Category Archives: TVD Austin

Album Review: The O’s

If Del McCoury and Conor Oberst had a lovechild, the bluegrass pop folk duo known as The O’s could be the auditory likeness. The sophomore album Between the Two (Idol Records) again wields guitar and banjo as weapons of choice for Taylor Young and John Pedigo, along with their signature well-matched and nicely twanged vocal harmonies. Adding a single kick drum, steel guitar, harmonica, and lowebro to the lyrics about life, love, and the pursuit of the party makes this album a success. The album ebbs and flows through a spectrum of emotions and life lessons like a mountain stream turned white water rapids whooshing by a late-night campfire, and back again. Tracks like the determined “Pushin Along” roll into the happy-go-lucky party “Everything’s Alright” and back to lovey dovey “Remember You”. Idiosyncrasies of the uniqueness that is the banjo are almost overshadowed by the smoothness of the mastering, but this actually serves to pique curiosity about their notoriously fun live performances. The O’s are headed to Austin in July, and TVD Austin will certainly have our eyes and ears peeled.

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

ACL Fest Lottery Tickets

What do scratchers, music and free have in common? Well if you like the lottery, love music, and are flat broke, this is your lucky weekend! Between May 12th and May 16th ACL Fest will have ACL scratchers that provide lucky fans two free VIP passes to this year’s ACL Festival. 10,000 tickets will be distributed to local, ACL engaged unique businesses. The tickets will be distributed throughout the five day period. See www.aclfestival.com/lineuplottery for official rules and locations for each day. Friday May 13th the businesses are Austinbikes, Do512 Lounge, Storyville, Jo’s Coffee, and Waterloo Records. The web site will announce the businesses on each day through May 16th. Good luck!!

Friday, May 13

Austinbikes – 1213 W. 5th Street

Do512 Lounge – 2208 South Lamar #C

Storyville – 1115 South Congress Avenue

Jo’s – 242 West Second Street

Waterloo Records – 600 North Lamar

-Mike Harrell

 

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

ACL Fest 2011 Rumors

We’re only 6 days away now from the ACL Fest lineup announcement. Believe it or not, this is the 10th anniversary already! This year’s festival will be held on September 16-18 down at Zilker. Oy, that’s gonna be a hot one!

Since it’s always fun to guess the bands playing before they’re announced and to keep track of all the rumors, comment on this post on who you think or wish will be at this year’s ACL Fest. The only two I know of that have been confirmed so far are Cee-Lo Green and Iron and Wine. I keep hearing that the Red Hot Chili Peppers will be on the bill too, but it’s not confirmed. Here’s a few bands that I’d like to see:

Soundgarden

The Cars

Wilco

The Replacements ( I know it won’t happen, but damn that would be cool!)

Radiohead

Now it’s your turn!

Posted in TVD Austin | 11 Comments

End of an Ear New Arrivals

 

Head on down to End of an Ear for their latest new arrivals listed below. You can also pick up tickets for Chaos and Tejas there. I was pretty excited to see that Iraqi metal band, Acrassicauda will be doing a Q&A at the ‘Ear on Tuesday, May 24th at 6pm. If you’ve ever seen the documentary, Heavy Metal in Baghdad, this one is not to be missed!

Pop / Rock / Punk

Alps “Easy Action” LP (Mexican Summer) With a beautiful foldout pop-up sleeve. SFgroup blending folk music with electronics.
Ashley, Greg “One Thin Heroine” b/w “Misery Again” 7″ (Mexican Summer) Two new countrified crooners.
Beastie Boys “Hot Sauce Committee Part II” CD (Capitol) Marks Mike “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “Ad Rock” Horovitz and Adam “MCA” Yauch’s first full length effort since 2007.
Black Devil Disco Club “Circus” LP (Lo Recordings) Now in stock on vinyl.
Crystal Stilts / Comet Gain “split” 7″ (Slumberland)
Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi “Rome” CD (Capitol) Meeting of Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse and Italian composer/arranger Daniele Luppi. With vocal contributions from Jack White and Norah Jones.
Elephant “Ants” 7″ (Memphis Industries) Well-tipped London synthpop duo hitting a mark somewhere between Au Revoir Simone and Beach House.
Ford & Lopatin “Emergency Room” 12″ (Mexican Summer) This pair (comprised of Oneohtrix Point Never’s Daniel Lopatin and Tiger City’s Joel Ford) are no longer calling themselves Games. Instead, they now go by the very Italo disco-sounding moniker Ford & Lopatin.
Jesus And Mary Chain “Send Me Away: The Early Demos” LP Pre-‘Psychocandy’ demos from 1983.
Manikin “Minority Rules” 7″ (Super) Brand new single.
My Bloody Valentine “Lost Songs and Rare Cuts” LP Includes tracks from very limited fanclub 7″s, but is mostly completely unreleased studio outtakes and alternate versions.
Poly Styrene “Generation Indigo” CD (Future Noise Music UK) At the end of 2010, Poly Styrene, the unforgettable front woman and iconic face of the seminal UK punk band X-ray Spex announced her return to the music scene with this album produced by Youth. R.I.P.
Reverse X Rays “s/t” LP
Shapes Have Fangs “Dinner in the Dark” LP
Thee Oh Sees “Castlemania” CD/2LP (In The Red) New full-length album of original tracks plus a smattering of covers of songs by The Creation and the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. Vinyl is a three-sided double LP.
Xander Duell “Experimental Tape No 2, Vol. 1″ 12” (Mexican Summer) New album by NYC’s Xander Duell, who has fused decades’ worth of nuance into thirteen songs in the spirit of Scott Walker’s numbered albums and the prime cut of ’70s soft rock.
Xeno & Oaklander “Sentinelle” LP (Wierd) First time in stock on vinyl.

Read More »

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

Okkervil River Cancels Waterloo In-Store

Well, you really can’t blame them. They were offered the opportunity to play the Late Show With David Letterman. Hell, I’d do the same thing! Looking at the Late Show schedule, it looks like it’ll air this Friday.

But don’t worry Okkervil fans, Waterloo is working with the label and band to reschedule the in-store once they are back from their tour.

In the meantime, be sure to pick up their new album, I Am Very Far at Waterloo or your other favorite local indie record shop tomorrow.

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

Free Comic Book Day

We here at TVD Austin are still comic book nerds. There is nothing better than flipping through a comic while listening to a record on a lazy afternoon. So that being said, we wanted to do our part and bring to your attention that tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day at participating comic book stores across the country. What does this have to do with records? Well, not much but they sure are still cool. Just like vinyl.

Here’s a list of Austin stores participating in Free Comic Book Day:

TRIBE COMICS & GAMES

2919 MANCHACA RD
STE 102
AUSTIN, TX
(512) 693-4300

AUSTIN BOOKS & COMICS

5002 NORTH LAMAR
AUSTIN, TX
(512) 454-4197

JUNIORS COMICS

2110 SLAUGHTER LN
SUITE 147
AUSTIN, TX
(512) 282-1302

DRAGONS LAIR COMICS & FANTASY(R) AUSTIN

6111 BURNET RD
AUSTIN, TX

512-454-2399

CAPSTONE COMICS

2121 W PARMER LANE
SUITE #107
AUSTIN, TX
(512) 339-4251

ROGUES GALLERY COMICS & GAMES

1601 S IH – 35
SUITE 360
ROUND ROCK, TX
(512) 279-8888

-Mike Harrell

 

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

Album Review: Adam Faucett


Adam Faucett is Crooner meets Rocker meets Singer-Songwriter Extraordinare. His new album More Like A Temple is stuffed full of head-scratching creativity and raw talent, and displays a man unafraid to be original. Electric guitar and drums back the star instrument: Faucett’s incredible voice.

Ranging from other worldly vocal soul rides to lonesome pleadings and haunting laughter to hot summer day poetic head trips to pure modern romance, this full-bodied album runs the gauntlet. Track 3 “Morphine” is exactly what a perfect morphine dream is like: soulful, contemplative, and backed with an eerily smooth trance-inducing melody.

The fourth track “Man’s Not The Answer” really showcases Faucett’s vocal chops and unique style. He opens with an Arlo Guthrie timbre and story-telling tendency, cruises through to a well-placed and well-executed falsetto curve-ball, rests up on spoken word, and then hits it out of the park with his signature lung-fulled gorgeous power vocals. The perfectly controlled yet free-spirited vocal power, combined with a perceptive view and pinpointed yet graceful articulation, all on top of kick ass music make Adam Faucett pretty rad.

Check him out at The Ghost Room tonight, May 5th, and tomorrow night at Skinny’s Ballroom on Friday, May 6th. You’ll thank me.

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

Get Off the Couch and Into a Club!

Tired of watching the NBA/NHL playoffs? Then get out of the house and head to Stubbs on Friday May 9th to check out Danzig and the boys drop some metal on your ass.

Danzig brings Devildriver and 2Cents along for the ride. If you haven’t checked out Danzig’s latest Dethred Saboath, it’s worth a listen. This show gives the folks who missed his rain drenched set at FFF in 2009 an opportunity to catch some evil. Doors at 7:00.

Other shows to consider for the week ahead after the jump!

Read More »

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

Waterloo In-Store Mania!

This week is jam-packed and fun-filled at Waterloo Records. Head downtown (600A. North Lamar, 78703) and enjoy this gorgeous weather with a (free) beer and some rad music. Oh, and buy the dang albums and get them signed!

May 4, 2011 @ 5pm
Steve Earle: Book signing and performance for his new book and album, both titled I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive

May 5, 2011 @ 5pm
Man Man: performance for new album Life Fantastic

May 6, 2011 @ 5pm
Brett Dennen: performance for new album Lover Boy

May 9, 2011 @ 7pm
Okkervil River: performance for new album I Am Very Far.


Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

New Arrivals at End Of An Ear

Here’s a list of new arrivals currently at End of an Ear. Also not listed, but available today is the Fleet Foxes’ new lp, Helplessness Blues.

If you haven’t already be sure to drop by the End of an Ear website and sign up for their mailing list for all the latest on new arrivals, instores, and tickets for shows.

Now on to the list!

Pop / Rock / Punk

Airborne Toxic Event “All At Once” CD (Island) Their latest.
An Horse “Walls” CD (Mom and Pop Music) Australian indie-rock duo.
Black Mountain “Rollercoaster b/w in the Drones” 7″ (JagJaguwar)
Cooper, Matthew “Some Days are Better Than Others” CD (Temporary Residence)
Crystal Stilts “In Love With Oblivion” LP (Slumberland) Vinyl now in stock.
Cure “Peel Sessions 1978-1980” LP Self explanatory.
Cure “Peel Sessions 1981-1985” LP Ditto.
David Kilgour & The Heavy Eights “Left by Soft” CD (Merge) David Kilgour returns after the Clean’s 2009 outing “Mister Pop.” The Heavy Eights are Taane Tokona, Tony de Raad, and Thomas Bell.
Donkeys “Born with Stripes” CD (Dead Oceans) Their latest.
Earle, Steve “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive” CD (New West) First album of new songs in 4 years, produced by T Bone Burnett.
Explosions in the Sky “Take Care, Take Care, Take Care” CD/LP (Temporary Residence) Their latest and their 5th album. Deluxe package that folds out into a house. All of the Explosions catalog is on sale through May as well.
Fresh & Onlys “Secret Walls” CD/LP (Sacred Bones) A brand new ep.
Gilbert, Bruce “This Way with the Shivering Man” LP (Editions Mego) A special gatefold vinyl edition collecting Bruce Gilbert’s classic solo albums from 1984 and 1986 in a limited edition of 500.
Jordache, Pat “Future Songs” LP (Constellation)
Matt Duke “One Day Die” CD (Rykodisc)
McCartney, Paul “Balearic Rarities” 12″ Yep, that Paul McCartney… with synths. Probably not for the usual Beatles fans, but still really cool.
McCombs, Cass “Wit’s End” CD/LP (Domino) The result of two years recording in various homes and studios in California, New York, New Jersey and Chicago.
Motel Aviv “Post Modern Nation” CD
Nine 11 Thesaurus “Ground Zero Generals” CD (Social Registry) A collective of five MCs from East Brooklyn, and sees them collaborating with Tim Dewit (Gang Gang Dance), Matt Mehlan (Skeletons) and Sam Hillmer (Zs)
Norton, Doris “Nortoncomputerforpeace” LP Early (1983) computer based synth-triggered minimal wave, definitely on the more cerebral side.
Norton, Doris “Personal Computer” LP 1984 Apple computer sequenced compositions.
Of Montreal “Thecontrollersphere” LP (Polyvinyl) A five track freak-out record.
Picardy The Third “All’s Well That Ends Well” CD
Shannon and the Clams “Sleep Talk” LP (1234 Go!) Their brand new album xxcercising the economy and aggression of garage rock.
Sheff, Will “I am Very Far:The Lyrics” Book (JagJaguwar) Hardbound lyric book

Shinji Masuko “Woven Music” LP (Brah)

Thao & Mirah “s/t” CD (Kill Rock Stars) Both Thao & Mirah collaborate on a project..
Times New Viking “Dancer Equired” CD/LP (Merge) Recorded at Columbus Discount Recording Studio and their first release with Merge.
Xander Harris “Contamination” CS (Complicated Dance Steps) More amazing ’80s-ish electro from this local rising star, this is just made for those of us who still have a tape deck in the car.

Read More »

Posted in TVD Austin | 1 Comment

USA! USA!

Like most Americans today, I can’t help but feel patriotic more than I normally would. My father served in the Marine Corps for 23 years so I grew up a military brat traveling around the world wherever he got stationed next. I enjoyed it immensely.

Because of how I was raised, I have never wavered in my support for the men and women who serve in protecting our country and its people. They are quite simply, the real heroes.

So last night, after watching the news for hours that we finally got Bin Laden and because I’m a nerd, I started thinking of the best rock and roll tunes about the USA.

Here’s ten that came to mind.

Read More »

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

What’s Happenin’ (Hot Stuff) This Weekend

In the city of dreams, live music, and falcon-sized mosquitoes, check out some of these events going on in beautiful Austin, TX this weekend:

Friday April 29, 2011-
Austin Psych Fest @ The Seaholm Power Plant
Nocturnal Festival @ Apache Pass, Rockdale, TX
Citizen Cope @ Cactus Cafe
Brave Combo @ The Continental Club
Ruby Jane @ Iguana Grill

Saturday April 30, 2011-
Austin Psych Fest @ The Seaholm Power Plant
Nocturnal Festival @ Apache Pass, Rockdale, TX
Citizen Cope @ Cactus Cafe
Record Convention @ North Austin Event Center
Willie Nelson’s Birthday Bash @ The Backyard at Bee Cave
Groupo Fantasma @ Paramount Theatre
The Decemberists @ Stubb’s

Sunday May 1, 2011-
Austin Psych Fest @ The Seaholm Power Plant
Citizen Cope @ Cactus Cafe
Record Convention @ North Austin Event Center
Lauryn Hill @ Stubbs
Foot Patrol Cd Release @ Playland Skate Center
Jane Monheit @ One World Theatre
The Derailers @ The Highball

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

Austin Psych Fest 4

In a town full of festivals year round, this is easily one of the coolest.

Presented by Austin’s own The Black Angels, the Austin Psych Fest has gone from being a one day affair with 10 bands back in 2008 to now being a 3 day event featuring 58 bands from all over the world at the Seaholm Power Plant (214 West Ave) this weekend April 29th to May 1st.

A few standouts for this year’s fest include not only the hosts, but also Roky Erickson, Prefuse 73, This Will Destroy You, Spectrum, A Place To Bury Strangers, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and Black Moth Super Rainbow.

One day passes are $40 or you can get in for the whole weekend for $100. You can purchase tickets at the Austin Psych Fest site.

Schedule after the jump:

Read More »

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

Steve Earle In-Store At Waterloo

If you are a big Steve Earle fan like I am, they you will be happy to know that you get the chance to see him up close and personal (and get an autograph) when he does an in store at Waterloo Records next Wednesday (May 4) from 5:00-6:30.

His new album, I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (New West) was released yesterday to rave reviews. Also, May 12th will be the release date for Steve Earle’s first novel using the same title as his album. I’m assuming that Waterloo will have advanced copies for him to sign. So get there early, enjoy free beer, free music and a chance to meet Steve Earle!

He’ll also be heading back into town on July 7th for a show at the Paramount.

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment

The Submarines + TVD: The Love Notes/Letter Bombs Giveaway!

We’ve got an opportunity for you to win free tickets and the brand new “Love Notes/Letter Bombs” autographed on vinyl in every TVD city where the tour stops!

Last January during The Submarines’ week-long TVD Takeover, we were given a bit of a glimpse into Blake and John’s recording process via this intro from Blake’s first TVD dispatch:

“As I write, lines from our work-in-progress third album drift into the house through the open windows. John is messing around with some new software in the studio/garage, and something I sang the other day about lying and surprising each other is playing over and over.

We’ve been working on the album in bits and pieces through the Fall and now the Winter. I’m filling notebooks with lyrics, but haven’t yet fit most of them to particular songs. John’s been creating instrumental tracks, beats, anything he finds interesting and new for us, and we’ve sung melodies in “la’s” over them. It sounds really exciting. (I suppose saying it sounds ‘exciting,’ is sort of like a menu which describes a sauce as ‘delicious,’ with no other distinguishing characteristics…but, you know what I mean.)”

And it is exciting now that the record’s been realized, released, and sitting on your local store shelves. “Love Notes/Letter Bombs” is as disarmingly wonderful as The Subs themselves and we’re delighted to be hitting the highway with Blake and John and crew to hit that point home.

The Submarines | Fire

TVD will be trailing The Submarines all across the US and Canada over the coming months and where’s there a TVD city among their tour stops, you’ll have an opportunity to win a pair of tickets for that city’s show as well as an autographed copy of the new release.

Entering is easy: simply plead your case in the comments to the post that’s relative to your city as to why you should win the The Sub’s tickets and vinyl, and the most convincing and arm-twisty of the bunch will be awarded the prizes. Courtesy of The Submarines. And us.

TVD ATX – it’s your turn! The Submarines play The Parish on Monday, May 2nd. Get at us in the comments and we’ll choose a winner at 9AM on Monday for that night’s show! Now… go!

The Submarines Official Site | Facebook | Myspace | Twitter

Posted in TVD Austin | Leave a comment
  • SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL INDIE SHOPS SINCE 2007


  • Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text Alternative Text
  • Alternative Text