Local band The Blind Pets, known to party and throw down pretty heavy live, just put out a promo video for their upcoming release “Heavy Petting”. Let’s hear it for bringing back some rock-n-roll with swagger…No known release date, so stay tuned.

Local Austin rock/punk outfit Riverboat Gamblers have a new video for the track “Comedians” off of their May release The Wolf You Feed. I don’t know if it’s just me, but this track feels like a gentler kinder Riverboat Gamblers, and I like it….

Catch Riverboat Gamblers on the road:

It’s no secret to anyone paying attention to the Austin music scene that Black Books created a steady stir of buzz about themselves when they quietly released their debut EP An Introduction To.. about a year ago. So..now that we’ve been introduced, when might we hear some new material and most importantly when will have full length from the band? That question has been on the minds of many and the answers are coming…

The band recently set loose a brand new track from their upcoming full-length titled “Out The Door” on their Bandcamp page just two days ago. And if this is any indication of what to expect from the pending release, which we hope to see early in 2012, we are all in for a treat. I’m pretty sure that we are…

The new track comes just a few days after a cover of The Cardigans “Love Fool” showed up on the SYFFAL (Shut Your Fucking Face And Listen) site. Love the name by the way.

And I bring you both..The beautiful “Out The Door” single and the fun, dreamy cover “Lovefool”..

MP3> Black Books ‘Out The Door’

MP3> Black Books ‘Lovefool’ (Cardigans Cover)

Local band Ume released their 2nd full-length recording Phantoms back in August and continues to receive critical acclaim in indie circles. Encompassing frontwoman Lauren Larson’s frenetic guitar style with a melodic sense, Phantoms is the move that the band needs to move them from Austin’s little secret to indie-rock darlings. mtvU just set loose their video for “Captive” and here you have it….

Austin’s The Calm Blue Sea recently had their self-titled album reissued by Austin’s own Modern Outsider Records on Aug 2nd. While mostly an instrumental piece, the album does feature one track with minimal vocal tracks titled “Literal”, and today IFC premiered the video for that track. Directed by Paul Beck who animated Richard Linklater’s films “Waking Life” and “A Scanner Darkly”, the video combines real film footage accented by cartoon heads and blotted out faces.

Beck on the video:

“As I was making the video, listening to the music, I wanted images in the video to challenge the viewer by asking, ‘Are we living the good life?’” Beck asks. “‘Are we living the nightmare?’ ‘What character are we?’ ‘What tabloid-media-mash up comforts us through the long night?’”

Originally opened as the Independent @ 501 Studios, a conflict with the original Independent venue in San Francisco forced a slight change in the name, and the venue proceeded to operate under the name ND. Three years later the concept of the venue is coming to full fruition. Operator Mike Henry who ran the local hot spot venue in the 90′s, the Electric Lounge, rolled up his sleeves, shut down the venue for a short stint and set to complete the concept of ND. A separate sexy back bar called The North Door has been added, grub from Tamale Molly, and the “live in the studio” style of recording series called ND Sessions. To celebrate the changes Henry and staff have a weekend full of party fun scheduled with a variety of activities starting Thursday Sept 8th. Just check the artwork…

Has it been 5 years already? Time flies when you’re having fun…and we have had plenty of that at Mohawk.

To celebrate these 5 years of bringing some of the best in live music to Austin’s music fans, Mohawk has a 4 day party planned, and it’s gonna be pretty sweet. Here are the deets via Mohawk..

Austin’s Favorite Live Music Venue announced today that it is
celebrating its 5th Birthday with the likes of New York City’s indie
punk veterans Les Savy Fav, the Grammy winning locals Grupo Fantasma,
southern rocker alt country favorites Lucero, a few Special Guests,
and a Free Sunday bill entirely dedicated to local Austin musicians
that have been with the Mohawk since its inception in 2006.

The Anniversary celebration will be a 4 day event, beginning on
September 29th, and will feature live music, food, and custom ‘thank
you gifts’ from the Mohawk. Tickets will be available at Front Gate
tickets for each individual event and discounted 4 day passes will be
available for Mohawk fans and regulars. The preliminary schedule
starts by presenting 3 popular veterans of Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest,
and is as follows:

OUTSIDE STAGE SCHEDULE

Thursday, September 29th
LES SAVY FAV
TBA
+Johnny Hottub

Friday, September 30th
GRUPO FANTASMA
TBA

Saturday, October 1st
LUCERO
TBA

Sunday, September 29th
LOCALS ONLY (FREE)
TBA

A series of shows will be booked for both the outside and inside
stages, along with a different style of DJ for each event (see: Johnny
Hottub). Fans are encouraged to get their tickets early at
http://mohawk.frontgatetickets.com . Expect the bottles to be poppin,
especially the Champaign of Beers.

Austin’s own The Boxing Lesson have managed to stay in mind’s eye with the constant evolution of psych-rock and their videos that span just plain weird and freaky to eerie. And that’s not a bad thing, it just makes them that much more interesting. The latest video for the title track from their recently recently release Muerta EP keeps in step with that path. The video features the band slowly drowning in the deep sea complete with sea creatures and musical instruments. Victims of a plane crash or boat sinking, we may never know….rest assured they are still quite alive.

The Boxing Lesson – “Muerta” from Consequence of Sound on Vimeo.

It’s no secret that I’ve been on the heels of the local band UME for some time now. The live show has always been an eye opening experience and over the years the band has progressed from their early edgy abrasive sound and found their melodic ways while maintaining that initial energy.

Before their recent signing with Modern Outsider Records, Rolling Stone called UME one of the best unsigned bands in the country. Signed now, the band is prepping the release of their album Phantoms which is due out August 30th. Catch UME on Friday night showcasing much of the new material while opening for the indie rock legends Mission of Burma.

And check out “Captive” from Phantoms

MP3> UME ‘Captive’

UME w/Mission Of Burma @ Mohawk 8p.m. TICKETS

It’s that time of the month, Rumble time. Future Sounds and a slew of local sponsors including yours truly, put together a bill of local acts that we feel like need your attention. And best of all, it’s FREE! Beerland is the place, music is happening, and Pabst Blue Ribbon is flowing.

Sure, Austin is known for SXSW and ACL Festival, but we all know what the best music fest in Austin is…Fun Fun Fun Fest. This year sees a change in venue, which I’m personally torn about, but it might work out to our benefit. Only time will tell.

Straight from The Fun Fun Fun Fest HQ:

FUN 1 On Sale Date YO!

The first round of on-sale tickets, aka FUN 1, are going on sale today at 6 p.m. CST. Shit is officially on! There are several reasons why you should take advantage of the Fun 1 ticketing option:

• THE BIGGEST PRICE BREAK OF THE YEAR
• There will be contests, giveaways, and P-I-P upgrades to our homies who snag tickets early.
• All the cool kids do it.

To be eligible for FUN 1, simply register at funfunfun.com and create a user profile.

And, because we love you so much, one lucky FUN 1 ticker holder will win a “Share The Fun Fun Fun” prize and get to fly in a friend for the festival! That¹s right, we know you have some poor friend in Chicago/Boston/Ohio/BFE that is dying to come party Austin style for a weekend and we have you covered. So start saving your tips and jump on this super amazing offer before all the FUN 1 tickets are gone!

You can expect that lineup announcements are just around the corner, and this guy..can’t wait. And if you need any incentive as to why you should jump on this opportunity…just watch the video.

Austin’s Bridge Farmers delivered a heavy little chunk of a 6 song EP at the end of 2010 titled Din of Celestial Birds that still finds it’s way into heavy rotation around these parts. The band plays a free show inside at Mohawk after the veteran Melvins have their way with the Austin crowd. Stick around, or show up late and catch what is sure to become a rising star in within the camp of those who crave some serious guitar heavy rock n roll.

Show starts at 11:30 and it’s FREE.

MP3> Bridge Farmers ‘Dancing Bones’

It’s that time of the month..Rumble time! Some of Austin’s best local musical acts playing at Beerland, just for you, and all for FREE! We know you love FREE! Check it..

Transmission Entertainment has teamed up with the new (ish) ACL Live Moody Theater once again, to present a pretty choice show for locals and by locals. Austin’s instrumental rock band, with the name that sums up their sound quite perfectly, Explosions in the Sky will take to the Moody Theater on June 17th. The band will be fresh off their 6th studio album release Take Care, Take Care, Take Care which sees the street on April 26th. Reviews for the album have been quite favorable, and if you care, you can find the album streaming in it’s entirety on the band’s website.

Tickets for the show go on sale this Friday 4/22 @ 10 a.m.

The Austin based via L.A. space/psych rock outfit The Boxing Lesson have teamed up with Frenchie Smith Records for their studio follow-up to the 2008 release Wild Streaks and Windy Days, which will be titled the Muerta EP. You may remember the band filled the gap with the four-track, feline inspired instrumental recording Fur State which was released in a variety of limited edition package options, including cassettes, t-shirts, stickers, and even grinders. Creative, and pretty much sold-out. Take note young bands.

The Muerta EP is set for release on 6/7/11 and promises to continue the ride with “ambient songs that soothe the dark sentiments of the mind.” And if we didn’t already catch the clever wordy homage to one of psych-rocks early pioneers, the band reminds us once again with the lead track “Darker Side of the Moog”. I think we got it this time, and what could possibly be next? “Black Hole Moog?” I kid.

Track Listing:

1. Darker Side of the Moog (6:37)

2. Muerta (5:00)

3. Cassiopeia (5:42)

4. Drone to Sleep (6:13)

Catch the band at one of their upcoming shows and stream the “Darker Side of the Moog”

• Thursday 4/21/11 @ Stubb’s Jr. (Cut Copy/Holy Ghost! After Show) – FREE TO PUBLIC

• Saturday 5/7/11 @ w/ Oh No! Oh My! & Generationals.

Darker Side Of The Moog – The Boxing Lesson by theboxinglesson