland’s lit-rock kings the Decemberists will perform the songs from new album “The Hazards of Love” for the first time at Stubb’s Wednesday March 18 as part of NPR’s SXSW showcase. The band will play the entire album, which comes out March 24, in sequence.
There has not yet been an announcement from SXSW on when wristbands will go on sale.
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Review: Broken Social Scene at Bass Concert Hall
Broken Social Scene’s show Saturday night at Bass Hall eally began the preceding night, in Dallas, where they had to cancel because frontman Kevin Drew had the flu.
“I got a lot of hate e-mails from Dallas,” said Drew, a black towel draped over his head.
Drew spent most of the Austin show reiterating how he was still sick, and how he hoped everyone in the 3,000-person, sold-out crowd still liked his performance. It begged the question: Would you rather have a rain check for when the guy’s healthy or watch him go half-speed and listen to him apologize for it all night long?
Lest Drew forgot, he was but one cog in a well-oiled machine comprised of upwards of six other band members, most of whom have their own solo careers. Helping Drew carry the load was bassist Brendan Canning, with the Dinosaur Jr.-sounding hand-clapper “Stars and Sons,” guitarist Andrew Whiteman, otherwise known as Apostle of Hustle, with “Looks Just Like the Sun,” and vocalist Lisa Lobsinger, filling in for Emily Haines, with “Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl” — all tracks from BSS’ flawless debut album of classic alternative rock, “You Forgot It in People.”
“I’m having fun when I’m not singing,” Drew admitted.
As if that wasn’t enough back-up, the Canadian collective invited former American Analog Set frontman Andrew Kenny onstage to perform “Hard to Find,” from his own catalog.
Hands down the most riveting performance in a set fueled by five-guitar assaults and Tower of Power horns was a slowed-down, spoken-word number, wherein Charles Spearin, on guitar, and Leon Kingstone, on sax, played over a melodic loop of Spearin’s neighbor vocalizing what it felt like to hear for the first time, after a cochlear implant at the age of 31.
“All of a sudden I felt my body moving inside.”
The rest of the band joined Spearin and Kingstone in the refrain.
“All of a sudden I felt my body moving inside.”
The seated crowd began to rise.
“All of a sudden I felt my body moving inside.”
Love filled the room.
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