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December 2009
10 years of Austin music memories: Patrick Caldwell
It’s tempting to view the last 10 years as the decade that Austin music came of age — not least of all because it’s also been a formative decade for me personally. But surveying the local scene at the close of the year, it’s hard not to be impressed by the astonishing breadth, diversity and quality of Austin music. We’ve lost a lot over the last 10 years — great musicians, great venues, great record stores, great radio personalities and great bands.
While it’s always easy to look back on the past with a certain “things were better when…” mindset — and Austinites are famously good at this — it’d be a crime to discount all the positive developments the decade has wrought. Local music remains as creatively viable as ever, changing technologies are allowing artists to take hold of their careers as never before, and — most importantly — Austin clubs continue to be filled with an astounding variety of great music night after night, a luxury we often take for granted.
In that spirit of looking at the scene with a glass-half-full mentality, here are five of my favorite developments to emerge in Austin music over the last decade.
1. The vinyl resurgence. Some audiophile die-hards will tell you it sounds better than CDs or digital files, which might be true but I’ve never heard it. And the medium is the height of inconvenience — bulky, fairly easily damaged and most definitely not portable — although, on the upside, as “Shaun of the Dead” demonstrated, it can be used to kill zombies. Try doing that with your iPod.
But every aspect of the experience appeals to me on a visceral level — hearing that pop as you touch the stylus to the grooves, the oversized artwork that presents St. Vincent’s head in actual size (slightly larger, probably) and above all else the thrill of combing several bins of dusty records in search of that one perfect find.
Fortunately, I’m not the only one to feel that way — vinyl sales grew by more than 100 percent year-over-year in 2008, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Austin, ever at the forefront of throwback trends (see also: roller derby, the Moose Lodge, drag queen bingo) has seized on the vinyl resurgence big-time. Sure, we lost Sound Exchange and Shattered Vinyl and Thirty Three Degrees, among others, but look at what we gained: Backspin, Breakaway, Friends of Sound, End of An Ear, Trailer Space and Snake Eyes Vinyl. For a city of this size to support that many delightful vinyl haunts — not to mention old stalwarts like Antone’s Records, Cheapo and the inimitable Waterloo — attests to Austin’s deep and abiding love of wax. And the steady stream of LPs, 7-inch and 10-inch releases from local bands big and small provide plenty of justification to keep on spinning.
4. Festivals a go-go. The single most visible change in the local music scene this decade was almost certainly the advent of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, a big, blustering outdoor shindig large enough to be grouped with Lollapalooza, Coachella and Bonnaroo. But it wasn’t the only new kid on the block — Pachanga gave Austin a long-overdue Latin music festival, the Urban Music Festival was attended by thousands and Fun Fun Fun Fest became the gathering of choice for crusty punks and religious Pitchfork readers. Even Free Week emerged as something of a mult-venue mini-festival in 2009, while SXSW somehow managed to get bigger and crazier with each passing year. 2000 to 2010 was the decade Austin became a great festival town, and it’s unlikely that the music scene will ever look the same.
Wherever you looked, 2000 to 2010 was as full of miracles and success stories as it was of tragedies, of people whose passion for and love of music — and the community that so admired them — helped them claw their way back even when the going got rough. Even for those of us who can’t play a single chord, that’s pretty inspiring stuff.
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Voting opens for the Austin Music Awards, ceremony changes dates
It’s that time of year again: voting opens today for the Austin Music Awards, the annual celebration of all things local music hosted by our friendly competitors at the Austin Chronicle. In 2009, Bob Schneider and Lonelyland nabbed band of the year honors, while Alejandro Escovedo walked away with musician of the year, and the Black and White Years scored best song with “Power to Change.” 2009’s been an eventful and impressive year for Austin music, so it will be interesting to see who the community rallies behind for 2010.
You have a couple of options for voting in the Austin Music Poll: either pick up a print copy of the Chronicle and mail your ballot in, or vote online here. Beware, would-be ballot stuffers: violators will be dealt with on a “case-by-case basis,” which may or may not involve a personal rebuke from Austin Music Awards director Margaret Moser.
At least one major change is on the docket for 2010 — the Austin Music Awards ceremony, generally held on the opening Wednesday night of the South by Southwest Music Festival, will instead be held on the night of Saturday, March 20, the final night of SXSW.
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The Sour Notes kick off tour with NYE show
Austin’s own the Sour Notes — four indie rockers with a Death Cab for Cutie-esque appreciation for earnest pop — will celebrate the release of third album “It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty” with an early New Year’s Eve show at the Ghost Room at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Weird Weeds, No Mas Bodas and Mermaid Blonde will open. The cover is $5.
The show also will kick off the band’s 2010 tour, a nine-date jaunt that will take them from beloved New York hipster hangout the Cake Shop to the equally glamorous environs of Carrboro, N.C.
The Sour Notes’ second release, this year’s “Received in Bitterness,” landed an honorable mention on our list of the top Austin albums of 2009. The band shows considerable growth on the catchy, heartfelt “It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty,” which you can listen to in its entirety on their MySpace. They’ll return to Austin for a Jan. 28 show at the Mohawk.
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Bastrop jazz musician receives $50,000 grant
Bastrop composer and jazz trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe received an unrestricted $50,000 grant from the United States Artists, a grant-making artist-advocacy organization that awards 50 such grants every year. The organization launched in September 2005 with $22 million in seed funding.
Lokumbe traveled to Santa Monica, Calif., for the Dec. 14 awards ceremony. Lokumbe is a Grammy-nominated jazz musician whose career spans more than 40 years and includes recordings for Pharoah Sanders, Gil Evans, Otis Redding and T-Bone Burnett, as well as several compositions that have debuted at Carnegie Hall and elsewhere (read Statesman writer Patrick Beach’s story on Lokumbe here). Lokumbe relocated to Austin from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“The grant is unrestricted, so you can use it for whatever you wish,” Lokumbe told sister paper the Bastrop Advertiser. “This money will allow me to help a lot of people, especially in New Orleans. It will also help me to work on some new music and pay some bills.”
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Legendary Australian guitarist Rowland Howard dies
Rowland Howard, the Melbourne, Australia guitarist who rose to prominence as a member of the Nick Cave-fronted post-punk band the Birthday Party, died today from complications resulting from liver cancer, confirms the Herald Sun. He was 50 years old.
Howard was awaiting a liver transplant and had canceled several recent shows due to his illness. His last gig was at Melbourne club the Prince of Wales. He released a solo album, “Pop Crimes,” in October.
Howard was instrumental in defining the the Birthday Party’s abrasive sound and confrontational live shows, and wrote their signature hit “Shivers.” He went on to play in a series of bands, released two solo albums and also collaborated with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
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Japan Nite 2010 lineup announced
Since 1996 the South by Southwest Music Festival has hosted Japan Nite, an annual showcase of Japanese pop artists followed by a U.S. tour. The event’s introduced more than 60 Japanese bands to the world and become something of an annual treat for devoted J-Pop fans.
Japan Nite will celebrate its 13th anniversary Friday, March 19, with a stellar lineup of five bands: Shonen Knife-esque all-girl rock trio Chatmonchy, psychedelic garage rockers the Okamotos, Dolly, electronica artist Omodaka, and punk rock trio Red Bacteria Vacuum, with a sixth band waiting to be announced. It will then depart Austin for a six-city U.S. tour that will hit New York, Cambridge, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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The Parish announces Free Week lineup
Among the eight — yes, eight — venues participating in the annual madcap free-for-all that is Free Week, the Parish has up until now been the lone holdout when it comes to releasing a schedule. The recently renovated room with the immaculate sound had five days (Wednesday Jan. 6 to Sunday Jan. 10) blocked off for the event but no word on which artists would be playing.
Fortunately, the suspense came to an end last night, as the Parish joined the fray already populated by Emo’s, the Mohawk, Red 7 and others with its own lineup. You can view the room’s Free Week schedule on the Parish Web site or below the jump. It’s an impressive slate of music that includes ACL Sound and the Jury contest winners the Bright Light Social Hour, electropop outfit and ACL performers L.A.X., Wiretree, Sounds Under Radio and MoTel Aviv, among others.
Although the Parish’s Web site doesn’t currently list a lineup for Sunday, talent buyer Gina Chung says the Dennis Ludiker Trio and the Copper Pots will be performing that evening. Meanwhile, while the Beauty Bar’s MySpace doesn’t advertise them as such, the bar’s Bart Butler has confirmed that all shows from Jan. 1 to Jan. 10 will be free for those 21-and-older.
Check out Thursday’s Austin 360 in print or online for a full listing of Free Week shows.
All shows start at 8 p.m.
Wednesday Jan. 6
Wine and Revolution, Hollywood Gossip, Politics, DJ Mel
Thursday Jan. 7
Sounds Under Radio, Suzanna Choffel, Zookeeper, Wiretree, DJ Markus
Friday Jan. 8
L.A.X., Auto Body, Freshmillions (with members of the Sword), Gobi, DJ Thibault
Saturday Jan. 9
The Bright Light Social Hour, the Frontier Brothers, MoTel Aviv, Derty Bird
Sunday Jan. 10
Dennis Ludiker Trio, the Copper Pots
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Catch Alejandro Escovedo’s last Tuesday night residency this evening
Photo by Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
It’s been one heck of a decade for the multifaceted, impossible-to-pigeonhole troubadour Alejandro Escovedo: four instant classic albums, a raft of high-profile television and festival appearances and a battle with hepatitis C that had him staring death in the face (death blinked first). He landed two albums on our list of the top 10 finest local records of the decade, wrote the music for the original theatrical work “By the Hand of the Father,” played Carnegie Hall and even landed a song — “Castanets” — on the iPod of then-President George W. Bush, leading to a self-imposed three-year ban on live performances of the song.
If No Depression magazine looked a little premature in naming him “artist of the decade” back in 1998, then that’s even more the case now — Escovedo’s last 10 years have been even more fruitful and astonishing than his successful run on the ’90s.
Despite it all, he’s never gotten too big for the intimate-yet-iconic room at the Continental Club, 1315 S. Congress Ave., where tonight he’ll play the last of a dynamite Tuesday residency dubbed the ‘Sessions On S. Congress.’ Escovedo’s been testing out new material for the follow-up to 2008’s “Real Animal” and opening up for a host of great acts, from Grady to Nakia and His Southern Cousins to San Antonio rockers Hacienda. Don’t miss your last chance to catch him on his home turf before he departs for a tour in early January. He’ll play at 11:30 p.m., preceded by the Frank Mustard Project at 10:30 p.m. The show is $10, but try to arrive early — previous weeks have seen the line to get into the club stretching around the block.
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New Year’s shows, New Year’s resolutions
Zeale performs earlier this year at at Stubb’s. Patrick Meredith/FOR THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
In Tuesday’s Life & Arts section (and here online), we ask musicians playing New Year’s Eve shows to share their New Year’s Eve resolutions. Three more we received just past our print deadline:
“To take care of myself as good as those I love! I exert so much to others
and my lifestyle that I forget about my own well-being a lot. Definitely gotta change that!”
- A.J. Vallejo, Vallejo
(8 p.m. $60 DoubleTree Austin North, 6505 N. Interstate 35;www.austinsocialscene.com)
“1. I hope to stop pretending to DJ while I’m actually playing pinball on my computer during shows.
2. I resolve to adopt an underprivileged homeless boy who also happens to be an outstanding high school linebacker. With some tough love and life lessons we’ll both learn something in the end.
3. I resolve to stop rolling down the windows and blasting the radio every time ‘Party in the USA’ comes on.”
- Chris Rose, Car Stereo (Wars)
(9 p.m. $100 Seaholm Power Plant, 214 West Ave. www.liveatseaholm.com)
“My New Year’s resolution is to continue kicking music in its ever-diversifying (expletive) by staying unique, fresh and of course adding multiple points to my swag-o-meter! 2010 your (expletive) is mine!
- Zeale
(8 p.m. $24 The Parish, 214 E. Sixth St. www.theparishaustin.com)
Chris Rose, aka Car (Stereo) Wars. Photo by Jacqueline Thompson/Special to the Statesman
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Interview: Hayes Carll
Ricardo B. Brazziell AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Last year, Hayes Carll’s bawdy wit (“She Left Me for Jesus”) and cerebral storytelling (“Beaumont”) fully blossomed on the album “Trouble in Mind.” Its success earned good company: The 33-year-old swaps smiles with iconic songwriter Steve Earle on KGSR’s recent “Broadcasts Vol. 17” cover.
“(Steve)’s unafraid to take on any subject,” Carll says. “He’s consistently putting out great music and challenging himself musically.” The Woodlands native, who now lives in Austin, performs today and Monday at Antone’s.
American-Statesman: You wrote ‘I’m Grateful for Christmas This Year’ about this time last year. How did that song come together?
Hayes Carll: (News 8 Austin correspondent) Andy Langer asked me to do one of those rooftop things they do on News 8 around the last Christmas season. He asked me to sing a Christmas song, (but) I wasn’t gonna do “Jingle Bells” (laughs). So, I just figured I’d write one.
It sounds true to life.
Well, I’m sixth-generation Texan, and family reunions were in Waco when I was growing up. They were giant affairs with dozens of cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. Over the years, they’d be in Houston or Crystal Beach, so I just started writing about those from the perspective of being a kid versus my teens and then 10 years from now. I was thinking of those family traditions and how important they are.
Did some relatives take issue with the story line?
Yeah, I killed off a few relatives that aren’t gone yet to give it some gravity. One of them is my dad, but he’s fine with it. My cousins aren’t too happy, because there’s that line in there (“Lord, what I’d give for one good-looking cousin”). They were slightly offended by that, but all in all I think they get the artistic license.
How conscious were you of (Robert Earl Keen’s) ‘Merry Christmas From the Family’ while writing?
I was certainly aware of it. I used to cover that song in the bars in Crystal Beach. It’s hard to escape. But I was really trying to capture that passing of time and family traditions, which wasn’t really the central point of Robert’s song.
Now you’re sharing local (KGSR) billboards with Steve (Earle). It’s a long way from your Crystal Beach days.
It’s an honor and a thrill to share that with Steve. If you’d told me back when I first came to Austin - with how rough it was going and not getting gigs - that seven years later I’d have a billboard with Steve Earle all over (Austin), I would have been very happy. (He laughs.) I am very happy. My kid gets a kick out of it when we’re driving down the road and he can say, “There’s daddy!”
Will you be finishing off your new album when you’re back from touring with Steve next month?
I’m actually hoping to finish it before New Year’s Eve. I want to head out onto that Steve tour with a finished record. There’s a lot of flavor and color, and (it’s) all over the map - funny stuff, straight-up rock, more soulful things, real trucker country boogies.
What about the Christmas song?
We cut it, too. The record will probably come out in the summer, but I’m hoping the sentiment on there is timeless and can be appreciated any time of year.
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10 years of Austin music memories: Joe Gross
Our writers are sharing just some of their personal highlights as we look back at the first decade of the 2000s. Tell us yours in the comments section.
Pictured: Lance Hahn. Courtesy of jchurch.com
1. The Jesus Lizard at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2009. The best live rock band of the 1990s playing in the hometown of two members with the light of the Texas State Capitol building in the background, careening into songs exactly like it was 1994. Utterly amazing.
2. The unchecked insanity of the Dixie Chicks controversy, 2003. Pretty much everything you need to know about the complicated intersection of America, politics, popular culture, women and money.
3. Touring for a week with the Austin incarnation of J Church, 2003. Peace to the late Lance Hahn, a true punk rock warrior-king.
4. Scratch Acid at Emo’s, 2006. Overheard at this show: “So were they as good as they were 20 years ago?” “Dude, they were never this good.”
5. Ted Leo and Pharmacists, Fun Fun Fun 2007. Coming mere days after Lance’s death from kidney disease at 40, this was an emotional blow-out of the first order. They closed with a cover of Chumbawumba’s “Rappaport’s Testament: I Never Gave Up,” dedicated to Lance. Not sure I’ve shouted along so hard before or since.
6. Tia Carrera at Emo’s indoors, 2002. The very first show I saw on behalf of the Statesman, I went as a lark, thinking it was going to be the actress Tia Carrere. Instead, it was improvisational psychedelic trio rock, the kind I grew up thinking grew on trees in Austin. A perfect. welcome.
7. Having my mind blown over and over by SXSW 2009, the most fun I’ve had at one since I started going in 2000.
8. DJ Shadow at Stuub’s, 2004. Rapper Lyrics Born, his voice gritty from touring, delivered one of the very best live hip-hop sets I’ve ever seen. Totally charismatic, totally in the moment.
9. Ed Hall reunion at Room 710, 2003. Like Scratch Acid, another reunion show from a classic Austin noise-rock band that shouldn’t have worked remotely as well as it did.
10. The Hold Steady at SXSW, 2004. SXSW at its best: Seeing a band I had heard rumors about completely exceed all expectations on their first time playing in town.
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A decade in review: Austin 360 looks back on 10 years of Austin music
We’d be remiss to not point out to blog-only readers — if there are in fact any of you out there — that today is the day Austin 360’s big look back on the decade in Austin music has dropped online, and we encourage you to check it out as a nice post-Christmas distraction.
Our critics all chipped in their personal top 10 lists — you can investigate our individual ballots here — and the votes were tabulated to select the American-Statesman’s top 10 Austin albums of the decade. I had the pleasure of selecting our top 10 local albums of 2009, and it was a struggle — even with ten albums and 15 honorable mentions I couldn’t begin to touch on all the spectacular material that came out of Austin this year.
Michael Corcoran, meanwhile, thumbs through his address book and reflects on all the titans of the Austin music scene we’ve lost and mourned over the last 10 years. And we spoke to eight individuals deeply involved in the local music scene to get their take on the changes the decade has wrought, from the digital revolution to the resurgence of vinyl to the emergence of the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.
And, of course, writers John T. Davis, Michael Corcoran and Patrick Beach have shared some of their personal stories of the songs and shows of the last 10 years, with more to come.
What have we missed? As always, drop in to the comments and let us know, and share your own thoughts on an eventful decade in the Live Music Capital of the World.
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Top 10 Austin records of the decade: how our critics voted
Our writers and editors each came up with a top 10 Austin records of the decade list. With those, we used a weighted point system to come up with an overall top 10. Here are the individual lists - tell us what Austin music you loved from the past 10 years in the comments section.
Patrick Caldwell, writer
1. Okkervil River, “The Stage Names”
2. Spoon, “Kill the Moonlight”
3. Alejandro Escovedo, “A Man Under the Influence”
4. Patty Griffin, “1000 Kisses”
5. Spoon, “Girls Can Tell”
6. White Denim, “Exposion”
7. Grupo Fantasma, “Movimiento Popular”
8. Ghostland Observatory, “Paparazzi Lightning”
9. Double Trouble, “Been A Long Time”
10. The Octopus Project, “One Ten Hundred Thousand Million”
Michael Corcoran, writer
1. Spoon, “Kill the Moonlight”
2. Okkervil River, “The Stage Names”
3. James Hand, “The Truth Will Set You Free”
4. The Gourds, “Bolsa de Agua”
5. Spoon, “Gimme Fiction”
6. Spoon, ” Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
7. Alejando Escovedo, “A Man Under the Influence”
8. Patty Griffin, “1000 Kisses”
9. Alejandro Escovedo, “Real Animal”
10. Blue October, “Approaching Normal”
Joe Gross, writer
1. Spoon, “Gimme Fiction”
2. Dixie Chicks - Home
3. James McMurtry - Childish Things
4. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
5. Spoon - Kill the Moonlight
6. And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes
7. J Church/Storm the Tower - “Split”
8. Total Abuse - Total Abuse
9. Hayes Carll - Trouble in Mind
10. Explosions in the Sky - “The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place”
Peter Mongillo, writer
1. Okkervil River, “The Stage Names”
2. Spoon, “Gimme Fiction”
3. Spoon, “Kill the Moonlight”
4. And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, “Source Tags and Codes”
5. Alejandro Escovedo, “Real Animal”
6. Okkervil River, “Blacksheep Boy”
7. Shearwater, “Rook”
8. White Denim, “Fits”
9. I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness, “Fear Is On Our Side”
10. Black Joe Lewis, “Tell Em What Your Name Is”
John T. Davis, freelance writer
1. Alejandro Escovedo, “Real Animal”
2. Dixie Chicks, “Home”
3. Bob Schneider, “I’m Good Now”
4. Patty Griffin, “Impossible Dream”
5. Ruthie Foster, “The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster”
6. Stephen Bruton, “From the Five”
7. Jon Dee Graham, “The Great Battle”
8. Marcia Ball, “Peace, Love & BBQ”
9. Los Lonely Boys, “Los Lonely Boys”
10. Joe Ely, “Live At Antone’s”
Sharon Chapman, editor
1. Spoon, “Kill the Moonlight”
2. Alejandro Escovedo, “Real Animal”
3. Patty Griffin, “1000 Kisses”
4. Spoon, “Gimme Fiction”
5. The Gourds, “Bolsa de Agua”
6. Bob Schneider, “I’m Good Now”
7. Spoon, “Girls Can Tell”
8. Alejandro Escovedo, “A Man Under the Influence”
9. Hayes Carll, “Trouble in Mind”
10. Dixie Chicks, “Home”
Kathy Blackwell, editor
1. Spoon, “Gimme Fiction”
2. Patty Griffin, “1000 Kisses”
3. Alejandro Escovedo, “Real Animal”
4. Spoon, “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”
5. Okkervil River, “The Stand Ins”
6. Patty Griffin, “Children Running Through”
7. Kat Edmondson, “Take to the Sky”
8. Lil Capn Travis, “In All Their Splendor”
9. The Grouds, “Bolsa de Agua”
10. Spoon, “Girls Can Tell”
V.M. Black, freelance writer
1. Spoon, “Girls Can Tell”
2. Trail of Dead, “Source Tags & Codes”
3. American Analog Set - Through the 90’s - Singles and Unreleased
4. Ghostland Observatory, “delete.delete.i.eat.meat”
5. Charlie Sexton, “Cruel and Gentle Things”
6. Pinetop Perkins, “Pinetop Perkins & Friends”
7. Jon Dee Graham, “The Great Battle”
8. Cruiserweight, “This Will Undoubtedly Come Out Wrong”
9. Pop Unknown, “The August Division”
10. Recover, “This May Be The Year I Disappear”
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Singer Vic Chesnutt dies
Powerfully confessional folk singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt is in coma, according to multiple Twitter postings from frequent band mate Kristin Hersh.
“yeah, i can tell you what i know, but no one knows much: another suicide attempt, looks bad, coma—if he survives, there may be brain damage,” wrote Hersh. Word spread throughout the Internet today, including No Depression and the New York Times’ ArtsBeat Blog, which has confirmation from Chesnutt’s family that he is in a coma but no word on the cause.
Chesnutt, 45, has used a wheelchair since a 1983 car accident. The prolific Americana artist has released more than a dozen albums, including 2009’s “At the Cut” and “Skitter On Take-Off.” A raw, emotional singer, his lyrics have frequently addressed themes of depression, mortality and suicide. Chesnutt told NPR’s “Fresh Air” earlier this month that he’s attempted suicide “three or four times.”
The tragic news comes less than three weeks after Chesnutt last played Austin, on Saturday, Dec. 5, to an adoring crowd at the Central Presbyterian Church. When we spoke to Chesnutt before the show, he seemed optimistic, cheery and enthused to playing with his current band.
“The tour’s been going great. It’s the best tour I ever did. I feel like it’s the best music I’ve ever made, that’s for sure, in all my years,” Chesnutt said. “The show oscillates between kind of mirthful and mournful. It’s very fulfilling. I think we’re all digging it.”
Update: Constellation Records’ Don Wilkie released the following statement to Entertainment Weekly: “Vic is in the middle of a serious medical situation, he is in a coma, and his family and friends are with him. We have no comment right now on the specifics other than that his doctors are continuing to assess his condition. We will issue a full statement at an appropriate time. In the interim, we request that everybody respect Vic’s privacy and that of his family.” There are reports of Chesnutt’s death online, but as of 12:30 a.m. Dec. 25 we’ve been unable to get confirmation.
Update 2: The New York Times’ Ben Sisario confirms that Chesnutt died today in an Athens, Ga. hospital. He is survived by wife Tina Whatley Chesnutt, sister Lorinda Crane and nine nieces and nephews. The news was confirmed by family spokesman Jem Cohen, who says Chesnutt took an overdose of muscle relaxants.
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Live performance from Windsor for the Derby available now
Were you double or triple-booked Saturday night and unable to make it out to the annual holiday soiree thrown by photographer-promoter-personality Aasim Syed? Fortunately, Golden Hour Records’ Paul Streckfus is there for you, with a very special Christmas Eve gift: the entire show in six MP3s, available on his Web site.
Streckfus is something of a veteran at recording Austin shows, with live performances available on his page that stretch back to 1993. The archives are worth digging through for any number of gems, while Saturday night’s performance from expansive post-rockers Windsor for the Derby is a delight. Those with a voyeuristic streak might also enjoy the occasional snippets of overheard conversations in the audio.
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Weekend picks: Rockin’ the holidays
(Pictured: Dale Watson, Photo by Laura Skelding AMERICAN-STATESMAN)Thursday
Miss Lavelle White at the Saxon Pub. Christmas Eve just might be the slowest night of the year in Austin music, but the Saxon Pub has a treat for the steadfast fans who decide to trek out — the slick bar house boogie and crisp R&B styling of blues belter Miss Lavelle White. She waited until 1994 to release her first full album, but White’s laid down classic singles stretching all the way back to 1958, and the years have only made her striking blues wail more powerful. Proceeds will go to support her living expenses. With Malford Milligan, Tommy Shannon, David Holt and LZ Love. $15. 9 p.m. 1320 S. Lamar Blvd. thesaxonpub.com.
Also recommended:
- Mike Dubose at the Hole in the Wall
- Greezy Wheels and Texana Dames at Armadillo Christmas Bazaar at the Austin Convention Center
Friday
Dale Watson and his Lone Stars at the Continental Club. So the Christmas ham has been consumed, the gifts gleefully unwrapped, the egg nog mercifully finished off and the now-empty stockings returned to their place of honor along the mantel. What’s a satisfied — and, possibly, ready to get away from the family — reveler to do? Why, hit up this annual tradition, of course, and catch Austin’s beloved alternative country troubadour at his swinging seasonal best. $10. 10 p.m. 1315 S. Congress Ave. continentalclub.com.
Also recommended:
Saturday
Jimmie Vaughan at Antone’s. With his ageless grin, ever-present pompadour, casually soulful croon and delicate finger-picking, Vaughan has long since ascended to the same Austin icon status afforded to his little brother Stevie Ray. His laid-back, slick take on the blues reliably makes for a live show that’s equal parts amiably ambling and fiercely virtuosic. With Mike Flanigan’s B3 Trio. $25. 8 p.m. 213 W. Fifth St. antones.net
Also recommended:
- Booze Weasels at the Continental Club
- Joe Ely at the Saxon Pub
- Toni Price at Poodie’s Hilltop Bar and Grill
- Gary P. Nunn at the Broken Spoke
Sunday
Joe Ely at the Saxon Pub. Whether flying solo, singing with the Clash, recording with Los Super Seven or, perhaps most famously, as one-third of the Flatlanders, Ely is one country music’s most luminous stars. He’s also one of the genre’s most reliable live performers, with a half-dozen live albums under his belt to prove it. $25. 7 p.m. 1320 S. Lamar Blvd. thesaxonpub.com.
Also recommended:
- Daniel Francis Doyle at Beerland
- Hayes Carll at Antone’s
- Warren Hood at Momo’s
- Jon Dee Graham at Continental Club Gallery
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Paste Magazine shows Austin some love
It’s always nice to see hometown heroes get a little love from national publications — whether it’s Spoon’s barrage of end-of-the-decade honors or the widespread critical praise for White Denim’s “Fits” — and longtime friend of the city Paste Magazine’s been singing Austin’s praises this week.
Paste named the Rocketboys’ “20,000 Ghosts” one of the most critically underrated albums of the year, while writer Rachel Maddux called Sarah Jarosz album “Song Up In Her Head” one of 2009’s most auspicious debuts. The city even got a shout-out from writer Josh Jackson’s 12 favorite 2009 concerts, in the form of the March 17 SXSW performance from the Decembrists and Gomez at the Independent Film Channel Party.
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Austin Americana artists receive major play in 2009
The jury might be out on which city gets to claim the title of Americana capital of the world, but it looks like Austin’s got as good a shot as any town — albums from local artists were all over the Americana airplay chart in 2009, according to a release today from the Americana Music Association.
The trade association tracks the airplay of terrestrial radio stations, nationally syndicated shows, satellite radio and Internet stations which agree to submit weekly play counts of Americana albums. You can find the full chart, which lists the most-played Americana albums on member stations, here in Excel spreadsheet form. But the short story is that the list contains plenty of love for Austin artists, former Austin artists and musicians closely affiliated with the local scene — including Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel, Ryan Bingham, Ruthie Foster, the Greencards, the Belleville Outfit, Sarah Jarosz, Hayes Carll, Dale Watson, the Band of Heathens and the Gourds, among others. The highest ranking local is none other than Slaid Cleaves, for his album “Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away,” which was released in April of this year.
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The story behind … Hayes Carll’s ‘She Left Me for Jesus’
‘(Co-writer) Brian Keene brought that initially. I thought the idea about beating up Jesus - just the idea without anything behind it - was a little heavy handed. So, we went about finding the context of the (narrator) mistaking his girlfriend’s newfound religion for her having an affair. We came up with some of the mistakes that can be made when a red-blooded country boy sees a longhaired, sandal wearing, pacifist Jew walking around. We thought about what his reaction would be if he thought (that guy) was sleeping with his girlfriend.
‘I did get a lot of grief over it. But I was always of the mindset that if people didn’t get what I was trying to say, there wasn’t much hope for them and me anyway. So, it didn’t bother me too much. It did bother me when people thought I was anti-Semitic or anti-Christian because of the lyrics. I thought it was pretty clear that I wasn’t poking fun at the religion but at the redneck who had a problem with these things. I looked at it like if (those listeners) didn’t get it, I wasn’t going to be able to explain it to them. I thought I did a fairly good job of breaking it down in the first place.
‘It was nice to get the (Americana Music Association) award, but it’s weird. You write a bunch of songs and really put your heart into them and have a really emotional connection to the stuff. Then a tongue-in-cheek satire you write in an hour and a half is the one you get the most recognition and notoriety for. It got a second wind when we cut that record, but I never thought it’d get the life that it did. It was cool, though, because I was in the UK and listened to the award show online. That was fun. Got a nice little plaque for it.’
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Texas Tornados to release new album March 2
Legendary Tex-Mex supergroup the Texas Tornados will release “Esta Bueno” (“It’s Good,” in English, though any Austinite should know that already) on March 2 on Bismeaux Records, the label of Asleep at the Wheel front man Ray Benson.
The lineup will include original members Augie Meyers and Flaco Jimenez, as well as Shawn Sahm, the son of legendary Texas musician Doug Sahm, who was one of the founding members of the group. The album will also contain five previously unreleased vocal takes from another founding member, Freddy Fender — the Tejano country and rock and roll musician who died of lung cancer in 2006.
The band will be performing at Benson’s birthday celebration on March 16 and will also make an appearance at the South By Southwest Music Festival.
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10 years of Austin music memories: John T. Davis
Our writers are sharing just some of their personal highlights as we look back at the first decade of the 2000s. Tell us yours in the comments section.
ACL Fest 2009. Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
The advent of 2010 will mark the start of my fifth decade following the ups and downs of Austin music, often as a chronicler, always as a fan. (Now, this would ordinarily be where a codger of my vintage would launch into the obligatory Old Coot diatribe about how things were Better Back Then in the distant epoch of the ’70s … but, hey, it’s Christmas.)
I would venture a revisionist argument that this, at least as much as the ’70s, is something of a golden age of music in Austin. There are more musicians, more stylistic diversity and more active venues than at any time I can recall.
Today’s young musicians, some of whom were in kindergarten when the decade began, seem (to these aging eyes, at least) more technically savvy, more entrepreneurial, more creatively agile and more focused than any in my experience. Austin music, creatively at least, is in good hands.
Herewith are five signature watersheds that have set the Aughts (what the hell did we wind up calling the past 10 years?) apart, as regards music in Austin:
DIY: Never before have the means of production, promotion and distribution of music been so firmly in the hands of the artist. In the past decade, technology became smaller, cheaper and more user-friendly and at the same time more sophisticated, turning every living room into a studio. Social networking sites let musicians interact directly with fans in promoting their product and shows. The emergence of iTunes and the iPod, downloadable music and streaming music online, and wi-fi ubiquity put major record labels on the endangered-species list and shifted control and creative power to the artist.
Neighborhoods: Red River. Downtown/Second Street. South Congress. The East Side. North Loop … Funky and/or fashionable districts exploded across town in the past 10 years. And while the proliferation of distinct enclaves with their own characters didn’t automatically translate into a net increase in live music venues per se (RIP, Liberty Lunch), music is an integral part of the restless creative ferment going on in the newly-minted neighborhoods that have flourished in the past decade.
ACL: The advent of the Austin City Limits Festival in 2002 plugged a gaping hole in the city’s musical fabric, namely, the absence of a signature annual event to brand the city and its music to a nationwide audience (South By Southwest, which fulfilled something of the same function, had always been marketed as in industry-centric event which also happened to appeal to the public). The eclectic line-up, the state-of-the-art production (floods and dust storms notwithstanding), the stunning backdrop of Zilker Park and the city skyline and the Austin-specific Groover’s Paradise vibe made the three-day festival an instant destination event. Not coincidentally, it also catapulted C3 Presents, the event’s producers, into the top rank of national producers and promoters.
The Long Haul: They do it for the love, but they’re not above the money. Reviewing my gig books (diaries of a sort) from 2000 on, many of the same names that popped up in that year recur in this. Ten years on, these folks are still making vital, passionate music and remain an integral part of the self-renewing phenomenon that is Austin music. This list is personal and necessarily incomplete, but it’s reflective of a community that is making work to stand the test of time: Bob Schneider, Alejandro Escovedo, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Joe Ely, (and the Flatlanders), Marcia Ball, Shawn Colvin, Eliza Gilkyson, Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, the Gourds, Patrice Pike, Jon Dee Graham, Robert Earl Keen, Asleep At the Wheel, Jimmie Vaughan, Terri Hendrix, Grupo Fantasma, James McMurtry, Spoon and many more. (And vaya con dios to Doug Sahm and Stephen Bruton, two friends and extraordinary musicians whose passings bookended the decade.)
Willie Nelson: And speaking of the long haul, the insanely prolific 76-year-old godfather of Austin music spent the past decade in a whirlwind of activity that would shame musicians a third of his age. According to allmusic.com, Nelson released something like two dozen albums in the past decade, including a children’s album, a reggae collection, a blues album, a new installment of his American songbook series, collaborations with alt-rocker Ryan Adams, Ray Price and Merle Haggard, jazzman Wynton Marsalis and Asleep At the Wheel and at least six live albums. May he still be making music 10 years from now.
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10 years of Austin music memories: Patrick Beach
Our writers are sharing just some of their personal highlights as we look back at the first decade of the 2000s. Tell us yours in the comments section.
Pearl Jam at ACL Fest 2009. Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN.
Three bands I never thought I’d see:
Rocket from the Tombs at Emo’s in December 2003. When somebody hit David Thomas with a beer on the first song I thought it was going to be over before it started. But they left the stage, took a mulligan and roared. How many punk bands were inspired by this one? Only all of the good ones.
Scratch Acid, also at Emo’s, September 2006. I lived almost a thousand miles away when these guys were terrorizing Austin and elsewhere. David Yow is still insane and the band was as raw, dangerous and unlike anyone else as they were back in the day.
The Pogues, Stubb’s, Oct. 28, 2009. OK, how is it that Shane MacGowan is even semi-coherent? I have been smitten with these guys for so long and it was a perfect night: A light rain simply enhanced the atmosphere.
And that show segues nicely into my final memory: 2009 was the best Rocktober ever, with a killer ACL Fest (Pearl Jam still rules), the aforementioned micks, Wilco in Cedar Park, Buddy Guy ripping at Stubb’s, and the Drive-By Truckers at Stubb’s.
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10 years of Austin music memories: Michael Corcoran
Our writers are sharing just some of their personal highlights as we look back at the first decade of the 2000s. Tell us yours in the comments section.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band during the 2003 ACL Music Festival. Photo by Larry Kolvoord AMERICAN-STATESMAN
1. The girl dancing onstage behind the drum riser was about 12 or 13, but she was using interpretive movement of a younger — or much older — person. Every once in a while the spotlight would catch her for a second, but mostly she danced in the shadows. It was the second and final night of the first Austin City Limits Music Festival in September 2002 and Robert Randolph and his band were slicing a hole in the sky big enough for 20,000 people to float away through. Well, I thought to myself, this ain’t Aquafest.
2. Most people forget that Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, was a big record release date. I was at home that morning working on a review of “Poet: A Tribute To Townes Van Zandt.” which would hit stores that day, and I was pretty proud of myself for writing that the heartfelt LP sounded as if it was recorded with Townes’ open casket in the studio. The artists didn’t choose the songs as much as the songs chose the artists. “White Freightliner Blues” fit Billy Joe Shaver like a blue work shirt and John Prine’s version of “Loretta” was as bold and vulnerable as dating a dead man’s wife. Man, I was on a roll. Then I heard on the radio that a second plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Can this really be happening? It was years before I played “Poet” again.
3. The band that could be described as Etta James and the Stooges, the BellRays combined two of my favorite styles of music in a way that made the blood rush to my head. I had never heard of them before I saw them at Emo’s around 1999-2000, but by the end I swore I’d never see a better band at SXSW. In 2001 they came back to South-by, playing Room 710. I got there two bands early just so I’d be sure I got in, but I had to sit through a couple of lame sets. The band right before the BellRays sounded like just another Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, with amped up blues riffs and a screechy singer. I couldn’t wait for their set to end. Well, I believe they went on to bigger and better things, however. Heard of a band called the White Stripes?
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Public service announcement: free Asleep at the Wheel show tonight
Harsh times and budget cutbacks may have forced the city to abandon the traditional Trail of Lights this year, but if the substantial crowds around the Zilker Holiday Tree are any indication, the scaled-back festival has been a suitable compromise for most Austinites.
The holiday fun draws to a close tonight with a free show from beloved country and swing institution Asleep at the Wheel at 8:30 p.m. It’s not every day that you have a chance to see a free set from Ray Benson, the man with the best view in Austin, and the beloved bandleader will be leading a suitably seasonal holiday singalong. Get there early for a 7 p.m. set from Rosie Flores, but be sure to plan ahead and bus, bike or hike if you can. The challenge of parking — available on-site in limited quantities and at One Texas Center, at South First and Barton Springs streets — could put a damper on anybody’s Christmas cheer. You can find more information at the event’s Web site.
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Free Week 2010 lineups announced
Forget the madness of South by Southwest, the paralyzing heat (or, this year, crushing mud) of the Austin City Limits Music Festival or even the insanity of the Fun Fun Fun Fest — for Austin’s coolest kids, the real annual musical treat has long been Free Week.
Transmission Entertainment co-owner Graham Williams started the annual tradition while booking Emo’s, as a way to enliven the normally dead period of early January and give Austin’s still-on-break college students something to do with their time. Each year Emo’s waived its cover charges for one week in early January and stacked each night’s bill with a veritable who’s who in local talent.
Emo’s kept the tradition going after Williams left. Last year, the concept expanded to Transmission venues along Red River, including the Mohawk, Club De Ville and Red 7. This year, it’s expanded even further — Stubb’s, the Parish, Beerland and the Beauty Bar will all be participating in various capacities, meaning Red River and surrounding areas should be one heck of a party come 2010.
The lineup for Free Week at Transmission venues, revealed in a blog post on Transmission’s site tonight, is stacked with an impressive array of Austin bands — including Lions, T-Bird and the Breaks, Ume, the Laughing, Corto Maltese, PJ and the Bear, We’ll Go Machete, the Carrots and even San Antonio’s Hacienda. Surf on over to Transmission for a longer list. A full schedule is pending.
“Red River and beyond has become ground zero for the live music lovers of local music in town and it’s a great way for them to showcase themselves and clubs to showcase their space as well — all with no cost to the fans,” said Williams in a statement.
Of course, that lineup announcement just covers Transmission’s venues — originator Emo’s also released its full lineup this evening, viewable on their online calendar. As usual, it’s a dense week, with appearances by the Ugly Beats, Harlem, Amplified Heat, Frank Smith, JC & Co., Pataphysics, Brothers and Sisters and Oh No Oh My, among many, many others.
Stubb’s, meanwhile, will be hosting free sets from Black Bone Child, the White Hotel, Jesse Woods and Leatherbag, among others. Beerland’s calendar currently promises appearances by Black Panda, Obsolete Machines, Coma in Algiers and the Flametrick Subs. The Parish will be participating in Free Week from Jan. 6 to Jan. 10.
Free Week kicks off Friday Jan. 1 and runs through Sunday Jan. 10.
Update: The full schedule for Transmission venues (the Mohawk, Red 7 and the Club Deville) has been posted below the jump.
Friday, Jan 1
Mohawk:
Mike and the Moonpies birthday show with Leo Rondeau (outside stage 9 p.m.)
The Original Mexican Bob, Crooks (inside stage)
Red 7:
Pack of Wolves, Mammoth Grinder, Iron Age, Hatred Surge, Naw Dude (outside stage 9:30 p.m.)
Azatat, Boomset, Cali Zack & n/a, Kill City, Mutual Trust, Crew 54 (inside stage).
Sat, Jan 2
Mohawk:
Lions, Vinhomudeh, Eagle Claw (outside stage 9 p.m.)
In Dudero (Nirvana tribute band), PJ and the Bear, The December Boys (inside stage)
Red 7:
The Young, Pillow Queens, Cruddy, MVSCLZ (outside stage)
When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth, Dikes of Holland, Air Traffic Controllers (inside stage)
Club Deville:
The Happen-Ins, the Tunnels, Blase Faire
Sun, Jan 3
Mohawk:
Beautiful Supermachines, Ichi Ni San Shi, Strong Silent Type, Simple Circuit (inside stage)
Red 7:
Scarlet O ‘Hara, The Requested, Fire From the Gods, I See a Ghost. (EARLY show 5:30 p.m.)
Tornahdo, We the Grenada, The Autons, Zorch, RealBook FakeBook, Zwounds (late show 9 p.m.)
Club Deville:
Sally Crewe
Mon, Jan 4
Mohawk:
Baron Grod
Red 7:
Head Panic, Blood Royale, Night Siege, Shredheads, Dead Reckoning (9 p.m.)
Tues, Jan 5
Mohawk:
Obsolete Machines, String, Ovenbirds
Red 7:
Cruiserweight, Lemuria, O’Pioneers!!!, The Anchor
Wed, Jan 6
Mohawk:
Scorpion Child, The Roller, Smoke and Feathers, (Expletive) Carwash
Red 7:
La Snacks, Midgetmen, The Gary, Frantic Clam, Opposite Day (9 p.m.)
Club Deville:
Honky, Vinhomudeh, Mobley
Thurs, Jan 7
Mohawk:
Brazos, TV Torso, Great Nostalgic (9 p.m., outside stage)
Ume,Transmography, Daniel Francis Doyle, Many Birthdays (9 p.m., inside stage)
Red 7:
Hacienda, Shapes Have Fangs, Strange Attractors, Cowabunga Babes, Flowers (9 p.m. outside stage)
Get Action DJs (Sabrina E, Brother Jamal, Grandmaster B) (inside)
Club Deville:
Smoke and feathers, Prayer for Animals, Masonic
Fri, Jan 8
Mohawk:
The Laughing, Low Line Caller, MoTel Aviv (outside stage 9 p.m.)
Christian Bland & the Revelators, Headdress, Tunnels, Cartright (inside stage)
Red 7:
Lower Class Brats, krumbums, Sober daze, Black Irish (9 p.m. outside stage)
DJ Sambo (of Complete Control) (inside)
Club Deville:
Malto Cortese, She Sir, Candi and the Strangers
Sat, Jan 9
Mohawk:
Lucy the Poodle presents: T-bird and the Breaks, The Carrots, Ugly Beats, The Hi-Tones (8:30 p.m. outside stage)
Lucy the Poodle presents: Missions (ex-Clap Clap), Death is Not a Joyride, No Mas Bodas, Clouds are Ghosts (inside stage)
Red 7:
Big Mess, Watching The Moon, We’ll God Machete, Paper Shapes (9 p.m. outside stage)
(Expletive) Carwash, Eagle Claw, White Rhino, Markov, Thieves (9 p.m. inside stage)
Club Deville:
Burning Hotels, Watch Out for Rockets, Haunting Oboe Music
Sun, Jan 10
Red 7:
Set Aflame, Bonnie Blue, Let the Dead, tba (early show 6pm)
Exeter, Woolgather, In Situ Sound, The Devil Rides (late show 10pm)
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Glassjaw to hit Emo’s March 4
Long island four-piece Glassjaw — a post-hardcore outfit with a rabid fanbase and a wide palette of expression that dabbles in experimental rock, jazz and psychedelia — will be storming Emo’s March 4.
The band took a lengthy hiatus midway through this decade but have brought their intense live shows to a number of venues in 2009, recently supporting Brand New on their fall 2009 tour. No opener has yet been announced. Glassjaw’s spring tour dates may suggest that the band is finally gearing up to release a long-delayed third album or EP in the new year.
Tickets go on sale Monday Dec. 28 at 10 a.m. So far it’s the band’s only announced U.S. date for the spring — if more Texas dates aren’t added, expect a healthy out-of-town contingent.
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Happy holidays from Phoenix
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Live review: Phoenix at La Zona Rosa
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Forget the cold, hard, analytical signs that 2009 was the year French alternative rock band Phoenix finally crossed the line from a beloved indie fixture to bona-fide mainstream success — the gamut of late-night talk show appearances, the festival dates, the widespread critical acclaim and prominent placement on several best-of-the-year (and decade) lists for “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.” Purge it all from your memory.
Because far more important than any of the Wikipedia-friendly evidence, the signs of Phoenix’s rise — if not from the ashes, then at least from the band’s previous status as the clever, sensitive rock band of choice primarily for sexy intellectuals — were found all over La Zona Rosa Thursday night. You could see it in the packed-to-the-gills sold out crowd, the middle school students being picked up by their parents post-show and, above all, the rapturous faces in the audience and the ceaseless movement of seemingly every body in the house.
After a brief introduction by 101X’s Jason Dick — quite possibly the most prominent ginger in Austin radio — and energized opening sets from psychedelic genre blenders White Denim and dance rock enthusiasts Hockey, Phoenix took to the stage for an electric and surprisingly gracious set that touched on material from all four of the band’s studio albums. They showed none of the signs of weariness or apathy you’d expect from a band that’s gigged nearly non-stop in every corner of the world since March, with tight, focused playing and a palpable sense of glee at their command over the audience.
The show kicked off with an enthused take on lead “Wolfgang” single “Lisztomania,” followed by snappy stabs at two band classics — “Long Distance Call” and the mesmerizing, seductively groovy “Run Run Run,” which incorporated particularly dazzling guitar and bass solos from Laurent Brancowitz and Deck D’Arcy. The band’s regular forays into older material were a nice demonstration of their solid back catalog, and demonstrated the kind of seasoned experience and wealth of material that some similar breakout bands aren’t lucky enough to have.
That focus on older material didn’t mean a compromise in energy on new songs, though. They still nailed the most important — to go by audience recognition — songs off “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” with peppy versions of “Fences,” “Rome,” and “1901.” And front man Thomas Mars was always sure to yield the floor to his band mates, giving each member a chance to show off — a willingness particularly evident on the lengthy “Love Like A Sunset,” which gave each member of Phoenix a solo to call their own and proved the group could make a lengthy and meditative number appropriate for a live show. That kind of democratic spirit goes a long way toward explaining why the band’s still vital and capable after well over a decade playing together.
But the night’s real story was in Mars’ very sincere connection to the crowd. Whether soliciting hand claps during “Rome” or jumping into the audience to perform “Lasso,” wearing a grin a mile wide, Mars knew how to work a crowd and how to appear sincerely appreciative doing it. That rapport came to a celebratory end on the final song, a reprise of “Lisztomania” which saw the front man leaping from the stage to perform the first half of the song in the crowd before eventually returning and welcoming dozens on stage to sing and dance alongside the band. As enthusiastic concertgoers poured onto the stage at La Zona Rosa, one thing became clear: Phoenix’s greatest success as rock stars just might be how blissfully unaware they seem of being rock stars. Even with a massively successful year under their belt — Thursday night’s show marks their last of a very busy 2009 — they remain four shy, sensitive, nice guys, who seem as thrilled as the audience to have that many giddy people on stage.
Set list
Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Lasso
Run Run Run
Fences
Girlfriend
Armistice
Love Like A Sunset
Napoleon Says
Too Young
Consolation Prizes
Rome
Funky Squaredance
Encore
Everything Is Everything
If I Ever Feel Better
1901
Lisztomania (reprise)
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Phoenix opens soundcheck to students before La Zona Rosa show
(From left, Laurent Brancowitz, Deck D’Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Thomas Mars of Phoenix talk with high school and college students Thursday at La Zona Rosa. Photo by Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
About 20 high school and college students were lucky enough to see an intimate performance by French pop rock sensation Phoenix during their soundcheck Thursday afternoon at La Zona Rosa. The band, who are playing Thursday night along with Austin’s White Denim as part of 101X’s Independent Workforce X-Mas show, also took questions after the performance as part of the Grammy Foundation’s SoundChecks program.
Except for a few minor tweaks, the band put on a better-than-soundcheck quality performance of songs from their most recent album, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” including “1901,” “Fences” and “Lisztomania.” While the band’s energy wasn’t as high as it would be during an actual performance, it was fun to see lead vocalist Thomas Mars meander around the stage and venue, making sure everything was set for later in the evening.
The students seemed to love every minute of the experience. Daniel Kubala, a senior at Westwood High, said he thought the show was amazing. “They played a lot more than I expected, which was a really nice surprise,” he said.
After the set students and band sat down for a Q&A, with questions ranging from the band’s influences (13th Floor Elevators and Velvet Underground, to name a couple) to the success of their latest release. When asked why they thought the band had gotten so popular, guitarist Christian Mazzalai replied, “we really don’t know,” but Mars attributed it to the leak of their album and their appearance on “Saturday Night Live” earlier this year. When asked what bands they were currently excited about, Mars named the Dirty Projectors “Bitte Orca” as his favorite of the year.
Other topics touched upon:
— On writing songs in English: “It takes more time. It’s not more difficult, it just takes more time.” (Mars said they think in French and write in English.)
— On the band’s name: It came to them when they were teen-agers. “It’s just a beautiful name for us.”
— On referencing classical composers in lyrics: They’re trying to create their own European mythology. “Andy Warhol took Marilyn Monroe. We take European dead guys. It’s nice because there are a lot of them.”
Check out some pics from the soundcheck after the jump.
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Golden Hornet Project premieres new symphonies and presents one by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood
Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski — perhaps Austin’s busiest musicians and certainly some of the most prolific artists of any discipline in town — will premiere the sixth symphonies together on Feb. 6.
The duo’s Golden Hornet Project will premiere Reynolds’ ‘The Difference Engine’ and Stopschinski’s ‘Rough Night with Happy Ending.’
And Reynolds and Stopschinski will also present the Texas premiere of Jonny Greenwood’s orchestral work ‘Popcorn Superhet Receiver.’ Greenwood is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of Radiohead — and also the composer-in-residence at the BBC.
Greenwood composed his symphony for the 2007 film, ‘There Will Be Blood,’ but it was declared ineligible for an Academy Award nomination under a rule that prohibited “scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other pre-existing music.”
‘Golden Hornet Project Presents Symphony VI’
8 and 10:30 p.m. Feb. 6
AustinVentures StudioTheater, Ballet Austin, 501 W. Third St. Tix: $10-$60
www,goldenhornet.org
Read more here.
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The Lovely Sparrows cover “Take Care” for new video
The literate, folk-inflected pop of Austin’s the Lovely Sparrows practically begs for visual accompaniment. Front man Shawn Jones pairs thoughtful, personal lyrics rich with unexpected wordplay and clever allusions with warm, organic melodies for an enchanting brand of indie rock.
Fortunately, animator and filmmaker Eric Power has answered the call with his new video for the Lovely Sparrows’ cover of Big Star’s “Take Care,” which takes its lead from the Yo La Tengo version that appeared on that band’s 2003 album “Summer Sun.”
“I recorded ‘Take Care’ very quickly, in down time- between working on Sparrows songs for the new record, just to clear my head. I’ve only listened to this song maybe five times ever,” said Jones on the band’s Web site. “Probably not even that many. The Big Star version only once.”
Check out the claymation marvel of a video below. Power previously directed a video for the band’s “Year of the Dog,” which you can view alongside his videos for other local bands (including Clyde and Clem’s Whiskey Business and the Boxing Lesson) on his Web site. The Lovely Sparrows are currently recording their third album and follow-up to last year’s “Bury the Cynics.” It’s expected for release next year.
The Lovely Sparrows - Take Care from Eric Power on Vimeo.
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Antone, Vaughan, Joplin, Van Zandt among new inductees to Austin Music Memorial
The City of Austin announced the next batch of people who will be added to the Austin Music Memorial (a series of engraved plaques on the City Terrace at the Long Center). From the city’s release:
Clifford Antone (1949-2006) Antone was the owner of the legendary Antone’s blues club and record label. He is credited with launching the careers of many local blues and rock musicians and his club remains at the heart of the Austin music scene.
Martin Banks (1936-2004) Trumpeter Banks played with many of the jazz greats of the 1950s and 60s, touring from California to New York. He returned to Austin in the 80s where he continued to perform and promote music appreciation with several nonprofit music programs.
Erbie Bowser (1918-1995) Blues pianist Bowser was a regular on Austin’s club scene in the 1950s and 60s where he formed musical partnerships with several other local legends. He reemerged in the 80s to record an internationally acclaimed album, and to perform as one of the Texas Piano Professors.
Liliado ‘Lalo’ Campos (1924-2004) A broadcaster and music promoter, Campos was the first person to host a Latino radio show in Austin. His popular show, Noche de Fiesta, ran for 25 years and gave exposure to many local Latino musicians.
Luis ‘Louie’ Guerrero (1937-2006) A native Austinite, “Louie” was a multi-instrumentalist and second-generation composer. He performed frequently in east Austin restaurants accompanying himself on his signature bass & electric guitar combo.
Johnny Holmes (1917-2001) Holmes was well-known as a music promoter, restaurateur, and founder of the historic blues and jazz spot, Victory Grill. His popular juke joint was a staple on the “Chitlin Circuit” in the 1950s and continues to attract national and local talent.
Janis Joplin (1943-1970) One of the first female superstars of rock and roll, Joplin began her music career in Austin as a student at the University of Texas. While performing at local venues such as Threadgill’s she cultivated her signature bluesy, gravel-voiced sound before leaving for San Francisco where she achieved international acclaim.
Kenneth Threadgill (1909-1987) Threadgill turned his gas station into a tavern which eventually became a hotspot for local musicians and those just traveling through. Threadgill’s continues to be one of Austin’s best known venues and is still regarded as a cultural touchstone for the city.
Townes Van Zandt (1944-1997) Singer-songwriter Van Zandt resided in Austin during the 1970s and 80s, helping to shape the reputation of Austin’s country music scene. His songwriting remains internationally revered and his songs have been performed by many music greats.
Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954-1990) A local legend, Vaughan achieved great success as a virtuoso blues guitarist in the 1980s. He also served as a musical ambassador for Austin, bringing worldwide attention to the city’s diverse music scene.
The induction ceremony for these ten honorees will take place at the Long Center on March 28, 2010. The ceremony will include a concert of music associated with the honorees, performed by an all-star band of local musicians.
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Matador’s Harlem and Shearwater talk 2009
What do three Loggerhead Shrikes, a Neve mixing console and Roky Erickson’s “Devotional Number One” all have in common?
No, that’s not the setup for what would have be the world’s most obscure punchline — all three were among Shearwater front man Jonathan Meiburg’s favorite things in 2009, according to the Matador blog. The leader of the lyrical, cinematic indie rock trio — who have an album dropping on Matador in February — has posted an intriguing mix of some his favorite things from the last year. As befits the cerebral front man of a band that is itself named for a variety of seabird, it’s heavy on the bird sightings.
Also chipping in are local garage rock band Harlem’s Jose Boyer, who names the dreamiest buzz band ladies of the year, and co-owner of the label Gerard Cosloy, an Austin resident who dispenses shoutouts to Trailer Space Records and hometown heroes the Dikes of Holland and the Golden Boys.
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Cornell Hurd Band’s last Thursday at Jovita’s tonight
After 13 years, one of Austin’s longest residencies ends tonight at Jovita’s when the Cornell Hurd Band shuffles on outta there. Beginning Jan. 14, the CHB will play Thursday nights at the Alligator Grill.
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Don Pitts gets city music job
Longtime Gibson guitar executive Don Pitts has been hired by the City of Austin to serve as music program director for the Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office, it was announced today.
Pitts, who left Gibson, where he worked for 16 years, about two years ago, will start his new job on Jan. 4.
During his tenure heading Gibson’s Austin office, Pitts was instrumental in creating the Austin GuitarTown Project which raised more than $640,000 for four local non-profit organizations. Pitts currently serves on the board of directors for the Austin Music Foundation.
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Rhett Butler sells boxed set for brother’s cancer treatment
The amazing Dallas guitarist Rhett Butler, best known for his ability to play two guitars simultaneously, is taking on an even more impressive challenge. His brother Ashley (mom was a “Gone With the Wind” fan) had brain cancer at age two and has battled the disease for the past 28 years. With the cancer back with a vengeance, the Butler family is sending Ashley to Tel Aviv, Israel for innovative treatment from the world’s foremost cell therapist, Dr. Shimon Slavin. The treatment will cost $100,000, which insurance won’t cover.
To raise the money, Rhett Butler has released a five-disc boxed set called “The Kid From Kilkenny.” Go here to order the set. His goal is to sell 2,000 copies.
The set includes a 20-page booklet about the brothers’ relationship and how Ashley’s bravery inspired Rhett’s guitar mastery.
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Weekend picks: Holiday warm-up grooves
Pictured: And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead
Thursday
Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights at Antone’s. Imagine if Iggy grew up in the deep South and wanted to be an Allman Brother rather than a Rolling Stone and you’ve got an idea of the raw power of this Dallas boogie blues/rock band. Recently signed by Atlantic at a time when major labels aren’t signing rock bands, J.T. and the Lights could use some fresher material than ‘Gypsy Woman,’ ‘Slow Train’ and the like, but when they kick into Hendrix, you might want to wear a headband so your face doesn’t fly off. $10. 8 p.m. 213 W. Fifth St. antones.net. — Michael Corcoran
Also recommended:
- Crystal Antlers at the Mohawk
- Phoenix at La Zona Rosa
- Texas Independence Fest with the Bread at Red 7
- the Gary at Stubb’s
- Amplified Heat at the Parish
Friday
Givers at the Parish. If you could make a musical gumbo of everything hip in Louisiana, you might wind up with something like Lafayette’s Givers, an ebullient mixture of the funky horn lines of New Orleans with the peppy Afropop appeal of zydeco. Stir in a healthy dash of indie appeal — courtesy of the samples of Will Henderson and the shiny, happy vocals of Tif Lamson and Taylor Guarisco — and you have yourself one addictive stew. With the Lemurs and the Laughing. $12. 7 p.m. 214 E. Sixth St. theparishaustin.com. — Patrick Caldwell
Also recommended:
- Frank Smith at the Mohawk
- Tiny Tin Hearts at the Ghost Room
- Alpha Rev at Antone’s
- Asleep at the Wheel holiday show at the Broken Spoke
Saturday
Windsor for the Derby and … And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at the United States Art Authority. The annual holiday party put on by photographer, promoter and all-around man-about-town Aasim Syed has become one of Austin’s most eagerly awaited annual scenester shindigs. Though he’s taken his name off the bill — Syed didn’t book the night single-handedly as he usually does — it bears his trademark good taste through and through, with expansive post-rock from the Secretly Canadian-signed Windsor for the Derby and a rare intimate turn from … Trail of Dead. With the Black, International Waters and JC and Co. 8 p.m. 2908 Fruth St. — P.C.
Also recommended:
- Whitman at Stubb’s
- Maneja Beto and El Tule at the Beauty Bar
- Take 6 at One World Theatre
- Band of Heathens at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar
- Follow That Bird at Austin Moose Lodge No. 1735
Sunday
Bill Callahan at St. David’s Episcopal Church. Whether playing under his own name or former moniker Smog, Bill Callahan’s trademark synthesis of acoustic instrumentation and his own haunted, stark vocals make for a striking blend of folk rock. Laced with intimate lyrics and dark irony, he adopted a surprisingly thundering sound on this year’s ‘Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle,’ a tour de force and one of the year’s finest albums. With Lights. $12. 4 p.m. transmission.frontgatetickets.com. — P.C.
Also recommended:
- Pataphysics at Emo’s
- Gerard Cosloy’s birthday with the Golden Boys at Beerland
- Ricky Stein at Momo’s
- Jon Dee Graham at Continental Club Gallery
- an evening with the music of Stephen Bruton at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar
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Another round of seasonal tunes from Austin artists
If the reaction to Monday’s post on holiday songs and the local bands that love them proved anything, it’s that everybody appreciates a good Christmas song. With Dec. 25 a scant week and a half away — better get that shopping done, procrastinators — we thought it was a good time to release another batch of seasonal classics (or not-so-classics or will-be-classics-someday) for your merriment.
First off the bat is local soul fixture Dan Dyer, of the late, lamented Breedlove, with a new studio version of his song “This eXmas.” You can find it available for free download at Dyer’s Web site. Digital distribution is an important frontier for Dyer — he’s just announced that he’ll be releasing a single track online each month through 2010, leading up to a finished, 12-song full length late in the year. Dyer’s also released a live recording of an October performance at the Blue Heaven Studios in Salina, Kansas, containing both favorites and previously unreleased material, for pay-what-you-want download on NoiseTrade.
Next up is prolific pop visionary and former Sound Team member Bill Baird, alongside his band Sunset, with the sleepy, piano-driven “Christmas in Jail,” available as a free MP3 download here. Sunset plays the Mohawk with the Octopus Project Monday Dec. 21.
For a more upbeat, traditional take on the holidays, look no further than indie rock sextet the Rocketboys. The band has released an energetic cover of John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas (War Is Over),” also available for free download. The band opens for Bob Schneider at the Paramount Theatre on New Year’s Eve.
Local songwriter Jason Poe has made his heartfelt Christmas song, “The Love In Your Heart,” available for free download off his Web site.
Finally, jazz guitarist David Ducharme-Jones has made charming instrumental “Sounds Like X-Mas” available for download at ReverbNation.
Are you a local band with your own take on a Christmas classic — or a holiday original you’d like to spread the word on? As always, feel free to let us know at musicsource@statesman.com.
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The Strange Boys announce tour dates
Fuzzy garage rock kings and newly minted next big thing the Strange Boys have released dates for their planned 2010 tour to support sophomore album “Be Brave.” The band debuted the title track last month. It will be available on 7” vinyl January 26, with the full album following in February.
The tour will kick off with a performance at Emo’s Feb. 19, with Yellow Fever opening, followed by a smattering of dates along the West Coast. Check out the full itinerary below the jump.
Friday Feb 19th Austin @ Emo’s
Sun Feb 21 Marfa TX @ Padre’s
Tues Feb 23 Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space
Wed Feb 24 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Thurs Feb 25 Isla Vista, CA @ Biko Garage
Fri Feb 26 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Sat Fat 27 San Francisco CA @ Elbo Room
Sun Feb 28 Reno, Nevada @ Rainshadow Community Charter High School
Tues March 2 Salem, OR @ The Space
Wed March 3 Olympia, WA @ Northern
Thurs March 4 Seattle WA @ Comet Tavern
Fri March 5 Vancouver BC @ Media Club
Sat March 6 Portland OR @ East End
Sun March 7 - Boise, ID @ Visual Arts Collective
Mon March 8 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Tue March 9 - Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
Wed March 10 - Boulder, CO @ University of Colorado - Club 156
Fri Mar 12 - Lubbock, TX @ Bash Riprock’s
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Austin’s Sybil debut new video
Old-school rock quartet Sybil have debuted a new video for their song “Bring It Back.” The giddy, moderately trippy video — dig the green and red skies — was directed by Ebit Breazile and features students from the local Paul Green School of Rock.
The track is a new cut from Sybil, who released their debut album, “Cold Drink,” in 2008. The song “Winds of Changes” made a guest appearance in the Independent Spirit Award-winning film “In Search of a Midnight Kiss,” which was directed by Austin expat Alex Holdridge.
Bring it Back from Robert Murphy on Vimeo.
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Death Is Not a Joyride lose a member, switch to instrumental group
Local experimental rock outfit Death Is Not a Joyride will be shedding lead singer Kacy Ritter and switching to an instrumental four-piece, the band announced today. Ritter was admitted to rehab this summer to overcome an addiction to alcohol and other substances, with plans to return to the band in January.
“Kacy is our friend first, and her health is the most important thing to us. We can happily report that Kacy has made a full recovery, and we fully support her treatment and continuing efforts to stay sober. Since then, however, Kacy has moved out of Austin, and has no plans to return. As such, Kacy will no longer be contributing to Death Is Not a Joyride,” says the band in a statement. “In light of this, the band has decided to continue on with the remaining four members, as an instrumental group.”
The band has no intentions of finding another singer. You can catch the retooled Death Is Not a Joyride this Friday (Dec. 18) at Elysium.
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New Backyard venue to host Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July picnic
The red-headed stranger will bring his famed Fourth of July picnic to the new Backyard venue, he announced during Tuesday night’s show at the Austin Music Hall. Nelson was the last performer to play the Backyard’s original location, in October 2008. The 2010 picnic marks a return to Central Texas for the beloved event. Last July, Nelson was on tour with Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp.
The Backyard is currently expected to reopen in its new location, on Bee Cave Parkway near the Hill Country Galleria, in the spring. The City of Bee Cave City Council approved the site plan Dec. 8.
Correction: The post originally stated that Nelson’s Four of July picnic was in Fort Worth this year. Nelson played alongside Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp at Coveleski Stadium in South Bend, Indiana on July 4, 2009.
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Sample a cut from Amy Cook’s “Let the Light In”
Singer-songwriter Amy Cook has some high-profile fans. Specifically: Alejandro Escovedo, Patty Griffin, and the Tosca String Quartet, all of whom show up in one form or another on “Hotel Lights,” a song off her forthcoming third album “Let the Light In.”
The single was released online for free download off Cook’s Web site today and features guest vocals from Patty Griffin and a lush string arrangement performed by Tosca and written by Stephen Barber. Escovedo produced the album, which will include a song co-written by Ben Kweller.
“Let the Light In” is out on March 2.
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Metacritic selects Spoon as top artist of the decade
If the numerous mentions on countless end-of-decade wrap-ups — Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine and the Onion A.V. Club, among others — didn’t convince you, Metacritic has just made it official: 2000 to 2010 might as well be known as the Decade of Spoon.
The popular Web site, which aggregates music reviews to create “metascores” — averages that reflect critical consensus across certain publications — has named Spoon the top overall artist of the decade. With four critically acclaimed albums managing an average score of 85.3 out of 100, the indie rock quartet’s one-two punch of quantity and quality helped them beat out such notables as Sigur Ros, the White Stripes, Sleater-Kinney and the Hold Steady.
The American-Statesman’s own best-of-the-decade lists will run in our Dec. 31 issue. Take a peep at the print edition of the paper or on Austin360.com New Year’s Eve to see if we’ll be showing Spoon any love. The suspense!
Also making the top 10 was folk rocker Sam Beam, better known under the moniker Iron and Wine, who resides in Dripping Springs.
The critics have spoken, but what’s your take? Drop in to the comments and let us know if you think the hometown heroes deserve the honor.
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Front Gate Tickets expands San Diego presence
Austin-based Front Gate Tickets, which is partly owned by Charles Attal of C3 Presents, has recently signed exclusive ticketing deals with San Diego’s Belly Up Tavern and Viejas Entertainment. Front Gate has been selling tickets to the Casbah in San Diego since 2004.
Front Gate was founded in 2002 when former Monsterbit Media Web site designer Mellie Price was hired by Stubb’s to handle general admission tickets. The company not only handles C3’s festivals and several Austin venues, but theaters in Houston, Chicago, Colorado and more.
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CD review: Timbaland ‘Shock Value II’
Timbaland performs with SoShy at last month’s American Music Awards. Photo by the Associated Press
Timbaland
“Shock Value II”
(Blackground)
Grade: A
Before the “Shock Value” series, Timbaland never had a signature CD as a solo artist, unlike fellow superstar producers Dr. Dre and Kanye West. Producers can showcase their talent in that setting, free to unleash their creative id without compromise and look for inspiration in unlikely places. “Shock Value II” is the CD Timbaland has been building his entire career toward, the work of a great musician at the top of his game.
After more than a decade of consistent success, he doesn’t need to justify his musical decisions. “Shock Value II” reflects that - featuring everyone from Daughtry and Chad Kroeger to Miley Cyrus, the Fray, Drake and Justin Timberlake. Timbaland tweaks the music for each artist but keeps a consistent sound - a futuristic mash-up of R&B, rock, pop and rap destined to be copied endlessly.
And with such a diverse and talented guest-list, the album feels like a compilation CD of the year’s biggest hits. Nearly every song could conceivably be released as a single; in theory he could have a big hit in four different genres - rap (“Say Something”), rock (“Marching On” or “Long Way Down”), pop (“Undertow” or “Lose Control”) and R&B (“Carry Out”).
For the most part, each song celebrates a different aspect of how great he (and his guests) are. Drake pokes fun at girls from his past (“I should wanna go back to the one I started with / But I’m addicted to this life it’s gonna be hard to quit”) while Daughtry reminisces on his meteoric ascent (“I hear it’s such a long way down / And the climb back up is something I can do without”).
Timbaland serves as a unifying force, as a DJ introducing each act while occasionally delivering a rap verse. He’s nowhere near as talented on the mic as Dre and Kanye, but he doesn’t detract from the music. He doesn’t have much to say; “If you assume my life is wonderful, then y’all right” is about as introspective as he gets on “Shock Value II.” It’s an album designed to play from start to finish at a house party, and it will many times over the next few months.
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Yeasayer to hold down two nights at the Parish
Hat tip to our friends at the Austinist for confirming that Brooklyn experimental outfit Yeasayer will swing through Austin to play a two-night stand at the Parish on April 10 and 11. Tickets will go on-sale Friday Dec. 18.
The band will be touring behind sophomore album “Odd Blood,” which drops on Secretly Canadian Feb. 9. Lead single “Ambling Amp” is available online, while the entire album leaked Dec. 10 — but beware, because, as the band said on Twitter, “Presents are always spoiled for those who open them before they are supposed to.”
In other “Brooklyn shows Austin some love” news, the Parish will also host pop duo the Fiery Furnaces on Jan. 18. Tickets for that show, $15, go on sale Saturday.
Update: The on-sale date for Yeasayer tickets has been corrected.
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Herring keeps it short, bittersweet
Dustin Downing
Collin Herring’s “Ocho” singularly sketches innocence lost. The Austin transplant’s fourth album, equal measures folk (“Trazodone,” “Little Aches”) and indie rock (“Seemed to Be,” “Passed Away”), dissects its coming-of-age theme succinctly.
“I like eight, nine songs (on an album), and then my attention span is really done,” says Herring, who relocated from Fort Worth two years ago. “I like to dig into a song when I listen.”
The 32-year-old songwriter performs Wednesday at the Mohawk.
American-Statesman: You did well overcoming some sound issues at Waterloo (Records, where Herring performed Nov. 17). Do you like doing in-stores?
Collin Herring: I do enjoy doing in-stores. You never know what you’re going to get. That time, it was a little difficult, but once the first sound issue started, it’s just, “Well, where do we take it from here?”
You played ‘Nothing’s Good’ that afternoon. It sets a pretty somber tone as the new album’s opener.
People ask me about that. You know, the song is depressing, but at the same time it’s hopeful. The average listener will think, “Whoa, what a sad, dark song to start a record with,” but I feel like it really jumpstarts the whole album. It’s where I was when we started recording: “Nothing’s wrong, nothing’s good.” What do you think?
Well, it’s interesting you say ‘hopeful’ about ‘Nothing’s Good.’ That surfaces more obviously in ‘Trazodone’: ‘I think great things will happen.’
I think a degree of hope is important. I had all these sad, quiet songs, and that line to me is just saying that life isn’t all that bad. As dark as some of these songs may sound, I do have hints and motions toward goodness in a lot. Another line is, “Don’t put my name on every mistake.” A lot of (expletive) comes, but I want to make sure I put a lot of hope in the material as well.
Does the cover art (depicting eight ghost-like figures) relate to that?
Well, I sent three songs to this indie artist in New York City named Niloufar Mozafari. She listened to the songs, and that’s what she came up with. First, I thought, “There’s no way.” Then I realized that it’s perfect, ghostly with silhouettes. It looks like women in dresses. Plus, there are eight of them and eight songs. If you listen to (“Nothing’s Good”), it goes perfectly.
Why stop at only eight songs?
Financially and time-wise, we had five days to record and two to do rough mixes. That was as much as I could get recorded in that time. I hate the idea of restarting just to get two more songs added on. I don’t like to listen to long records.
What did (producer) Will (Johnson of Centro-matic) bring to the dynamic?
He slowed me down. “Trazodone” was (sings cheerfully): “There were hassles and heartaches! Trazodone!” He was like, “Let’s go slower, Collin.” These songs took on a whole new depth. He added patience, emptiness, sparseness and a lack of overproduction. I immediately realized that this is not like any other producer I’ve worked with. This is someone who truly understands the beauty of what a record can be.
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Ryan Bingham receives a Golden Globe nomination
Gravelly-voiced folk rocker and former Austinite Ryan Bingham has received a Golden Globe nomination for best original song for “The Weary Kind,” his contribution to the Jeff Bridges-starring “Crazy Heart.”
The film, which opens in New York and Los Angeles tomorrow and Austin Jan. 8, boasts a score by T. Bone Burnett and the sadly departed Stephen Bruton. That score has recently picked up accolades from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Online Critics and the Boston Society of Film Critics. Reviewers have also praised Jeff Bridges’ performance as alcoholic country singer Bad Blake — he picked up a nomination for best actor in a drama.
With a Golden Globe nomination under his belt, it will be interesting to see if Bingham gets a nod from the Oscar committee, as well.
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Pearl Jam to headline JazzFest
Pearl Jam, Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison and more will be playing JazzFest in New Orleans this year.
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Lady Antebellum to play Austin rodeo
With their latest single “Need You Now” spending five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard country singles chart- the most of any song in 2009- trio Lady Antebellum takes a lot of momentum to the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo March 17 at the Travis County Expo Center.
Although the lineup hasn’t officially been released, Pollstar lists Eli Young Band (March 13), Ryan Beaver (March 15), and the Doobie Brothers (March 23) as other acts coming to the Star of Texas.
The “Need You Now” album comes out Jan. 26.
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Sportscasters present “A Very Glam Christmas” at Zilker
For a holiday show like none other, Thee Gaye Sportscasters (nee The Gay Sportscasters) present “A Very Glam Christmas,” a free show this Friday at 9 p.m. on the “Candyland Stage” in Zilker Park, just west of Mopac. The deranged gang will mix such originals as “St. Nick’s Farm” and “Writin’ Yer Name In The Snow,” with covers of Gary Glitter’s “Another Rock N Roll Christmas” and Mott The Hoople’s “ Death May Be Your Santa Claus”, among others.
You’re gonna want to get there from the Mopac side, as Barton Springs Road is closed off for the Trail of Lights. Take the Rollingwood/ 2244 exit and look for flashing road signs. .
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Deck the halls with Quiet Company and Loxsly
The Zilker Tree is illuminated, the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar has kicked off in earnest, and local bands are using the magic of the Internet to spread musical cheer to all — truly, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Austin.
The digitally released holiday song has emerged as one of the more enjoyable seasonal delights of the 21st Century — every year, it seems like an increasing number of local artists treat their fans to a holiday track through MySpace, Twitter, YouTube or other outlets.
We’ve got two such pleasures for you today. First off is soaring power poppers Quiet Company, whose “It’s Better to Spend Money” cropped up, oddly, on last night’s episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” They’ve recorded a snappy, catchy take on “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” which you can grab for free online. Our suggestion: read last week’s story on the band while you check it out
Next up is alternative rock quintet Loxsly, whose original “Mrs. Kris Kringle” you can catch below. It’s a lushly arranged and melancholic chronicle of the put-upon Mrs. Clause’s departure from her husband, with a sound carried over from the band’s excellent 2009 album “Tomorrow’s Fossils.” It’s also one of several songs on “An Indiecater Christmas 2009,” a digital holiday album which also contains a (previously released) track from Austin’s own Sunset. You can buy the entire album online for the low, low price of six Euros (digital music outlet Indicater is based in Dublin).
Are you a local band with a holiday song and you’d like to get the word out? Drop us a line at musicsource@statesman.com and let us know.
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Bruton, T-Bone win L.A., N.Y., Boston film critics awards
It’s an early sweep for the late Stephen Bruton and T-Bone Burnett, who have won awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Online Critics and the Boston Society of Film Critics for best music/ score for “Crazy Heart.” The film’s lead Jeff Bridges, who plays alcoholic country singer Bad Blake, was named best actor by L.A. and N.Y. critics.
Bruton succumbed to cancer at Burnett’s home in May just days after the film’s music was completed.
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Austin pastor’s daughter selected for NBC’s ‘The Sing-Off’
When PromiseLand West pastor Randy Phillips was a young boy, his parents would often stand him on their table at the local Steak ‘n’ Shake, where the budding vocalist could entertain — like it or not — restaurant patrons with his powerful singing.
“I’m so happy I don’t remember the laughs,” Phillips says with a palpable mix of nostalgia and embarrassment.
Musical talent runs almost as strongly as Christian faith in the Phillips family. Phillips’ mother was a self-taught pianist and vocalist, while Phillips himself is one-third of contemporary Christian group Phillips, Craig and Dean, a successful worship outfit of three pastors who have released 10 studio albums since 1991.
That tradition continues with 21-year-old daughter Garland, a student at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., who sings with the school’s acclaimed a capella group Voices of Lee. Alongside nine other members of the group she’ll be appearing on “The Sing-Off,” a musical competition airing on NBC starting Monday (Dec. 14).
The four-night program will air three pre-recorded two-hour episodes (Dec. 14-16), followed by a live finale Monday, Dec. 21. Eight groups will compete for $100,000, a recording contract with Epic Records/Sony Music and a year of touring. A panel of three judges — composed of the Pussycat Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger, Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman and, perhaps most quirkily, Ben Folds — will winnow the initial eight down to two finalists before putting the competition to a nationwide vote for the finale.
Garland is no stranger to the pressures of the stage. She performed praise music during church services from an early age, and participated in choir and vocal ensembles in high school. But the rigors of performing a capella with an established group were a new experience, and Garland says she initially found the challenge daunting.
“When I first started a couple of years ago, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Garland says. “I hadn’t really sung with a group before I came to Lee, and they were fantastic singers and I was kind of intimidated. But once I got the hang of it, it became pretty natural pretty fast.”
Her growth was aided by Voices of Lee director Danny Murray, a demanding personality her father described as “the Bobby Knight of vocal coaches” — the sort of intense, driving boss that you love to hate and hate to love. After hearing about the open auditions for the show, he assembled a group including Garland, one other current member of the band and several alumni of the Voices of Lee to travel to Atlanta.
By the time Thanksgiving rolled around the group was in Los Angeles working on material, rehearsing, shooting b-roll and preparing to compete.
Despite her father’s prominence on the Christian music scene — Phillips, Craig and Dean have sold more than two million units and scored 17 weeks at number one on this year’s Billboard Christian singles chart with “Revelation Song” — Garland says she never felt pressured into music.
“I never really felt like he pushed me into anything. He’s always encouraged me to do whatever I want to do, be it music or science,” says Garland, who is studying health sciences at Lee University.
Speaking by phone mere days before flying out to Los Angeles to see his daughter perform, Phillips bubbles over with excitement, eager for a national audience to see the talent he’s known for 21 years.
“Garland has always been musical — a tremendous pianist, good vocally, but when she went to Lee University, they took her skills way up,” says Phillips. “She’s at a different level now. I’m really proud of her.”
“The Sing-Off” airs at 7 p.m. Monday Dec. 14 on NBC.
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January 23: A marvelous night for a Van Morrison show
Van Morrison’s one of those music legends whose accomplishments are far too numerous to recap in an introductory line or ten — for the purposes of this blog entry, it will have to suffice to say that he made “Moondance.”
“Moondance.”
He’ll be bringing his signature croon to the Bass Concert Hall January 23, performing songs from across his storied four-decade career. Morrison’s last tour featured the singer-songwriter performing his classic “Astral Weeks” album live in its entirety.
Tickets will go on sale Friday Dec. 18 at noon from Texas Box Office.
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Preview: Junior Brown at Antone’s
If you want to set Junior Brown off, ask him about country musicians.
“They’ve ruined it. They’ve hung themselves over and over again. There’s no credibility left in country music,” Brown says by phone from his Oklahoma residence. “There’s no more honesty in it. It’s like some really bad heavy metal that couldn’t make it.”
Not that anyone would ever accuse Brown of playing the kind of cliché Nashville filler that he so passionately takes aim at. The 57-year-old Americana artist grew up performing traditional country in the honky-tonks of the South, playing pedal steel and guitar for bands such as the Last Mile Ramblers and Dusty Drapes and the Dusters.
Brown found his sound — and his greatest success — in Austin, as a player of the “guit-steel,” a unique guitar he invented with two necks, one a steel guitar and one a traditional electric guitar.
“It really has made me feel like I brought something different into the world,” Brown says. “Something unique that nobody had ever really thought of before.” He built a local following as the house musician for the Continental Club, playing a mix of country, rock ’n’ roll, blues and surf guitar. He eventually went on to release seven studio albums, as well as 2005’s “Live at the Continental Club.”
He returns to town tonight (Dec. 11) for a show at Antone’s.
Strangely enough, for Brown it all began with the piano — the first instrument he picked up. Then an 8-year-old Brown discovered his muse in a beat-up, handed down guitar.
A quarter-century later, the guit-steel inflamed similar passions and helped kick off Brown’s career as a songwriter and solo artist. It’s been five years since he released his last studio album — 2004’s “Down Home Chrome” — but Brown says he doesn’t feel any pressure to get another disc on the stands.
“I don’t write a lot of songs at this point,” Brown says. “I think it’s more important to stand on the quality of the work you’ve done and not flood the market with new material all the time.”
Which is not to say he hasn’t been busy. He’s putting the finishing touches on a country music television pilot he shot at Austin’s Tequila Mockingbird Studios. Negotiations with possible outlets are at an early stage, but Brown says he modeled the program after ’60s country shows as well as variety shows.
“Even with all the glitz and glamour they managed to be kind of warm and honest and not put on too much and that’s something we’ve lost,” Brown says. “Everything is showbiz. It seems like everybody’s a used car salesman and they’re not the type of people I’d want inviting me into their living room.”
Which makes for a handy summation of Brown’s outlook in general. As he puts the finishing touches on his next album — a collaborative mix of covers and original material with guitarists James Burton and Albert Lee, the former a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee — Brown’s modus operandi is all about staying true to his own simple, honest approach to Americana. Just don’t call him country.
“Country’s a dangerous label. It didn’t used to be, but it is now,” says Brown. “So I’m true to what I’ve always done, which is a variety of things. That’s my style.”
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Alpha Rev hosts benefit for mental health
Alternative rock band and 2008 Hollywood Records signees Alpha Rev will host an all-star benefit for Mental Health America of Texas at Antone’s Friday Dec. 18. The nonprofit education and advocacy organization addresses issues of mental health and mental illness through research, legislative campaigns and public awareness initiatives.
Casey McPherson, lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for the band, sits on the organization’s board of directors. He’ll be joined by the Tosca String Quartet, the Boxing Lesson and intricate ambient rockers My Education — who recently announced they’ll be releasing a new album, “Sunrise,” in April. You can check out “Oars,” a cut off the upcoming release, here.
Tickets, $10, are available now from Front Gate Tickets.
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Free tequila and free tunes tonight at the Longbranch Inn
Hat tip to Austin 360’s own Matthew Odam, who over at his blog the M.O. has details on tonight’s free Hornitos tequila-boasting Vice Magazine party. Beloved garage rockers the Strange Boys and infinitely charming 60s girl group throwback the Carrots will perform. The shindig kicks off at 10 p.m., with the free tequila flowing until midnight.
You can RSVP here, provided you’re older than 21.
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Matador debuts new Harlem song “Friendly Ghost”
If you swung by Emo’s last night prior to the unfortunate jumping of Jay Reatard by a pair of drunken fans, you’d have caught a dynamite, high-energy set from Austin garage rock trio Harlem, who recently joined Reatard on Matador Records. Their first album with the label and follow-up to 2008’s “Free Drugs,” “Hippies,” will drop April 6.
Yesterday the Matador blog debuted the lead track off the album, “Friendly Ghost,” a peppy blast of lo-fi garage surf. The band’s next gig is opening for the Crystal Antlers at the Mohawk Thursday Dec. 17.
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Patty Griffin, Jack Ingram to play Paramount
The event will also mark the launch of the new recording studio at the Boys and Girls Club in South Austin.
Pre-sale tickets are available today via the Paramount Theatre website.
For more info on the organization, go here
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Band of Heathens announce New Year’s Eve show
2009 has been a productive year for Austin Americana rock outfit the Band of Heathens, with a November appearance on Austin City Limits, sharing an episode with Elvis Costello, and the release of sophomore studio album “One Foot in the Ether.”
They’ll be celebrating that accomplishment and ringing in 2010 alongside Robert Earl Keen. The quintet was just added as an opener to Keen New Year’s Eve show at the Austin Music Hall. Tickets, $50, are available now from Front Gate Tickets. The band is also playing at noon Saturday Dec. 18 at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar at the Austin Convention Center.
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Weekend picks: Charming Canadians, r’n’r lifers and bluegrass guitars
FRIDAY
The Rural Alberta Advantage at the Parish. Canada’s ability to churn out charming indie rock bands is only slightly less notable than its ability to churn out excellent hockey players, and Toronto trio the Rural Alberta Advantage are among the best (of the bands). Their 2008 album ‘Hometowns,’ with its sleepy strings and staccato drumming, won the band so many converts that Saddle Creek Records reissued it in July. With Adam Arcuragi and the Eastern Sea. 8 p.m. 214 E. Sixth St. theparishaustin.com. — Patrick Caldwell
Also recommended:
- Junior Brown at Antone’s
- Manikin at Club 1808
- Tex and the Horseheads at Moose Lodge
- Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom at the Cactus
- Balmorhea at the Mohawk
- Minor Mishap Marching Band at Ruta Maya
SATURDAY
Bill Carter and the Blame, Blondie Chaplin at the Continental Club.Though Carter’s best known for co-writing such Stevie Ray Vaughan classics as ‘Caught In the Crossfire’ and ‘Why Get Up’ for the Fabulous Thunderbirds, he had a pretty rockin’ band that signed to Columbia in the late ’80s. On this night, the Blame features Charlie Sexton and Denny Freeman, who have about nine years of backing Bob Dylan between them. Opener Blondie Chaplin not only wrote ‘Sail On Sailor,’ he also tours with the Rolling Stones and plays just about every instrument. 10 p.m. 1315 S. Congress Ave. continentalclub.com. — Michael Corcoran
Also recommended:
- Invincible Czars holiday show at Jovita’s
- Grupo Fantasma at Antone’s
- W.C. Clark at the Saxon Pub
- Warren Hood and the Hoodlums at Momo’s
SUNDAY
Dave Rawlings Machine and Gillian Welch at the Parish. Skilled folk and bluegrass guitarist and harmony singer Dave Rawlings has long labored under the umbrella of other performers, from Bright Eyes to Ryan Adams to Robyn Hitchcock. But with this year’s sleepy, winning ‘A Friend of a Friend,’ he finally takes the center stage he’s deserved for so long — though for this two-night stand at the Parish, he’ll be joined by longtime musical partner Gillian Welch. With Sarah Jarosz. $25. 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday. 214 E. Sixth St. theparishaustin.com. — P.C.
Also recommended:
- Daughtry at the Erwin Center
- Jon Dee Graham at the Continental Club Gallery
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Carrie Underwood to play the Frank Erwin Center
“American Idol” season four winner Carrie Underwood will bring her country twang to the Frank Erwin Center for the second time on May 12, as one of 45 shows promoting this year’s “Play On.”
Craig Moran and Sons of Sylvia will open. Tickets will go on-sale from Texas Box Office at 10 a.m. Friday Dec. 18.
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Give Will Sexton a hand
On Thursday, Will Sexton suffered a minor stroke and spent the next few days in the hospital undergoing tests and observation to see what caused it. He’s expected to make a full recovery, but he has to quit working for a few weeks until he’s up to it.
Sexton epitomizes the term “working musician.” He usually gigs several times a week to make a living, playing bass for lounge singers, doing solo gigs, playing guitar in backing bands and duos with Stephen Doster or Bill Carter. He has two kids and this is how he pays the bills and puts food on the table.
An account has been created so Will can keep paying those bills while he’s laid up. This is a great guy, only 39 years old, who was literally raised, since he was a child, by the Austin music scene. I imagine this account will see quite a bit of activity. Get well, Will! You are loved.
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Live review: Jay Reatard at Emo’s - 40 minutes and two arrests, yes that’s punk rock
Photos: See pics from the Jay Reatard show.
Jay Reatard, nee Jimmy Lee Lindsey, built his reputation on short, spazzy, furiously energetic garage punk with several bands in Memphis, Tenn. But by the time he graduated to solo material — first with 2006’s “Blood Visions” and this year with “Watch Me Fall” — he’d welded his guitar chops and rowdy rock sensibility with surprisingly catchy, pop-oriented songwriting that made him one of punk’s more accessible musicians. “Watch Me Fall” highlighted Reatard at his versatile best, with a more melodic sound that made greater use of harmonies and even strings.
But while Reatard’s recordings may have matured, his public persona — and the full-frontal assault that is his live show — haven’t aged a day. “Punk rock” is still the most apt description for Reatard’s image. After all, he’s the man who announced the loss of his band via Twitter in October (with the instantly quotable lines “Band quit ! (Expletive) them ! They are boring rich kids who can’t play for (expletive) anyways.”). Reatard’s famous for punching a zealous fan on-stage in Toronto last year. And Reatard has even claimed, also via Twitter, that shots were fired to disperse a fight during his Dec. 8 show at Walter’s in Houston.
That ethos was readily apparent at Wednesday night’s show at Emo’s, as Reatard and his new band pounded through 40 minutes of blistering punk. Fans gathered near the stage moshed violently, a firecracker was detonated on the floor and the show ended with the arrest of two concertgoers.
So, to reiterate: Punk. Rock.
Reatard took the stage after midnight and immediately launched into a series of highlights from his solo career. Though melody has taken on a greater prominence on his recordings, there’s little evidence of that in the live show — Reatard and band focused instead on fast, frenetic playing. They powered through a half dozen songs in the set’s first 10 minutes, treating their instruments less as objects to be coaxed and more as punching bags worthy of abuse. Reatard sliced into “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me,” the lead single off “Watch Me Fall,” with joyful abandon. Hooky riffs helped smooth out the rough edges on “Hammer I Miss You,” and Reatard’s high, Geddy Lee-esque voice rang out surprisingly clearly on “I Know A Place.”
While the set had all the makings of a fun night of pop-punk, it was sadly abridged at only 40 minutes — less than the opening performance by Austin’s own Harlem — after two rowdy fans attacked Reatard on-stage shortly after he announced he was playing the night’s final song. He retaliated by swinging his microphone stand and departed mid-song, giving the at-times rambunctious audience the finger as he exited the stage. There was to be no encore — the lights went up and the PA music kicked in as the two intruding fans were arrested by police outside the club’s Sixth Street entrance.
It was a good show — while it lasted. And Reatard can’t be held responsible for violent fans. But at less than 45 minutes and with a buzzkill of an ending, it’s hard to regard the night as anything more than an initially promising disappointment. That’s the sad thing about punk rock — sometimes the anger overtakes the fun and an audience walks away let down. With a too-short set and a combative ending, Reatard’s Wednesday night show ultimately felt less like a satisfactory set from a skilled player and more like a sad tease of the fun evening that might have been.
Update: The Austin Police Department’s public information office has confirmed that Michael Buehrer, 20, and Peter Aravello, 23, were the two men arrested. Both have been charged with public intoxication.
Pitchfork has this statement from Reatard’s publicist: “Jay was attacked, totally unprovoked, by two different people, both of whom were later arrested. One guy bolted onstage and came swinging at Jay, but security took him away pretty quickly. Soon after (the band hadn’t stopped playing, by the way), another guy sprinted onstage and hit Jay. Unlike the first guy, Jay didn’t even see this guy coming. So Jay defended himself with the mic stand until security took that guy away, too. Jay is safe and unhurt, and the cops were there for about an hour afterwards.”
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Talking touring with the Rural Alberta Advantage
The last time Toronto’s Rural Alberta Advantage swung through Austin it was for the dizzying hurricane of music, beer and schmoozing that is the South by Southwest Music Festival. History is rich with SXSW disappointment stories, but the indie pop trio — composed of vocalists Nils Edenloff and Amy Cole and drummer Paul Banwatt — doesn’t have one. Their nostalgic, earnestly sung folk pop so impressed the Conner Oberst-founded Saddle Creek Records that the label re-released their 2008 debut “Hometowns” in July.
Edenloff met his band mates in now-shuttered Toronto bar the Winchester, where all three hosted and performed in an open mike night. That grew into the Rural Alberta Advantage, which, as the names imply, paid special attention in “Hometowns” to Alberta, the province where Edenloff grew up. Deeply home sick after graduating from the University of Alberta and uprooting to Toronto, he packed references to the unique geography and mood of the province into his wistful lyrics. In doing so, he struck a chord with home sick dreamers everywhere — even those who couldn’t find Alberta on a map.
The band returns to Austin Friday night for a show at the Parish to benefit the Sustainable Food Center. Adam Arcuragi and the Eastern Sea open. Edenloff spoke by phone from the band’s van to discuss his adjustment to the touring lifestyle, his SXSW experience and the home province reaction to his songs.
You just kicked off your winter tour with a performance in Cincinnati last night, and you’ll hit the Midwest, the East and West coasts and Canada by mid-February. How are you getting around this time?
We purchased a van back in December of last year that we’re using. We’re putting a lot of kilometers on it. It’s held up well. Although I fired it up on Tuesday morning when we were leaving and the speedometer needle jumped all over the place and it’s kept doing that ever since. We actually can’t tell how fast we’re going. We need the GPS to tell us. It’s a little concerning.
It’s a lot of dates to hit in a very short amount of time. Your tour schedule in general has been pretty packed.
Yeah, I think by the end of this tour we’ll have played 100 shows this year. And that triples the number of shows we played last year. I don’t think anybody would have imagined that we’d be doing that at this time last year. It just blows our mind at every show we’ve played that we’re doing this. It seems like there’s always a new high in terms of where we keep reaching.
How are you adjusting to that kind of schedule?
It’s something that definitely takes getting used to, being away from home that amount of time. I think the biggest thing is, we never really started out saying “Let’s start a band and do something big and play SXSW and get a record deal!” We started out as friends hanging out and the music sort of came out of that. And I think that’s made it a lot easier on us, and me personally. If I was just stuck with a bunch of people I didn’t know or respect or have fun with it would make being on the road very difficult. But when you’re with a couple of pretty good people it’s not too bad.
The last time you swung through Austin was to play SXSW. It seems like that worked out pretty well for you.
Yeah, we felt fairly fortunate about how South By worked out for us. Everyone wants to go down there and hope that you’re going to have the best time in the world, but we’d heard so many stories from people saying “Dude, don’t get your hopes up. There’s so many bands. You’re going to get lost in the shuffle.” So there was a mixture of hopeful optimism with still preparing ourselves for that sort of situation happening. But it worked out really well for us. We couldn’t ask for a better first time SXSW experience. I only spent a couple of days in Austin, so I didn’t even know where most of the day parties were, but just wandering and stumbling into great bands playing great music outdoors in great weather was pretty amazing.
It’s interesting that you’re signed to Saddle Creek Records in the United States but self-release your material in Canada. What’s behind that decision?
Well, in Canada there are a lot of opportunities for bands who are Canadian-controlled — either they record themselves or they’re signed with a Canada-based label — to get assistance from the government, The whole point was to still be able to get government support, because there are institutions that help foster Canadian music and we would have lost that if we signed to Saddle Creek in Canada. I guess it is a little different but it’s what made sense for us.
A lot of the songs on “Hometowns” are polished versions of songs on your EP. “Hometowns” was released in 2008 and re-released in 2009, so you’ve been playing those songs for a while — do you ever worry about getting tired of them?
Yeah, we’ve been powering through those songs for a while now. But the songs haven’t gotten old for us, especially now that we’re playing them for people we’ve never played them for before. So much of the dynamic of playing shows is that interaction between the band and the audience. So if we’re playing for a bunch of people the songs are new for we’re excited. We’re not tired of them - yet.
Are you getting to the point where you’re beginning to work on some new material?
We are trying to work towards the second record, and on this tour hopefully test out a bunch of new songs. That’s what we were able to do with the first record. The more you play the songs out the more you either get comfortable with them or realize that you can do better. So hopefully we’ll get a chance to work on the new songs as much as possible and record in the new year.
Is it hard to write and work on new material when you’re on the road?
It is kind of hard. Because you’re always striving and rushing to the venue. Just to have a day off or an afternoon off to practice, it’s a little challenging to find that time. I think that’s why it’s been so hard — because we’re playing so much this year. But we do try to use our down time to get together and hash things out.
There are a lot of references to the geography of your home province of Alberta in that first album — do you see that being a motif on the second album too, or have you gotten it out of your system?
No, I believe there will still be a certain amount of Alberta references, but I have a feeling it will run to completion on that record. But then again, who knows? Right now I know that there will definitely be some of that, but I think my idea is that the second record will be sort of a continuation and a conclusion to that theme.
Do people from that region have a different reaction to your material?
Yeah, definitely. I didn’t really realize it until we were actually playing our first shows in Alberta just last summer, when the reaction was different than anything we’d seen before. We’d played shows before where people were really excited to hear the songs, but it was a different amount of excitement. There was a sort of regional pride welling up, I guess. I think a lot of people sometimes bash on Alberta, so to hear songs that reference Alberta in a sort of positive, genuinely loving way makes people happy.
I know everybody in the band met through an open mike night at the Winchester in Toronto — have you revisited that lately? Does the bar still have one?
No, we were actually the last people to host an open mike night here! We were there the night that the bar closed. I don’t want to say that we did anything to hurt the bar’s business or the bar’s bottom line. But I will say that the bar was one of the oldest in Toronto, and it’s now a coffee shop, which is sad. And I’ve never actually been to that coffee place. I’m not sure I want to see what it’s like. I’ve got my own memories of those open mike days I hope to keep.
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New Black and White Years video debuts on MySpace
Austin new wave pop sensation the Black and White Years have taken an unlikely place alongside Usher and Lady Gaga on the front page of MySpace Music today, with the debut of their new video for “Two Resevoirs,” off this year’s “Nursery Myths” EP. The video was directed by Matthew Hoffman — presumably, not the BMX star.
You can also grab an MP3 of “Two Resevoirs” for free off the band’s Web site.
The Black And White Years - “Two Reservoirs”
The Black and White Years | MySpace Music Videos
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New Balmorhea on the way
It’s been almost nine months since the last release by prolific acoustic instrumental now-quintet Balmorhea — March’s expansive, cinematic “All is Wild, All is Silent” — which means we were about due for another album announcement.
Today came word that songwriters and guitarists Rob Lowe and Michael Muller are prepping the band’s fourth album, “Constellations,” for a February 23 release on Austin label Western Vinyl. You’ll likely get the chance to hear some of the new material on Friday night, when the band plays the Mohawk. Check out the astronomy-heavy tracklist after the jump.
1. To The Order of Night
2. Bowsprit
3. Winter Circle
4. Herons
5. Constellations
6. Steerage And The Lamp
7. Night Squall
8. On The Weight of Night
9. Palestrina
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The return of Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom
(Chris Searles, David Garza and Jeff Haley back in the early days of of Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom.)
It’s late 1989 and a trio named Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom goes from free shows on the West Mall of the University of Texas to packing the Cactus CafĂ© and eventually selling out 1,000-capacity Liberty Lunch. This is not how things are done in dues-paying Austin, so the backlash is immediate. Have they even heard of Townes Van Zandt?
Doesn’t matter. The charmingly naive trio of David Garza, Chris Searles and Jeff Haley put out a cassette called “Me So Twangy” that local record stores can barely keep on the shelves for more than a day. Big label interest. Columbia Records flies them to New York, but the kids crumble in the frying pan like taco meat. Thirteen months after their first busking session, it was all over.
Can the magic return 20 years later? This weekend, Twang Twang celebrates the release of a remixed and remastered deluxe CD version of ‘Me So Twangy’ with a pair of shows at the Cactus CafĂ© on Friday and Saturday. It’ll be a big night for babysitters.
Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom (with Slim Richey and Maggie Walters) performs at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Cactus Café, 2247 Guadalupe St. on the University of Texas campus. $10. 475-6599.
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Austin band the Strange Boys makes Jarvis Cocker’s best of the decade list
“Woe is Me” is the song he likes.
Then again, he also like the Baha Men.
(Seriously, this is a pretty great list. But “Gold Lion” over “Maps” or “Zero?” Come on, man!)
Check it out here.
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See Daughtry for $14.99 (plus service charges)
The former “American Idol” contestant plays Sunday with his self-titled band at the Frank Erwin Center. We just received this release (regular ticket prices are $29.50 and $39.50):
To kick off the holiday, Daughtry is offering a special $14.99 ticket to fans for a limited time. Special offer is available NOW through Thursday, December 12 at 10pm.
Go here to buy. We’re checking with Erwin on whether the deal is good through Thursday or Saturday (Thursday is the 10th, not 12th).
UPDATE: The $14.99 deal is good through Saturday, the Erwin folks say.
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SXSW adds more than 200 bands to 2010 lineup
Whether it’s a streamlined application process or simply a desire to beat the stealth-announcement-by-way-of-MySpace epidemic of years past, the South By Southwest Music Festival isn’t wasting any time announcing showcasing artists for 2010.
The festival released another round of more than 200 showcase acts today. The full list is available at SXSW’s Web site, or you can take a gander below the jump. Bands with an asterisk next to their name were added today.
Highlights include the New Yorker-besting Brooklyn rap duo Das Racist, psychedelic pop outfit Dengue Fever, and garage pop quartet the Postelles. As with the last massive deluge of SXSW 2010 artists, there’s a healthy Austin contingent, including the Band of Heathens, the Black and White Years, perennial favorite David Garza, the Mother Truckers, the Steps and Ume, among others.
Thoughts on the lineup so far? Sound off in the comments.
Aa (Brooklyn NY)
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO (Osaka JAPAN)
A Classic Education (Bologna ITALY)
*Akina Adderley & The Vintage Playboys (Austin TX)
*Allo Darlin (UK-ENGLAND)
Alpha Rev (Austin TX)
*Alvarez Kings (Rotherham UK-ENGLAND)
Amaral (Madrid SPAIN)
And So I Watch You From Afar (Belfast IRELAND)
*an horse (Brisbane QLD)
Apostle of Hustle (Toronto ON)
*Arborea (Lewiston ME)
*Bomani Armah & Project Mayhem (Washington DC)
Arms (Brooklyn NY)
Ólöf Arnalds (Reykjavik ICELAND)
Art vs Science (Surry Hills NSW)
A Shoreline Dream (Denver CO)
*Astra (El Cajon CA)
*Atash (Austin TX)
Nicole Atkins and The Black Sea (Asbury Park NJ)
*Attack Attack! (Columbus OH)
Autumn Owls (Dublin IRELAND)
*AV Okubo (Wuhan CHINA)
*Ayah (Toronto ON)
*Elle Bandita (Rotterdam THE NETHERLANDS)
*The Band of Heathens (Austin TX)
*Jill Barber (Vancouver BC)
Bare Wires (Oakland CA)
*Bastard Child Death Cult (Downtown Toronto (Christie) ON)
*Beans on Toast (London UK-ENGLAND)
*The Belle Brigade (Los Angeles CA)
Julian Berntzen (Bergen NORWAY)
*Berri Txarrak (Lekunberri (Navarra) SPAIN)
Best Fwends (Austin TX)
The Black (Austin TX)
*The Black & White Years (Austin TX)
The Black Atlantic (Groningen THE NETHERLANDS)
*The Black Box Revelation (Brussels BELGIUM)
Dan Black (Paris FRANCE)
*Black Feelings (Outremont QC)
*Blacklisted Individuals (Austin TX)
*Black Spiders (London UK-ENGLAND)
Black Tide (Miami FL)
Bliss N Eso (Albert Park VIC)
*The Blow Waves (Melbourne VIC)
*Blue Roses (London UK-ENGLAND)
Boom Boom Satellites (JAPAN)
*Helen Boulding (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Shannon Bourne (Melbourne VIC)
The Boxer Rebellion (London UK-ENGLAND)
*BrainStorm (Jelgava LATVIA)
*Brasstronaut (Vancouver BC)
*Breakestra (Los Angeles CA)
Break of Reality (New York NY)
B-Real of Cypress Hill (Los Angeles CA)
Broadway Calls (Rainer OR)
Broken Records (Edinburgh UK-SCOTLAND)
*Tom Brosseau (Los Angeles CA)
VV Brown (London UK-ENGLAND)
The Brunettes (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Buckshot (Brooklyn NY)
*CALLmeKAT (Copenhagen DENMARK)
Canja Rave (Porto Alegre BRAZIL)
Capsula (Bilbao SPAIN)
Carsick Cars (Beijing CHINA)
*Tom Cary (Málaga SPAIN)
*Casino (Santiago CHILE)
*Caspian (Cincinnati OH)
Caucus (Tokyo JAPAN)
*Ceeplus Bad Knives (Houston TX)
The Chevelles (Melville WA)
Chew Lips (London UK-ENGLAND)
*The Chicharones (Portland OR)
*CHIEF (Los Angeles CA)
*Children Collide (Melbourne VIC)
Suzanna Choffel (Austin TX)
Chris T-T (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)
C-Mon & Kypski (THE NETHERLANDS)
The Coathangers (Atlanta GA)
*Ora Cogan (Vancouver BC)
Simon Collins (Victoria BC)
The Constellations (Atlanta GA)
Contra Coup (Austin TX)
*Cosmo Jarvis (Devon UK-ENGLAND)
Cotton Jones (Cumberland MD)
*Court Yard Hounds (Austin CA)
*Crayon Fields (Melbourne VIC)
*Crew54 (Killeen TX)
The Crystal Method (Los Angeles CA)
David Dallas (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
*The Dandies (Hochdorf SWITZERLAND)
Dappled Cities (Sydney NSW)
*Dark Room Notes (Dublin IRELAND)
*Dash Rip Rock (New Orleans LA)
*Das Racist (Brooklyn NY)
Daveman (Berlin GERMANY)
The Daylights (Los Angeles CA)
*D Black (Seattle WA)
The dB’s (Chapel Hill NC)
*DD/MM/YYYY (Toronto ON)
*Dead Letter Circus (Brisbane QLD)
Dead Sexy Inc (Paris FRANCE)
The Deaf (The Hague THE NETHERLANDS)
Deer Tick (Providence RI)
Delhi 2 Dublin (Vancouver BC)
Paul Dempsey (from “Something for Kate”) (Melbourne NSW)
*Dengue Fever (Los Angeles CA)
Diplomats of Solid Sound (Iowa City IA)
DJ Car Stereo (Wars) (Austin TX)
DJ Evil Dee (Brooklyn NY)
*DJ Jester the Filipino Fist (San Antonio TX)
DJ Revolution (Los Angeles CA)
*The Dollyrots (Los Angeles CA)
*Luke Doucet (Winnipeg MB)
*Rose Elinor Dougall (Manchester UK-ENGLAND)
Daniel Francis Doyle (Austin TX)
*DP (Hong Kong HONG KONG)
*Drive like Maria (Hasselt BELGIUM)
Adiam Dymott (Goteborg SWEDEN)
The 88 (Los Angeles CA)
Electric Electric (Strasbourg FRANCE)
Val Emmich (Jersey City NJ)
Eternia (Toronto ON)
*The Ettes (Nashville TN)
*Eva & The Heartmaker (Oslo NORWAY)
Everything Everything (Manchester UK-WALES)
*Eyeris (New York NY)
*Failsafe (Preston UK-ENGLAND)
Fanfarlo (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Fangs (Leslie UK-ENGLAND)
Michael Feinberg (New York NY)
Fergus & Geronimo (Westway TX)
*The Ferocious Few (San Francisco CA)
Fighting With Wire (Derry IRELAND)
Finale (Detroit MI)
*Marie Fisker (Copenhagen DENMARK)
Floating Action (Asheville NC)
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*David Francey (Toronto ON)
Francis (Borlange SWEDEN)
Robert Francis (Los Angeles CA)
*Freaky Age (Ternat BELGIUM)
Frightened Rabbit (Selkirk UK-SCOTLAND)
*Jessie Frye (Dallas TX)
The Funeral Pyre (Los Angeles CA)
*Funeral Suits (Dublin IRELAND)
*Fyfe Dangerfield (London UK-ENGLAND)
The Ganjas (Santiago CHILE)
*David Garza (Austin TX)
*Gay Witch Abortion (Minneapolis MN)
Geeks >(Tokyo JAPAN)
GERALD G (Austin TX)
*The Ghost of a Thousand (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)
Colin Gilmore (Austin TX)
Giulia y los Tellarini (Barcelona SPAIN)
Rosi Golan (New York NY)
*Golden Boys (Austin TX)
*The Golden Dogs (Toronto ON)
Gong Myoung (Seoul KOREA)
Goober and the Peas (Detroit MI)
Good Shoes (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Sebastien Grainger (Toronto ON)
*Grynch (Seattle WA)
Guitar Shorty (Harlingen TX)
Ha Ha Tonka (Springfield MO)
Halves (DUBLIN IRELAND)
Darren Hanlon (Sydney NSW)
*Gudrid Hansdottir (FAROE ISLANDS)
*The Happy Hollows (Los Angeles CA)
Harlem (Austin TX)
*Hauschka (Dusseldorf GERMANY)
Headdress (Austin TX)
*HEARTSREVOLUTION (New York NY)
*Richard Henry (Austin TX)
*Hermano L (Barcelona SPAIN)
Hey Colossus (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Matt Hires (Tampa FL)
Robyn Hitchcock (London CA)
*Hogni (Copenhagen FAROE ISLANDS)
*The Hood Internet (Chicago IL)
Hot Panda (Edmonton AB)
The Hounds Below (Detroit MI)
*Nick Howard (New York NY)
*Huecco (Madrid SPAIN)
*Hyperpotamus (Madrid SPAIN)
I Fight Dragons (Chicago IL)
*Inhabitants (Vancouver BC)
*Instrumenti (Riga LATVIA)
The Intelligence (Seattle WA)
*Intimate Stranger (Santiago CHILE)
Ivan & Alyosha (Seattle WA)
*Jammer (London UK-ENGLAND)
Japandroids (Vancouver BC)
Jazz One (Austin TX)
*Jazzus Lizard (Austin TX)
*Nat Jenkins (London UK-ENGLAND)
Stephen Jerzak (La Crosse WI)
*Jets Overhead (Victoria BC)
John Dear Mowing Club (Den Haag THE NETHERLANDS)
The Jim Jones Revue (London UK-ENGLAND)
Jookabox (Indianapolis IN)
Josephine (Manchester UK-ENGLAND)
*The Joys (London ON)
*Jukebox the Ghost (Washington DC)
Julia Says (Sao Paulo BRAZIL)
*Kam Moye aka Supastition (Charlotte NC)
Karnivool (Perth WA)
Kartick & Gotam (Chennai INDIA)
*kasms (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Kaspar(Helsinki FINLAND)
*Katie V (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Kid British (UK-ENGLAND)
Kidz In Space (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Kidz In The Hall (Chicago IL)
*Kiernan McMullan (Limerick IRELAND)
*Kilians (Grevenbroich GERMANY)
*King of Conspiracy (Paris FRANCE)
Kingston (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
*Dawn Kinnard (State College PA)
maurice kirya (Kampala ZIMBABWE)
The Kissaway Trail (Odense DENMARK)
*Kistehen (Budapest HUNGARY)
*Kuadrumana (Shiraz IRAN)
L.A.B. (Novo Hamburgo BRAZIL)
*Landmine Marathon (Phoenix AZ)
The Law (Dundee UK-SCOTLAND)
*Lawrence Arabia (Christchurch NEW ZEALAND)
*Layabouts (Madrid SPAIN)
*Jonna Lee (Stockholm SWEDEN)
Vander Lee (Belo Horizonte BRAZIL)
*Lissie (Ojai CA)
*Los Amparito (Lomas Del Alamo MEXICO)
*Los Lonely Boys (San Angelo TX)
*Los Planetas (Madrid SPAIN)
*Lo-Star (London UK-ENGLAND)
*The Lovely Eggs (Lancaster UK-ENGLAND)
*The Lovely Feathers (Montreal QC)
Unni Lovlid (Oslo NORWAY)
*The Low Anthem (Providence RI)
Lowood (Stockholm SWEDEN)
*Jason Lytle (Sherman Oaks CA)
*Catherine MacLellan (Summerside PE)
*Madame Recamier (San Angel Inn MEXICO)
Audra Mae (Los Angeles CA)
Malente (Essen GERMANY)
Natalia Mallo (Sao Paulo BRAZIL)
Mantles (San Francisco CA)
Julia Marcell (Berlin GERMANY)
Marco Polo & Torae (Brooklyn NY)
Mariachi El Bronx (Los Angeles CA)
*Anya Marina (Los Angeles CA)
Carolyn Mark (Victoria BC)
*Josh Martinez (Vancouver CANADA)
Maruosa (Tokyo JAPAN)
*Maybe It’s Reno (Juneau AK)
*Melissa McClelland (Hamilton ON)
MegaRex (Sao Paulo BRAZIL)
*Meneo (Barcelona SPAIN)
*Jeremy Messersmith (Saint Paul MN)
*Mi and L’au (Valencia SPAIN)
The Middle East (Townsville QLD)
Middle Finger Salute (Blackburn UK-ENGLAND)
*Middleman (Leeds UK-ENGLAND)
Miniature Tigers (Phoenix AZ)
*Vince Mira (Seattle WA)
Mixtapes & Cellmates (Stockholm SWEDEN)
Monarchs (Austin TX)
Michael Monroe (Helsinki FINLAND)
*Pedro Morais (BRAZIL)
PJ Morton (Conyers GA)
*The Mother Truckers (Austin TX)
Mountain Man (Bennington VT)
Movits!(Lulea SWEDEN)
Moxine (Sao Paulo BRAZIL)
*Mozella (Los Angeles CA)
Mr Sicc (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Mumiy Troll (Los Angeles CA)
*Murmansk (Helsinki FINLAND)
My Dad is Dead (Chapel Hill NC)
*My Tiger My Timing (London UK-ENGLAND)
Nailpin (Boom BELGIUM)
Nakia & His Southern Cousins (Austin TX)
*The New Government (Beirut LEBANON)
NiCad (Den Haag THE NETHERLANDS)
*Nive Nielsen (Nuuk GREENLAND)
*Night On Earth (Athens GREECE)
9th Wonder (Raleigh-Durham NC)
*Nobody Beats The Drum (Amsterdam THE NETHERLANDS)
The Novas (Dallas TX)
*Nudozurdo (Barcelona CT)
Jackie Oates (Exeter UK-ENGLAND)
of Verona (Mandi Perkins) (Los Angeles CA)
*Ohbijou (Toronto ON)
*Oh No Ono (Aalborg DENMARK)
*Omodaka (Tokyo JAPAN)
One Night Only (Helmsley UK-ENGLAND)
1001 Nights Orchestra (Austin TX)
*onili (Tel Aviv IL)
The Pack A.D. (Vancouver BC)
Paleo (Brooklyn NY)
:papercutz (Vila do Conde PORTUGAL)
*Papier Tigre (Nantes FRANCE)
Parlovr (Montreal QC)
*Maren Parusel (San Diego CA)
Past Lives (Seattle WA)
*Patafunk (Caracas URUGUAY)
*Sylvia Patricia (Salvador BRAZIL)
*Peasant (Doylestown PA)
The Peelies (Montreal QC)
Julie Peel (Montreal QC)
Peter Wolf Crier (Minneapolis MN)
*The Pinholes (Singapore SINGAPORE)
Pink Nasty (Austin TX)
Pivot (Sydney NSW AUSTRALIA)
P.K. 14 (Beijing CHINA)
*Planet Parade (Clane IRELAND)
Plants and Animals (Montreal QC)
Please The Trees (Prague CZECH REPUBLIC)
*Poirier ft MC Zulu (Montreal QC)
Steve Poltz (San Diego CA)
*Pomegranates (Cincinnati OH)
*Pop Shuvit (Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA)
*The Postelles (New York NY)
*Dick Prall (Chicago IL)
Andy Pratt (Amesbury MA)
Sean Price (Brooklyn NY)
Princeton (Eagle Rock CA)
Profetas (COLOMBIA)
*Project Trio (Brooklyn NY)
Psalm One (Chicago IL)
*Joe Pug (Chicago IL)
Quantic and his Combo Barbaro (Cali COLOMBIA)
Random Axe (Brooklyn NY)
*Reading Rainbow (Philadelphia PA)
Rebelle (Den Haag THE NETHERLANDS)
*Red Bacteria Vacuum (Osaka JAPAN)
Red Mass (Montreal QC)
Tommy Reilly (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)
*Resplandor (Lima PERU)
Riverboat Gamblers (Austin TX)
The River Raid (Recife BRAZIL)
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (Brooklyn NY)
Brisa Roche (Paris FRANCE)
Rock of Heltah Skeltah (Brooklyn NY)
Rogues (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Romantica (Minneapolis MN)
*R.Sigma (Rio de Janeiro BRAZIL)
*The Russian Futurists (Toronto ON)
Ruste Juxx (Brooklyn NY)
*Justin Rutledge (Toronto ON)
*Joey Ryan (Los Angeles CA)
San Saba County (Austin TX)
Scanners (London UK-ENGLAND)
Kate Schutt (Guelph ON)
*Scorpio Rising (Austin TX)
*The Sea (Newquay UK-ENGLAND)
*The Seedy Seeds (Cincinnati OH)
Serious Sam Barrett (Leeds UK-ENGLAND)
*Sherlock’s Daughter (Sydney NSW)
*Shine (Paris FRANCE)
Shit And Shine (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Shelley Short (Portland OR)
*Simona (mexico MEXICO)
Sixteen Deluxe (Austin TX)
*Noush Skaugen (London UK-ENGLAND)
Skyzoo (Brooklyn NY)
Small Black (Brooklyn NY)
Smif N Wessun (Brooklyn NY)
*John Smith (Liverpool UK-ENGLAND)
*Sahara Smith (Austin TX)
Smoosh (Seattle WA)
*Snapline (Beijing CHINA)
So Cow (Tuam IRELAND)
Solid Gold (Minneapolis MN)
somi (new york NY)
Soulico (Tel Aviv ISRAEL)
*South Central (Hoddesdon UK-ENGLAND)
So What (The Hague THE NETHERLANDS)
*Speak (Austin TX)
The Spring Standards (New York NY)
*Nico Stai (Los Angeles CA)
Sabrina Starke (Amsterdam THE NETHERLANDS)
*St Deluxe (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)
Steel Train (Teaneck NJ)
*Katie Stelmanis (Toronto ON)
*The Steps (Austin TX)
StereoHeroes (Les Gorguettes FRANCE)
*Strait Laces (Belfast UK-N IRELAND)
*Summer Camp (UK-ENGLAND)
*Summer Cats (Melbourne VIC)
*Superlasciva (Buenos Aires ARGENTINA)
Surrounded (Malmo SWEDEN)
*Swimming (Nottingham UK-ENGLAND)
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter (Seattle WA)
*Systema Solar (Taganga COLOMBIA)
M. Takara 3 (Guarulhos BRAZIL)
Team Facelift (New York NY)
*Telephunken (Madrid SPAIN)
*Ten Bears (Manchester UK-ENGLAND)
*10pShort (Guildford UK-ENGLAND)
*Adam Tensta (Stockholm SWEDEN)
*Terry Poison (Tel Aviv ISRAEL)
*Texas Tornados (San Antonio TX)
*That Ghost (Santa Rosa CA)
*Thirsty Merc (Darlinghurst NSW)
*Those Darlins (Murfreesboro TN)
*Thunderbolt (Sandefjord NORWAY)
Thunder Power (Omaha NE)
Timber Timbre (Toronto ON)
Todd (London UK-ENGLAND)
Marques Toliver (Brooklyn NY)
Toolshed (London ON)
*Toy Horses (Barry UK-ENGLAND)
*Trailer Trash Tracys (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Treasure Fingers (Brooklyn NY)
*Treetop Flyers (London UK-ENGLAND)
Trembling Bells (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)
Trespassers William (Seattle WA)
*The Trews (Antigonish NS)
Twin Atlantic (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)
Two Star Symphony (Houston TX)
Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights (Dallas TX)
The Uglysuit (Oklahoma City OK)
*Ume (Austin TX)
Uncle Lucius (Austin TX)
*The Unfinished Sympathy (Barcelona SPAIN)
*Useless ID (Tel Aviv ISRAEL)
*Vandaveer (Lexington KY)
*The Veils (Bath UK-ENGLAND)
*Ventilader (Mexico City MEXICO)
*Videohippos (Baltimore MD)
The View (Dundee UK-SCOTLAND)
*Viva City (Leatherhead UK-ENGLAND)
Volovan (Monterrey MEXICO)
Waco Brothers (Chicago IL)
Miho Wada (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Warpaint (Los Angeles CA)
*Washington (Brisbane QLD)
Wave Machines (Liverpool UK-ENGLAND)
The Wave Pictures (London UK-ENGLAND)
We Are Scientists (New York NY)
We Are Wolves (Montreal QC)
*WHITE (Beijing CHINA)
*White Circle Crime Club (Antwerpen BELGIUM)
*White Rose Movement (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Glenn White’s Sacred Machines (New York NY)
*Wild Palms (London UK-ENGLAND)
Withered (Atlanta GA)
Wolf Gang (London UK-ENGLAND)
Woot (The Haque THE NETHERLANDS)
XV (Wichita KS)
*Jason Yates (Los Angeles CA)
The Yellow Dogs (Tehran IRAN)
YellowFever (Austin TX)
*Yeti Lane (Paris FRANCE)
*Pegi Young (Woodside CA)
*The Young Republic (Nashville TN)
*Your Twenties (London UK-ENGLAND)
*Hindi Zahra (Paris FRANCE)
*Ze! (Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA)
Zlam Dunk (San Marcos TX)
Zona Tango (Buenos Aires ARGENTINA)
*Zun Zun Egui (Bristol UK-ENGLAND)
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Will Sexton has minor stroke
Musician Will Sexton remains hospitalized at University Medical Center after suffering a stroke. “It was a minor stroke,” says his girlfriend, singer-songwriter Charlie Faye, “but they’ve kept him in the hospital to run some tests on why this happened age age 39.” He’s been in the hospital since Friday.
Faye says Sexton is in good spirits and feeling well. “He should be out in a couple days.”
Sexton had a gig Thursday night at the Hole In the Wall, where club booker Paul Minor said Sexton complained of a headache and had trouble with his lyrics, but otherwise performed a strong set. “You could tell he wasn’t quite himself,” Minor said.
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KGSR update: what’s next for Denberg’s slot and what about that signal strength?
KGSR parent company Emmis Austin will conduct a local and national search to find a replacement for recently departed afternoon host Jody Denberg, station manager Scott Gillmore said Tuesday. KGSR program director Lynn Barstow (he goes by Lynn Lawless on the air) will fill Denberg’s afternoon spot temporarily, with other people contributing as well. GIllmore added that Emmis is not in a hurry to fill the position and that Denberg’s position as content manager will not be filled for now.
Denberg presided over his last broadcast during KGSR’s 19th anniversary party last weekend at the Texas Union ballroom (Michael Corcoran talked to Denberg about his departure last week). In case you missed the live broadcast, musical guests included the Gourds, Ian MacLagan, Rosanne Cash and Bob Schneider. With most of the audience — made up of employees and friends of KGSR and some lucky listeners — seated, the atmosphere was more of a mellow concert than a party, and it was weird to see a banner proclaiming the station’s new frequency, 93.3, rather than the old 107.1.
Speaking of that new frequency, several readers have complained that the new signal is weak in parts of Austin. Gillmore said he has heard complaints as well, and attributes problems, particularly in South Austin, to the moving of the station’s broadcast tower from Southeast of Austin to the Cedar Park area. “For everybody that has problems,” Gillmore said, “we’re confident there are many more people getting better reception.” Areas getting better reception include Williamson County.
Finally, in response to suggestions that KGSR’s playlist has changed, Gillmore said that while the station has added 300 more titles to its library, the changes have been only additive; no previous content, including local music, was removed. The new songs fit into the mix of “gold” the station has always played, he said. You can read playlist archives on the station’s web site.
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Preview: Guy Forsyth and Carolyn Wonderland holiday show
Deborah Cannon AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Americana shouter and multi-instrumentalist Guy Forsyth first crossed paths with blues rocker Carolyn Wonderland more than 15 years ago, at a 1993 gig in Oklahoma City. He was immediately smitten - with her shredding skills, sure, but even more so with her learned blues vocalist’s howl.
“She was an amazing spirit and a great guitar player, and there aren’t many people that can throw their head back and sing like that,” Forsyth says. “Austin is full of musicians of all types of caliber on all types of instruments, but nobody else can open their mouths like that.”
Wonderland, for her part, saw in Forsyth a counterpart so well-suited to her own voice that it was practically a kinship.
“There’s something familial about it. It’s like playing with your brother,” Wonderland says. “Family bands are always my favorite because they harmonize perfectly. They grew up listening to each other talk. Guy and I are kind of like that.”
Which makes the pair an ideal choice to headline a show centered on that most familial of holidays: Christmas. The two local musicians - and their bands - will join forces for two holiday shows at the One World Theatre tonight, as part of a brief tour that’s hitting the major Texas cities.
But those expecting a night of familiar standards might be a little surprised. Forsyth and Wonderland will dip into the usual suspects but also plan on incorporating less obvious choices - like John Prine’s “Christmas in Prison.”
For two artists well-versed in the nooks and crannies of American music, the Christmas season is fertile territory for exploration.
“The holidays have probably the biggest amount of shared music of any event in American life. We start to hear the Christmas songs when we’re children and some of them never go away - much as you might want them to,” Forsyth says.
That extensive canon of holiday music means a variety of moods, styles and outlooks are likely to make an appearance tonight - and appropriately so, given both Forsyth’s and Wonderland’s general reluctance to pigeonhole themselves into genres.
“We want to do stuff that resonates with you or stuff that makes you laugh and some stuff that might make you cry. We try to strike a balance and not have entirely sappy beautiful ballads,” Wonderland says. “It’s nice to do something that touches on all the emotions that hit you during the holiday: drunkenness, debauchery, forgiveness, all that good stuff.”
The show takes place Wednesday at the One World Theatre, 7701 Bee Cave Road. Tickets are $30-$40. Information: (512) 330-9500; oneworldtheatre.org.
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‘Crazy Heart’ a fitting Bruton epitaph
When Stephen Bruton was too sick, too weak from cancer to deal with airports and commercial flights, T-Bone Burnett, his friend of 45 years, hired a private jet to fly the Austin songwriter/ guitarist to Los Angeles to finish work on “Crazy Heart,” the film that opens Dec. 16 in just enough theatres to get Jeff Bridges an Oscar nomination for best actor. Bruton passed away in May, just days after the film’s music was finished.
Bruton’s contributions were not merely token, however. He co-wrote many of the key songs in the film, including “Hold On You,” “Somebody Else,” “Fallin’ and Flyin’,” “I Don’t Know” (all sung by the Jeff Bridges character Bad Blake) and “Gone, Gone, Gone” performed by Colin Farrell’s character, a former Blake protege turned country superstar. The tunes sound like the former hits the movie made them out to be.
The soundtrack will be released on CD by New West on Jan. 19.
Although Bridges looks an awful lot like Bruton’s longtime friend/boss Kris Kristofferson, his character seems based more on Billy Joe Shaver, back before he was born again. With more than a little Waylon thrown in. Shaver’s friend and admirer Robert Duvall has a relatively small part in the film, but delivers an a capella “Live Forever” during a key scene.
A simple description of “Crazy Heart” is that it’s the part of “Tender Mercies,” the set up, that you don’t see. Blake is a hard-drinking has-been with no direction until he meets a single woman and her young son, but there’s a twist here.
Don’t want to spoil anything, but when this movie comes around, you’re gonna want to wait until the very end, after the credits, for a chicken skin moment.
Ryan Bingham sings theme song on ‘Crazy Heart’
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Preview: Graham Weber CD release at Cactus Cafe
Graham Weber slices life with a poet’s precision. The 29-year-old’s cleanest cuts (“Oh Roberta,” “Baltimore”) mirror the best: Opening three weeks ago, Weber clearly captivated legendary tunesmith Guy Clark’s discerning audience at the Texas Union Theater. “It definitely was inspiring and a real honor to play with Guy,” Weber says. “His crowd is really open to listening to lyrics, which is where I try to live.”
The Austin transplant, whose new “The Cactus Sessions: Live and Unreleased ’08-’09” spotlights both charm and craft, hosts a free CD release party Wednesday at the Cactus Cafe.
American-Statesman: How did Slaid (Cleaves) covering your ‘Oh Roberta’ (on Cleaves’ 2006 album ‘Unsung’) impact you?
Graham Weber: Well, it kept me playing the song a lot more, especially when I was touring with him. It helped me out a lot, because it gave me a lot of credit with his crowd and people who listen to Texas (songwriters). It’s the only song I’ve ever made any money on from royalty checks, but not a lot. It’s helped keep gas in the car.
Is it fair to say that Slaid has been a mentor since you moved from Ohio?
Absolutely. I’d opened for him in Pittsburgh before my wife and I moved. When we got down here, he called me and had me play a set break for him at the Cactus. I didn’t really know the guy then, but he liked a couple songs that I’d done in Pittsburgh. He opened the door and vouched for me, and getting me into the Cactus helped quite a bit. He’s taken me on the road a couple times now.
Have you two collaborated at all?
We don’t really write together, but I usually bounce stuff off him. He doesn’t always like what I’m doing, and that’s fine. He’s very honest with me, and he’s a really good sounding board. He doesn’t (expletive) me or mince words, that’s for sure (laughs). He’s been a big supporter. He and his wife are the closest thing that we have to family here.
Your stage delivery — especially the long stories between songs — directly recalls Todd Snider. How did you develop that style?
It’s funny you say Todd, because I pretty much started my career by trying to rip him off! I’ve told him that. The first time I saw Todd was when I was living in L.A., and I wasn’t playing music. He was playing at a guitar shop down the street by my house. I loved it. It was the first time I’d seen anything like that: It’s a show. When I was in L.A., I was an actor doing improv with the Groundlings and things like that. I like talking to people and telling stories.
Do you draw on any others?
When Todd’s on, he’s the best. Hayes Carll’s really good. John Prine’s awesome. As a writer and a fan, I like to hear a little bit of background (between songs). When I was putting this live record together, I got really conscious about it, because I think I talk too much between songs. I know I talk too much!
It does tie the show together well, though.
If you can make them laugh and then play the saddest (expletive) song in the world, you really give that range of emotion. Hopefully they come away satisfied with how they spent their evening.
The story behind ….
Graham Weber tells the story behind ‘License Plate Eyes,’ from his new album ‘The Cactus Sessions: Live and Unreleased ’08-’09’
“Matt the Electrician told me about this thing that Bob Schneider started. It was an e-mail ring where someone would send out a phrase, and then everyone would write a song with that phrase somewhere in the song. I think it was a writing exercise for these guys. I never ended up getting into their ring, but Matt told me one night and I tried to do it.
“I came up with this scenario of this woman who coasted through life resting on the laurels of her jaw, you know. I grew up in the suburbs, where you can peg a trophy wife, a gold-digging chick who’s followed the path described in that song. I was sitting on my back porch when I was writing it, and I got a little perverted streak in me, I guess. I came up with (some lines) and thought, ‘Nobody’s ever used that line before!’ Probably for good reason!
“The other thing about that song is that I’d never put it on a studio record. It’s pretty goofy, and it’s pretty foul. I mean, when I give this new album to my one remaining grandparent in Indiana, I’m definitely not putting that song on there.”
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Black Joe Lewis goes to the land down under
Hard-living, hard-playing Austin soul star Black Joe Lewis has plenty in common with obvious inspiration James Brown — the boisterous horn section, the sexual swagger, the on-stage self-confidence and, perhaps most importantly, the famously tireless work ethic.
The garage soul man has played a staggering number of dates alongside backing band the Honeybears in 2009 and doesn’t look to be slacking off any next year. The band just announced a spring 2010 tour that includes four Australian dates before a succession of February and March shows throughout North America — including a March 27 appearance at Emo’s.
The octet’s next local gig is headlining New Year’s Eve at Stubb’s.
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Mockery of Washington Post’s Public Enemy flub continues on Twitter
This correction, which appeared Dec. 3 in the Washington Post, spread around the internet like the proverbial wildfire last week.
Let’s reprint it here: “A Nov. 26 article in the District edition of Local Living incorrectly said a Public Enemy song declared 9/11 a joke. The song refers to 911, the emergency phone number.”
Ouch.
Over the weekend, #washingtonpostcorrections debuted as a hashtag on Twitter. Yep, it’s a meme now.
OUCH.
A few selected entires:
“George Clinton has assured us his roof remains intact, and he takes fire safety quite seriously.”
“The gas face is not a symptom of anthrax poisoning.”
“Eye witnesses place Sir Mix A Lot’s Posse at the corner of Rucker and 41st Street NOT on Broadway as reported”
“Manuel Noriega doesn’t actually owe Rick Ross any favors.”
“It is not all about benjamin harrison (sic), our 23rd president.”
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Interview: 311 (playing Austin Music Hall Tuesday night)
Tim Mahoney is always and forever conscious of his fans.
Speaking by phone from Dallas on Saturday afternoon, the guitarist for the multiplatinum alternative rock band 311 is prepping to make the kickoff for the University of Texas and University of Nebraska-Lincoln game alongside band mates Chad Sexton and S.A. Martinez.
But he’s quick to qualify the Omaha, Neb.-born band’s love for the Cornhuskers the moment he twigs to the fact that he’s speaking to an Austin paper.
“Oh man, we’ve made friends with Major Applewhite. Other than when we play Texas I’m always a big fan of Texas teams,” offers Mahoney. “I’m a huge Pantera fan and they come from Texas. Outside of Nebraska I do like Texas a lot!”
That gesture seems less about calculation and more about inclusiveness — few bands that sell their numbers have a more intimate relationship with their fan base than 311. The last thing Mahoney wants to do is alienate any of the fans he’ll be playing for at Tuesday’s show at the Austin Music Hall.
Now Los Angeles-based, the quintet, long famous for incorporating scattered bits of rap, ska and reggae into their radio-friendly waves of guitar, post the set list to every show online and have participated in video chats with their fans. They even host an annual event, 311 Day — held, naturally, on March 11 — where thousands of fans journey from around the world to see the band play a concert that lasts upwards of five hours and 60 songs. As you might predict, lasers are involved. For the band, says Mahoney, that level of fan interaction is one part mutual love fest and one part job security.
“The fact that we can still make records and go out and play live and have an interaction like that is because of the fans. Because every night even if some of the songs are the same it’s still just a moment that only exists right there and then. And to have that energy and shared moment of a celebration with a like-minded group of people is a pretty amazing thing,” says Mahoney. “And basically, especially nowadays, the hardcore fans of a band support them. We never take that for granted.”
Nearly two decades ago, when 311 was just emerging from the musical primordial ooze of the barely extant Omaha scene, that wasn’t the case. Playing to crowds of thousands was a pipe dream for Mahoney when he joined the still-young band in 1991, replacing original guitarist Jim Watson.
The band self-released three albums before packing its bags and moving to Los Angeles. They toured relentlessly, contending with an apathetic mainstream press and an RV fire that destroyed their gear. At one point they moved all their belongings into storage and simply lived on the road, reasoning that most of their time was spent on tour anyway.
When the band did find success, it was substantial — 1995’s self-titled album, often called the “Blue Album,” eventually went triple-platinum, with single “Down” reaching No.1 on the Billboard modern rock chart. A series of commercially successful albums followed, and the band refused to slack off on touring, playing a series of amphitheater dates every summer.
With a dozen studio albums under their belt, the band has an extensive back catalogue to mine for live shows, an effort Mahoney says they make every time, even if the sound has changed a bit.
“We try to tailor the set more to songs that we haven’t played in a long time that probably are more challenging to play live. And maybe things die-hard fans would love,” says Mahoney. “When I look back I wouldn’t want to change how any of those records sound, but we definitely talk about how it would sound if we recorded the older material now. Because you hopefully, as a band, grow over time. And it sounds different now because we were more like crusty young punks with a lot of energy then. You hope you don’t lose that as you get older but it’s an inevitably that you evolve.”
Evolution was a key theme on their most recent release, this year’s optimistically titled and lyrically positive “Uplifter.” Seeking a change after four years without an album release — by far the biggest break in the prolific band’s career — they sought out producer Bob Rock. With a name like that, it’s no surprise that Rock’s resume includes a who’s who of renowned acts: Metallica, Motley Crue, the Offspring, Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, among others.
“He’s just a solid guy. I remember the first thing he said to me was ‘For me, it’s just about doing the work. There’s no Bob Rock sound. I just want to help you guys make a great album,’” says Mahoney. “So just his taste in everything was smart, really, because he’s been doing it so long, everything from rock to Michael BublĂ©.”
Nearly two decades into his tenure with the band, Mahoney seems as enthused about 311’s prospects as ever. Maybe that’s because the band has the money to give each other the kind of space that makes touring comfortable — they split two buses, with Mahoney traveling with drummer Chad Sexton and his bulldog, Zoe. That can’t hurt a touring band’s morale. Just as importantly, though, they’ve managed to keep a healthy respect — for each other, for their music and for their fans.
“We’re friends, and I think we all respect each other and respect each other’s songwriting. And having to all travel together in our RV early on, and having to share a house, we got on it pretty quick in terms of knowing how to coexist and respect each other’s space,” Mahoney says. “And I think everyone enjoys what they do. We’re about ready to turn 20 now and it’s amazing. We’re real fortunate to get to still be playing music.”
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Jarosz lands track on ‘Brothers & Sisters”
Fresh from her Grammy nomination for best country instrumental, Wimberley teen Sarah Jarosz will have her song “Long Journey” played during the episode of ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters” which airs tomorrow (Sunday) at 9 p.m..
A freshman at the New England Conservatory, Jarosz returns home Dec. 13 and 14 to open for the Dave Rawlings Machine/w Gillian Welch at The Parish.
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Live review: KISS at the Erwin Center
Gene Simmons prowled the giant stage, scanning the front rows for female fans to harass and thrill. Fingers fondling his bass, Simmons made hard eye contact with his victims, then subjected them to slow, grinding pelvis gyrations — his metallic cod-piece glittering in the lights — and that interminable, wet, wagging tongue. The women gasped and giggled. Simmons, a self-aware pro, laughed back.
This was high comedy during KISS’ spectacularly silly and moderately fun rock extravaganza Friday night at a crowded Erwin Center, a cavernous venue that could barely contain the show’s endless eruptions of theatrical bombast and pyro porn that finally, during the orgiastic three-song encore, struck a comical level of hedonistic overkill. (Fire! Fire! Fire!)
KISS is lowbrow performance art — children, like so many in the audience, devour this stuff — accompanied by a tinny but extremely loud soundtrack of mindless rock ditties. For 35 years, their concerts have been a savvy blend of bluster and balderdash, with a cloying infusion of Jerry Bruckheimer. (If they began today, KISS would be a CGI creation.)
They do it well, and the four band members worked hard Friday to keep the audience involved with flattering between-song banter, constant eye-contact, call-and-response games and by anointing the masses with flurries of guitar picks. Simmons, Paul Stanley and relative newcomers Eric Singer on drums and Tommy Thayer on guitar (who does a fine imperson-Ace-tion) never took the crowd for granted, constantly checking in, begging our approval and throwing it right back, like an enormous, flame-strewn self-esteem seminar.
They opened with old-timers “Deuce” and “Strutter” — not the most muscular songs out of the gate — with Stanley promising a night of “classic vintage KISS.” For more than two hours, the band stomped through, and sometimes tiresomely dragged out, a hit-list of songs about sex, partying, sex, drinking, rocking and sex. At least two songs, “Modern Day Delilah” and “Say Yeah,” from their new album “Sonic Boom” (“Get your butts down to Wal-Mart and get yourself a copy!” Stanley hollered) were beer-break tunes, but the crowd thrilled and sang along to “Hotter Than Hell,” “Cold Gin” and “Black Diamond.”
The show hit its stride with faster, hookier songs (“Calling Dr. Love,” “Parasite”) and foot-stomping anthems (“Rock and Roll All Nite”) that matched the volcanic production values. Amid a backdrop of JumboTrons, sirens, rising platforms, confetti and flaming mushroom clouds, Simmons spewed blood and fire, Thayer shot rockets from his guitar and Stanley wiggled his rear-end at fans before smashing his guitar. Singer’s drum platform spun around.
It’s no secret that Simmons, lascivious demon-beast, with that long-legged skulk and spiked armor, is the show’s cynosure. In a literal high moment, he was lifted by cables to the rafters, where he mounted a platform and gazed down upon his worshipful kingdom. There he bellowed 1982’s “I Love it Loud,” his lips and chin stained with fake blood. The song ended and the lights went out. It was only in the safety of the dark that the winged batman could do something so ordinary and un-KISS-like as what came next: He descended back to earth.
Set list: “Deuce,” “Strutter,” “Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Hotter Than Hell” (Gene Simmons breathes fire off a sword), “Shock Me” (with Tommy Thayer on lead vocals), “Calling Dr. Love,” “Modern Day Delilah,” “Cold Gin” (Thayer guitar solo, with rocket-firing guitar), “Parasite,” “Say Yeah,” “100,000 Years” (routine Eric Singer drum solo, one long cluster bomb of quadruplets), Gene Simmons bass solo (with blood spitting), “I Love it Loud,” “Black Diamond” (with Singer on lead vocals), “Rock and Roll All Nite” (with stadium-clogging confetti storms).
Encores: “Lick it Up,” “Love Gun” (Paul Stanley flies over audience), “Detroit Rock City” (Paul smashes guitar). More fire.
Click here to view more photos from the concert.
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Wynonna Judd schools local students
To her credit, 45-year-old Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum country artist Wynonna Judd realizes that her primary audience is probably not high school-age.
“Do you guys even know who I am?” asked Judd good-humoredly Friday afternoon at the Paramount Theatre before a crowd of around 20 high school and college students.
After receiving a series of claps, hoots and hollers answering in the affirmative, Judd belted out a throaty, rock-inspired take on “Let’s Make A Baby King,” off 1993’s “Tell Me Why.” Lit by an elaborate holiday display, she had taken to the stage to sound check for tonight’s stop on her third annual Christmas tour. Students from Bowie, Austin High and other area schools watched the sound check before participating in a question and answer session with Judd as part of an interactive program hosted by the Grammy Foundation and the Recording Academy Texas Chapter.
The half-hour affair was an informal one, as Judd texted from the stage while running through a performance of Foreigner power ballad “I Want To Know What Love Is” (covered on her 2003 album “What the World Needs Now Is Love”) before sitting down in the rows of the Paramount to field questions.
The Recording Academy started the Grammy Soundchecks, which have included performers ranging from Kanye West to No Doubt to the Dave Matthews Band. The Texas chapter, which also covers Mexico, Oklahoma and New Mexico, hosts about seven or eight a year, said executive director Theresa Jenkins. The most recent in Austin was Colbie Caillat at Stubb’s Oct. 22. The Texas chapter is currently discussing the possibility of a similar program with Phoenix when the French pop band swings through town Dec. 17.
“It’s been really great because we don’t have to go to them. They usually come to us, as was the case for Wynonna,” said Jenkins. “Whenever there’s a tour coming up we’ll get an e-mail saying ‘This band is coming to these cities, do you want to do something?’”
Judd fielded about 10 questions from students, returning frequently to the themes of work ethic, passion and the virtues of not getting in over one’s head. Judd also noted that a reunion tour with her mother and former musical partner Namoi was likely in 2010, and said she had turned down the opportunity to appear on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Among Judd’s advice:
—“Pick something you love so much you’d be willing to do it for free.”
—“Seek counsel. Get yourself a good lawyer and save some money. I lost my fortune. Twice.”
— On maintaining her voice: “I don’t go out a lot. No dairy. Not a lot of fried foods. A lot of rock stars party too hard and smoke and shred their voice.”
— On spending a summer in Austin during her youth: “It was a very formative place to be. I hung out and watched Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan practice, before I knew just how cool that was.”
All in all, not a bad way to spend an afternoon, said 18-year-old Austin High senior Cory Vasquez, who found out about the program through his guitar class.
“She has a really good voice. I was surprised. I thought it was going to be a little more country, since the country is what I’ve heard,” said Vasquez. “I liked that she was real with everybody and she didn’t try to hide anything.”
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Video: Okkervil River’s Will Sheff covers Fleetwood Mac
Sheff and Beth Wawerna joined in a tribute to Fleetwood Mac last night at the Bell House in Brooklyn, offering up a pretty raw performance of “The Chain.” Video is below (via BrooklynVegan):
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Bill Callahan returns to Austin
Okay, so the lo-fi folk singer-songwriter — who has also performed and recorded under the moniker Smog — actually lives here, but he’s not the sort of musician who schedules regular hometown gigs.
He’ll be performing Dec. 20 with Lights at St. David’s Episcopal Church. Tickets, $12, are available from Transmission Entertainment.
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Billy Joe Shaver, Slaid Cleaves and Joe Ely team up for February show
Outlaw country pioneer Billy Joe Shaver, honky-tonk legend Joe Ely and Americana singer-songwriter Slaid Cleaves will be performing at the Paramount Theatre Feb. 12, according to Shaver’s publicist.
The show hasn’t yet been added to the Paramount’s Web site, but tickets should go on sale there soon.
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Aesop Rock show postponed
Snow anxiety 2009 strikes again.
Renowned underground hip hop artist Aesop Rock has postponed his Friday night show at the Mohawk due to concerns over the weather, according to an e-mail from Transmission Entertainment’s Graham Williams.
Fortunately, tickets will be held and honored for a new date, likely in January, to be announced sometime in the next week. And locals Starving Martyrs and Glitterbillies will play a free show at the inside stage that evening.
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SXSW announces fresh round of music panels
Amidst the haze of bands and beer that is the South by Southwest Music Festival, the panels often get overlooked. Maybe that’s why the festival took the unique approach of crowdsourcing its 2010 panels, allowing the community to vote on the various proposals online.
Today the fruits of that labor were announced as the festival released a batch of 40 panels selected through the new process. The results are intriguing — the panels address everything from digital distribution to the resurgence of vinyl to spirituality on the road. If you can tear yourself away from the substantially less orderly world of day parties and nightly showcases, there should be some interesting discussions.
Surf on over to SXSW’s Web site for the full list, or check it out after the jump.
1,000 Digital Tools & Strategies: Which 3 Work?, Michael Feferman, C3 Presents
A&R and the Indie Label, Stephen Brower, Vanguard Records
Budgeted Tour Planning: Free and “Must Have” Resources, Jordan Glazier, Eventful Inc
Creating a Music Town, Jared Bailey, AthFest
Creative Capitol: Music, Culture and Policy under Obama, Michael Bracy, Future of Music Coalition
The Cultural Significance of Direct-to-Fan Marketing, Ian Rogers, Topspin
DIY or Sign with a Label, Richard Bengloff, A2IM
Does Rock and Roll Belong in a Museum?, Jim Henke, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Effecting Social Change via Music and Technology, Andy Bernstein, HeadCount Inc
Ethics in the Music Business, Nancy Fly, Nancy Fly Agency
Evolution of Concert Bookings and Programming, Jeff Chabon, Spurs Sports & Entertainment/AT&T Center
The Future of Music PR, Andy Adelewitz, Paradigm
The Future of Online Music Videos, Nick Stahl, Brightcove
Get Your Music Licensed in a Commercial, Sarah Gavigan, Hanka & SG Consulting
Global Music Marketing: How to Reach Fans Worldwide, Adam Rabinovitz, IODA
The History of Music Recommendations, Michael Papish, MediaUnbound
How to Make Money with Vinyl, Jay Millar, United Record Pressing
How to Take Your Music to Market, Erik Gilbert, IODA
How Will We Listen to Music in 2020?, Jonas Woost, heute:pop:blog
It’s So Big! Packaging Design from CDs to Vinyl to Merchandise, Susan Tanner, Righteous Babe Records
Jumping into the Kiddie Pool: Diving for Dollars, Tor Hyams, Kidzapalooza
The Library of Congress: Music for Generations, Butch Lazorchak, The Library of Congress
Making Something Outta Nothing, Howard Wuelfing, Howlin’ Wuelf Media Inc
Marketing 21st Century African Music, Ngozi Odita, Society HAE
Music in the Cloud, Geoff Ralston, Lala.com
Online Marketing Platforms of the Now and the Future, Lou Plaia, ReverbNation.com
Paper Cuts in the Plastic Age, Frank Mauceri, Smog Veil Records
Record Club, Danny Benair, Natural Energy Lab
Recording Industry vs. People, Ray Beckerman, Ray Beckerman PC
A Social Media Case Study of L.A.’s Sunset Strip, Kyra Reed, MarKyr Media
Socialize Your Network: Tech Tips That Rock, Brad King, Ball State University
Spirituality for Nomads, Merrill Wade, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
Sustainable Ad-Funded Music Is Not a Pipe Dream, Clive Gardiner, We7
Synch or Swim: Keeping Your Head Above Water, Steven Scharf, Steven Scharf Entertainment/Carlin America
Tax Tips for Musicans and Songwriters, Shane Cook
This Note’s For You, Mike Boris, McCann Erickson
Three Strikes You’re Out: The ISP Debate, Steven Masur, MasurLaw
Too Much Information! Does Interacting Kill Rockstar Mystique?, Ian Heath, SONY BMG Music Canada
Women Write Women’s Experiences in Music, Holly George-Warren, Jackalope Press
Working The Press: Intellectual Intercourse & Interviews, Ali MacLean, Ali on the Air
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Shakeup at Sengelmann: Dean moves to Swiss Alp Dance Hall
This week on “Dancehall Dramas:” The newly restored Sengelmann Hall, which enjoyed a million dollar facelift in Schulenburg, is now under new management. Dana Harper remains the owner, but veteran booker Steve Dean is out as talent buyer
But beginning Jan. 1, Dean will be taking over at Swiss Alp Dance Hall, just eight miles up the road from Schulenburg on Hwy 77. “The owner has to go to Ireland on business for an extended period of time, so when he heard I wasn’t at Sengelmann anymore he asked me if I wanted to rent Swiss Alp,” says Dean, a music historian. “Swiss Alp was where all the rock acts like Roy Head and B.J. Thomas and the Triumphs used to play.”
Dean says he’ll stick more to country music that the locals prefer, with occasional blues and rock acts at the 700-capacity hall, built by German immigrants in 1900.
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Raul Malo’s constant momentum
The 45-year-old Americana master and Roy Orbison-styled crooner Raul Malo once ascended to the loftiest heights of commercial success, as leader of the Grammy Award-winning and platinum-selling alternative country outfit the Mavericks. He’s equally used to the sting of a record that flopped - his albums since striking out solo with 2001’s “Today” have performed inconsistently.
To hear Malo tell it, he’s stopped caring about such things.
“I’m used to both. I’m used to having hit records and not having hit records,” Malo said this week. “I can survive any way. To me you just kind of have to keep on swimming. I’m like a shark. If I stop swimming, I sink.”
Malo’s constant momentum is more a help than a hindrance. Always one to chafe under stylistic expectations - he was born in Miami to Cuban parents and consequently is versed in a wide array of styles and influences - he’s taken advantage of that restlessness across his expansive albums. He’ll play selections from throughout his career Friday night at Antone’s, performing a solo acoustic set to benefit the Christmas Bureau of Austin.
Much of the set will be drawn from 2009 album “Lucky One,” his broadest effort yet. It’s a carefully guided journey through zoot-suit anthems, romantic ballads, moments of Latin soul and excursions into honky tonk. It’s an adventurous album that fears only thing: categorization.
“That’s part of the freedom that I have now and that I enjoy. I don’t have to be worried about the needs of a musical genre in particular,” Malo said. “Once you’re successful in one genre, it’s like they just want you to keep doing that over and over again. But to me, it’s just music. Music shouldn’t be in one genre.”
But then, “Lucky One” might touch on so many bases precisely because it’s the musical equivalent of the burst of water generated by untying a knotted garden hose. It’s Malo’s first solo album of original material in seven years, after a series of cover albums and a Christmas album.
“Man, that really just happened. It was just a strange set of circumstances,” Malo said. “One thing after another happened and it just kind of snowballed into me doing three covers records in a span of not that much time.”
That long sojourn into playing the material of others did leave him with a healthy backlog of songs that made for a speedy writing and recording process. He also had time to get comfortable with the new material in the comfort of his own home studio, which led to three of his original demo tracks showing up on the finished product.
That same crafted-at-home approach will be apparent on his next two albums: another solo record and an album of Spanish songs, which Malo expects to release next year.
Some songs from his upcoming projects might make an appearance tonight, but take heart - Malo doesn’t intend to neglect more seasonal tunes.
“I will play some Christmas stuff, definitely,” said Malo. “But it won’t be the full-on Andy Williams kind of holiday show that we did last year.”
An Intimate Evening with Raul Malo takes place at 7 p.m. Friday at Antone’s, 213 W. Fifth St. $25
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Townes’ unseen poems set to music
What Billy Bragg and Wilco did for Woody Guthrie, writing melodies to go with lyrics left behind for their “Mermaid Avenue” albums, David Broza has done with unpublished poems by the late, great Townes Van Zandt.
The 12-track CD “Night Dawn,” which was produced by Broza and G.E. Smith comes out February 23 on S-Curve Records.
After Van Zandt died on New Year’s Day 1997, Broza was bequeathed a shoebox full of Van Zandt poems. Strangely, the two performed together only once, in 1994 at a “Writers in the Round” show in Houston. They did not remain in touch afterwards. Israeli balladeer Broza had to wonder, ‘Why me?’
So did Van Zandt’s widow Jeanene, who asked Broza to not take the poems, but to let her present them to Townes’ fans like Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Lyle Lovett and others. Broza honored that request, but eight years later and nothing happening with Jeanene’s project, asked for them back. Thus started a four year process of writing music for 10 of the poems. One song on the album is a Broza instrumental tribute to Townes called “Too Old To Die Young,” while the other is a cover of a demo of the last song Van Zandt wrote.
“I only hope I’ve done those lyrics justice,” Broza told Billboard, “turning that poetry into song as Townes would have liked.”
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Weekend picks: Abstract hip-hop, hard-rocking locals and fiercely personal folk
Aesop Rock at the Mohawk. Ian Matthias Bavitz, better known as Aesop Rock, was at the forefront of the alternative and underground hip-hop acts that emerged in the late ’90s and early part of this decade. His lyrics might be abstract — and wholly subjective — but they’re fired off with extraordinary passion, making him one of hip-hop’s most striking live performers. With Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz. $20. 9 p.m. 912 Red River St. mohawkaustin.com.
Also recommended:
- KISS at the Erwin Center
- Hug at Headhunters
- Patricia Vonne at the Continental Club
- Raul Malo at Antone’s
- Matt the Electrician at the Ghost Room
SATURDAY
Vic Chesnutt Band at Central Presbyterian Church. Folk rock singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt gets around. With 17 albums in 19 years and a lengthy stint with Widespread Panic under his belt, he’s a tireless and prolific artist. His fiercely personal 2009 album “At the Cut” features an all-star lineup of players, including members of Fugazi and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who will be joining him on-stage Saturday evening. $15. 8 p.m. 200 E. Eighth St. transmission.frontgatetickets.com. (Interview)
Also recommended:
- KGSR 19th Anniversary with the Gourds
- Bob Schneider and Roseanne Cash at the Texas Union Ballroom
- Erin Ivey at the Independent
- Mother Hips at Emo’s
- Vallejo at Antone’s
- Flametrick Subs at Beerland
SUNDAY
ARC of the Capital Area benefit with Soulhat at Antone’s. If you ever drove a car at 5 p.m. through the Austin area between 1994 and 2005, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve heard Soulhat. 93.7 KLBJ’s Johnny Walker used to spin the group’s “Bonecrusher” every Friday, unofficially kicking off the weekend. Years later they’re still one of Austin’s most hard-rocking bands, even if they play only occasionally. Sunday they’ll be anchoring an astonishing 12-hour benefit that runs until midnight. With Lil Cap’n Travis and Topaz and Mudphonic. Noon. 213 W. Fifth St. antones.net.
Also recommended:
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Austin’s Conspirare nets fifth Grammy nomination
Austin-based professional choral ensemble Conspirare has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album for its CD ‘Company of Voices: Conspirare in Concert’ on the Harmonia Mundi label.
Led by ensemble founder Craig Hella Johnson “Company of Voices: Conspirare in Concert” was recorded live at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in October 2008 in cooperation with KLRU.
Last year, Conspirare received two Grammy Award nominations for its CD “Threshold of Night,” including Best Classical Album. Conspirare also received two nominations in 2006.
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Armchair quarterbacking the 2010 Grammy nominations broadcast
Among the many, many insults lobbed at the Grammy Awards over the years, few have been as winningly on-point as those articulated by that great bastion of American cultural criticism, “The Simpsons.” In the classic Beatles-parodying episode “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet,” a dispirited Homer Simpson hands his recently won award to the show’s ubiquitous pimply faced teenager, who throws it to the ground after realizing it’s a Grammy.
That episode aired in 1993. 16 years later the criticism of the Grammy Awards as irrelevant and out-of-touch has only grown more trenchant. That much was readily apparent tonight, as for the second year the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences sought to increase the awards’ profile by releasing the nominations for the major categories in a broadcast concert.
It’s hard not to see this as backfiring. Although there were plenty of deserving locals nominated, and the minor categories remain full of promising and exceptional nominees, the bread and butter of any awards show — the major categories — are as baffling as ever.
And those are, of course, the centerpiece of the nominations concert, which thus serves less to get fans excited and more to clarify just where the Grammy Awards have gone awry. There’s generally two varieties of nominees in the major categories: popular but frequently insufferable artists, and old veterans whose best work is long behind them and seem like little more than a token acknowledgment of the past.
The broadcast — capably if cornily emceed, and little more, by LL Cool J — was heavy on the former. The continuing ascendancy of the Black Eyed Peas is difficult to justify, with prominent placement in the broadcast and a mind-boggling six nominations. Or take the debut of Nick Jonas and the Administration, with a hopelessly hokey original that, with its rear projection images of Jonas looking gloomily in any direction except into the camera, might have been the cheesiest moment in an evening full of them. Even the high points — Sugarland’s refreshingly straightforward performance of “Coming Home” and Maxwell’s cover of Michael Jacksons “The Lady In My Life,” one of what will likely be many Grammy nods to the King of Pop — failed to leave any real lasting impression.
Equally bizarre as the focus on young acts of questionable talent is the Grammy Awards’ continuing obsession with nominating acts well past their prime. Although Darryl Hall and John Oates’ nominated performance of “Sara Smile” is great, the song itself is over three decades old. Similarly, does anybody really believe Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood’s “Live From Madison Square Garden” is one of the years’ best rock albums? Or that Green Day deserves a nod in the same category?
Pair that with the confusing reasoning behind the best new artist category — a nomination that may come as a surprise to the Zac Brown Band, who have been together nine years — and it’s easy to see the Grammy Awards as hopelessly out of touch when they’re not pandering to music’s biggest and most obvious artists.
The ball, of course, hasn’t totally been dropped. Plenty of the Grammy Awards’ big names — Beyonce and Taylor Swift come immediately to mind — are certifiable pop darlings and deserve the recognition. 2008 and 2009 have been massive years for the Kings of Leon and MGMT and it’s nice to see them garner so many nominations. But within the major categories, the Grammy Awards are caught between a rock and a hard place, spending much of their time on the dregs of pop music and another solid chunk on veteran artists that are coasting by largely on name recognition. By broadcasting the nominations in the major categories the academy seems to be making a special effort to highlight its own faults.
In one of the evening’s funnier moments, presenter Smokey Robinson advised Taylor Swift with an amusing “Don’t worry, Taylor. Kanye West is not here.”
Which may be too bad. Lacking both the critical cachet that comes from a more well-thought-out pool of nominees and the antics that have attracted popular attention to the American Music Awards and the MTV Video Awards this year, a little spectacle probably wouldn’t have hurt matters.
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Jarosz, Foster, Willie, Colvin get Grammy nods
Eighteen-year-old Wimberley High grad Sarah Jarosz and Austin folk/soul singer Ruthie Foster were among the local acts to receive Grammy nominations Wednesday night, in the categories of Best Country Instrumental and Contemporary Blues, respectively. Willie Nelson, nominated three times, and Asleep at the Wheel received a nod for Best Americana Album for “Willie and the Wheel.”
Grammy darling Shawn Colvin was nominated in the Best Contemporary Folk category for her “Live” album, while Patty Griffin and Dierks Bentley are up for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.
Austin-based author Douglas Brinkley received a nomination, with Johnny Depp, for Best Album Notes for “Gonzo: the Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.”
Beyonce, with 10, and Taylor Swift with eight, received the most nominations.
Go here for a list of noms in all 109 categories. The Grammys will be awarded Jan. 31 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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Blue October to get played on ‘NCIS’
San Marcos-based Blue October has licensed their song “Kangaroo Cry” to the hit show “NCIS,” which will air the tune at the end of the Dec. 15 episode.
“This is also no ordinary song use,” says the band’s manager Paul Nugent. The song actually ties in with the story line and will be used for a full three minutes during the final scene.
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Dylan does Brave Combo
Brave Combo’s version of ‘Must Be Santa’
Dylan’s version
Bob Dylan has acknowleged that his new Christmas single “Must Be Santa” uses an arrangement of the song- including added lyrics- cribbed from Denton polka band Brave Combo. Dylan has played the song by B.C. on his XM radio show.
“I’ve already got my Christmas present,” says Carl Finch of Brave Combo, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. “Just to have our music in the head of Bob Dylan blows my mind.” Finch puts the Dylan cover up with Brave Combo’s appearance on “The Simpsons” a few years back as alltime great moments.
Curiously, the Dylan version contains lyrics added by the band after their recording of “Must Be Santa” came out on Rounder in 1991. Percussionist Jeff Barnes added this, “Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen/ Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon/ Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen/ Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton” after Clinton was elected in ‘92.
Brave Combo, which didn’t write the rest of the song (heard on an old Mitch Miller album) has a couple of Xmas shows in Austin coming up, Dec. 13 at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar and Dec. 18 at Jovita’s.
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Shearwater debut album details, new song “Castaways”
The indie music Internet world is abuzz today with details on “The Golden Archipelago,” the sixth album from Austin’s cinematic rock trio Shearwater and follow-up to the widely acclaimed “Rook.” We already knew the album was hitting Feb. 23, but courtesy of Matador Records’ blog, we now know we can also anticipate a “50-page perfect-bound book that is a set of extracts from a dossier of records, photos, regulations and images collected by Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg,” according to Matador.
The book will be included with the CD, as well as pre-orders of the vinyl, which are available now. Matador is also offering a free MP3 download of “Castaways,” the eighth track off the album, at their blog.
Shearwater will be hitting Europe in February but should announce a round of spring U.S. dates soon. A South By Southwest appearance is a serious possibility.
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Carrie Rodriguez: working hard for the money
The lovely and talented Carrie Rodriguez has moved back to Austin, but we won’t see her much around town starting mid-January when she opens a few dates for Edwin McCain, then starts a three-week “Acoustic Cafe Tour” with Ben Sollee and Erin McKeown.
After less than a week off, the fiddling singer-songwriter (on her own after several great years with Angelina Jolie’s uncle Chip Taylor) joins Los Lonely Boys’ “Acoustic Brotherhood Tour,” which also features Alejandro Escovedo. Expect lots of interplay between the two openers- Rodriguez toured with Escovedo this year as Susan Voelz’ replacement.
After SXSW, Rodriguez will hit the road again to promote her next studio album, which comes out April 13. No title yet that I can find.
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Armadillo Christmas Bazaar musical lineup
Betty Soo kicks off an impressive lineup that includes Band of Heathens, Eliza Gilkyson, the Gourds and a Dec. 20 tribute to Stephen Bruton.
The Armadillo Christmas Bazaar takes place at the Austin Convention Center (Enter on Trinity near 2nd Street). Admission is $3 weekdays before 7 p.m., $6 evenings & weekends. Kids under 12 free.
Here’s the full music schedule:
Friday, December 11
BettySoo - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Son Dos/Del Castillo - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Saturday, December 12
Ian McLagan & The Bump Band - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Toni Price - 3:30 to 6:00PM
Eliza Gilkyson - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Sunday, December 13
Austin Lounge Lizards - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Brave Combo - 3:30 to 6:00PM
Cienfuegos - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Monday, December 14
Kalu James - 12:00 to 2:30PM
W.C. Clark - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Tuesday, December 15
Kat Edmonson - 12:00 to 2:30PM
The Gourds - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Wednesday, December 16
porterdavis - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Ray Wylie Hubbard - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Thursday, December 17
Suzanna Choffel - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Marcia Ball & Pianorama - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Friday, December 18
Sahara Smith - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Hank & Shaidri Alrich with Doug Harman - 3:30 to 6:00PM
Jimmy LaFave - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Saturday, December 19
Band of Heathens - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Terri Hendrix - 3:30 to 6:00PM
Van Wilks - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Sunday, December 20
Rick Trevino - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Asleep at the Wheel Quartet - 3:30 to 6:00PM
An Evening with the Music of Stephen Bruton - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Monday, December 21
The Biscuit Brothers - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Blazing Bows - 3:00 to 3:30PM
Joe McDermott - 3:30 to 6:00PM
The Eggmen - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Tuesday, December 22
Dustin Welch - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Warren Hood - 3:30 to 6:00PM
Albert & Gage - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Wednesday, December 23
Shelley King - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Guy Forsyth - 3:30 to 6:00PM
Carolyn Wonderland - 8:00 to 11:00PM
Thursday, December 24
Slim Richey - 12:00 to 2:30PM
Greezy Wheels - 3:30 to 6:00PM
Texana Dames - 8:00PM
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Big Bill Lister 1923- 2009
Photo from www.bigbilllister.com
Dubbed “Radio’s Tallest Singing Cowboy,” Bill Lister of Brady was 6’ 7” at a time when that height was enough to keep you out of the military. But it couldn’t keep him out of Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys band. For the last 11 months of Williams’ life, Lister played rhythm guitar behind him. When he died Tuesday in San Antonio at age 86, he was the last of Hank’s Drifting Cowboys to go.
Read more about Big Bill’s life here.
In 1988, Lister’s wife Lila found an old demo of Hank and the Cowboys singing “There’s a Tear In My Beer,” a recording no one knew existed. He gave the demo to Hank Williams Jr., who turned it into a #1 duet with his daddy. Hank Jr. ended up giving Lister a piece of the royalties and a gold record for his walls.
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CD review: The Bravery - ‘Stir the Blood’
The Bravery
‘Stir the Blood’
(Island Records)
Grade: C
You could call “Stir the Blood” a study of contrasts.
On the one hand, frontman-songwriter Sam Endicott is angry. You can hear it in every jagged riff, every angsty yowl, even in the gore-evoking album title. And there are only so many ways to interpret a song called “Hate(expletive).” There’s a pretty good chance he wants to shower some physical violence on someone. Possibly you.
But we can assume he at least wants you to have some fun while he does it, because “Stir the Blood” is also a return to upbeat form for this New York post-punk new wave band after a disappointing second album “The Sun and the Moon.” It has an almost pathological need to be danceable in its instrumentation, with the speedy, steady beat on “Red Hands and White Knuckles” adding a rollicking, catchy pulse to a fundamentally violent, ugly tune. It’s that disconnect between the high-school pleading, for instance, of “I Am Your Skin” with its techno-influenced head-bopping time signature that keeps “Stir the Blood” somewhat lively. There’s something naturally fascinating about cognitive dissonance, and it doesn’t come much more dissonant than dancing to “Slow Poison,” with its focus on the bitter sting of heartbreak.
The Bravery never quite dodges the problem that’s dogged the band since its self-titled debut — namely, that “Stir the Blood” starts to sound awfully monotonous after 11 songs. And you’d have to be very young, very immature or very unfortunate to relate much to this level of focused brooding. But those who enjoyed the Bravery’s driven dance sound on the debut will be pleased by “Stir the Blood,” and it’s hard to condemn an album as too dark when it has the good sense to rock while doing it.
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CD review: R. Kelly - ‘Untitled’
R. Kelly
‘Untitled’
(Jive)
Grade: B
To paraphrase the great Texas philosopher Hank Hill, somewhere along the line we forgot to teach R. Kelly shame.
This is, of course, painfully obvious to anyone who has followed his unsavory legal problems. Artistically, on the other hand, it’s been helpful. Kelly’s go-to topic has always been sex — it’s what he writes about when he can’t be bothered to write about anything else — and a lack of shame is a pretty good thing to have if you spend your days thinking up new ways to talk about the world’s oldest activity.
Nothing on “Untitled” reaches the lunatic heights of “Trapped in the Closet” nor the complicated shadows of, say, “A Woman’s Threat.” “Untitled” is mostly sex jams, but often very funny ones.
Who else can sell “you have pretty teeth” as a pickup line, as he does during “Exit”? The single “Number One” compares sex to making a hit record (and possibly stripping a car — as guest vocalist Keri Hilson puts it, “You know you stay at the top spot/ When you’re breaking me down like a chop shop”). “Echo” is what he would like your screams to do (“I hope you’re ready, girl, to scream and moan/ like yodoley oley ohhoooo”).
“Religious” has him repenting and changing his thuggish ways (“There’s something religious about you (I wanna testify)/ there’s something church about you” - a.k.a. how to get with the choir director) yet “Bangin’ the Headboard” and “Go Low” should explain themselves. And when he tells you he wants to get you “Pregnant” (“Telling myself I’m a playa so I keep tryna shake it off/ But I keep on seeing this big old house with a picket fence and a dog”), you almost believe him.
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CD review: Adam Lambert - ‘For Your Entertainment’
Adam Lambert
‘For Your Entertainment’
(RCA)
Grade: C+
Amid all the controversy and rapt media attention showered on Adam Lambert — from initial questions surrounding his sexuality to his instantly game-changing air-sex antics during the American Music Awards — the “American Idol” runner-up has received surprisingly little attention for his ostensible selling point: his pipes.
Maybe that’s how Lambert managed to record one of the year’s most surprising albums even under intense scrutiny. “For Your Entertainment” is a disjointed but intriguing melding of rock, pop, electronica and dance — with the occasional hard left turn into schmaltz — that taken altogether is one of the most striking examples of pop-by-committee in recent years. Lambert’s at his best when he’s also at his most ostentatious, so “For Your Entertainment” really sings when he embraces his obvious gift for sweaty, sexy dance music. The title track is an electroclash-filled, sometimes-autotuned three minutes that takes to heart George Bernard Shaw’s old maxim about dancing as a vertical expression of horizontal desire. And “Fever” is the kind of track you know was co-written by Lady Gaga even before glancing at the liner notes, with its club thump and unapologetically sex-obssessed lyricism (“There he goes/My baby walks so slow/Sexual tic-tac-toe”). After tolerating the just-shy-of-risque-faux-lesbianism of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” in 2008, Lambert’s unhesitant embrace of both his sexuality and his energy is something of a relief.
He’s less successful when he slows down and pursues the obligatory ballads — “Aftermath” somehow manages to be simultaneously earnest and soulless. The string-laden “Time For Miracles,” which moviegoers might recognize as Lambert’s contribution to the “2012” soundtrack, crumbles like a CGI Los Angeles into an ocean of cliche.
But even in the album’s darkest, most Roland Emmerich-approved moments, there are surprises in store that suggest Lambert might have a good sense of how to shepherd a great pop album, from the thundering strings of “Soaked” to the spare horror movie piano that kicks off “Broken Open.” He might not be — despite what the surviving members of Queen have suggested — a replacement for Freddie Mercury, but as young dance house glam stars go, he’s got promise.
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Black Eyed Peas at SXSW?
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Let the rumors begin. Next year’s “surprise” superstar performer at SXSW just might be Black Eyed Peas, who have a date in Dallas March 19, the Saturday of South by, preceeded by open dates Wednesday through Friday. The E.N.D. World Tour’s itinerary, which kicks off Feb. 4 in Atlanta, was released Tuesday.
There’s absolutely nothing behind this but a hunch. But after Kanye West and Metallica played last year, SXSW is becoming more and more a marketing playground for the biggies.
The Dallas show is the only B.E.P. show scheduled for Texas.
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Live review: Jackson Browne at the Bass Concert Hall
Even before Jackson Browne took to the stage of the Bass Concert Hall Monday night, it probably wasn’t hard for audience members to deduce what kind show the folk rock legend had in store for them. An impressive display of 15 guitars sat side by side in a rack, ready and waiting to be sensitively strummed, with only one keyboard and a couple of stools for company. The expansive space was otherwise unoccupied, serving notice that the evening’s solo show would be intimate, lived-in and informal. Browne delivered on that promise with a low-key, amiable three-hour set that frequently felt less like a concert and more like a living room jam.
Taking advantage of the much-touted format of the night — which lacked a set list — Browne moved through a diverse sampling of material covering all four decades of his recording career. The show kicked off with a spare acoustic take on “Barricades of Heaven,” with Browne’s voice cracking with emotional delivery. Though his guitar work and frequent use of keys were solid, it was Browne’s voice, heartfelt and impassioned, that proved his greatest asset throughout the night, as on the impassioned crooning of political ballad “Lives in the Balance” or a striking take on “Never Stop.”
The lack of a set list also led to regular interjections and requests from what was almost certainly one of Austin’s neediest audiences, but Browne handled the constant shouts with aplomb, fielding requests for everything from “Doctor My Eyes” to “I’m the Cat” — and at times playfully declining, as on the introduction to “In The Shape of a Heart.”
Browne’s banter also evidenced his confidence at playing solo to a crowd of thousands, with occasional breaks in the performance to discuss his romantic life, his love of Austin and his much-touted political views. Most winning was an anecdote over a young journalist in ChilĂ© who grilled him on the monotony of his songs.
That journalist, of course, might have been on to something — three hours of Browne’s brand of folk singer-songwriter tunes can grow a bit wearying. There’s little to differentiate a song like “Something Fine” from “Far From the Arms of Hunger” when performed live. And his rote performance of major hit “Doctor My Eyes” evidenced all the signs of a man who’s grown tired of his signature song, with a limp and rapid delivery that suggested Browne merely wanted to get it out of the way.
But Browne’s enthusiasm for his material and technical proficiency were never in question, and even the dullest spots were inevitably livened up by delights like “Going Down to Cuba” or energetic takes on “Running On Empty” and “Take It Easy.”
“It’s always intimidating playing in Austin,” said Browne earlier in the set. “There’s such a high standard of musical accomplishment.”
But as he proved later on in the evening — with a moving performance of “For A Dancer,” dedicated to the departed Stephen Bruton — Browne needn’t have been nervous. Even playing unaccompanied — aside from a brief assist on a couple of closing songs — he had the chops to do the space, and the city, proud.
Setlist
Barricades of Heaven
These Days
Don’t Let Us Get Sick (Warren Zevon cover)
Never Stop
For A Dancer
Giving That Heaven Away
In the Shape of a Heart
Just Say Yeah
Rock Me On the Water
Doctor My Eyes
Intermission
For Everyman
Going Down to Cuba
Lives in the Balance
Far From the Arms of Hunger
Late for the Sky
Looking Into You
Running On Empty
The Pretender
Something Fine
I’m The Cat
My Stunning Mystery Companion
Alive in the World
Take It Easy
Our Lady of the Well
Encore:
Before the Deluge
