The Applicators

Insert Austin’s Applicators somewhere between Joan Jett’s Runaways and her Blackhearts. The local all-girl quintet, formed in 1999 and comprising Sabrina (vox), Erica (guitar), Kristina (bass), Katy (drums), and Avery (guitar), like the Ramones, shares a common surname and charges forth with two-minute pop-punk anthems that pull no punches. The girls' alluring stage presence attracted the attention of the Circle Jerks’ Greg Hetson, who produced their 2001 debut, What’s Your Excuse, which was released on Cornerstone RAS. After self-releasing their follow-up, I Know the Truth; polishing their licks and kicks on the road, including a brief stint on the Warped Tour; and major kudos in Alternative Press, the Applicators dropped their empowering third disc, My Weapon, on King Fing'r/Hairball8. – Austin Powell

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PAST RECOMMENDED SHOWS:

10/14/07 @ Red 7
The Vibrators
Three decades after punk broke, the Vibrators continue to fly the flag with cheeky, amped-up panache. Original guitarist/vocalist Ian “Knox” Carnochan leads the trio through a dirty laundry list of classics like “Automatic Lover” and “London Girls,” and their 2006 covers collection, Punk: The Early Years, revisits contemporaries the Clash and the Undertones. Local punks the Applicators, 13th Victim, Summer of Blood, and the Flash Boys round out this pogo-friendly bill.

GREG BEETS

12/01/06 @ Waterloo Park
Fun Fun Fun Fest
Of all the bands playing the inaugural Fun Fun Fun Fest, Negative Approach may be the most elusive. The seminal Detroit-bred hardcore act, led by John Brannon, who later formed the Laughing Hyenas and Easy Action, released only a fistful of songs – like nine-second manic meltdown "Pressure" – before disbanding during its Tied Down tour in 1983, one week before a planned three-city run of Texas with the Big Boys. Like Scratch Acid, NA recently reformed for Touch and Go's 25th Anniversary Celebration, spurring a series of one-off gigs. The Chronicle tracked down Brannon to see what it's like tapping into his 19-year-old self. Austin Chronicle: Do you find it difficult now to tap into the Negative Approach of 20 years ago? John Brannon: Back in the day, we didn't know what the fuck we were doing, only that we wanted to do it. There's still a lot I can relate to. Our whole thing was about just standing up for yourself and self-expression, not getting sucked into all the bullshit, and you can apply that to how you live your life today. I guess I'm still pissed off. AC: You once said Negative Approach is a lifestyle. What does that entail? JB: The whole thing with NA was just not worrying about what was the norm. I wrote lots of the lyrics when I was young, so a lot of that shit was my attitude towards people I went to school with, ex-girlfriends, whatever. We wanted to have our say, and we wanted it to be our way. We didn't want people telling us what to do. We always had that around us, people saying, "You can't do this; you can't do that."? And we're like, "Fuck you, we're gonna do this shit," and we did it. Look at where we are today. It's finally accepted. Read more with Brannon online. See also www.funfunfunfest.com Austin Fuzion Stage: Prefuse 73 (9pm), DJ Mel (7:50), Quintron & Miss Pussycat (6:50), DJ set by Thomas Turner (5), Learning Secrets (4:30), Dirty South Ravers (3:25), Whitey (2:50), DJ Ceeplus (2) Indie Stage: Spoon (8:50pm), Peaches (7:30), the Black Angels (6:30), Lucero (5:30), Dead Meadow (4:35), Octopus Project (3:30), the Oranges Band (2:45), Drag the River (2) Punk Stage: Circle Jerks (8:55pm), Negative Approach (7:55), Riverboat Gamblers (6:55), Electric Frankenstein (5:55), Lower Class Brats (5), the Applicators (4:15), Krum Bums (3:30), Iron Age (2:45), ADHD (2)

AUSTIN POWELL

08/24/05 @ Beerland
Billy's Birthday Beerfest
Billy Stockton, Beerland sound man, celebrates his birthday with four days of grade-A rock & roll. Beginning on the actual day, Tuesday, local hard-timers Those Peabodys headline a night of favorites: The Arm plows down their newest creations (the Fall, my ass), Ben Webster incarnation (iN)Formation Society squeals, and Little Rock, Ark.’s American Princes open. Wednesday inserts the Applicators for a dose of riot grrl punk. L.A. rock trio Diamonds Under Fire and Omar Rodriguez-produced (and -resembling) Radio Vago support with Austin’s Original Blackouts. Thursday is a local gift from the metal gods. The Sword lays it down thick and heavy, while Storm the Tower precedes with Billy’s Danzigian Camp X-Ray and eardrum blasters/Sea of Thousand swimmers Cardinale opening. The party continues on Friday with Velorum, This Damn Town, and Warwulf. Happy birthday, Billy!

DARCIE STEVENS

12/31/04 @ Emo's
New Year's Eve
The war, the election, the weather. This year might not go down in the books as banner, but dammit if we’re not going to celebrate its closure. There’s a veritable cornucopia of entertainment to help along those lines, with some talent screaming for attention. Speaking of the screaming department, recent Austin transplants the Riverboat Gamblers bask in the chaos at Emo’s along with local riot grrrls the Applicators, rockers the Good Looks, and Red River stalwarts Ritchie Whites. If metal gets you off quicker than punk, head to the Back Room. Jason McMaster’s Young ones in Broken Teeth headline after thrashers Backlit Revolver, dirty rockers Charter Bulldogs, and pillagers Jolly Garogers. Ray Wylie Hubbard eases the tension a bit at the Alligator Grill, while the platinum-selling Los Lonely Boys bring down the Austin Music Hall. Don’t forget the Champagne Chicken Roast at the Hole in the Wall with truck-stop rocker Scott H. Biram. If four more years of W. makes you nervous, put that energy to good use with DJ Mel’s Rock the Casbah at the Parish. And there’s always the Austin Symphony Orchestra with guest B.J. Thomas at the Palmer Events Center for more of a highbrow evening. If none of these fits in your cup of tea, check out the Chronicle’s full Club Listings, p.XX, for Iguanas, Gourds, and other year-end creatures. Here’s to learning from our mistakes in ’05. I’m looking at you, George.

DARCIE STEVENS

07/09/04 @ The Parish
The Real Heroes
The Applicators and Good Looks open the Heroes’ last Austin rockfest before tour.

05/29/04 @ Emo's
Ladyfest Texas
Ladyfest is the riot grrrl movement dusted off and given a 21st-century sheen, complete with arts, music, film, and workshops all dedicated to the betterment of womankind across the nation, or at least to dispel the odious notion that girl bands are somehow inferior. This year’s Texas installment is a four-day cornucopia of local women players, including rootsy Elizabeth McQueen, quirky puppeteers the TunaHelpers, pink punk rockers the Applicators, and the mopey Girls in a Coma from San Antonio, just to name a few. Also be on the lookout for queer- and feminist-inspired films at the Hideout, spoken-word events (including a spot by Chronicle film scribe Marritt Ingman), and a craft fair at Ruta Maya sponsored by the Austin Craft Mafia. Most of the proceeds raised go to benefit GENAustin, an umbrella organization devoted to the strengthening of the feminist community, and the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity. Schedules, info, locations, and volunteer information can be found at www.ladyfesttx.org.

MELANIE HAUPT

05/08/04 @ Emo's
Austin Music Foundation Spotlight Series
"Austin music for Austin fans," AMF proudly states, and they ain’t lying. With more than 30 bands at five Red River institutions on one scurrilous night, the first AMF Spotlight Series is like a mini-SXSW – without the out-of-towners and badges. Reaching across genre boundaries, the fest showcases much of the River City’s current marquee talent. Emo’s hosts melodic rockers I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness, perennial slow-burners Knife in the Water, and synth rockers the Octopus Project outside, and the pop punk of Dynamite Boy, the sensitive weight of Manatee, and the Applicators’ attitude in the bar. DJ Cassanova holds down a night of hip-hop at Headhunters with Tee Double and Mirage; Red Eyed Fly represents the no-frills metal of Broken Teeth, HeKill Three, and Human; and get your barbecue on with MC5-alikes Young Heart Attack and the Real Heroes at Stubb’s. Austin Music Awards sweeper Wideawake shakes the Caucus Club outside with the Two Guy Trio, and inside brings the space pop of Oliver Future and Masonic, with DJ Mel. And that’s only half of it. No lines, no corporate tightasses, and no reason to stay home. The best part? A measly $20 gets you into every show on the strip. Now those are some festivities done up right. See www.austinmusicfoundation.org for full lineup.

DARCIE STEVENS

01/27/04 @ Emo's
More beer! More Bulemics! More Applicators!

11/22/03 @ Red Eyed Fly
For one night at least, the Red Eyed Fly dyes its hair fuchsia for a show reminiscent of the club’s beginnings as the sole live-music outpost in the Red River wasteland. Headlining are Austin’s Applicators, due for a follow-up to 2001’s bristling case of cat scratch fever, What’s Your Excuse?. With the Deadites’ souped-up monster mash, Eastside Suicides’ gutter glam, and the Pink Swords’ Dwarvish devilry on board, it’ll be like stepping back into the days when Room 710 and Beerland were boarded-up antique shops – say, mid-1999 or so.

CHRISTOPHER GRAY