Image courtesy Rude Mechs The Method GunThru 12/15, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pmThe Off Center (map)[info] | [tickets] The Dick Monologues12/16 at 2pmHyde Park Theatre (map)12/12 at 7pm (sold out)[info] | [tickets]In this season of family-friendly fare, we're pleased to highlight a bit of naughty-naughty for your holiday pleasure. Admittedly it's something of an intellectually flavored naughty-naughty, but hey, that's how we like it. Rude Mechanicals' current show The Method Gun contains nudity! Whee! Nude Rudes!! Which......

Image from MySpaceMICE AND RIFLES What’s the Deal: It’s impossible to hear a band name like this one from this Austin sextet and not be curious enough to give it a listen. If you do, you’ll find an alt. country group making the most of pedal steel, acoustic guitar and a singer with a unique and brawny voice. The group may have a classic country sound found in between the twang and Great Depression subject......

Photo of Z. Bechtol from statesman.com Man found dead under car at a Round Rock Walgreens. Zenobia Bechtol, 14, has been missing since last night around 10pm. More than half of the state's school districts pass on the teacher merit pay plan. Smoking ban started today at some Central Texas hospitals. The two suspects who broke into McBrides earlier this week weren't after guns. State Rep. Dawnna Dukes receives a $10,000 donation from Bob Perry's......

The SWAT Team has been busy this week. After waiting 9 hours at McBrides Guns yesterday for a man who wasn't there, the team was called out to 12th Street and Webberville this afternoon. APD was in the area to hand out warrants when a man barricaded himself in. Sims Elementary has been placed on lockdown. Hopefully, like yesterday, there will be a peaceful resolution to the situation. [Statesman]......

Before dawn this morning, someone broke into McBride's Guns on San Gabriel, and they are thought to still be there, surrounded by ammunition and weapons. Schools in the area have been put on lockdown, and a SWAT team has surrounded the store. It seems to be unknown whether there is someone still actually there in the store, but the security company contracted by McBride's detected movement earlier this morning. Streets in the area (Lamar between......

Photo by hamron on flickr Austin City Council is pretty much ready to sign a contract setting up red-light cameras at 15 intersections (to start with). Big Brother - er, APD - is watching your energy usage. And Austin Energy is cool with that! Southeast Austin standoff this morning ends with cop shooting the suspect. Round Rock police on the lookout for a suspected stalker. Local company under Neil Bush (Dubya's bro) is being investigated......

Pump Up the Volume was so much more than a proto-Jock Jams house anthem by M/A/R/R/S. It was the youthful, telegenic angst of 1990, distilled and splashed against an awesome soundtrack. It was a young and (remember?) hot Christian Slater playing a high-school pirate radio DJ named Happy Harry Hard-On. It was Samantha Mathis playing a way ballsier and like, more articulate precursor to Angela Chase. And, like any teen dramedy worth its salt, it......

Four suspects have been arrested for the Wachovia Bank robbery yesterday. Probable murder-suicide in San Marcos; the couple was found by their teenage daughter last night. Student group at Texas State wants the right to carry guns around campus and to classes. This evening KEYE becomes the first Austin TV station to show local news in hi-def. It will still look the same on our old-school TV. Johns Hopkins calls Johnston High School (and......

Travis County has requested an injunction against the developers of the Ranches at Hamilton Pool to force them to stop construction unless they start doing more to keep runoff from their site out of Hamilton Pool. Although they presumably have an interest in keeping their namesake pool clean enough for residents to enjoy, an independent consultant hired by Travis County has determined that the development is responsible for a majority, if not all, of the......

Houston native and current Baltimore resident Jana Hunter was once just as equally known for her solo material as she was for the musical associates with whom she kept company - take Ray Raposa of Castanets and Devendra Banhart, just to name a couple. But 2007 has been an ambitious year for Hunter, who has made her mark not only with recording projects like her well-received sophomore album There’s No Home, but also with the......

Eleven Hundred Springs specialize in a pure brand of country that should provide a perfect anti-dote for fans of that genre amidst the variety of pop, rock and electronic acts at the 2007 Wall Of Sound Festival. Lead by Matt Hillyer and Steve Berg, the band has put out a number of records on labels such as 13 Recordings and Palo Duro Records. Besides their upcoming gig at the Wall Of Sound festival, Eleven Hundred......

With the 2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival set to take over the town shortly, it’s worthwhile to note that the music will naturally not be restricted to the fenced confines of Zilker Park. "Official" ACL-Fest after shows and sexy time aside, downtown should be bumping with a plethora of quality events. The wonderful folk from FactoryPeople and DFA Records present one such extravaganza on Friday at Red 7. The Outdoor Stage will feature quality......

Every fall, Austin looks forward to ACL Fest, and each year, there's always a point where two of your favorite bands are playing on different sides of the park at the exact same time. ACL Band Clash is a weekly series in which Austinist scribes Paige Maguire and Tom Thornton examine the worst ACL scheduling clashes, and try to provide good advice on finding a resolution. Well, good advice might be a stretch, but......

California’s Novice headlines a cracking pop bill this Wednesday at Room 710. Future Warped Tour candidates, the band expertly combines catchy melodies, energetic power pop, and mall-punk production. Novice’s discography includes A Day Out In The Sun EP (2003), Interrupting The Scenery (2004), and Forgive The Silence (2006), along with this year’s self titled EP. On the road, they have played with the likes of Less Than Jake and Shiny Toy Guns. The Most,......

Once in a while, we like to take some time to introduce you to bands -- both local otherwise -- that we think you'd enjoy. Le Diamont Brut aims to showcase those MySpace gems we hope to see shine. Recommend your local suggestions by emailing music@austinist.com. THE UNFORTUNATE HEADS What’s the Deal: The Austin indie folk fivesome has just released their sophomore disc, Come Be Light. Featuring multi-instrumentation by the likes of banjo, keyboards, upright......

If you missed out on the initial deadline to participate in this year's inaugural Maker Faire Austin festival, you're in luck! The event organizers have set a new deadline of Thursday, September 6, thereby affording you a comfortable two and a half weeks to come up with your very own zany creation. For an idea of what to expect, the MAKE blog highlights some of the inventions recently previewed at Austin Children's Museum, including hyperbolic......

Three rescue workers killed and six others injured in attempt to save trapped miners. The sleeping giant and his laughing poodle play with guns. Former "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla convicted on all counts. Two of Michael Vick's co-defendants plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges. A Federal Judge will not block Whole Foods take over of Wild Oats Market. Markets rebound after Feds cut interest rate. Dutch men arrested for adding maggots to meat.......

Rush Hour 3: Don't Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker look dismayed to find themselves in the third installment of their never-ending Rush Hour franchise? If you find it hilarious to watch a BLACK GUY and an ASIAN GUY fighting crime--together!--then look out, because now they're fighting crime in France, the funniest place in the world! Which one of them do you think will be eye-rolling and making fish-out-of-water quips while dangling from the Eiffel Tower......

Nowhere to go this Tuesday night? No worries because Emo’s presents a bill of (pre) historic proportions. New York’s Pterodactyl headline in support of their debut full-length, titled either Blue Jay or simply Pterodactyl, depending on where you purchase it. Out on two labels (Brah Records and Cardboard Records), the album contains energetic post-punk full of throbbing start-stop guitar rock and pulsating harmonies. Local outfit When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth precede Pterodactyl in support of......

So which influential band would you die for? Tonight offers a mouth-watering choice of Hoot Nights for two legendary bands. Stubb’s Inside hosts acts such as The Christophers, Robbie and the Robots, and The Wailing Walls covering the plethora of material put out by Oklahoma’s eccentric pop outfit, The Flaming Lips. A complete line-up can be found on do512. We’re leaning towards a similar event at Emo’s Lounge with alt-country legends Wilco being the......

If you're looking for a diamond in the rough among over-hyped or just plain shitty Austin bands, head over to Emo's tonight for You Were Always. The quartet is composed of Cam Houser, Aubri Hughes, Topher Hyink (formerly of Just Guns) and Tim Faehnle, and their newly released EP is a breath of fresh, if not vulnerable, air. With steady, patient songwriting, the songs on the EP build and reveal slowly, and are reminiscent of......

The Paramount's awesome Summer Classic Film Series continues this week with some pre-code sexiness, a JAMES BOND DOUBLE FEATURE (can you tell we're excited about that?), a classic superhero flick and a Newman / Redford double-shot. And again we've got some tickets to give away! If you'd like to win tickets to Thursday's James Bond double-bill, follow the jump and fill out the form. Baby Face Tuesday, July 10 @ 7:15 pm Wednesday, July 11......

The foundations of Emo's Lounge are going to shake on Thursday when Ume, Chicago's The Narrator and Bring Back the Guns cause a commotion that will be off the Richter scale. Ume's music is like the soundtrack to a beautiful fairytale, or a terribly haunting ghost story. The group is often compared to early Sonic Youth or Blonde Redhead, but the passion and fury of their performances can't be understated. Guitarist/vocalist Lauren Lawson plays like......

We knew that local tennis star Andy Roddick kept himself in good shape, but we were still taken aback when we first came across this cover photo on the latest issue of Men's Fitness: the Austin Java fan and budding philanthropist looks like he's fixin' to hulk out of his burnt orange tee. Said bulging biceps turned out to be yet another case of crafty airbrush work, as ABC News points out in their Doctored......

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when we reported that Tom "The Bugman" Delay had gone on the Charlie Rose Show and stated categorically that students should be allowed to carry guns on college campuses to protect themselves from Virginia Tech-esque scenarios? Remember how most of us laughed and laughed, writing off Mr. Delay's suggestion as just "more of the same" from another silly extremist? Well, stop laughing and put on your thinking caps; this......

We know what you're thinking. Weren't The Shins just here last month at the same venue? And weren't they at Stubb's in September, and at ACL? The answers are yes, yes, and yes. But success means new fans, and the #2 Billboard debut of Wincing The Night Away has led to a headlining spot on the MTVu tour of college towns - thus, the Shins play Austin for the fourth time in a year......

Despite being removed from office, Tom DeLay is up to his old tricks: comparing Democrats to Nazis; comparing himself to the Duke students falsely accused of rape; proclaiming that if the liberals can take down Don Imus, the conservatives can get Rosie O’Donnell off the air; and now this, the most egregious of his statements. In what is one of the most disturbing things we have heard in the wake of the shootings at Virginia......

Peanut Butter and Jelly, Guns N’ Roses, Matt & Kim, plenty of items in life go perfectly together. Fashion and Music? Sure, why not? Mariessa, a young and up-and-coming fashion designer in the city is putting together a mouth watering extravaganza at the Parish to showcase the magic of both. Innovative designs will be complemented by the wonderful sounds of Golden Bear, fresh on the heels of their second release, To The Farthest Star. The......

THURSDAY [22] art • Opening Reception: Owen McAuley at d berman Gallery (6-8pm) comedy • The Frank Mills perform their new sketch show, "One Classy-Ass Show," at Blue Theatre (DEETS) party • Misprint Magazine's Beard & Moustache Competition with performances by Sharp Dressed Men (ZZTop Tribute Band), hosted by Matt Bearden, DJ sets by Stay Gold at Club de Ville (9pm) art • Artistic License: Blanton artist Fabian Marcaccio discusses his work, which is......

Seattle's Aqueduct have been doggedly honing an indie/laptop pop sound for several years. Essentially a one-man studio band, David Terry channels influences ranging from a suburban Oklahoma upbringing to fandom of Guns 'N' Roses and The Princess Bride into his catchy, lo-fi home studio creations. Live, the band is a very different animal: at SXSW two years ago, they simply demolished the crowd with a blend of original tunes, rap covers, an Aqueduct theme......