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Texas Platters

Brent Best Your Dog, Champ (Last Chance) Will Johnson Swan City Vampires (Undertow) Brent Best and Will Johnson remain best known for fronting longstanding North Texas rock/roots acts in the former’s Slobberbone, which leans in the direction of the Replacements, and the latter’s now officially defunct Centro-matic, favoring more eclectic ideas. Your Dog, Champ, Best’s…

by Jim Caligiuri

Texas Platters

Despite a mid-Sixties Amarillo pedigree, the Kitchen Cinq doesn’t comport with the dominant narrative of Texas garage rock. Nor do they curry the ear of psych, and certainly not country-tinged singer-songwriter Lee Hazlewood. Yet thanks to a tenuous connection with Tom Thacker, a Panhandle disc jockey-turned-West Coast promo man, the quintet went from Lone Star…

by Greg Beets

Austin Supporter Clubs

Austin Blues (Chelsea) Bar: Haymakerwww.twitter.com/chelseafcaustinwww.fb.com/austin-blues-a-chelsea-fc-supporters-club-143178485759142 AS Roma ATX Bar: Numero28 www.fb.com/asromaaustin www.twitter.com/asromaatx Austin Gooners (Arsenal) Bar: The Tavern www.austingooners.com www.fb.com/austingooners www.twitter.com/austingooners Austin Hammers (West Ham United) Bar: Tap 24 www.twitter.com/austin_hammers Austin Lions (Aston Villa) Bar: Haymaker www.twitter.com/austinlions Austin Reds Bar: Fadó www.fb.com/austinreds www.twitter.com/austinreds Austin Spurs (Tottenham Hotspur) Bar: Mister Tramps www.tottenhamhotspur.com/supporters-clubs/austin-spurs www.fb.com/austin-spurs-372454196098841 www.twitter.com/austinspurs Bayern Munich…

by Chronicle Staff

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Duncan Renaldo, who starred as the Cisco Kid on TV, was born in Romania. The first men’s magazine was called Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang and was published in 1919. Published by Wilford Hamilton “Captain Billy” Fawcett, it featured the first pinup pictures of “bombshells.” To some it represented the decline of morality and the flaunting…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

Texas Platters

For the past 15 years, Grupo Fantasma has reigned as the king daddy (papi) of Latin rock, culminating in a Grammy win for its last album El Existential. Now it’s time to evolve. Teamed with producer Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and engineers Jim Eno and Brad Bell at the Spoon drummer’s local Public Hi-Fi…

by Michael Toland

Texas Platters

Since her 1996 bow Living With Ghosts, Patty Griffin has codified a beloved corner of Americana. Beginning with jazz-brushed piano on its opening title track, the longtime local’s ninth studio disc deliberately departs from the home-and-hearth warmth of 2013 fan fave American Kid, however. Servant of Love is anything but standard. Griffin deftly experiments with…

by Abby Johnston

Texas Platters

Mother Falcon’s third full-length was unceremoniously delayed this summer by a last-minute signing to the classical imprint of planet Earth’s largest remaining record label. The deal suggests an industry recognizing the sprawling talent of Austin’s indie orchestra, as well as the challenge of defining their equally eclectic sound. Good Luck Have Fun doesn’t solve the…

by Doug Freeman

Headlines

City Council has a perfunctory special-called meeting this morning (Oct. 22) for cleanup business, followed by its Austin Energy Oversight meeting, with a couple of contract approvals and policy briefings. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Nov. 12. “It’s always the people who aren’t very smart who get caught,” City Council Member Don Zimmerman…

by Chronicle Staff

Texas Platters

You’ll never hear Bird Peterson’s first album. The local producer had 2007’s Hot Noise wiped from the Internet, because it didn’t live up to his standards. After an everlasting binge of singles, EPs, and mixtapes, including Mad Decent’s Drankenstein trap series, the Austin beatmaker aces his mulligan with new debut LP Plume, original compositions injecting…

by Kevin Curtin

Formula One

Remember 2012? It seems predictions that Formula One racing would lead to tourist overload and trafficpocalypse in Austin were greatly exaggerated. Instead, in 2015 the U.S. Grand Prix enters its fourth race of a guaranteed 10-year run as another landmark on the local calendar. This year sees drama on the track, just not at the…

by Richard Whittaker

Texas Platters

Wild Child epitomizes bittersweet, upbeat, and inviting string-swelled pop that belies the often intimate angst and poignancy between co-songwriters and vocalists Kelsey Wilson and Alexander Beggins. The Austin sextet finds its most compelling balance yet on third album Fools, with Wilson’s recent relationship breakup possibly propelling fodder for new lyrical depth and emotion. The band’s…

by Doug Freeman

Soccer Watch

The UT Longhorns stretched their unbeaten streak to five games Friday night in Lubbock, beating nationally ranked Texas Tech, 2-1 in sudden-death overtime. Senior goalkeeper Abby Smith and redshirt freshman forward Mikayla Flores were voted Big 12 Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively. Flores scored the Horns’ first goal, while Smith registered 10…

by Nick Barbaro

Quote of the Week

“It will be a long recovery for the families that have lost their homes, but Bastrop residents have proved themselves to be incredibly resilient.” – State Sen. Kirk Watson, on the Hidden Pines Fire in Bastrop County

by Chronicle Staff

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