Dancing About Architecture

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Jazz & BeBob

Expect a new album to hit the top of the Waterloo Records charts and stay there for a while. After all, Bob Schneider's CDs always do. Then again, The Galaxy Kings, due out today, Thursday, looks to be a jazzier type of outing if the players are any indication: Mitch Watkins on guitar, Brannen Temple on drums, Kevin Lovejoy on piano, and Roscoe Beck on bass. As for the material itself, Schneider, in an e-mail, described the following: "It's an under-the-radar record with some old songs of mine that kind of have an old-school (Fifties?) feel to them. I can't record any of the songs that will be on [my] Universal record that's due out at the beginning of 2003, but my contract lets me record and put out CDs on my own as long as it's not around the time that the Universal records come out." As for Schneider's other new release, a track out on the star-studded soundtrack to his former pal Sandra Bullock's upcoming film, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Schneider had this to say: "The song that's on the soundtrack is actually a re-recording of 'The World Exploded Into Love," which is on the Lonelyland record. I recorded it with T-Bone Burnett about a month ago in Los Angeles. I just sang on it, and it was all session guys who did the playing." Hopefully for Schneider, it's he who'll do all the beneficial reaping.

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The Old Fast One

As soon as I made that Fastball crack last week, I knew there'd be real news regarding the local band immediately following (that's how they became a weekly fixture of this page for a while). In this case, Rob Seidenberg, who answers the phone "Mammoth" even though admits he might as well just say "Hollywood Records" again, says that there's a best-of album on the way from Austin's Beatles-for-those-who-haven't-heard-of-Cotton Mather. He says he can't add much more info until everyone involved agrees on everything, but he expects a tentative late-August release for the CD, which may include unheard material, but will concentrate on 1995-2000. "The band's new stuff will be saved for something new," he adds, but exactly who will be putting out that something new is still up in the air. Then again, there may soon be a need for newer material, since 'ball bearers Tony Scalzo and Joey Shuffield have reportedly been auditioning new guitarists now that Miles Zuniga has quit the band and they pursue a record deal with a certain "choosy" European label.

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What's In a (Long and Eerie) Name?

Just when you thought ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead had reached their weirdness limit, a new spin comes along. Now their tunes are getting listed among those identifying rings you can choose for your Nokia phone! On top of that, the Trail fellas helped solve a recent mystery: You may recall that Gibby Haynes thought that Craig Kilborn had it in for the Butthole Surfers due to his refusal to utter the band's name. Well, I couldn't help notice that on the ToD's rerun appearance (from April 5) this week on his show, Kilborn said he liked the Trail's music, yet he made it very clear he's equally disgusted with their moniker as well. Guess he's just a sensitive soul when it comes to band names. Wonder how David Letterman will react when ToD make their appearance on The Late Show toward the end of this month? In any case, their current tour began Monday. Speaking of long-and-creepy noms du combo, you just missed the debut of new band I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness, which includes Ernest Salaz from Glorium, Jason McNeely and Chris Goyer of Windsor for the Derby, and Eddie Robert of Paul Newman. Members of ...I've Chosen Darkness self-describe the combo as "a Nick Cave-ish style band, but with a more hypnotic, repetitive flow." Don't expect to see them in town soon, since McNeely headed out on tour with Windsor right after Wednesday's Darkness show at Beerland.

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Three Gals, No Panic

Over in Abra Moore territory, advance copies of her new No Fear disc arrived just after deadline last week, and you can expect her to bravely go forth and hit the major markets, even slipping an Austin gig in on July 7 before heading coastward. Not sure if it's the lovely shot of her on the CD sleeve that did it, but manager George Couri sez that InStyle has "fallen in love" with the artist and is paying for her New York and Los Angeles shows, which will hopefully result in some late-night chat show appearances as well. Travel & Leisure mag has also included her in several pages of a 20-page photo spread with other celebs, shot on the QE2. Official album release date for No Fear is July 23, and Moore's people are seeking the right big tour to attach her to come August. Meanwhile, Kelly Willis is prettying up for a photo shoot as I type this, in preparation for a finished album package due to ship August 20. That album will be called Easy and a single is still being chosen, but rest, er, easy that whatever song is picked will get the video treatment. Finally, Toni Price's recently released "Call of My Heart," I've been informed, is currently at No. 29 on the playlist of KPIG, an im-pork-tant grade AAA station in California. Hoping to help the tune's popularity get "hammed up" the charts, friends of Price are requesting that fans request the song online. Just click the "link" here, www.kpig.com/ index.php3?song_id=6226, then look for "Request This Song." Click that and you'll be helping Price, who this month celebrates 10 years of hippiedom at the Continental Club, bring home the bacon. Or so they tell me. I'm a bit ambivalent about whether this sort of thing is kosher or merely the Internet version of ballot (or sausage) stuffing.

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Hoot Till It Hurts!

The Hole in the Wall continues its monthlong attempt to keep itself alive in the face of a lease that has ceased. In addition to appearances by long-popular Hole bands and newer contributors to the cause -- like tonight's Big Foot Chester, Darktown Rounders, and Converters show, and Friday's appearances by Two Hoots & a Holler and T.J. Sterzing -- the club's been running through gimmicks like Johnny Goudie runs through guitar-pedal batteries. Predominant have naturally been the ever-popular theme, or "hoot," nights and this Saturday's is the "Stars Who Fell From the Sky" Hoot, featuring tunes made popular by acts who met their ends in plane crashes or through other sudden dips in altitude. Among those "dropping in" to perform songs by the likes of Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Aaliyah will be the Dust Kings, Billy Davis, Amberjack Rice, Bubba Demons, Sleepwalkers, Horsewreck, and more. Naturally, the Hole doesn't have the patent on the term Hoot Night, and now Antone's has gotten into the spirit with a whole string of the darn things on Tuesdays. Kicking off the series June 11 is "Hoot U Off" a Prince tribute hosted by A.J. Vallejo, followed by "Gonna Be a Hootache Tonite," an Eagles hoot on the 18th hosted by Lisa Tingle, and finally, a Seattle-based "Black Hole Hoot" on June 25, hosted by Active Radio. More info is available at that club's Web site, www.antones.net. Besides all the hoots, something in the current musical climate has given rise to an unusually high number of tribute bands of late. Among the better ones are AC/DC tribute band Big Balls, who just did their part on Wednesday toward the Thirty Days in the Hole series, and will play the Back Room this Saturday night opening up for Drifter, an Iron Maiden tribute band. That show should kick off around 10pm. I wonder if Drifter will bring their own giant zombie Eddie creature like the real band does, or whether they'll drag along their own little Ross Halfin to torture?

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Mixed Notes

New West Records recording artist and former Green on Red co-conspirator Chuck Prophet has been added as special guest on 18 dates of the upcoming Lucinda Williams tour. However, those include no Austin date so far -- drive up to Fort Worth on July 5 if you gotta see the pair... A couple of months ago, Randall J. "Biscuit-- Turner phoned to suggest that I would enjoy seeing his Houston friends' band the Slurpees. Apparently, they like him too, as he's been playing with the band of late, following a long hiatus from the stage. Why did he change his mind about not wanting to do live music? Well, Biscuit says that as a result of turning his efforts to the visual arts, he now has "not another inch" of wall space upon which to display his creativity. Though not a tribute band, the Slurpees choose some wild covers sources ranging from Sly & the Family Stone to ZZ Top. Also involved in the band is the fella behind the Left of the Dial magazine, and a lengthy piece on Biscuit is only a tiny sampling of the coolness packed into the current issue (which I bought, coincidentally enough, mere days before getting back in touch with Mr. Turner!). Look for the band at Emo's sometime in the upcoming weeks... Speaking of people who haven't graced Austin stages in a helluva long while, Antone's has Poi Dog Pondering playing this Friday and Saturday -- their first Austin shows in more years than I'm gonna try to count. The former Hawaiians-turned-Austinites, who have since made Chicago their permanent home, are hitting select cities with their new seven-person lineup featuring members from the old Austin days, like Susan Voelz, John Nelson, and of course founder Frank Orrall. (If you're a real Poi freak, you'll be able to name the members shown in the cartoon on this page, which originally appeared on the flier for their 1987 Austin farewell party.) The group will be performing Poi rarities from their 1987-94 outtakes compilation, Sweeping Up the Cutting Room Floor, and new material from the upcoming release In Seed Comes Fruit. Ginger Mackenzie (who's no Jackass) opens on Friday; busy Jane Bond opens on Saturday... And you shall know Jan Mirkin by the screaming to raise the dead on the trail. Get-well-soon wishes go out to the local band manager, who had her leg unceremoniously broken when a horse kicked her without warning during a recent trail ride. Maybe she should trade her horse for Mike Stewart's bicycle... Oh, speaking of former UT-area street musicians, Davíd Garza is on at least one track of Gold Stars 1992-2002, which is the title of the new Juliana Hatfield compilation. I lost the cover already, so that's all I can say for now... One for the kids: Austin Cuban musician Raoul Cabrera will lead a percussion workshop for children ages 5 and older today (Thursday), 5-6pm, at the TFR offices at 1317 S. Congress. Kids in attendance will use hand-held percussion instruments to learn Cuban and Caribbean rhythms, songs, and facts about Cuba (probably not related to cigars). The TFR gallery will also be open until 9pm showing the current exhibition "Like Father, Like Son: The Woodcarvings of Sigurd and Rod Johnson," on view through July 20... Finally, the Chron's liaison at the Frank Erwin Center sez, "We've come close to hosting the Rolling Stones, but it hasn't materialized. In '94, we were working on a show at the stadium, but that fell through. Even with this most recent tour, we were hoping to get a date, but this also fell through. The Stones happens to be one of (our director) John Graham's favorites, so we know he's working hard to have the Stones grace our stage." Seeing how many plane tickets the band has been responsible for selling to Chronicle staffers (myself not included), it's about time the Glimmer Twins stopped here to gather some moss for a change...