So Buy Some Wristbands
By Ken Lieck, Fri., Feb. 16, 1996
The list of SXSW bands and their showcases finally sees the light of day this
week, and you can see it on page 15 of this issue. As usual, some of the smoke
has cleared since that initial list, but you'll still find Iggy Pop and Joan
Osborne on the outside stages, and Son Volt, Golden Smog, Geraldine Fibbers,
Hamell on Trial, Randy Newman, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Radiohead, Lucinda
Williams, and 600-or-so others playing elsewhere. Gone with the wind are
Archers of Loaf, Blur, Combustible Edision, Hayden, Issac Hayes, Poe,
Skatalites, Therapy, ZZ Top. And did I mention there's a few local bands
playing too? Yep. Everyone except Bob Mould it seems. And they say there are
still a few surprises of the "...but don't print that" kind, which I'll do as
soon as they untie me from this chair...
As tradition dictates, the Austin Music Awards will begin Wednesday March 13
at Palmer Auditorium, at 7:55pm sharp. Playing the show are Don Walser's Pure
Texas Band, Asylum Street Spankers, Kris McKay's Too Many Girls with Kelly
Willis, Abra Moore, and Sara Hickman, Sixteen Deluxe, and the Ian Moore Band --
plus many special guests invited, including Dale Watson, Wayne Hancock,
and Miss Lavelle White. Tickets are available through Star Tickets. Rumors of a
Sterling Morrison Tribute at the Awards featuring John Cale and Iggy Pop backed
by Buick MacKane have not been confirmed.
"Even mushy food is good food," says Julie Weaver, as her jaws have finally
been partially unwired following the head-on collision in which she and
fiancé/Hurtbox bandmate Shelley Lucksinger were involved over New
Year's. Weaver expects to appear -- in her wheelchair -- at the benefit for the
two this Saturday at Liberty Lunch featuring Ed Hall, Sincola, and Swine King
(see "Recommended"), while Lucksinger remains at the HealthSouth Rehabilitation
Hospital. Doctors are saying he may never see again, having finally realized
that saying he wouldn't survive was getting kind of ridiculous...
The Kerrville Folk Festival announced the lineup last week for their 25th
Anniversary extravaganza, to take place May 23-June 16. Among the acts on the
schedule (available at Whole Foods) are Lucinda Williams, Limpopo, Dar
Williams, Peter Rowan, Kevin Welch, Iain Matthews, Chris Smither, Riders in the
Sky, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Michael Martin Murphy, Robert Earl Keen, Timbuk
3, and Brave Combo. Opening night will feature a "reunion" of six acts who
appeared at the very first Kerrville Fest in 1972: Allen Damron, Carolyn
Hester, Steven Fromholz, Bill & Bonnie Hearne, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Bobby
Bridger.
My motto has always been "Don't expect things to just drop into your lap
unless you're sitting on your ass," but John Croslin's lap seems to stay busy
even while he stands up. This week, he ended up with the job of mixing
Pavement's song "Painted Soldiers" for the Kids in the Hall movie
soundtrack. The band had lost the DAT of the mix, and with up-and-coming
producer Croslin handy as a temporary member of Spoon, who opened Pavement's
Texas shows, they dragged the Cros into Arlyn last Sunday to (re)mix the song.
Perhaps dragged is the wrong word, though, as Croslin said working with
Pavement was "really a thrill."
Local "supergroup" Big Foot Chester, featuring Walter Daniels (Jack O Fire, Go
Devils), Bill Anderson (Horsies, Poison 13), Stefanie Friedman (Spoilers, Lord
High Fixers), Angelle Stavron (Cryin' Out Louds), and Davy Jones (Hickoids,
Ideals, etc.), have signed a deal with California label Sympathy for the Record
Industry. They've recorded 14 songs for an album, but a single will come out
first, in April or early May, featuring a cover of Charlie McCoy's "Harpoon
Man" backed with "What Have I Done." The album, tentatively titled Who Will
Be Next, is slated to follow soon after.
Steamboat's Danny Crooks says that unlike the reputation that precedes him,
Dick Dale is, in truth, "nice as hell" and that following his show at the club
last weekend, Dale stayed onstage an extra two hours signing autographs. Dale
was so happy with the show that Crooks said he has since called and announced
that "I've never done this before in my career" but he's decided to come right
back for another show at the 'boat on the 29th of this month.
You know that actors always wanna be musicians, musicians always wanna be
writers, and writers, well, they seem to wanna be deejays. Witness Andy Langer,
who shares time at 6pm on 101X's Sunday critics show with the
Statesman's Don McLeese, and later anchors the Overnight show at
midnight on KUT-FM. Then you've got Christopher Gray's Rock & Roll
Hangover at 4:30am Sunday mornings on KVRX, and Lee Nichols playing
Louisiana music on KOOP Tuesdays at 10am. Personally, I'll stick with annoying
guests at home one at a time with my Cliffie Stone and Claudine Longet albums.
You've been reading about it here but it does seem to be official now, at
least according to Hollywood Reporter, that Robert Rodriguez will direct
the SRV bio-pic from the Joe Nick Patoski/Bill Crawford book, Caught in the
Crossfire. As reported, Jimmie Vaughan will work in a consulting capacity
with Rodriguez on it. Still, there's a nasty little rumor that the dead rock
star movie Rodriguez really wants to do is the story of Selena, whose
biography Patoski has just finished. Hmmmm... considering how much work
RR has done with the Selena-ish Salma Hayak, there might be something here....
Beginning next Saturday (February 24) the Austin Music Network will begin
broadcasting at noon on weekends... Oh, the ups and downs of the rock &
roll life. Stretford got the "privilege" of playing an 11am set at a local
elementary school last Saturday, with the highlight, I'm told, being Carl
Normal having to stop the show momentarily to state "I have to announce that
the magic show has been delayed until 2pm." No, no! "Spinal Tap" was supposed
to go above "puppet show"... Familiar faces on the tube this week
included Charles Gunning aka Doug the Slug (the only guy I know who gets
new business cards each month with a schedule of his upcoming TV appearances)
in the new Goo Goo Dolls video, and Roky Erickson's visage peering down from a
poster on Beverly Hills 90210 as Donna and Kelly chatted in the student
lounge... Jonathan Richman and Bonnie Raitt were both spotted at the Funky
Meters shows at Liberty Lunch last week, but only Raitt went onstage, for
several songs, including "Honky Tonk Women." (Raitt's in town with hubby
Michael O'Keefe, who's shooting a movie here.) Richman was later seen napping
at the house where Sincola's "Bitch" video was filmed, and where a couple of
very interesting altercations have happened of late... Speaking of mindless
violence, someone threw a bottle at the stage during the Asylum Street Spankers
show on Monday at Emo's and the whole band ended up pursuing the culprits out
of the club and down the street. If you can't picture the scenario, just
imagine being chased by the entire cast of an old Leo Gorcey movie... No, White
Zombie haven't bought Lindsey Kuhn's soul, and in fact his No Lie Records has
no less than three projects due by SXSW, including split singles from the
Paranoids/Phantom Creeps and the Primitives/Craw, and volume two of the
instrumental Shut Yer Face series. Somewhere in there, he's also doing
the Austin Music Awards show poster. After that, look for a Sugar Shack/Bottom
Feeders split and a Blue Meanies picture disc, probably sometime in April...
The Fuck Emos are also "very much working on" getting their next album out by
SXSW time, says Mike Bellyea, though that album will be on I.F.A., not No Lie.
They recorded the album in Seattle and have a tour (their fourth) planned to
start in April. Oh, and whoever that was guesting on the Old Bitty show
on ACTV last week, it wasn't the Fuck Emos... Chris Gates is producing a
six-song CD for the Contradicks. Look for that to come out this summer... Los
Pinkys have an in-store at Music Mania this Saturday at 3pm, and Teisco Del
Rey's gonna try his again, since the last one got frozen out. That'll be Friday
at Waterloo Records at 5pm (with labelmates the Tailgators) and an acoustic 2pm
show follows on Saturday at the Texicali Grille... Oh, dear, there's an advance
copy of the long-threatened Tiny Tim/Brave Combo CD in the office. The album,
due in stores on March 19, features a perky lounge version of "Stairway to
Heaven"... Also out now are Bongo Hate's quirky Plastastic album and a
new single from the former King Valentine Octet, now known as the Valentine
Six... Net-surfing Ministry fans should note that today (Thursday) is the
deadline for creatively manipulating/mutilating the cover art for Filth
Pig and winning an autographed cow skull from Al Jourgensen. The Ministry
web-site is www.wbr.com\Minstry. What will those wacky promotions people come
up with next?!...
We Like You.
We Really Like You!
As tradition dictates, the Austin Music Awards will begin Wednesday March 13
at Palmer Auditorium, at 7:55pm sharp. Playing the show are Don Walser's Pure
Texas Band, Asylum Street Spankers, Kris McKay's Too Many Girls with Kelly
Willis, Abra Moore, and Sara Hickman, Sixteen Deluxe, and the Ian Moore Band --
plus many special guests invited, including Dale Watson, Wayne Hancock,
and Miss Lavelle White. Tickets are available through Star Tickets. Rumors of a
Sterling Morrison Tribute at the Awards featuring John Cale and Iggy Pop backed
by Buick MacKane have not been confirmed.Ian Moore, for one, should be happy to return to Austin for the Awards. He and his band have weathered the worst of the winter storms along their tour, having been met with below-freezing temperatures in Chicago and Colorado, then being nearly flooded out of the Northwest. They had to cancel a Seattle date due to conditions outside but did make their Portland show. Kris McKay's having a somewhat better time in Los Angeles. She's out there to record a duet with Matthew Sweet for her upcoming album. "We re-wrote `Too Cool' from one of his earlier records," she said, obviously pleased with the results. McKay is hoping for an early summer release. No word yet from Abra Moore, who's off to Europe, about the weather on the Continent.
Banding Together
"Even mushy food is good food," says Julie Weaver, as her jaws have finally
been partially unwired following the head-on collision in which she and
fiancé/Hurtbox bandmate Shelley Lucksinger were involved over New
Year's. Weaver expects to appear -- in her wheelchair -- at the benefit for the
two this Saturday at Liberty Lunch featuring Ed Hall, Sincola, and Swine King
(see "Recommended"), while Lucksinger remains at the HealthSouth Rehabilitation
Hospital. Doctors are saying he may never see again, having finally realized
that saying he wouldn't survive was getting kind of ridiculous...
Yet More Festivals
The Kerrville Folk Festival announced the lineup last week for their 25th
Anniversary extravaganza, to take place May 23-June 16. Among the acts on the
schedule (available at Whole Foods) are Lucinda Williams, Limpopo, Dar
Williams, Peter Rowan, Kevin Welch, Iain Matthews, Chris Smither, Riders in the
Sky, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Michael Martin Murphy, Robert Earl Keen, Timbuk
3, and Brave Combo. Opening night will feature a "reunion" of six acts who
appeared at the very first Kerrville Fest in 1972: Allen Damron, Carolyn
Hester, Steven Fromholz, Bill & Bonnie Hearne, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Bobby
Bridger.
Croslin Hits the Pavement
My motto has always been "Don't expect things to just drop into your lap
unless you're sitting on your ass," but John Croslin's lap seems to stay busy
even while he stands up. This week, he ended up with the job of mixing
Pavement's song "Painted Soldiers" for the Kids in the Hall movie
soundtrack. The band had lost the DAT of the mix, and with up-and-coming
producer Croslin handy as a temporary member of Spoon, who opened Pavement's
Texas shows, they dragged the Cros into Arlyn last Sunday to (re)mix the song.
Perhaps dragged is the wrong word, though, as Croslin said working with
Pavement was "really a thrill."
Puttin' the Big Foot Down
Local "supergroup" Big Foot Chester, featuring Walter Daniels (Jack O Fire, Go
Devils), Bill Anderson (Horsies, Poison 13), Stefanie Friedman (Spoilers, Lord
High Fixers), Angelle Stavron (Cryin' Out Louds), and Davy Jones (Hickoids,
Ideals, etc.), have signed a deal with California label Sympathy for the Record
Industry. They've recorded 14 songs for an album, but a single will come out
first, in April or early May, featuring a cover of Charlie McCoy's "Harpoon
Man" backed with "What Have I Done." The album, tentatively titled Who Will
Be Next, is slated to follow soon after.
Dale No Dick, Danny No Crook
Steamboat's Danny Crooks says that unlike the reputation that precedes him,
Dick Dale is, in truth, "nice as hell" and that following his show at the club
last weekend, Dale stayed onstage an extra two hours signing autographs. Dale
was so happy with the show that Crooks said he has since called and announced
that "I've never done this before in my career" but he's decided to come right
back for another show at the 'boat on the 29th of this month.
Writers on the Airwaves
You know that actors always wanna be musicians, musicians always wanna be
writers, and writers, well, they seem to wanna be deejays. Witness Andy Langer,
who shares time at 6pm on 101X's Sunday critics show with the
Statesman's Don McLeese, and later anchors the Overnight show at
midnight on KUT-FM. Then you've got Christopher Gray's Rock & Roll
Hangover at 4:30am Sunday mornings on KVRX, and Lee Nichols playing
Louisiana music on KOOP Tuesdays at 10am. Personally, I'll stick with annoying
guests at home one at a time with my Cliffie Stone and Claudine Longet albums.
Booking the Odds
You've been reading about it here but it does seem to be official now, at
least according to Hollywood Reporter, that Robert Rodriguez will direct
the SRV bio-pic from the Joe Nick Patoski/Bill Crawford book, Caught in the
Crossfire. As reported, Jimmie Vaughan will work in a consulting capacity
with Rodriguez on it. Still, there's a nasty little rumor that the dead rock
star movie Rodriguez really wants to do is the story of Selena, whose
biography Patoski has just finished. Hmmmm... considering how much work
RR has done with the Selena-ish Salma Hayak, there might be something here....
Mixed Notes
Beginning next Saturday (February 24) the Austin Music Network will begin
broadcasting at noon on weekends... Oh, the ups and downs of the rock &
roll life. Stretford got the "privilege" of playing an 11am set at a local
elementary school last Saturday, with the highlight, I'm told, being Carl
Normal having to stop the show momentarily to state "I have to announce that
the magic show has been delayed until 2pm." No, no! "Spinal Tap" was supposed
to go above "puppet show"... Familiar faces on the tube this week
included Charles Gunning aka Doug the Slug (the only guy I know who gets
new business cards each month with a schedule of his upcoming TV appearances)
in the new Goo Goo Dolls video, and Roky Erickson's visage peering down from a
poster on Beverly Hills 90210 as Donna and Kelly chatted in the student
lounge... Jonathan Richman and Bonnie Raitt were both spotted at the Funky
Meters shows at Liberty Lunch last week, but only Raitt went onstage, for
several songs, including "Honky Tonk Women." (Raitt's in town with hubby
Michael O'Keefe, who's shooting a movie here.) Richman was later seen napping
at the house where Sincola's "Bitch" video was filmed, and where a couple of
very interesting altercations have happened of late... Speaking of mindless
violence, someone threw a bottle at the stage during the Asylum Street Spankers
show on Monday at Emo's and the whole band ended up pursuing the culprits out
of the club and down the street. If you can't picture the scenario, just
imagine being chased by the entire cast of an old Leo Gorcey movie... No, White
Zombie haven't bought Lindsey Kuhn's soul, and in fact his No Lie Records has
no less than three projects due by SXSW, including split singles from the
Paranoids/Phantom Creeps and the Primitives/Craw, and volume two of the
instrumental Shut Yer Face series. Somewhere in there, he's also doing
the Austin Music Awards show poster. After that, look for a Sugar Shack/Bottom
Feeders split and a Blue Meanies picture disc, probably sometime in April...
The Fuck Emos are also "very much working on" getting their next album out by
SXSW time, says Mike Bellyea, though that album will be on I.F.A., not No Lie.
They recorded the album in Seattle and have a tour (their fourth) planned to
start in April. Oh, and whoever that was guesting on the Old Bitty show
on ACTV last week, it wasn't the Fuck Emos... Chris Gates is producing a
six-song CD for the Contradicks. Look for that to come out this summer... Los
Pinkys have an in-store at Music Mania this Saturday at 3pm, and Teisco Del
Rey's gonna try his again, since the last one got frozen out. That'll be Friday
at Waterloo Records at 5pm (with labelmates the Tailgators) and an acoustic 2pm
show follows on Saturday at the Texicali Grille... Oh, dear, there's an advance
copy of the long-threatened Tiny Tim/Brave Combo CD in the office. The album,
due in stores on March 19, features a perky lounge version of "Stairway to
Heaven"... Also out now are Bongo Hate's quirky Plastastic album and a
new single from the former King Valentine Octet, now known as the Valentine
Six... Net-surfing Ministry fans should note that today (Thursday) is the
deadline for creatively manipulating/mutilating the cover art for Filth
Pig and winning an autographed cow skull from Al Jourgensen. The Ministry
web-site is www.wbr.com\Minstry. What will those wacky promotions people come
up with next?!...-- Contributors: Raoul Hernandez, Andy Langer, Margaret Moser
