Handicappers get ready, because South by Southwest has just released a list of
the festival’s confirmed acts, including national and international names like
Action Slacks, Anodyne, Bettie Serveert, Boo Radleys, Cockeyed Ghost, Cows,
Kelley Deal 6000, Dash Rip Rock, dEUS, Extra Fancy, Fluffy, Galactic, Giant
Sand, Gigolo Aunts, The Grassy Knoll, Guitar Wolf, Kristin Hersh, Helium, Jane
Jensen, Jennyanykind, JPP, Brenda Khan, Nil Lara, Jim Lauderdale, Ben Lee,
Lolita No. 18, Mary Lou Lord, Lutefisk, Marlee MacLeod, Roger Manning, The
Minstrels, Moonshine Willy, OP8, Pansy Division, the Picketts, Popdefect,
Poster Children, The Rock*A*Teens, Sand Rubies, Silos, Spring Heel Jack,
Matthew Sweet, That Dog, Thin Lizard Dawn, Thrush Hermit, 24-7 Spyz, Dwight
Twilley, Whiskeytown, and Yo La Tengo. The total list is still pretty compact
(just over 400 names compared to the 700-or-so spaces available), because
unlike years past, the festival has released confirmed acts rather than
everyone who was invited. Obviously, there’s more to come — like, fer
instance, outdoor stage info, which so far is limited to Friday’s Sixth &
Brazos line-up: the Supersuckers, ex-Buffalo Tom boy Bill Janovitz, and Jesse
Dayton.
Red House
This may qualify as a post-SXSW story, as that’s when things should becomemuch clearer, but it’s certainly worth noting that Kelly and Tosca Gruber,
owners of La Zona Rosa, have been talking to the House of Blues corporation
about taking over their club. In fact, the latter Gruber says some corp.
officials will be staying with her during SXSW and that serious negotiations
will be going down then. “We would love to have them come in and take our
property,” says Gruber, adding that indications so far are that Austin is still
probably too small a market for HOB. A big enticement, however, might just be
Liberty Lunch’s Mark Pratz, with whom the Grubers are expected to enter into a
deal to book and restructure the financial operations at LZR. “We’re in the
process of putting together a management deal,” confirms Pratz. “Mike Mordecai
has it booked up real good through March — he’s done a terrific job over there
— but they’d like to increase the variety of what gets booked — get more
alternative stuff in there.” This apparently, say both Pratz and Gruber, is
what HOB is looking for, and since Liberty Lunch isn’t expecting the city to
renew the club’s lease in March of ’98, developments on this front will
probably be closely watched by many different parties.
More Nasty Ol’ Performers
Former SXSW head honcho Louis Jay Meyers has returned from the MIDEMconference in Cannes, France with the bad (but expected) news that “American
participation was definitely off this year,” and that the conference leaned
heavily on dance and techno. He does confirm that the Gourds and Calvin Russell
were among those American acts that knocked the crowds dead, and in general,
Meyers seems unfazed by any downturns in the music industry. Mere days after
the February 1 end to his agreement with SXSW not to start any competing music
conferences, he has announced the LMNOP (Louisiana Music New Orleans Pride)
festival, to be held April 28-30 in the Mardi Gras capital of the world.
I’d Love to Turn You On…
…to the “A Day in the Life” project now in the works from the S.I.M.S.foundation, dedicated to local musicians’ emotional health and named after the
late Sims Ellison. All of Austin’s clubs (and other music-related folks) are
being asked to dedicate one day this year towards the project, with last
Sunday’s show at Liberty Lunch being their day. This Sunday’s KGSR/101X swap
meet at the Austin Music Hall finds proceeds going to the foundation, while
clubs like the Hole in the Wall and Babes will be getting into the act on
Feb.19 and 21, respectively.
If you’re keeping score on Sims’ former Pariah bandmates, here’s the latest:
Kyle Ellison will have a break from the Butthole Surfers to record a new album
with the Meat Puppets; Jared Tuten has been guitar-teching for Joe Ely and
playing bass for Atlantic act Camus; and he and Dave Derrick are running the
ADAT Studio X at the ARC. Sorry, but I already gave the rundown on Shandon Sahm
and Sunshine last week.
Add 2/5 of a Spoonful
About half the recipients of Spoon’s new Soft Effects EP will get aspecial bonus — one that neither the band nor their label intended. Somehow,
after a special promotional pressing was made including two songs from the
band’s previous release Telephono, the master of that item made its way
to the pressing plant again, meaning that many copies of Soft Effects include the two inadvertent bonus tracks. “It’s not that big a deal,” says
Spoon’s Britt Daniel, except that the appearance of the two songs tend to blunt
the intentional differences in the sound of the album and the EP (early reviews
of Soft Effects are already touting the contrasts between the two).
Spoon also has new tracks on the What’s Up Matador label compilation,
and an upcoming Big Star tribute album, the fomer having been recorded by Grant
Barger of the Softs. Spoon will be touring with new bass player Josh Zarbo
before and after SXSW.
‘head Like a ‘hole
Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge closed out 1996 with thebiggest December opening weekend ever for his duo’s film debut, and opened 1997
with the first episode of his dryly hilarious King of the Hill.
Meanwhile, the Butthole Surfers ushered in their year with a mention on
KotH‘s sister show The Simpsons, as young Rod (or was it Todd?)
Flanders, wearing a BHS concert T-shirt given to him by an emergency worker,
exclaimed “Look, mommy! I’m a surfer!” More recently, that oft-delayed Larry
Sanders Show appearance sneaked onto the air last week. Among the
highlights was their performance of “Ulcer Breakout” and Garry Shandling’s
polite demurring from hanging out with the band, preferring the company of that
kleptomaniac chick from Full House. King Coffey (no relation to King
of the Hill) debuted his own show last Saturday, not on TV but on radio.
Well, actually, it’s not exactly on radio either; it’s Brainwash,
Coffey’s new internet radio show. Located on the web at
http://buttholesurfers.com/brainwash/, Coffey is producer and host of the
24-hour station. Sounds like a fun job, but the hours suck!
Radio, Radio
Meanwhile, as we reported in a last-minute flash last week, the actual airwaves crossed lines as of Saturday when the two local stations plowing the“alternative” field became one. That is to say, 101X and K-NACK joined in a
local marketing agreement that basically erased K-NACK from the airwaves and
replaced it with a simulcast of 101X. This six-month joining is an interim
motion while K-NACK is in the process of being sold. K-NACK owner/general
manager Richard Rees says that “Everything hit the fan, and now it’s calm,”
noting that the bulk of his staff has been gone for four weeks (he currently
has two people on full-time staff, who also work for 101X.) 101X general
manager Scott Gillmore points to the recent change at KUTZ (Z-ROCK) to a talk
format, as well as the absorption of K-NACK, as evidence that 101X will be a
“major player” in Austin radio in the coming years. Rees, meanwhile, assures
that “[K-NACK] is still gonna do our big barbecue for SXSW.”
Mixed Notes
Musicians note that Monday, February 10 is your last chance to register forthe Musicians Register (and remember, that means your free Threadgills dinner).
You can do that at Ruby’s from 6-8pm… Note, too, that the next day, Tuesday,
there will be a public hearing on musicians loading and unloading equipment on
Sixth Street. That’s at 5:30pm at the Municipal Annex Building, 301 West
Second, first floor conference room… Austin’s Sons of the Desert (who’ve
actually been a Dallas band since about 1993) have just released their first
single on Epic Records, with a yet-untitled album to follow in June. Craig
Campbell at Epic points out that the album will be unusual for a new country
act in that the band actually plays on all the tracks — no studio musicians
were used… Somebody better get a traffic helicopter over to Tower Records
this Friday at 4pm. If this in-store for the Austin Does Prince CD (with
Guy Forsyth, Christina Marrs, Johnny Goudie, Kris McKay, Michele Solberg, and
the Adults performing) draws anywhere near the number of people that stood in
line for the release party at the Electric Lounge, there won’t be a place to
(paisley) park for blocks… Louisiana’s Ruth Brown features a previously
unrecorded Sarah Brown song on her upcoming Rounder album. Brown (Sarah, that
it) has just been nominated for the second consecutive year in the Best Blues
Bassist category of the W.C. Handy Awards… And speaking of Browns, the new
Guitar Player features a cover story on Junior Brown, and on the other
end of the spectrum includes 16 Volt (who have an Austin member and management)
in their feature on hard rock bands to watch. Meanwhile, over at Guitar
World, Dah-Veed, Sixteen Deluxe and the Old 97’s get mentions in Andy
Langer’s “How to Get Signed” story… Robbie Jacks’ new radio show has made its
debut on the new KJFK 98.9FM. Expect to hear Jacks’ pal Exene Cervenka call in
(and believe me, that gal can talk) to the show on Saturday during its
10pm-midnight slot… It’s been brought to my attention that Seattle has just
erected a statue of Jimi Hendrix, taking only 23 years longer than it took
Austin to memorialize Stevie Ray Vaughan. At this rate, they should have Kurt
Cobain done sometime around 2021…
Tenderloin has been in town recording
with Stuart Sullivan. If there’s any justice in the world, their next album
will feature a notice that “Tenderloin uses Sam’s BBQ ribs exclusively”…
— Contributions: Christopher Gray, Raoul Hernandez, Andy Langer, Margaret
Moser
This article appears in February 7 • 1997 and February 7 • 1997 (Cover).