bigwesternflavor

Sat and Sun

2011-04-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

Said it would take two posts to take care of this week's good local shows, and here I am back for part two.

Saturday night: electro-tinged rock outfit Lean Hounds play at Cheer Up Charlies with Field Dress. The busy Megafauna are in action again at Hole in the Wall. Then Sunday instrumental metal titans Eagle Claw return from an East Coast tour with a show at Red 7.

Back with more shows next week.

Feels Like Summer

2011-04-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

The show calendar for this week is so crammed with good local options that it will take more than one post to get them all across. Tonight, there's grunge revivalists the Bridge Farmers at Beerland with Leatherbag and The Pons. That's a free show, as is the Trailer Space gig with the all-screaming, instrument-swapping Dikes of Holland and Teenage News.

Tomorrow night (Thursday) offers the 7" release show at Hole in the Wall for La Snacks, with The Gary and The Zoltars in support. Great variety for that show, which gives you the chance to catch up with three of our favorite Austin bands all at once. Sources say it's only three bucks to get in, as well. Shells and Mermaid Blond also play Thursday at Scoot Inn for another recommended show. Pick your poison.

Friday night minimalist noisemakers Hatchet Wound and Soft Healer are at Beerland; one-man looping dynamo Daniel Francis Doyle returns to Mohawk; the new-wavey big band Rich Restaino & The Obits play Carousel Lounge; and the dissonant-but-beautiful Cruddy play a house party with Women in Prison (check Showlist Austin for more info).

Springtime for Westy

2011-04-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

So it only took me five days of writing exercises to realize what I really wanted to do was cover local music again. For giving me a kick in the tail, let me thank Coma in Algiers, Cruddy, and Cowabunga Babez. I saw all of those bands last weekend and it made me realize again that local music can be a lot of fun if you approach it with the right attitude.

Here's some stuff from local bands for you to look at and/or listen to:

Megafauna have a show on Thursday at Emo's and they also have a new, improved web presence with videos and words of wisdom from bassist Will Krause. As I've written before, the female-fronted trio is like Led Zeppelin meets Björk and their busy show schedule has rendered them into one of the tightest and most entertaining rock acts in town. We last saw them at Cheer Up Charlie's during SXSW and their set was full of new songs and cool riffs.

The Mole People have a free cover of Lou Reed's "I Can't Stand It" up for download on Soundcloud. It's a slower, more sensuous take on the song with funk guitar and an amused lead vocal. They have a new record almost ready for release called No Time for Love. I ran into some Mole People Saturday at the Parlor and learned that they have an alternate identity. When not everybody can make a show, they play as the Mole Men instead. The whole band of people should be together for a release show soon. Meanwhile, you can see their sister band Bike Problems Wednesday at Beerland or Saturday at the Parlor.

I've been listening to the new EP by Rocketboys leader Brandon Kinder, who has gone solo under the name The Wealthy West. The five polished songs tug at the heartstrings in a manner that will be familiar to fans of Quiet Company, with a little bit of the Eastern Sea's indie-folk style. Down-home production details on "Not a Pretty Pair" give a slight Americana flavor, and "Another Bad Idea" manages some singer-songwriter immediacy. The Wealthy West play Wednesday evening at the Cactus Cafe.

Break Time?

2011-02-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

Having a music blog in Austin, even one that practically no one reads, isn't entirely worthless. I've made a lot of good friends in bands and I'm glad of it. But I dedicated all of my time to this project for a full year and the results were not pretty... no job and a trip to the mental hospital.

After my eventful January, I didn't want to give blogging up entirely. I figured I'd keep doing show picks just to have a reason for people to keep sending me CD's in the mail. After a few half-hearted weeks, I don't see much point in recommending shows any more. The listings are easy to find for anyone who cares. Hardworking bands get the message out, one way or another. Most importantly, writing is making me totally miserable and lonely and that was never the point. Since I was 11 or so I always figured I ought to write about music, since I was a better writer than anybody I knew and I loved music more than anything else. But that's not how it works... to succeed as a music writer nowadays I would have to dedicate myself to locating opinions about music that means nothing to me. So before I go completely off the deep end, I'm quitting while I still have these relative shreds left of my dignity.

I'll still pass on show announcements on Twitter and Facebook. But no more Big Western Flavor. The last time I considered stopping, I wrote that the blog had "served its function." I meant that I had learned all I could from it and I wasn't going to make myself any happier in persisting. I may have been right the first time. You can't make inroads into the entertainment business merely by smashing your head against the wall until it falls. That goes for bands as well as writers.

Special for Valentine's

2011-02-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight at The Grand on Airport Boulevard, A Giant Dog and the Flesh Lights play a Valentine's Day formal and it's free to get in. Pretty cool! Anna C. and I will be there. Oh, and a Valentine's treat for you and those you love today: New music from La Snacks! Let's see what we've got going the rest of the week.

WEDNESDAY If you enjoy your music loud and crusty, Eagle Claw and Bridge Farmers at Red 7 is an excellent pairing. The former is instrumental metal and the latter revivalist grunge but they're both really, really high-volume.

THURSDAY It's a record release show for The Sour Notes at Mohawk (more info and a stream here at Austin Sound), with Mother Falcon guesting on strings and For Hours and Ours in support. Meanwhile The Gary and Blue Kabuki hit Carousel Lounge. The Gary have a new record coming out real soon, too. It's called El Camino and I just got an advance... it's their first vinyl release and it was recorded by Steve Albini. The one and only.

FRIDAY The Zoltars, Dikes of Holland, and A Giant Dog play at... Emo's? Not Beerland? That can't be right. Also, We the Granada and Megafauna at Flamingo Cantina, with Sweetmeat. And new band The Magnificent Snails release their debut EP Baby Acid Trips at Club 1808. They have an indie rock-meets-worldbeat sound that's quite now; the EP is worth checking out.

SATURDAY I usually pick rock bands, so for a change of pace how about DJ Nick Nack and Bird Peterson at Beauty Bar? Been spinning Nick's Dearly Departed on and off since he handed me a download card at Fun Fun Fun Fest and it's cerebral, listening music... a contrast to the big beats he lays down as a club and hip-hop backing DJ. You can learn more about his world at the Crowd Control Records site.

In the Flesh

2011-02-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

It's a real slow week for shows. I hope you'll write in and tell me if I'm wrong, but other than the XTC hoot night Saturday at the Carousel Lounge, I don't see too much to recommend this week. As for that gig, featuring Baby Robots and Bee vs. Moth among others, I really hope somebody does "Earn Enough for Us." And "Snowman." And "Senses Working Overtime." And the whole Black Sea record. But I digress.

Since there's not a lot of shows this week to write about, I guess I'll spend a second talking about one from last week. That Girls Rock benefit ended up being a heck of a good show, cold weather notwithstanding. I enjoyed all five bands! Bottle Service impress me each time I see them... they have winning chemistry. Planets have morphed from a rickety indie rock band into a hard rock powerhouse in front of our very eyes. Cruddy are a new name to me but I admire the way their discordant songs stop and start on dimes. They have a weird inbred logic working that might not be pretty but is definitely rock and roll. Yellow Fever are a band I've seen before and not liked, but I'm coming around on them. Their singer has an amazing voice, and although I don't like all of their songs I do like their drummer's cleverness and the tricks they pull out to keep being a duo from becoming monotonous. I made my mind up about them before too quickly. That hardly makes them alone among Austin bands. It's a good thing we're making second chances a major theme in 2011.

How about the Flesh Lights, though? What a good example of how writing show previews based on recorded material is doomed to fail. The Flesh Lights' recorded output is really good -- two excellent singles, with the A-side of the green one, "Jaye," standing as the song best lodged in my head by repeated plays -- but it doesn't give you any idea what they're like live. They're a force, with a hurricane starting on the stage sweeping the front of the audience up into it and pretty much everybody front to back shaking like their lives depended on it by mid-set. Their records are good, but they're not wild and primal the way they sound as a live band. The guitar races ahead of the bass and drums and it doesn't really matter when it laps them, because everyone's giving as much as they can. Even late at night on a frosty night, the crowd is ready to move when the Flesh Lights will it. I'm not leaving early when they're late on a bill ever again.

UPDATE Missed some stuff on Saturday: My homeboys in World Racketeering Squad are at the Parlor, the tread-laying post-hardcore kids in Markov hit up Trailer Space, and STEREO IS A LIE bring their high-intensity melodies to Ghost Room. Plus Follow That Bird! and Dikes of Holland at Mohawk. No excuse if you end up staying in on Saturday night!

Enough January

2011-01-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

Ready for a new month? I am. February brings my birthday and Anna C.'s as well, plus beloved holidays such as Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, and Presidents' Day. It's a heck of a month. Start it off right with some local shows.

TUESDAY The Deerhoof afterparty at Mohawk is for serious: Sunset, Cartright, and Zorch will light it up inside after the headliners do their thing outside. I'm on the record as saying Zorch are my favorite band in Austin right now and this is your last chance to see them before the festival in March. Cartright are a band I am curious to learn more about. I saw them for the first time playing with Zorch on New Year's Eve. Zorch's full keyboard array wasn't working, so it was a bit of an experiment, but it still left me wanting to find out what the band Cartright sounded like in their own right. They also make really beautiful flyers.

WEDNESDAY One-man show Eagle Eye Williamson is at Club Deville. Haven't seen him live yet but I know from recordings that he does blues at its most primitive, one guy playing drums and guitar and howling. If you like unique performers, might be a good option. Anna recommends the punk band Teenage News who are at Beerland.

THURSDAY Just saw The Zoltars for the first time at a house party yesterday. I liked them. If you like the honesty and directness of the Moldy Peaches, this band might be for you. Loved the way their drummer kicked a tambourine with his foot instead of using a big loud bass drum. Kept the focus on the lyrics and melodies.

FRIDAY SuperLiteBike and Bali Yaaah are at Red 7. Haven't seen the latter yet, though their songs online have a certain hypnotic quality to them. Remains to be seen whether the effect their bass, guitar, and keyboards have through headphones translates to the stage. But SuperLiteBike are legit... one of my favorite modern rock-arena acts in Austin. The last time I saw them I was impressed by how their set flew by like clockwork, no pauses in between songs and changes sharply choreographed. They stand out from the norm here. The Girls Rock benefit at Beerland is worth a look too: Flesh Lights, Planets, and Bottle Service are appearing among others. We saw Planets last night and they were forceful. Wouldn't have expected that from the first few shows of theirs we went to. But Anna and I are all about ladies who love it loud and that's the spirit for this show.

SATURDAY Haven't seen them live yet but I really dig the Serious Tracers seven-inch. They're at Ruta Maya Saturday with a Huey Lewis tribute band. No, really. Yes, I know. That is awesome.

SUNDAY OBN III's and The Millipede at Beerland. I'm getting a lot more punk as I assimilate in Austin. Why? Because watching bands have a really fun time when they play shows is way preferable to watching them be miserable. The garage scene here is all about having a good time with your friends, I'm learning, and that's a really hard objective to be critical about.

Show Picks Now!

2011-01-24T09:44:00.000-08:00

I'm still dazed and confused from Free Week, when I worked myself so hard to write about every band that I had opinion on that I ended up in the hospital. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do a music blog that takes advantage of my close listening skills without discouraging every band I come across from ever playing again. It's tricky. Here's some shows you might go to this week, if you like local music.

MONDAY Ringo Deathstarr at Emo's. The trouble I have with "shoegaze" music is that the musicians often take the name literally. Just because some late-80's British bands thought it was cool to be completely motionless doesn't mean every current band influenced by that style has to stand still as well. The last time Anna and I saw Ringo they invited up some other local music friends to jam and then knock stuff over on their last song. It looked like they were having so much fun! That makes a big difference.

WEDNESDAY A late update! Atmospheric instrumental space rock band Landing Station play Headhunters. Should be a free show. I have the Landing Station CD and it's pretty compelling for minimalist music. I wonder how loud they are live.

THURSDAY I hear people say that Austin has no good punk bands. Not true! It's just that there are so many bad punk bands that finding the good ones involves a lot of legwork. Let me save you some time and recommend The Creationists and Bang Bang Theodores, who play together 1/27 at Scoot Inn. Good arrangements, strong vocals, and big melodies from bass and guitar separate these two bands from the pack.

FRIDAY I discovered Transmography because their Michael Frazier doubles as the drummer in La Snacks; the bands toured together last year. Transmography is another one of those video game music/indie rock hybrids that are so prevalent nowadays. I haven't seen them live yet, but I hope to check them out Friday. They're releasing the first in a series of color-coded EP's and are asking fans to come attired this weekend in bright yellow. The show is at Beerland. Anna C. says she is interested in this concert because Awesome Death is playing it. Their combination of punk rock and theremin is more than she can resist. Also, at Beauty Bar art rockers paperthreat are having a release party for their new single. Can't wait to find out more about that; they're one of my favorite new bands in Austin. I've been listening to John Vinyard quite a bit for the next Demo Sweat column. If you're into the minimal, lyric-driven Iron & Wine neo-folk style, perhaps go check him out Friday at the Central Presbyterian Church (200 East 8th).

SATURDAY I haven't seen Amplified Heat in a few months and I feel like it's time to go check them out again. The last I checked in with them they were finding an original voice by blending in hardcore punk with their Jimi Hendrix-Clapton-Zeppelin classic rock center. White Ghost Shivers are playing with them, and that's a band I've been recommended several times. I recommend World Racketeering Squad shows all the time because I'm a big nerd and those guys are proof positive that being a nerd is no handicap to rocking triumphantly. They've been talking up this band Conquistador Incorporated for weeks. I've only listened to Conquistador's CD a little bit so far, but they are intriguing... kind of a mixture of Ween-ish genre shifts and Tool-like heavy guitar. Some of the tracks on their Ballads CD are awkwardly political, but when they hit the mark they're something new and substantive. Going to try and see them really soon.

SUNDAY My friends Justin, formerly of Sissy Face, and Andrea, currently of Bubbleface, have joined forces to start some sort of face-related supergroup. (That would be a good band name, Facial Supergroup. I can see it on t-shirts even now). They will mix Justin's guitar pop background with Andrea's interest in pure experimental noise and you can see them for the first time 7 Sunday at Blue Velvet (vintage store at 2100 Guadalupe).

Easing Back In

2011-01-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

So I have been waiting for the universe, or at least some of my readers, to tell me what to do. I don't feel at all in the same critical space I was all last year, when I was angry and embittered towards most bands. My time with Anna C. in Austin has taught me that the whole point of making music is to have a good time with your friends, and part of me wants to delete every review I've ever written. A couple of days in a mental institution can fill you up with impulsive thoughts about dramatic gestures. But Austin does need good music writing, and bands do need to hear from time to time that they're not perfect. So I guess I can't quit the blog. And I guess I have to keep being honest about who I am, because otherwise how is anyone going to relate to my point of view?

Went to see Good Lazy System last night at the Parlor. There were some other shows this week I was more excited about going to. Literature and A Giant Dog were at Beerland on Wednesday and I really like both of those bands. Their seven-inch singles have been in regular rotation at our house. But I'm on some new medications, very strong ones, and I chose to sleep instead. Anna went and reports that those bands are still excellent, and she also liked the punk band Teenage News who were sharing the bill. Wanted to see Isle of White on Thursday since I quite like their songs and they were one of the first Austin bands I ever wrote about. But again I was out like a light by 9:30. So much for my rock and roll lifestyle. I guess I will have to work out how to stay up a little later.

I like Good Lazy System a bunch. I think they're on their way, and they were a lot tighter last night than the first time I saw them. They also chopped down a lot of the waiting between songs, which was their major hangup before. I listened more for their style than their individual parts this time, which is what I usually do when revisiting a new band. They have a good group sound and I particularly like the interplay between three different singers. They remind me of a Lookout! Records punk band, like Screeching Weasel or NOFX. Ben Gibbs contrasts Ariel Sauceda's more melodic singing with a rap-like bark. Guitarist Adam Antonacci sings a bit of lead too, and my favorite parts of Good Lazy System's songs have all three shouting together. I love multiple vocalists in bands of any type. I think drummer Aaron Bromberg should sing too, if he could hear himself through his heavy-duty ear protection.

My new strategy is to write about bands after talking to them, so I don't make any goofy mistakes. Some of the stuff I wrote during Free Week, when I was in a hurry and losing my sanity, presupposes that a writer can tell what a band's story is simply by listening to them and observing them from a distance. That's wrong. I always justified writing negative reviews based on the principle that you can learn something from every band, good or bad. I still think that's true, but I think for my part that if I'm going to learn anything and get better at whatever it is I do, I have to let bands tell me their stories themselves. Everybody is seeking something different out of their music.

So I'm going to keep telling you what I think, but I'm going to try and get the voices of as many Austin bands as I can represented on Big Western Flavor as well. It's what I need to do, personally and professionally. I bought a new phone and everything!

Show Picks 2020

2011-01-17T06:52:00.000-08:00

So I'm still not sure what the plan is for the blog in the new year. I got way too focused on being a know-it-all and sort of lost the plot the last few weeks. Now I'm seeing things from a different perspective. I could use some feedback from regular readers. I think I'm going to stick to doing show picks and maybe some interviews until I shake the nagging feeling that I've been devoting all my energies to ripping apart something I don't fully understand. Anyway, hopefully I'll see you out at some shows this week.

TUESDAY I haven't seen them live yet, but I really liked the hypnotic quality of Bali Yaaah's recordings. I hear some Clinic, some 60's psychedelia, and some Depeche-modern electronic coming from the three-piece (guitars, bass, organ). I'm curious to see them do it on stage and Tuesday the 18th at Beauty Bar they're playing with Ode to Oscillator, Knifight, and Mass Rituals.

WEDNESDAY I traded in some old LP's for a clutch of local seven-inch singles at Trailer Space last weekend. Along with some cool stuff from the Flesh Lights and Serious Tracers, I picked up "The Grand" b/w "Qyjara" by A Giant Dog. Anna spent most of last night watching YouTube videos of the five-piece, who have a live show you need to see to appreciate -- a frontwoman with no fear, Motown bass with muscles, rowdy crowds. They're at Beerland with In Beds and Literature. Literature are a band my friend Sean likes to describe as "the Strokes fronted by Daniel Johnston." I think that's a bit glib but as good a description as any. Anna C. likes the way their lead guitar player dances lightly on his feet like Michael Jackson. For me, what's winning about Literature is the way the two guitar players interact instead of play on top of one another.

THURSDAY We've also been jamming the "Hot Pink Flares" 45 by The Sour Notes on a day-to-day basis. I'm a huge fan of bands and songs with multiple lead vocalists, and the tradeoff on the A-side of the single from Jared to Kelly is sweet. The Sour Notes are playing the Cactus Cafe, which is still alive! I believe the cover is six dollars which is a good deal for the Cactus. Saw The Eastern Sea there playing to a packed room and they sounded great. Little Lo open for the Sour Notes Thursday.

FRIDAY Flesh Lights and Bike Problems at Red 7. The "Jaye" single by Flesh Lights is nice. Bike Problems are nerdy punk of the highest order. Or, to go in the another direction entirely, Opposite Day and Megafauna at Flamingo Cantina. I love Opposite Day! Their songs and playing are unique. I wrote about them during Free Week, but it turned out that they weren't playing due to their bassist Greg being in Australia. I said then I'd reprint my praise of them when they were playing a show, so here it is: "I'm glad Opposite Day are playing... because I always feel like I should be doing more to spread the word about them. I think a lot of other writers have faced the same problem before me: How do you make a compelling argument for a band that really has no single obvious comparison point? Elvis Costello meets Primus? No... Richard Thompson meets Oingo Boingo? I'm stumped. They change meters and play bewildering figures like a prog band, but have many hooks and harmonies you don't need a calculator to appreciate. No matter what your tastes are, I defy you to watch Opposite Day and not come away astounded by their musicianship. Not only that, they've never let their ridiculous technical ability get in the way of songwriting -- 'Safety First' is unforgettable -- and despite their long years of high effort and low rewards, they still maintain a palpable enthusiasm and good spirit when they're on stage."

Megafauna, like The Sour Notes, are right off a tour. Will, Cameron, and Dani were tight already, and they bring a heck of a lot of force as a trio. I like sitting and listening to their CD Larger Than Human closely and trying to count through all the time signature changes.

I hated everything and now I like everything! The power of Austin music has brainwashed me.

Yikes

2011-01-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

So, I bit off more than I could chew trying to cover every show going on in Austin during Free Week. I'm glad of it... last year around this time there were only three or four venues participating, but in 2011 the idea really took off and extended beyond downtown. Very cool. Best time of the year, except of course for the weather.

But doing work, writing, going to shows, and other stuff, I didn't leave myself enough personal time. I stopped talking to my friends. I was mean to my cat. And mostly I took out my frustrations on Anna C., who deserves a lot better. Long story short, I needed a little vacation in the mental illness ward. Confinement, being presented with many new faces at once, and feeling threatened by the many schizophrenics and aggressively manic people that habit these sorts of wards (of which I have seen the insides of too many) all make the hospital a place I associate with sheer terror. This visit wasn't a cakewalk, but it went by more smoothly than the earlier ones. Belief in myself, and faith in the Austin community at large, made for less of an alienating effect than some of the other mental health clinics I've passed through.

So what made me work so hard I went crazy? Guilt, I guess... I started writing under the assumption that people in bands, especially bands in Austin, know that there's no such thing as bad press. But a whole generation has grown up living in a world of interconnectivity such that you don't think about what you like; you merely follow the consensus. Why try and make up your own interpretation of Black Swan when you can go read thousands of them online until you find the one that most closely resembles what you yourself was going to say?

So, for a few days I thought I had to kill the blog. Now I think I'm just going to use it for interviews and Demo Sweats. What I really want to do is move into writing press materials for bands. And continue to play music, but in as low-key and nondescript roles as possible. I'm going to learn the triangle and the maracas.

Again, I'm sorry if I hurt you or made your band break up because of a bad review. It's only one perspective, but I feel worn out trying to make this clear each and every time I make a negative comment. So I'm knocking it off with the live reviews and concentrating on doing interviews with the Austin bands that I think best fit my ideas about originality, style, command of the stage, and so forth. And if you want me to write a bio for your band, I can do that too. Find "Western Homes" on Facebook, send me a message, we'll work out a rate.

And Demo Sweat? People keep sending me CD's. I hope they will keep doing it. Getting obscure music for free almost every day is terrific. If I could just get some more acts to give me 45's, life would be grand.

Speaking of grand... we've been spinning a bunch of singles I got at Trailer Space on Saturday. A Giant Dog have an A-side called "The Grand" that's a boogie-woogie with X harmony vocals. The Fleshlights sound exactly what you would expect a band called the Fleshlights to sound like, with a sneaky good singer. And the Wesley Coleman Minor Threat tribute is pretty fun, oddly fun medleys of old humorless Dischord straightedge hardcore deconstructed by Austin's own drunkcore overlord. Buy local singles!

UPDATE: I forgot about show picks. I'm going to keep doing show picks too. Every Monday. If you're in a band and want me to recommend a show, same e-mail address as before.

Free City, Part Four

2011-01-06T17:23:00.000-08:00

I am learning new things about myself every day this week, it seems. A lot of them are so obvious I feel self-conscious now. I think that the disconnect between my emotional difficulties and my wealth of music knowledge is keeping my blog from finding any regular readers besides those who agree with me most firmly. It's nice to know I'm not totally alone, but at the same time, there are a lot of Austin bands I love and my recommendations of them would carry a lot more weight if more than a handful of people read them. Trying to figure this out is going to be bumpy. You can already see it in action. I got a nice e-mail from Matthew Grusha from She Sir asking me to go see his band. I did. From my point of view, they sucked. I tried to explain why I thought so, once in a review that was written in such an awful equivocating style that a few regular readers AND a couple of first-time ones wrote in to tell me to knock it off. Then I tried to explain even more an in e-mail to the poor guy. I tried to point out how I'm a bass player, and I listen really closely to how bass and drums fit together, and I felt like their rhythm section was just no good at all in combination. He wrote back that lots of people had told him he was really good at bass and now he was so sad he was thinking about quitting music. Well, I give up. But please don't quit music because of me; I just really geek out on bass playing.

See, I never point out stuff like this. I just say "this is bad" or "this needs work" and I don't talk about the basis for it, because as a journalist I was taught to take myself out of my writing and as a human nothing makes me feel more awful than looking at a person I've just met and realizing I've been doing nothing but talk about myself at them for half an hour. I'm a good writer, but I'm a horrible communicator. I just can't express myself succinctly to save my life. In the sound-bite, 140-characters-or-less era, I'm an anachronism. I have the refined music tastes of somebody who's been writing or playing for 20 years (because I have indeed been doing so), but I have the social skills of somebody just out of college. Nearly all my friends, and Anna, are way younger than I am. I think the reason I love The Gary so deeply is because my two biggest hangups in life are becoming a grown-up and being in a good band and those guys do both so well.

FRIDAY

Beauty Bar: Brownout, Maneja Beto, Roxy Roca, Este Vato

Beerland: Hex Dispensers, Damn Times, Manikin

Club Deville (Mind of Adi): uLOVEi, DJ I Wanna Be Her, One Hundred Flowers, STEREO IS A LIE, Monarchs, Erin Ivey, Eagle Eye Williamson, BK & Mr. E

Emo's outside: What Made Milwaukee Famous, The Lemurs, Ovenbirds, Salesman, The Authors

Emo's inside: Los Skarnales, Nick Curran & The Lowlifes, Jungle Rockers, El Pathos

Mohawk outside: Indian Jewelry, The Laughing, Astronaut Suit
Mohawk inside: Motel Aviv, Attak (In)Formation, Zorch, Look Mexico
The Parish: The Frontier Brothers, The Eastern Sea, MaryAnn and the Revival Band
Red 7 inside: Golden Boys, Broken Gold, A Giant Dog, Air Traffic Controllers, The Dead Space
Red 7 outside: Power Trip, Rat King, Black Congress, One Against Many, Tow the Line, Venomous Maximus
Red 7 early show: Thieves, The Stampede, Fingers Crossed, A New Hope
Scoot Inn: Thunderosa, Squidbucket, Rust
Stubb's: Art vs. Industry, The Pulse Electric, Lauren Burton
U.S. Art Authority: Low Victor Echo, Grand Child

Wow, what a night. Where to begin? Well, how about the band whose demo cracked my year-end top ten list.... sliding in right at #1. Holy gee, Zorch are an amazing band. They might not be quite for everybody -- I've played it for a few singer-songwriter types, like my former bandmate Dana, and they were bored up until the vocals came in. But if you're interested in the collision of modern genres, and like seeing the sort of band that leaves most listeners fumbling for meaningful comparisons, get into this band. The prodigiously talented and hilarious drummer Shmu plays live dubstep with one half of his body and skronky jazz-fusion with the other, all while singing in a voice that you almost have to step away and listen to his fine solo stuff to appreciate the pure beauty of. More than anything I like experimental music that isn't afraid to be pop when the mood calls for it, and Zorch are so good at that it's scary. The Gary are my favorite band in Austin, but Zorch are the best band in Austin the way I see it. I was talking to Evan Kleinecke, who records them, and apparently Zac Traeger has so many different crazy sounds coming from his keyboards and Omnichord that it's going to take literally dozens of amplifiers to make their in-progress album come out the way they want. Zorch are playing with the elusive Attak (In)Formation, who may or may not be the same band that made this CD We Are All Alive in Tune Butcher Bear dropped off here a few weeks ago. I've been jamming that stuff, man... it sounds like the missing link that led to Haunting Oboe Music, the first Austin band I really got excited about to immediately break up as soon as I realized I liked them. The other side of the coin -- pop music that's not afraid to get in there with bare hands and mess stuff up.

Squidbucket are a band I admire the heck out of, but they're such quiet guys that I don't know if they're going to be able to locate the progressive metal fans that would eat up their chops-intensive blend of Primus finger-popping bass, Tool-like guitar that has some southern rock in it, and the long-running epic structures of Mastodon and their ilk. How can we bring the hipsters to the hipster metal? If you like heavy stuff and/or guys who can play their instruments really well, go check it. Drummer Eric Brown barely breaks a sweat. Jason Erwin is a virtuoso guitarist with taste -- unlike a lot of guys with his chops, I can actually imagine myself learning to play a few of his parts by myself. Although not most of them. And Kurt Rightler is a gentle beast. His bass playing also drives the rising, Volta-esque jazz-jam-metal Tornahdo.

The Eastern Sea are a band whose It Factor is almost terrifying. When I first moved here, I listened to about a million different local bands on MySpace, just picking links at random from Austin blogs. There was one song by The Eastern Sea -- "The Box," I believe it was called -- that was one of those songs that I had almost memorized from the first time I heard it. ("Tupac's Herpes" by Explosion Horse is another one, although not for the same reason.) At the time it was recorded, The Eastern Sea was one guy, Matt Hines. I don't think very much of solo singer-songwriters, which is exactly what you would expect from somebody who played bass his whole life and just started playing the drums. The only two guys I feel can pull it off? Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. (Sorry, Iron & Wine, overdubbed harmonies are cheating.) But wow this song by The Eastern Sea before they were a band... it had a subject (working in a movie theater), a point of view, and a melody that put you right on the narrator's shoulder. Songs like this got Hines hooked up with Tomas Olano, a friendly bass player with amazing stage presence and a DJ-like ability to have a huge effect in songs by not playing, and Zach Duran, a drummer whose enthusiasm for playing quietly suits the band's naturally gentle approach. They've worked for a while on getting the rest of the lineup together, but that core trio is pretty golden. Matt would die in peace if nobody ever compared them to Death Cab for Cutie again... yeah, he has a high voice, but his fingerpicking style on the electric guitar and Duran's often orchestral drumming make them original. You know how I know they're legit? Because they can perform a song that totally diverges from their basic style, like the sorta Smashing Pumpkins raver "The Name," and totally maintain their personality while doing it.

However... The Golden Boys are representative of a billion garage bands I saw last year that I totally misunderstood. I get garage music in theory, but you have to understand about me that I just don't pick up on how people are trying to be perceived. I keep seeing garage bands, not having any idea what they're supposed to be and writing about the instrumentation, and then realizing I'm stupid. Hey, if you're in a band that is about attitude, please let me know that when you ask me to come to see you. Unless you have so much attitude that even an autistic person can tell, like ELVIS or Pataphysics or A Giant Dog. I like to flatter myself thinking my witless reviews are useful to people in bands because, hey, now at least they know what would happen if a Vulcan came to their shows. Live long and prosper, Golden Boys.

Ambles Round Town

2011-01-06T03:12:00.000-08:00

Wanted to make a few comments about the shows we went to Tuesday night... we tried to see Riders Against the Storm at Red 7, but they cancelled. Every few months I ask myself why we go to so few hip-hop shows, and then we try to go to one and when we show up half the names of the bands on the "playing tonight" list are crossed out. I guess that's why. We went to Beauty Bar to see what was up there. Something kind of cool, a rock band with a lot of really antic upbeat-striking guitars. Luther from Eagle Claw was there to fill me in: name of the band is Pink Sugar.

We went to Emo's. We'll Go Machete were letting 'em have it. I tend to side with musicians as opposed to writers, since unlike most writers (and like many musicians) I'm a poor verbal communicator. I know from long experience that musicians are very sensitive about comparisons. It is strange to have someone you don't know tell you that your band, which you work very hard on and have very firmly set ideas about, totally sounds exactly like some obscure act you've never heard of... or worse, a band you have heard and don't like. Which is why it's good that I sat in my den a few months ago and watched We'll Go's Paul's eyes light up when I put Automatic Midnight by Hot Snakes on the turntable. There's some proggy construction to We'll Go Machete, but it's pretty well hidden underneath all the bludgeoning. Their drummer is tremendous. The Half Mile Fox Fur guys were there rocking out; they're another band that's all about rhythm, rhythm, rhythm. Melody? Ha, melodies are for sissies.

I'm meeting up with STEREO IS A LIE later on this week to do a story... they've got a record coming out, you know. They're one of the first bands Anna and I saw in Austin, and I have always been impressed by the way they do the part dreamgaze-part modern rock thing with suitable loudness, good vocals, and writing that gives each song its own distinctive arrangement signatures. They're a good example of the vast differences in the way Anna and I perceive bands... she's just not super into the style, but I don't care at all about styles. The way I see it it's not my business to tell a band how they should choose to present themselves. As a critic, you have to take the band on its own merits -- OK, given what style they are, what do they do or not do that makes them unique from another bands in that genre? With STEREO IS A LIE it's principally the songs, although the use of two-and three-part singing sweetens things further.

It was a weird experience seeing them. It reminded me that almost all the time, I see bands that are pretty early on in their existence and made up of musicians learning as they go. I went to maybe... dunno, five out-of-town shows all last year, and the last two weren't bands exactly notorious for their polish (Pavement and Guided by Voices). It was a genuinely peculiar time watching a band that's a finished product, as SIAL is. Rather than adjusting my internal mix around looking for errors to point out I just kept finding more strengths. Their bass player has some strong rock moves, not flashy, but just super confident, something I always like to see since I'm nothing like that myself. After the show we met Stereo singer Glynn, who has been one of the biggest Bell Riots supporters since we started, and now we know why... he pulled down his shirt to show us his "Star Trek" tattoo. Musicians, even handsome ones with great voices and British accents, are geeks.

A pretty girl handed me an Art vs. Industry flyer while I was at the SIAL show. I noticed also they had a ton of skillfully arranged flyers out in front of Stubb's, where they play on Friday. And I got an e-mail from a PR fellow saying the band always mentions me as someone they want to write about them. What the heck? You don't need to hire a PR guy to get me to write about you. You never have. All it takes is an e-mail. I like to claim I have a perfect record when it comes to remembering to check out bands who write me and ask, but obviously I need to start taking notes instead of relying on memory because I totally spaced on Western Ghost House, who wrote me middle of last year. But I did go see them briefly this week, and I'm going to try and go see more of them Saturday, when they're playing at Red 7. Black Eyed Vermillion, the band of the guy from my job Gary I was talking about the other day is playing there too. With multiple Mastodon side projects.

Oh yeah, left a thought hanging there. Nothing wrong with PR. If you have money and you want to spend it that way, it shouldn't affect how people judge you. And there's a lot of kinds of PR short of the ritzy full-service packages another musician at work was telling me about yesterday: "Ten grand just to play ball, man!" I know a lot of people who do promotion for musicians out of the good of their heart. Andrew Stone's manager Harrison is just a guy with a little agent experience who saw Andrew at a show and was so blown away he offered to rep him. He does it out of belief. Zorch seem surrounded by pretty girls who have been drawn to spread the word by the sheer radicalness of their music (and their considerable charm). I've been trying to help my friends Squidbucket, but frankly I suck at it and that's why it's been on my mind a lot lately. I tried pretty hard to read all of the metal blogs and magazines they were interested in, figure out how to write each of them, make a pitch and construct a story... and I got shut down. 0 for 45 or something. Not a single e-mail returned. This is the reality we live in (and the end of my PR career, sorry, Jason). There's just so much static out there -- anybody can record and burn a CD and sent an e-mail to a blog -- that it takes clout just to get a band listened to. Musicians in Austin owe it to themselves to be aware of this state of affairs, and do their best to spread the word on bands they like that don't have the means.

I'm not anti-PR. It's a free country, I'm not trying to become a Marxist rock critic or something. I feel like as a local music writer balance has to be maintained: I've got to go out and look extra hard at all these bands that have no money because somewhere among them are great ones, and no one will ever know because no one is looking at them. I can still go see a band that's being promoted heavily and think objectively. I don't mean to crack on AvI in particular, I'm going to go see them soon and I'll write whatever I think. I'm just pointing this stuff out because while I know that local musicians all know the deal back to front, I don't think enough young local writers do. You know that Spoon song, "Who Makes Your Money?"

Why I Wore Panties to the Rock Show

2011-01-06T02:18:00.000-08:00

So, we played a show. It was not so great. I knew not everything was going to go right, so I figured it would be smart to deflect criticism by doing something outrageous. In the middle of the set I stripped down to nothing but Anna's panties. That helped me to have a sense of humor about a performance so disastrous I nearly started crying afterwards and only pep talks with Robert from La Snacks and Dave from The Gary allowed me to turn around and view the whole thing as a humbling step in the road. I will never view a band being terrible for the same reason at a show quite the same way again. (Although I am going right back to ripping them however I feel like doing. One experiment with "gentle talk" got enough negative feedback to let me know it was a stupid idea. Thank you for writing in, people!) The tradeoff is, if I am going to be honest about what I think, I have to be open about my own flaws. And the show tonight was a difficult emotional experience for me. Before we even started playing I began to freak out, and the entire show all I could think about was the fact that I would have to write the whole truth about how miserably The Bell Riots were failing.

So, here's what happened: We forgot about equipment. I feel stupid admitting I allowed this to happen and as the leader of the band it's totally my responsibility. We got used to having plenty of time to set up at practices and we forgot that at a show everybody needs to get everything set up and ready as quickly as possible. This isn't automatic... it requires practice and planning. We were running around like chickens with our heads cut off during a sound check that seemed to me as if it lasted 200 years. Scott had to set up Anna's amp and his own, Mike couldn't get his keyboards set up and didn't have a flashlight, I had no idea what had become of the setlists. I started to melt down and panic as the sound guy waited... and waited... for us to be ready to play. Scott salvaged the situation by staying calm, keeping a positive attitude, and cutting me off and talking into the mic before I started totally losing it. Then I had to struggle through a whole set knowing we were doomed before we even started. I am really proud of Anna, Mike, and Scott for having good attitudes. I am really proud of myself, sort of... I played a deeply sucky show and even though I knew it, I sat there with a huge smile on my face and rocked out as hard as I possibly could. Wearing nothing but very tiny panties. So there's that. Also, the songs themselves sounded great. We made mistakes, but not atrocious ones, and nothing that was near as bad as just the endless sound of silence.That was what so heartbreaking: If you just cut out the long, horrible quiet stretched between songs, it would have been a solid show, for our sixth ever and first downtown. But it was not to be. We have to spend half our next practice just working out equipment assignments and drilling on setting up and breaking down.

Has this happened to any bands before, in the history of bands? Yeah, it happens all the time. I know it. I knew it and I should have known it was coming. I thought I could manage work, practice, promoting, writing, baking, and quality time with my cat and still play a pretty good show. But I screwed something up. During the set itself, it was excruciating. I don't think I'll ever forget the experience of sitting there drenched in flop sweat listening to the sound guy say, "Yeah, some bass would be great" and realizing that two songs later I was going to have to take my pants off. We were doing a "bedtime" theme -- Anna wore a nightie, Scott longjohns, Mike pajamas... and I was supposed to strip down, as a bit. It would have worked awesome if I wasn't completely miserable. But hey, people still said they liked the songs, and a few guys (that no one in the band seemed to be able to identify) danced and yelled supportive stuff the whole time.

We're so lucky to have friends who came, supported us and said nice things even in the wake of a show that had me thinking at one point during the middle of it that I was all done, I was quitting music for good. That's how bad it was. Right after we finished Anna and I went to Emo's to see if A Giant Dog were playing yet and I had to hold her hand to keep from crying. I sat down and had a long talk about Austin music with Robert La Snacks and drank three beers, which is three more beers than I usually have at a show. I talked to some people and at least heard that our stage presence was good, the lyrics were audible (we were going for that with intentionally muffled drums), and that we sounded like the record.

At the end of the night Dave of The Gary and Anna and I had a chat about how every band has to suffer through nightmare shows sometimes. I don't know if Dave came back from his band's other show at Red 7 because he saw me really falling apart during our set or or just to be polite, but either way, I really appreciated his support. And that of everybody else who came. Thank goodness I made donuts. And thanks especially to the sound guy... I was so freaked out at the start of our set, and he was super cool about it... he even told us "Hey, it's Free Week" on the way out. I was careful to tip him. I wish I could have afforded more.

It could have been worse. Scott felt the same way I did, we talked about it, by the time all four of us got back to the house where Anna and I live we had agreed to see the whole experience as a positive one and made plans to practice our gear-schlepping this weekend. And also, the show as a whole was a real success. The club never seemed empty, Half Mile Fox Fur was unreal, and I was reminded yet another time that if you choose to make your music for bigger reasons than selfish ones, even the most embarrassingly terrible show can be a wonderful time. Everybody who came to see us, especially the many who wisely walked out in the middle of our set, I'm grateful that you listened at all.

Learning Is Fun

2011-01-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

Wow, I had an educational day. One of the guys at my work is a real drummer; I found out my first day he drums for Hank Williams III's metal project Assjack but I have been avoiding going up to him and peppering him with questions because, well, that's not my job description. During the day anyway. But today he overheard me nattering on about my blog (as I will do) and without even having read it he gave me three hugely important points of advice that I'm going to repeat here. In 2011, I hope to hold myself to them.

1. If you're going to give criticism, write "I feel" or "I think" or "the way I hear it." I am really stupid for doing a blog for this long and not figuring this out. Well, not stupid, but emotionally disabled. I write exactly as I think and as I speak. It doesn't occur to me when I'm writing to be more careful about what I say will be received. I read everything intellectually because my brain doesn't process feelings naturally, so to me there isn't that much of a difference between "the band's performance was awful" and "In my opinion, the band's performance was awful." I am very fond, perhaps too fond, of my particular writing style, and including lots of wussy qualifiers makes me think I've deliberately weakened my point. But, now that people are actually reading from time to time, it's not all about me any more. I need to have more empathy for bands and I hope people will call me on it whenever I forget about this... while remembering to respect my point of view as well.

2. Most people only read what's written about themselves or their friends. That's why #1 matters, and why I end up having the same argument with people who get their noses bent out of joint over something I've said every couple of weeks. I have been assuming that people are following along as I am, reading every post. Boy, I am incredibly naive in a lot of ways. At least I know how to recognize when I've been obstinate about something for no reason! For the first few days at work I wouldn't use the handcart to move books because... I dunno and three days later when my back, legs, and knees were killing me I realized that there might be a reason why every other person who worked there was using a handcart. I want people to read Big Western Flavor as a story, because that's what it is: Anna and I and our adventures in local music. If I say something particularly overblown and realize it later, I often correct myself and apologize in a later post. Of course that does no good to the many fans of the band I offended who will never read my stuff again and tell people I'm a jerk. But even if I did write something mean about your band, I hope you will give me a little bit more of a chance to convince you I'm not just out to help myself or my own band.

3. Style matters. This is the biggest problem I have as a music writer... everybody, especially nowadays, is conditioned to hear everything first in terms of what genre it is and then move outwards critically from there (if they ever move beyond mere comparisons). I don't hear that way. I prefer not to give comparisons at all until I've seen a band a few times, which means sometimes I see a band once, don't like them, and end up totally missing the point. Of course I understand that garage bands aren't supposed to be tight, and punk bands aren't supposed to have complicated progressive songwriting, and for some bands the thing that makes them great has nothing to do with anything they're doing musically. Although I know this intellectually, it is very, very hard for me to listen to a band and immediately figure out what "style" they are. I have to listen to and absorb all the parts first. I examine all the details before looking back at the whole, and that's the total opposite of most people. So... again, I owe some bands an apology. I wish more bands' fans would react to negative reviews the way Quiet Company's did... when I dismissed them, I got a number of really smart, civil comments and e-mails from people who cared about the band pointing out a bunch of things I had missed. I saw them again with more to listen for and liked them a lot better. If you feel I was unfair to you last year, please e-mail and tell me -- nicely -- and I'll come to another show, look you in the eye and shake your hand, and write another review.

And I'm going to add my own #4, because I talk about "supporting local music" all the time and seemingly people don't know what I mean. Here it goes. Supporting local music does not mean writing show previews for the Austinist that include factual mistakes that make it clear you have never seen the band in question. It doesn't mean telling somebody you love their record when you don't because they have a trust fund and if you kiss their ass they might use their parents' money to press your seven-inch. It means going to shows. That's it. Go to local shows. Not just Free Week, all year. If you're in a band and you don't have infinite cash resources, pretty much your only chance of building an audience is going out to kajillions of shows and making lots and lots of friends, especially friends in other bands. If you're playing in an Austin band and you don't see at least two or three local shows a month that your band isn't included in, shame on you.

OK, finally, last night at the U.S. Art Authority, Anna and I checked out She Sir and Hidden Ritual. She Sir we'd seen once before at Emo's, and I'm glad I saw them a second time because it really drove the point home about what people keep telling me about the huge differences in sound from one Austin venue to the next. At Emo's, which has a great, powerful, PA, what stuck out most about She Sir to me was their vocals, not quite harmonious in the traditional sense but using two different voices in an arresting way. Their drummer was fantastic both shows. But at the USAA, perhaps in part because I was standing much nearer the stage, also probably because the PA sucked and the vocals couldn't be heard, all I could fixate on was the way one, both, or all three guitarists (they don't have a bass player, just two guitarists who trade off faking it on bass) seemed to be strumming up and down in the same pattern on every song. I would have liked to see more moments like the set highlight where they suddenly switched from vocalist to the other right as a dramatic change kicked in. I really love bands with multiple lead vocalists.

Anna didn't really pay attention the last time we saw She Sir... she is prejudiced against four-dude bands, but is working on it. She really quite liked them at this show, with the vocals, the drums, and the key sounds among the things she mentioned as digging. I kept trying to make myself listen for their keyboards, since that was a new addition from the Emo's show, and although there were a few sounds and rhythms that came from that direction that were interesting, I was preoccupied the entire time waiting to see something besides choppa-choppa-choppa tambourine guitar playing. Is it totally out of bounds to play the guitar that way? Of course not, but if it you do it, something else has to play off of it. As I heard it last night, She Sir only occasionally got the bass playing splitting the difference between drums and guitar. That Austin tragically lacks for bass players is common knowledge. Am I ever tempted to get the instrument I have played for 20 years out again and "go for it?" No. One look at the Austin Craigslist Musicians section is all it takes to remind me that I really like being in a no-pressure, having-fun-and-making-friends band with Anna C. Even if I am the worst rock and roll drummer since Meg White.

Hidden Ritual were a good band to catch for the first time last night, as my mind was buzzing about ways to keep giving my honest opinions while perhaps not needlessly making so many enemies. I don't want you to get an inflated opinion of their quality because I'm in a lenient mood -- I thought more than half of their songs were drab, and if it were up to me I'd flip the ratio of slow songs to fast completely. During the slow ones I started wondering if the enthusiastic applause I'd given them after their first song was too generous. But they gave me a lot of things to notice besides their mistakes. They used shaker a lot, which I always love... it's really hard for somebody not to dance while playing the shaker, and when one comes in and out over a drumbeat, it's a whole different layer to an arrangement that throws all the other parts to new places. The errors I heard by their drummer and keyboardist were totally overshadowed by their good part choices. The drummer used an unusual setup that had hand percussion instruments instead of big toms and (I think) a cajon instead of a kick drum. The guitar player shows a lot of awareness in the many different sounds you can make on the instrument even without years of instruction. I never heard anything in the least flashy, but I never started getting impatient waiting for something different to happen on guitar like I did with She Sir. The best thing about Hidden Ritual's set was that first song, which was an extended number with long building sections that, while keeping the same basic underlying structure, kept escalating the tension with new details from the guitar or keyboard. At the very end they juiced up the tempo suddenly and after all the gradual building it was a nice gust of wind in the face. They seemed more comfortable doing the long, slow drawn-out thing. My suggestion would be to try tightening up the ballads -- just cutting out a lot of repetition and making them short and sweet -- so they contrast more against the longer-form rockers. Almost forgot, their bass player is terrific, and I could hear others in the audience pointing out the same thing. He really helps the band out when it comes to those long builds. His parts are well worth hearing for longer stretches. And I feel I should reserve judgement on the singing, which was not quite loud enough.

Oh, man, this is going to be hard. I really hate putting lots of "I" statements all over the place in my writing. Obviously I'm the one writing, who else would it be? I feel already like my points are being obscured. Oh well. It's a new year, time to be a grown-up and act with some consciousness about how the rest of the world sees me. (Update: Nah, I was wrong. No one cares what I think really and the few people who do think "gentle talk" is the enemy of clear communication. That resolution went by the board fast; it's good I am getting the feedback I need as I continue to evolve the blog.)

Speaking of seeing me... if you want to see Anna and I wearing really slutty outfits while eating donuts (you can write a nasty review if you want, even one without "I" statements), Wednesday at Barbarella we have a show.

Twist My Arm

2011-01-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

I hate end-of-year Top 10 lists. They suck. They're always the same, they're just everybody patting themselves on the back once again and agreeing that indeed they all have wonderful taste and you can tell because they all have the same opinions and read the same blogs. Do Beach House and Sleigh Bells have ANY chance of lasting careers? Geez. I hate the state of "indie" music culture so much nowadays that I've completely stopped listening to it, risking missing out on occasional stuff that's worthy of the hype (Grizzly Bear) so I can save myself the abject misery of listening to the stuff that isn't (FUCK the Arcade Fire).

Anyway, I did do a top-ten list quickly because John Waycuilis of Austin Radar asked me for one and I wanted to try and rig it to get some local bands on the charts. I guess I can't mention it in passing and not replicate it in full. Here is the list exactly as I sent it to John, with no comments.

1. Zorch- demo
2. The Gary- Logan
3. The Cocker Spaniels- Sometimes You've Got to Fight to Get a Bit of Peace
4. Black Keys- Brothers
5. For Hours and Ours- On a Weekend (12" EP)
6. Markov- This Quiet
7. White Rhino- Heroin Thunder (EP)
8. Rich Restaino & The Obits- We're In This Thing Together
9. Megafauna- Larger Than Human
10. Spoon- Transference

Free City, Part Three

2011-01-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

There's an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" where, having just turned eighteen, Buffy has to pass a test from the Watchers' Council where she is injected with a chemical that takes away her super strength and speed. At work yesterday, I couldn't help thinking about that episode, "Helpless." I kept carrying stuff I was supposed to stock halfway across the floor and then realizing I was walking in completely the wrong direction, or sticking a whole roll of the wrong labels onto a stack of textbooks. The guys I work with, seemingly all of whom are musicians or photographers or graphic designers or creative people of some kind, were really forgiving about this. Seems like I'm not as different from everybody else as I like to think. Especially after getting a total of maybe four hours' sleep in five days.

All right, I'm well-rested now, and my superpowers are back. Let's do some more shows.

THURSDAY
Beauty Bar: La Snacks, Black Gum, Boy + Kite, Grandmas Ghost
Beerland: OBN III's, Love Collector, Teenage News
Emo's inside: Yellow Fever, Missions, Spells, Silent Diane
Emo's outside: Ringo Deathstarr, The Carrots, The Ugly Beats, The Hi-Tones
Mohawk: T Bird and the Breaks, East Cameron Folkcore, Bridge Farmers, Maneja Beto, Guns of Navarone, Money Chica, Jacob Jones
Parish: White Rhino, Smoke & Feathers, Devil in the Drink, Ancient Wisdom
Red 7 inside: Woodgrain, Shitty Carwash, Betarhythm, Markov, (Devo Tribute) Big Mess, Pink Sugar
Scoot Inn: The Creamers, Expensive Shit, Air Traffic Controllers
Stubb's: The Long Tangles
U.S. Art Authority: Amasa*Gana, Venison Whirled, How I Quit Crack, Smokey Emery

Who would have thought the highlight of the "Local Music Is Sexy" show at Mohawk right before FFFF would be four guys (and a rotating tree branch) playing one note for twenty minutes? I didn't have any money for beer that night, like always, and by committing and concentrating on Amasa*Gana, I was able to attain a natural change in consciousness that was startling... and a total validation of the band's musical legitimacy. By watching their movements very, very closely, I was slowly trying to work out how and why the players were making minute adjustments to the mixers into which they ran all different kinds of sound sources... keys, guitars, violin. A lot of the time they didn't even play the instruments in the traditional sense: a guitar will make a little buzzing sound on its own when it's plugged in, so at times two guys in the band would be sitting there with guitars on their laps that they weren't strumming, they were playing the sound it was making on its own with their sound gear. That's really creative! By the end of the performance my frame of reference had changed, instead of hearing the band play I perceived I was listening to them listen. Fascinating.

With their hearts in DC, their feet in San Diego, and their actual bodies in Austin, Markov played the same show but they got a totally opposite reaction from me: I rocked out and banged my head so hard I was a little sore the whole weekend. Nobody at the whole festival proper got me moving more (except Big Freedia). After the set Markov's guitarist Andrew came to run out and give me a CD copy of This Quiet, which totally is on my 2010 top ten list. He didn't recognize me, although I had reviewed the record. People: If the sight of somebody rocking out in the audience happens to Markov so infrequently that the band members run to give the one person who does a free record, something is desperately wrong with Austin music fans. This band kicks ass. Put your black-rimmed glasses in your pocket and get stupid.

Update: Wow, news of more shows just keeps streaming in. Can't miss the chance to praise my friends in La Snacks. Robert Segovia is my favorite frontman in town, with his provocative stage banter, patented rock moves (most involve drinking beer in some way or another), warped convictions, and original vocal approach and lyrics. The band careens around behind him delightfully, and their rock smarts keep each song its own thing. I know Robert really, really hates his band being compared to Pavement (he never loved 'em) so I'm going to do it here just to tweak him.

Didn't I just say that I needed to see White Rhino somewhere with better sound? Parish tonight. Hmm. That could work.

I still haven't seen Guns of Navarone play yet and shame on me. Do you know how hard it is to play alt-country in Austin? Talk about a saturated market. I've heard so many bands in exactly this same style and the great songwriting on the Guns of Navarone demo sticks out in my memory like a power forward in a crowd of jockeys. I haven't listened to it in a few months and yet just hearing their name makes me start singing to myself: "They grow 'em COLD up there."

The Long Tangles are a really cute couple who have a lot in common with Anna and me: drummer Earl has been in bands a long time, keyboardist Coco is just getting started. By being adorable married people who play drum-keys pop, they're just begging to be compared to Mates of State. I will support them because every day I live with the challenge of being in a relationship with a person I'm also in a band with. Man, Anna is so awesome. You think it's easy being the girlfriend of a guy who sees everything in terms of how he can criticize it? I love you, Anna! Fuck that guy who shoved you at Emo's.

However.... I just flat-out don't like Yellow Fever. To me they are cool, but not good. Their music and their vocals are jabby, atonal, and unpleasant to listen to for me. Anna still has a little bit of cognitive dissidence going between her intellectual opinion and her emotional connection to our mutual heroine Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney), who wrote about Yellow Fever on her old music blog before she welcomely quit to start Wild Flag. Yellow Fever are opening for Wild Flag on some tour dates, so I don't think a dissenting opinion from the likes of me is going to slow them down much.

I need to hear it from someone I trust that The Carrots have gotten their vocal harmonies together before I ever go see them again. Harmonies are really hard to do, and if I made a rule about only seeing bands who were perfect at them I could never see anybody except the Eagles (and maybe Band of Heathens) again. Especially my own band; we want to do four-part harmonies but our ambitions wildly exceed our experience. But The Carrots, though, for them harmony is the whole sales pitch, and when last I saw them I was not sold.

Bridge Farmers are one of those rare bands whose appeal I understood immediately, despite not liking them very much myself. If you're the sort of person who thinks the louder a drummer is, the better they are, you will love them. Good singer, too. I think the lack of quiet parts for contrast makes them rote, but super loud roaring psychedelia (Blue Cheer?) isn't exactly a field noted for its studied songwriting. They sound absolutely nothing like STEREO IS A LIE but they do have one thing in common... having talented singers who can project over high volume guitars and drums and be heard. That really helps. I have it out for singers, usually... it's because when I sing, it sounds in my head like Alex Chilton crossed with Mac McCaughan but apparently it sounds to other people like Fred Schneider crossed with Michael Gira. Seriously, I had NO IDEA I had a bass voice for like my first 10 years of playing in bands. It's hard to hear yourself objectively.

I hope nobody is getting the impression I only like dude-rock. I've given props to a bunch of good bands with female musicians lately... Ringo Deathstarr, The Creamers, Bike Problems, Blue Kabuki. I just don't particularly feel the need to point it out every time I see a band that has a girl in it. And I also feel like it's really important to hold females to the exact same standards I do guys. I'm really lucky to have Anna around for balance, although the more time she has spent drilling her guitar parts, promoting shows, and suffering through seven-hour band practices, the more she has come around to my side. Lazy musicians suck.

Now It's Here, Now It's Gone

2011-01-02T00:37:00.000-08:00

The Gary, Shells, Blue Kabuki
Beerland, 1/2

I first saw Blue Kabuki at the Midgetmen's Neil Young tribute night. By the way they handled their business on "Hey Hey My My," I knew I needed to see a set of their original stuff as soon as I could. Now I need to go and see a full set, because Anna and I got there a bit late tonight. I saw enough to know that they're the real deal. Super-loud kick drumming locks in with the big strokes on a meanly downtuned guitar. I love bass players. I think almost any band without one could use one. But Blue Kabuki have it down so tight that they pull the duo thing off. The way the drummer makes up for the leftover space with pure force reminds me of Local H, a great Chicago band who deserved to be more than a one-hit wonder.

I've seen Shells a few times before, but never anywhere with good sound. Hearing them clearly and well-mixed pushed my estimation of them up a few notches. I thought they were good before; now I think they're damn good. It's funny how setlist choices can change the way you enter and follow the progress in a set. I've always read Shells as a blues-influenced band but last night at Cheer Up Charlies bassist Mike told me they listened to a lot of country too. They opened their set tonight with their most overtly shufflin' tune, city names in the lyics and everything, and it made me surprised their country jones never became obvious to me before. That's another good reason bands should try and write songs in multiple styles -- an audience can receive and warm to you in an entirely different way if you begin with different-styled openers each time. Boy, they're a good live band. After two years together they should probably have some stage tuners, though. The major thing about them I would change if it were up to me would be song lengths. Ryan Lentell's guitar solos are great and never too long, which you seldom see with players this good. He has a way of bending a single note in just that soulful wrong-but-right timing that makes me go "Woo!" before I even think about it. But frequently they intro a song with an instrumental that's the same as the verse and pull it out a little longer than necessary. They could start more songs going right into the verse, or use two forms instead of four. And more of a suggestion than a criticism: Mike gave me some nice comments about my writing that really picked me up in a big way the other night. He's a charmer. I think he should do the talking in between songs, if it needs to be done. It would fit the fire and ice balance he and Ryan have. Mike rocks out, hard, throwing his whole body about and going to his knees or over the drums if that's what the intensity of the moment calls for. Ryan communicates so effectively with his guitar that it doesn't matter that he doesn't dance a ton or have any knack for stage patter.

We ran over to see Western Ghost House at Emo's, but only in time for their last song. However: It was a knockout. It was good enough that I not only thought of several things I wanted to say about it, but I've resolved to see a full show of theirs as soon as I possibly can. Here's what they did: As I walked in, they were playing a very homey, very well-worn chord progression. They were tight, and the singer immediately impressed me (which is rare because I don't particularly listen for or have a particular affinity for singers). But just as I was about to write their songwriting off, KABLAM it went in a totally different rhythmic direction, the singer started to really grow on me, the drums handled the change completely on point and continued to rock out, the lead guitar went somewhere way different than he was when I came in. And then the song had another change where the same thing happened again. Well, hell yeah. I'm not going to try and describe their sound having only heard one song live, but... yeah, go see them.

I wish Emo's sound guys didn't try to make every drummer sound like "When the Levee Breaks." Going right from Beerland to Emo's, the contrast was extreme. Although by the same token drummers should know how to express their wishes to the sound guy if a mighty, reverberating, kick-centric arena sound isn't right for their playing style or their band.

Back to Beerland for The Gary. Every time I listen to them, even, let alone see them, I fall in love with them more and more. I've always appreciated Dave Norwood's singing in an academic sense: from the first I loved the way his low voice worked in tandem with his unique bass playing, and I knew his lyrics were really special. But I'm different from most music fans in that I really concentrate on singing last of all when I listen to anything. I go drums, guitar, bass, vocals in that order. I mostly write about instrumental performance because I think most people barely give that stuff any consideration at all, and I hate being like everybody else. But I listen to The Gary's records a lot. And also Jared from the Sour Notes told me something after that Neil Young show that totally made me go back and listen to them some more just purely focusing on the vocals. Jared said they "won" the night (which had a whole bunch of local bands giving their own spin on NY compositions) and what stood out to him was Dave's passion belting out the lyrics (which he had totally just learned and was reading off a sheet of paper). Could he sing the phone book and make it poignant? Totally, if he found a way to invest it with the joyful twilight desperation of The Gary's music and his own lyrics. Anna says they sound like a midlife crisis, but I don't think they're quite as bleak or dark as they would seem if you took every word literally. Their songs are often about people giving up on going nowhere. But their music itself is a celebration of the fact, one shot through with the intensity of a terminal illness, that for these guys it's getting dark but it's not dark yet. The fact that they can do this now but can't do it forever inspires them, and it's beautiful.

Free City, Part Two

2010-12-31T20:22:00.000-08:00

Something weird is happening: I feel great. After being out of work for so long, even a temp gig shelving books at the university co-op feels immensely validating. Plus everybody else who works there, seemingly, is a musician. I was terrified all week that I wasn't going to be able to keep up with my new schedule and all of my plans for Free Week would go down the tubes. Quite the opposite! I'm energized! I'm feeling more confident than I have in ages, and if you though I was obnoxious before... well, just you wait! I was also overjoyed to see that somebody finally ripped my band in the comments section after I'd been fishing for it for like three straight months. With a legitimate factual argument! Even my haters are feeling my influence.

Look, I know exactly how hard it is to be in a good band. I've been trying since I was 12. No luck so far. I'm not critical because I think I have all the answers. It's because I know how much work is involved. A better understanding of that might lead to musicians in Austin working more closely together. Part of that is being honest to ourselves and each other about everything we can do to improve.

I'm going to keep updating both this and Part One as news of more shows trickles in. If you're playing somewhere this week and it's free... you know what to do.

TUESDAY
Beauty Bar: A Sky Jet Black, Pink Sugar, Knifight, Young Girls
Beerland: Creamers, Cruddy, Reicide
Mohawk inside: One Hundred Flowers, Invisible Inks, Burgess Meredith, Golden Beach
Emo's inside: Woodgrain, We'll Go Machete, Watching the Moon, Come and Take It, Half Mile Fox Fur
Parish: STEREO IS A LIE, Motel Aviv, New Roman Times, Final Exam
Red 7: Crew 54, Riders Against the Storm, Kill City, The Means

Spot of Trailer Space Records wrote a few weeks ago that people should come see The Creamers at his place before they were playing Beerland three times every month. The man speaks truth. I should really buy something at his store now that I have a job; we've been going there for free music and spending no money for a whole year. In any event, they're a happy sloppy punk band with incredibly short songs and that indefinable chemistry that happens sometimes between musicians who aren't great at their instruments but have a shared love for what they're doing and no self-consciousness about it. We'll Go Machete, the more aggressive side of Paul from The Gary, aren't much for range but their intricately designed jackhammering layers of drums and guitar demonstrate ably that you can be forceful and sophisticated at the same time. STEREO IS A LIE have a fashionable yet elusive ability to be delicately pretty and really, really, really loud at the same time. I never forget to put their name in all caps! Would it be redundant to call an actual Englishman (leader Glynn Wedgewood) an Anglophile? Seems as if it would, but Manchester Invasion melodies and shoegaze volume levels have maintained their appeal on both sides of the Atlantic. I'd say more but I'm working on a feature on them for later in the month, stay tuned. Their debut LP Monolathe drops in February. Or how about some hip-hop? Crew 54 (out of Killeen, but with many Austin ties) have two strong-voiced MC's who mainly flow in tandem backed by a skilled live band who throw in funk, jazzy solos, and a touch of hard rock. Authentic rap that innovates on stage is uncommon. Seriously, why don't more rappers tour with pocket rhythm sections and really good horn soloists? Who would be against that?

However... Although I've been as hard on them as any band in Austin, I have nothing but best wishes for Love at 20... their leader Mike gets it when it comes to press (as in there's no such thing as the bad kind), and he promotes like he means it. I have seen them compared to Muse a lot recently, and I think that's weird... sure, the high, dramatic vocals (the band's best feature) I can see, but stylistically the rest of the band couldn't be further removed from Muse's harsh acid-metal guitar and bass shredding. They're more mainstream arena rock... Weezer, KoL. I wish people would learn to listen past the singer when it comes to making comparisons. I think Love at 20 need to move their focus away from polishing their recordings until they gleam and work on their live arrangements. I will keep tabs and let you know when they nail it down.

WEDNESDAY
Barbarella: Day vs. Night, Bubbleface, The Bell Riots, Half Mile Fox Fur, The Gary
Beauty Bar: Neon Cobra, Snake Handler, Emily Warfield & The Cosmic Bats, paperthreat, Warplanes
Beerland: Easy Tiger, St. Philistine, The Bubbles, American Sharks
Emo's inside: A Giant Dog, Shapes Have Fangs, ELVIS, Rayon Beach, Fleshlights
Emo's outside: Quiet Company, The Boxing Lesson, Smoke & Feathers, My Education, Red Leaves
Mohawk inside: Vagabond Collective
Parish: Freshmillions, Focus Group, Sphynx
Red 7 outside: The Gary, Artificial Heart, The Midgetmen, Beautiful Supermachines, Blue Kabuki

Wow. I mean, wow. Forget about that one festival and that other festival. This is one of the single greatest menus of music I've ever seen available on a single night in Austin. Every single one of these shows would be worth going to. There's at least one band I adore playing each one except the Beerland show, and people have been pitching The Bubbles pretty hard to me. I've got to catch up with them. Not tonight, though, I have to be at Barbarella, where of course I've booked my first ever Austin show on an evening where there are ridiculously great bands playing everywhere else for free. It makes me feel inferior. Not quite as much as when Sam from Zorch, the best drummer I know, showed up at the first-ever Bell Riots show to watch me screw up all over the place, but pretty awful. So let's see. ELVIS are part no wave, part performance art, with a must-see frontman who's like a queer Iggy Pop. He marks his territory. paperthreat are a rapidly rising electro-rock-pop quartet whose diverse instrumentation is complemented by really original, smart lyrics and friendly, self-effacing stage presence. A Giant Dog are a sex-and-blues institution, the impossibly desirable and confident Sabrina Ellis rampaging about wearing next to nothing at all, belting with improbable force given her petite size, while her (also cute, in a boy way) bandmates dirty up old rockabilly and R&B grooves they ought to be too young to know about. In addition to being one of the most unfailingly entertaining live bands in town, A Giant Dog also does a great job scouting Austin bands and setting up good shows. Red Leaves got their lineup and their sound together this year and went from a band we disliked to one we're crazy about. Arty rock with a real creative drummer and bassist who never pop up in the obvious places, co-leaders David (dah-VEED) and Singer can both sing really movingly alone... but even more so when they harmonize. Quiet Company are a band I don't particularly enjoy seeing myself, but I recognize how hard they work giving their audiences a good time at their shows. If you're in a band in Austin you should pay attention to how they maintain a community among their listeners; there's nobody better at it. Freshmillions and Focus Group are both crazy rock-instruments-crossbred-with-samples bands, but in totally different styles. Freshmillions are digi-funk; Focus Group twitchy but driving post-fusion. They're both way better live than recorded (thus far) so get on that.

However... So I should probably warn you about my band. We're not very good yet. We might never be good. That's why we only play free shows and we apologize to our friends with delicious homemade snacks. Anna C. has never played in a band before, and neither has our keyboard player Mike. I put down the bass to learn drums because, well, I always wanted to be the drummer in a band. Also, whenever I try and play bass along with Anna playing guitar, I become impatient and demanding and obnoxious. I would rather she and I be on an equal footing than show off how good I am on bass. (Not that good.) You know how I talk about different goals for different bands often? Well, our goal is to have fun, learn from one another, support everyone's ideas (everybody in the band writes songs and sings at least a bit of lead), and make records that have crazy running prog-rock storylines about fantasy Communist superheroes and limb-stealing alien/government conspiracies. Are we tight? Hell no. Are we very good, by my standards? Not even close. Am I learning a lot and building important relationships and maybe easing into a little tiny bit less of a perfectionist control freak? Yes, I am! So go ahead and hate on my band. In order to hate us first you have to listen to us!

Free City Interlude: An Unauthorized Autobiography

2010-12-31T06:10:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of changing my approach to Big Western Flavor because my life circumstances have changed. For most of the past year, I've sat around mothballing while my saintly girlfriend worked to pay the bills. It was really nice having the luxury of two or three entire days to think about a piece, construct arguments in my head, fiddle around with multiple drafts, and edit out most or all of my self-indulgent personal digressions.

But I have to go fast and shoot from the hip now, because I'm working again, and re-reading the post from last night I realize that without that extra gestation time, my quick shifts from effusive praise to withering criticism seem a bit arbitrary... like I'm deliberately singling out bands for abuse. Not my intention. I read every mean comment and e-mail I get and try and weigh their arguments as best I can. I don't plan pulling my punches when it comes to describing the bands I see. If I'm not going to tell the whole story I might as well not write at all. But a well-stated recent challenge to my style made me think about whether I owed it to my readers to better explain who I am and why I think the way I do. I'm self-conscious about talking about myself constantly, but I'm not a private person. I don't take myself seriously enough to feel like the details of my life must be closely guarded. Maybe a little background will help folks to appreciate why it is I listen to music the way I do and why I feel so compelled to point out every flaw and imperfection.

All right, as quickly as I can possibly manage: For the last year and change I've been trying to write the blog from the perspective of a newspaper columnist. I used to do a "all submissions accepted" deal in the Daily Californian, some years ago, and my first big inspiration to write was the local demos feature in Illinois Entertainer. They would rip clueless people, and by reading critiques, listening for myself, and drawing my own conclusions, I learned to think critically about music myself. A journalist is supposed to cut their own narrative out of their writing to as great an extent as they can. I liked taking this stance on my blog for a long while partly as a defense mechanism, and partly because I'm sick of talking about myself after spending most of my 20's precisely working out all of my myriad personal issues.

I'm not angling for sympathy here (I have a neurological order that makes it socially acceptable for me to rip crummy bands on the Internet!), but despite my obvious talents I've made something of a hash of my life up to this point, and I'm aware of it. I have a long-held pattern of starting things with flying colors and then finishing a few months later in a withered heap, often with an accompanying trip to the mental hospital. The Daily Cal? I was a star writer as a freshman, the arts editor my sophomore year and fired before I was a junior. I wouldn't let anybody else write for my section because nobody met with my high standards; I did the entire thing, music, film, arts, and theater reviews, by myself each week. I was not really with the program when it came to the idea of the "student newspaper." A similar thing happened at the radio station in high school; I was a board member as a sophomore and then got kicked off entirely as a senior. At the time it seemed like the world was out to get me. After years of therapy and self-reflection, I get it now: I was a huge dick.

A few years ago after several diagnoses and medication regimens that made life no better, some professional or another decided I had Asperger's Syndrome. It's very rare to not be described as having a condition on the autism spectrum until your early 20's, but a combination of high intelligence and a severely indulgent upbringing kept me "passing" right up until the time when I was about to graduate from college and my subconscious terror about facing a real world I was in no way prepared for sent me into a two-week dissociative psychotic episode on the mean streets of Oakland. By the time I had worked all this stuff out, most of my connections in journalism were out of the business and nobody was willing to hire me given my spotty work history. I'm not 100% sure I agree with the diagnosis or not... the older and more self-aware I become, the more I feel like Asperger's pretty much describes every introspective, creative American male under the age of 25 or so. But I do have some particular tics. Some are quite beneficial -- my sense of hearing, as you may have surmised, is amazingly powerful, and I have the ability to recall precisely large chunks of conversations without taking notes. But I also make super weird facial expressions (they tell me). I've never quite figured out how to smile right, and apparently when I am lost in thought I make a face that seems utterly miserable, pained even, to others. (Which is actually kind of useful when it comes to meeting girls at parties.) I don't have the ability to compose myself at will, though, and I don't realize it when I making other people uncomfortable. It makes first impressions and job interviews in particular really challenging. And terrifying.

During a long period cooling in my heels in Colorado, I met Anna C. (at a Sleater-Kinney concert). She is the most awesome and giving person in the universe and also a ludicrously talented songwriter and guitar player. I was finally starting to feel confident about myself and I really wanted to play in a band with my best friend and partner. The high cost of living in Boulder started choking away our spirit so we moved to Austin to get a fresh start. I started writing about local music first because I perceived I was filling a void, and then because I had a vain hope it might help me to get some paying work in the field in which I belong.

I get it now, though -- journalism has changed too much in the past few years for someone as literal and bloody-minded as me to advance in it. With so much advertising gone to the Web, newspapers simply can't profit from objectivity any longer. They have become PR machines. The Chronicle would be stupid to hire me, because I would immediately start ripping Transmission and C3 and exposing bands whose parents paid for every good review on their MySpace. That's who I am. So if I'm not blogging in pursuit of work, what am I doing then? Let's call it public therapy. The reason I rip into all of these obnoxious, lazy, self-centered young musicians is because I totally see myself in all of them, and to keep making progress in my own personal development I have to remind myself constantly of the tool I used to be and would quickly go back to being if I didn't focus every day on how valuable the perspectives and support of other people are.

That's right, I'm going emo!

Free City, Part One

2010-12-30T22:46:00.000-08:00

I know what you're wondering... is the post title an allusion to Sonic Youth, or Nelly and the St. Lunatics? The answer... is both.

This is it for Anna and me. Free Week is like Kwanzaa, the Super Bowl, and Martin Luther King's Birthday Observed all in a row, a whole seven days and change of warm fuzzy hats, club doors thrown open, and the whole of Austin local music rubbing its eyes (unused as we all are to natural light) and realizing for a cold fortnight or so that we're a community. It would be really nice if there was another comparable event in the summer... but until local bands start bringing in capacity crowds, you can't really blame local club owners for trying to run their businesses profitably. But for just the first few days in January, there's no bands touring and the university is on break. There's nobody left but we musicians and our loyal friends.

All right, I say this over and over again, so much so that I've made up a mantra-like chant of it: If you're in a local band, go to local shows. If there's any good Austin band that you've heard about before but haven't gotten around to seeing, go do it now. Even if you've had your head buried in the sand behind your practice space for eleven months, just pick a show at random or go to a club you like and see some bands. For gosh sakes. If you have a family or a real career and you play music for fun, that's one thing. But there are untold legions of pinheaded Austin guitar nerds who moved here to Make It Big who have never been to a show downtown that they didn't pay a steep service charge (or a scalper) to get into. Go out and learn something, you mooks!

And maybe meet some people. Anna and I had curry and a six-pack with many of The Sour Notes to celebrate their new 7" and their New Year's show recently. We've always gotten along like gangbusters with leader/guitarist Jared and bassist Amarah (we had Christmas dinner at their place) but I also appreciated the chance to get to know gently intense guitarist/utilityman Chris Page a bit better. Chris related an anecdote that night that has been ringing in my ears quite a lot recently. He talked about being in a music class in college and the professor asking for a show of hands. How many musicians would be happy playing covers of established genre hits their whole lives, if it meant they could make a living doing it? Ninety-seven percent of the class, according to Chris, had their hands raised. He and only two or three others demurred. Think about that. It takes a special kind of person to dedicate their lives to making music on their own terms. It usually involves sacrifice, back-breaking labor, and little to no financial reward. It can get lonely. That's just one more reason why people in local bands should seek out and support other Austin bands. Even if they don't make remotely the same kind of music as you, you probably have a ton in common with them.

FRIDAY
It's not technically a part of Free Week, but the show at Cheer Up Charlies New Year's Eve doesn't cost anything and is jam-packed with Austin bands you need to see: Follow That Bird!, Mermaid Blonde, No Mas Bodas. Plus a unique Zorch-Cartright faceoff! I have absolutely no idea what to expect from that set... the regularity with which they completely defy my expectations is what makes Zorch my single favorite band in Austin right now. Another cool thing about this show is that the estimable Tiffanie Lanmon will be playing with both her bands (the Bird and the Blonde). You don't have to be a dude to be a capable guitarist slash bassist slash drummer. We need to work on teaching Anna the drums. Guys, when you see us New Year's Eve, tell Anna she should resolve to learn drums next year. (We could start her on bass, but when she tries to wield mine she tips over.) All this, and (show organizers) The Sour Notes release their seven-inch and launch a tour! Almost forgot: They're raffling off some cool stuff; RSVP at this link to have a chance to win if you go to the show.

Even if I just restrict my comments to the bands I have seen play before and enjoyed, this is going to take a while. But too many of these bands deserve props! I will go on at length, because I'm as much convincing myself to get in gear and go out every night as I am others. But it's totally contrary to my nature to write anything of this scale and not include some pointed criticism. I'm happy to be recognized for my enthusiasm and my energy, but I hang my hat on my honesty! If I wrote a whole post only praising Austin bands my reputation would be ruined. So I'm including some of the bands that I have seen before and don't wish to see again immediately, and telling you why. I'm not discouraging you from going to see those bands. Mine is only one perspective. If it makes you terribly angry that I gave my honest opinion about a band you love and you think I'm totally wrong, then make your own argument as to why! I might be harsh but at least I'm totally up front about why I like what I like. Maybe if your band pays real close attention and improves, I'll reverse field and recommend you next Free Week!

For me "supporting" doesn't meet "unambiguously praising everything." It means showing up and listening really intently and then being honest about what I hear. I wish more people felt the way I did.

SATURDAY
Beauty Bar: Motel Aviv, Masonic, Lovies, Last Nighters
Beerland: Shells, Blue Kabuki, Killdeer, The Gary
Emo's: Crooks, Western Ghost House, Black Books
Mohawk outside: Hundred Visions, Lean Hounds, White White Lights, Watch Out for Rockets
Mohawk inside: Butcher Bear & Charlie, Til We're Blue or Destroy, The Laughing
Red 7 outside: Car Stereo (Wars), Parking, Gobi, Politics
Red 7 inside: Yuppie Pricks, The Distant Seconds, Mistress Stephanie and Her Melodic Cat, Jesus Christ Superfly, Blowhole
Scoot Inn: Vanished Clan, Opposite Day, Muchos Backflips!

Shells are a terrific laid-back trio with a talented lead guitarist and a sound that is bravely the opposite of what you'd expect from a current blues-influenced indie band, crisp, restrained, and sort of timeless. Blue Kabuki are a duo, girl guitarist/singer and drummer, who were one of the highlights of the Midgetmen's Neil Young hoot night for me. I haven't heard an original set by them yet, but I can't wait! Stripped back, with mean riffs and powerful vocals, Sleater-Kinney is a good comparison for them... only a more overtly classic rock S-K. The Gary are fantastic and even the Chronicle knows it, although I wish they'd chosen to recommend their other show Wednesday since I booked it. I don't care when you see them; go see The Gary. Dave Norwood's passion and intensity as a singer is something I have overlooked before since I admire their guitar-bass-drums combination so much; but so many people have told me they've been moved by watching Dave and The Gary play that I've started listening to them from a whole new perspective. His lyrics are great, too. Any other time of year the show at Scoot Inn would be a must for me. It's a new band that I have high hopes for in the cinematic instrumental post-hardcore Vanished Clan, an established veteran band that amazes me each and every time I see them in Opposite Day, and another Austin institution I somehow keep missing but need to see soon in Muchos Backflips!. I'm glad Opposite Day are playing during Free Week because I always feel like I should be doing more to spread the word about them. I think a lot of other writers have faced the same problem before me: How do you make a compelling argument for a band that really has no single obvious comparison point? Elvis Costello meets Primus? No... Richard Thompson meets Oingo Boingo? I'm stumped. They change meters and play bewildering figures like a prog band, but have many hooks and harmonies you don't need a calculator to appreciate. No matter what your tastes are, I defy you to watch Opposite Day and not come away astounded by their musicianship. Not only that, they've never let their ridiculous technical ability get in the way of songwriting -- "Safety First" is unforgettable -- and despite their long years of high effort and low rewards, they still maintain a palpable enthusiasm and good spirit when they're on stage. I guess I just convinced myself which show to go to Saturday. UPDATE: Sadly, Opposite Day are not in fact playing (see comments). I'm going to leave up everything I wrote though, and I might reprint it word for word the next time they play in Austin.

However... Unless you really like costumed men and distorting electronic beats, maybe skip Butcher Bear and Charlie. I've been jamming to a big stack of Butcher Bear-related material lately, and his new record Car Bomb is the bad apple in the bunch. I felt the same way at Fun Fun Fun Fest: as a producer/songwriter/force-of-nature, the big red guy needs a foil with a ton of charisma. Pretty but totally uninteresting singer Charlie isn't it. She makes absolutely no impression on their record, except for the part where she steals lyrics from the Gin Blossoms. She has no personality, nothing in particular to say, and totally fades into the background, which I don't think was the plan. The jams with guest rappers, and where Butcher Bear himself takes the spotlight with his lovably bizarre half-shouting, half-toasting style, all suggest that he's better off working with a wide variety of guests like he has in the past with Attack Formation. And Watch Out for Rockets are every bit as terrible in concert as their lazy, self-involved recordings suggest they would be. They just have no rhythmic sense at all, which is a shame because they do have good melodies. They should start over as a real band instead of one guy's four-track fantasies.

SUNDAY
Beauty Bar: Sex Dragon, Not in the Face, Vitamins, Shitty Carwash
Beerland: The Lilies
Club Deville: She Sir, Candi & The Strangers
Emo's outside: Let the Dead, The Brigade, Falsetta, Set Aflame
Emo's inside: The Riot Scene, Say Hello to the Angels, Jesus Christ Superfly, The Blind Pets
Mohawk: Amplified Heat, The Hi-Tones, The Boxing Lesson, Black Forest Fire
Red 7 outside: Gods Are Ghosts, Fatback Circus, Obsolete Machines, Sheer Khan & The Space Case
Red 7 inside: White Rhino, Lights Go Out, Sideshow Tragedy, White Dress

Amplified Heat have had kind of a low profile lately, but they're another in a huge group of Austin bands who would have the key to the city by now if they lived nearly anywhere else. A searingly loud mixture of (mostly) Electric Church psychedelic blues and (just a little) punk attitude, they can wear sunglasses at night in January and pull it off. The Riot Scene are a taut local punk outfit with really good songs. I haven't seen them in a long time but I remember their guitarist/singer Jimmy and his talent for playing weird rhythms off of his vocal melodies using palm mutes quite clearly. Sheer Khan & The Space Case are a guitar effects-crazed hippie jam band. They're a good one, if you like that sort of thing. And White Rhino are a mighty, crusty, gas-guzzling 70's American muscle car of hard rock, with a sense of humor and a surprising depth of influences in their songwriting. I have yet to see them somewhere with great sound. Too bad they're playing inside and not outside.

However... I like the idea for Obsolete Machines' sound, but the last I saw them, they had yet to fill in the details. All their "songs" rode the same keyboard patterns for six or seven minutes, and the supporting cast around their supple-voiced frontman didn't bring much to the party. Thinking out loud, it may be time for me to check them out again, because they've had a lot of time to get better. White Dress are a band we've had recommended to us a few times. We were psyched to finally see them at Ditch the Fest Fest, but they left me totally empty and, surprisingly, Anna too. (She's coming along but still tends to give any band with a female guitar player extra slack.) Sometimes guitar and drum duos sound just fine, and sometimes they don't. In White Dress's case it might be a fit issue, because while their frontwoman's guitar playing is gnarled, busy, and interesting, as a whole they just kind of cancel one another out, and the vocals don't punch through like they theoretically should. This is another thing that totally could have improved through experience. Great, as if I didn't have enough bands I already like to see, now I'm starting a list of bands I don't like that I should watch again.

MONDAY
Beauty Bar: One Hundred Flowers, Deer Vibes, The Bubbles
Emo's outside: Pack of Wolves, Eagle Claw, Tia Carrera, Scorpion Child, High Watt Crucifixers, Black Earth
Emo's inside: Wild America, Tenement (Wisconsin), Women in Prison, Uppers, Serious Tracers
Mohawk: Hatred Surge, Shitty Carwash, Naw Dude, Night Siege
Red 7 outside: Sober Daze
Red 7 inside: Zest of Yore, Bike Problems, Distance Runner, Medium Head Boy
U.S. Art Authority: Ringo Deathstarr, She Sir, Hidden Ritual

Eagle Claw are a good band, nice guys, and a classic story. Four musician dudes all met at their job and started a band together, playing what they felt like (instrumental but not that progressive metal, pretty much just cool riff after cool riff with not too much mucking around and everybody drilled to precision with their parts). Because they're good, and friends with seemingly everybody, they've gotten to play some bigger shows and they haven't taken the opportunities lightly. In contrast to the many musicians who arrive in Austin assuming that the world is going to be delivered to their door, these dudes put community first. I still have to take bassist Luther up on his offer to get together to watch MMA videos. Distance Runner are a band in the pop-conscious, but not formulaic style of rock I'd term "post-emo." The funny thing is, back when I was originally introduced to the idea of "emo," it meant bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Cap'n Jazz who were pretty structurally sophisticated. Then things devolved. Now we're back where we started. Distance Runner separate themselves with strong vocals and prominent use of keyboard... often the guitars follow the keys rather than the other way around, and that's cool to see in any style. UPDATE: Whoa, how did I miss this one, this is a goodie: Ringo Deathstarr and She Sir at the USAA. I try quite hard to listen to bands on their own merits, not judge them for choice of style... whether it's a popular one or unpopular. I haven't quite caught the nuances of She Sir's style yet, but when I saw them I could for sure hear that there was legitimate songwriting going on. Anna owes them a second chance after She Sir's Matthew Grusha (mildly) wrote and said that her lack of interest in his band versus Ringo Deathstarr might take different perspective were she to know that he was their previous bass player.

However... The loutish Hatred Surge are an example of the kind of band that turned me off from metal in the first place, loud and violent but with no tact or cunning. Effective heavy music has to use tension and release, put some quiet in with the loud, not just beat you over the head. When I was 12 I went to my first-ever rock concert at the World Music Theater in Tinley Park, Illinois. The band I was all fired up to see? Megadeth. And they might have been awesome, for all I know, but all I remember of the experience was being surrounded by gigantic tattooed drunken assholes who thought it was perfectly cool to shove a 12-year-old kid in the face. Just because you love "Hangar 18" doesn't mean you've signed up to get the crap kicked out of you by Berwyn's chapter of the Hells Angels. From 1990-92 I was all about metal, but that one show scared me away for nearly 20 years. (OK, that and the fact that right about that time Pantera showed up and killed metal's artistic development for the rest of the decade.) I love powerful music. But I hate senseless violence. If you're the sort of band that holds shows as an excuse for your friends to get wasted and punch each other, I am not your friend. I'm not saying that is Hatred Surge's intent (although look at their name). I'm just saying I am strongly conditioned to reject music that is all force, no shading. Also, Zest of Yore are one of a very few local bands that I'm pretty sure I have seen and yet remember absolutely nothing about. Punkers Bike Problems... their bassist/singer's snotty humor is great, their drummer sways back from side to side like a violent human metronome for every minute of every song, but I want to tell their guitar player it's OK to move. You're good! You can really play! Go ahead and rock out, man, the music is calling for it!

Wow, it's 1 AM and I am only on Monday. Do I have to get on a bike and ride to work at 8:15 tomorrow? As it so happens I do. Part Two will be up well in advance of Tuesday! Parting note: If Googling "[your band's name] band austin" doesn't bring up one of your links within the first two or three hits... you probably need to change it.

New Regime

2010-12-30T00:09:00.000-08:00

J. Wesley Haynes Trio
Hole in the Wall, 12/29

Anna and I only managed to step in for a handful of songs by J. Wesley Haynes Trio tonight, but it was an important show for me to go to, and also to write about. I never want to pass up a chance to give these guys some attention. They're wonderful players, and I think they (with others) serve a specific role for developing music fans in Austin. You don't necessarily have to know the composers of "Eighty-One," or how to count in 5/4, to dig the kind of jazz they're playing. I think every music fan should listen to more jazz... appreciating it really involves a different level of concentration.

When I play "The Sims 3" and I have a little person in the Music Business career path, I'm always amused by how having them study music theory extensively makes them become irritable when another Sim puts pop music on the radio. You don't have to learn theory for your opinion to matter... but once you've learned how to listen in an educated way, nothing really quite sounds the same again. Anna C. gives me grief all the time for ruining her ability to enjoy all the riot grrl and nu-metal bands she admired as a teenager. You know me: I apologize for nothing.

It's cool to watch people instantly recognize a theme JWHT drop for indie kids -- like "Hey" by the Pixies -- and follow along as the band first states the familiar melodies, then embellishes and extemporizes around them. Although familiar with all the material I saw Wesley (keys), Willy (upright bass), and Matt (drums) play tonight (and their guest trumpet player), this show had a different vibe to it. The band was playing with some pretty involved computer projections behind them. I'm of two minds about using video when a band is playing. On one hand, I argue all the time that better shows require a visual element of some kind. It can be the band members moving, or backup dancers. One night at Bubbleface's noise residency we saw a "band" with two guys, one of whom did all the singing and playing while the other stood perfectly still wearing a silly costume. That was pretty great. But if a band is just doing video for lack of a better idea, it can distract from their music.

As an instrumental, improv group that's going to appeal to a lot of listeners with related interests in bright shiny objects, J. Wesley Haynes Trio can use the visuals. But it has to be the right stuff. Just showing the "Twin Peaks" credits when they do their version of the Angelo Badalamenti theme is a bit too on the nose. I wonder what the right visual signature is to match their marriage of timeless uptown cool and modern hipster irreverence. "Mad Men" episodes in 8-bit?

While we were walking back to our car we saw a very terrible singer/guitarist playing to an entirely empty Mellow Mushroom. Anna said she felt sorry for the guy. I wasn't so sure. You can never assume that people are just going to show up. Most musicians who end up playing for no one deserve it.

I'm going to try and write more frequent show posts in this style. It's part of an adjustment I have to make as my schedule goes from being completely open to somewhat less so. With Free Week coming up, there's no lack of awesome bands who deserve my attention and less good ones who might value my candor. Becoming a notorious local music writer on no budget was too easy. I'm ramping up the difficulty level for 2011! If I can ride Anna's bike 45 minutes to my temp job, work eight hours of physical labor, ride back, rehearse, see a band, wash the dishes, write a review, cook dinner, and pack a lunch for tomorrow while still fitting in five to six hours of sleep, the least you can do is try to make it to some more local shows. Perhaps Wednesday at Barbarella!

The Years

2010-12-28T14:44:00.000-08:00

I'm a nervous wreck right now. Since moving to Austin a year or so ago, I've been doing everything possible to avoid getting a "day job." Many years ago in Colorado, in better times, I worked as an editor and a freelance writer and made almost enough money to call it a living. When the bar band I was playing bass in started getting well-paying ski town gigs, I was really living the dream... paying my expenses through writing and music. That was an awesome couple of months. Anyway, I got laid off from my editing job. Got a job at Circuit City; they went out of business. Got a job delivering sandwiches; showed up for work one day and there was a handwritten cardboard sign in the window saying that the government had seized the property for failure to pay back taxes. It seemed like life in Colorado was trending inexorably downwards. So we moved.

For a year or so I did everything I possibly could to avoid getting a "paycheck" kind of job down here. I played bass in an orchestra production of The Sound of Music. I did some mostly boring archival editing for rollingstone.com, which was nice work while it lasted. (And I got a credit for the rewrite I did of the Guided by Voices bio, which was exciting.) But mostly I've been a bum, baking and cooking and going to as many free shows as humanly possible. It's time for me to go to work now, but as a student of history my acute awareness of my own past makes me edgy. I don't respond well to outside control of my schedule and long, continuous periods of time in the presence of other people wears me down. I expect to do better in this new foray into the working world than my last few because I have a better attitude about it and I'm literally in a better place (Austin is so much better than Denver for me), but I still am prepared for my creativity and energy as a writer to go plunging downward. I'm less inclined to go out and seek beauty in the world when I'm tired and cranky.

I know I'm going to make myself go to shows and keep writing about Austin bands, though. I'm invested in it now. Despite my oddities and annoying traits I've been welcomed into a community here. I lived in a few cities and haven't found any other to be as welcoming. Perhaps I can only get along with music nerds. Either way, there's no place I'd rather be than in Austin 2010/2011. I could use some hope for the future at the moment, so rather than the knee-jerk "Best of 2010" year-end entry, here's some Austin music stuff I look forward to in 2011.

1. Learning my history. There are a couple of really young local bands I like, but I have a clear bias towards experienced veterans. It has less to do with instrumental acumen than letting the idea of the band mature and develop. As in the case of La Snacks, nearly as old as The Midgetmen, not exactly tight but totally in control of their vision. Playing shows in Texas for a nearly a decade has to teach you something, particularly if you're still alive and sucking air as a band. La Snacks are representative of a lot of Austin bands in that they have their roots elsewhere in Texas (Beaumont) and continue to have links through their hometown, here and there. The more bands I talk to the more I realize that understanding music in Austin requires learning as well roots and family trees of bands in Houston, San Antonio, Denton, El Paso. The complex inner workings of Austin's music scene require for understanding consideration of a much wider and broader setting and timescale. Butcher Bear brought me a fistful of seven-inches and CD's from his (iN)Sect Records label a few weeks ago. Listening to the whole stack of it, from hardcore comp to the radical, theatrical four-track parodist Explosion Horse, I realized what I was experiencing was a museum exhibit of tastes. I didn't like every moment of every release, but I knew that a story was being told.

2. Booking more shows. I talk a lot about how bands should try and challenge their listeners with weird, interesting show lineups with lots of style juxtapositions. I'm going to do my best to put on some shows of my own in that spirit. Rather than focusing on picking bands that sound alike, I want local musicians to concentrate on figuring out which other acts take the jobs of booking and promoting seriously. We can all work together more closely and share the benefits. My first Big Western Flavor show is coming up during Free Week at Barbarella next Wednesday. You should come to it. I'm going to make homemade donuts.

3. New albums from The Gary, Zorch, The Eastern Sea, The Sour Notes, White Denim, many more. The greatest challenge facing most musicians here and everywhere else? Continuing to exist. Especially for young bands, entropy is a constant threat. There are plenty of players here willing to insist stubbornly otherwise, but keeping together a consistent lineup of musicians who benefit creatively from each other's presence is the surest -- and yet most seemingly difficult -- path to success. I'm always willing to listen to a band's second record with fresh ears, because nothing is harder than surviving your first one.

4. More music everywhere. Necessity drove us further and further off the beaten path to find bands to see this year, and I hope if we continue to go in that direction in 2011 this time it's by choice. House parties, record stores, co-op parties, parking lots, bridges... music is happening everywhere in Austin, not only during the festivals, and it's in unexpected places that you find unexpected bands.

5. METAL. Anna C. and I first noticed it happening at Fun Fun Fun Fest... we were first drifting, then walking briskly, then outright sprinting past the "indie" Orange Stage to get between the Blue Stage (hip-hop/dance) and the Black Stage (punk/metal). A few nights ago we went to Emo's to see Ume, Follow That Bird!, and Ringo Deathstarr. Local thrash outfit Powderburn were playing the other stage and we ended up watching and enjoying them way more than most of the standstill indoor bands. There's a reason metal and hardcore consistently maintain cult audiences no matter how in or out of style they are. Metal bands, even the shabbiest, know they're not supposed to stare at their feet and frown when they're rocking out. I've only dipped my toes into the metal and 'core scenes in Austin but what I've heard (Squidbucket, Eagle Claw, Markov) I've really liked. If we don't see more "indie rock" bands showing they care -- the way Pataphysics or A Giant Dog do -- we're just going to have to get black hair dye and Tool shirts and go to Red 7 all the time.

6. Continuing to not care about stupid expensive festivals. One of the best trends of 2010 that I would love to see repeated in 2011: local bands and promoters getting together to give fans really appealing alternatives during Those Festivals. Ditch the Fest Fest at Cheer Up Charlies was epic and in March the music got cooler the further away you got from the downtown area. I plan on spending even less time listening to pointless outsider "hype" music next year than I did this year. And so should you.

7. Seeing where music writing in Austin goes. I don't know if this one qualifies as something I'm "looking forward" to. I am more filled with morbid, self-interested anticipation. As matters stand right now, the nature and the function of the independent press in this city is not serving the needs of the creative community nor its potential audience. The handful of big-dollar local promoters exerts far too much control over the tone and the content of entertainment coverage in the local daily and weekly. Local music writers and bloggers alike are all engaged in a race upwards to see who can get into the flashiest and glitziest afterparties; hardly anyone save for few musician slash critics is much interested in seeing local music covered intelligently. However... it's almost too bad to continue the way it is. I hear too many horror stories from local bands about bloggers who scam their way onto guest lists only to completely ignore all but the headliners in their reports, writers who assert you'll have a good time at a local show when they haven't seen any of the bands in question and are only doing a favor for an L.A.-based "indie promoter" who got them in to see Sleigh Bells or whoever. It can't possibly get worse, can it? I hope to see soon, if not in the next year, some sort of new voice or voices. Not necessarily someone who thinks the same way as I do, but at least someone who has some sort of compassion for local bands and a willingness to view them as more than a stepping stone to fame and glamour. The press should work to discover exciting new music and put it in front of people, not merely promote those few bands that have the money to pay someone to make them do it. They have a college campus here in Austin, right? Somebody with an intact brain has to fall through the cracks of the journalism school once in a while.

Phoning It In

2010-12-27T16:49:00.000-08:00

Show picks for the last week of 2010. 2011, and Austin Free Week, start on Saturday! Check back here later for as complete a listing of Free Week events as I can throw together. I can tell you right now that you should go to the show at Barbarella next Wednesday night (the 5th), because I booked it and The Gary and Day vs. Night and Half Mile Fox Fur and Bubbleface are all playing. And in the spirit of the week, there will be free cookies and cupcakes.

TUESDAY A Giant Dog at Beerland... always worth seeing.

WEDNESDAY Two free events mentioned earlier this month still apply: Bubbleface at Club 1808, J. Wesley Haynes Trio at Hole in the Wall.

THURSDAY No Mas Bodas at Chain Drive.

FRIDAY Why spend a fortune on your New Year's evening activities when you can go to Cheer Up Charlies and get free stuff? The Sour Notes, Zorch, Cartright, Missions, Mermaid Blonde, Tiny Tin Hearts, no cover, free food and giveaways, pretty awesome. Spend the night before Free Week at another free show and be thankful you're in Austin.

Gifts for Your Ears

2010-12-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

December-January is my favorite time of year in Austin, because it's the slowest part of the national concert calendar. Not so many bands choose to launch tours in the dead of winter with the "holidays" looming. As a result, the local press outlets that normally ignore local music have no choice. Bubbleface, one of the weirdest bands in town, got a show recommendation from the Austinist last week. Granted, the writer got their name wrong, but still. It counts as progress to me.

I feel like this should go without saying, but I guess I need to mention explicitly that every band I recommend here is a band I have seen in person. It makes no sense to me that some bloggers happily assert that folks will have a good time going to see a band they've never actually witnessed. It's bizarre, but multiple times just in the past week musicians have told me that nobody else who's ever written about them has actually come to a show. That's so weird to me. Would you tell someone to go see a movie having only seen the preview?

This week is going to be a tough one for picks. I've only got one show for you. It's a good one, though, and it's free. The J. Wesley Haynes Trio play acoustic jazz in the mold of Miles Davis's great second quintet, throwing out conventions for rhythm and lead roles and concentrating on sympathetic group improvisation. Punk rock upright bassist Willy Jones and in-demand drummer Matt Shepherd get just as much of the spotlight as the Rhodes-playing nominal leader. Like Medeski Martin and Wood they put groove first and foremost, and their creative arrangements of themes drawn from rockers like Stephen Malkmus, the Pixies, and Radiohead is another reason why they should be a perfect gateway drug for music nerds who haven't caught the jazz bug yet. They're joined by the similarly-minded About:Blank at Hole in the Wall on Wednesday night.

Since it's a slow week for shows, let me fill in the leftover space with a few recent (and upcoming) releases in Austin music that you might want to note as last-minute gift ideas. The compelling and direct American songwriter Andrew Anderson has a beautifully packaged holiday EP that's way more than a seasonal cash-in. The way Andrew honestly sings "Home for the Holidays" shades the cheery lyrics with the doubt and desperation that are hallmarks of his own writing. He turns "Snoopy's Christmas" into a honky-tonk smoker that's perfect for December in Texas, and the original "Ideal Christmas List" is a sharply written plea for an end to oil-company insanity that demonstrates his rare gift for linking the political with the personal. The ambitious take on "Oh Holy Night," building from traditional folk to epic space rock, doesn't quite gel. But on the whole it's another triumph for the best real country singer around, and it's lovely to hear him working with talented (Boise-based) drummer and producer Luke Meade again. Christmas EP 2010 comes in a gorgeous screen-printed sleeve with a custom holiday ornament stamped with Anderson's logo and signature. I'm really proud to own one and I'll file it happily right next to the fine full-length As Long As This Thing's Flyin'.

The ultra-nerds of World Racketeering Squad and their sexy robot mascot are back with a quick but fun EP, Talking to the Radio, that builds upon the What Is Nerdwave? album that came out earlier this year. It's more of a consolidation than a step forward for the Squad, although the increased prominence and difficulty level of the vocal harmonies on this one show that they're not standing still. "She Thinks She's Got It (Going On)" is a very funny spin on their irrepressible jangle-rock style, and the efficient song lengths are welcome. The title track has some snappy 12-string guitar playing... although they could have cut down on repetitions of the chorus hook. I want them to get really ambitious for their next record. At the very least, they should wear capes.

We just gave the new 7" by The Sour Notes its first three spins. It's called "Hot Pink Flares" and it comes on... guess what, hot pink vinyl. As a teaser for their upcoming LP Last Looks, the A-side is beguiling... it's more aggressive than anything on It's Not Gonna Be Pretty, at least at first, with roaring guitars and a Jared Boulanger vocal that sounds almost pissed. But then it runs through a series of well-worked out links into a rigid waltz tempo and Kelly DeWitt steps in to sing in her lovely choirgirl voice. The dramatic changes make it like a three-act play, and you know how much I love songs that don't end up in the same place where they started. Cannot wait for this full-length. The B-side is a studio take on their new arrangement for the song "Psychological Thriller," which was electro-pop in its first incarnation. Retitled "Psych Thrill" and recast as an electro-acoustic number with accordion and DeWitt vocals, it sounds like an entirely new song. Packaged in a nifty screenprinted sleeve designed by Underbelly Printing of San Antonio, the single is another example of why a lot more people than just me think The Sour Notes make the best records in Austin. Like all of their releases, this isn't just a collection of songs... it has a specific point to make about where they are right now, where they will be in a few months when the new LP is finished, and their relationship to their earlier material. This is what you have to do if you want people to buy a record, not just download a few songs from it.

I'm going to be writing more about the Notes in a few days because I really want you all to come spend New Year's Eve at Cheer Up Charlies with Anna, me, and many of our very favorite local bands!

Block Party

2010-12-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

Good Lazy System, Forever Changes
Dives of North Loop, 12/16

Our friend Ariel is one of those people who just belongs in bands. You can tell by the way he can't stand still while he's playing or even waiting to play, eyes full of anticipation and body crackling with potential energy. Every time we see him he talks about his latest project with the fervor of a politician campaigning. He's also one of the only people I know who reads everything I write. I hope it helps him in finding what he's looking for musically. Like a lot of young musicians I know, he tends to shift from band to band, instrument to instrument, sound to sound restlessly looking for the right fit. I would encourage him to continue working with his colleagues in Good Lazy System.

They're not awesome yet, but at their show Thursday at the North Loop Parlor the System demonstrated that they have the potential to grow into a good band. The mistakes they made are the ones nearly everybody makes at first. They took forever to set up and they goofed around way too much before starting the music proper (including an endless, sloppy opening cover that was bad enough to make me half consider leaving). They don't quite have mastery of their equipment yet. They had tuners, but they weren't quite sure how they worked. And they really need to spend some time working out the right EQ for their bass and two guitar amps. Although they were impressively tight for a three-month-old band, they didn't sound good at all... the bass sounded muddy, kick drum was completely inaudible, and the thin, trebly guitars lacked the bite they needed to give their rocking moments gut-punching force. The best prescription for this is to play lots more shows.

Getting instruments to sound right is elementary compared to writing good songs to play on them, and that's where I feel Good Lazy System have a leg up. Their sound has elements of late 80's-early 90's punk, particularly the upbeat-conscious, ska-influenced side of The Clash and its followers like Rancid or Op Ivy. That's blended with a bid of florid Manchester romanticism held over from singer/guitarist Ariel's last project, Consider Me Spilled. Despite the blend of punk and (Brit-) pop, they're not punk/pop. They tend to yell rather than sing when the tempos get fast, and their bassist balances the prettier singing with some rap-inflected hardcore hectoring.

I was impressed by how far they had come with their arrangements... the guitars didn't play in unison, and they varied the instrumental mix. Some local bands never figure out that doing stuff like pausing together, having the guitars and bass lay out in turn, and linking together changes with riffs or variations not only makes your music more interesting, but it also demonstrates to people who know how to listen that you've actually practiced and done the difficult, sometimes contentious group work of hashing out the details. That's why I have high hopes for Good Lazy System. They know how to work together, and how to creatively blend their different points of view. Next they maybe need a sound guy... and for the rest of the band to take a cue from Ariel's high activity level on stage. It was easy to tell that some members of the band were more comfortable being the center of attention than others. Ariel did a power slide, the "walk into the audience while soloing" move, and took off his jacket dramatically (for the ladies). On the other hand the second guitar player made only one facial expression the whole show, and that was during his sleigh bell solo... "Oh, no, now people are looking at me!"

Earlier in the day but just a few strides down the block Austin's own Love tribute Forever Changes played about half a set in front of the food trailer Counter Culture before the police arrived to tell them that, sorry, but playing in a parking lot on a weekday night half a block from a residential neighborhood is a bad idea. I guess I should go see them again since they didn't get to finish and they were playing without their usual second guitarist. I kind of liked them as a trio, though. I've written before about how the challenge for cover bands is pleasing hardcore fans of the original material while still having enough personal style to make the music their own. The garage-band approach to the famously orchestrated Love is a winning one, I think. I liked the way their singer/guitarist abstracted melodically packed instrumental breaks into winningly simple solos. The bass player's ability to carry the songs while the guitar player did his thing showed both dedication to the material on his part and the timeless quality of Arthur Lee's songs, which have simple changes but sophisticated structure. (Listening to Forever Changes reminded me more than anything of The Sour Notes. I'm going to have to ask Jared if he's a Love fan the next time I see him.)

Forever Changes has a great drummer, too. The drumming on 60's rock records is really challenging to approach if you grew up listening to Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Drummers back then didn't have half a century's worth of rock texts to crib from, so they took cues from jazz, theater, easy listening, and elsewhere. Run-of-the-mill cover bands often get the guitars and the singing just right but end up sounding totally wrong because of the drummer. (I've never heard a single band in Austin get the Stones right because the drummers always play on the beat instead of behind it the way Charlie Watts does.) Forever Changes, although they could have picked a less obvious name, has both the creative spirit and the annoying details figured out to do Love justice. Obsessive fans (and to the best of my knowledge Love has no fans who aren't obsessive) will be well pleased.

Burnt-Out Holiday Lights (and Show Picks)

2010-12-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

I don't celebrate any December holiday in particular. I enjoy mockingly referring to the 25th as "Loot Day" but my intensely Catholic family really hates this. Good thing I don't live anywhere near them. I do think it looks pretty when all the houses in a neighborhood have their lights up, and I tried to put ours up today. Three of the four strings of lights from last year are dead. We are too broke to afford new lights. We had a $20 Wal-Mart gift card that the grandmother of someone who used to live at this address sent, but we had to spend that on food. Anyway I just came back from looking at how pathetic our single string of lights is, and I am feeling all sorts of American male inferiority issues. I wish I had money for a gigantic animatronic Santa with eight tiny reindeer, interactive naughty-nice list, and real flying sleigh. Hopefully my low mood will not make the week's show picks of any less utility.

MONDAY I doubt very much that Michael Cera's vanity band Mister Heavenly is any better than the band Keanu Reeves played bass for, Dogstar, but awesome local tech-dance-funkers Freshmillions landed the opening slot for their gig at Scoot Inn. If you're not on the Freshmillions train already, get moving.

WEDNESDAY There aren't a lot of bands in Austin or anywhere with better songs than Pataphysics. And yet I feel like I overlook them a lot of the time when I get to listing off my favorite locals. I'm not sure why that is, exactly. I suspect they need to play more shows. They are doing so Wednesday at Emo's so that's good news for us both. If you go, listen to "Girl, You Make Me Feel Like a Weirdo" before doing so. Being able to sing along is a big part of their appeal. They combine sock-hop melodies with demented 8-bit era keyboard sounds, they have stage presence to burn, and every time I've seen 'em the other bands have been good too. For the experimental-minded, Bubbleface continues their December-long Wednesday run at Club 1808. It's always free, and I hear they have some cool guests this week.

THURSDAY One of the very first Austin bands to send me a CD for review was Glafiro & Solid Ghost, an intriguing mixture of soul, Latin, and modern rock who didn't stay alive quite long enough for me to ever see them play. That's a bummer, but at the Parlor (for free) this week you can see the component parts: bassist Ariel Sauceda is now with Good Lazy System, and frontman Glafiro Robert is playing joined by drummer Alex Salinas. Enough heckling might inspire a proper reunion.

FRIDAY The big Red River institutions both have appealing local shows this day: Mohawk's got The Eastern Sea, For Hours and Ours, and Pompeii; Emo's has Ringo Deathstarr and Follow That Bird!. Interesting, most likely not intentional cross-programming there. You've got a bunch of sensitive guy bands and then down the street, bands with female members that are pretty loud and fuzzy. I haven't seen The Eastern Sea since just before they left on their fall tour. I hope they are holding that lineup together as they work on their album. Turnover kept them from really clicking as a live band for me, even though I adore their EP's, right up until that last show. I think they've gotten their reps in now. For Hours and Ours, on the other hand, are a guaranteed good time. Their fans are crazy.

SATURDAY I'm impressed that eight-piece Rich Restaino & The Obits even existed in the first place. Busy people with schedules have to be hugely committed to make a rock band with pro arrangements and exquisitely sweet three-part vocal harmonies click. The band is taking some time off after their show Saturday at Rockin' Tomato. They are well worth discovering before they do. They link together new wave and classic rock effectively, and their shows have an infectious team feeling. Nearly everybody takes at least one lead vocal and with that many happy, engaged people on stage there's a party going before the audience even enters into it. UPDATE: Rockin' Tomato gig was cancelled. But you should still go see Rich play music somehow. I guess I owe you a replacement Saturday pick. Here's two: La Snacks at US Art Authority; many noise bands including Sex Bruises at Club 1808.

I'm always receptive to any feedback regarding omissions, factual errors, busted links, or outright fabrications. Have a merry week.

Late Recommendation

2010-12-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

Andrew Anderson, a songwriter and live performer whose opinion I trust, recently sent me a very cool package: a holiday EP with a nifty homemade ornament stamped with his "flyer" logo! I love CD packaging that doubles as DIY art project.

I'm not big on writing about out-of-town bands, but I am big on taking the advice of Austin musicians who work hard and tour 'til they're weary. Andrew recommended the folk/theater/husband-wife Destroy Nate Allen contact me since they're in town at Headhunters this Sunday. I like free shows, and I'm a fan of the oldest, broadest tradition of folk music where everybody sings and claps along. They used to have folksingers at I.W.W. rallies. They'd elaborate on the union's views in their verses, and there would be many repeated choruses where all the workingmen would join in on a simple refrain/organizing slogan. I prefer that strain of folk to introspective fellows watching their beards grow. Nate Allen does seem to have a beard, though. Anderson too. But they're not watching them grow. The real new old folk has that hardcore/hip-hop attitude we've been discussing a lot... making people get involved, making it about people joining together instead of individual airings of grievance. A good attitude for all holidays.

If not considering your own hair cultivation projects this Sunday night, perhaps go see Destroy Nate Allen. For free.

Shows of Early December

2010-12-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

Not an action-packed calendar early in the week as it gets cold but there's lots of bands playing this weekend that deserve mentions.

TUESDAY Anna C. and I saw The Creamers at a house party and they took longer to set up and break down than to play: maybe 12-15 minutes of body-moving 'core yelling in short bursts. I like 'em. They play Beerland. Keys-and-drums girl-boy Long Tangles play Cheer Up Charlies, free.

WEDNESDAY The sublime group chemistry and rock star tambourine playing of Bottle Service make them one of my favorite local garage-y, no-fi good-time bands. They play Beerland. Local static-plus-dance band Bubbleface are in residency at Club 1808 doing their weird thing and it's free.

FRIDAY Intrigued by this Club 1808 Misprint show that's the noise side projects of the noise side projects of some already-loud Austin bands. At Hole in the Wall there's Focus Group, movement-friendly post-rock/fusion/electro featuring local MPC guru Soundfounder and the elusive Sleep Good, dreamfriendly crafters of the nifty all-analog Skyclimber. I like this show!

SATURDAY Fresh off an off-the-cuff but nonetheless impassioned performance in the Midgetmen's Neil Young-a-thon, The Gary play with their nearest and dearest at Trailer Space. All-in-the-family bands Killdeer and We'll Go Machete are featured as well. Anna and I couldn't get enough of La Snacks in their brief Young slot; we went to see them the night after at a house party. We need more of The Gary in our lives as well, and a free show? Yes please. Watching Dave gamely bellow through Neil Young lyrics he had just learned I was reminded of how much I love The Gary and how I even I take them for granted. I don't see them live nearly often enough given that there's hardly anybody I enjoy hearing play more. Saturday gives you plenty of options later: White Denim at Emo's are worth a local-premium ticket price to see. Hundred Visions are worth showing up early enough to check out. Three off-the-wall originals join forces at Hole in the Wall. Tornahdo are mind-melted, heavy space music. Same description could sort of apply to Megafauna and Opposite Day, too. But in completely different ways. Each of these bands has its own demented vision, but another thing they all have in common is amazing bass players. Added: There's a free gig Saturday at Maggie Mae's on 6th Street. Stylish modern guitar band She Sir and the epic circling keyboard emotions of Obsolete Machines are featured.

SUNDAY Shells for free at Highball. I like the of-the-moment twist on the blues this real lean-playing trio has. The drummer uses very little kit and hits what he does have sparingly, the bass is perfect as skeleton, and the guitarist honors their spirit by laying back and not overindulging... though he certainly has talent enough to let it rip if he wanted. The Mole People are playing that show as well; Jared from the Sour Notes reports "they're always fun."

Demo Sweat #19

2010-12-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

Every Austin band that writes me and asks gets fair consideration. I listen to every song, even if I hate it, three times all the way though at least. This takes a big chunk out of my time, but I really like doing it. I have trouble seeing things from others' perspective a lot of the time, but it isn't so hard for me to put myself in the shoes of a young musician desperate for attention. Hopefully I'm established enough now that people submitting realize I'm not in this to provide validation -- I'm trying to give advice that will help bands get better.

Before I get to the music today, a bit of general guidance. Assuming you are able to get a positive writeup from me or another blogger, how can you make the most of it? I'm reminded all the time that most listeners in town don't have quite my long memory and precise recall for local music. Even if I wrote something really nice about your band six months ago, that probably isn't going to help you if you're just getting around to playing a show this weekend. If you think you're ready for press coverage, you should have something you're promoting -- a record, a show, hopefully both -- and you should have a website or social media page all set up where people can find out more about you and, importantly, see that you are a going concern as a band.

It makes me deeply skeptical when I see on a band's MySpace page that they haven't updated since September and they haven't played a show in six months. (At this point, even that you're still using MySpace is a bad sign. Bandcamp and Soundcloud are better, and if your fans are on Facebook and/or Twitter, you should be too. Just tweeting something random every few days and making sure it's linked to your other pages will show that someone in the band still cares.) Whatever I might think of your execution or your choice of styles, I'm much more willing to give the benefit of the doubt to a band that is working hard at cultivating and maintaining connections with fans and other local bands, playing lots of shows, and posting or at least giving updates on the status of new recordings. I get asked for booking recommendations pretty regularly and I love giving obscure bands a boost when I can. But I can't help your band if it doesn't exist any more! Cue Al Green.

The organ/guitar/bass trio Bali Yaaah perches precariously on the dividing line between fuzz rock and dance, with well-integrated electronic beats standing in for a proper drummer. Different expectations for song structure between the two styles lead to an interesting effect where their songs with no changes (the unsettling, slowly creeping "Greytest") work better than the more garage-rock moments that do have them ("Stranger," which has a really great, weird, hockey rink-organ middle break but spends too much time wanking around to either side of it). When they're not wearing at your patience they strike a flattering balance between the "Run Run Run" Velvets and Wire-Joy Division-Suicide postpunk at its most architectural. The big central organ sounds of "Shoot It" wash out all else on first listen, but revisiting what seems like a simple loop reveals new details in the guitar playing, which is pleasantly not overburdened by effects and adds a subtle warmth the music needs. As an ensemble they do a good job building across long, seemingly repetitive sections. The way the vocals sit back slightly in the mix really helps with the feeling Bali Yaaah is trying to create... the fact that you can't quite make them out makes them more mysterious and seductive. They're hardly alone in this, but what they most lack is self-editing skill. All of their tracks push past five or six minutes, and while some of them merit it, I wonder if three-minute "single edit" versions of a few tunes mixed in might make visitors more likely to stick around and hear all they have to offer. Bali Yaaah are playing this Saturday at Club Deville and Saturday, January 8th at Beauty Bar.

Band of brothers The Magnificent Snails send along two preview tracks from their EP to be released this month, Baby Acid Trips. One I like substantially more than the other. The jazz-student drumming, clean-channel guitar chipping, watery bass, and subject matter of "Mean Girls" are so Vampire Weekend that they should just put on a polo shirt and sue a photographer. But "Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" is a winner, blending 60's pop with Spoon-y syncopations. The rhythmic main vocal hook is a real keeper, the best of many good moments by soulful lead whiner Russell Galis. I like the Snails' bass player's chops, but on both songs he has a tendency to lock in and follow the guitar player when he should be listening to the kick drum. This makes the songs sound less tight than they should given better-than-the-norm parts and arrangements, and could be a real problem live. There's a lot of weird emptiness where the guitar and bass are resting together when they should be playing off one another. They're kind of leaving the drummer hung out to dry. I'm sure they can work it out, they're family. Given their style, I think two-and-a-half-minute songs would offer a more advantageous ratio of buildup to payoff than five-minute ones.

I've discussed and harshly dissed Love at 20 a few times before... you have to give them some credit for being good enough sports to keep sending me their music. I think they have every right to feel like they've improved substantially on their debut Time to Begin with the new EP To Have and Have Not. The biggest problem with the debut was that it didn't sound even remotely like the work of a band at any point, with legion effects-heavy guitar overdubs standing in for anything resembling instrumental interaction. To Have and Have Not sounds substantially more like a rock band, albeit one that has been extremely processed and snapped to grids. They've learned how to take stuff out from time to time instead of always adding more, more, more. But their efforts at rock songs are still slow-developing, rhythmically bland, and emotionally flat. I suppose they are merely keeping in step with current trends, notably the antiseptic production style of their biggest influence, post-reunion Weezer. The cavernous-sounding, isolated big rock drum fills of "Gone to Hide" are more lifelike than anything on the debut, but I still haven't heard the very least bit of evidence that this band can set up their equipment in a room all at the same time together and rock out. "Gone to Hide" features a few edgy, driving breaks that I honestly didn't think Love at 20 was capable of executing. Lots more of that, at the beginnings of songs in particular as all of these tracks start the same way, and fewer dribbling ballads like the interminable "Our House," please. If the band could figure out a way to make its rock songs not just sit there limply, they might have something, because the other side of their split personality is working. Like the first record's "So Bad," EP closer "Never" is a better-than-decent dance track. Moreover, it's not a copy of Love at 20's previous high-water mark, it's a pretty good song on its own merits. The replacement of the wooden-sounding bass and drums from the previous songs with a really good club beat places more emphasis on Mike Groener's chief strength, vocal melodies. The fact that the most produced song on this EP is its highlight, just like the album that preceded it, doesn't do anything to dispel the sneaking suspicion I've always had that Love at 20 isn't that much of a band.

The Simple Machines list six members on their Facebook, and I don't know whether to believe it or not... their recordings sound more like the work of one or two people. If they genuinely used their full lineup while recording their self-titled EP, everybody deserves a lot of props for exercising heroic restraint. Really smooth, distinctive singing is the big calling card of "Cloud Cover," "Where I When I," and "Fun," which are all placed at various points on the continuum between Death Cab and the Postal Service... not exactly the broadest range of influences. Insultingly simplistic, programmed-sounding drums keep the vocal tracks from being terribly memorable, although the spare use of guitar and organ pokes at strategic points suggests a decent sense for arrangements. The electronic instrumental "Under Your Eyelid" is my favorite of the four songs, although it hardly sounds like the same band. A much busier and exotic rhythm loop backs a peaceful wave of synth. Why couldn't we hear some more original beats like that on the pop songs? I think their singer is strong enough to stand up to some more adventurous choices in the music.

Second opinions from Anna: She couldn't get over the Magnificent Snails' Vampire Weekend rip job either, although we both liked "Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" She said Simple Machines sounded like "an unfunny Flight of the Conchords," and didn't share my enthusiasm for their ambient instrumental. She still holds a grudge against Love at 20 for boring her silly when we saw them live, and she hated their new stuff, although when I played her "Never" without telling her who it was she said she wouldn't mind dancing to it in a club. We really like that beat. Bali Yaaah! were the only band she expressed an interest in seeing live, so it's good they have shows coming up. There's no denying that they're repetitive, but for that particular style a certain amount of repetition is part of the effect.

Final note: After reading my first review Shmu asked me to perhaps revisit his LP going from back to front instead front to back. I followed those instructions, but I must report that I still didn't find it that interesting. I like the sounds on "Pool Party" but they don't go anywhere fast enough to suit these restless tastes. I vote for a Discipline/Communication megamix!

Tonight's the Night

2010-11-30T22:13:00.000-08:00

If you're in a band in Austin, how do you measure success? Is it about how many paying customers you can draw to a show? Do you go by press clippings, in town or otherwise? For many it's being able to make enough money to not have to work a day job, although by that standard just about everybody who plays original music here is a failure. For the most dedicated, being able to tour a few times a year, not bankrupt themselves, and still have a job and a home to return to is as good as it gets. Though a disturbingly high number of well-intentioned folks seem to feel as if the value of their music is directly connected to how much money they spend on it. I shudder to imagine a music scene where the only bands that get access to a larger audience are the ones who can afford hundreds of hours of Professional Studio Time (or to build their own studios), the services of mercenary PR spammers, or to rent lasers and smoke machines to make up for the lack of internal interesting things to look at during their concerts. On my bad days I suspect we are already more than halfway there.

I try to speak to as many local musicians as I possibly can. It doesn't surprise me any more, but it might be counterintuitive to some that the level of fulfillment people feel coming from their bands has little if any relation to their material success. Some guys in touring bands with big draws are miserable, ungrateful, and hostile (but not all of them). Some bands playing for five people at the Carousel Lounge are deliriously happy to just be making noise with their friends. Universally would-be Austin rock stars are a persecuted class -- recognition commensurate to the degree of passion and effort put in is a distant lottery-ticket dream, and hardly anybody this side of Kanye West ever becomes as famous as they believe they deserve to be. But like Kanye, we all shape our own reality. Whether your band's accomplishments fill you with the swell of pride or the rising bile of bitterness is entirely in your own hands. If you set goals for yourself that you can reasonably achieve, pursue them with gusto, and return your e-mails in a relatively timely fashion, you have every right to feel great about your band even if nobody else likes it.

Which brings us to The Midgetmen. If nothing else in eight-plus years of life the disheveled guitar rock quartet has given the rest of us in Austin with neither trust funds nor the burning desire to spend months at a time in our lives sleeping on strangers' floors a sturdy template for defining and achieving success on our own terms. The single hardest thing for a band to do is simply keep existing, and improbably the Midgetmen have soldiered on for more than eight years -- practically a decade -- with the same lineup. Their commitment to continue making records and playing shows through all this time while untold thousands of other bands formed, squabbled, and acrimoniously dissolved in Austin is extraordinary. It's something you can't take away from them, and it's something you've got to admire no matter what you might think of their music.

A big element of the Midgetmen's longevity is their sincere engagement with Austin's local music scene, spearheaded by bassist/charmer Marc Perlman. "Marc is a persuasive man," Dave from The Gary writes me. "I'm still trying to figure out how he got us to agree to play that Neil Young tribute this weekend." This particular event, which gathers together eleven significant Austin acts at the Parish to pay homage to the Canadian master, is only the latest in a long-running series of creative efforts on the part of Marc and the Midgetmen to make their shows stand out in a music environment that is choked with alternatives.

"We discovered after the first couple of years that the novelty wears out," Marc says. "Our friends like the Midgetmen because they're our friends. [Booking] bands that we like that don't sound like us made our friends happy." I've been operating this blog since day one on the theory that the best way to improve your own band's situation is by paying as much attention as you can to other local bands. The Midgetmen have been putting this theory into practice for years before I even hit town! "I'm shocked that more bands don't network," Marc says. We both lament the antisocial (yet widespread) behavior of bands in Austin who book shows, arrive right before their set time, pack in, play, pack out, and leave without listening to or even talking to any of the other musicians on the bill. "Get there before all the bands play" and watch everybody.

Finding a stream of other interesting local bands kept the Midgetmen's fan base entertained for a few years, but not forever. After returns from the strategy began to diminish, Marc and the band "started looking for new projects." But this NY night isn't just a device to give established listeners a reason to come see the band again. It's also another step in the Midgetmen's continuing effort to get themselves and some of their favorite other Austin bands notice from area music fans who might not normally pay attention to any of them, or local music in general. The lineup, and the venue, have been worked out carefully to appeal to both younger fans who are followers of the Austin scene and older listeners who will be attending due to their devotion to Neil Young. "It was originally going to be four or five bands," Marc explains, but after rounding up some of the more obvious choices "we decided to reach out to really weird bands. Not obvious bar rock, bands that no one would expect to cover Neil Young." Of the eleven-strong roster, the bands that have me most curious to hear their Young interpretations are The Sour Notes, La Snacks, and The Distant Seconds... younger bands who are two or three degrees of influence removed from Neil and could take his songs in unexpected directions. When in Rome are an all-star collection of hardened vets who have formed especially for this show. "Trey from The Gary insisted on being involved because he loves 'Powderfinger'," Marc says. (Well, that answers Dave's question.)

For the Midgetmen, the experience of learning their songs for the show was enlightening. Music lovers for generations have marveled at Neil Young's ability to create songs that are unmistakably his own using the simplest chord changes imaginable, "the four chords that have been used forever" in Marc's words. "It will be interesting to find out from the other bands whether they've had the same experience. Having to learn a few Neil Young songs forced everyone in the band to learn how those things translate."

Marc and I hang out, drink beer, and chat for some time about the music press in Austin; most of what we have to say even I'm not brave enough to share for public consumption. Suffice it to say that neither of us thinks the quantity and quality of coverage granted to local music measures up to the talent on display here. When the papers here catch up to a band, it's usually six months after everyone else. For the Neil Young show, Marc says quite pointedly that he tried to get bands "outside of mainstream attention. That was calculated.... There are plenty of bands that the Chronicle hates that I love." He feels, as I do, that the problem for local bands in Austin is not the fans. "People want to see local bands, but they are busy;" they don't have time to do all the legwork and research it takes to find the best local acts and the newspapers and radio stations aren't presenting them with the best options. A regular contributor to the local music review site Austin Sound, Marc takes music journalism almost as seriously as I do. We're not optimistic about the state of the art form. "Every year there's 'Top 20 albums' lists on every blog, and 15 of them are the same!"

The Neil Young tribute curated and hosted by the Midgetmen takes place this Friday, 12/3, at the Parish. The full lineup from first to last: The Distant Seconds, Blue Kabuki, Through the Trees, When in Rome, Whiskey Priest, The Pons, The Sour Notes, The Midgetmen, The Gary, La Snacks, Smoke & Feathers. Seven bucks will get you in and doors are at 8.

Kicking and Screaming

2010-11-29T16:42:00.000-08:00

As usual, it's only taken me a full year to figure out that this project will be more successful if I concentrate on giving the readers what they want instead of just doing everything my way. I hope you SOB's enjoy your show picks.

MONDAY Punk of no particular era with good songs and an elastic rhythm section, The Bad Lovers are playing at The Grand on Airport Boulevard. A lot of bands in Austin love blaming the venue when they don't sound good, but these guys were built for dives. If you can sound awesome in a concrete box like Trailer Space or The Parlor, you must be doing something right. Gritty, mordantly funny folk troubadour D.B. Rouse is playing at Flipnotics, too.

THURSDAY I'm not the biggest fan of The Hi-Tones, but I heard a great rumor about them I simply can't resist passing on. I was told that this same group of guys has been playing together for a few years under different names. They play until they get a bad review, then they change styles and pick a new name. Their current incarnation as an insincere mod-pop revival has apparently gotten positive enough feedback for them to stick to it. I don't know if this is true, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me given all I know about the "scene" here, where bands are often rewarded more for successfully emulating national trends than being creative. I saw the Hi-Tones play and thought it was monotonous. Anyway, go see them and make up your own mind. They're sharing a bill at the Continental with Megafauna, who are always worth seeing. They've got more than enough bizarre style shifts and weird time signatures to go around. Local rapper Zeale, a solid live performer with an impressively clear delivery, is at Parish. He's not really much for expanding on traditional hip-hop subject matter but he runs a party quite effectively. Follow That Bird! have grown a great deal from their no-fi origins. I think the word's already out on this trio but if you haven't seen them in a while, you might be surprised by how far Lauren Green's riffs and Tiffanie Lanmon's drumming have evolved after several months of steady gigging. They're at Red 7 with Milk Thistle.

FRIDAY The big show tonight is the Neil Young tribute at Parish. No fewer than 11 bands, most of which are good, are joining together for this blowout event organized by The Midgetmen. I really admire the effort that these guys are putting into finding new ways of connecting hardcore Austin music fans with underexposed local bands. They put a ton of thought into booking their shows and they really grasp the point I always am trying to make about bands in Austin taking it upon themselves to give listeners more than their money's worth. There's a lot more to say about this show, so I'm running a full story on it tomorrow, stay tuned. For now perhaps go listen to The Sour Notes, The Gary, and La Snacks, the absolute cream of the crop when it comes to Austin rock... I hope all of these bands win a ton of new fans this weekend. You should be among them, if you aren't already. Even if you don't know your Harvest from your Harvest Moon, I promise a good time. Also Friday we've got Royal Forest and The Lemurs for free at Lucky Lounge, a show so appealing I accidentally listed it last week. After seeing Royal Forest at Fun Fun Fun Fest I am rooting for their new name to become well-known enough that they will no longer have to put "formerly Loxsly" on all their show announcements. And talk about an embarrassment of riches! The Friday night indoor show at Emo's is pretty awesome, too: electro-dance to the edge of panic with Freshmillions and Zlam Dunk (CD release) plus the killer post-hardcore Markov and the trumpet-kissed, Kinsella-rock anthems of For Hours and Ours. Too much good stuff.

SATURDAY My dear friends World Racketeering Squad return to their favorite haunt, the Rockin' Tomato on South Lamar, celebrating the release of their latest EP Talking to the Radio with You Might Think We're Sharks in support. I've given WRS plenty of love; I am biased in their favor since few bands here love Brit-pop and science fiction with the same intensity as I do. But let me say something nice about the venue: The management at Rockin' Tomato cares more about making every show a great experience for the bands playing than most rock clubs in Austin. They're regularly making improvements to their soundboard and their stage setup, the staff is friendly and supportive, and the food is really good. All local bands should play there, if only for the opportunity to get some of their pizza and burgers for free.

SUNDAY Post-rock/art-pop/kitchen-sink act paperthreat jam for no cover at the One-2-One Bar, which is a new venue to me. It's on East 5th. Says here free pizza, which never hurts the cause any. I really like the diverse sounds of this band, who seem to just be coming into their own... they're powerful without being loud and dance-friendly without being repetitive. There are a lot of guitar bands in Austin trying to figure out how to bring their laptop beats up on stage without being clumsy about it. Most of them are failing, but paperthreat have it figured out. The fact that they have a real point of view in their songwriting helps a ton.

If you've got a recommendation for a show I passed over or are playing one yourself in the weeks to come, let me know!

For Cold Weather: Try Extremely Low Bass Frequencies

2010-11-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

All the shows Anna C. and I went to in the past week were heavy on electronic equipment and lower than usual on dudes with guitars. It could be mere chance. It could be that after Fun Fun Fun Fest we're a touch burned out on rock bands and ready to see what else Austin has to offer. Mostly, I think that it's because we're extremely poor and the shows we went to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were ones we could get into for free.

Bubbleface, who we saw Monday at Cherrywood Coffeehouse, were not exactly what I was expecting. All I knew about the group before last week was relayed to me by Sean Padilla, who lives in the same house where Bubbleface practices. From Sean's descriptions I was expecting music more difficult and chaotic... perhaps I was getting his views on the band confused with his views on his roommates' housekeeping. Although they do feature two musicians generating howling static, Bubbleface are really quite propulsive, warm, and sort of cheerful. While the rest of the trio sends out boops and beeps in cycles, the drummer keeps a very solid dance beat on an electronic kit... at least until his lunch break is over. They scheduled this show during his work hours and still found a way to lend two songs to Sean's end-of-tour celebration. A guest poet hectored the audience from atop an amp stack for the second tune, throwing out some word jazz over the oscillating tones. Not a terrible idea in theory but at the show I found myself tuning the spoken word out and concentrating on the beats.

We encountered Sex Bruises at the House of Commons co-op on Friday. They were pure noise, one musician tweaking knobs to shift the equalization of howling feedback and a second one kneeling over an electric bass and two cymbals (no stands, just two cymbals lying on the floor) and hitting them all as hard and as fast as possible. You're either into that sort of thing or you aren't, but for my part I found it to be a nice break from all of the half-baked attempts at rock songwriting I endure from local bands. Bracing is the word, I suppose. For what it's worth it wasn't monotonous and they kept the "set" going for just about the right amount of time, twenty minutes or so... a small but pretty attentive crowd stood listening for the whole time. Yatagarasu was more interesting still, a solo computer musician who uses predominantly synth voices from old 8- and 16-bit video game systems and combines his overdriven, irregular beats with aggressive shouting and the agitated persona of a top-notch hardcore frontman. He began his set by playing and singing a rather sweet little number on an old out-of-tune piano, which was a clever way of wrong-footing the listener before the digital assault of the rest of his set. I'd see Yatagarasu again for sure, ideally at a club with some really brawny powered speakers.

Wednesday night, we got free turkey and free beer at the Beauty Bar... I've really turned around when it comes to my attitude about that place. Not having to pay for stuff has that effect on me. A three-pack of worthy producers played original sets. El Nou Man had good stage presence and a nice sense for keeping the audience hooked... a few times I drifted outside to see about getting more turkey and Anna pulled me back in because the bass kicks were demanding us to dance. The variety of source material in his tracks kept the music fun to listen to as well as dance to, from hyper-speed rap to Joni Mitchell! I've seen a spate of MPC musicians lately and Curdoroi is one of the few who uses live keyboards extensively while making his music. Layering simple but effective original melodies over his tracks, his set wasn't as continuously beat-happy but it was intriguing to watch and try and figure out which sounds were coming from what part of his setup.

Chili played third and as I knew from seeing him a few weeks previously at Exploded Drawing, we were in good hands. I am not as sophisticated a listener of electronic and experimental music as I am of rock, jazz, or pop but no matter what it is I am listening first and foremost for changes, for new things that surprise me and defy my expectations. Chili's compositions have a ton of different ideas in them, and they move very quickly... he's a bolt of energy back there doing enough button-pressing for two or three people and although I have no idea what triggers what, I can say that his music progresses and dime-turns faster and more satisfyingly than I feel most dance music is capable of doing. Sometimes I wonder watching solo laptop or MPC players if they would be better off playing in a band; Chili's stuff sounds like a band, so much is going on.

Anna and I spent Thanksgiving with Zorch and Thax Douglas, playing Monopoly, eating turkey, and listening to records. (Lots and lots of progressive rock, although the new M.I.A. and Black Keys LP's worked their way in somehow.) The Austin music scene is our adopted family so having Turkey Day dinner with our favorite local band and the only writer in town who goes to more local shows than I do was most satisfying. Zorch and Thax have recorded an album together, did you know? According to the boys it's the most disturbing thing they've ever been involved in making. That's both intimidating and enticing to me.

No Holiday Tie-In Intended

2010-11-24T15:05:00.000-08:00

I can't stand holidays. To me the implication of special days set aside to recognize our loved ones, our veterans, our greeting card industry is that it's perfectly OK to completely take those things for granted the rest of the year. And Halloween! Girls (and boys), why indulge your impulse to dress like streetwalkers only one day a year? Why can't we have Shamrock Shakes all year round, why? So I insist that it's an unrelated coincidence that tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I just happen to be filled with gratitude and goodwill towards men today as I post. There's no calendar correlation whatsoever.

Anyway. On Monday I got to participate in a pretty special show at the Cherrywood Coffeehouse. Sean Padilla, sometimes known as The Cocker Spaniels, was celebrating his intact return from a five-week guerilla tour of the right-hand half of our states united. Giddy from elation and exhaustion, it was tough to get a coherent sentence out of the man. He looked like he needed a three-day nap and I hope this weekend he gets one. But Sean refused to consider the tour completed until the last note of the very last show, and he was determined to make his return to Austin a triumphant one. He drove his custom-painted tour van right up in front of the stage at Cherrywood, set mic stand and amp right up on top of it, and rocked from there, jumping down to dance with the audience and cue up new backing tracks from his laptop. Said laptop was a gift from one of the hundreds of devoted fans the C. Spaniels rocked on the tour, granted in Milwaukee after Sean spilled water on his own computer. The power of music and friendship combined is terrifying indeed. It can move mountains, or at the very least, certainly vans.

Dancing enthusiastically to "The Overeducated Underclass" I looked around and saw that everybody rocking out with Sean was a fellow Austin musician. Many of those in attendance were members of bands I've written about, friends I've made through my blog that I've been able to introduce to the Cocker Spaniels' music and that of many other buried gems right here in our home city. After many long years, indeed a lifetime, of feeling isolated, ostracized, and irrelevant it was galvanizing indeed to see people dancing, singing along, and having a good time and perceive my own small role in assisting that to happen. I feel strongly like Sean deserves audiences like that wherever he goes and in Austin, at least, it was within my power to help give him one. If anything I write helps bands that I love to grow their audiences, I have a purpose.

I started doing Big Western Flavor for a selfish reason: When I moved to Austin I really wished there was a site that recommended local bands based on how good and original a live show they put on, as opposed to how slick-sounding the clips on their MySpace page were. I'm perturbed by the fact that the bookers and media outlets in Austin that have the most say in which local bands get wider attention pretty much don't listen to any local music, and they sure as hell never go to any local shows. By and large, the local rock bands who get the most support from Austin music promoters make blandly inoffensive, middle-of-the-road formula sludge that reflects none of Austin's diversity, spirit, or uniqueness. Radio programmers and music "journalists" here aren't in the business of challenging local audiences or fostering the development of creative artists. Their job is to make their readers and listeners feel good about themselves by reinforcing what they already know. Take comfort in the familiar! I guess it's not that different in other American cities, but I feel like given Austin's reputation it ought to be far better than it is now.

Seeing The Cocker Spaniels again made me think about my own approach to writing. Despite different backgrounds, Sean and I are very similar in the ways we think about music. We're obsessively attentive to detail and we hear every element. As such sometimes I see my own flaws amplified in Sean, and I hope he will forgive me for bringing up this weak point in order to make a larger argument. I don't think either of us realizes, most of the time, that nearly everyone else doesn't hear music as completely and as comprehensively as we do. For a lot of people it can be more a vague impression or a feeling than any sort of advanced structural analysis. To me the job of a music writer is to help serious listeners to evolve past that point -- to teach them how to start hearing all of the parts in the whole. That's why reducing reviews to a string of comparisons, or merely relating one's personal feelings, doesn't count as "criticism" in my estimation. The idea is to provoke new thought, not to do someone else's thinking for them.

A year or so into my Austin existence, I realize that I can't make everybody think the way I do. It's just not going to happen. I can't even get Anna C. to put her jacket and shoes away after we come home from a show, or get our roommate to clear his dirty dishes from his room. Grudgingly, I admit that I have to make allowances for the way most people think if I want to set and meet achievable goals for Big Western Flavor in its second year of life.

Here's what I want to do: I want to get bigger crowds at local shows for bands that deserve it. I want to introduce local musicians to a larger pool of good Austin bands, so they can book more diverse shows and make it more worthwhile for fans to show up at gigs, not just once or twice but regularly. I want to create more opportunities for musicians lately arrived in Texas -- so many people move to Austin expecting to find it a musical paradise and grow quickly bitter and jaded. It's not because the opportunities aren't there, it's just that the noise to signal ratio is overwhelming. I want hardcore music fans in Austin who spend all their money on digital downloads and concert tickets and yet never even consider going to local shows to get their heads out of their asses, stop reading Pitchfork, and start reading Big Western Flavor. I never want to hear the question "What kind of music do you like?" asked again unless the answer is a resounding "LOCAL MUSIC!" We all live our lives on iTunes shuffle nowadays; might as well rearrange our listening priorities around the community instead of the fickle whims of smug out-of-towners. It's bad enough having to give our city over to these overindulged airheads every March; I don't see why we have to bend over backwards trying to behave like them the whole year round. Animal Collective suck.

I didn't come up with those goals all at once. I started doing the blog, and doing it allowed me to meet a lot of Austin musicians. Talking to them and seeing what worked and didn't work made it gradually clear what possibilities existed for bands in Austin to take a less than ideal environment and reshape it by their own actions. Nobody's going to do it for us.

All right, so what do I need to do to help bands and fans in Austin help themselves? The first thing I have realized is that most people don't absorb information the way I do... If I read or hear one detail about an Austin band ten months ago, I still have it verbatim at my fingertips right this moment. I just don't forget stuff. If you tell me you have a show, you can have faith that I will remember when and where it is. I might not go to it, but I won't forget about it! So it doesn't necessarily occur to me that if I recommended a band back in say, April, and they're playing a show this weekend, my readers are not going to be able to go find the show listings, recognize that band's name, know where the venue is, know that the other bands playing are cool too, show up, and have a wonderful time. I don't know why you people are all so dense, but I guess if I have to I will start doing weekly show listings, which is something I have resisted for a long time because I personally don't find such things to be of any utility. See, I'm meeting you halfway!

I guess that is a very labored way of introducing a (sort of) new feature but if you know anything about me and my weird brain you know change is something I resist with fingernails dug into the floor, sometimes literally. Anyway, going to start doing this Mondays. Please continue sending me show announcements. I draw the line at posting fliers, though. Some of my bizarre Luddite idiosyncrasies I will defend to the death.

WEDNESDAY Exploded Drawing 2 featured performer Chili is at Beauty Bar. Now in Austin by way of Boston, Chris Palmer works the MPC with a bit of epic drone-rock influence seeping in under the booming beats. Free Lone Stars from 9-10. Instrumental rockers vanishedCLAN play Red 7; fans of the rhythm-focused, gradually burning San Diego style (Drive Like Jehu, Three Mile Pilot) should check them out. Band members told me the show I discovered them at was their worst ever and I still thought they were pretty good. They've had some time to evolve and have added butt-kicking bassist Giuseppe Ponti (Tofu Kozo, Boy + Kite), so I am eager to see them again.

FRIDAY Muchos Backflips! and The Baker Family are at Emo's; an interesting contrast. The former is a long-running "adventure rock" outfit, well steered by marvelous drummer Eric Brown (also of Squidbucket). They get heavy, in between trumpet solos and spooky melodic breaks. Austin has a whole scene of smart-heavy bands and along with Invincible Czars Muchos Backflips! are the flag-bearers. Poppier, bordering on twee, The Baker Family reformed in Austin after its eponymous couple (Stuart and Liz) picked up roots from North Carolina. They balance their electro-pop inclinations with a more rustic approach on ballads, and plus vocals in either case. I'm not knocked out by any of their songs on its own, but I'm impressed by the confident way they can shift gears.

SATURDAY The winsome tenor vocals, lovey-dovey lyrics, and power-pop power chords of Quiet Company led me to initially categorize them in that group of MOR crowd-pleasers I detest, but it has been difficult to persist in disliking them. Their latest EP, Songs for Staying In, shows a real restless push towards change... having worked out how to do the pop single thing, they're seeing what else is out there. Of course, they still have choruses to make the young girls swoon. They rock surprisingly hard live, also to their credit. They're always trying to find new ways of reaching out and engaging fans, and their show Saturday at the ND is their first Twitter show... those in attendance who check in can see their tweets up on a big screen. Good luck tweeting more prolifically than Paul Osbon, their brilliant and tireless manager. Alt-country standouts Guns of Navarone are on that bill as well.

There, that wasn't so bad. We'll do this again Monday!

Too Much Fun Interview: Nick Nack

2010-11-23T15:31:00.000-08:00

I was worried that doing an amount of coverage commensurate to the value of three days' admission to Fun Fun Fun Fest would be a bad thing for the blog. After all, my mission statement here is to support Austin musicians, to listen to records and go to shows that other writers ignore entirely. If I'm spending the bulk of an entire month just talking about one big festival, am I abandoning what made BWF distinctive in the first place? I worry about these things. Other than taking way too much time to wrap up FFF and move on, I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out. The fest generated four really different stories about four extremely diverse -- and worthwhile -- local acts. And the increased attention I got from covering something on the beaten path for a change led to several more local musicians contacting me to pass the word about their bands. Success.

I owe him an apology for taking such a long time to write this, but Nick Nack was one of the most invigorating personalities I met in three days at Waterloo Park. He also worked harder than just about any other musician in attendance -- between his own set and backing up the League of Extraordinary Gz, Nick and his turntables were in action for two solid hours Saturday afternoon.

Nick Nack is a fixture when it comes to Austin hip-hop -- he's been spinning, producing, and community-building since the mid-90's. He founded GigaCrate.com, a wildly successful DJ-centric music download site. His Crowd Control records has offered releases by himself and others for fifteen years. More than anything, he's an amazing resource for musicians in Texas and worldwide -- he's like a one-man hub connecting talented people with the latest technology and the freshest beats.

While we're chatting in the artist tent he calls over his friend, turntablist and inventor JohnBeez, so he can explain more fully to me the brand new "fretless fader." A mixer that allows the DJ to crossfade and pitch with the same hand (I'm simplifying here), leaving the other free to scratch, the fretless fader is a good example of the constant evolution in technology that makes electronic/dance music so fascinating. Since the way the music is being made is constantly evolving, leading in the genre requires a lot of communication. The best DJ's and producers are always learning from other musicians, finding out what tools they use and what new ways of utilizing them they've created. It's quite a contrast from the world of guitar bands.

Although he's been active as a DJ and producer for nearly twenty years now, playing original compositions live is another new challenge for Nick Nack. The local electronic composer showcase Exploded Drawing, a few weeks before Fun Fun Fun, was his first original set. A phenomenon that's almost universal for rock bands kicked here as well -- Nick practiced his set many times and got it to what he felt was the perfect length, but when the energy of the real live performance kicked in, he flew through it too fast! "That's the roughest thing." For Exploded Drawing, "I did too many songs. I pared it down and did four today." He'd planned to divide his hour set evenly between originals and DJ stuff, but his four songs ended up taking barely 15 minutes! Figuring out how to do his original stuff live is another new challenge for a guy who seems to welcome them.

Nick recommends the forums on the Crowd Control website as a good place for Austin fans who are new to the scene to begin forming connections, learning about events, and trading tips with other creative types. His list of recommended Austin bands has the wide breadth you would expect from a DJ: Ghostland Observatory, White White Lights, Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, Akote Soul, DJ Odeon, White Denim, Crew 54, L.A.X., Ocote Soul, DJ Mel, Peligrosa, Chick n' George, DJ Wise.

Too Much Fun: Sunday

2010-11-16T15:13:00.000-08:00

Sunday at Fun Fun Fun Fest had a very different vibe from Saturday. I had only one interview scheduled, and spent a lot less time in the backstage area. If Saturday was about soaking up a little of everything, Sunday I changed my focus to watching entire sets by artists I was particularly interested in. Anna C. bought a ticket just for Sunday and we stayed together for most of the day. I tried not to make her walk as many miles around in circles as I did by myself on Saturday.

Crew 54, a hip-hop duo out of Killeen with a live backup band, did an excellent job of playing early with high energy. I liked their distorted bass sound and contained, funky horn solos. Austin's own Eagle Claw launched the Black Stage Sunday, instrumental metal with a digital-cable attention span. I always loved Metallica's "Orion"; imagine if they could self-edit! Over at the Yellow Stage, one of the real sleeper performances of the whole Fest was delivered by the local comedian/nerdcore rapper Terp2It. With bodyguards, a loopy hype man, and sneakily well-written rhymes and tracks, Terp brought all his personality to bear on the boxing ring stage, rhyming about and distributing snacks. At the peak of his set, he had half of his long black beard shaved off, then returned to rap about kitties and lead off the air sex competition after dark, hours later. Forget Monotonix -- that was the best beard-related performance of the weekend.

Although we self-identify as "indie" people we kept drifting back to the Black Stage all day -- the bands were more engaging and the people there were friendlier. Peelander-Z married Japanese garage rock to full-body GWAR-style audience engagement, filtered through a Saturday-morning-cartoon sensibility that was far too sugary for me. I'm mostly grumpy about bands that rely entirely on visual appeal, and this was one of them. Off! were a real pleasant surprise, a new band featuring some very experienced West Coast hardcore players. They killed it, bringing some newer rhythms and arrangement ideas to straightforward old-style songs. It was a nice combination of San Diego and L.A. styles. Enjoyed watching Keith Morris stalk the stage, talk about getting wasted all weekend, and mention his bandmates stage-diving during Bad Religion the night before. I appreciated that sort of enthusiasm from the heavy bands all Fest long.

I put Anna in front of Kylesa before their set started because I knew, although she did not, that the Georgia metal quintet features a woman guitarist and singer, Laura Pleasants. As I expected, she was pretty impatient waiting for the band to start... until she saw they had a tough, tattooed lady shredding leads. Everybody has their own biases! There are many other original qualities to Kylesa. They have two drummers, who sometimes play in unison, and sometimes play parts that interlock. Phillip Cope has an odd, reedy voice for metal. They emphasize changes over technical prowess. The always layered drumming, which occasionally expanded to include four band members pounding toms, kept them distinctive while not particularly melodic.

Only journalistic obligation kept me checking in at the Orange Stage, which was pretty weak all Sunday. Magic Kids and their winsome folk didn't really project much distance from the stage. Deakin presented an interminable stretch of whaling on a processed guitar while he and a confederate pushed laptop buttons. There's some mystery to his Eastern-tinged singing, but not in a bright-sunny, dust-covered midday environment. Toro y Moi demonstrated again the perils of the laptop artist hiring a drummer without giving them instructions to do anything beyond replicate the record's loops. Kaki King was one of the more interesting performers of the weekend of the "indie" designation, but seemed at a loss for what to do in the festival setting. King played a lot of strummy rockers and did little of the percussive fingerstyle playing that is her stock in trade. A band made up of a leaden drummer and a fellow using an EWI (electronic wind instrument) to make syn-bass noises didn't exactly support her with sensitivity.

Cults made absolutely no impression of any kind on me, although I stood in front of them for quite some time. My interview with Eagle Claw kept me occupied during the performance by Best Coast, quite by design. I caught their last one and a half songs and rather liked them, but Anna and Scott both said that they were only interesting for about one and a half songs. Polvo were a band I supported quite enthusiastically during the 90's; their album Exploded Drawing in particular. Sadly they did not live up to my memories as well as Cap'n Jazz did the day before. The sound mix was extremely poor, making them sound harsh and mushy. I also think their post-reunion drummer lacks the feel to play off the rolling, poking, tagging guitars the way their original percussionist did. Deerhunter were another real bore. I don't know their records very well but I listened to them for a while in preparation for the festival and found myself being drawn in. Live they didn't have anything approaching the same shifting, slow-developing quality. They were as drab as Interpol, thudding repeated drum parts and guitars and bass chopped at in sullen waves. The Hold Steady were more tedious still, unnecessary guitar players mildly slotting in the same old chords while a sub-Barenaked Ladies smartass vocalist bored us with his unoriginal opinions to the same two-note melody.

Pharaohe Monch, on the Blue Stage, was the out-of-town highlight of the whole festival for me. With a DJ and two talented backing singers, Monch commandingly combined hardcore rap with old-school soul. Each performer had their own personality and energy to bring to the show, and the MC at center stage had unforgettable charisma -- he doesn't beg for your attention, but he expects it. Multiple times during the show the DJ stopped the record to extol the crowd to get more involved, to work as hard as the musicians on stage were working. They weren't going to let anybody waste their time. I was afraid to leave when Pharaohe Monch was on stage. He might have called me out. I was going to stay right there and wave a hand or two in the air, interview schedule be damned. Nortec Collective, earlier on the same stage, had the crowd entranced with a very different kind of stage presence. Two guys with iPads, a tuba/trumpet player, and an accordionist played an irresistible blend of house and mariachi. Wearing incompletely matching outfits that mixed traditional with club cool, the four musicians presented an unlikely united front line, producers with their modern tools dancing and smiling along with old-line acoustic players. Their setup allowed them to sample one tuba figure so a live trumpet solo could be played over it later. Ableton software is pretty amazing....

Every festival comes with its missed opportunities. Sunday I regretted not seeing Jean Grae and The Bronx in particular. I also kind of regret the way the night ended. Mastodon and The Descendents were playing head-to-head, and I really love both of those bands, for very different reasons. We decided to start out with the Descendents, since it was their first show in several years and maybe their last in Austin ever. Maybe it was being worn out from the whole weekend of rocking, maybe it was that I only really know Milo Goes to College of their albums well, maybe it was that they weren't in top form -- but I wasn't really moved. It didn't seem like the culmination of the greatest music festival ever. We went to go check out Mastodon.

I had heard rumors that Mastodon used backing tapes somewhat to help support their vocals, which are not their strong suit as musicians. On album, they use guest singers and production tricks quite effectively -- it's one of the reasons that they've attracted a lot of nontraditional metal listeners even though they are quite pointedly a metal band. At least at this show, they used outside help sparingly, just some keyboard patches to introduce some of the newer songs. The vocals were live and rough. That satisfied me. They're significantly more aggressive and purist "metal" on stage, faster and brawnier and way less arty. That's probably the safest way to go to keep most audiences happy. I would love to see them mount a full-on prog rock tour with a bunch of backing singers, guest musicians, keyboard players, and engineers, but my favorite band of all-time is Genesis. I'm crazy.

In summation, I had a pretty good time at Fun Fun Fun Fest. Getting all of the interviews, seeing all of the bands I wanted to, and writing about it within a relatively short span of time were all welcome challenges. I am not sure whether I want to do the whole thing again next year. I am more sure than ever that writing about local bands is the best use of my blog. You don't have to go to any festivals to see local bands. Indeed, while I was stressing out about making good stories out of the limited interview windows I had with all of these festival bands, I could have been going to more Austin shows and having more musicians over for the longer-form chats that have been the source of most of the best articles I've written. Festivals are all about a lot at once and as someone who tends to focus in on the smallest details, not the best fit for my personal reporting style.

But I applied to do it, was accepted, and I did the most I could. I'm glad to have emerged on the other end with my sanity and my hearing still intact. Got one more interview with Nick Nack coming up soon, and then I can finally close the book on Fun Fun Fun and get back to covering shows that nobody else covers. Or even attends.

Too Much Fun Interview: Royal Forest

2010-11-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

Royal Forest are a band you can label right away. But be aware the label may not stick. They are delicate and melodic at first glance, all pretty vocals and power-ballad piano, but between the big showpiece moments in their songs are unexpected detours through rough territory. Live the band turns their backs a bit on the precisely arranged nature of their recordings, allowing chaos to enter in. They don't jam, precisely, but they are more willing than you would expect given the ambitious, tightly composed elements of their writing to let things unwind and see what happens. This mix of the planned and the unplanned makes their music interesting.

It seems appropriate that they've had a name change already in their career... it fits the shifting, castles-in-the-sand quality that I like most about them. "A little more sober" in the early afternoon than they might have been for an evening show, the quintet winds down its Saturday set with a patient, slow-burning cover of Neil Young's "Borrowed Tune" that summarizes their intent nicely. Some time later I meet up with Justin, Cody, Eric and Garrett in the artist tent.

As the band formerly known as Loxsly continues developing their identity as Royal Forest, they're working on bringing more of the uncertainty of their live shows to their recordings. In the studio up to this point, they've had really firm ideas, "philosophies," about what they want to accomplish on a recording. By contrast, they "don't have any idea" what they sound like live. For their next album, they're tracking "to tape, all in a room" for the first time. That could lead to a shift in sound from earlier efforts that were constructed part by part.

It also requires new working methods. Justin has set up a studio in remote Leakey, Texas, taking his equipment out to a place where Royal Forest find few distractions. Recording is "the only thing you can do in Leakey. It makes us work." Work will continue on the next record in the new year. The band hopes to have a few tracks from the Leakey sessions completed in time for the next major Austin music festival in March.

I never get tired of tour stories... it's funny how every band has different luck; how there's certain cities for everybody that click or don't click. Royal Forest love Columbus (although they understand that's "not the norm" for many touring bands), Brooklyn, Washington, D.C., and Tulsa (even though every time they go there they get food poisoning). They're not big fans of Olympia, Washington, where the meth-heads evidently set up on blankets right out in the street to celebrate the weekend. "Bands on the East Coast have it easy," they say. Coming from out west where cities are further apart, the tiniest flaw in a tour plan can make the difference between profit and catastrophe. A rented tour van with insufficient fuel efficiency led to cancellations on one jaunt, for which they blame The Lemurs, from whom the van was procured. Royal Forest are eager to jump-start their official band feud with The Lemurs.

Touring must be done, for a lot of reasons. "There are a lot of Austin bands that don't draw here that are more relevant out of town." And they echo the commonly-voiced sentiment that hometown fans and writers aren't interested in Austin bands until someone outside the community pays them attention. In town, they have learned to be selective. "We burned out on taking every show we can get." They love Mohawk, and the U.S. Art Authority is a favorite new venue -- "a little bit different than the usual." Favorite local bands: Frank Smith, The Great Nostalgic (who have recorded at Justin's Shine Studios), YellowFever, Oh No Oh My.

I hope to see Royal Forest playing more frequently in Austin, as their development as a live band seems to just be taking flight. Something I forget all the time, writing about as many brand new bands as I do, is that it takes years sometimes for a group of musicians to really gel into a proper band. Band name changes and tour disasters notwithstanding, Royal Forest have kept the flame alive.

Too Much Fun: Saturday

2010-11-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

I overslept Saturday morning. Anna having been at work and unable to attend "Weird Al" festivities, we went out Friday night to get a her a weekend dose of music at a house party featuring Half Mile Fox Fur, Planets, and The Creamers. We saw 40-odd barely-legal kids shoved into a living room hardly bigger than our own. No stands being present, a microphone hung from a ceiling fan. The bottled-up kids got rowdy to the fast, loud, inaccurate music. It rocked pretty hard, possibly as hard as Fun Fun Fun Fest. Just wanted to remind you again that other music options are always present in Austin.

After some morning hand-wringing I was after all able to arrive at the park before any music even began, just a few minutes after twelve. Having announced my intention to cover principally local music to the authorities who approved my press credential, I felt obligated all three days to get to Fun Fun Fun promptly. Every Austin band that played was either first on its stage or damn near it. I ran in between stages Blue, Orange, and Black early Saturday to distribute my attention between Royal Forest, Butcher Bear and Charlie, Woven Bones, The League of Extraordinary Gz, Nick Nack, and Hatred Surge. All six acts were done before 2 PM Saturday.

Nick Nack combined original material and DJ stuff in his set and was employing brand new technology. It was only his second time playing original material live, after Exploded Drawing, and by his own admission he rushed through it. Knowing more now about the scene for electronic producers in Austin, I hope he gets a lot more chances to do his own stuff. Royal Forest split their very melodic, hopeful verses up with some engagingly loose instrumental rambles. I don't think they really know how to use their pedal steel. Hatred Surge were hardcore of appropriate volume and tastelessness level for the Black Stage environment, but I felt they weren't brutal enough for their name -- they sounded more like a mere dislike surge. League of Extraordinary Gz brought a live drummer, a mascot, and a whole lot of rappers to their early set time. Their song subjects are the usual -- being cool, smoking weed, where they're from -- but their local pride and their nice assortment of different rhyme styles are winning. I've seen Butcher Bear spin before and I've gotten used to seeing his red-costumed self all over the place, but this was my first time seeing him with his duo partner Charlie. Their set was kind of long on covers and short on melody, lacking the energy that many of the other Blue Stage acts had that day. I don't know if 1:30 in the afternoon is their peak performance time.

Woven Bones are a band I know a thing or two about, although I haven't completely formed an opinion of them. I saw them for a vanishingly short time in January. Their recordings while intriguing are deliberately obscure-sounding. A lot of local musicians I like have, to put it mildly, skeptical views of them. I wish for all these reasons that I'd been able to stay for every second of their set Saturday, because I was really enjoying what I was hearing the first several songs. Their songs have simple parts but the changes come quickly and there sure are hooks. The way the drums, guitar, and bass all kind of sit in a slightly different place rhythmically is soulful. I dislike that they only have one style, but I'm kind of at a loss for what other style they would do. I liked that they made an effort to look alive even though they surely deserved a bigger crowd.

After 2 it was time for me to go meet up with bands for interviews, which went off both days almost entirely without a hitch. For that I have a few managers and mostly the musicians themselves to thank for being totally on the ball and enthusiastic about the opportunity. Nick Nack, The League of Extraordinary Gz, Eagle Claw, and Royal Forest were all very welcoming towards me and I appreciate that a lot. Interviews aren't the most natural thing for me to do, but I need to do them, for Fun Fun Fun Fest and otherwise. Even I get tired of hearing only my own voice all of the time.

Because the Blue Stage was right by the artist tent, I saw at least a little of most of Saturday's hip-hop artists there. Devin the Dude was putting on a show appropriate to his reputation, and sadly it seems like Slick Rick's once-melodious voice has left him. Rick sounded hoarse and out of sorts. Female rappers Invincible and Dominique held it down but it was Big Freedia who made the biggest impression, maybe of the whole day. The transgender New Orleans sissy bounce queen was absolutely thunderous, from her vocal proclamations to the intensity level of the multi-ethnic ass-throwing that was taking place on stage. After dark, Delorean were one of my favorite rock bands of the whole weekend, although they fit on just fine on the dance stage. Their powerful drummer combined with live bass and balanced keyboards for a sound that's of-the-moment but doesn't sacrifice the importance of songs.

Most of the Orange alternatives I saw paled in comparison. Antlers really captivated me when I came across them, but sadly it was at the very end of their set. Wavves were predictably bland and off-key; the new trend of dysfunctional kids becoming famous through their laptops without ever having to learn how to play with or arrange for a rock band needs to stop, right now. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti made no impression, and Os Mutantes were done in by questionable sound and an apathetic audience. Cap'n Jazz were a bright spot. I was always more a fan of their numerous splinter groups -- Promise Ring, American Football, Joan of Arc -- but it was nice to see the complete lineup of the band presenting a pretty dead-on impression of what they must have been like in their brief heyday. Including, of course, rambling pseudo-intellectual gibberish between songs from the inspired but insufferable Tim Kinsella. No one cares about what you think about the problems modern society faces with regard to pronouns, Tim. Please never change. Dirty Projectors seemed to me like intolerable noodling, and bigger fans of their work than I told me the sound for their set was awry as well. I am unmoved by MGMT on record and now having seen them live, I remain so. I give them some props for deliberately following up their hit debut with a super-weird album that has no singles and nobody likes. However, they would have to be at least one-tenth as good as Beck to keep adhering to his career path so closely, and I say that they are not. See also: Wavves.

I didn't spend a ton of time at the Black Stage Saturday, and looking back that's my biggest regret of the weekend. Sunday Anna C. and I kept heading back there and we never regretted it. Of the bands I did see Saturday, The Dwarves and The Vandals brought it loud. The Dwarves to me were a band whose record covers have been amusing me since the early 90's -- whose music I had never heard. That is no longer true. There was really no way that it was going to live up to the bizarreness standard of those LP's, but at least it was good, honest dirty fun. The Vandals only retain the drummer from their original lineup, but as long as there are fans left alive who know the words to their classic songs, you figure they will be touring. I liked the way the singer and bassist traded off at the end. Why not? Obviously the guys who are playing in the latter-day Vandals must be the biggest fans in the world of the band they're now in. The Black Stage had a constant theme of musicians and fans who were just as happy as hell to be there.

Finally, I couldn't resist the opportunity to see GWAR again. I've known of them since the very early 1990's, and it's pretty radical that their music and show haven't changed at all in 20 years. Their songs still consist of undifferentiated thrash riffs over which single phrases are shouted repetitively. Blood still spews from inanely fake-looking costumes and props; folks in the pit get messy. It's more pointless to criticize GWAR than possibly any other heavy metal band in history. They are exactly what they are, and still packing them in. Talent and creativity are great, but presentation? In presentation lies a career.

Too Much Fun Interview: League of Extraordinary Gz

2010-11-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning. Fun Fun Fun Fest is just getting started for real. Food vendors are beginning to hum and the two distinct crowds that will huddle in front of the Black and Orange stages all day are filing in and sorting out. On the weekend the park never seemed very full until about five in the afternoon. That's to be expected, but disappointing nonetheless. From my perspective the most interesting performers were the ones who were most excited to be there, and they were all playing between 12 and 2 on Saturday and Sunday. This included all of the local bands invited to play the festival, other than the Austin Queen tribute band, Magnifico, who played first thing Friday evening.

Bringing a live drummer, a slick DJ, a hype lion, T-shirts, mixtapes, and a spectacle worthy of a headliner to the Blue Stage bright and early Saturday, The League of Extraordinary Gz set the bar high for Central Texas acts performing at Fun Fun Fun Fest. A supergroup formed from the personnel of smaller crews Dred Skott, Southbound, and Da C.O.D., the League have a variety of flow and beat styles that reflects their size and diversity. Heavier, leaner Dirty South tracks trade with melodic East Coast productions, and the live drums nod to the funked out L.A. style. They have as broad a selection of voices and rap styles as they do music, from rapid rants to thick Texas accents to commanding old-school cadences. On stage they keep the energy high, trading off featured performers and giving each rapper a chance to shine. Despite the variety they seem like a true crew, fans of each other's writing, shouting out on their favorite lines even when there's not enough microphones to go around for everybody. They had a lion mascot doing his best to get CD's to the most excited dancers in the crowd, and DJ Nick Nack dropped in a quick scratch showcase. Really nice set. You can check out some of the highlights on the Concealed Weapons 2 mixtape, available for free download at loegz.com.

Speaking later to Gz Tuk, Lowkey, Reggie, and Greezo, I learn a little bit more about the atmosphere surrounding hip-hop in Austin. I can see why they're not likely to take any opportunity to perform for granted. While Austin likes to consider itself an oasis of tolerance, a lot of music fans here might be surprised by how difficult it still is for hip-hop artists to earn the basic respect performers in other genres here take for granted. "We still in the South," the Gz tell me, and there are still clubs on 6th Street that it's hard for certain members of the League to even get into, just because of their race. In 2010. Think about that for a second.

After an incident at Spiro's in May of 2009, it's harder than ever for hip-hop acts to book shows in Austin. The League of Extraordinary Gz has formed, in part, out of response to that difficulty. The crew members are pragmatic about the situation, accepting that nowadays, it falls upon the group to convince clubs their shows aren't a risk. "A lot of hip-hop acts don't treat it like a profession." The League have combined forces to present a brand name to promoters that guarantees a different audience, one that brings with it safe, well-organized shows that are about bringing together fans of different backgrounds to enjoy live hip-hop. "We appreciate those spots" in Austin that will host hip-hop shows, including Aces Lounge, Club Crucial, and Lucky Lounge. Ultimately, booking bigger events in Austin has nothing to do with what genre you are -- "if your money's right," you can make it happen.

While their influences are all over the map, one consistent element in League of Extraordinary Gz songs is pride in Texas and Austin in particular. They rap proudly about being from the land of the Longhorns, and one chorus has the crowd shouting along, "AUSTIN! Where's that? TEXAS! Where's that? TEXAS!" In rap scenes where there isn't a long history of commercial successes, local MC's can sometimes be guilty of sounding like they'd rather be from somewhere else. The League of Gz are Austin to the core. Other area hip-hop they recommend: fellow Fun Fun Fun performers Crew 54, Poison Boyz, Das Lo.

Too Much Fun: Friday

2010-11-10T16:01:00.000-08:00

This is the first year they've extended Fun Fun Fun Fest to a third day, Friday. I don't know whether this was a financially successful move or not. Discounted tickets for just Friday went on sale last week. It wasn't terribly crowded except for "Weird Al" Yankovic's customarily long set, and drew a smaller, less diverse, and overall much more sedate audience than Saturday and Sunday. For a first-time FFF attendee, it was nice to have the chance to get the lay of the land with a shorter, scaled-back schedule of events. It might have been nice to see the full character of the festival recognized with dance or hip-hop artists performing on Friday, but I don't know how rappers feel about "Weird Al." I also imagine that the added evening gave the organizers to book some slightly bigger comedians and give them later sets without breaking up the flow of the music stages during the weekend.

Magnifico, Queen tribute from right here in Austin, kicked off the whole thing to a sparse but receptive crowd. Tribute bands are a funny thing: They can be technically perfect, they can dress and even look exactly like the original, use effects processors to get precisely the same sounds, and it's not fun except for hardcore fans. It's the ones that have their own personality, their own life as a band that tend to be the most fun to watch for general listeners. Magnifico have their own vibe, with a balding Freddy Mercury who subs in magnificent curly mutton chops for rock hair, a lady bass player, and a game guitarist who also does a pretty fair David Bowie impression for "Under Pressure." They're musically tight but rough enough to have some character and the singer really does have the voice... and the presence... and the three-quarter mic stand thingy.

Todd Barry was funny and soundcheck interruptions from the other side of the stage though annoying allowed you to focus right in on what Barry does best, which is get cooler and quieter when irritated rather than screaming and yelling like the weak Chris Hardwick did a little later. Hardwick was all shouting and gay and redneck jokes. Super. The Apples in Stereo are a band I got really excited about when first listening to the first song on their second album, "Seems So." Got even more into them when the second song on that record, "What's the #," played. That was pretty much my peak excitement moment for the Apples in Stereo. Although they've continued making records, and evolved after their own fashion by adding several more synthesizer players, they've never really escaped past the basic song structures of Fun Trick Noisemaker and Tone Soul Evolution. It hasn't really worked for me since that unintentionally creepy video they made with the Powerpuff Girls. Tuning in and out during their set, I couldn't help but think of the Austin band School of Liars, whose leader looks and sounds like he could be head Apple Robert Schneider's little brother. Just in the year I've been in Austin I've seen School of Liars grow and evolve more than the Apples in Stereo have since, what's that say here, 1997?

"Weird Al" Yankovic hasn't needed to vary his approach all that much since 1979. He has changed either very little or not at all, depending on how highly you value a mustache. But that he's still a significant concert draw and a genuine celebrity even after all this time speaks to how appealing a formula he has. He's a good enough musician to make parodies in a hundred different styles even as trends shift beneath him. Studying all of these popular songs so closely has taught him lyric structure back and forth -- his songs can be deeply stupid, but they almost always develop a story across the verses, set up and pay off hooks, and match the tone of the music to the subject. His band is terrific (and has been with him forever). Al can write a song like "Dare to Be Stupid" that's not a Devo parody so much as it is a tribute so dead-on that the real Devo should have performed it with him.

Past the fact that he's a great musician and an entertainer, "Weird Al" has a charisma that's all his own. The awkward, the misshapen, the socially inept flock to his banner. He's not been so much consistently popular as he comes in and out of style on waves, returning triumphantly every time pop trends get so ridiculous that they barely need parody lyrics to be laugh-out-loud funny. From "White and Nerdy" to "Fat" to "Jungle Cruise Ride," his stories keep coming back to the point of view of outsiders. Yankovic's success is a gentle reminder to a legion of fans that being uncool can be awesome.

Since nothing moves nerds quite like exhaustive details, the "Weird Al" concert experience is a video-heavy parade of costume changes and prop jokes. Even having seen the videos for "Smells Like Nirvana," "Amish Paradise," "Fat," all many times, seeing the jokes repeated on stage is largely still funny. It's the humor of recognition, not surprise, but the funniest thing about "Weird Al" is that he's recognized by millions. Live he capitalizes on that with a benignly self-serving constant stream of video clips recapping every bit of high and low pop culture that has tipped a cap to Al. He could probably stand to update a lot of this material. Multiple clips from UHF are not necessary, great as it is. We all watch that movie several times a year, right? Not just me? And it's funny how some of the big-time fake celebrity interviews don't seem so far-fetched any more. "Weird Al" is bigger than Celine Dion now, right? Jessica Simpson would totally do a movie with him! He's gotten Aaron Paul and Olivia Wilde for one of the funnier new video bits in his show, a trailer for a fake biopic called Weird.

It's pointless to criticize "Weird Al" Yankovic for being mass-audience. Or to go into too much depth about how in the YouTube era his songs have gotten a lot more topical and reactionary, and a lot less timelessly silly: "Craigslist," "I Bought on eBay." So what if it's the same bits every song, every tour, for as long as they get laughs. There's always a new generation arriving ready to love Al Yankovic, one popular musician guaranteed never to be too cool for anybody.

Too Much Fun Interview: Eagle Claw

2010-11-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

Mighty four-man New Wave of American Heavy Metal outfit Eagle Claw were the last Austin band I interviewed at Fun Fun Fun Fest. By that time I was a little bit punch-drunk from having had little to eat besides complimentary energy bars for three days. I was also coming directly from a Pharaohe Monch set. Suffice it to say I wasn't at the top of my game, and I wasn't about to take comprehensive interview notes. I definitely called them Woodgrain at least once. Thanks to the guys from the band, Bart, Matt, Michael, and Luther, for being easy to talk to and super cool.

What I like most about Eagle Claw's music is the way they work each part for just as long as they need to, then move on to the next idea. Staying interesting playing instrumental metal is all about creating dramatic changes and keeping them coming quickly. By switching between groove-oriented passages and guitar-driven, melody-focused sections, Eagle Claw show different sides of their classic and current influences. Like the best current metal acts sharing the Black Stage with them (High on Fire, Kylesa, Mastodon) they shift back and forth between time periods pretty freely and care less about tradition than pure rocking.

Talking to the band I learn that they write collaboratively and the effort to keep part lengths trim and efficient is a group one. It's out of respect for the riffs that that Eagle Claw try to keep from overusing any one of them. They'll practice doing a section for 20 bars for a few months, then inevitably someone will get bored and suggest cutting to eight, or six, or four. They'll try that and if it feels better shorter, that's how it will end up being played. Muscle memory is a big part of what makes the band work. Once the part is written and edited down for max efficiency, that's how it's performed.

Every rock band I spoke to at Fun Fun Fun touched upon the importance of touring, but Eagle Claw put in it a perspective I hadn't really considered for a while. The way they see it, the "humbling" experience of playing somewhere where no one knows who you are and absolutely no one cares is an essential part of getting a band tough and hungry enough to do what it takes to succeed. They talked about playing a show for six people in Oklahoma and selling $100 worth of merch that night, because they rocked those six people so hard. Having some nights on the road where they made no money at all must have been necessary preparation for that.

Throughout the weekend, I noticed a big difference in the atmosphere around the metal/punk/hardcore Black Stage and that surrounding the hipster/indie Orange Stage. The bands and the fans at the Black Stage, across the board, just seemed way more grateful to be there. I shared this observation with the Eagle Claw boys and they knew just what I was saying. "The Black Stage is where it's at."

Eagle Claw's favorite Austin bands: Pack of Wolves, Tia Carrera, and Woodgrain. Drummer Bart has worn a Woodgrain shirt every show Eagle Claw has played. You can next see them in Austin Friday, November 19th at Red 7 -- it's a free show, and Pack of Wolves and my friends in the radical Squidbucket are playing too. Find out more about the Claw at eagleclawhurts.com -- web site name drawn from actual audience feedback.

Too Much Fun Preamble: Well, How Did I Get Here?

2010-11-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

I have no fewer than seven posts about Fun Fun Fun Fest to write over the next few days. In addition to act-by-act accounts of all the music I saw over the three days, I have stories about the four very different Austin artists I interviewed Saturday and Sunday. As I usually do before beginning massive projects, I took all of Monday off to decide about whether I cared about offending anybody.

Most of the time, I cleverly give my strong opinions on local bands that are too obscure for anyone to care what I think. If I do my thing on all the national bands I saw this weekend, all with followings, people are inevitably going to get mad. I've already stepped afoul of one of the finest musical opinions in Austin. Robert, the rock-authority leader of the great La Snacks and one of the few people allowed in the backstage area at the FFF Fest I didn't feel way too uncool to hang out with, loved The Hold Steady. Anna C. and I hated The Hold Steady. So there you have it.

As I was coming back into the paying-customer area after my get-together Sunday with the fine gentlemen of Eagle Claw, I ran into a maybe-not-even-twentysomething who recognized me. He was just outside the fence trying to peer over into the mystical Narnia of Backstage, a land I'm sure he imagined in visions of freely flowing champagne and frolicking starlets. It's more like tangled equipment cables, the same beer you can buy outside, and lots of little clots of people who know each other already chatting quietly or sitting and staring. Not so dramatic. I thought briefly about giving the young man my media wristband, since all I really had planned for the rest of the night was half a bratwurst (and holding my breath until Anna relented and let me see a few songs from Mastodon). I thought better of it. They have serial numbers on those things, and in the unlikely event this young enthusiast attempted to hog-tie Bethany Cosentino I'd just as soon not have that come back around on me. So I told him to start a blog instead. Pretty proud of this.

Most of my friends in Austin are writers or musicians or both. I'd want to know, if I were them -- upon finding out that Western Homes got free a three-day pass to Fun Fun Fun Fest, two tote bags, a couple of tacos, and to shake hands with "Weird Al" Yankovic -- how that could me next year.

Musicians? I don't want to name names when it comes to how each local band that played got booked at the Fest. I heard at least a little of every Austin band, and not a single one of them didn't deserve to be there. There were plenty of out-of-town acts worse than the least interesting local band. But I talk to a lot of musicians in Austin who want to know how to play at specifically this festival. They think, often, that they deserve it based solely on their talent and that the festival will instantly confer upon them the recognition they feel they deserve.

They may not know that every local band plays earlier than two in the afternoon, hours before the bulk of the crowd shows up. They may not know that by getting to this point, many of the bands have already gotten to the level where they're playing to much larger audiences nights in Austin and outside of town. Austin is so competitive, especially when it comes to rock bands, that by the time you're "big enough" to play Fun Fun Fun, you may already be so well-known that it doesn't matter. Oh, and "big enough" does not mean you're making any money. It probably means that you're just able to break even when you go on the road... when absolutely everything goes right. And your reward for that is getting to tour so much that you can't hold a day job and your spine becomes permanently curved from sleeping sitting up. Be careful what you wish for.

So, here are a few ways you can get booked at Fun Fun Fun. You can be friends with someone who books it, from your old hometown before you moved to Austin or from your job. You can tour like a maniac until finally some writers from outside Austin pay attention to you, assuming your style fits into the narrow confines of what's hip right this minute. If you're not a rock musician, you have more options. Being completely unique helps, whether you're a folk-rock orchestra or a wrestling nerdcore rapper. If festival performers GWAR, Monotonix, and Peelander-Z have taught us anything, it's that a strong visual performance can render musical originality and/or competence totally moot. In hip-hop and dance music, community-building is paramount -- Nick Nack and Butcher Bear are ubiquitous presences in Austin dance and the League of Extraordinary Gz formed out of several smaller crews to use strength of numbers to force open doors of opportunity for local hip-hop. No band this year was booked just for having great music. Every act from the smallest on up had demonstrated its ability to draw and entertain an audience. If you can figure out to do that, your band can play Fun Fun Fun Fest, easy. The chicken or the egg....

What about writers? That's a simpler question. Allen Chen and Paige Maguire of the Austinist decide which bloggers get credentials for Fun Fun Fun Fest, and I appreciate very much being included among them. I haven't met Allen or Paige; I probably should have this weekend but I suck at socializing. Every moment I was at the festival I was conscious of the honor it was to be selected as a representative of the media. I pitched that my coverage would focus on the experience for local bands, with a secondary emphasis on my outsider's take on all these out-of-town acts I would normally never see. I adhered to the intent of my pitch obsessively. I probably didn't eat enough and I certainly inhaled more dust than is healthy for humans while hustling around trying to see every band that interested me.

Even during the other big yearly Austin music festivals, I only see local bands if I can help it. Remember what I said about being unique? Whether you're a musician or a blogger, you need to have a simple pitch for what sets you apart. As I've developed Big Western Flavor to the extent that I can get into things for free, I've learned how to make it about more than just making fun of bands I don't like. I have a mission statement now. With the way music listening habits have changed in the past 10 years, everyone's tastes are set to shuffle. People are more receptive to new ideas in music now than ever before... look at the throngs dancing to Nortec Collective, or the stunningly high amount of listeners willing to sit through an entire set by Deakin. I think the best way to develop your critical thinking skills as a music listener and a musician is by focusing on local music; on developing artists who are in close to the same situation as you and are readily accessible when you have questions or comments.

You didn't need an all-access pass to meet amazing musicians at Fun Fun Fun Fest. Sam and Zac from Zorch, Giuseppe from Tofu Kozo/Boy + Kite, Justin from Sissy Face, Will and Dani from Megafauna, Reed from World Racketeering Squad... there were plenty of awesome Austin players out on the main grounds with the regular people. If you'd been to their shows you would know who they were.

It's better to participate in a scene than observe one passively! Music writing in the past few years has trended into many, many people all discussing the same very few bands, and from the evidence offered by the mostly smelly Orange Stage groupthink kicked in a long time ago. I would rather spend my time in tiny clubs with cheap beer rocking out to musicians who know me by sight and are grateful for every face in attendance than worry about getting into whatever's at Stubb's this week. I wish more musicians here felt the same way because then, man, we'd really have a scene.

Incest and Peppermints

2010-11-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

Local Music Is Sexy
Mohawk, 11/4

I wish I had time to go in-depth with all of the bands I saw last night at the Austinist's FFF Fest kickoff party at Mohawk. Unfortunately, I have to get out of here soon so I can be on time for the beginning of the festival proper. I'm going to move quickly, and I apologize if I leave something out. Also sorry to Weird Weeds, Dana Falconberry, Sleep Good, and Bill Baird -- I wasn't able to be in enough places at once last night. I'll give them further consideration soon.

Again quickly: Since I'm writing about higher-profile events than I ever have before, a lot of people are coming here for the first time. I want to reiterate that although I'm sharply critical of a lot of bands, it's not because I enjoy dumping on people's dreams. I'm not rubbing my palms gleefully together thinking about taking revenge for all the bad music I've been forced to listen to. Not at all. It eats me up when I get e-mails from crestfallen musicians that I've given negative reviews. I lose sleep over it. I really don't want to make enemies. I don't know if my readers understand that as negative, obsessive, and perfectionist as I can be about others' music, I am a hundred times more brutal when it comes to my own self-assessments. I hold myself to an impossibly high standard when it comes to my writing. I wish I could make myself more diplomatic, but it's not in me. I really want to like everyone's bands. I want everyone who isn't in a band to start one. But I've been serious about journalism my whole life and to me delivering anything other than the 100% unvarnished truth as I see it is a betrayal of my calling. The choice for me is between writing the truth and not writing at all. And too much positive comes of my writing to quit.

All right then. Hundred Visions were not so great when I saw them a year ago under the name Corto Maltese; I'm happy to say that I liked them a lot better last night. They've gone from having songs with no parts to having songs that have one strong part apiece, and it's a lot easier to go from one to two or more than it is from zero to one. One song with off-beat hi-hat swipes and cowbell actually found me tapping my feet a little, imagine! They need to play out more often -- and maybe hold off on the Fugazi covers until they have some material strong enough to keep pace with them. Sneering, fuzz-everything trio Rayon Beach were monotonous but ever-so-trendy; it boosted my faith in local tastes that a bigger crowd gathered inside during their outdoor set to watch Amasa Gana's group drone experiment. That four-piece was a nice example of conditioned listening. At first it seemed like they were hardly doing anything but by concentrating closely for an extended period of time you began to hear the minimal variations in sound produced by their slight nudges of guitar knobs and barely-there violin bowing. After a time I felt like I was listening to them listen, and I enjoyed the natural change in consciousness.

Watch Out for Rockets, as I've written before, have promising melodic sensibility but just no variation in rhythms to go along with it. Sally Crewe and The Sudden Moves exhibited a similar lack of developed songwriting, except with a lady singer. Markov on the other hand were a jolt of energy that the outside lineup needed sorely. It breaks my heart that nobody else in the crowd seemed to know what to do when a hardcore band is laying wheels. Put down your beers and bang your heads, children! Finally, TV Torso were a freaking revelation. Their records are so artfully mixed and EQ'd that I always felt listening to them like the production wasn't confident in the quality of the songs and felt the need to dress them up with extraneous details. But as a live band they're physical, varied, and captivating; Anna liked them as much or more than I did and Anna hates four-guy two-guitar bands. She even thought they were awesome when their guitars were out of tune, since it made them sound more like Guided by Voices. You feel their drumming in your gut and I really like the way the rhythm section and guitarists trade off driving vs. swinging so they're not all pounding the same beat at once.

Oh yeah, why the weird post title? Six of the evening's bands were connected in a single family tree. TV Torso and Bill Baird are ex-Sound Team, Weird Weeds' drummer played with Baird and their bassist with Dana Falconberry, Sleep Good's bassist also played with Baird, TV Torso's guest second guitarist is also the leader of Hundred Visions. I'm not saying it necessarily made the music bad, but there's a reason many local musicians are skeptical of if not outright hostile towards the Austinist.

During a lull in the evening's activities I went for a stroll down Red River and to my shock and delight discovered that Opposite Day were playing a no-cover show at Headhunters. Their fluid, witty, and virtuoso playing was the exact thing I needed in the midst of a long string of soundalike in-crowders at Mohawk. I may not see another band at the festival all weekend rock as hard.

Ghost Dance

2010-11-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

Red Leaves, paperthreat
Ghost Room, 11/3

I write mostly about bands in their first year of existence. That's partly by choice. I quite enjoy being the first person ever to write seriously about a new band, and it puzzles me why few other music bloggers feel the same way. There's also an economic factor in play. Anna and I are poor and we couldn't make live music such a big part of our lives paying $15 or more covers three nights a week. When we decided last summer that we were getting the heck out of Boulder, finding a new home where worthwhile cheap and free shows took place was paramount in our thoughts. We nailed it.

Red Leaves have really gotten their stuff together since the first time we saw them. For a band with a pronounced Sonic Youth resemblance, they really know the value of laying back. While their drummer is a constant blur of motion, guitar and bass parts are stripped down. They play off of one another instead of piling on the layers. This puts particular emphasis on the band being very together rhythmically. They weren't always, but a few weeks ago at Ditch the Fest Fest I felt I was seeing them really click for the first time. While drummer Dorian Colbert holds everything together and then some, Marcos Lujan plays spare, intermittent bass pulses. David Lujan strikes suggestive chords in the spaces left by the bass, and Singer Mayberry adds very delicate single-line figures on guitar and second bass. The way they divide up the measure instead of all attacking at once makes them powerful without being loud, and it leaves a lot of room for their vocals to be clearly heard. David and Singer both have great voices for a noisy rock band -- not technically perfect, but memorable and capable of ringing right out over the guitars and drums. His impassioned approach contrasts well with her cooler, sweeter tones, and when they harmonize it's lovely. They've really perfected their basic sound and I look forward to hearing what wrinkles they will come up for it as they get ready to make an album. Their EP Trouble in the City of Water is a great teaser.

As for the unusual, cerebral paperthreat, I could go on for some time about what makes them excel and I will. But Anna C. got right to the main idea as we were walking back to our car at the end of the show: "If they got their songs a little tighter, they could be famous." I agree. The Threat's coalition of electronic dance beats; jazzy chords, horns, and guitar tone; and pop vocals will inevitably draw some lofty comparisons. I hear Tortoise, TV On the Radio, and (that universally acclaimed five-piece British band that no critic can mention by name without immediately losing their credibility). But as always it's not the band's influences that matter but what they choose to do with them, and what you need to know most about paperthreat as a live band is that at certain points during their show Wednesday night people ran, not walked, to the dance floor. They bring a ton of instruments on stage and they can play all of them really well, but at no point does it seem like any of the musicians are showing off. I really like the divide between their main singer's more traditionally pretty lead vocals and the gruff, quirky ones delivered by their guitar player. They also present different approaches lyrically, with more political, universal stories sharing time with quite personal ones. The paperthreat drummer keeps together with the looped elements of their songs without ever seeming enslaved to a click, and their bassist easily switches to keys, laptop, trumpet, and guitar without losing his cool or the timing of his dance moves.

There are a lot of exquisitely trained, technically adept players in Austin, but often as they gain the ability to play more difficult material they lose the ability to form a primal connection with an audience. What sticks out most about paperthreat isn't their jazz chops or their mastery of multiple instruments or their ability to use computer technology correctly. It's that their songs make people dance and they have warm, obvious hooks you can keep returning to. Bassist Rene tells me that clubs in town have a hard time figuring out what other acts they should book with paperthreat. That's a great sign! That's what you should want clubs telling you, lest you end up playing with the same two other bands every three weeks for the rest of your foreshortened career. Venues usually end up letting Rene pick the other bands himself, and he simply selects musicians he wants to see. Yes! Exactly! That's how I want to see more bands operating.

There's a notable free event tonight at Mohawk that I will be attending. It's Local Music Is Sexy presented by the Austinist and the acts I am most excited about seeing there are Markov, Weird Weeds, Dana Falconberry, and Sleep Good. There are also a few bands on the lineup I have encountered before and not enjoyed. That's not a bad thing. After all these raves lately I am beginning to feel like I'm losing my edge. Anyhow, I'll see you downtown.

Hell Is Other Robots

2010-11-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Quick notes from a music-filled Halloween in the best city I can afford to live in!

Anna and I keep attending A Giant Dog shows. The band themselves is a reliably sweaty, sexy good time, but beyond that they're one of the most successful in Austin when it comes to extending their brand beyond the time they themselves are on stage. I don't think I've ever been to one of their shows and not discovered another new band on the bill that I like. They play out constantly but they remain a solid draw because it's not the same show every time out. Talking to the band members I have learned how important writing new songs and finding new bands to play with is to them at all times. Sunday at the Parlor they were joined by The Bad Lovers, who have been on my short list for a while. Four-guy bands with two guitars, bass, and drums are about as remarkable as burnt orange shirts in Austin, but not all of them are made equally. Good songs, fine lead and backing vocals, and a great rhythm section set the Lovers apart from the crowd. I get asking people asking me all the time where all the good local punk bands are. Here is one. I especially like how the guitar players give the bassist and drummer space to be awesome, both in terms of their volume level and their arrangements. At a tiny venue with an overworked PA like the Parlor, there's no cheating. A band has to really know what they're doing to sound good, and the Bad Lovers sounded terrific. They were loud enough that you could feel it, but not so much that the bass and vocals were completely inaudible.

Dikes of Holland value loudness above all else, as I wrote after first encountering them at one of the Casual Victim Pile release shows some months back. They have developed more in the way of individual parts since the last we saw them, and although they still don't exactly have any memorable songs, I watched their whole set yesterday and felt entertained. They juggle lead vocals and instrument assignments in a quick, no-fuss way and the contrast between four different singers definitely makes them more interesting, although they're always hollering over pretty much the same beat. They really got into the spirit of the holiday, with detailed costumes for every band member. During one song their token female member, who was dressed as a pregnant nun, gave birth to a hamburger. Then she picked up a bass and played on what to me was the highlight of their set -- it was the first time I'd seen anybody in Dikes of Holland play any instrument with the slightest hint of restraint.

The Dull Drums of Tulsa were also on the bill. Their name has it absolutely right -- exact same rhythm on every song. More or less the same riff doubled by their guitarist and bassist, too. Get that weak stuff out of Austin! It might play in Oklahoma, but not here.

After a break we next made our way to Stubb's for the Invincible Czars Number of the Beast show. Shaolin Death Squad warmed up with a heroically faithful clutch of Mr. Bungle covers. Anything Mike Patton is good by me, and the SDS is populated by top-notch musicians across the board, but this performance left me utterly cold. Coloring within the lines when you do covers is never cool, even when it's one of the oddest bands of all time. The most amusing element of the set was watching the bandmembers without their bondage masks and makeup later in the evening. Terrifying on stage, they look like such normal guys when they're just bobbing up and down in the audience! It would have been far more interesting to watch them take on the music of a band they weren't so overtly influenced by.

The Czars and Iron Maiden made for a more creative, challenging, something's-got-to-give combination. The always-game Leila Henley admitted on stage she didn't know the album well but it allowed her vocal, flute, and sax performances to come from a different place entirely. Wearing costumes appropriate for the song subjects -- cowboy, preacher, Indian, rasta -- and frequently pushing the band out of its admirably broad comfort zone, Invincible Czars' Number was an end-to-end treat. I like how everyone but the drummer took a lead vocal, and loved watching scary-talented violinist Phil Davidson give singing, tambourine, and keys the old college try. Highlights included a darkwave, 80's disco-flecked "Children of the Damned," "Number of the Beast" performed as a medley with "The Saints Go Marching In" (leading to the unforgettable Josh Robins punchline "Oh, well, I want to be in that number... the number of the beast!") and "22 Acacia Avenue" done as a mash-up of several different blaxploitation and cop show themes (think wah-wah). As a send-off for departing bassist Adam Kahan, it couldn't have gone much better. By the way, who knew Adam had such a great singing voice? Phil and keyboardist Bill Petersen, not so much, but at least they were having fun.

Hotboxing

2010-10-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Fur State
The Boxing Lesson

Best-laid plans, right? I wasn't planning on doing a writeup of the new release by The Boxing Lesson; I'm a bit snowed under with all of the Halloween and Fun Fun Fun Fest activity streaming to my inbox. It's not as if the band is unworthy of my attention, but unlike most other unsigned new music acts in Austin they have dedicated and professional management (The Loyalty Firm) and they're getting their fair share of coverage for Fur State.

But then I sat down and listened to the album! I haven't been much drawn in by the Boxing Lesson's more extroverted, vocal-driven songs. There's a lot of anonymous-sounding, producer-driven rock in Austin (and everywhere) and what I've heard of later Boxing Lesson releases doesn't do a ton to separate itself from Beautiful Supermachines, Baby Robots, TV Torso, or a kajillion others. The only thing that really stood out to me about them was a negative... annoying vocals. Fur State is a completely different animal. All-instrumental, it was recorded during the duo's first months in Austin with a cadged-together roster of equipment. It was recorded on and mastered to cassette tape, and has a warm running buzz that's only one of its atypical qualities.

If you've paged through a Demo Sweat column or two you may know that I have a built-up resistance to fiddly, ambient bedroom-type recordings. My usual response to music of this type is to feel that if the musician hardly expended any effort making it, why should I care listening to it? I like bands and arrangements and interaction between instruments, not layers and layers of repeating loops. Fur State dramatically improves on the clichés rampant in these sorts of projects. Other than the torpid "Six" each of these tracks is compelling and distinctive. The tunes develop, with certain instrumental tones being phased out and others taking their place. I didn't find my attention wavering at any moment listening to most of these pieces, which sound far more like finished songs than I was given to expect. There's a flat-out rocker in "Three," and the dance-inflected "Five," with its beautiful guitar tone, is reminiscent of The Sea and Cake at their lazy-Sunday best. In the context of all of the other highly engaging tracks, the spooky audio collage "Seven" strikes the ear just right even though it's essentially ten minutes of voicemail messages.

What really sets this album apart is how each number sounds like a performance. The guitar and keyboard parts consistently last for just the right amount of time, and they also have movement within themselves -- each figure doesn't sound spat out of a computer but rather played by a human. It's not just intriguing listening to how all of the lean melodies stack up over one another, but how tiny little embellishments are made within them. The compositions draw you in in a way most music of this sort never does, and that's no small accomplishment. I really feel like there's more to listen to and discover in these songs even after repeated spins. Fur State is so good that it makes me rethink my whole position on The Boxing Lesson -- obviously I need to go back and listen to their more recently recorded stuff more carefully. And with headphones on.

The Boxing Lesson are having a costume listening party for Fur State tonight at the Side Bar, including a sneak preview of their upcoming studio album Possibilities. Check it out, and perhaps pick up the ultra-limited edition version of Fur State that comes with a "herb" grinder. That's some apropos marketing!

Weekend with the Devil

2010-10-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

Before I moved to Texas, before Big Western Flavor as we know it even existed, I was a fan of The Invincible Czars. I did quite a bit of research about music scenes before selecting a new one to call my own. (Ultimately I decided against Portland because the prospect of having to wear overalls and learn the autoharp wasn't appealing.) The Czars, on the other hand, seemed from the first listen like the kind of local band I wanted to have in my city. Their fidgeting resistance to fit any sort of category description available, their bountiful chops and lack of fear about employing them, their creative projects -- like film scores and radical Nutcracker performances -- as a means of outreach to new listeners, all of these traits set them up as role models for original musicians new to the Austin environment. I had a lot of respect for them even before I met Czars guitarist/bandleader Josh Robins and he bent over backwards making Anna and me comfortable in Austin, introducing us to many of the most incredible players in town, getting us into cool parties, and sharing with us his limitless well of practical Austin rock-war experience.

So why has it taken this long for me to do an interview? Well, a few reasons. One is that Josh is a delightfully nonlinear thinker and translating his rapid-fire musings into coherent copy is a challenge I had to work myself up to take on. Besides, the Czars have had an interesting year in terms of shifting membership and changing goals. They've been keeping a low profile since the performance of their live film score for The Unknown back in February. As the lineup has shuffled, the veteran band has had to reassess what their music means to them and what they are willing to do to keep making it. By looking to their past, Josh and the band have hit upon a project that has reinvigorated Invincible Czars, and will keep them busy and visible for the next several months. On October 31st at Stubb's the insanity begins.

The Czars first presented their genre-hopping, totally rewired take on Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast October 2007. It was supposed to be a one-off show, a cool band doing a wild full-album cover, "not uncommon in Austin for Halloween" as Josh says. It was "a lot of work for one show," with Josh and keyboardist Bill Petersen sweating to give each song on the British metal classic a distinct and subject-suitable makeover. In Josh's opinion, the experiment didn't quite cohere. Not every arrangement was a winner. "We didn't perform it very well, frankly," Josh says, noting that not all of the songs were sufficiently changed from the Maiden originals. "The whole band wasn't that gung-ho about it," but as soon as the first performance was over, they were asked to do it again. Going forward, that "changed our performance and our attitude."

But the book wasn't quite closed. For better or for worse, the Invincible Czars have a lot of fans who remember their cover projects fondly while being totally unaware of their parallel existence as an original band. Just recently a bank teller saw Josh's band t-shirt and piped up, "That's the band that did Number of the Beast!" For years, listeners have persisted in asking when a recorded version of the Czars' Number will be available. With interest in full-album live performances trending lately, the time seemed ripe to revisit Iron Maiden and improve on the elements that didn't work fully the first time around. "I had put a lot of time into it. Why not finish?" Josh says. In addition to live performances 10/29 in Houston, 10/30 in Denton, and Halloween in Austin, each of the Invincible Czars Beast tracks will become available as digital downloads... one per month, always on the sixth day, starting with "Invaders" on November 6th.

A "big chunk" of the arrangements have been freshly re-written, with ideas that didn't quite gel (an acoustic Latin-flavored "Gangland," notably) replaced. There's an art to coming up with takes for these songs that logically suit the subject matter, rather than using pure whimsy. Staying "true to the spirit of the song" is paramount. "Run to the Hills," with its multiple perspectives, led to a sharing of lead vocals, with Josh affecting a Slim Pickens voice for the part of the settlers. "Gangland" already had a swing rhythm, so it lent itself to jazz. Picking apart the Maiden classic so closely "kind of ruined the album for me," Josh says. Most of the songs have the same progressions, "not chord changes found in jazz, country and reggae." So adjustments and re-harmonizations were necessary. What essential element from the originals needs to be kept to keep them recognizable? Structurally, the Czars stay close to the album even while changing the style dramatically. And the signature guitar riffs and melodies, the stuff hardcore Maiden fans will pick out immediately, have been carefully maintained. "There is a point where it can get lost, but I feel like we never got close to that on this project."

With all the uncertainty surrounding the band's future this year, setting a recording and release schedule for the Number of the Beast singles has given them a momentum that should keep Invincible Czars rolling into 2011. They're working on putting the tracks down at Chico Jones' local Ohm Recording Facility. The Czars have a long relationship with Jones and Josh says "he keeps getting better and better." They also have some other fascinating crossovers in the works, looking to make next year a much more active one. They're collaborating with Bee vs. Moth on their own interpretation of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and next July 4th they'll be doing an "1812 Overture." Keeping new projects in the works is a key element of keeping the band vital. With shifts in the lineup, "what has wound up happening is that we play a lot of the same songs... What does the new person know?" They are changing working methods to try and realize new material more quickly. For the first time in Czars history, the Iron Maiden tracks are being recorded part by part rather than as a full-band performance. A breakaway "Czars Trio" has been formed so Robins can work out jazz standards at the airport bar. When it comes to keeping a hard-to-classify passion project like Invincible Czars operating after many years, a by-any-means-necessary attitude emerges.

Josh is resigned to the fact that some may always see the Czars as "that Nutcracker band" but then again, the money they make every December largely funds their original projects for whole rest of the year. "My goal is to make my living making music I like. It's difficult, but not impossible to attain. If there isn't a ready-made audience, you have to find your Nutcracker. You have to accept what will make money or what won't."

Anna C. Tells You How It Is

2010-10-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Literature, Party Photographers, Planets, Half Mile Fox Fur, Suede Uppers
Beerland, 10/24

The original plan for this review was that I would give my take and the multifaceted Anna Charlock hers for each band. The theme was going to be how everybody listens/looks for different things in their music. But she wrote her parts first and kind of nailed it. I'm glad to not have to write tonight because I have spent the whole day engaged in a crash course on all the out-of-town Fun Fun Fun Fest bands I know absolutely nothing about. I hope you enjoy Anna's guest piece and let's all pressure her to write about music more often, so perhaps she can also get into music festivals for free one day. One note on perspective: Although we both thought the Suede Uppers were dullsville, they had the biggest crowd by far. From the venue's point of view, they were the highlight of the evening. - WH

I came out with Westy to Beerland on Sunday night to fulfill my weekend jonesing for live music. Since it was an off night for the club, we got to see a relatively long roster of bands for the usual cheap cover charge. Bands hauled on and off the stage with admirable speed, setlists cut to a short-and-sweet half an hour. Other performers and their friends made up most of the audience. For most of the evening a small crowd of boozed-up twentysomethings clustered on the outdoor patio, many dressed in styles that were the height of fashion around the time that they were born: plaid shirts, high-top sneakers, miniskirts with tights, Doc Martens boots. I don’t really get why so many people at these shows think it’s cool to dress like it’s 1989. Perhaps because so much Austin music draws its inspiration from that era.

When we came in, Suede Uppers were going at it. The four-man group plays fairly cut-and-dried barroom rock, obviously inspired by early punk bands like the Dead Kennedys and the Descendants. Each pounding chord, guitar solo, floor-tom whack and shouted lyric is exactly where the listener expects it to be: lather, rinse, repeat. We left after hearing a few of their formulaic songs.

Half Mile Fox Fur were a bit more interesting. Their brand of sludgy, dissonant noise rock could get old very fast in the hands of less mindful musicians. However, these three dimunitive dudes arrange their tunes smartly. One of their most memorable songs begins with spare, quiet playing, builds up into a dragging three-chord drone, and dissipates into planned chaos before finishing with on the same quiet pattern as before. It’s jarring and atonal, but there’s a method to the madness. The drummer, bassist and singer/guitarist make the most of what they have by constructing parts to play off of one another. Although I like my rock a little more melodic and accesible, I stuck around to watch HMFF instead of leaving for the patio. I can tell they’ve got talent!

I was pretty excited to see Planets. When we heard the three-girl punk group play Beerland a month ago, their set was tight, energetic, and powerful. Singer/guitarist/band mastermind Debra had a talented drummer behind her, who made her songs really stand out. Their style draws from late-70's bands like the Ramones and the Buzzcocks, college rock like the Pixies, and the raw, spare energy of early 90's-era riot grrl. Unfortunately, the lineup changed: they now have a lead guitarist but no bass player, and a new drummer. Planets’ set on Sunday had the loose, amateur feel of a jam session. Debra’s songs wavered in coherence, the lead guitarist played distinctive riffs only on occasion, and the new drummer sounded lost as she pounded the same beat on every song. To their credit, the band seemed to be having a good time -- they bantered drunkenly between songs & made jokes to the audience. I heard some pretty cool guitar parts pop up amidst the floundering, too. Here’s hoping that Debra helps Planets grow into the new lineup, and finds another bassist.

The Party Photographers, of Philadelphia, drew me in with the presence of two women in the band -- their drummer, who plays standing up on a small 2-drum setup, and their adorable fedora-clad singer. At least their musical concept is unique. They combine repetitive, simple Mo Tucker drumbeats, a grinding, industrial bass guitar sound, and echoing vocals reminiscent of Donita Sparks of L7. However, there’s almost a total lack of arrangement. The guitar and bass power through with very minor changes in feel, playing a heavy-handed bar-chord/root-note formula that obliterates any distinction between songs. The Party Photographers could have a good thing going for them if they worked on varying the dynamics in their music. The guitarist and bassist need to learn how to better complement the spare drumbeats & vocal melodies, and they all could stand to move around more onstage! The singer had the aura of an embarassed karaoke performer, and the other three just looked bored. If they’d had a better stage presence I might have (partially) forgiven them their monotonous songs.

By the time Literature played, Beerland was pretty empty. The vanished crowd missed out on what was easily the night’s best act. The four guys play energetic, dancey pop-punk that calls to mind Devo, Television, or more recently the Strokes or Vampire Weekend. The lead-guitarist/singer provides tipsy, shouty vocals in the style that’s so popular nowadays. The rhythm and lead guitarists have mastered the art of trading off parts, the drummer plays super-fast disco-ish fills, and the bass player manages to hold the whole ruckus together. Also noteworthy are the lead guitarist’s stage moves, which rival those of my all-time favorite Carrie Brownstein. Periodically he tiptoes, jumps, pivots, and even does a Michael Jackson catwalk while playing crazy-fast licks. Literature are talented musicians. I am eager to hear more of these guys, and wouldn’t be surprised at all if they start playing bigger venues.

Demo Sweat #18

2010-10-22T17:55:00.000-07:00

I'm shocked how many posts and days have gone by since last we visited the "no submissions rejected" wheeze; these things don't get any easier to write. It takes a lot of listening and a lot of note-taking. I've been doing Demo Sweat long enough now that people are writing and saying "You hated our old stuff, but now listen to our new stuff!" I'm glad of it. The hardest part of becoming a good band is staying together long enough to improve. I'll always give a second or third chance to a band if they ask for it. A lot of the time my first impressions are wrong. Not as often as they are right, but I form and express a lot of first impressions.

Let's begin with three artists from Demo Sweats past. I gave Jake Nishimura of The Nish Initiative a hard time about his vocals the first time I wrote about his project. I'm glad that he felt confident enough in his new recordings to write and ask me to listen again. He deserves some props for working hard on his singing because it sounds substantially better on this new batch of tunes. That's a big step, because whatever his good points as a songwriter were it was hard to listen past the blue notes before. Now that he's got better control of his voice, he needs to work on what he'd like to say with it... there's nothing that stands out in the hooks, lyrics, or sentiments of "Shaky Ground" or "Forgive Me." The melodies are pleasant, but the songs need a personality injection. Keep writing, and I'll keep listening. Disciples of Sound are mighty but empty, great vocals wasted on dull, riff-grinding writing. "Dirt Bed" is the same old one-rail 12-bar. Pass. The Daily Brothers deserve some props for sweet art and the ease with which they recreate sounds from classic records. But like their earlier single "Cocaine Blues," their full-length Hot Damn! finds me missing the point. The songs are constructed from bits of Motown and Phil Spector hits but the lyrics and vocals merely copy in the style... there's no sort of modern interpretation or personal bent to it, it's just retreads. Like The Ugly Beats and The Happen-Ins they need to find some way of reflecting that they are making 60's music in the 2010's. Otherwise it's just a revival.

Still Imagery by Landing Station isn't terrible for ambient guitar-and-drum rainfall rock, it's more like superfluous. I quite like the shifting modal patterns in "Sphinx" and the percussive guitar-effects approach on several less structured interludes, but a whole hour of this stuff is tedious. The trouble isn't that there is no audience for ambient guitar music in Austin. It's just that everybody who would potentially go see this sort of band is already in one (or more). If they aren't, they could be in one in ten minutes. Less if they're roommates with a drummer. I caught Distance Runner at a School of Liars house party and was impressed by their keyboard-driven post-emo style, although they could have used their five-instrument lineup more imaginatively. Their singer has a great voice and they have a good rhythm section. Their EP Scars Have Roots is better arranged than their live show, with a cool weird instrumental and pretty good lyrics. They should play in between SuperLiteBike and For Hours and Ours, since their style splits the difference between those two bands' sounds so evenly.

Fulton Read are an interesting case. They certainly have their good elements and their bad ones. They have a tendency towards aggressive over-marketing, which I suppose is how young bands nowadays prove they're serious but rubs me -- and frequently, my Internet browser -- the wrong way. Local bands that are trying to promote themselves as international acts often give me the impression that they don't value their roles as ambassadors for the Austin scene. Although the sell-sell-SELL message didn't put them in the most flattering light, there are a lot of things about their music I like. Their hybridization of current radio pop-punk, beach-hatted white boy funk, and classic rock orchestration could be forced and terrible in the wrong hands, but it's pretty loose and creative for mass-appeal rock. The songs and Anthony Erickson's gee-whiz vocals are relentlessly positive and upbeat, but not in a monochromatic Radio Disney way. If "A Better Way" were played on Top 40 radio, I wouldn't change the station. Real musicianship and canny, trend-spotting songwriting carry the day here. Beatle-isms share space with little computerized blips; 70's rock guitar solos drop in for a middle eight. I kind of like it despite myself.

You know who's also good is this Shmu guy who plays drums in Zorch. If Shmu's solo joint Discipline/Communication is to be taken as evidence Sam Chown is all of these things: a disco star in Canada, a frustrated guitar rock fan, at least six people in two different bands at the same time, too much musician for one paragraph in an Austin locals column to handle. Discipline has some giddy highs, particular in its dance-crazy opening quarter. "Impressions" and "House of Stares" are hot and cold club jams respectively and "Directions" a chill-room mash-up of Tortoise and Radiohead licks with singing jazz bass. But it gets disappointing ("Dangerous Passion" and "Open Your Eyes" are just straight-up boring rock songs) and repeatedly, super weird. "Fester" sounds like two bands playing the same song at the same time, neither well, and one twice as fast as the other. It's more interesting to describe than listen to. I really like Shmu's singing voice and some of the wordplay in the lyrics, but especially compared to Zorch this music seems formal, restrained in a way, and way more serious than the Sam I know. The gags are all in the transitions; he does one pose at a time rather than just heaping on a million ideas at once. And where are the lyrics about the trilateral lizard-government-space alien conspiracy?

Stone Alone

2010-10-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

Andrew Stone
The Parlor North Loop, 10/14

I have an epic new Demo Sweat almost ready to enter the world, but I wanted to take a moment to dedicate a full entry to local guitarist/songwriter Andrew Stone, who I saw almost a week ago at the Parlor. I much prefer bands to solo guitar slingers, but this fellow is a rare case. Short of the brilliant Nathan Payne I have yet to see a one-man show in Austin as compelling.

Many of the musicians I go to see don't move at all when they are performing. That's no fun. More self-aware ones make a point of observing the audience and reacting, deliberately moving around even though it's not quite natural because that's what crowds expect. But the best kind of musical performers move without self-consciousness. They close their eyes, shake their hair, and jump about on stage because they have to do so, because there's something inside of them they can hardly control and they can't imagine playing music without stalking the floor like a savage beast. Andrew Stone plays like that. He has a magnetism that doesn't translate to MySpace clips, and for that reason alone I suggest you go see him live. He also plays guitar like a madman and howls off of the mic like wolves are after him. It's hard to take your eyes off of the man while he's playing, and that sets him apart.

I first encountered Stone in a column a couple weeks ago, and what I had to say about his recordings still holds up... as talented as he is on guitar, he could stand to work on his vocal technique and his songwriting. He's a very capable player and I would like to see the same sophistication his guitar parts evidence reflected in his arrangements and his vocal melodies. His dynamics playing live really leap out as compared to the demos; a lot of the finer elements of his guitar tone get lost in translation. He sounded great playing a new Telecaster at the Parlor, with the blues elements of his picking and chord choices contrasting, very originally, with a sort of modern rock amplifier tone. By varying his attack on guitar and picking his spots to stomp a tambourine on the floor, he brought a very full and varied sound to the stereotypical singer/guitarist setup.

Like all great guitarists, I think he would benefit from the rhythmic discipline a solid drum and bass backing would lend -- his performances tend to speed up and slow down as the excitement level rises and falls. But, wow, is it fun to just to watch him play -- one minute he's bombing slide runs like Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin III and then he's doing a chiming Minus the Bear finger-tapping figure. His songs could have some more shape and less repetition to them but it's hard to knock them when the individual parts sound so good. His vocals are passionate, and he has good natural talent, but he does need to practice hitting everything in key -- his guitar chops outstrip his singing skills at this point.

There are a lot of blues-inspired songwriters in Austin who aren't worth your time. Some may be further along the path to becoming polished songwriters than Andrew Stone, but none that I know of have the assets he does -- an arrestingly original, signature instrumental approach and a clear passion and confidence when performing. His songs sound sharper now than they do when he recorded them, and surrounded as he is in Austin by so much talented competition he can only stand to improve. Get into this elevator on the ground floor, music fans.

Foundation and Empire

2010-10-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

I'm staring here at five full college-ruled pages of notes from my conversation with Soundfounder, familiarly Andrew Brown, and wondering where the hell to begin. Before I get swept away perhaps it's best that I mention that Exploded Drawing 2 takes place this Friday, 10/15 at East Austin's Baby Blue Studios. This concert series cultivated by Soundfounder and fellow Austin musician Butcher Bear seeks to give original Texas electronic music its own stage. Six producers get twenty minutes apiece to present their own compositions. This week's installment will feature Multi-Tracker, Empireal Formula, Aaron Peña, Atarimatt, NickNack, and Chili.

Andrew's a serious guy who looks at things from a lot of angles. I usually have trouble maintaining eye contact with people I don't know well but after five minutes chatting in Soundfounder's LP-filled walk-up I forget I am self-conscious. As much as I enjoy talking about music with people whose taste and views are similar to my own, I learn the most from musicians with a different approach. As a solo composer and member of the band Focus Group, Andrew's instrument is the MPC, an unassuming industrial-looking grey slab that resembles a pumped-up Speak and Spell but provides the basic sampling and looping tools to make any kind of music imaginable. The most famous MPC users are hip-hop producers, like the venerated J. Dilla, but the machine isn't any more married to a genre than a guitar or a piano. What music comes out of it is all up to what the user chooses to load into it, and how he stacks and orders his layers of found sounds.

I first wanted to talk to Soundfounder after seeing him play a low-key set in a backyard, noticing he took time between songs to explain just what it was he was doing. Musicians don't have to be open books about their creative process, but those that are make for better interviews! "People have a smoke and mirrors vibe in electronic," Andrew says. "They say 'I like that person,' but, well, what does he do? There's a lot of different things that come in. 'A DJ' has become a catch-all term." Electronic musicians can work strictly with turntables, with keyboards and triggers, with a laptop, with MPC's, or any combination of the above -- there's no right or wrong way to do it. Held in an intimate studio instead of a club, Exploded Drawing is designed to bring some more transparency to the process.

Andrew brings a bit of a rock and roll attitude to his sets. "I like to talk to the crowd, even when I do big shows... I got that from playing with Focus Group. When we started we had no mics set up to talk to the audience. The human element can be lost. I like to incorporate things I've seen songwriters do. Let people know that you are making music you are passionate about, that you're not just part of a huge blinking machine."

What fascinates me about musicians who work with samples, as opposed to twanging a guitar string or smacking a drum head, is how every piece of music they ever listen to could possibly contain elements of their next work. I could listen to Andrew talk about this all day. "I've been developing my ear for 10 years," he says, beginning as a hip-hop producer in high school in San Antonio. As a result he doesn't take in a new record in quite the same way as most listeners. "I am always listening for drums. Beginning, middle, end, or in a breakdown... final, full drums that you can move around." Picking a snatch of sound that you like is only the beginning. You can take a whole figure and loop it. You can "take tiny random chunks and see how they fit together." Or you can take just a little piece out of a well-known song and see what happens, see what new rhythms are created by the edit. "Lately, the stuff I call my own is less recognizable chunks, more stuff I have manipulated."

He was drafted into the category-defying Focus Group by his high school chum Donald Gallaspy, who moved to Austin before Andrew did and met the other band members at St. Edward's. The nascent Group had been experimenting with playing their more traditional band instruments along to sampled rhythms. Donald told Andrew it worked well, and Andrew said "If you like drum loops, let's play around." Andrew has a clear idea when he is working on tracks of what stuff will go towards his solo project and which pieces he will take to the band. "I know the kinds of things that Focus Group needs from me, for the most part. Sometimes solo stuff ends up working well with the band." Interestingly, the combination works even though Soundfounder doesn't have the same grasp of music theory that the guitarists and keyboard players have. "I do everything by ear, they know scales." When he cues up a tone that clashes with the sound of the other instruments, it has to be manipulated into pitch. As a trippy instrumental act, it might surprise a few Focus Group fans that there's not much improvisation involved in live shows. "We do our improv during the songwriting process. By the time it hits the stage we stick to what works."

"Electronic music is limitless. Once you have the laptop or sampler, the only thing that limits you is memory." All you have to work with is "anything the human ear can hear." Given that, how do you know when anything is done? While a lot of his job is collecting sounds, at a certain point Andrew has to sit down and shape what he's got into finished pieces. "I go through phases where I'm working on music a lot. I'm pretty close to finishing a new Soundfounder record. Time to go back and polish stuff I have and make it presentable." He's been recording his new material live to analog tape, which is something that might surprise a lot of electronica fans but makes perfect sense to me. In addition to modern acts such as Boards of Canada and Flying Lotus, Andrew finds a lot of inspiration in 70's rock... Randy Newman, the Kinks, Harry Nilsson. "That's why I had to record to tape!"

As a rock musician I spend a lot of time debating how much computer post-production is too much. The technology exists nowadays to clean up tracks and snap beats to grids so perfectly that even hard rock and country bands on the radio sound automated. Speaking to Soundfounder I learn that it's something electronic artists consider as well. "Perfection is attainable -- perfect time-wise, melody-wise, clean... if you want." But as he's gotten more experienced his attitude towards this has changed. "Things I would have considered horrible mistakes earlier" he now keeps, "allowing chaos to play a role." Listeners expect perfection, so Andrew tries to do the opposite of what's expected. That's an impulse to which any artist can relate!

When he first came to Austin, Andrew did DJ gigs, but what he wanted most was to play shows, original music for a crowd that's there to listen as opposed to dance. "That's one reason I took Focus Group seriously." That's also why he's working on making Exploded Drawing a scene fixture, since it's tricky for electronic producers to book rock and roll-style shows. It's puzzling being a musician doing anything outside the lines around here -- it's not that audiences don't exist, it's just that local venues, press, and promoters can be disinterested in the extra work it takes to mobilize potential fans of what's new and different. Musicians have to take the initiative. Soundfounder and Butcher Bear ("my ideal partner in crime") are trying to increase exposure for like-minded artists all over Texas. They know the interest is there. "After my opening sets for Take and Nosaj Thing, I let people know I was starting [Exploded Drawing] and got two pages of e-mail addresses," Andrew says.

So what can you expect Friday? "We could fill up the roster with just our homies, but to keep it interesting and fresh we must mix in people we don't know. 2 of the 6 at this next one I don't know." They will try to keep it diverse. "A good mix of pros and complete weirdos. Not all inbred, not all digital or all analog." If you are a producer who wishes to be considered for future Exploded Drawing shows, write explodeddrawing@gmail.com and let them know where they can hear your music. "I love it when people send me links!" says Andrew. And remember, "we want pros and inspired amateurs." Some performers are well-established Austin DJ's with polished sets. Some are venturing out of the bedroom for the first time! Should be good.

Bottom line? "I'm part of a community I'm trying to build," says Andrew. "Austin has fertile soil to create a scene for these kind of performances." By using his talent and connections to build opportunities for other producers in the same boat, Soundfounder's personal gravity is rising the tide. Local rockers take note.

Millions Can't Be Wrong

2010-10-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

"It's funny what kinds of people dance," Freshmillions bassist/programmer/funkiness collector Geoff Earle muses. "Jadedness is kind of the enemy here. Humans who have a lack of pretension will dance." Earle, guitarist/keyboardist Cody Skinner, and drummer Dan Skarbek don't seem all that self-conscious themselves. They've been known to take the stage in bathrobes or tracksuits, and their music exists in that postmodern space where there's no rules about where sounds originate. Live instruments, loops, and samples of all sorts of provenance are fair game, and the only objective is that people listening get moving to it, beginning with the three guys on stage.

Although the Freshmillions machine hums along so nicely now it's hard to believe they didn't have everything worked out from the beginning, Cody says there was "zero, zero orchestration." Rather the band in its present form grew out a five-year search by Geoff to find the right outlet for his beatmaking abilities. When he was 22 a college buddy who lucked into a job with Columbia Records offered him the chance to work with a big library of pre-cleared samples. The results were encouraging, with Geoff's work getting serious consideration for use by big-time artists. Although none of his efforts ended up Top 40 smashes, the confidence boost was enough: "I made a lot more beats!"

Upon settling in Austin, Geoff began to transition from producer to bandleader. Freshmillions didn't find a stable lineup immediately. At one point they had a vibes player; Bryan and Trivett of The Sword passed through for two shows. Geoff grew up with Cody, who moved to Austin from Denton in July of '09. He knew Dan from music business school in New Orleans; when his name showed up on a Freshmillions guestlist, Geoff and Cody immediately started thinking about drafting him into the band. They got their man. "Now I'm playing with dudes who are better at their instruments than I am," says Geoff. "I think that's why the band's taken off this year!"

To the casual observer, the completed lineup is a guitar-bass-drums power trio. But their sound, and their process, are more complex. "I'll make a beat and bring it to the table," says Geoff. "That's how the project started." A number of the songs on their stellar debut -- "Million Dollar Bill Pt. 1," "Monty," "Forever" -- he completed writing himself around his initial sampling. Now that Cody and Dan are on board, Freshmillions work together to build instrumental parts around Geoff's tracks. "He's going to bring in a snippet, or maybe multiple snippets," says Cody.

There's no doubt about the extra power the live drums and guitar bring. "You want the full palette of sounds available to you," Cody says. "People never get tired of seeing people play music -- it's a different energy." Freshmillions had to figure out that they were a rock band to find the audiences most receptive to their grooves. Cody: "We played a lot of shows with dance groups and electronic bands and people didn't dance!"

Cody and Geoff's list of favorite Austin bands cross the divide between rock and "other," and many are trying like Freshmillions to straddle both. Neiliyo, Butcher Bear & Charlie, Fingaar Bangaar, Focus Group, Zlam Dunk, Woodgrain, Spells, and Sip Sip are all mentioned. "Zorch is top of the list," Cody says (and I tend to agree). As for favorite venues, they're one of the first bands I've spoken to with nothing but nice things to say about the Beauty Bar. "You would never expect it," but according to these gentlemen the bartenders and the staff in general at the often-maligned 7th Street disco have never been anything but nice to them. "The 21st Street Co-Op show was the most fun we've ever had on stage," says Cody -- glad I caught that gig! They're also looking forward to playing Scoot Inn again.

Next steps? For now, the plan is weekend shows in as many southern towns as possible. "I wonder if we would do well in Europe," Geoff asks. "Guess we got to book Europe and see what happens," Cody responds.

I catch a ride with the guys to their show at the Beauty Bar, and while we're chatting on the way I learn a few more interesting things about Freshmillions. They can't drink or do anything else mind-altering before they play, because keeping time with the loops and samples requires their full unadulterated attention. This is particularly challenging when the opening bands are bad! Another thing I didn't know about is how fully their electronic equipment is integrated with their guitars. Commands from the computer over by Geoff go through MIDI cables and operate Cody's guitar effects. If either musician needs their hands free to play a keyboard part, the computer tells their pedals when to loop a bass or guitar part and for how long. If there's delay or something else that needs to be timed to the music, the computer sends the necessary information to the effect. Freshmillions may seem like goofy, fun-loving guys -- and they are -- but when it comes to their music they're all business, and they know the technology front to back.

Festivities

2010-10-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Ditch the Fest Fest
Cheer Up Charlie's, 10/9

It's been almost exactly a year since Anna C. and I left Boulder, Colorado to move to Austin. I remember, because it's now the second October in a row that I've been disgusted by the degree to which corporate entities control the agendas of music fans in the "live music capital." Austin's reputation among outsiders does not line up with the reality. We're supposed to have the most discerning, open-minded music fans anywhere, respecting tradition but not bound to it, eager for new sounds, driven to be the first and not the last on a rising new act's bandwagon. Fans like myself and Anna. Unfortunately, the town's receptivity to music is being manipulated by entities that do not have the advancement of art and culture first and foremost in their minds. For an unwitting Austin music fan, the concert calendar is a constant stream of "must-see" imports, attached to steep ticket prices and promoted unceasingly by a crappy, slothful local press who are complicit in the booking agencies' scheme to suck in every last dollar of disposable hipster income.

If you're just a tool with a trust fund, it doesn't matter to me if you want to spend forty-five bucks on Strokes tickets... knock yourself out. But what really bothers me about Austin's cozy hype industry is the way that it sucks in local musicians. A lot of people move here intending very seriously to give making music their lives a shot. The less self-aware ones get stuck on the merry-go-round. They have to go to the Pixies show. They have to buy a three-day pass to the festival. They have to spend a month's salary to get the shiniest plutonium wristband (or whatever the hell) in March.

As a class musicians tend to have inflated opinions of their own importance and a deep-seated need for approval. All they see talked about in the local press is the big-time shows, so they get brainwashed along with everybody else into thinking that there's no other game in town. They don't see any point in going to see other local bands. They feel the only path to success for their own projects is getting written about by some blog in Brooklyn and ignore promoting to local fans and working together with other bands in the same community. They post lists of all the out-of-town buzz bands they hope to open for to Craigslist, ignoring the fact that the majority of big shows shut out local bands entirely.

Explain to me how else some 40 of Austin's finest acts were free this Saturday for Ditch the Fest Fest. We weren't able to stay at Cheer Up Charlie's for the entire day, but in about three hours' time we saw an impressive variety of music, from Pataphysics' comedy garage to Missions' Euro-tastic vintage electro bleeping. Megafauna brought blistering solos, Agent Ribbons whispered spooky poetry, and Hatchet Wound just rode an ugly, screaming, noise-bass groove until it somehow turned pretty. As we walked in A Giant Dog's Sabrina was out-howling the entire Happen-Ins. Everywhere we looked, there was someone cool we had met before during our yearlong immersion in Austin music -- Zorch's producer Evan, the Sour Notes' bassist Amarah, KVRX folks, local writer and impresario DIY Danna. And also there was a guy dressed as a pirate.

My point is, if you want to be a bigger part of the Austin music scene (whether you're a musician, writer, filmmaker, promoter, or all of the above), you need to put yourself in places where fans and supporters of local music are going to be. Judging by the all the idiots with out-of-state license plates driving the wrong way on South Lamar last night as we were coming home from another awesome free show at the Rockin' Tomato, those folks weren't at Zilker Park this weekend.

Let me a take a moment to recognize the band Red Leaves. I've written about them pretty harshly in the past. We saw them at the first show we ever went to at Beerland last fall and they sucked. We encountered them a few times after that and they quickly became a band that we would avoid at all costs. At the time they seemed more conscious of image than musical coherence, with their guitarist, bassist, and drummer all grinding away oblivious to one another and their token female member plunking away ridiculously late on guitar or bass. To Anna they became the go-to example of a local band where a woman was used as a prop to increase visibility rather than a creatively engaged member. Well, we saw them yesterday and although it was the same lineup and same setup, we have to change our attitude now. They killed it. The bass and drums were far more involved in developing the songs, those late guitar and bass parts are right on time now, and since they've gotten their musical issues in line the thing that always made them appealing, really melodic male and female vocals and even harmonies, pop out in a brand new way. The boy singer could stand to quit imitating Thurston Moore's vocal mannerisms so closely, but they have gone from unwatchable to maybe the best band we saw yesterday. In the nick of time, too, because with the proliferation of local No Wave bands in the wake of Casual Victim Pile, there's a need for a band like this that has the ability to bring real songwriting to the table. There's another lesson in there somewhere. Keep playing!

Quickly: The Happen-Ins are great dressers, but they really need to find some sort of modern twist to their Stones-Band-Dylan 70's rock sound, because they bring nothing new to the table and it's obvious to a lot more people than just me.... Missions have a little bit of that static science-class feeling a lot of all-electronic acts have as a live band, but their songs progress and are distinguishable from one another. Pretty sure one of their members is also in Love at 20, only she actually showed a pulse and some personality playing with this band. Hatchet Wound remind me of PiL, and their super-basic bass and drums setup works well for what it does. I suspect though that if one of the two of them weren't female, they would have trouble booking shows with this stripped-down and repetitive a style. Lead guitar would be nice. Agent Ribbons are new to Austin but arrived with a ton of hype. I can see why people praise their songs, which are warped and twisted while still having really simple rockabilly underpinnings. They play very quietly, which is nice because their lyrics are great and you can hear them clearly. Still, I think they'd benefit as a live band if their drummer would go ahead and hit the drums like they're not going to hit back.

Fighting for Life

2010-10-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

Don't Shoot the Messenger
Mostly Dead

Usually I listen to a disc about three times front to back for a review. This doesn't prevent me from writing things I will change my mind about later, but it seems to be the fairest method. There are exceptions. A lot of droning home-recorded "experimental" music doesn't need me to sit through it more than once to reach a conclusion. And some songwriting identifies itself immediately as incompetent and/or plagiarized. All art is not created equal. I make no effort to treat musicians who are terrible equally to ones who are clearly talented, and neither should you. If your friends' band sucks and you know it does, you're not doing them any favors blowing smoke.

Employing seven band members and a long roster of guests, all working through parts intensely composed by Mostly Dead leader Andrew Nolte, Don't Shoot the Messenger is impenetrable on first, second, and even third approach. It's quite obviously the work of musicians who have mastered their art, as the constant bone-jarring meter shifts and smarty-pants vocal and instrumental harmonies will regularly remind you. Their combination of music-major chops and rambling hippie idealism doesn't leave you any really obvious comparisons. The only band I can think of with a similar hybrid of Danny Elfman and Tom Waits is Colorado's similarly inaccessible Orphaned Gears, a band whose ambition I admired -- and whose exhausting song lengths and triple-stuffed arrangements left me grasping for excuses to not have to listen to them.

Don't Shoot the Messenger is honest about the amount of work it's going to require from the listener, beginning as it does with tracks like "Fallen Out" that force all of Mostly Dead's details into short, tense songs. "Expect the Unexpected," with its rushing chant of "it could happen to you" at the climax, illustrates well how Nolte's compositions divide out accessible, rhythmically square parts with unsettling sections. Violin and horns interject in weird spaces, and abrasive guitar effects add to the feeling of displacement. Only towards the end of Messenger's running order do songs like the salsa "Hypnosis & Patches" and the beatnik swing "How Can You Know?" let the band stretch out in a more traditional way. Mostly Dead throw so much at the ear right out of the gate, it's possible to overlook how many really immediate elements there are to the album -- the string quartet that opens "Goodbye, Blue Planet," the jazzy fingersnaps and operatic female vocals of "Spoonful of Spin," big gang choruses on many tracks.

Although it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, Don't Shoot the Messenger strikes me as the definition of an artistically successful record. Why makes me say that? There's a method to Nolte's madness. If the music seeks to constantly keep the listener from getting comfortable, the lyrics answer the obvious question as to why the musicians want to elicit that reaction. At first the idealism of these broadsides, which use "you" and "we" pronouns just as often as "I" and "me," might be distasteful to more cynical listeners. I don't like so much to be lectured by my record albums. But if the big question over music and art in general is, "What's the point?", I don't have to ask myself why Mostly Dead sound the way they do. This is difficult, personal music crafted with a message in mind. As a critic, whether I agree with the message or not isn't at issue.

Don't Shoot the Messenger does a really fine job of creating an atmosphere that suits the lyrics. Mostly Dead are passionate about the state of our environment, culture, and relationships. Someone interpreting their music incompletely might see them as relentlessly negative, but they are conscientious about discussing solutions. In the same way they construct difficult songs but leave care to bring in anthemic, simpler sections when they are needed, Nolte isn't monochromatic with his lyrics. At points he can sound like he's issuing a laundry list of complaints, but he finds ways to mix it up. One is using sweeter vocals from bassist Mo Born and guest female singers to contrast his own raspy, hectoring tone. The instrumental arrangements often bring in a humor and lightness that the lyrics lack. Who can be unhappy listening to slide whistle, or a good sheepish melodica solo?

This was a big project. It sounds like one! A lot of very talented players worked hard to put this thing together. That's why it would be a shame if Mostly Dead did nothing for the whole length of Don't Shoot the Messenger besides announce how screwed the human race is. Thankfully, they are not entirely about listing problems without offering solutions. The chorus from "Serpents & Doves" illustrates their balance between hyperbole and twisted optimism best: "Unbearable sorrow and perpetual pain/In the darkest of hours on the blackest of days/I can still hear music."

P.S. Don't Shoot the Messenger on CD ends with an amazing 25-minute composition, "The Pledge of Unification Vol. 1," that's like a whole second Mostly Dead record unto itself... it has elements from the 10 songs that precede it, plus solo sections for all the instruments, plus a lot more lyrics (including some overdue discussion of what can be accomplished through music as opposed to complaining). It's a great introduction to their world but I feel like it should be treated as a separate piece. Coming at the end of a pretty weighty full-length, as it does, it seems like overkill, but if you sit down and listen to it by itself I think it's the most suitably overblown thing they've yet done.

The Nerds Inherit the Earth

2010-10-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

A question that I ask myself a lot while absorbing new music (and discussed at length in the most recent Demo Sweat) is whether the subject matter will interest anyone beyond the songwriter's immediate circle of intimates. As a prose writer who has written more than his fair share of lyrics it is always surprising to me how little self-awareness a lot of lyricists exhibit. If you're going to write about how much you love your girl, or how pretty the mountains are, it's going to be an uphill battle separating yourself from the untold millions of verses written on the very same topics. Then there are the many writers who don't have subjects for their songs at all. Coherent, structured songwriting, where the verses tell stories that set up a big payoff in the chorus (if you don't know what I mean by this, go buy several XTC records and study up) isn't a prerequisite for masterful pop songs. Beck and Dylan prove otherwise. But, if you've been writing songs for a while now, and are having trouble convincing people that they are as good as you think they are, you might be able to learn a thing or two from World Racketeering Squad.

With all due respect to drummer Bruce Chandler and his notable knack for high harmonies, the engine that makes WRS go is the partnership (and friendship) between bassist/singer Reed Oliver and guitarist/leader Isaac Priestley. The duo has a particular kind of relationship to which I can relate -- they're not all that alike, they have violent differences of opinion on nearly everything they hold dear from music to film, but they're both weird dudes and weird dudes have to stick together, even if they're not offbeat in precisely the same manner. Isaac lived in New York for years and recorded by himself with a four-track, but never found much of an audience without a band. Reed had never written a song or played bass before Isaac moved back to Austin and dragged his old friend half-accidentally into beginning World Racketeering Squad. Reed's natural gift for lyrics ("Sometimes," Isaac says, "it feels like Reed is writing just what I want to write") and theater-honed sense of showmanship complement Isaac's rock-nerd attention to arrangement details and drive to get the most out of his music. Reed and Isaac's differing values make for songs, recordings, and shows that are far better than either would be able to do on their own.

"Every relationship has tension," says Isaac. "We had to put aside the idealistic notion of a beautiful partnership where everything works." Reed has no illusions about getting Isaac to agree with his every whim, but even when he can't get his way he makes sure the band knows how he feels. "I'm going to hammer at this until I'm sure that you know what I'm saying!" For these two stubborn, highly intelligent individuals to maintain a collaboration, it's obvious that the end results must be worth all of the bickering. "If we didn't fight about stuff, it wouldn't be as good," Reed says.

But why do their differences lead to stronger songs? It's because their separate goals, as strongly as they might feel about them, aren't mutually exclusive. "When I write a song I'm nervous when I play it for Isaac," Reed says. "He's the arranger, he can see what can be done with it. My songwriting has been honed by his feedback. I have higher standards because I'm bringing songs to him." Lyrics are preeminent in Reed's writing process. "I get in my head, do it over and over, then sit down and type out the whole song. Only then do I pick up the bass." By contrast Isaac writes music more closely and leaves his lyrical notions more open-ended. Based on a single verse or even just a couple of words, Reed finishes Isaac's initial ideas. "He's good at fitting things into a scheme," says Isaac. Because of their different approaches, they're well-suited to turning one another's blind spots and weak points into strengths.

This extends to World Racketeering Squad's live shows, which have grown by leaps and bounds since they began hitting open mic nights as a duo. "When we started we had zero stage presence," Reed says. Isaac: "We have different goals for what we want the audience to experience." It took them months of playing together before they were able to balance Isaac's drive to rock ("This is a live show, no one's listening to the words") against Reed's concern that the lyrics be audible ("To me, the lyrics are always important"). Again, the path of compromise led to them becoming a better band. Gradually they learned to structure their setlists such that moments when the music takes control are balanced by points where the band backs off and lets the singer be heard. This makes for a more exciting show for the audience, and lets them appeal to different kinds of listeners in turn. "It gives us places to go in a live show," says Isaac.

If songs about zombies playing ukuleles, Summer Glau, and electromagnetism didn't tip you off, WRS are some nerdy dudes. And they're not afraid of it. Their debut full-length What Is Nerdwave? is titled after the tongue-in-cheek genre designation they have self-applied. More than a marketing hook, their nerdy tendency to analyze everything helps them improve as musicians. "I've learned a lot from 'lean startup ideology' as a programmer," Isaac says (while Reed attempts to mask an eye roll). In a nutshell, what he means is that when beginning to market a product (or a band), you start by offering consumers/listeners the most basic elements. Then you collect data (or listener feedback) and you respond to it. "I take copious notes after every show," Isaac says. "Do we like it? Are people moving around? Cheering? Do they talk about it?"

"We videotaped ourselves for months," adds Reed. The main question he asks himself is, "Are people looking at us?" Although he's used to performing, "learning to be a lead singer is completely different." Performing as himself, as opposed to as a character in a play, has an entirely different set of requirements. It's "a little bit fake it 'til you make it. Am I slouching? Stand up straight!"

"Lean" is a good description of the approach they've taken to recording to this point. "We don't take two months off," Isaac says, and "we make sure whatever we're recording we're also playing live." What Is Nerdwave? is a pretty straightforward representation of their sound as a live band, absent a stray recorder overdub here and there. Most of the CD sales they've made have been at shows, and staying active and visible as a working band is something marketing obsessive Isaac takes very seriously. "There's a lag time whenever you do anything" before potential fans really sit up and take notice. To not lose momentum you must "do it consistently -- web page, Facebook, people want to see that a band is alive."

"I've been fascinated by marketing, branding, promotion my whole life," says Isaac. "I would encourage musicians to learn about marketing and persuasion. I'm not an expert at it yet!" He has crafted a appeal for tips for Reed to deliver on stage employing "six or seven" different marketing techniques. "Every person in the band does not need to be a marketing expert," Reed adds, "but other people need to be open to the theory. [Isaac's] goal is for our band to do better." He continues, "We all have day jobs we actually like and are good at. But tips mean albums."

Isaac is all about getting the most out of his music that he can. World Racketeering Squad gives him outlets for many of his talents beyond playing guitar and songwriting -- web design, marketing, booking, networking, drawing sexy robot women. But what it all boils down to is that there's some things you can accomplish playing in a band with your friends that you can't singing alone into a four-track. "About a year and a half ago I realized I wanted to feel a part of a community, something exciting. It just occurred to me recently that it's happening!" "We had people come to our CD release and were shocked," says Reed. Including a couple with their one-month-old infant. World Racketeering Squad onesies, sadly, are not yet available for sale.

Speaking of community: WRS's favorite local bands include You Might Think We're Sharks (Isaac moonlights as their bass player) and Day Vs. Night (formerly The Night), who will join them for a show at Emo's October 25th. Conquistador Inc. and Bare Bones Orchestra are also recommended. You can also catch World Racketeering Squad this Wednesday the 6th at Red-Eyed Fly or Friday the 8th at the Rockin' Tomato.

Demo Sweat #17

2010-09-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about process lately. Introducing a recording news column has led to many conversations with local artists about the vast array of different options musicians today have for documenting and distributing their music. I got to go to an actual studio for the first time in a while to see J. Wesley Haynes Trio do their thing. Our dear friend Sean Padilla came over to borrow my beloved, weatherbeaten Takamine acoustic for use on his Gratitude Sessions project. The Coast of Nebraska, after twice I painstakingly pointed out their flaws, seriously asked me to produce their next record. (This is something I always hoped would happen. Only in Austin could such a demented rock critic wet dream come true.) I just read that my friends in The Sour Notes had to hock some gear to get their forthcoming Last Looks finished. Also, one band I myself am in is almost done with a record and another one is beginning work on one this weekend. You see where my mind is at.

So let's use this overdue new installment of Demo Sweat to discuss the review process a little more in-depth. This blog began because as a newcomer to Austin I immediately felt the absence of local music writing that took a journalistic approach as opposed to a literary one. I don't write poetry or short stories. I've never even daydreamed about trying to write a screenplay. I write what I see and hear. People experience music in very different ways. My bandmate Mike hears in colors. Anna C. is more about moods. As for me, I always feel like I can break everything I hear on a record down to statistics, like a newspaper box score. All is objective fact. Your band is a crime scene and I'm "CSI: Miami." The fashion in music blogging nowadays is for people to just write what they feel; like an art therapy project. That's not how I operate. I have a rubric that I run through internally with every band I ever come across.

The first (and last) step most bloggers take is to figure out what comparisons to make. I don't even think of this as a step. It should be obvious, if your musical knowledge is up to snuff. The first question I ask isn't, "What famous bands do these guys sound like?" Instead, it's "Given their influences, do they do enough to step out on their own?" Consider Indofin. These guys have been together since 2002, and yet they're still gigging at places like the hateful Beauty Bar. To say they're a tight band with an instantly recognizable sound would be accurate, but it wouldn't be the whole story. Every decade has a few rock bands that just strike a chord with a certain subset of male musicians to the extent that sincere, flattering imitation is all that most acolytes can manage. Like Metallica. As an ongoing artistic concern they haven't been cool since 1988, but somehow there continue to be bands -- nowadays, bands featuring kids who were born well into the nineties -- whose sole influence is the first four Metallica records. I don't know why. Check out Houston's Metavenge sometime.

While Indofin tunes like "2X Broken" have nice melodies and particularly arresting, slippery bass playing from Albert Huang, they are following Sublime's formula exactly. On every song. The chicka-chicka reggae guitars, lightly funky walking basslines, and pocket drumming will be instantly recognizable to anyone who surived the 1990's. Indofin don't add anything at all. In fact, they lose rather a lot -- TJ Huerta's singing has good rhythmic spacing but not a lot of personality, and the touches of dub, hip-hop, classical guitar, and skatepunk that made Sublime a deceptively versatile band are all right out. Just a lot of "Santeria" remakes remain. So if you're a hardcore fan of Sublime and you live in Austin... well, you probably already know about these guys. It's a band's own job to find their core audience. A good critic should be able to give his opinion about whether the world at large (that is, people who aren't colossal fans of that obvious central inspiration) would be interested in the band. In this case, sorry, no. For a Texas band who obviously worship Bradley Nowell but manage to assert more original ideas (and less obvious secondary influences like the Police and Pearl Jam), I direct you to Potbelly.

The second thing I listen for is the ability to vary approaches from song to song. Bands where every song is essentially the same style and tempo seldom have long shelf lives. A lot of Austin bands are releasing two versions of the same tune as a single every few months in an effort to get written about by those capricious NYC blog elites. I don't get it -- trying to break nationally is like spending all of your discretionary income on lottery tickets. Why not concentrate on the far more realistic goal of putting on a diverse, fun, and rewatchable live show for all the awesome but jaded music fans right here in ATX? Again, this is my own way of looking at things. You may disagree with me completely and prefer bands who stick to their bread and butter. That's cool. My goal isn't to make everyone happy, it's to make a clear enough argument about what I think to get you thinking in a new way. The way I see it, bands who get up and play the same song eight times in a row suck. OK, that really sounds like more of an objective truth than an opinion.

Let's apply rule #2 to Marathon, by singer/songwriter Darden Smith. At first glance there's not a lot that separates this LP from untold thousands of other Austin country-rockers. The production is quite good, detailed and with a lot of extra touches that elevate Smith's whisper-quiet vocals while never obscuring them. But the song subjects are tiresome. You ever been to an open mic night in these parts? You may have noticed that three-quarters of the songs performed or more address one of the same three subjects: love of nature, romantic love, and generic nostalgia. (While these themes are universal in college towns, Austin has a unique fourth-most-popular song topic: Smoking pot with Willie Nelson.) Smith's lack of lyrical insight violates rule #4 ("Why would anybody who isn't friends with this guy be interested in what he has to say?') but the tenets go in order of importance and he comes across favorably when it comes to #1 and #2.

The album's structure is thoughtful and original, with atmospheric instrumental pieces that divide the proper songs like stretches of state highway between towns. The use of accordion ("Bull by the Horns") and flamenco-fueled trumpet (multiple tracks) is very reminiscent of Calexico, as is Smith's standard dry vocal delivery. But "Make It Back to You" is unabashedly middle of the road, almost edging over into CS&N territory. You know what? In the context of the album's more conflicted moments, the song comes across as really pretty, with a nifty workmanlike melody. It reminds me of the quieter moments on Wilco's great Being There. Another track, "That Water," has a more sinister mood and a totally different singing approach, a Leonard Cohen-like basso. Smith's simple songs pop out a lot more thanks to the instrumentals and the changes of pace. In this genre dramatic mid-song shifts (see #3) are sort of ruled out on principle, but there are more than a few choruses here that sidestep the obvious progression from the verses and move into more intriguing harmonic space. I do wonder how much of the album's mood, quite dependent on room tone, gentle balance, and colors from instruments like piano and upright bass that are tricky to transport, translate to Darden Smith's live shows. After hearing Marathon I am curious to find out.

The rules don't work backwards. Anxious Mind, by guitarist and songwriter Denzil Warner, really hits the mark when it comes to variety. There's hard rock, trad blues, dance music (complete with AutoTune!), falsetto funk, and Stones-style irreverent folk. Good for Denz for spreading it around, but... well, there's a problem when "Jesse Gonna Be Here Tonight" rips off Chuck Berry front to back, vocal melody, guitar lead, and all; "Anxious Mind" repeats (for its entire length) an unmistakable Black Sabbath riff; and "Making Love" resurrects a disco hook so played out P. Diddy would be ashamed to sample it. There are good underlying qualities to Anxious Mind, like the lyrics (much more specific and humorous than average, particularly "Hybrid Car Blues"), the blending of a lot of different guitar sounds, and cool tricks that make nonsinger Warner's vocals sound funky and smoky, at least until about two-thirds through when the ideas just start to run out. This record would have been a lot stronger if edited down to an EP, with a few of the completely unoriginal tracks excised. Even better, Denz could combine elements from three or four of the unfinished boogies lurking on the back end and put more dramatic changes into the songs like "Anxious Mind" and "Going Down" that do have some hooks working for them.

That brings us to #3. This is where it gets a little more controversial. I think most people who listen to music critically, although they might not do it as consciously as I do, would agree with rules 1 and 2. But #3 is more a matter of personal taste. I want to be surprised when one song ends and the next begins and is totally different. But what really excites me is when a band manages to execute a dramatic shift within a song, still keeping things coherent. Sudden jump stops of this sort are very hard to execute well, but when they are the effect can be unforgettable. The Black Keys' "Tighten Up," for example... or if you'd prefer an evergreen, what the hell, the guitar solo to "Stairway to Heaven." It would be silly to expect a band to do this every time out (unless they're Mr. Bungle), but when I hear a out-of-the-blue change that really knocks me flat by a local band, it tends to make me hear the rest of their stuff in a whole new light. #3 and #4 are what separate bands to whom I'll give a good review from bands of whom I'll become a diehard, proselytizing, lifelong fan.

I have a lot more new local music to discuss but I seem to have reached a natural stopping point. There may be a Demo Sweat 17.5 fairly soon, or possibly a bunch of shorter reviews. Perhaps if I link this next group you will go listen to them with what I have written today in mind and try and predict my responses. That would be interesting! So go check out Fulton Read, Shmu, Sleep Good, Mostly Dead, and Disciples of Sound and we'll meet again soon.

Now in list form:

Given the band's influences, do they mix it up enough to appeal even to people who might not be fans of the exact same list of artists?
Does the band change styles, moods, and approaches from one song to the next?
Can the band make dramatic changes within a single song that catch the listener off-guard while keeping the overall composition coherent?
Does the band have anything to say in their lyrics (or their emotions/moods/colors if it's instrumental or electronic music) that would interest anyone besides their family and friends?
OK, never mind all that. DOES IT ROCK? More on this later.

You Should Know What's Going On

2010-09-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

Begin with Purple Rain. Robert can't really replicate Prince's moves -- he's a mere mortal -- but he can say that the "I Would Die 4 U" sequence is the "apogee" of rock-frontman hand motions. When the shouting, hectoring face of La Snacks sings "Kristin Was a Meteorologist," he points at his head when he sings "head." Then he points up when he sings "sun."

"I want to go to shows and have people sing along, and want the people in the audience to know the lyrics." La Snacks started in Beaumont when there were no local bands of note to see. Relocated to Austin, they're still unique. With the right combination of hand gestures, facial expressions, and beer gulps, "I can make people know what the lyrics are." Being a rock bandleader, in the La Snacks style, has all kinds of duties and obligations attached to it. "If someone buys you a beer while you're on stage, it's your duty to gun it."

And then there's the moves. Robert is shy about demonstrating them at first, but we give him a mic stand and a little space and soon they start coming. A lot of the moves involve beer. "Drink beer. Sing. Drink beer. Sing. Lose beer, make face." There's guarding two beers. Stealing the guitar player's beer while he's tuning. Falling down and staying there. The mostly-retired "Bobby shuffle," an uncomfortable looking ankle-turning manuever. "Only in Beaumont," friends in the front row get whacked with the microphone stand. Singing to one particular person in the audience for an uncomfortably long time, or hugging them and not letting go, work everywhere.

"Music to me has to be interesting," Robert says. That's why he started the band, and why he puts so much thought and effort and making La Snacks shows entertaining. Like a lot of rock true believers, he likes performing and feels natural at it. "It's really comfortable for me to be on stage, more so than in social situations. They're my songs and I'm in control." His animated performances are partly an expression of his pride in the songs. He's also trying to get as much out of each audience as possible. "If you're going to watch the whole show you should know what's going on.... It should be interactive, and fun." And he also feels kinship with those music fans selective enough to choose to pay attention at a La Snacks gig: "If you're listening to ME, there's something going on. You're smarter."

La Snacks songs try to reward the close listener with peculiar details, strange references in the lyrics and deceptively supple melodies in Robert's unconventional vocal style. "You don't have to write about being 13 all your life," says the writer, who works history, politics, and music geek references into his lyrics. As free as he can be with his opinions while on stage, caught up in the moment, it's hard to get him to be negative about others' music in private. "A lot of bands we like listen to stuff we would hate."

Perhaps he is sensitive about the comparisons his own band draws to various 90's bands, some of whom Robert has never loved. "People say that bands sound like whatever their favorite band is," he says. Apparently La Snacks get Drive Like Jehu a lot, which seems weird to me... none of their songs are nine minutes long. His tastes in local music are broad enough: Follow That Bird!, The Gary, YellowFever, Golden Boys, The Eastern Sea, Transmography, Ume are some of the current favorites he names, along with the late Single Frame.

La Snacks continue to play out as often as they can. "It's all about getting enough money to put out a record." They tour when they can, although it's a challenge. "If I go away three months on tour, there no job when I get back." They've built up a decent audience in Austin, although you get the feeling Robert is ready for bigger crowds. The hardest dancing man in the city should expect no less.

Power Paper and Poetry

2010-09-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

First impressions count for a lot in music. Before I listened to the music of Bee Sting Sessions I had already formed an attachment to the band... thanks to the original, collectible, and personal packaging of their debut CD. With printed lyrics and simple but memorable art, the case instilled a curiosity in me about the band that their music went on to confound.

Singer and guitarist T Ellis: "We went and looked through a lot of different kinds of CD packaging. Bassist Phil: "We knew before we started we wanted more than a plain-jane jewel case." They ended up going with a recyled-paper design from Stumptown Printers, of Portland. They were "already cut but not put together," says T. "We started a mini-sweatshop with glue gun and parts." They've gotten amazing feedback from the elegant, DIY results. "It reminds fans of a record." As Phil says, "People nine times out of ten will put a CD on their computer and then throw away the jewelcase." Bee Sting Sessions appreciate both the environmental and the psychological impact of having their CD case be one of the 10% that listeners hang on to.

With T's controlled, jazz- and classical-influenced singing and minimal acoustic guitar and electric bass backing, that first CD kept things on the quiet side. The group's metal attitude only really showed through in the lyrics. As they expand into a full-band lineup with lead guitarist Sam and a pianist and drummer, they're balancing their natural inclination to get louder and heavier with the expectations of fans of the first recordings. Phil: "T brings an acoustic, open-mic feel; Sam & I bring faster, hard rock, intricate technical parts. She's silky... we're fetus." T says "Hopefully we can use those varying shades of gray to our advantage." Sam: "It's more like black and white, but we get colors to come out of it."

The very band name is meant to represent a larger idea than one set group playing music together. Phil and T began the band playing a lot of open mics and they appreciate those that promote "expression without limitations." Even as they begin to resemble more of a traditional rock band there's still an element of open-stage anarchy built in by design. "Anyone who plays with us at any time is part of the larger whole," Phil explains. "We're open to anything -- poets, other guitarists, a clarinet player. It's a musical collaborative."

The band may have its idealistic side, but they are learning about the realities of the business element to things as well. They're quick to warn young musicians about the exploitative nature of third-party, out-of-town bookers who require the "pre-sale" of tickets, a common pitfall for first bands all over nowadays. And like almost everyone in Austin they have their audition horror stories: A drummer showed up with a kick drum, a snare with no stand, and no sticks. A booker won't respond to T's e-mails after one health-enforced cancellation, but put her personal address on his band's mailing list without her permission. "If you don't know anything about business, have some common sense!"

Don't ask Bee Sting Sessions what they sound like. No one serious about music leads with that one! "'Where can I listen to your band?' is a better question," says Phil. "'It's nice to mush stuff together," T offers. "Art is not created in a vaccuum."

Extended Family

2010-09-16T15:59:00.001-07:00

It's hard enough to keep three or four musicians adhering to one schedule. How does the name partner in Rich Restaino & The Obits deal with a roster double that size? There's no single secret to it. "It's pretty easy considering there are eight people," Rich says. "We're all around 33, none of encumbered by kids... [Drummer] Dave's wife is pregnant, it's going to be a test."

At full strength Rich & The Obits field two guitarists, drums, bass, keyboard, and a three-piece female trio of backing singers that's the secret to their sound. Just the band's lineup is ambitious but Restaino keeps low-key about the band that grew out of a desire to keep working on his songwriting after his old group The Late Fees called it quits. "I had really low expectations because I'm that kind of person," says the singer, who doubles as a schoolteacher when he's not leading a big band. "My uncle was in a band signed to Capitol in the 70's. He ended up being a mailman.... Now he's playing with buddies, writing again." This helps lend some perspective. Rich is realistic about his band but still speaks of role models like Bukowski who weren't able to fully realize their visions until later in life. He's modest to a point, but there's still something driving him to deal with the logistical hassles of that eight-piece lineup... he's still a musician at heart!

So how is it done? It takes the right kind of personalities, and the right level of experience, in the band. "So many of us have done music in many different ways," Rich says. Gratitude counts: "Show appreciation at every opportunity. 'It's so great that you still want to play with me!'" The band tries to be productive in smaller combinations, when necessary... so long as the drummer's available they'll "go with a quorum," and if no drummer, they'll do vocal rehearsal. And every member is encouraged to bring in their own song ideas.

After finishing their recently-released We're in This Thing Together Restaino figured no one would be up to that level of hassle again. Recording for the CD had to be done "piecemeal" and took seven months. But it only took a few weeks after its completion for band members to start asking about the next album. "Really?" says Rich, incredulous. "You want to do this again?"

New challenges await. "I still feel like I haven't made a record that's cohesive," says Rich. "I've gotten three or four songs in but get stuck." The band is moving from new wave towards soul, thanks to the 45's of Rich's friend and former bandmate. "Every good record that's come into my house came from him. His record collection is the ninth member of the band." Things in Austin didn't turn out exactly as planned: "I moved here because I wanted to be in Uncle Tupelo."

Being at the center of the hurricane for Rich Restaino & The Obits isn't a bad fallback option. One last shred of wisdom from the education world might apply: "As a teacher, always have a backup plan."

Rich & The Obits play this Saturday at Rockin' Tomato, with World Racketeering Squad... WRS's CD release show.

It's All About the Parts

2010-09-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw The Sour Notes their new bassist and keyboardist were only a couple of shows into their tenure in the band. I never would have guessed it if they hadn’t told me themselves. They’re a band with bright, basic melodies to spare, but structurally their tunes are sneaky-smart. They never seem to end up in the places you would expect, yet they make perfect sense. I’d liked their recordings very much but I was really impressed by how much more they brought to the songs as a live band, playing arrangements that alternately rocked up and stripped down the original versions. And with two-fifths new members! Obviously there was both exceptional talent and prodigious hard work in effect here.

Both begin with Sour Notes mastermind Jared Boulanger, a quietly driven music obsessive on a mission. He’s seen his project get stronger and stronger with every release despite a lineup that’s in flux by design. “Anyone who’s with me is with me,” Jared says. “I’m going to do this no matter what.” For those who join up, “it doesn’t have to be a lifelong choice.” Jared is the sort of writer who hears every part of the finished song in his head before presenting it to his bandmates, which is not uncommon among true pop craftsmen. What is unusual about the Sour Notes is that their leader has a rare sense of what matters and what doesn’t, allowing the rest of the group to contribute their own sounds and styles.

“The craft of songwriting is in the forefront,” Jared says. From the beginning, “I didn’t care if we sounded like a rock band or a pop band. I’m not going to try and direct it. It’s all about the parts.” This liberated attitude is the secret to the band’s surprising range and chemistry on stage. A tune that was mostly synths and loops on CD might be reimagined with accordion, cajon, and melodica. A delicate ballad could become a rocker, if that’s how the band is feeling it. Those unmistakable parts aren’t getting lost either way.

I’m talking to Jared the day after drum tracking began for what will be the fourth Sour Notes CD at SugarHill Studios in Houston. Although he’s on the record as saying their last release, It’s Not Going to Be Pretty, is the best thing he’ll ever do, Jared is eager to go in a completely opposite direction for the next one. “I don’t want to ever repeat myself, so I will not ever make another record like that.”

To be entitled Last Looks, the next Sour Notes release is all about turning points: “Before major changes in life you take a last look the life the way it is in the present.” Jared is teaching the songs to the band as they record them. He’s particularly excited to employ the vocal talents of keyboardist Kelly DeWitt, who judging by the live show has integrated into the band with alacrity. “It’s not important that I sing all the songs just because I wrote them!” Jared says.

The Sour Notes have a history of putting out records on New Year’s Eve, so there’s a good chance Last Looks will enter the world on the final day of 2010. Received in Bitterness came out on 12/31, and then the band began a tour on January 1st, as auspicious a time to set out as any. Rather than recognize the flip of a calendar page, Jared would just as soon “celebrate something I accomplished.” Touring has been a growth experience. “On the first tour, we were expecting people to show up just because we sent fliers to the venue. [In time] we saw how much work successful bands did.” There’s a huge amount of prep work involved with hitting the road, from finding the right local bands (“Appreciate those who try, because in a few weeks, I may need the same help”) to becoming a borderline nuisance to area media. “Create your own success! Nobody has time to pay attention to your little band. Unless....”

Playing good shows in our hometown can be tricky as well. “I feel like in Austin there’s less sense of community than there could be,” Jared reflects. “If you want to set up a show, there need to be more chances taken on bands that aren’t established.” One opinion we share is that bands and bookers alike could be more aware of Austin’s musical diversity. “Every show should have men & women represented,” and it’d be nice to see more of a balance between guitar rock bands and electronic or “other” acts, rather than drawing invisible lines and putting three similar-looking, identical-sounding acts on every bill. Asked to name his favorite other Austin bands, Jared’s eclecticism and fondness for female singers is reflected: White Dress, Ume, No Mas Bodas.

The Sour Notes have earned their fair share of accolades. They’ve made some good records, and with the current lineup they’re well on their way to being a great live band. They could afford to be aloof, to ignore the hundreds of bands in Austin envious of the success they’ve had. But they don’t choose to play it that way. I think that might be their secret weapon: as serious and driven as he is about his music, Jared is humble and easygoing. He’s genuinely grateful for every compliment paid him, never seeming as if he takes his band’s fans or positive reviews for granted. It seems like he’d be a pleasure to work with, and that’s true of too few songwriters in his class. As much as some musicians want to get totally lost in their own work to the exclusion of all else, it’s easy to forget that there’s so many potential allies in town fighting the same instinct. Other bands aren’t your competitors! Jared: “People who are like-minded or on the same paths of life will get along together.”

Many of the Sour Notes’ songs are inspired by old films. Here’s three of Jared Boulanger’s go-to classics:

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, 1966, Mike Nichols: “The feeling sticks with you a long time.”
A Woman Is a Woman, 1961, Jean-Luc Godard: “All Godard, really. The back and forth struggles.”
Winter Light, 1963, Ingmar Bergman: “Even if you’re not spiritual, dealing with the complications of belief.”

Death, Life and Domestic Beer

2010-09-14T13:43:00.001-07:00

Being in a "successful" band can mean a lot of things. If your goal is to write songs, play shows, and make records (and drink beer) with your friends, and you do those things, you've succeeded. A lot of acts with promise can't stay together and end up stalling after a couple of gigs because no one has agreed upon what they expect out of the band and how they are willing to work for it. The guys from The Gary have been in bands of varying degrees of professionalism their whole lives. Despite having no expectations for gaining local notoriety, getting press attention, and touring, all those things have taken care of themselves... because the band put making music that they were happy with first.

Let's go ahead and start with the Beauty Bar Incident, because that's when things seemed to really take off for The Gary. They booked a show at the notoriously band-unfriendly 7th Street venue that was a fiasco. The group that played before them was unprepared and took their sweet time setting up and breaking down. The men of The Gary, who have a bare minimum of equipment and well over 50 combined years experience playing in bands, readied to play quickly. While the soundman was still setting up, the bar's manager came scrambling over, concerned about making sure to get the live music over with promptly in time for the more profitable DJ. "You need to be playing right now."

They played for twenty minutes and change, then got to drinking. As they do. Guitarist Trey Pool waited the whole night to give the Beauty a piece of his mind. In the mad rush of tab closings at the evening's end, he missed his chance to do so in person. So he left a few choice words scrawled on a napkin. No one remembers exactly what it said, but it got them banned from the Beauty Bar for life. It also secured their legend. Singer/bassist Dave Norwood: "A story about the Incident ran in the Chronicle and lots of bands e-mailed and said, 'We hate the Beauty Bar too. Let's play together.'" There's even another Austin band named after this seminal moment in scene history -- Paper Threat.

It goes to show there's more than one way to secure notoriety in the "Live Music Capital," and that the best-laid plans of aggressively self-marketing musicians are sometimes no match for pure weird luck. Trey: "None of us moved here for music. We figured we wouldn't do much more than get together and practice." "I played with both Trey and Dave [separately] and never thought the two of them would go together," says drummer Paul Warner. "When we started playing we'd have five-hour practices and do three songs." "We do it for our amusement," says Dave. "The less I care, the more shit happens."

It's not that the band doesn't care about making good music. In fact, the more I talk to them the more I realize that's pretty much the only thing that motivates them. They write songs and make records as quickly as they possibly can. Their first EP Chub was done a bare three months after they formed in 2008, the full-length Logan followed hot on its heels, and there's another EP in the can (recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago with Steve Albini). Like a lot of veteran musicians, they have long experience of working for months and years in bands and having little to show for it. "I spent so much of my twenties not doing the stuff I set out to do," Dave says. Older and wiser, thoughts of mortality and legacy inspire his lyrics and The Gary's working methods. They deliberately try and keep a fast pace -- "An LP and an EP a year, always something to be working on," according to Trey. Paul: "We book a studio date in advance and we're not always sure if we'll have enough songs."

"We learn to play the songs by recording them," says Trey. "When we get done and we hear it, then we know how to play the song. We didn't know what we sounded like until we did Chub."

Working with Albini suited their direct, set-up-and-play approach. The Gary stayed at the great man's place, where he has little bedrooms built for visiting bands, and befriended his cats. They shared his living room and kitchen. Apparently Albini drives a PT Cruiser! The engineer refused to offer any opinions of their music, viewing such as a conflict of interest, but they did get a nice compliment from Bob Weston, who saw them play at their show with Bottomless Pit. They're daydreaming about bringing Albini down to Texas to record a full-length at Willie Nelson's studios. "In three or four days we could do a full record," says Dave. "Maybe like two overdubs.... Forward, forward, forward!"

It's still a challenge being a working band in Austin. "Dealing with going downtown is hard," says Trey. "You're not going to be able to get within 6 blocks." Some of their best local shows have been at the Moose Lodge, which isn't booking weekends any more. They'd like to play more house parties, but as guys with jobs and families their exposure to other local bands is limited to those with whom they play shows. Some favorites are Hope 12, My Education, Many Birthdays, Baby Robots, Black Cock, Woodgrain. The Gary aren't close-minded, exactly, but they are more comfortable around bands with members who are roughly the same age. More important is that they be laid-back. "We can't be around bands that seem opportunistic," says Trey. Paul: "We're burned out on band agendas." Dave says, "I played in a band in '01 that was 'going for it.' It got gross and we completely lost track of what making music is about. I want music to be a cause, not an effect."

After I run out of questions The Gary stick around and hang out, because there's still a few beers left and they like my LP collection. Music fans for life, there's dozens of bands one or more of them got to see that I missed out on being slightly younger. We listen to records by Hot Snakes, GbV, Archers of Loaf. I play them Zorch and Dave digs them. I know that there are people all over the world who have this sort of lifelong close relationship with music, but in Austin it seems more a rule than an exception. "You absorb things all the time," Trey says. "I'm in my 40's and I'm still being influenced." Dave: "I avoided living here a long time. I wish I had moved here earlier."

The Gary play at Trailer Space on Saturday. For free!

Building a Scene One Stage Dive at a Time

2010-09-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

I have been working for over a month on launching a print version of Big Western Flavor. It's my style to tell it like it is about bands good and bad, but I thought it'd be a little extreme to actually start a business geared around reprinting my insults for profit. So we tried to put together stories for the magazine in a different way. Each band I spoke to -- and I will be running interviews here on this page every day this week -- was one I felt that anyone trying to play original music in Austin could learn a few things from, regardless of age, style, or genre.

The kids literally climb the walls when For Hours and Ours play an all-ages show. High-energy, anthemic, and inclusive, the five-piece follows in the tradition of Cap’n Jazz, Fugazi, Rites of Spring -- those more focused post-hardcore bands that channeled the unstoppable force of early-80’s HC into more musically sophisticated and less lyrically nihilistic paths. There’s no separation between band and audience -- the stage is full of the guys’ closest friends and sweaty band members keep somehow finding their way out into the crowd.

“It helps to have good material,” says trumpet player Brendan, speaking to the hysteria. “But it also helps being really nice.” The precocious, approachable nature of Brendan and his bandmates has won them more than just a squadron of devoted followers with black X’s on their hands. Friend Mike King at Gound Records pressed their first 12” vinyl, On a Weekend. Their talent as musicians is clear enough from the record. But what really sets them apart is their commitment to ideals larger than the band itself.

“Without naming names,” Brendan says, “certain bands expect everything to be handed to them. So many bands are only concerned with their own success.... We’re trying to get a scene going, to build a community.” The band’s name elegantly encodes their ideology: they put a lot of time into their music, only one way they demonstrate how much every listener means to them. At a July show at the 21st Street Co-Op, the For Hours boys danced, hollered, and headbanged along to all of the opening bands. Their guests from New Jersey, introspective screamers Prawn, seemed to have become their best friends in the whole world over the course of three shows in Texas. They finished each other’s lyrics like married couples finish each other’s sentences.

Although they book partly through MySpace like most DIY touring bands, “there’s no substitute for hanging out in person.” The story of how they became BFF’s with Prawn reflects their institutional kindness. FHAO bassist/singer Henry filled in for Austin’s Pompeii on an East Coast tour, charmed Prawn in the Garden State, and made certain to take care of his new pals when they came on a reciprocal trip through Texas. “Bands can become self-absorbed,” says Brendan, “but we’re all in it together!”

To plan and promote a successful tour without the help of a booking agency is almost impossible without many bands working together. “We send fliers to the local Chronicle-type places, but the onus is on the [local] band that throws the show. We’ll do what we can if you’ll do what you can.” Sometimes it only takes a little push to get the ball rolling on a great out-of-town gig. “Kids hear about a show and there’s nothing else to do, so....” Thanks to a good attitude and good music, FHAO has had pretty good luck on its road trips so far. Except for West Virginia. They won’t be returning to coal country any time soon.

Back in Austin, it’s an uphill battle. As a band whose members just reached legal drinking age themselves, a lot of For Hours and Ours’ fans can’t get into the vast majority of smaller music venues in town. Brendan rolls his eyes. “The all-ages scene in Austin is atrocious. It’s the hardest thing to do [setting up shows for our fans] and their not having to pay exorbitant amounts.” He cites Emo’s, Red 7, and Trailer Space as bright spots. “It takes paying of dues. We’re just now getting to the point where we can book all-ages on Friday and Saturday night.”

There’s always the co-op, which isn’t the ideal place to play sound- or security-wise -- much of their July 17th show featured no guitars or bass, since the uncontrollable crowd kept trampling on their pedals -- but does suit their vibe perfectly, all boundless energy and youthful utopianism. After bringing the house down, Henry wanders out into the courtyard wearing nothing but boxer briefs, his glasses, and a glowing coat of shiny rock sweat.

@forhoursandours (3:58 AM Jul 18th) best show ever. period.

Local Recording News: September

2010-09-10T16:33:00.001-07:00

As I have mentioned a few times, a business partner and I am working on putting together a print version of Big Western Flavor. We have big goals for the magazine, which is taking my high standards for Austin music further with interviews with some of the most original, imaginative bands in town. The idea is to get everybody making new music around here to work together more closely. A band doesn't have to be the exact same genre as yours in order for you to learn something valuable about how they create, promote, and market their music.

I've assembled a bunch of awesome content for the September issue, but it's a rough time to be selling ads. All next week I'm going to be running the stuff I worked on for the 'zine here on the site, so people can get an idea of what we're working on. I can be ridiculously harsh on bands I don't like, but with the magazine I'm trying to concentrate less on my opinions and more on what all struggling independent bands in Austin have in common.

One thing most local musicians are all dreaming about doing is putting out a record. I learned a lot just putting together a list of musicians working on new recordings in the last month. Here it is, and stay tuned for stories next week on The Gary, The Sour Notes, For Hours and Ours, Bee Sting Sessons, La Snacks, and more. Work for the October issue of the BWF 'zine, whether it ends up in print or not, officially begins right this minute. Bands, let me know if you have recording or tour news of your own.

STEREO IS A LIE just had their debut LP mixed by Chris Cline (Trail of Dead, Society of Rockets, Elephone). It's on its way to be mastered for a late October release. In the meantime the Brit-accented dreamgazers will keep busy with shows. They're appearing at the Texas Music Matters Fest and have slots opening for Sixteen Deluxe and Atari Teenage Riot.

Otherworldly synthesist Cosmic Jaguar is working on a compilation of similarly-minded experimental artists for the Violent Flame Records imprint. Also a Mayan shaman, musician Carlos Cedillo will launch a big promo blitz on whichever date the charts deem most auspicious. Makers of difficult but abstractly spiritual music who are interested in inclusion should check out cosmicjaguar.com. Truth seekers can also view Cosmic Jaguar videos at SMTX.tv.

Classification-defying group marriage enthusiasts No Mas Bodas are tracking at Klearlight Studios with Jay Jernigan, who they first met in Dallas while playing with The Darktown Strutters. Like their debut Erotic Stories from the Space Capsule, this new EP will self-released "if nothing changes." Five songs are going down on tape: "Flesh," "Carousel," "Quicksand," "Jungle," and "Ocean." The plan is for a vinyl issue with a free download or CD included. No guests for basic tracking, "but you never know who might pop up on the overdubs."

Indie-jazz hybrid The J. Wesley Haynes Trio, with Wesley Haynes on Rhodes, Matthew Shepherd on drums, and Willy Jones on upright bass, just recorded a full-length reinterpretation of Radiohead's Kid A. Done live in a single take at East Austin's Hot Tracks!!!, Township Records is working on securing the rights for an official release. The trio will be performing the full piece at venues around Austin this fall.

Fresh off their epochal eighth-anniversary celebration at Mohawk The Midgetmen are putting the finishing touches on their fourth album. At 17 tracks it's a monster, and early reports have it that by their standards it's positively baroque. Backing vocals and everything. They started recording at Arlyn Studios in August of 2009, but have ended up doing the bulk of the work right at home. "Thanks to Rock N Roll Rentals and a MacBook Pro with Logic, we can basically record with professional mics whenever we feel like it," says bassist Marc Perlman. Epics take time, and the world may have to wait until The Midgetmen's ninth anniversary show next spring to sink their teeth into this one.

Geography have taken the recording of their first EP into the practice space as well, after some false starts. Guitarist Justin Granger reports, "We started recording this EP back in February 2010 in our bassist's garage, but the difficulties of DIY recording bogged us down." They spent some months searching for a studio, settled on one, but then... back to the garage. "After much discussion we decided to have another whack at doing it ourselves and this time around, it has been going much better." The self-titled EP will feature the songs "Golden Tremors," "Summertime Lovin," "In Our Town," "Boxes and Boxes," and "We All Get Along." It should be out by the time you read this!

Science fiction enthusiasts and rock animals, World Racketeering Squad drop What Is Nerdwave? on September 18th. Song topics include being a powerful human electromagnet and lusting after Summer Glau. Musicians should pay particular attention to the clever and enterprising way that the three-piece has made a variety of different pricing options available for their fans. You can buy just the CD itself for five bucks, but why would you when for only a pittance more you can upgrade to the Racketeer Glory Edition, the Limited Edition Ace Racketeer Edition, or even the hallowed Absolute Ultimate Racketeer Glory Edition? This last, in addition to the poster, bonus outtakes CD, and postcards available with some of the less ultimate versions, comes with added incentive still. Lay out for Ultimate Glory and WRS will write you your own song, on a topic of your choice!

Psychedelic-educated, music theory-damaged quartet The Fever Dreams are also preparing a new record that comes with some cool pre-sale options. Tracking for the Dreams' second full-length, with the working title Etymology, is being done at keyboardist/guitarist Harold King's Peach Tree Studios. October 31st is the planned release date, but check out exemplaryrecords.com before then. Pre-order customers will get access to a special, otherwise unavailable EP with "The Unsobered Tales of Nightwatchmen," a 30-minute studio improvisation. And that's not all: The Fever Dreams are also offering their most devoted fans handmade packaging, a full-sized poster, and a voucher for the full-length.

The hard-touring Achachay! will also do whatever it takes to make you buy their record. Handy Escape Coach, a five-song EP, comes with premium options including bonus live CD's, lawn-mowing, mixtape-making, and cooking services from band members, and even personal house shows. Also custom sunglasses. There's a lesson to be learned here. Bands: Don't beg for handouts! Sell your fans things they actually want. Even if what they want is for you to do their yard work in your underwear.

March to Fuzz

2010-09-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

She Sir, Ringo Deathstarr

Emo's, 9/4

Making yourself go see new music is a bit of a rhythm thing. Anna C. and I were pretty exhausted yesterday, and I don't think either one of us was really revved up to go to a show downtown. Somehow we went anyway. It's funny how these things work out -- we miraculously found a parking space about 7 blocks closer to Emo's than where we usually park when going to weekend Red River shows. And two bands for whom I didn't have particularly high expectations put on worthwhile shows.

She Sir has some burnishing left to do to make their live set equal to their ambitions, but even with mistakes you can hear elements in every song that show they are working hard on being original. Their principal lead singer has a tantalizing natural approach and the right sense of what notes to sing and when to place them to be heard clearly against the ringing, circling guitars. I could hear good ideas in their efforts at harmony but the parts seem works in progress. The instruments are tighter. Drummer David Nathan clearly divides one section from the last with good part choices. Guitarist Jeremy Cantrell plays hardly anything flashy but his figures are always clearly separate from the chiming quality of the bass and rhythm. Nathan and Cantrell's ability to accent in different places gives the band a more varied, warm quality than most of the Jesus and Mary Chain enthusiast groups in Austin.

Most of their songs do sort of follow the same template, but they kept giving me reasons to stay and watch the whole set. They rewarded my patience with a quiet, brooding number that replaced bass with shaker and had the guitars taking different roles. They are significantly tighter when the lead singer is not playing bass; he's not comfortable on the instrument yet and his tardy poking breaks the solid four-way communication She Sir has working when he's on guitar. Playing bass and singing is really hard.

Ringo Deathstarr are a band I'm glad I have a chance to write about because they do something unusual. I love to make broad generalizations and any guitarists who have talked to me at length know how much I dislike effects pedals. Most of the time, young guitar players use pedals as a substitute for coming up with distinctive parts. This is obvious when it happens and not a lot of fun to listen to. But there are exceptions to every rule. Ringo's Elliot Frazier is as effects-dependent as they come. Scales and arpeggios and syncopation aren't his style. But he uses effects really well; differently on each song and intelligently so that the rhythms created by the wave of the delay or flanger or phaser or whatever fits together in rhythm with the bass and drums. His playing isn't at all random and it's downright impressive how the trio can shift styles convincingly through slight changes in tempo and creative, practiced shifts in guitar sound.

The band benefits a lot from being able to switch back and forth from Frazier's lead vocals to Alex Gehring's. Neither is a real attention-getting singer but both are flattered by the way their dreamy, dazed approaches contrast each other. I also give Ringo Deathstarr a lot of credit for trying something really different in the middle of their set. Frazier turned his guitar volume down -- way down -- and played texture for a song that followed instead a simple loop played out of an iPod. Drummer Daniel Coborn did an admirable job of backing off and keeping the loop audible, and they did a haunting sort of Blonde Redhead number with effective chanteuse vocals from Gehring. When the drums suddenly swung back in mid-song to their usual powerful attack (BRMC, anybody?) it tied the departure back into the rest of the set. Very cool.

Ringo Deathstarr had another member until recently and is adjusting. Isn't it funny how many bands I see short a player that I end up really liking? Same thing happened with SuperLiteBike. I think it goes to show that coming up with the right parts for the instruments you have can be a quicker way of getting where you want to go than adding another musician. Losing a member and continuing to play shows often forces the musicians who remain in a band to reconsider how they approach the set. Can I play something differently? Can I make this part more exciting by waiting and coming in late, or moving it to a more unexpected place? When bands grow more creative through adversity you really learn a lot about their staying power, as a fan.

Anna C. did not care for She Sir. She has had her fill of four-guy guitar bands that sound sort of like Interpol. I try really hard to judge a band based on their own merits and not hold their entry into a locally-overexposed genre against them. In my opinion, She Sir might not have picked the most original combination of influences but they do a better job than many of taking their inspirations to cool places. I didn't think they were boring at all. Anna, not so much. She was more excited for Ringo Deathstarr, because she had seen them before and liked them. She was curious to hear my opinion, because by her own admission she wasn't sure whether she liked the band because they were good or because they had an integral female member, bassist/singer Gehring. Well, I think they're good too.