The Black Angels and Reverberation Appreciation Society have announced the location and dates for the 3rd installment of Austin Psych Fest.

Lineup is still pending announcement, but you can mark your calender for April 23rd, 24th, and 25th and set your sites on The Mohawk.

The Austin Psych Fest 2 DVD was recently released, featuring performances by A Place To Bury Strangers, Dead Meadow, Golden Animals, Wooden Shjips, and more. You can purchase HERE.

Although Psych Fest #2 didn’t fair as well as some may have desired, the founders of the festival, which include members of The Black Angels, are gearing up for the 3rd edition of the event. The show must go on, as some would say. And I say..bravo!

Details are promised to be on the horizon, but if the tradition of bringing some of the best vintage, modern, established, and up-and-coming acts that push the envelope of mind expanding music continues, I’m sure to be there once again. There is something there for just about anyone. Last year’s performances by A Place To Bury Strangers and Dead Meadow, were epic.

The festival has a new website that features some photography from our own Valerie Fremin, a store, and a jukebox featuring some live performances from previous festivals. Look for the release of Psych Fest #2 DVD in December which was produced and directed by Oswald James of AltaReal Pictures.

Spring 2010..details soon

It’s been a couple of years since Spoon fans have had new Spoon material to quell their Spoon desires, and those in attendance of the 3 day mini-fest @ Stubbs will be treated to just that, new Spoonage. The band is taking time off from shows, other than the 3 day event @ Stubbs and the Merge 20th Anniversary Festival, to focus on recording the next Spoon album. The band will preview tracks from the upcoming release during the 3 day event, so brush up on your Spoon discography, and listen carefully. You’ll hear it first.

When asked about the new material by Billboard Magazine, Spoonman Brit Daniel responded “I always hope it’s going to new territory, but it’s hard to tell. There’s a lot of guitar in them. I think they may be a bit sparser than the last album.”

Only time will tell, and we’ll be patiently awaiting the result.

Tickets for the 3-day event are on sale now @ Frontgate Tickets

Ever needed an excuse to take a trip to North Carolina in the middle of Summer? Merge Records has one for you and it’s awfully tempting to this guy.

The independent label that has and continues to bring you some of the best music in the indie rock world, is celebrating 20 years with a 5 day festival. $150 for 5 days of great music @ The Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC and Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill, NC, with some great acts already announced to play. 5 day passes go on sale Wednesday April 8th. Check here for details on purchasing and festival info.

Merge Records

Already scheduled to play with more acts to be announced:

SUPERCHUNK
SPOON
CONOR OBERST
SPENT
M.WARD
THE ROSEBUDS

DESTROYER
GUV’NER
POLVO
PIPE
THE BROKEN WEST

Saturday March 21st, Transmission Entertainment and the F*** Yeah Fest brings you an all ages FREE show @ Waterloo Park. And the lineup isn’t too shabby. More still to be announced, so stay tuned.

This year’s Pitchfork Festival taking place in Chicago’s Union Park is one step closer to revealing it’s goods. July 17th – 19th in Chicago, at the hands of Pitchfork is looking to be one of the more intriguing music festivals of 2009. Just check the recent press release:

The 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival — to be held in Chicago’s Union Park Friday, July 17 – Sunday, July 19 — is announcing the first round of band’s to perform at this years festival, as well as a new series that will include Friday’s performances. On Friday, the festival welcomes Yo La Tengo, The Jesus Lizard (first show in Chicago in eleven years!), Tortoise and Built to Spill; Saturday will see performances by The National, Pharoahe Monch, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, while Sunday’s event includes Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen and Vivian Girls!

In years past, Friday night has been presented in conjunction with All Tomorrow’s Parties and their “Don’t Look Back” series, which is devoted to artists playing one seminal album from their back catalogue in its entirety. In 2008, Mission of Burma performed Vs., Sebadoh played Bubble & Scrape, and Public Enemy performed It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. 2007 saw Slint performing Spiderland, Gza/Genius performing Liquid Swords, and Sonic Youth performing Daydream Nation.

This year, the Pitchfork Music Festival is mixing things up a bit and putting the set lists in the hands of the fans, under a new series titled “Write the Night: Set Lists By Request.” When someone buys a ticket they will receive a confirmation email that will include a link to a web page where they can vote on which of each band’s songs they’d like to hear during their set – and truly be the ones to “Write the Night.” Voting will begin on March 13 (when tickets go on sale) and will end on June 12.

To recap the 2009 line-up so far:

Friday – “Write the Night: Set Lists by Request”
Built to Spill
The Jesus Lizard
Yo La Tengo
Tortoise

Saturday
The National
Pharoahe Monch
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Sunday
Grizzly Bear
The Walkmen
Vivian Girls

It would almost seem that the mighty creator of modern music trends is leaning a bit heavy on some good reliable old friends. I like it.

SXSW is just around the corner, and you know what that means? Festival season is underway. This year might prove to be the year of survival for the festival circuit considering the current economic situation, but the Pitchfork Music Festival is sure to stand tall and strong. Known for showcasing a wide variety of up and coming acts mostly in the indie-rock scene, the event is sure to sell out as past years have proven.

Mark July 17th-19th on your calendar and book your flight to Chicago to find yourself in beautiful Union Park. Tickets on sale March 15th with lineup to begin revealing itself soon enough.

I’ve already expressed my lack of enthusiasm for this year’s Coachella lineup, as well as a lack of serious interest in Bonnaroo, but this year’s Sasquatch! lineup is an attention grabber for sure. Not that there aren’t some acts of interest performing @ Coachella or Bonnaro, but Sasquatch! managed a significantly more solid lineup in my opinion. Nice job on tapping into the NIN/Janes Addiction “anti poseurs and pussies” tour.

Also on the bill: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Doves, Grizzly Bear, TV On The Radio, Animal Collective, M. Ward, Sun Kil Moon, and many other notables.

Full list and ticket info: Read more

A Place to Bury Strangers

No times listed as of yet, but here are the bands in all of their glory. Please remember the earplugs for A Place to Bury Strangers.

Tickets are on sale for this pre-SXSW event that’s going to be a great way to kick off a week of music, music, music, and more music.

MP3> A Place to Bury Strangers ‘Ocean’

Sunday the 15th
A Place to Bury Strangers
The Warlocks
The Strange Boys
Asteroid #4
Forever Changes
The Vandelles
The Upsidedown
Miranda Lee Richards
Christian Bland & The Revelators
Cavedweller
Cartright

You’ve been patiently waiting…….

Dead Meadow….Hell Yeah!

Sky Sunlight Saxon of The Seeds | 12:15pm

The Seeds raw style defined 60s garage rock alongside contemporaries The Kinks, The Sonics and a host of others. Front man Sky Sunlight Saxon, who has been known as the King of Garage and the sole remaining member of the original lineup, will be performing Seeds classics backed by Austin’s garage disciples Shapes Have Fangs.

skysunlightsaxon.com | myspace.com/theseeds

Dead Meadow | 11pm

Since the beginning of this decade Dead Meadow have permeated the rock and roll scene with thick grooves and brilliant songwriting last seen since the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, the Elevators, and Spacemen 3. Bringing together stoner rockers and indie rockers, giving the former a reason to rejoice with each new album of hard-rocking psych, and the latter an excuse to indulge their dark ‘70s pleasures, Dead Meadow have humbly set the tone for modern Psychedelia.

deadmeadow.com | myspace.com/deadmeadow

Wooden Shjips | 10pm

San Francisco’s Wooden Shjips provide a more infectious motoric groove to a deeply riff heavy and formerly monotonous genre. They are a band to be truly experienced with an honest, primitive mind. Those willing to let go will be rewarded with a constant driving aural trip. A few weeks after a recent under-the-radar SXSW performance, Wooden Shjips won the praise of Rolling Stone magazine and were quickly grabbed by Sub Pop Records.

woodenshjips.com | myspace.com/woodenshjips

Golden Animals | 9pm

The Golden Animals combine impeccable craft with enough diversity of influences and techniques – ‘50s rock, electric slide blues, late ‘60s psych – to satisfy fans of a multitude of genres. These minstrels sound as if they’d be equally at home entertaining a boxcar full of tramps as they would a festival of thousands. Let them regale you and your weary traveling companions with tales of the road and songs of the south.

myspace.com/goldenanimals

Daughters of the Sun | 8:00pm

Minneapolis imports Daughters of the Sun bring to mind grainy polaroid images of summer afternoon jam sessions: blissful percussion-driven psychedelic rock with a nod to 60s psych folk.

myspace.com/daughtersofthesun

Indian Jewelry | 7:00pm

The trio bring gritty reverb-drenched garage and shoegaze to the stage to kick things off. The buzz behind the few recordings they’ve released and acclaim for their live shows has us betting they’ll be hitting the road soon, spreading their dirty lo-fi grooves nationwide.

myspace.com/indianjewelry

Shapes Have Fangs | 6:00pm

The trio bring gritty reverb-drenched garage and shoegaze to the stage to kick things off. The buzz behind the few recordings they’ve released and acclaim for their live shows has us betting they’ll be hitting the road soon, spreading their dirty lo-fi grooves nationwide.

myspace.com/shapeshavefangs

The Shine Brothers | 5:00pm

Shine Bros is the fruits of life long collaboration between Nate of the Black Angels and his brother Collin. Kyle from the Angels backs the brothers up on bass and together they provide a new element to the catalogue of music the extended Black Angels family is giving the Austin scene.

Astronaut Suit | 4:00pm

The Astronaut Suit is your vessel between the Temporal and the Eternal states, their music coming “not from the body, but through it.” Weaving together elements as disparate as Delta blues, Native Americana, and experimental Soul, the Suit forges haunting lyrical and sonic vistas. Buoyed by front man Jess Farr’s allusive vocals, come experience the science of the Groove.
theastronautsuit.com | myspace.com/theastronautsuit

The Tunnels | 3:00pm

The Tunnels reference 60’s pop while being under the influence of the many modern takes of the same aesthetic. The Tunnels allow you to get lost in their crystalline chime and send you on your way down a hallway of long cavernous reverb.
myspace.com/theastronautsuit

Smoke and Feathers | 2:00pm

These bearded booze hounds bring a 5th of whiskey to the psychedelic brew, creating long-grooving jams filled with intricate guitar and hazy vocals.

myspace.com/smokeandfeathers

PJ and the Bear | 1:00pm

Vintage meets voltage in this Chuck Berry-esque rock ‘n’ roll massacre that tackles retro swagger with renewed vitality. Delivering on showmanship as much as songwriting, their live show never fails to get people moving and stomping to their sexually-charged anthems. Brash, entertaining fun, PJ and the Bear take nothing too seriously except their rocking.

myspace.com/pjandthebear

Psych Fest 1 was such a success that the one day event has been expanded to three days for the second installment. As the event draws closer, details began to surface. Tickets become available Feb 13th, and can be purchased @ Live Music Capitol.com

The lineup for the first day of the event has been announced and are as follows:

The Black Angels | 11:45pm

Austin’s psychedelic torch bearers and Psych Fest 2 curators The Black Angels headline Friday, closing out the night with their their drone n’ roll. There are rumors of a special guest… more info as it comes.

Check out our interview with Christian and Alex and some live footage of Black Grease.

theblackangels.com | myspace.com/theblackangels

The Golden Dawn | 11pm

George Kinney and crew take the Fest full-circle back to 1968, performing their cult status Psych masterpiece Power Plant from start to finish. Pay homage to these Texas legends as they bring history to life.

georgekinney.com | myspace.com/originalgoldendawn

Lower Heaven | 10pm

This four piece from Silverlake, California creates lush shoegaze with a variety of vintage instruments, including an auto harp. These veteran musicians pay homage to thier influences (The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground, Ech and The Bunnymen), and at the same time cut new paths and pave new roads to a place all their own.

lowerheaven.com | myspace.com/wwwmyspacecomlowerheaven

Woven Bones | 9:15pm

The trio bring gritty reverb-drenched garage and shoegaze to the stage to kick things off. The buzz behind the few recordings they’ve released and acclaim for their live shows has us betting they’ll be hitting the road soon, spreading their dirty lo-fi grooves nationwide.

wovenbones.com | myspace.com/wovenbones

Bad news first. The Miami based Langerado Music Festival has been cancelled. Citing sluggish ticket sales and a dismal economy, the event which was to feature artists Modest Mouse, Deerhunter, Broken Social Scene, Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, plus many more, decided to call it a day. Let’s hope this isn’t the beginning of any trend this year. More info @ Langerado.com

And now to Bonnaroo 2009 news.

The Lineup for the 2009 installation of the legendary event, has been released. I’m not sure how I feel about this lineup as well, in relation to my thoughts on the recently announced Coachella lineup. We just saw Bruce performing during halftime @ the Superbowl (enough already). Phish for 2 shows? Beastie Boys, NIN, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ben Harper, The Mars Volta, just don’t stir it up for me. Once again, my jaded old snobbishnish might be coming into play here, so I’m curious as to what folks have to say about this lineup?

Let me know.

I know it’s not just me who feels this way.

Paul McCartney (Love me some Beatles and Wings), The Killers, and Amy Wine(Crack)house? I thought Coachella was cutting edge?

There hasn’t been much speculating, or talk about this year’s lineup previous to it’s release, and now we know why. There’s a handful, but for the most part…ho hum.

Always on top of what’s happening, Brooklyn Vegan is reporting that the band Flipper has cancelled it’s NYC date and possibly the rest of the tour. This could be of some concern for those here in Austin planning to catch the legendary punk band @ this year’s Fun Fun Fun Fest. No official word as to if the tour has been cancelled, but the fact that all of the dates once posted on the band’s Myspace have disappeared, it doesn’t look hopeful. It will be a tough spot to fill for sure.

The Austin based computer company Dell, has been getting involved in the music scene over the past few years with the Dell Lounge project which is becoming a multi-faceted outlet for all things music. This summer has the Dell Summer Rocks project traveling around the country making stops at all of the hottest music festivals taking place this festival season. This coming weekend, you can find them in Colorado at the Monolith Festival taking place @ the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater. Just look for the Dell Dome and check out what Dell Summer Rocks is all about.

The last stop on the Dell Summer Rocks calendar will be the local Austin City Limits Festival.

At the Dell Dome festival attendees can:

-Meet your favorite band, watch them do an interview in person and get their autograph.

-Make your own digital mixtape by building a playlist using music from the festival as well as popular artists beyond Monolithís set list.

-Design custom buttons. One can use designs on hand or bring their own to stamp into creative flare.

-Get an airbrush tattoo or your hair rocked out

-Meet Dell resident artist, Mike Ming. http://www.delllounge.com/ summerrocks/mikeming/. Mike Ming created the artwork for Dell’s limited edition Mike Ming Inspiron laptops and he designed the  
artwork on the Dell Dome.

-Make a custom tee. One can create their own style by transferring

-Mike Ming’s artwork onto their own clothes through the hot-press t- shirt station.

-Check your email and surf the net on Dell’s collection of laptops.

Participating bands who have visited and done interviews at the Dell  Summer Rocks Dome at festivals thus far include Chromeo, Girl Talk, Cadence Weapon, Shudder To Think, Taking Back Sunday, Soulwax, Kaki King, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Flosstradamus, The Octopus Project,  Franki Chan, Witchcraft, Tiny Masters of Today, The Whigs and more.

Stop by and say Hi, to the folks in the Dome.