BULLET THE BLUE SKY
• Rolling Stone‘s David Fricke, in the mag’s new issue, loves My Education and Italian‘s “simple, rising melodies that take you way up and out.” Spoon and … Trail of Dead, meanwhile, are both written up in the new Spin, the former receiving a B- for Gimme Fiction, the latter a thumbs-up for its February show at converted Lower East Side chapel the Rothko.
• As Sound Team heads into the studio to finish an EP and LP for Capitol, label reps visited Stubb’s last Sunday to scout What Made Milwaukee Famous, who’ve reportedly drawn interest from RCA. Asked why Capitol doesn’t just set up a field office here, the label’s Jason Roth replies, “We love Austin – and not just because of the Salt Lick!”
• One-man band John Schooley heads Down Under next month on his first-ever tour, where he’ll play with former members of the Scientists and Beasts of Bourbon. “Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman helped set up one show, so I should be meeting quite a few of my Aussie rock heroes,” he says. Schooley rocks Saturday’s Chicken Ranch Records party at the Longbranch Inn with the White Ghost Shivers.
• Perhaps the best reason yet for shooting down the proposed smoking ban: Minus the pervasive odor of cigarette smoke, and considering the laissez-faire hygiene of many Austinites, clubgoers’ nostrils will immediately become vulnerable to other, even more unpleasant, smells. Early voting continues through Tuesday; the election is May 7.
This article appears in April 29 • 2005.