Though DJ Mel is primarily known for his legendary Rock the Casbah parties at the Parish, he's been bringing a little debauchery to the Beauty Bar with his SWOLL parties. SWOLL sets are focused on the higher end of the BPM range, mixing Miami Bass, Baltimore club and "anything fast". Last weekend's event including DJ Klever, Cosmo Baker looks like it was a really good time. ...

Have there seriously been thirty of these things? You’re goddamned right there have been. From the days of way-back in smaller venues when Mel and his 80s jams held court with smaller, more intimate crowds, where the records made people say “Careless Whisper? Man, that’s my song right there. Totally got that twelve inch back at the crib. Let’s go to Hoek’s for some pizza and fear.” Nowadays the party’s (past dozen or so) all grow’d up and far drunker. Just like us!...

The tour, which launched in 2003, is a roving exhibit featuring work from a variety of contemporary artists from around the world. For four years the tour has evolved, and each year the mediums showcased in the exhibit have changed. For Installation 4, the theme, It's a Beautiful World, was interpreted by each artist and includes paintings, photography, sculpture and collage. ...

The Beauty Bar hosts the fascinating Gil Mantera’s Party Dream this Saturday. Hailing from Ohio originally, the duo consists of Gil Mantera and Ultimate Donny, two brothers who combine thumping dance beats and traditional rock music to create an electric smorgasbord of synth-pop that will keep you on the dance floor all night long. The hodgepodge of beats and sounds is as exhilarating as it is intriguing; always entertaining, sometimes cheesy. The duo’s live show seems to be quite a spectacle and a DVD (Live Video Archive [Vol. 01]) showcasing all the glory is also available. Gil Mantera’s Party Dream self-released two records before 2005’s bloodsongs on Audio Eagle Records. ...

Image by The Young Adorable, Daetron Vargas DJ Mel Guests In For Radio On, TonightThursday, November 15PLUSH (617 Red River St.)10pm-2am, 21+ only, Free[info] Sure, Mel’s best known for his longstanding hip hop gig at Nasty’s every Monday, and then there are his quarterly Rock Tha Casbah parties which we here at the Ist like to get whiskey bent and sweat buckets. But he’s got more tricks up his sleeves than that. And tonight he’ll......

It’s almost Halloween weekend, and you’re getting the final details of your costume all worked out. It’s going to be face-slapping rad this year because your best friend said they were going to be decked out as Osama Bin Laden, which forced your hand in the Mummy vs Statue Of Liberty debate. Time to make your parents proud. You need somewhere to sport yourselves as a happy couple. You need an environment where profiling such......

If you ask us, "bling obsession" has long been commercial hip-hop's most shameful component (though we're totally down with the Bling! barbershop quartet). At one time, conspicuous consumption by a historically poor culture might have seemed like powerful social commentary--but now that hip hop is the music industry's cash cow, doesn't a $100,000 necklace just seem completely ridiculous? And is obnoxious ornamentation really worth the cost--not only monetarily, but socially and politically? Next week, as......

Hey, thanks Austin! We're thrilled that you chose us as your 2007 Best of Austin pick for Local "Fun" Web Site. Needless to say, it's a tremendous honor to be recognized two years in a row (last year, we tied with the Chronicle itself for Best Local Entertainment Web Site). We solemnly swear that we'll continue to entertain and, on those lucky occasions, enlighten you with the best in Austin culture and news. And, to......

The Funniest Filmmaker in Austin contest returns to Cap City Comedy Club, with semifinals emceed by Bryan Gutmann, winner of the 2007 Funniest Person in Austin contest NYC's uber-scenesters The Misshapes hold court at Beauty Bar with Riot in Belgium and KidIndie Zilker Park hosts the very last installment of KGSR's Blues on the Green, featuring Marcia Ball & Band DJ Mel spins the killer 80s jams at the quarterly Rock the Casbah dance......

FRIDAY [13] fashion • RARE Magazine Spring Fling Fashion Show at The Belmont Hi-Lo (Moved due to rain) art/music • Take That!, a show of new images by Lance McMahan, plus music by Amanda Jones, Connie Ball, & Teddy and Marge at The Opera House (7-10pm) art • Hot and Cold: The Best of Canadian Contemporary Art at Art on 5th, 1501 W 5th (10am-6pm) art • Opening Reception for abstract paintings and encaustics......

Last week's Chronicle has an excellent article by Marc Savlov about a handful of local DJs that we've long adored: the kids of Car Stereo (Wars) and Learning Secrets, plus Prince Klassen, DJ Mel, and KidIndie. What's going on with the Austin DJ and club scene that, seemingly overnight, it's transformed into something akin to the Please Kill Me-era East Village NYC art-punk scene of three decades past? Reinvention, that's what. ["Planet Funk Meets Planet......

DJ Mel packed the house at the Parish on New Year's Eve.......

Come 12:01am on Monday morning, downtown Austin will be a madhouse of drunken revelers and even drunker artsy types. You could opt to shell out plenty of dough to get into the swanky parties, but why bother? You probably won't remember it the next day. Below are our top choices for fun things to do this New Year's Eve, all with reasonably-priced cover charges and, more importantly, within stumbling distance of one another. Get there......

The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are now $25, and can be purchased at the gate. Learning Secrets perform in the Dance Party Tent at 4:30pm. -- The Editors Bonus: Download Ian's new winter mix, featuring Sebastian, The Rapture, Jurgen Paape, James Figurine and more. [mp3]......

FRIDAY [1] music festival • The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest! With Spoon, Circle Jerks, Prefuse 73, Peaches, Black Angels, Lucero, Riverboat Gamblers, DJ Mel, Whitey, DJ Thomas Turner, Octopus Project, The Oranges Band, Dead Meadow, DJ Ceeplus and the House of Bad Knives, and more at Waterloo Park ($20, 1pm-10pm) afterparty • Fun Fun Fun Fest afterparty with Whitey, Ceeplus and the House of Bad Knives, Prince Klassen, and Ian Orth at Beauty......

The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased online. Quintron and Miss Pussycat perform on the Austin Fuzion Stage/Tent at 6:50 p.m. -- The Editors How is the tour going for you so far? Great... even though we have broken our......

The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased online. Octopus Project perform on the Indie stage at 3:30pm. -- The Editors What's your favorite thing about playing festivals? (Or do you prefer not to play them?) Festivals are rad! We very......

The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased online. Dead Meadow perform on the Indie stage at 4:30pm. -- The Editors Any new recordings that we can expect soon in the form of a new full length? Steve Kille: We are......

The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased online. Gamblers perform on the punk stage at 6:55. --The Editors How's Volcom treating you? Any Riverboat Gamblers skate decks in your future? Volcom has been great! They give us lots of socks,......

The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased online. Circle Jerks perform on the Punk stage at 8:55pm. -- The Editors We’re excited to have you coming to Austin. You were here in March attending South By Southwest, right? I’ve been......

Note: Today's the last day of our two week long ticket giveaway, and the festival's nearly a week away! This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts......

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair......

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair......

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair......

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair......

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair......

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair......

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair......

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair......

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair......