Cover Story

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Researcher Patrick Krill says the rate of depression among lawyers is about three times higher than in the general U.S. population. According to University of Copenhagen researchers, a genetic mutation about 10,000 years ago is the cause of all the people with blue eye color. Barney Gumble on The Simpsons was based on the Crazy…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

Texas Platters

“An abiding love for music and a desire to make a difference led high school friends Gary Keller of Keller Williams Realty and award-winning engineer/producer Randy Miller to the studio.” So states 2013’s All ATX Vol. 1, mostly original material performed by single acts (Quiet Company) and celebrity mash-ups (Alejandro Escovedo/Mother Falcon). Initial home run…

by Raoul Hernandez

Texas Platters

Walter Daniels “Almost Got Hit by a Truck” b/w “My Mind Got Bad” (Spacecase) Walter Daniels & the Giblets with Jack Oblivian “Voodoo Working” and “Stimulant” b/w “I Get Off on It” (Ghost Highway) Gary Lindsey & Big Foot Chester with Scott H. Biram “Graveyard Shift” b/w “They Can Only Fill One Grave” (Little Class)…

by Tim Stegall

Texas Platters

Drum rolls and guitar jangles open “She’s Got What I Need,” the first track off Peckinpah’s debut EP, Animal Dreams, and for 30 seconds, the band threatens normality. Cue singer Jason Russel Waller, who then yelps and croons atop New Wave synths and expert gang vocals. The Austin quartet dabbles in several other genres across…

by Bryan Rolli

Texas Platters

On their eponymous extended play, the Eric Bee churns out boozy blues-rock tinged with gospel, country, and a double dose of soul. Namesake Eric Bee proves a versatile and compelling frontperson, howling over crackling riffs and bubbling organ on “I’m the Dog,” and cutting through the whimsical horn section and piano melody of “Tomorrow’s Skin…

by Bryan Rolli

Texas Platters

On City Boy Slump, Canvas People guitarists Kyle Taylor and Wes Maxwell craft rich, soaring soundscapes imbuing the disc’s eight songs with an ethereal, transcendent quality. Drummer Pat Epley and bassist Luke Williams hang back when necessary, lending credence to Taylor’s haunting vox. The band peaks on the six-minute title track, as melancholy lyrics and…

by Bryan Rolli

Texas Platters

Blues-punk power trio Wild Tinderbox prove diligent students from the school of hard rocks on their eponymous debut. Singer/guitarist Jay Ziegler lays down smooth, danceable licks on the psychedelic “Battle in the Chopper” and takes a less-is-more vocal approach to the deceptively catchy “Back for the Attack.” These stellar moments get lost amidst other off-key…

by Bryan Rolli

Texas Platters

Bang-up year for the graying-at-the-temples set among Austin’s singer-songwriters. Michael Fracasso, Beaver Nelson, and Jon Dee Graham all released some of their best work, and now along comes David Halley, whose last album Stray Dog Talk unleashed a stunner in 1994. The Texas-reared Okie hasn’t actually been dormant for the past 22 years, gigging around…

by Jim Caligiuri

Gay Place

Combining noise music with performance poetry offers a space for all voices to be heard

by Sarah Marloff

Elvis Lives?

Most hit musicians who have left life since the days of Bill Haley & His Comets seem content to remain up in Rock & Roll Heaven. But there’s one member of that band who roams restlessly through our world like the captain of the Flying Dutchman or Jacob Marley’s ghost. Of course, I speak of…

by Robert Faires

Soccer Watch

Brazilian club Chapecoense has been a small-market success story in an often troubled league. On Monday night, on the way to their first-ever international tournament final – the Copa Sudamericana – their chartered plane crashed in the mountains outside of Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 of the 77 onboard. For what it’s worth, the response in…

by Nick Barbaro

Headlines

City Council meets today (Dec. 1) with a light agenda and two members (Mayor Steve Adler, Council Member Sabino Renteria) in Mexico on a trade and environmental action mission. The shorthanded Council will consider a revised policy on harassment of and discrimination against city employees, among other things. See “Council: Race to the Finish.” Filed…

by Chronicle Staff

Quote of the Week

“If the Legislature really wants to help local taxpayers, it should better fund education, because that’s most of the Austin property tax bill.” – Mayor Steve Adler, attacking a plan by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, to inflict a 4% property tax revenue cap on cities

by Chronicle Staff

Chronicle Endorsements

The Chronicle editorial board offers the following endorsements for the Dec. 13 General Election run-off. In all three races, we repeat our picks from the first round. See lots more coverage at austinchronicle.com/elections. Austin City Council District 10: Alison Alter. Alter, a philanthropic adviser, enters the run-off having taken 35.5% of the vote in last…

by The Austin Chronicle Editorial Board

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