You Can Lead a HORDE To Water...

Hootie & the Blowfish made an announcement this week that none of their band members are planning to die before their Southpark Meadows show later this year. Okay, I made that up, but only to reassure their fans. I mean, the way KGSR is overplaying them these days, you'd figure one of the members must have died, or they have a relative at the station or something. Anyway, to my knowledge, nobody died at H.O.R.D.E. last Saturday out at the Meadows, but this was not for lack of people trying to give themselves sunstroke. Our own Andy Langer managed to take the wrong exit (no, not even the wrong exit you always take when you go out there; a completely different one!), then had his car break down and had to walk over three miles to the site. Christopher Gray took the right exit, so he only had to walk half that far (ha ha), but then was told he couldn't bring his Nerf football in and had to walk back to his vehicle with it. Chaos seemed to be the order of the day as far as what you could or couldn't bring in. Raoul Hernandez was told he couldn't bring in bottled water, so he popped the lid to drink it before entering, then was told "if you hadn't opened it, I could've let you in with it." To be fair, there were water fountains and a "rain tent" available for those who felt like fighting the crowd (and a crowd there was -- see "Live Shots" ), but when it comes down to the point where people (The Meadows folks? Pace Concerts? H.O.R.D.E. central?) are too greedy to let people bring their own H2O in a nice safe plastic bottle and save themselves from dehydration, there's a problem. Not having a clear policy doesn't help, either; apparently what you got in with depended on who you spoke to and when you entered. Listening to the radio should tell you what's up, right? Well, 101X deejay Rachel Marisay (who'd already had her case of overexposure earlier in the week) says, "I always tell my listeners to take whatever they can and god bless 'em if they get it through." Pace Concerts had not returned the Chronicle's calls at press time, so I'm still not sure what their policies are, or whether the rumor about the kid in the parking lot putting his eye out with the sharp end of a Nerf football is true.

Shut Up! Just Shut Up!

How do you get quieter than "unplugged," for Pete's sake?!? Shady Grove lists eight ways they're doing so for their weekly KGSR Unplugged series, including installing a permanent roof on their stage, adding smaller, directional speakers to help disperse the sound, repositioning and backing existing speakers, adding lattice work and greenery to walls across from the stage, and asking drummers to use brushes instead of sticks. The "new, quieter Unplugged" makes its debut this Thursday, but meanwhile the deciBattle rages on. I've just noticed an invitation among my mound of papers to attend a Zilker Neighborhood Association meeting mere hours from the time I'm typing this. Actually, I'll more likely wait and cruise the area during Aqua Fest so I can hear for myself exactly how big a problem this really is.

Which reminds me....

Here's some of the highlights for those of you looking for bands to complain about being too loud (if you're not at Aqua Fest) or too quiet (if you are): How about the Geezinslaws on Saturday ("They're laughing too loud!"), Don Walser on Wednesday ("His yodelling keeps setting off my car alarm!"), and a bunch of cool oom-pah bands next Thursday ("What is it with these people and all that infernal quacking!!!!!"). Check the grid on p.48 for the complete Aqua Fest schedule.

Wailing Brown All-Stars

Well, we just waded through H.O.R.D.E., and we're still looking to swim through Aqua Fest, but already the next outdoor music festival has been announced. The One World Music Festival has named Spicewood (you know, Backyard country) as the site for its annual three-day concert, featuring: James Brown, Bunny Wailer, Spearhead, the Specials, Zulu Spear, George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, Bootsy Collins & Bernie Worrell, De La Soul, and Fishbone. Event producer Jud Schwartz says the festival -- which started out in Telluride in 1992 with headliners Timbuk3 -- will, in part, raise money for Camp Chautauqua, a local program that gets Austin school children appreciating nataure (so they don't grow up and start littering at big rock concerts). Whereas the festival has been a roving one in the past, Schwartz says he's hoping to keep the festival here in the future. "Our goal is to say we're doing it annually in Austin." Tickets for September 13--15 shows are $30 per day, and you can camp there for free if you go all three days.

Soundtrackin'

Listen for "Pottery" by the Butthole Surfers when you go see Escape From L.A., and look for it on the soundtrack, as well. That song was produced by BHS guitarist Paul Leary here in town as was the Toadies song "Cut Me Out," also on the soundtrack album (but not in the movie). The Toadies do a version of the Talking Heads' "I'm Not in Love" on the Basquait soundtrack as well, which they're saying is new, but you already know it was previously released as a 7-inch, right? Ministry have a cut on the Escape album but not in the movie as well -- the droning "Paisley" -- and drummer Rey Washam is back in town taking a break from the big Ministry tour. It's a damn shame, but I can't tell you where his other band, Euripides Pants, is having their secret gig this weekend (though you can find the not secret gig in "Recommended"). We've spoken before of Kelly Willis' promotional-only Fading Fast EP (the title track comes from the soundtrack of Boys), and of its popularity. Well, A&M has finally given in to demand for the disc and will be releasing it commercially.

Mixed Notes

This Sunday marks the last time in the foreseeable future that you'll be able to catch the current line-up of the Superego, as the Rock & Roll Free-for-All host band is losing band members Andrew DuPlantis to Bob Mould's touring band, and Jon Sanchez to Mexico. Coming soon, the Alterego... Is Unclean Records becoming the new Trance Syndicate? In terms of press attention, they sure seem to be catching up quick. The Dropouts got a nice mention in Rolling Stone just this week, while Trance had to settle for their American Analog Set being noted in SPIN. Actually, my staff tell me they saw the AAS mentioned in SPIN, but I can't find it to save my life. Let's see, I got the Paul Stanley cover. Maybe they're only in the Peter Criss issue or something... Both sides of the 101X and K-NACK war lost major players in the last few of weeks, with Eileen Gill out at the former and Mike Peer gone from the latter. Fumble of the Week goes to 101X's Andy Langer, who promoted an appearance by Kurt Loder on his show with a call to Hits magazine. Naturally, K-NACK management saw the issue with the plug, called MTV to remind them that the network and the station have an exclusive deal and Loder was outta there!... Cedar Street bar will be in full swing Friday night with the release party for the Lucky Strikes' new CD Twelve Past Midnight. The disc features guests like Floyd Domino and Randy Glines and was produced by Asleep at the Wheel's David Sanger. You can get a taste of the music earlier at the band's Waterloo Records in-store at 5pm that day, but I doubt if you'll be able to get a decent martini there (Which reminds me, why hasn't anyone done a lounge version of "Cold Gin" yet?)... The Texas Music Office's Press List is now on-line. For the comprehensive list of Texas publications with music coverage, go to Website: http://link.tsl.state.tx.us/.www/TMO.dir/press.html Got that memorized yet?... The Topless Baboon Opera, a new improv outfit featuring several members of Teratoma, Bruce Salmon, and Thor, played the other night, but don't expect to see much more of them for awhile (if ever), as the group's other Bruce, Bruce Hughes, in his role as one of the Ugly Americans, will be headed out to the East Coast to continue touring in a couple of weeks. Hughes describes the Uglys' upcoming Waterloo in-store today (Thursday) at 5pm as a semi-acoustic thing where they'll preview some material and play "maybe one song off the new album," while their Liberty Lunch show Friday will come complete with horns and should be either "a pure disaster or a full-on rave up"... While you're waiting for Plywoodstock, check out Guildshock this Saturday at the New Guild Co-op starting at 4pm. Hinder, Fuckantone's, the Thumbs, the Shindigs, El Flaco, The Hamicks, Spoon, Starfish, Fuckemos, and Pocket FishRmen will all be screeching, plucking, and hammering into the wee hours. The show co-benefits KVRX and plans call for a live broadcast on 91.7 between 10pm-2am, but there's still some bugs being worked out at press time... Dale Watson is taking a detour from his truckstop tour to pair up with Jimmie Dale Gilmore for a few gigs. They'll be hittin' Austin Sept. 1. Also on said tour are Dallas' Old 97s, who've just inked a deal with Gilmore's label, Elektra. Meanwhile, the Rockin' Horse in Scottsdale, Arizona, which recently burned down just before a Watson gig, has found a new location. You touring acts who like to play the Horse can call their old number for new information... Look for a live version of "Harmony" by Hamell on Trial on the new Lach's Antihoot album, recorded at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York... The Devil Lied to Me has survived both the demise of Country Dick Montana and Sector 2 Records. The posthumous solo release from the Beat Farmers drummer, featuring guest spots from the likes of Rosie Flores, Candye Kane, Dave Alvin, Katy Moffatt, Mojo Nixon (who'll be at Antone's Saturday), and John Doe, has surfaced on Bar None... Speaking of people hanging around town, Lenny Kravitz was spotted at Antone's during their 21st anniversary celebration last Saturday, while the Dave Matthews Band's Boyd Tinsley made an appearance this week at the Split Rail... I hear that Dave Prewett has moved back into town, so I dare say we'll be seeing lots of local music programming coming from him... Melissa Marciano of Ursula's Curse reports that she recently e-mailed Courtney Love (aka the Queen of the Internet) with news of the Curse's demo and received a nice e-mail in return, "complete with instructions on how to address the envelope properly so that our demo would end up in her hands." She cares! She really cares!!...

-- Contributors: Christopher Gray, Raoul Hernandez, Andy Langer, Margaret Moser