earache!

Apparently "nerdcore" is making a comeback. I mean, there was a NYT Style article about it last month, so you know it's true. Featured was Austin improv artist/ColdTowne Theater co-founder Chris Trew, aka Terp 2 It. Check out his video for "Don't Feel Like Learning" below. Gotta say it's not really "nerdcore." Um, 'prov-hop? He also performs Friday at Emo's with fellow weirdo Pleaseeasaur and Black Joe Lewis.


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I’m back from the skateboard store. I’ll leave shortly to go to Walmart to look at iPods or some generic version of it. Grand Theft Auto is hooked up to the Xbox on the plasma TV; I know because I tripped over the controllers left on the floor when Jackass II went into the DVD player. Good thing I can speak Myspace fluently: Teenagers have taken over my house.

The idea seemed good and felt noble – my brother Scott decided to relocate to Austin and we thought it would be better to get the boys settled in school at the beginning of the year instead of midway through. At last – my chance to put all that armchair parenting to good use! I thanked the TV gods I’d watched enough Cheaters on G4 to name-drop video game titles. Teens couldn’t possibly be as frightening as I’ve always heard they were. After all, I was one once.

Both are in school so party time at my house now occurs after the last one boards the school bus in the morning and before the first one gets home in the afternoon. Two Sundays ago, we watched the MTV VMAs while I explained frame-by-frame why Britney Spears’ career was crashing and burning before our eyes. Their response? “Dude, she’s hot.”

For fun this last weekend, we dropped them off near the Austin City Limits Festival on Saturday around 2pm. About 3:30pm, they called from Jack in the Box on Barton Springs. They were ready to come home. So far, so good.

And music? Dude, I am SO psyched about Avenged Sevenfold’s new CD that I can’t wait until the end of October when it comes out! That’s the day I leave on vacation. Read More | Comment »

The first thing I see when I walk through the gates Sunday afternoon: An extremely sunburned man with a peace sign shaved into his back hair. I fumbled for my camera, and then he was gone, like Sasquatch. Highlights:

- Lucinda Williams covering the Doors' "Riders on the Storm."

- My Morning Jacket's yacht rock-themed set. (Solos counted: 27.)

- Nels Cline has reinvigorated Wilco with his insanely great guitar playing.

- Has the dancing sign language lady always been at this fest?

- Ghostland Observatory had capes, lazers, and a very large, very enthusiastic crowd. "This reminds me of seeing the Dead in '72," said someone passing by.

See the photo gallery to the right for a few curious ACL fashion choices. Read More | 2 Comments »

Bands you love whose albums you didn't - on the next Jerry Springer!

Boulder trio Rose Hill Drive left my jaw on the skeezy floor of Emo's front room the first time I saw them several years ago. They've been through Austin regularly since, but I haven't been able to catch up to them. Until today.

As they stormed through their 45-minute set on the Austin Ventures stage just now, steam rolling through their high watt blues-rock rampage like a cross between the Allman Brothers and Cream, I felt bad for my review of their LP studio debut in the Chronicle's ACL preview.

The self-titled disc comes off like a typical first time effort in many ways: a dearth of songs badly produced by a major label veteran. The threepiece rolled out a number of new cuts that buzzed louder and angrier than a rock-breached hornet's nest, though it was their set's penultimate song that rammed home the performance, the Beatles' "Birthday." That wasn't quite the highlight, however.

That honor belongs to that which I said/blogged was the only thing missing from Peter, Bjorn & John's ACL fist-pumping highlight on Friday: a smashed instrument. Bass-playing Sproul brother Jacob, who'd been having equipment problems all show long, promised to destroy his instrument at the end of set, and did just that, bashing it into the stage two or three times before handing the headless guitar to a couple of kids leaning against the stage barricade when he was done. There's an ACL souvenir for you.

Rose Hill Drive's next album may or may not fall prey to the dreaded sophomore slump, but you can be damn sure that I'll get my hands on it quicker than you can say "Whipping Post" and debut it on my home stereo on 11. If it's not as good as the band's live set, then my stereo better quiver and quake lest it end up like Jacob Sproul's poor dead bass... Read More | 1 Comment »

“We’ve got to take care of the Earth, kids,” Ziggy Marley prefaced his three-song, all-encompassing history lesson at the Austin Kiddie Limits stage. Bookended with the title tracks of his two latest, 2003’s Dragonfly, an appropriate theme for this weekend’s festivities, and 2006’s Love Is My Religion, Marley’s 12-minute set explored universal truths through timeless reggae classics. “Kids, in case you don’t know, my father’s name is Bob Marley,” Ziggy explained before a meditative version of “Lively Up Yourself.” “All we need is love,” he later concluded. Indeed. Class dismissed. Read More | Comment »

The Ice Cream Man returned to Austin this weekend for his second consecutive ACL. Matt Allen made the journey in his custom Toyota Yaris, “Bessita,” following stops at MFNW in Portland, Ore. “Does festival season ever end?” he laughs backstage, where he hands out free frozen treats, sponsored by corporations like Levi’s. Allen’s trusty 1969 Chevy Stepvan, “Bessie,” is employed near ICM’s headquarters in Southern California at the Treasure Island Music Festival, where Ghostland Observatory performed this weekend. Read More | 2 Comments »

"Now I'm bleeding. I'm always bleeding." That's what Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, said after she ripped the strings off her SG around 4pm Saturday. The Dallas-based multi-instrumentalist stood alone in ripped fishnets and a white dress, the sound from Cold War Kids bleeding all over her too. Still, Clark managed an inspired set as the fest's late add, including a fantastic cover of the Beatles' "Dig a Pony" and a noise-bombed ending to debut Marry Me's "Your Lips Are Red." Her set at the Mohawk tonight promises to sound a little better.

Apparently another fire broke out last night, behind one of the speakers on stage at Bjork. I looked up at one point and saw it, but figured it was just part of her crazy stage show. Read More | Comment »

“His hair.”
“Yeah, his hair.”
“It’s nice hair.”
“Yeah. Shiny.”

Friday’s fire apparently happened during Pete Yorn’s set, but backstage shortly afterward, two young ladies provided the above dialogue about his hair, in glassy-eyed awe of his wavy, dreamy locks. What fire? Such was the ebb and flow of ACL Friday. Peter, Bjorn & John proved they have more than one song, even pulling out an Undertones cover (“Teenage Kicks”) and a Buzzcocks cover (“Ever Fallen In Love?”). M.I.A.’s late-set impromptu stage bum rush was quickly dispersed, but not before she conveyed her disappointment (“No one brought any weed up here? Damn.”). Surprise of the day: James Hunter. Why isn’t he huge? Revelation of the day: After watching Josh Homme goth dance through the beginning of a song, Queens of the Stone Age could easily cross over genres.

Three words: Bjork. Lazers. Confetti.

More to come ... Read More | Comment »

You got Who in my Jam!

How do you know that Peter, Bjorn & John are European? They know how to turn off the afterburners at a festival. Reports from their sets at SXSW 2007 pegged the Swedes' live show as "cute." Given that their most recent disc is all-too-adorable with melody, that wasn't hard to believe. Their performance here at ACL not more than an hour ago was anything but puppyish. Read More | Comment »

Thank goodness the brief water crisis was resolved. At approximately 2:30pm a large fire broke out in an employee-only area near the Wamu tent and the AT&T stage, where Pete Yorn was performing. The Austin Fire Department was called to the scene and quickly extinguished the fire, whose smoke clouds loomed large over the festival grounds. The fire started in a service recreational vehicle and quickly spread to two 18-wheelers. Four festival workers, described as middle-aged males in a brief press conference, were taken to Brackenridge Hospital. No festival patrons were injured, and emergency services coordinator Troy Officer sincerely thanked the ACL audience for their assistance. Read More | Comment »

Taking the scenic route on the Town Lake trail to the ACL Friday morning, the theme from Chariots of Fire seemed to ease through the trees in slow motion. It provided a surreal opening soundtrack to this weekend's marathon festivities. No sooner had the gates opened did the shade promptly disappear, replaced with chairs filled by the elderly,staking their claim at the BMI songwriter's stage, where Sahara Smith surprised most early with her poised performance. Thus far the weather has cooperated, though problems have been reported with the main water line. Stay tuned. Read More | Comment »

A local media outlet that will remain nameless wanted the Chronicle to comment on the differences between ACL and SXSW. Duh: a week and at least 1,000 bands.

More and more, though, ACL is picking up steam. Not so much in numbers, but in all the activity surrounding ACL. Last night, for instance, I knocked down a trio of Zilker Park performers some 12 hours before the first act - Sahara Smith, who was lovely - played her first note.

Crowded House, which taped an Austin City Limits episode, was at its droll, rollicking best. Paris' Gotan Project - two DJs and enough violins for the Austin Symphony - came off... Euro. As in, it probably goes over like gangbusters in a continental disco, but outdoors at Stubb's it was a snooze. Finally, Ryan Shaw at the Parish, a 26-year-old R&B act from Georgia, performed "Let It Be," everyone's least-favorite Beatles song. Enough said? Go see him anyway. Modern R&B acts kicking it old school are about as rare as STAX.

Then there was Charles Walker and the Dynamites this morning at the Four Seasons. Read More | 1 Comment »

Years ago, I lived in a house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a two-story remnant from the 1920s that had been converted into apartments, and then painted the most offensive shade of yellow, so that it looked like a block of cheese. It could be said my roommate and I were the most boring people living there. Behind us was the transsexual drug dealer who chased one of his/her underage houseboys down the street with a screwdriver late one night. Upstairs was a creepy older man with thick, grimy glasses who resembled an R. Crumb character and never wore a shirt. (He ended up being found dead in that apartment after I moved out.) And across the hall from him was a very large white trash family whose mother had a constant stream of mechanic boyfriends. One of her five sons was a teenage boy who, for about a month, listened to Black Flag’s Damaged pretty much on repeat.

Damaged was the first Black Flag album I heard as a teenager and I only picked up the cassette because the cover looked awesome. But now when I think of the album, the memories are of that house and my bedroom below his, the kick drum thumping through the ceiling, Henry Rollins’ vocals muffled but still unmistakably pissed. Somehow I came to appreciate the album more that way, reacquainting myself with the first anxiety-filled guitar line of “Rise Above” and the off-time urgency of “Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie.” Damaged always seemed unfuckwithable. Read More | Comment »

After 15 years, Toni Price played her last Tuesday early evening gig at the Continental Club in April. Price has since moved to San Diego, but she left a huge hole in the SoCo venue’s schedule that left owner Steve Wertheimer scratching his head as how to fill it. What took its place is markedly different, yet retains enough of the vibe that made Hippie Hour special.

Dubbed Planet Casper, it’s anchored by Casper Rawls, longtime Price accompanist and Leroi Brother, and a rotating cast of musicians and songwriters that have included Price alums Scrappy Jud Newcomb, Warren Hood, and Rich Brotherton, as well as David Grissom, Earl P. Ball, and Steve Doerr. Set up as a writers-in-the round configuration, which allows for maximum participation, it’s a chance to hear a wide range of styles, original compositions, and surprising covers. Read More | Comment »

No one wants to go home at 10pm in Austin. As the annual ACL Festival continues to rise in national prominence, so have the number of “unofficial” aftershows. Here’s a quick rundown of this weekend’s more notable events.

The safest bet for the weekend is the two-venue, two-day throwdown at Mohawk and Club de Ville, sponsored by Dell Lounge and Hot Freaks! Art Brut, Grizzly Bear, Brazos, and Crazy Sexy Rainbow appear on Friday, followed by St. Vincent, Sparrow House, the Rosebuds, and Yellow Fever on Saturday. The guest list is apparently full at this time, but you can sign up for the waiting list here, or try slipping the door guy a ten-spot.

Both the Clientele and Oakley Hall have new albums and are playing Friday at Emo’s for free. Lamberts hosts a two-night one-man band festival, with Gary Clark Jr., Homer Henderson, Scott H. Biram, and John Schooley. Club 115, the cozy new venue located at 115 San Jacinto, hosts Drive-by Trucker Patterson Hood on Friday, followed by a two-night stand from spacey jam rockers Particle. Read More | Comment »

Call her Mrs. Partridge, call her Marian the librarian, call her Lulu Bains. Call her by the names of any of the characters she’s played in more than five decades on the stage and big and small screens and she’s got a story about it. From her Oscar-winning turn in 1960’s Elmer Gantry to pop culture icon in The Partridge Family to hot-blooded grandmother in 2006’s Grandma’s Boy, Shirley Jones is one of the coolest 73-year-olds still working.

She’s also very candid. When asked, “What were you doing before this phone call,” Jones doesn't hesitate to reply: “Having an argument.” That's followed by a laugh. I think she was relieved we didn’t talk much about The Partridge Family. “Don’t you get tired of talking about the series over and over?” I asked her. Another honest answer: “Yes, I do.”

Shirley Jones possesses one of the prettiest faces to have ever appeared on the big (or small) screen. Her natural, girl-next-door beauty was exquisitely designed with a velvety innocence; combined with her bell-clear soprano, no wonder the dream team of Rodgers & Hammerstein scooped her up and put her under contract for Carousel and Oklahoma! Being a squeaky-clean ingénue limited Jones, however, and when she heard about Elmer Gantry being made, she went after the part. Sort of.

“Burt Lancaster fought for me to get that role,” she recalled of how she landed the role of Lulu Bains. “He’d seen me do Playhouse 90 on television and thought I could do the part. Of course, I wanted it! I got to play against type.” Read More | Comment »

If the thought of standing, sweating, and chafing at Zilker Park this weekend is about as appealing as sticking hot forks in your eyes, the Opera House offers an alternative Friday. The venerable Jherri Zeinfeldt's Atropheed Saq, who just released its CD Dog Star Sac, a tribute to experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage, performs, along with locals Aunt's Analog, Iron Kite, Dromez, and San Fran's Pigs in the Ground, starting at 8pm.

The Saq's going on ten years, and I recently asked drummer Lisa Cameron what it is about the collective's enduring legacy of clearing rooms:

"Two things come to mind," says Cameron. "One, the fact that we can still be considered one of Austin's enduring legacies despite not ever having learned one song and two, just as a dog returns to its vomit, so do Austin audiences return to JSAS. Hey, we may even have a statue at Town Lake or a chicken wing franchise someday."

Also in the skillet this weekend: Jacob Green, Thomas Fang, Brekekekexkoaxkoax, Douglas Ferguson, Plutonium Farmers, and Od Nalro at Salvage Vanguard Theater and the Pocket FishRmen CD release at Hole in the Wall Saturday. Read More | Comment »

The soundtrack to the new movie Kurt Cobain: About a Son (Barsuk), which premieres in October, drops in stores today. Like parts of The Devil and Daniel Johnston, the film portrays the immortal musician through moving imagery set against audio recordings, based on 25 hours of never-before-heard interviews conducted by Michael Azerrad for his seminal 1993 book, Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana.

The original score was composed by Steve Fisk, who produced Nirvana's 1989 Blew EP, and Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard, whose cover of Beat Happening’s “Indian Summer” is the only dud on an otherwise stellar mixtape, which also features the Butthole Surfers, Arlo Guthrie, Half Japanese, the Vaselines, Mudhoney, Iggy Pop, Leadbelly, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Cobain’s meditations on Austin’s Scratch Acid, which preface “Owner’s Lament,” provide an interesting insight into his own artistic vision:

"At that time hardcore was totally dead. Speed metal was the next big thing and I hated that shit. The reason I like Scratch Acid so much was because they had structure to their songs, real simple pop structure that you could follow real easily, and it was almost like an Aerosmith song, but it was really fucked up. And that's what I was doing and that's what I wanted to do." Read More | Comment »

Following in the steps of UK diva Amy Winehouse, Dublin-based instrumentalists Rodrigo y Gabriela have canceled the final leg of their North American tour due to Gabriela's exhaustion. Common replaces the duo on Sunday and is still scheduled to play La Zona Rosa later that night.

In other news, Bob Dylan is in fact performing at Stubb’s Saturday night. A limited number of pre-sale tickets went on sale yesterday (the password is available here). The rest are up for grabs 10am Wednesday here.

In other other news, the White Stripes have pulled out of the fest and their Sunday night gig at Stubb's citing "medical reasons." Contact 888.512.SHOW for refund info. Read More | Comment »

On Saturday, Gibby Haynes returns to Austin for the inaugural Damonfest at Trophy’s, a tribute and benefit for his close friend Damon O’Banion, who passed away earlier this year. The enigmatic Butthole Surfer is singing with O’Banion’s former hardcore outfit, the High Divers, and donating some of his artwork for a silent auction, which begins at 4pm. Off the Record caught up with Haynes recently to reminisce about O’Banion, discuss his recent happenings, the psychology of kid rock, and why he’s just not crazy enough.

Austin Chronicle: When did you first meet Damon?
Gibby Haynes: We met in the early Nineties when he was doing the magazine Thora-Zine. It was a fanzine that him and his buddies had. It’s too bad they didn’t continue on making it. They totally could have had something like Vice. They were on track to have something like that, but then it all crumpled apart like things like that do from time to time.

AC: My cousin passed down a few issues to me last Christmas. In one of them you interviewed Willie Nelson. Did he set that up?
GH: Yeah.

AC: Did you and Damon cross paths often?
GH: Dude, we got married together. We had a double wedding in Hawaii. His wife and my wife are sisters. He was one of my favorite friends and a really good guy. In the last year, it seems as if there have been many people dying. Damon was always the person to organize and to help when a situation like that arose. He’d organize benefits. We really need Damon to organize this event for him. God bless Jeff Pinkus for doing this in Austin, but Damon would have done a better job of doing this than anybody. Damon had so many friends. If he was organizing this the money would multiply by ten. Read More | 3 Comments »