Arts and Entertainment: November 2009 Archives

The ever fantastic East Austin Studio Tour continues this weekend with open studios and more art programs and happenings. Here's a rundown of some of our suggestions for weekend art enjoyment. Don't miss your final opportunity to check out East Austin studios this weekend. If you're feeling overwhelmed with the 150+ participating locations, review our list of survival tips and studio picks and our interviews with EAST artists. Artists participating in EAST will have their studios open from 10am until 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Head over to the official East Austin Studio Tour site to see the full list of artists and to download a copy of the EAST map. We'll see ya on the East Side!

Photos courtesy Pooneh Ghana.

You might be thinking that Electric Tickle Machine - kind of a misnomer at first - is another in a seemingly long line of garage pop / psychedelic rock groups making danceable rock and roll and going the extra mile to make their live show kinetic and engaging but failing to transition that energy into their recordings. But, such is not the case. It’s clear on Blew it Again, released earlier this year, the group didn’t simply enter the studio and bang out tracks, then hop in the van and head to the next show. They gave a damn, and it translates in recordings which toe the line between the produced and lo-fi, allowing for a fair amount of grit and fuzz to enter and join the brightness and clarity among the chorus and keys. It makes for an album with a different look and feel from their live show while channeling some of that raw, live energy, which has been known to include the occasional naked audience member dancing and jiggling their parts uncovered up on stage.

For fifteen years, the members of the Women Printmakers of Austin have dedicated themselves to exploring artistic expression and expanding the audience of fine art printmaking. Deeply rooted in historical printing traditions, these artists are now able to blend classic techniques with modern technology to create contemporary works of art. The WPA recently acquired studio space in Pump Project's newly rennovated Satellite Studio and Flex Space. The new shared space grants 24 hour access to studio subscribers who can avail themselves of etching and intaglio supplies, a large press, and other tools of the trade. The Women Printmakers of Austin are participating in this weekend's East Austin Studio Tour and can be visited at 1109 Shady Lane, just up the road from the Pump Project complex. Artist and WPA Chair Angela Hayes answered some questions for us about the future of printmaking and what it's like to work with a team of talented women.

it’s hard to think of much besides this production after seeing it. So here’s a word: this production is good. That adjective may seem blasé, but it’s intended to be anything but. Breaking String’s Cherry Orchard is good in that ephemeral, indefinable way—good, and to find other words would render them dull in comparison to the experience.

What’s the Deal: Quirky, capricious and dreamy are all adjectives you could use to describe the music of New York’s Freelance Whales. The five piece experimental folk pop outfit has experience playing in locations ranging from decent sized venues as on their current US tour with Fanfarlo to busking on sidewalks and train stations in New York City. They’ve been very busy since their start in late 2008, and this past August saw the release of their debut album, Weathervanes. It’s comprised of vast, melodic arrangements using everything from harmonium and banjo to glockenspiel and waterphone built up around bright, glittering to eerie choruses.

Dan Green of 4ms Pedals builds effects boxes and synthesizers, in both finished and DIY kit incarnations, out of a second-story studio on Cesar Chavez in East Austin. I spoke with him there a couple days before the East Austin Studio Tour began. He'll be there this weekend as well.

Attention Rio Rita patrons: When was the last time you enjoyed your foamy cappuccino (or alternatively, your jalapeno-infused vodka) inside Rio Rita's impossibly adorable environs? In between Scrabble games or knitting or recounting NPR, did you take note of your counter server? There is a good chance you were serviced by Nick Henning, pop art-inflected painter and resident artist at the Pump Project Art Complex.

The universal appeal of this flick is not just in the music and musicians it showcases (Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Clapton, Dylan), but in the fact that it is a documentary of what was (and sorta still is) rumored to be the last performance of The Band.

Here's something special. Our much-cherished local singer-songwriter, Mr. Daniel Johnston, will be playing an intimate show at the St. David's Episcopal Church this evening at 6:00pm.

ElfGirl and JenRea (a.k.a. Team Fabrication) present Fabrication 7, an annual rendezvous of fashion, music, and everything in between, this Saturday at The Mohawk. Besides admiring plenty of exciting new designs, you can also participate in the beloved Karaoke Underground, and enjoy live music by the likes of 'Til We’re Blue Or Destroy, Ovenbirds, The Laughing, and The Happen-Ins.

Taking her cues from the "anything goes" rules of children's literature, illustrator Audrey Lopata carefully pens colorful worlds inhabited with scarf-wearing-lizards, zombie pirates, and mermaids. Her black and white comic panels express slightly more grown-up emotions but still convey the sense of whimsy that is so evident through out Lopata's work. Stop by the Pump Project Art Complex this weekend during East Austin Studio Tour to see Lopata's studio space and that of many other talented artists. Audrey sat down with us to talk about what inspires her and how she goes about creating alternative worlds where elves and fairies roam.

It's the type of thing indie film dreams are made of: four girls, all crafters, long to open their own craft studio. Girls pool their money for an Airstream trailer. Girls move in with crafts. Girls take "craft trailer" on the road, teaching children and adults alike the joys of coil baskets, stampmaking and bookbinding. (Shhh - did you hear that sound? That's the sound of Drew Barrymore purchasing film rights!) The WonderCraft is the real-life lovechild of Austin crafty ladies Beth Hempton, Albrecht, Jen Bryan and Kim Sae-Eua, whose mobile craft trailer "Stella" makes her debut this year at East Austin Studio Tour. Stella will be parked at 628 Allen St. as guests of Courtney Gray/Creative Side Jewelry Academy (stop 45 on the E.A.S.T. map).

Listening to Sunset’s Gold Dissolves To Gray, the fourth full-length album from Austin’s Bill Baird, invites to mind that brilliant line from Noah Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming: “I’m nostalgic for conversations I had yesterday.” The best thing this effort has to offer is its terrifically timely and magnetic aesthetic of nostalgia for the new. At its high points, Baird seamlessly cobbles together a fresh sound that is both reminiscent (of 60s glam and 70s psychedelia) and of-the-moment, nodding to albums like Department of Eagles’ In Ear Park, dating all the way back to last year. (But yes, we were missing it already.)

Jaime Jo Fisher can be considered a small-scale contemporary metal sculptor. Although she works with traditional silversmithing techniques to mostly create jewelry, her end product often resembles a fine piece of wearable contemporary art. The jeweler extraordinaire fittingly thinks of her pieces as wearable collages - much of Fisher's work includes found objects and re-purposed materials. Along with traditional stones, vintage beads, and polymer clay, Fisher has been known to incorporate broken bits of a reflector, pieces of shells found on the beach, and even dryer lint into her ornate and modern jewelry. Jaime Jo Fisher is participating in this weekend's East Austin Studio Tour, stop by her space at 5609 Steven Creek Way to see her collection of found materials and how she turns them into wearable art.

Proving once again that Austin is a town crawling with talent, creativity, and a most twisted sense of humor, DA! Theatre Collective’s Leave it to Beverly is a totally superb way to while away an evening. Presented as three TV episodes delivered over two acts, the show, written and directed by Kirk German, offers a send up of any number of classic old TV shows, with plenty extra pop culture references to boot. Leave it to Bev is the polar opposite of subtle, entirely intentional as German’s goal appears to be to push even further over the top the material that inspired him which, of course, was already over the top to begin with. Sitcoms are to real life what a Smiley Face is to the Mona Lisa—no room for nuance. Except…

Friendly Fires are one of the most fun dance-rock bands we've heard in recent years, despite there being a myriad of purveyors of that genre. The band throw copious percussion, pretty synths, and choruses full of harmony into a sound equal parts Cut Copy and Franz Ferdinand, which implies that they're on the more interesting side of the indie dance-pop fence. In recent months, the group have been nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, toured with Interpol, and (perhaps most importantly) have had their single "Jump In The Pool" chosen as the theme for BBC's football highlight show! After a trip to SXSW 2009 was canceled due to the chance to play some big European dates, Friendly Fires finally arrive on Red River tonight, and we suspect there will be a lot of dancing.

Austin may be known for it's liberal attitudes, causal fashion, and nearly constant sunshine - as a result, outside of the occasional beat-up cowboy hat or burnt orange baseball cap, we're not big hat wearers. Despite this, Austin is home to a few talented milliners, among them Jean Cannon of Zenda Hats whose studio will be open this weekend for East Austin Studio Tour. Cannon's work is high-fashion enough to adorn the head's of church ladies and Austin enough to accessorize us at our version of church - Sunday morning breakfast tacos. Among the work on display during the tour is a fabulous silken bonnet that Cannon created for a theater costume, a stunning black women's top hat, and a handsome men's fedora. Stop by her studio (at 3709 Werner Ave) this weekend during EAST to try on many hats and see the tools of the trade. Come pretty and prepared - photographers Kristin Ware and Debbie Smith will be at the site with their Polaroid photo-booth to capture everyone's fashionable finery.

Little introduction is needed for that maven of cult followership, that original espouser of the effed narrative, that yelper of the adventures of the disturbed you know all too well, The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle. Fashioning tales ranging from the intensely Biblical to the intensely meth-addled, Darnielle has been passionately plying his trade since he burst onto the underground scene with a scad of early-aughts cassette recordings that made his unique voice and narrative gift a must-know for any aspiring music tastemaker. Getting the Antone's crowd ready for Darnielle is an act just as worthy of attention, Canada's everywhere-you-look go-to man on the strings, Owen Pallett, whose one man tour de force, Final Fantasy, is sure to please.

Headlights is not a band out to blow your mind; they probably just want you to make out to their music. Their sound recalls breathy, late-night phone conversations between teenagers. And hey, it’s always past your parents’ phone cut-off time somewhere. As long as prom-night indiepop culture and its Michael Cera-laced accoutrements persist in this endless loop of recreating and reconstructing age 17 (what, if we revisit it enough, we’ll finally get it right?) we may as well sit back and bask in its flushed cheeks and hearts all a flutter. And there’s absolutely nothing not to like about Headlights, including their new album, Wildlife.

Kansas City’s The Get Up Kids formed in 1995 and fast became an integral part of the emo movement that captured many a heart in the latter half of the decade. Chock-full of enduring melodies and introspective lyricism, the band’s seminal recordings (full-lengths Four Minute Mile and Something To Write Home About, and the Woodson and Red Letter Day EPs) positioned them at the forefront of a genre that has inspired much of today’s rampant pop-punk scene. Sure, “emo” was originally utilized to refer to hardcore bands in both the ‘80s and the early ‘90s but after the music world got a taste of Weezer’s Pinkerton as well as artists such as The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World, The Promise Ring, and Texas’ own Mineral, the use of the term shifted to signify a slightly softer side of punk -- a mainstream-ready, pop-friendly sound marked by poignant tales of personal plight. You could probably blame thank attribute much of the Warped Tour’s 21st century roster to the lingering effects of The Get Up Kids’ heyday and the influence of those aforementioned albums.

If a book, a record, and a wall painting were to have a ménage à trois together, it is Monofonus Press who would provide the bedroom. In real life, these are called threesomes; in the art world, these are called "collaborations." Just over a year old, Monofonus Press has been facilitating innovative cross-media works with stunning proliferation, reaching out to artists as diverse as Noel Waggener, icon-heavy poster designer; grrl rockers Follow That Bird!; and Michener Center-minted Brian Hart. Recently voted “Best Multiple Media Idea” by the Austin Chronicle,Monofonus Studios, located at 610 Vermont Road, encourages art voyeurs of all stripes to stop by during that East Austin Studio Tour. We spoke with co-founder Morgan Coy, who, suspiciously enough, created Monofonus with two other partners.

If you plan on attending a 70-minute symphony about an unpopulated continent, you're probably going to want some kind of explanation first. That and maybe a drink. We can help you out with the first one.

On the seventh floor of the mammoth white Alkek Library at Texas State University in San Marcos are the Wittliff Collections, which includes the Southwestern Writers Collection. Somewhere nested in what is described as "an attractive suite of research, gallery, and office space" are the personal artifacts of Grover Lewis, as donated by his widow, Rae Lewis.

Austin Bat Cave, a non-profit writing and tutoring center for kids, recently hosted a Writing About Music workshop led by Austinist music writers. Students wrote reviews of several songs and performed interviews, with some students posing as musicians. We're so proud of the budding rock journalists that we decided to share some of the work from these little geniuses. Enjoy!

It takes some serious effort (and pocket change) to sift through all the handmade CD-Rs, cassettes and seven-inches that fill up the annals of scum-rock and "New Weird American" music. Certainly a fair amount of these groups veer towards noise and semi-ambient clatter and drift, but the line from No Neck Blues Band and Talibam! to an outfit like Blues Control ends up quite squiggly.

Photos courtesy of Chad Wadsworth.

Photos courtesy Steve Hopson. Monsters of Folk consists of Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes and M. Ward.

Like the South by Southwest of visual art, East Austin Studio Tour can be daunting to navigate. For the first time the tour has expanded this year to include two weekends of open studios with events and programs taking place mid-week. This weekend and next, 154 artist studios will throw open their doors to the public from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday to show off their workspace, projects, and process. The sheer number of participating artists means that there is truly something for everyone - from seasoned art aficionados to fledgling appreciators. With four days of maximum studio viewing potential, Austinist has put together a list of tips for enjoying the event and a (by no means comprehensive) list of some of our favorite studios from years past.

One can only imagine the reactions that someone like Bob Ragan gets when he tells people what he does for a living. Stone carver? Really? ...Wow! This reaction would be accompanied by a perplexed look as people realize what that entails. Followed by the natural conclusion that it's pretty damn cool. But, part of the puzzlement for those few seconds has to be figuring out what it actually does entail? Well, for anyone who ever wanted a peek into how stone is carved, now is your chance. Ragan, along with fellow professional stone carvers Matthew Johnson and Stuart Simpson — also known as Flying Fingers Stone Co-op — will bring the wow factor to East Austin Studio Tour with on-site carving demonstrations this weekend and next.

Akron/Family will be back in town Wed, Feb 24 at the Parish with Warpaint.

Pornographically peppy Canadian indie fronstman Joel Gibb has describes his Hidden Cameras sound as "gay church folk music." (This is a congregation we would definitely join.) He has also called for a ban on marriage, and suggested "let's do it like we're underage.” While he cheerfully scampers through lyrics we don’t need his degree in semiotics to interpret (and blush at), audiences at Hidden Cameras shows have in the past been treated to not-so-hidden go-go dancers, cheerleaders, video, glockenspiels, very irreverent choirs, and other things perhaps best described as etc. Just think of an agitprop Polyphonic Spree cabaret show peppered with Foucault references. You may also be asked onstage to play tambourine.

Every now and again an everyday object will catch our eye with its clean lines, its bright alluring colors, and simple sophistication. Such is the case with every cup Melanie Schopper designs and makes. Using a clay process known as slip casting and her uncanny eye for color combinations, Schopper is able to bring new life to a traditional form. A member of Handmade Austin Women, Schopper will be showing her work at Ginko Studios (800 Gullett St.) during this year's East Austin Studio Tour.

If only most romantic films were as honest as an Ola Podrida track. More contained, if not as muscular, as 2007’s self-titled album, Belly of the Lion plays nimbly with the tension between his expansive sound and his inward lyrics. Its opening track, “The Closest We Will Ever Be,” initiates a theme inverting the typical freedom-of-the-open-road ballad. Against tableaus of sprawling Americana play out not visions of freedom, but tender appreciation for interpersonal tethers. Mournfully, but without resignation, Wingo sings, "There's always some shadows within the prettiest of scenes/ I'll cast one on you, and you'll cast one on me…That’s alright if this is the closest we will ever be.”

Almost completely unadaptable for the silver screen, David Foster Wallace's work has been something that most screenwriters wouldn't dare touch, what with the monolithic footnotes and the complicated structure of his prose. This precedent, however, was not enough to deter a young John Krasinski (who you may know as Jim from The Office or from this spring's Away We Go), who began adapting the 336 page collection of unbridaled male-mind ruminations when he was in his early 20s. Over seven years later, Krasinski's passion project Brief Interviews with Hideous Men will be hitting the theaters this weekend, with several already-sold-out live appearances by Krasinski tonight and tomorrow at Austin's own Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. SInce not everyone will be able to attend those particular screenings (but there are still plenty screenings of the film without the writer/director/actor for you to check out), we decided to chat with Krasinski about his motivations behind this project, the value of truth and honesty, and what it feels like to step inside the mind of one of America's finest literary treasures.

The memories of Fun Fun Fun Fest remain vivid and fresh, and after that amazing yet exhausting weekend, surely we could be excused for a taking a deserved break to recharge our bodies. No such luck in our beloved city which refuses to rest on its laurels. Yes, just a week after that immense gathering of music, comedy, and arts, Massive Beacon, Reversal Films, and The Dark Agency present the second annual ATX Converge at The Mohawk.

Ah, screen printing - a vexing mistress are you. So difficult, but so handy. Over 100 years old, traditional screen printing requires large and unwieldy accouterments - imagine an exploded Xerox machine with parts sticking out everywhere - but a whole century later, its untidy appearance belies its staying power and demand. The boys behind Bearded Lady, a local screen printing outfit here in Austin, should know. Josh Chalmers and JD Fanning started their studio in 2000, developed a large enough client base to go full-time in 2002, and today, work with everyone from local bands to Robert Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios. We asked Chalmers to chat with Austinist about Bearded Lady, which is gearing up for participation in the East Austin Studio Tour. Visitors can drop by at 3504 East 4th Street - # 47 on the EAST map - and in addition to gawking at comely band posters and design projects, you can also visit with Bearded Lady's security personnel (i.e. very small, very adorable dogs).

While the East Austin Studio Tour offers the opportunity to discover new artists opening their studios to the public for the first time, it is also a great time to visit and catch up with established artists that have been a part of the Austin art scene for many years. Such is the case with Daniel Burns, an artist known for his soulful depictions of Austin landmarks and a past participant of EAST. Burns has just returned from a two-year stint in New York where he lived while his wife, Cari, completed her graduate degree. Happy to be back in Austin, Burns brings with him a new series of paintings created on the streets of NYC that pulsate with the same jubilant energy inherent in the city itself. Straight from the book of the early French Impressionists, these En plein air works capture a snapshot of modern life in the moment. His quick, fluid brushstrokes and vibrant colors perfectly evoke the bustle of a busy afternoon in downtown Manhattan. In addition to Burns' new paintings, this year's tour participants will also get to see prints from his Austin Landmarks collection.

It's possible that you could call writer/director Brant Sersen a cultural anthropologist. With a knack for exploring various subcultures, albeit in a ficticious way, he has created two feature length films now that ingratiate themselves into not often profiled communities. The first, Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, which won the Narrative Feature Audience Award at SXSW 2004, chronicled the rise and fall of a paintballing icon. Sersen's second, Splinterheads, is opening this weekend in Austin at the Regal Arbor Cinema, and brings us the story of a manchild townie who's life is suddenly swept up in the absurd world of a traveling carnival as he is enchanted by one of its minions: a beautiful, geocache enthusiast con artist. We had the pleasure of exchanging an email dialogue with Sersen this week, wherein we talked about discovering things you may not have had the opportunity to ever see, the inspiration behind his storytelling and the publicity benefits of being linked with the Montauk Monster. Sersen's second, Splinterheads, is opening this weekend in Austin, and brings us the story of a manchild townie who's life is suddenly swept up in the absurd world of a traveling carnival as he is enchanted by one of its minions: a beautiful, geocache enthusiast con artist. We had the pleasure of exchanging an email dialogue with Sersen this week, wherein we talked about discovering things you may not have had the opportunity to ever see, the inspiration behind his storytelling and the publicity benefits of being linked with the Montauk Monster.

Outside of the Archie or superhero world, comic art lurks in some fairly dark places. Three of the most prominent members of the alternative comics movement will be at the Bass Concert Hall on Friday to discuss their art, work, and the culture they've helped to create. Robert Crumb, founder of the underground comix movement, will join Art Spiegelman in a discussion moderated by fellow artist and Spiegelman's wife, Françoise Mouly.

Bonnie Rue is the type of gal you wanted to be BFF's with at summer camp. The one who snuck copies of Sassy into chapel, the one with a forearm covered in lanyards and friendship bracelets, the one making zines out of photos and Xeroxed leaves. In short, Bonnie is the type of gal who would one day grow up and create Model Citizen, a line of T-shirts, dresses, hoodies, yoga wear, jewelry and accessories emblazoned with funky, punky iconography. Think screaming tigers, pink guns, gooey cupcakes, vintage sewing machines - basically, where the lethal and the domestic intersect. Bonnie's opening her home and studio, located at 1304 East Cesar Chavez Suite A (#17 on the EAST map), for the East Austin Studio Tour. Visitors will be able to scope out her wares and even do some early holiday shopping.

Interactivity comes at a price, and in Lonestar, Texas: A Popcorn Throwing Rock Country Musical, that price is pretty steep: In the pursuit of engaging the audience by having the three Sexy Cowgirls flirt with them, the Narrator speak directly to them, and the villain be so vile as to encourage popcorn-throwing, Lonestar spends almost no time actually telling its story.

The number nerds at Miller-McCune recently took a stab at crunching all the aggregated film data on Metacritic.com. The result is a series of charts illustrating how movie stars tend to rate with the critics, and, in turn, which of the nation's top 25 most prolific reviewers tend to be more or less favorable when it comes to doling out scores.

Luckily Karr has succeeded in making Lit just as readable for a secular audience as her previous volumes. In an interview with Terry Gross, Karr herself compares her earliest drafts as a recent convert to the rhetoric of late-night televangelists—an interesting comparison considering how readily she admits to doing it all for the money. But through great care and diligent editing, the final product is thankfully more Anne Lamott than Joel Osteen.

Yes, someone dumped a friend's ashes on the stage after Danzig performed.

Like so many young creatives, Abi Daniel is living out one form of the Austin dream - you move to Austin "temporarily" because you heard it was hip and you love the sunshine then get sucked in by the city's charm and pretty soon, you find yourself with a home, a life, and even a job you can't really complain about. An illustrator who works across many mediums, Daniel was able to land a position as an artist for one of Austin's many game companies. When she's not drawing space machines for a paycheck, Daniel creates refined portraits, often of animals, using watercolor and pyrography. For this year's East Austin Studio Tour, Daniel will be setting up a temporary workspace and gallery show inside screen printing studio extraordinaire, Bearded Lady (located at 3504 E. 4th St.). Abi Daniel talked to us recently about her own messy studio, her "really good nightmares", and what it's like to be a creative in the game industry.

It’s a fantastic thing to see the band at what might be their second peak - each onstage member of Mission of Burma seemed utterly devoted to the performance, and we can only assume the same for tape manipulator Bob Weston, apparently hidden away in the sound booth.

Although no single location can embody the whole spirit of East Austin Studio Tour, Fisterra Studio comes pretty darn close. The 102-year old home and studio has been a stop on EAST since the first tour in 2003 and devoted art aficionados have flocked to the house year after year to see what homeowner and artist Jennifer Chenoweth has done with the place. The fully remolded home has the feel of a well curated gallery - from the sculpture in the garden to large canvases in the halls and a kid's bedroom that is to die for. Out back, among pets and plants, is Chenoweth's studio where she carefully creates colorful abstract paintings and sculptures. Fisterra Studio, located at 1200 E. 2nd St., will once again open its doors to East Austin Studio Tour participants this weekend and next from 10am to 5pm each Saturday and Sunday.

Sound is in love with Regina Spektor. There’s nothing it won’t let her do. She’s made her mouth into a synthesizer, morphed her lips into a kazoo-trumpet hybrid, made heartbeats and drumsticks their own instruments, rocked hard with an unamped electric guitar, and put a piano bridge in the middle of a punk song. At first, you might not recognize that adventurous spirit on Spektor’s most recent album, Far. Listen again.

This year's Fun Fest was a huge success. We were just as happy to spend Sunday in the mud as we were to indulge in Saturday's spring-like sunshine. Between 90 bands, four stages and thousands of music lovers, Fun Fest proved itself to be one of the most important Austin events of the year. Each year's festival has enjoyed sizable growth without losing the intimate feel its become known for; and the good-natured volunteers, bartenders, security folks and box office staff all make that possible -- even remarkable. Oh yeah - there were nearly 100 bands, comedians and DJs to watch this year, and they all seemed to feed off the audience's palpable devotion, offering 100% one each stage all weekend long, regardless of weather. We can't wait for next year, when we'll undoubtedly see Transmission Entertainment and everyone involved in the fest proving themselves worthy of one more ladder step. Thanks to all of you who worked with us in the media lounge and box office over the weekend - we look forward to seeing you again next year!

On Wednesday, the Austin chapter of the American Institute of Architects will be hosting the screening of a film that celebrates a motley crew of unconventional, untrained architects and builders. Filmmaker Zachary Godshall's documentary, God's Architects, chronicles five builders who have created (and in many cases, are still building) impressive structures all in the name of their Creator. Their monuments include two hand-built castles, an old school bus converted into an ornate chapel, a sculpture garden, and a sprawling adobe mountain built out of the desert. Each builder has his own story and motivation for creating his version of God's temple - some of the rational is hard to fully understand, but each creation is magical and truly impressive. Even us non-believers would consider ourselves lucky to be so inspired and dedicated to a project.

If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump.

Charged with the bittersweet task of christening the orange stage at Fun Fun Fun Fest, The Laughing - whom many still remember as a band with a fetish/fondness for plush toys and neon - did their best to disabuse audiences of that recollection, playing up beat-based compositions lacking in either face paint or saxophone. The band is sharper this metamorphosis around, with a heavy emphasis on drums.

Thanks to everyone who came out Friday night for Local Music Is Sexy. We had a wonderful time. All the bands were amazing, and we can't wait to see you again next time. Austin Kleon was on hand drawing the party from his viewpoint on the balcony, view the rest of his images here.

In addition to great weather, Thanksgiving, and Fun Fun Fun Fest, November in Austin has also come to mean that it’s time for the East Austin Studio Tour. A groundswell of East Austin’s creative culture, this annual event has typically been held over one weekend, right before Turkey Day. But, this year EAST will take place over a span of nine days (November 14th through November 22nd) and include two weekends!

Despite its confoundingly inquisitive band name and general unclassifiability, the Bay Area/Cincinnati hip hop/indie act Why? has built quite the niche for themselves, satisfying those with a love for rhyme and meticulous, tightly-wound musicianship. Toss in a lyric sheet of ear-catching revelations regarding the human psyche's underbelly so disarmingly honest they'd make even your most offensive friends blush, and what you have is a cocktail for one of today's most intriguing and singular outfits. Still riding high off the breakthrough that was last year's Alopecia, Why? is now supporting its latest release, the well-received Eskimo Snow. Out of respect for this, and for the band's performance at Fun Fun Fun Fest this afternoon, we hooked up for a phone call with Why? frontman and wordsmith Yoni Wolf to talk about persona, mowing lawns, and the Bible's breeziest book.

The delightful band of misfits known as the Minor Mishap Marching Band, who "sound like riding a bicycle and playing a trombone the morning after the Russian circus has blown through town," kicked off our annual Fun Fest pre-party, Local Music is Sexy 8. [apologies for the grainy footage]

Clint Conley works hard as a television producer in Boston, and plays hard at the bass in Mission of Burma. I spoke with him on Monday toward the end of his workday. Can you believe that he doesn't own his bass amp, and that his bandmate Roger Miller doesn't own any guitars?

There's a dunking booth at Fun Fun Fun Fest to promote the film Splinterheads—tickets raised go towards a local children's charity. One person on Saturday, as shown above, couldn't quite hit the target—so she opted for a more direct approach.

I talked with Fun Fun Fun Fest organizer Graham Williams on Friday afternoon at his homey office on Neches Street. We discussed the effect of outdoor stages on comedians, festival dos and don'ts, and the mechanical bulls of Tijuana, although I edited that part out.

There are many great art events taking place around town this weekend. Here is a rundown of the highlights: Yard Dog Art will be hosting an opening reception for their latest exhibit from 7-9pm on Friday. Over and Under is a group show curated by Jenny Hart from Sublime Stitching. Austin's embroidery queen first exhibited her work at Yard Dog and has now selected work from a list of stitching all-stars. Over and Under showcases the wide range of styles and techniques that stem from the simple stitch - from Emily Eibel's quilt squares that depict modern folk scenes to the delicate hoop-framed work of Veronica Fuentes. The truly inspired can pick up a Sublime Stitching kit and do the over and under all night long.

Alex Ebert was the singer of the LA-based outfit Ima Robot with a major label deal and all the stress that goes with it. So, after some very attitude-changing realizations about himself and his state of mind, he started a new band with new sound and a new outlook on life. Enter Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros with their spirited folk tunes touching down in Ennio Morricone and psychedelic territory from time to time and staying catchy enough to sing along to and dance with the band. We spoke with Ebert before their show in Austin at The Independent to hear about the secret ingredient to a happy band.

Lacking lyrics, Red Sparowes nonetheless have plenty to say. This instrumental rock band is erudite, expansive, and poised to release on their next album the culmination of their career evolution. On the eve of Fun Fun Fun Fest, our conversation with Dave Clifford (drums) and Greg Burns (bass/pedal steel) touched upon just about everything from Mao and the Sophists to the trouble with labels beginning with post-.

Street Dogs hail from Boston's Dorchester neigorborhood, and are damn proud of it. The band features original Dropkick Murphys vocalist Mike McColgan (who left the Murphys for several years work as a fireman before returning to music) and features a mixture of punk and folk stylings in their songs, many of which have a definite political bent. While the 2006 album Fading American Dream addressed the Bush administration's failings and working-class problems with hearts firmly on sleeve, the band's latest, 2008's State Of Grace, feels more positive in its tonality. With heroes like Billy Bragg and Joe Strummer, it would be difficult for anyone not to enjoy spending 45 minutes with Street Dogs this weekend - because they really mean what they're doing, and you'll know it.

Last Sunday during the Texas Book Festival, I sat down for lunch with Jonathan Foer, author of Eating Animals. I wanted to talk about his new book and at the same time introduce him to one of Austin’s treasures: the vegetarian food at Casa de Luz. As we walked into the less-than-full restaurant, he said, "Nice. Wow, if this were Brooklyn, the place would be packed. What's going on?" "New York City prices," I replied. Your book will be released next week. Have you had any reaction so far?

So you missed last night's Bleet Up, the first event leading up to what will surely prove to be the best Fun Fun Fun Fest of all time. Well fear not, music-loving citizen: you have an excellent opportunity to redeem yourself tonight by attending, and definitely not, in any way, shape, or fashion missing, the greatest installment of Local Music is Sexy yet. Even better than the Bleet Up ('cause it's free!), Austinist will take over both stages of the Mohawk and the outside stage Club Deville tonight to present sets by some of our city’s finest practitioners of the rock and roll—not to mention disorderly marching music—to help you celebrate the imminence of the only fest that offers you fun in triplicate.

The music starts at 8pm following the early-ish After the Jump blogger panel (featuring Austinist's own music editor Paige Maguire), and runs until midnight. We’re keeping mum, but there may or may not be a few surprises in store for those who stick around the Mohawk’s inside stage after the clock strikes 12. Let’s run this down one more time: free, sexy, local, music. Those are the makings of a definite must-attend event in our book. Follow the jump for a complete list of bands and set times, and we'll see you tonight!

It might not be a total surprise that one of the underground debut records of the year is a volatile stew of insistent, young and charged vocals, driving guitar and churning, turn-on-a-dime rhythms. It's the stuff that garage, punk and hard-rock legends are made of. But it might be unprecedented that it's a recently-uncovered and nearly 35-year-old recording made by a band that disappeared from the radar screen almost as soon as it popped up.

The fourth edition of Fun Fun Fun Fest officially kicks off at noon tomorrow and naturally, one can be forgiven for looking ahead to day one already. The likes of The Jesus Lizard, Les Savy Fav, Chelsea Peretti, The Sword, Pharcyde, Neon Indian, and Shearwater are all on Saturday’s schedule but let’s hold our horses for we still need to indulge in a full night of revelry before we set up camp at Waterloo Park for the weekend. This evening, Austinist proudly presents the After The Jump blogger’s panel at 5:30 at The Mohawk, followed by the latest installment of our Local Music Is Sexy series, spread across the 'hawk and Club de Ville this year.

Marc Savlov interviews Danzig. "I do a record when I have something to say, and I want it to be better or bigger or stronger each time. Because otherwise, why do it? There's no money in music anymore, so I'm not doing it for the money."

Okay, now on to the fun! Co-sponsored by Austin Eavesdropper and Ultra 8201, the Bleet-Up this year is a conglomeration of partners including press outlets (ahem), PR Teams, restaurants and more.

As is the nature of myth, the classical Greek plays are more or less timeless—they've endured for millennia, after all, because their themes continue to resonate—and none are more relevant to any given situation than this one. As Troy has fallen, the men are dead and the women await being divvied up among the conquerers. Hecuba, queen of Troy, leads her daughters in preparation for their new life as slaves. This is the core of The Trojan Women in every adaptation, and it's not hard to note its relevance to every war men have fought. But when a work is as timeless as this one, the need to update it for a new generation is called into question: Do we need to hear Hecuba call the conquering Menelaus a son of a bitch to understand that she's really, really mad?

What’s the Deal: Fun Fun Fun Fest has built a reputation of bringing in “What the… I never thought I’d ever have a chance to see that band” bands over the past few years with groups like Dead Milkmen, Bad Brains, Danzig and The Jesus Lizard. In most cities, The Jesus Lizard reunion shows probably wouldn’t be a main event to the masses. But, here in Austin, where an almost unnatural lust for the music we loved from a bygone era (even though the 90s aren’t that long gone) mixes with the fact that the group formed here about 20 years ago before relocating to Chicago, their performance is at the top of many Fun Fest goers’ must-see lists. Also, it doesn’t hurt that the group has a reputation for putting on exciting and ferocious live shows.

Brazos’ debut LPs has been in the works for a while now. It’s been two years since principal member Martin Crane released the first EPs to fly the Brazos banner, A City Just as Tall and Feeding Frenzy, which he wrote and recorded entirely on his own. The fact that those EPs were essentially bedroom recording projects, coupled with the two year absence of any new material during which Crane assembled a (mostly) steady lineup for the band, may account for why Phosphorescent Blues is such a compelling departure from the original Brazos recordings. The album is beautifully recorded, and filled, for lack of a better phrase, with a kind of joyful nostalgia—both for the past and the future, if that’s even possible.

Orange stagers take note: Fun Fun Fun Fest derives much of its credentials from what could only be named the Black Stage, an uncanny gathering of punk and metal legends you won’t see in any one place anywhere else. Even Especially if your neti pot is the most hardcore element of your daily routine, take our advice and spend a few hours at the Black Stage this weekend; the carnage you’ll witness features the blue blood of many a noble music lineage. One such act is D.R.I (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles), one of the very first bands to fuse punk with thrash metal way back in the mid-80s. Their 1987 album Crossover, virtually gave birth to this eponymous movement. Among D.R.I.’s earliest tour experience is “Rock Against Reagan” with the Dead Kennedys.

Glasstire is reporting that Art Palace, Arturo Palacio's aptly named East Side gallery, will move to Houston in January. The move will indeed be a significant loss for Austin's contemporary gallery scene - it seems as though we are still recovering from Gallery Lombardi's closure - but acquiring space in gallery row on Houston's Main Street will allow Art Palace to expand and grow. Palacios has signed a lease on a space that used to house Finesilver Gallery in the Spanish revival style Isabella Court building. Meanwhile, Art Palace's Austin gallery recently opened a group show, One on One on One featuring work by Matthew Rodrigez, Sonya Berg, and collaborative works by Michael Sieben and Nathan Green among others. One on One... closes on December 5th.

An update to our earlier post about Fun Fest early pick-up at Club Deville: if you're buying tickets there, you'll be set at will call on Saturday, no physical tickets will be mailed

They were just here, but Royal Bangs, out of Knoxville, obviously can't get enough of Austin.

With or without the outburst-inclined pop-culture phenom, the Austonian is playing host to the second annual Runway to Heaven Charity Fashion Show this Saturday night. Versace, Linda Asaf, Poleci and emerging designer Alexandra King will be showing off fancy designs on the runway, while local restaurants, distillers and brewers will be providing delectable catering. Proceeds benefit the Austin Children's Shelter and Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas.

To reduce your time spent waiting in lines this weekend, the good folks at Fun Fun Fun Fest are giving you plenty of opportunities to pick up your tickets early.

Update! If you've been planning your Fun Fun Fun Fest according to the map on their site, we've got a couple notes for you. The main difference is those little green boxes, which designate exclusive areas accessible by those who have purchased PIP passes. The poster show has also moved from the north side of the park to the middle, near the orange stage.

An Austin band by way of Brooklyn, Neon Indian is the elusive new project of Alan Palamo (also behind the one-man electro project Vega). The name Neon Indian itself gives due justice to the type of music Palamo produces—mystical synth noise, kooky hooks, and sensual vocals. The project started as a bunch of lo-fi recordings before the No Way Down EP was made in 2008. Full of reverb and distortion, song titles like "Should Have Taken Acid With You," add to the mystique of the project.

The local boys in Harlem have been helping Austinites relearn how to dance to rock and roll with their catchy garage pop since their arrival on the scene not too long before their first record, Free Drugs, dropped last year. So, it wasn’t a big surprise when Matador Records made things official with the band in a marriage that means a multi-record, worldwide deal. We grabbed Harlem bassist, Jose Boyer, before their Fun Fun Fun Fest performance this weekend to get a quick word on their next album, playing house parties, girls and drugs.

Over the last decade, the music industry has undergone numerous changes, and today, musicians, booking agents, labels, and journalists all have to adapt constantly to implement new tactics to make their mark in this oft-shifting landscape. We’re gearing up for our After The Jump panel on Friday at The Mohawk where many of today’s top bloggers will discuss new media and offer their expertise. But before the Fun Fest juggernaut truly gets rolling, Austin Music Foundation presents an opportunity to learn many tricks of the trade from a true visionary in the music realm. Join Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd., Pigface) at Red 7 this Wednesday as he imparts advice from his recent publication Tour:Smart And Break The Band.

Starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening, Maura Johnston (Idolator), Justin Gage (Aquarium Drunkard), Peter Gaston (SPIN), David Prince (Billboard, Daily Swarm), Joe Gross (Austin American-Statesman) and Paige Maguire (Austinist, WOXY) will be discussing the ever-thinning line between new media and the mainstream. There will be a question period and cocktails after the panel.

Local heroes and In The Red-signees The Strange Boys will bring their 60s pastiche and summer fun party vibe to Fun Fun Fun Fest’s yellow stage on Sunday afternoon. While The Strange Boys do seem to fit into the lately omnipresent, and as some may argue, moribund lo-fi garage pop genre, they also manage to transcend many of their contemporaries.

So you’ve put away the Halloween costumes for another year and adjusted your clocks. The beautiful weather outside makes those hours spent in your cubicle tick away oh so slowly. And the promise of turkey ‘n’ fixins is still a few weeks away. It all adds up to thing -- Fun Fun Fun Fest is here! Two days of amazing music, comedy, and entertainment at Waterloo Park beckon and we’re going to alleviate your case of the Mondays by offering up two weekend passes to the fourth edition of the festival. Enter your information in the form below for a chance to win.

Few bands do a better job tossing catchy melodies and choruses into such a mucky stew of noise and deliberately crappy recording techniques than Columbus, Ohio's Times New Viking. The trio, critically-lauded yet still dodging most of the mainstream love they probably deserve, is riding high on perhaps their crispest and most complete LP yet, Born Again Revisited, a batch of concoctions that sticks in the mind even though about 80% of its words are unintelligible. In preparation for their performance (which, if their other concerts are any indication, will be a nonstop onslaught of energy) at Fun Fun Fun Fest this Saturday, we shot some questions across the internet at Times New Viking, and guitarist Jared Phillips shot back some answers, including this little nugget: "fuck art." Enjoy.