Grupo Deluxe
Despite the popular Seventies sitcom’s insistence to the contrary, eight just wasn’t enough for Grupo Fantasma. The caliente local groove collective expanded to 12 members for its April 20 LP Movimiento Popular, prompting a few changes in their touring arrangements. “I think we’ve graduated to the two-van level if the money works out,” hopes guitarist Adrian Quesada. Quesada promises something different on each of the LP’s 15 tracks, including “huge orchestra horns,” detours into disco and dance hall, and an “old-school Tejano ballad” featuring El Gato Negro himself, Ruben Ramos. “It sounds bigger, more like what we sound like live,” vows Quesada. Other songs were built out of drum loops, prompting the band to commission a remix LP they hope to have out by the summer to sell at shows, while still others are indebted to Quincy Jones‘ production on Michael Jackson‘s Off the Wall and Thriller. Corralling such a disparate palette of sounds into a cohesive album seems fairly daunting, but Grupo knew exactly what they wanted. “We just pulled out the Beastie Boys‘ Check Your Head and told the engineer to make it sound like that,” says Quesada. Paging Professor Booty …
sxsw sprinkles: Local Motion
Austin-area acts joining newly announced keynoter Little Richard at SXSW 04. A wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom!
The Alpha Rhythm, the Applicators, A Tiger Named Lovesick, Aurora Plastics Company, Baby Robots, bedbug, Beecher, Leila Bela, Black Lipstick, Jane Bond, Canoe, Cavedweller, Choking Ahogo, Gary Clark Jr., Corruption Is King, the Crack Pipes, Kacy Crowley, Britt Daniel, Jesse Dayton, Del Castillo, Dumptruck, Echo Base Soundsystem, Endochine, Experimental Aircraft, Fivehead, the Flametrick Subs, Ron Flynt & the Bluehearts, Guy Forsyth, Michael Fracasso, Susan Gibson, Colin Gilmore, Gnappy, God Drives a Galaxy, Grady, Grand Champeen, Hairy Apes BMX, Human, Kissinger, Jeff Klein, Knife in the Water, Jimmy LaFave, Gina Lee, Timothy “Speed“ Levitch & the Ongoing Wow, Li’l Cap’n Travis, Matson Belle, Matt the Electrician, Kevin McKinney, the Meat Purveyors, Milton Mapes, Moonlight Towers, the Octopus Project, Oh, Beast!, Neal Pollack & Tammy Faye Starlite, Reckless Kelly, Rhythm of Black Lines, the Rite Flyers, Bruce Robison, Charlie Robison, South Austin Jug Band, the Spiders, ST 37, Subset, the Swells, Jesse “Guitar“ Taylor & John X Reed, This Microwave World, Toof, the Transgressors, Two High String Band, Vallejo, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Renée Woodward, Red Young Quartet, Yuppie Pricks, Zykos
This article appears in January 30 • 2004.