I’m making an effort to trim down on regurgitating random news bits, but it’s Swervedriver, and I like Swervedriver. This is one band that I felt like I had missed my opportunity to see live, ever! Sure, Adam Franklin toured last year, and even made a stop here in Austin not long ago, and I just couldn’t bring myself to attend the show with the thought that it just wasn’t going to be Swervedriver. Not the smartest move understandably, after reading reactions to the performance. That’s in the past and the in the future lies Swervedriver dates, including a stop here in Austin @ Emo’s.

MP3> Swervedriver ‘Last Train to Satansville’

MP3> Swervedriver ‘You Find It Everywhere’

Swervedriver Tour

05/26 – Mon Seattle, WA Neumo’s Crystal Ball Reading Room *
05/27 – Tue Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom *
05/29 – Thu San Francisco, CA The Fillmore *
05/30 – Fri San Diego, CA Casbah *
05/31 – Sat Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre *
06/03 – Tue Austin, TX Emo’s Alternative Lounging
06/05 – Thu Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
06/06 – Fri Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
06/07 – Sat Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
06/08 – Sun Washington, DC 930 Club
06/10 – Tue Boston, MA Paradise
06/11 – Wed New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
06/12 – Thu Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
06/13 – Fri Toronto, ON, Canada Lees Palace
06/14 – Sat Chicago, IL Metro

* w/ Film School

WOXY.com was @ SXSW 2008 broadcasting live performances and interviews by bands attending the festival, and Dead Confederate made a stop at EAR Studio to make this.

WOXY.com presents: Dead Confederate from WOXY on Vimeo.

The dreamy sounds of Great Northern transferred well in the live setting, with the band focusing mostly on material from Trading Twilight for Daylight. I attended the show mostly because of my love for The Afghan Wigs and Screaming Trees, but both Dulli and Lanegan proved why they still draw a size-able crowd. Greg Dulli has mellowed a bit with age, but the duo delivered a set of solid rock, leaning heavy on the Saturnalia material.

Enjoy photos via Valerie Fremin

Thanks to the Austinist for this interesting bit of information. Bill Callahan will be playing a surprise show @ Mohawk this coming Sunday 3.30 along with surprise guests. Bill Callahan, who previously recorded and performed under the moniker ‘Smog’, just finished up a tour, and just added this Austin date. The show will take place on the smaller inside stage, so get there early. Tickets available at the door.

MP3> Smog ‘Rock Bottom Riser’

 

photo : valerie@fremin.net

The live concert series Beautiful Noise, which takes place in Toronto, Canada will be hosting Austin’s own The Black Angels for one of many tapings taking place at Berkeley Church from March 31st to April 7th. The tapings are going to be aired on Rave HD (USA) and Sun TV (Canada) and will feature performances by My Morning Jacket, The Donnas, Islands, Stars, Yo La Tengo, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and many more. The Black Angels have the newest recorded material set for release sometime in May, titled Directions to See A Ghost. Chances are they will be previewing material from this recording on the show.

For those in the Toronto area, tickets are not available to these shows, but you may RSVP in hopes of being selected to attend. You can find all of the important information to do so as well as the taping schedule here: Beautiful Noise Concert Series

Check out Rave TV.

For a pre-release download of Directions to See A Ghost visit: The Black Angels Pre-release. Get the album one month before it officially drops.

From the upcoming release Directions to See A Ghost

MP3> The Black Angels ‘You On The Run’

photo : valerie@fremin.net

SXSW usually entails performances but some of the more recognizable bands in the current modern rock scene mixed in with the myraid of bands just scratchin as well as the current buzz. This year provided us with a couple of performances by My Morning Jacket, as well as an acoustic performance, or two, by Jim James. The band revealed some of its newer material off of the upcoming release Evil Urges during their performances, and all of the new songs that I experienced were great.

You can stream the entire performance from the band @ the Austin Music Hall during SXSW, which features quite a few songs from the upcoming recording @ NPR.org

NPR.org has several SXSW performances available for streaming including R.E.M.

Set list if you care:

• “Evil Urges”
• “Off the Record”
• “Gideon”
• “Highly Suspicious”
• “What a Wonderful Man”
• “I’m Amazed”
• “Thank You Too”
• “Golden”
• “Sec Walkin’”
• “Wordless Chorus”
• “Way He Sings”
• “Aluminum Park”
• “One Big Holiday”
• “Run Thru”
• “Smokin’ From Shootin’”
• “Touch Me Pt. 2″
• “Steam Engine”
• “Lay Low”
• “Mahgeetas”
• “Anytime”

Colour Revolt’s full length offering Plunder, Beg, and Curse hits the streets April 1st, and if you can’t wait until then, like myself, you can purchase the album now via the Fat Possum website. I received my copy in the mail a couple of days ago, and have been making my way through the intense recording slowly discovering gems within the shiny disc. This promo video might prompt you to log on and purchase your copy before it is on the street.

If you are not heading out to catch The Gutter Twins tonight, then might I suggest you get your karaoke on at the returning Austinist Indieroke night @ the Mohawk. The indie-rock twist on the event doesn’t mean that some of the old classics won’t be tackled as well. Throw back a few and get your song on.

Me and a few friends put on a little party during SXSW called Above the Radar, with a few bands providing some solid tunes for the afternoon. If you didn’t make it out, you missed out. Great performances by the likes of Ume, The Death Set, Monahans, Thee Emergency, Land of Talk, The Shackeltons, and Dead Confederate provided us with an afternoon that we all enjoyed. A photo recap compliments of photographer Valerie Fremin for those who missed, as well as those who might want to remember the afternoon.

WARNING! There are a lot of high quality photos in this set.

The Gutter Twins are playing Antone’s this Wednesday 3.26 with Los Angeles band Great Northern. There are two reasons to make it out to this show, The Gutter Twins, and Great Northern.

If you aren’t familiar with The Gutter Twins, then surely you must be familiar with the combined body of work by the the two principal members and songwriters, Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan. Dulli spent most of the 90’s holding down a solid place in the rock/soul/grunge circuit with the outfit Afghan Whigs, earning a reputation for a songwriter teetering on the edge of utter darkness and depression. Dark and desperate the songs played out with the music to provide listeners with several albums of memorable moments. Lanegan spent the early 90’s as the growling front-man for the grunge band Screaming Trees. Probably one of the best in the grunge genre, never to succumb to the pitfalls of the exploding mainstream popularity of the category.

Since the demise of The Afghan Wigs and Screaming Trees, the two crooners have been involved in several other projects. Dulli with The Twilight Singers, and Lanegan with Queens of the Stone Age, The Twilight Singers, and singing duets with Isobell Cambell (Belle and Sebastian). The two singers penchant for dark mysterious lyrics and subject matter, prove them to be perfect soul mates in music.

I hesitated a bit to pick up the latest release from the band, expecting something a bit better than mediocre, but have quickly come to understand that it’s a powerful album hinting at the styles and moments that made some of their past efforts great, while maintaining it’s own identity. I strongly recommend picking up a copy of Saturnalia, whether you be a first time listener or a fan of the past work.

I’ve seen both of these guys on stage several times taking part in separate projects, and even sharing the stage together, and can assure you that those in attendance of the show on Wednesday will walk away with a whole new respect for these two talented songwriters and performers.

Great Northern open up the show, and are one of my favorite discoveries of last year. I happened upon the band opening up for a band I had gone to see, and after catching their performance, the headlining act wasn’t able to hold my attention. Get there early to catch the dreamy sounds as breezy as the cool spring winds at the forefront of a rolling storm.

Great Northern and The Gutter Twins @ Antones Doors @ 8 p.m. Buy Tickets

Sad but true, the last day of SXSW 2008 has arrived, and amazingly I’m not completely wiped out. It’s usually a struggle to do get out and do much on the last day, but this year I’m ready and I’m hitting the streets. The streets that have been packed solid with people for the past few days. I meet up with Colin from Cubik Musik whom I haven’t really seen much of the entire week, for some migas, some coffee, and some SXSW story swapping. Stories of who impressed us the most, who disappointed, free Dewars flowing in the middle of the afternoon, and microphones being inserted into places that they shouldn’t go, mix well with the food and caffeine.

My first stop is Jovita’s for a taste of Chicago’s Redwalls. I’ve been curious about the band for a few years and have yet to experience the live set. The band may be from Chicago, but they reek of early Brit-Pop ala Kinks, Stones, and Beatles, and they have no qualms about flaunting this fact. It’s not the style of music that I’m attracted to, but I cannot deny that the Redwalls are tight, punchy, and brimming with talent.

Much of the rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around downtown with photographer Valerie Fremin, trying to decide what might be the best choice for entertainment this last daylight of SXSW. Thoughts of packing ourselves into Mohawk with hundreds of other folks, while waiting a couple of hours for Islands to hit the stage, were quickly replaced by the idea of checking out the Mess With Texas Festival taking place in Waterloo Park. The thought of open space, shade, and easily accessible refreshments sounded quite pleasant at that time. A couple of free beers, some free water, the Ice-Cream Man providing cool treats, a gathering of musicians and comedians (Janeane Garafalo, Human Giant, Brian Posehn), were the happenings at the festival. We did manage to take in a few songs from Grand Ole Party from San Diego, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Imagine a guitar and drum driven beat a bit like White Stripes, with a Karen O looking female busting out vocals and handling the drums.

Grand Ole Party

photo : valerie@fremin.net

Leaving the park the decision was made to once again check out the Dead Confederate live action. Valerie hadn’t seen the band nearly as much as myself, and well……we kinda like those guys. The band was playing a party @ with a variety of bands from Athen’s, representing various styles of music ranging from Beastie Boys style rap to some serious Heavy Metal. Dead Confederate played a set of 3 songs, one being a wonderful rendition of Sonic Youth’s “Diamond Sea”.

Dead Confederate

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : valerie@fremin.net

My last night during SXSW was to be spent @ an event being put on by the mighty Do512 gang, simply called “The Big One”. “The Big One” was a great way to wrap up the week, hanging with friends, enjoying some tasty food, cold libations, and a bit more music. The Von Bondies played a set that was riddled with the obvious frustration of front-man Jason Stollsteimer, and warranted or not, I have little tolerance for whining rock stars. I have enjoyed the bands performances in the past but this experience has definitely put me off hoping to see them again. Hide your vodka, Jason is pissed!

MAN MAN closed out the party much to the delight of the large crowd in attendance. Once again, not really my style musically wise, but they demonstrated a certain ability to entertain and produce some solid tunes with talent.

SXSW is now officially over and the post event depression sets in for the next week. Recovery takes a few days, and organizing photos, thoughts, and contributions keeps me busy for the next few days.

My original thoughts on this past SXSW, were that I didn’t really get much out of it, or maybe I made some decisions that lead me to miss some great things, but after putting all of this together, I think that thought has passed. Did I get the most out of the week that I wish I could? Not humanly possible. Did I see some great music? Absolutely! Is getting the badge worth the cost? I would have to say yes. I probably didn’t utilize it as much as I could’ve for the panel discussions, but it definitely helped in many situations.

That’s it for my SXSW 2008 experience. Hope to see you again next year.

-Michael E

Chester French’s D.A. has red hair, he was wearing khaki shorts, a pink polo with the collar up (don’t worry, not “popped”), and crew cut white socks with white sneakers when I met him.  He looked like the quintessential Mervyn’s ad.  I wasn’t quite sure why this kid was on set, but so many people were coming and going throughout the day I didn’t think twice about it.

The set was for MTVu, the university and college version of MTV, and I, along with MTVu’s crew from NYC, where I lived and worked until several months ago, were shooting 45 second clips of bands and artists to be used for channel promos. Having worked as a production coordinator for MTV in NYC, I figured working as a production assistant for a few days over SXSW would be a perfect way for a badgeless local to involve themselves in the festival while making a pretty penny. Located in a warehouse-like building on 3^rd and San Jacinto, the set was stark and simple and filled with twenty or so crew members. Thursday thru Saturday bands such as Black Moth Super Rainbow, Yeasayer, and White Williams, slipped in and out of the warehouse in no more than thirty minutes, creating the aforementioned promo clips.

Before D.A. and Max, the duo that make up Chester French, walked on the set, I asked the producer who we were shooting next and he gave me a brief run down, notably pointing out that Chester French was currently touring with N*E*R*D.  My experience with N*E*R*D has led to the conclusion that any association with the guys guarantees quality. But after the producer pointed out who Chester French was, I couldn’t help question what had become of the musical tastes of the talented Pharrell.  I realized very quickly I made a mistake when he began warming up.  I don’t claim to know music, I’m probably tone deaf and when I was younger I purchased albums by Matchbox 20 and… um…. Creed.  But I realize when people have talent, and the realization hit right away that Chester French is one of them.  He was accompanied by Maxwell Drummey on the acoustic guitar and for the 45 seconds they played he managed to produce an emotional piece about being unable to get over a girl.  I’m not some sensitive, flower-petal-counting person, but his voice, along with the acoustic guitar, sounded so clean that you couldn’t help but be moved.  I looked him up when I got home and was a little disappointed in that he didn’t have any recorded acoustic songs available yet, at least on Myspace.  His sound is unique and catchy but doesn’t grab me the way it did when he played acoustically for those brief 45 seconds. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some interesting things come from him in the future since he is on the Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo backed Star Trak label.

When asked to recall a favorite SXSW moment***, Chester French popped into my head without hesitation. You may not know who he is yet, but my guess is that sooner or later you will. And there you have it, top SXSW MTVu moment for those of you curious to peak behind the MTV curtain.

***Please note that I had no badge or wristband and my only SXSW party was the Pure Volume gathering, or whatever word you want to use to describe that place.

-Jeff Bevill

Here is my blurry view of this year’s SXSW festival.

I started the festival properly with a preview from local favorites at the Purevolume Ranch.

The Octopus Project gave an amazing show to an intimate crowd on Friday, keeping in tune with their impressive sets and making a friend of mine a new fan (he couldn’t keep his eyes off the theremin). They played some of my favorite tracks that made me realize that it’s no wonder they’re starting to pick up some “popularity steam”, getting reviews in Rolling Stone and making the covers of magazines.

Next up was White Denim at Purevolume Ranch on Saturday. This was my third time seeing the noise-garage-punk-funky threesome and probably one of the best shows I’ve seen from them.

The place wasn’t too packed, which was awesome for all the dancing that was going on, and I was so glad I was able to see them before all the mayhem they’re about to encounter (European/Canadian/US tours are never a bad thing).

I decided to rest a little before the actual fest took off but finally went back out on Wednesday to The Peacock to see if I could catch White Williams and Ghosthustler.

The good news was that I was able to see them both. The bad news was that I could feel the next person next to me breathing. And it was hot.

And the sound wasn’t all that great. And my lovely friend, Jill complained that her bloody mary tasted like fish.

But we at least got to see these guys.

And these two as well. Yeah? No?

Well, to be honest, I left after the second Ghosthustler song and went outside to take random shots of the street. It was way too packed and people kept shouting to turn the sound up. And Jill was so excited to finally see them…

Wednesday night was much better, with the heat turned down a bit and the crowd more dispersed.

I caught The People’s Party doing the portable show on Lavaca to the Domino Records crowd, outside of Antone’s. Their funky sounds made for a pleasing street show.

So listen to them and go vote.

Next up was the exciting and spacious Redbull Moontower party on the East side. Big thanks to Landon from The Black and White Years for the invites because the area was huge and there was so much free alcohol we decided to just stay there for the rest of the night.

This night was the local night, with shows from Vehicular….

with their catchy hip hop beats, The Black and White Years….

who never disappoint with their dancing riffs, and The Lions…

who kept the energy going with their face-melting tunes.

Unfortunately the vodka/Redbulls got the best of me and I decided that I should have been home at 2 am, instead of 4.

My only goal on Thursday was to see Two Gallants at the Bay Area Takeover at Beauty Bar.

Mission accomplished. The San Francisco duo gave me a hearing problem with their garage-blues rock. But their set was cut short due to time and pure stupidity.

Lastly was another night at the Redbull Moontower (who wouldn’t with all the free liquor and music til 4 am).

We walked in at the perfect time with the Brazilian Girls.

This was the first time I caught the electronic trio and my exhausted self caught up with the rest of the night and gave in to their smooth, dance beats.

I was sorry to hear that I missed Phantom Planet and The Vines, but felt a little better when Black Joe Lewis and his band came on. (And then when one of the guitarists, who was obviously a little too drunk, dropped his guitar while playing.)

Their big band blues/funk kept me going.

And then….

BT???? As in Brian “dirrrrrty-pop” Transeau???

Jill and I almost had tears in our eyes when we heard of this news. 1999 was back. And we danced.

Unfortunately, I had to leave town later in the weekend, but I was overall thoroughly satisfied with my 2008 sxsw experience. I can’t wait until next year.

-Sonya

Tickets for the 2 Wilco shows @ Stubb’s in Austin happening May 11th and 12th are now on sale for those willing to join the bands fan community. Tickets for the general public go on sale tomorrow, which is Thursday 3.20.

Tickets on sale now Here.

3-day passes for ACL Festival 2008 are already being sold at the price of $170, and there isn’t even a lineup announced. Soon enough we’ll know the bands playing this years festival and the rumors are already starting. April 15th will reveal the initial lineup for the event, and upon said arrival, I imagine that the price of the passes might even increase.

Any thoughts on who you think or hope to be playing this year?