Some people marry for love. Some for companionship. And yes, there are some thrifty evil souls out there who marry for riches. But we romantics at the Austinist are happy to know that at least two people in this hardened nation of ours have married for a reason even purer than true love: rock and roll. Back in 2001 Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel decided to ditch their day jobs, get hitched, and begin......

Strife and discontent often pave the way for musicians to provide a voice of hope for the oppressed. Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars know this all too well, being comprised of a number of talented individuals that originally called Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, home. After rebel attacks prompted them to flee their country in the late 90's for the haven of Guinea, they started making music on any available instrument they could......

Whoa there, Emo's Lounge! You've had some big shoes to fill with your big, hip brother right next door, but you've done well for yourself. We remember when you were knee-high to a shot bar, and now here you are all growed up, hosting great bands and getting people soused like its your job. Which it is. Tonight, especially, is a red letter date for you. You'll be hosting four superb pop-rock bands all......

Because we feel like you don’t have enough Canadian music in your life, we’d like to propose to you yet another opportunity to get your Canuck on . This Sunday night at Emo’s, Vancouver denizens Ladyhawk will bring some genuine, riff-heavy Canadian goods and prove, once again, that Neil Young’s influence knows no limits. Ladyhawk play the kind of guitar rock that Canada would be famous for, if only the border extended far enough south......

As is his wont, the tall drink of water known as Britt Daniel will be playing a solo show at the Parish Room tonight. The top Spoon will no doubt revisit some old classics, and although songwriters often use informal shows like this to debut new material, we aren't going to make any predictions. Anyhow, maybe someone can convince him to move back here from Portland. Filling out the bill are homegrown power-poppers The Sudden......

Today is the day that all you ghouls and ghosties have been waiting for, like Christmas for those of us who worship at the altar of fake wounds, zombies and pirate costumes. That's right, its Halloween, the most liminal time of the year, and what better way to celebrate the magic of All Hallows' Eve than with our good friends the Swedish retrodoompsychfolk band Witchcraft! Channeling the spirits of acts like Black Sabbath and Pentagram,......

We try not to be fanatics about stuff, but John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats totally does it for us. He's smart, he's nice, and he's lo-fi (well, decreasingly so, but the sentiment is there). Also, the first time we saw him in concert, he performed solo with an acoustic guitar and burst into a rousing chorus of "Hail, Satan!" As for street cred, the Mountain Goats have released roughly a billion albums, many......

Voxtrot started out as a channel for singer Ramesh Srivastava to vent his artistic talents. However, two EP’s and numerous successful shows later, Voxtrot has emerged as one of Austin’s most exciting prospects. Raised By Wolves and Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives were both released on the band’s own label, Cult Hero, and served up delightful, introspective pop, fit for most dance floors. Srivastav’s vocal style and genuine lyrics reveal pure authenticity while the......

A mini pop-fest is always a bonus for any Friday evening. October 27th marks one such night at Emo’s as three of Texas’ most promising indie-pop acts take the stage along with Oklahoma’s Colourmusic. Headliners the Glass Family have garnered solid reviews for their compositions: stirring melodies, attractive soundscapes, all with plenty of keys and hooks mark their debut record, Sleep Inside This Wheel. San Antonio’s Buttercup’s new release, Hot Love, in similar vein,......

Avoid the Noid. Or if you're Oxford Collapse, jump off of the side of a swimming pool and tackle the shit out of the (inflatable toy) Noid. A presumably tanked gentleman is depicted as doing such on the cover of the band’s most recent release, Remember the Night Parties (Sub Pop). In it, OxC reminds us that hard-hitting bands who know how to bring it 80s-style without simply ripping off Joy Division do, in......

The Austin Film Festival starts this Thursday, and if you have not purchased your badge or pass yet, you still have time. If you’ve got some lame excuse about why you can’t buy a pass or a badge, we don’t want to hear it. However, we are offering a pair of passes to the week of screenings. Enter your information below, and then sit in anticipation by your computer. We will alert the winner......

Today being National Coming Out Day and all, we think it's the perfect opportunity to clue you in on a nifty nonprof that recently relocated to our little blue oasis: Fine By Me prints t-shirts emblazoned with the simple and catchy slogan, "Gay? Fine By Me." The long and short of it, as told by the FBM folks themselves: The T-Shirt Project is an easy way for the many, many Americans who support their LGBT......

Six Apart, the folks whose blogging software (MovableType, LiveJournal) enable us to prattle on ad nauseam about Ghostland Observatory, suburban sprawl, and the morbidly obese, are preparing to launch a branch-new service called Vox. Billed as "blogging for the rest of us," Vox allows its users to share photos and recommendations for music, movies, and books, much like many of today's personal blogs are already doing. The difference, though, is that Vox integrates these......

Ever since renovating the space where Just Guns used to reside, FactoryPeople's clothed tons of fabulous Austinites, thrown dozens of rockstar parties, and brought sexy back to Central Texas. What's next? Well, this week they're turning three. Thursday Night: they're bringing in DFA Records' DJs Tim Sweeney and Juan Maclean, along with DJ Ramesh from Voxtrot, to spin instore from 7-10pm. Come and enjoy complimentary cocktails on the rooftop deck, or check out Boom......

Six Apart, the folks whose blogging software (MovableType, LiveJournal) enable us to prattle on ad nauseam about Ghostland Observatory, suburban sprawl, and the morbidly obese, are preparing to launch a branch-new service called Vox. Billed as "blogging for the rest of us," Vox allows its users to share photos and recommendations for music, movies, and books, much like many of today's personal blogs are already doing. The difference, though, is that Vox integrates these......

Viva Voce -which many scholars maintain translates literally from the Eye-talian into the English as “long live voice”- have a winner in their latest release Get Yr Blood Sucked Out. Blazing harmonies and dusty drums abound (please listen to “We Don’t Fuck Around”). The sound is surprisingly robust and no notes are played in vain. Kevin and Anita Robinson provide an aural banquet despite being just two people. They’ve got the goods for you and......

Yea, we know, you’re tired, you’re rundown, you couldn’t possible attend another music festival for at least another year or so. Think again, friends. Just when you thought it was safe to crawl back into your cubicles, your only musical salvation coming from the tinny speakers built into your desktop, we present Vegoose. Taking place the last weekend in October, the festival in Sin City will feature Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Widespread Panic,......

Junior Boys have been buzzing through the tubes for several months now, as their highly anticipated album, So This Is Goodbye, patiently awaited its release. Their debut, Last Exit was a favorite with the critics, and their new release (available last Tuesday officially) is no disappointment. Sexy beats, 80's influenced rhythms, and ground-breaking electronic compositions fill the album from beginning to end, drawing you in and leaving you panting for more. Sounds like that......

Hey you! Put down that GameBoy and keep your eyes on the road! You're gonna KILL somebody. Ahem. For those of us dangerously, illegally addicted to such handheld trivialities, but wish the sound card was a little punchier, look no further than tonight's featured entertainment at Emo's: a cover band 100% dedicated to 8-bit Nintendo soundtracks. Trade in those bloopy MIDI tunes for full-blooded rock action as The Advantage faithfully recreate the themes from such......

It starts with the clang of a triangle, and then you’re off: The Weird Weeds take listeners on a surreal ride to an undisclosed location in their latest self-titled release. Bandmates Sandy Ewen (guitar/vocals), Nick Hennies (percussion/vocals), and Aaron Russell (guitar) strive to guarantee that no band has so aptly lived up to its own name before The Weird Weeds came into existence. The disc features ample loops, distortion, poly-rhythmic percussion, screeches, howls, and......

This Thursday, as part of their ongoing "Best of the AFF" series, the Austin Film Festival and Chicken Ranch Records are screening "Stomp! Shout! Scream!," the beach-party-rock-and-roll-monster-movie by Jay Edwards, the guy behind Aqua Teen Hunger Force. They're billing it as a beach party screening extravaganza, replete with a beach party-themed menu and a bunch of sweet prizes and giveaways. Chicken Ranch records will be on hand to celebrate the release of the film's......

Although the 100 degree temperatures aren’t any indication, we're making the turn and heading toward the home stretch of summer. In order to help you stay cool, we’re getting together with a few of our friends this weekend to throw a Say Goodbye to Summer party. This Saturday night at Birds Barbershop, we’ll have cool music, cool haircuts and the coolest drinks this side of the equator to help you get your summertime swerve on......

Matt LeMay, late of hipster lifestyle-cornerstone Pitchforkmedia, has a rock and roll band! And apparently he also loves Austin, sort of, so let's hear it for him! LeMay and his crew, Get Him Eat Him, are going to do their thing at Emo’s on Saturday night. You could be there. Here’s how: First Name: Last Name: Email Address: [Get Him Eat Him website] Get Him Eat Him Saturday, August 19th Emo's Doors at 8,......

Although the 100 degree temperatures aren’t any indication, we're making the turn and heading toward the home stretch of summer. In order to help you stay cool, we’re getting together with a few of our friends this weekend to throw a Say Goodbye to Summer party. This Saturday night at Birds Barbershop, we’ll have cool music, cool haircuts and the coolest drinks this side of the equator to help you get your summertime swerve on......

The Rentals were a mid-to-late-'90s (say that five times fast) indie pop project spearheaded by Matt Sharp, former bassist for Weezer. They were cute, they were fun, they had boy-girl harmonies and sharp synthesizer lines, they scored major radio play with "Friends of P" -- and then they broke up. But, earlier this year, the Rentals got back together, and now they're touring before they head back in the studio to work on new......

There's another one of those bipolar indoor-outdoor shows at Emo’s tomorrow night: sweet-as-candy indie pop inside, lurching packs of stoned werewolves outside. Oh, decisions, decisions... Inside Fresh off their gig opening for The Flaming Lips in Europe, Dentonites Midlake put on a little rock and roll program for us plain ol’ 'mericans. The Starlights Mints open with heaping fistfuls of sophisticated chamber-pop; Mints pal and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Lindsey opens for them. We don’t know......

Sam Means and Nate Ruess have survived being dropped from their record label (twice), at least one agonizing long-term relationship, and a year of preparation on their sophomore effort as The Format, Dog Problems. Since their debut on Atlantic in 2003, the band has recorded and produced (with the help of Roger Manning of Jellyfish fame) an energetic, toe-tapping and pop-tastic collection of songs worthy of all your summer mix tapes for crushes and......

Like we mentioned last week, Z-Trip is coming back to Austin this Friday as part of the Breakthrough Emerging Artists Tour (B.E.A.T.). He'll be spinning with Austin's DJ Nick Nack, as well as Tats and Thantos, over at Elysium from 9pm-2am. [Presale Tickets - $10] We're giving away a few spots on the guestlist for the show. Enter below: First Name: Last Name: Email Address: This week's AV Bits (not all artists below are......

Nashville country singer Willie Heath Neal was, in his young adulthood, part of a punk rock troupe during a few years spent traipsing around Asia with the Navy. Born in the backseat of a Georgia state trooper's car, Neal inherited his mother's dream of having a career in music, and after returning to the states in his early twenties decided to return to the country and honky tonk that had informed much of his......

Post by Joshua Huck Glasgow sextet Camera Obscura is tippy-toeing into town this Saturday evening, bringing some much-needed elegance to Emo's rock-scarred halls. Understudies of Stuart Murdoch and Co. from Belle & Sebastian, their performance is sure to be the sleeper stunner of the live music year, with equal parts melancholy and beauty to be lapped up by appreciative fans. As we found out the hard way, their critically acclaimed new album Let's Get......