OK, let’s get to the FAQ I’m already tired of answering ; Casual Victim Pile = an anagram of “Live Music Capital”. You can safely assume that with all due respect to the City of Austin’s attempts to promote itself as such, the town’s most exciting cultural activity exists outside the confines of the Blues Hammer circuit nor is generally the concern of Lance Armstrong’s managers. (and to paraphrase Fred Friendly’s comments about Magic Johnson’s talk show, Mr. Armstrong is an inspirational…cyclist).

I was also advised that while ‘Please Kill Bob Schneider’ rolls off the tongue rather nicely, Matador’s legal fees might skyrocket if someone did indeed, harm a hair on the multi-talented singer-songwriter’s head.

So now that we’ve established a rather knee-jerk “us vs. them” stance, things become a little more confusing, particularly as it’s sometimes hard to ID “us”. The 19 bands represented on ‘Casual Victim Pile’ are not part of the same musical community (though some of ‘em are), nor can it be claimed they’re all pals (though again, several are and careful readers will see a few of the same names popping up). Let me be crystal clear — this compilation is only meant to reflect what I like in Austin circa 2008-2010 and you can probably name the inexcusable omissions just as quickly as I can. But there’s something to be said for a highly arbitrary take on things.. There probably wasn’t a focus group employed to select the repertoire for Matako Mazuri’s ‘Bands On The Block’ , Ward 9’s ‘Cottage Cheese From The Lips Of Death’, and certainly not for the comp. which ‘Casual Victim Pile’ mostly closely recalls (in my head anyway), Matador’s 1991 opus with the ripped off title, ‘New York Eye & Ear Control’.

Whether or not there’s a genuine tie to the region’s musical history is up for debate ; there’s only one former member of Glorium on this compilation (and no former members of Dangerous Toys). To make things even more confusing, two of the 19 bands represented are based in Denton (Tre Orsi, Bad Sports), but play in Austin often enough that the self-imposed “no ringers” rule was tossed in the trash.

Corrections and suggestions for the cassette-only Vol. II can be sent to our 304 Hudson St. address (or left on my lawn, whichever is more convenient).

Gerard Cosloy, Austin TX, 9/2009

Shows @ Beerland $5