Results tagged “interview”

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.

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 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 beers at TRIO last Tuesday, we had a chat with former Texas Monthly president and editor-in-chief Evan Smith about his new nonprofit media project, the Texas Tribune.

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.

Imagine sitting in prison for a crime you did not commit. Then, ten years into a life sentence, another prisoner confesses, names an accomplice and signs an affidavit. That should be enough to get you out of jail, right? That is not how the system works. In fact, that confession might not matter at all. Two Texas prisoners, however, had the Actual Innocence Clinic in Austin and UT Arlington's Innocence Network dig into their case. They found that affidavit in 2007.

Dan Bejar of Destroyer—who moonlights with the Spencer Krug and Carey Mercer supergroup Swan Lake, as well as the Neko Case and A.C. Newman supergroup The New Pornographers—is known as a writing virtuoso, one of those few and proud and usually-called-crazy in music who bring true artfulness to the words themselves, and not just the instrumentation. Inspired by his upcoming appearance at Fun Fun Fun Fest, we thought there’d be few better things than to give Dan an opportunity to jot a few things down, so we shipped off to him a handful of questions and said have at it. And he did, and delightfully so, citing Lorca and the Duino Elegies, his prejudice for Wallace Stevens over Robert Frost, how fucked most musicians would be if they had to truly worry about lyrics, and why maybe someday he’d write a book if only he weren’t “a complete stranger to real work.” Needless to say, when he takes the Yellow stage at 8:45 on Day One of Fun Fest, we’ll be in the audience, following every word.

We know it’s a busy time for all the filmmakers this week, and they’re probably getting asked a thousand questions by a million different people, so we just had a quick “speed date” of an interview with Bob Byington, director of Harmony and Me. Of course, Austinist film buffs are busy too, rushing from panel to panel to screening, and you’ve only got a few minutes before the next thing starts anyway. So read on and get a little insight into the mind of an AFF filmmaker. Go ahead—it won’t take long.

If you’ve got a penchant for undeniably catchy garage-rock, look no further than The King Khan & BBQ Show, performing on Sunday, November 8th at the 2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest. Mark Sultan and King Khan first teamed up in the ‘90s, gaining notoriety with their band The Spaceshits’ belligerent shows. At the start of this century, Sultan was turning heads as the one man team that is the BBQ and Khan was busy finding success with his soul outfit The Shrines. But it was only a matter of time before the two friends reunited. The aptly named The King Khan & BBQ Show dropped its self-titled debut album in 2005 and followed it up with the What’s For Dinner? LP in 2006. They’ve appeased the masses with a handful of 7" records since; a new full-length called Invisible Girl is expected next month.

For his profession, Jimmy Kuehnle wears a strange uniform. The sculptor and performance artist creates giant inflatable suits that he fills with air with the help of a backpack mounted fan. Kuehnle then ambles down city streets surrounded by billowing layers of inflated nylon. Earlier this year, lucky passers-by and Fusebox Festival participants may have caught Kuehnle's performances in downtown Austin. Currently the Philip C. Curtis Artist in Residence at Albion College in Albion, Michigan, Kuehnle will be returning to the heart of Texas this weekend for Art Outside. We got a chance to ask Jimmy about his work, and the ever present dangers of working in a giant balloon-like suit.

You might not have heard of Dublin's Bell X1, but in their native Ireland, they are superstars with two #1 albums who now headline festivals and arenas. After significant American touring, though, fans are starting to take notice, as are satellite radio and late-night TV. We suspect it might further pique your interest that most of Bell X1 were originally (in a different format) a band called Juniper, who featured one Damien Rice on vocals and guitar. When Damien left to pursue his folkier style, Juniper became Bell X1, and they've both gone on their separate paths to stardom. Bell X1 play ACL this weekend to support their 2009 Yep Roc disc Blue Lights On The Runway, which mixes portions of their traditional rock sound with electronic textures and some longer, more serious tracks than on past albums. We recently emailed vocalist Paul Noonan to ask him about musical influences, Oxfam, and touring.

Brown University isn't the first place you'd think of when hearing about a new Americana band full of banjos, fiddles, and pump organs. But that's the point of origin for The Low Anthem, a recent signing to Nonesuch Records who have toured with Bon Iver and Elvis Perkins in support of their reissued disc Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. The album features everything from quiet folk pieces to stomping blues numbers, along with a Tom Waits cover and a healthy dose of weighty lyrics about mortality. We recently emailed The Low Anthem's Jeff Prystowsky, who responded between shows on a lengthy European tour.

Since his 2000 debut, San Francisco-based singer/songwriter John Vanderslice has earned consistent critical praise for his work. His strong lyrical themes coupled with beautiful production aesthetics have found an audience both in the US and Europe, where Vanderslice is touring this fall. Vanderslice recently phoned us from California to discuss his latest work, 2009's Romanian Names, which he'll be showcasing at the ACL Festival next month.

Our city’s beloved musical icon Daniel Johnston is having an eventful year. First up, he’s releasing his first album in six years, Is and Always Was, which he recorded with fellow Beatles fanatic Jason Falkner, a solo artist and former member of the power-poppy groups Jellyfish and The Grays. He’s also performing at ACL at the Austin Ventures stage on Friday, and we figured now would be a perfect time to talk to the man.

Benjamin Curtis was the guitarist of the band Secret Machines, which he formed with brother Brandon Curtis and friend Josh Garza. In 2007, he had a change in heart. Joining up with Alejandra and Claudia Deheza from the band On!AirLibrary! (both groups were on tour with Interpol at the time), they regrouped to create School of Seven Bells. Unlike the heavier pummeling of his former group, School of Seven Bells resides more in dreamy, soundscape territory, and the band is currently working on their second record. Benjamin spoke with us in anticipation of his group's appearance at ACL Festival in just a few weeks.

Not that we'd ever try adderall without a prescription, but we've heard that effects include heightened concentration, attention to detail, and sudden lack of apathy or fatigue. San Francisco-based author Stephen Elliott, in town for a reading this week, embodies many of those same attributes. His prose is clear, direct, and very human, while his artistic life is a swirl of activity, maintaining constant literary output while editing The Rumpus, a taste-shaping national arts and culture blog.

It’s been several years since the The Walkmen were considered to be just one of dozens of New York City bands riding the wave of interest generated, in part, by The Strokes. The band, led by gruff-voiced, charismatic frontman Hamilton Leithauser, has long-since proven that it’s much more interesting and dynamic than the garden variety garage revivalists they were initially lumped in with. With the reverb cranked to 10, they’ve maintained the same five-man lineup since their inception in 2000, have continually refined their songwriting, and pushed their sound in new directions—most recently with last year’s widely-praised and arguably best Walkmen album to date, You & Me. In addition to their Friday afternoon slot at ACL, they're headlining an official kickoff show on Thursday, October 1st at Emo's with Blitzen Trapper and Wye Oak. We caught up with Leithauser via email earlier this week to discuss the album they’re currently recording, their experiences playing to festival crowds, and in the process learned about the most miserable touring experience the band’s endured, which happened on a Texas highway en route to ACL 2005.

A couple months ago, we told you about God Says No, the stellar debut novel from erstwhile Austinite and Michener Center for Writers alumnus James Hannaham. If you haven't checked it out yet (you should), it's a funny and moving tale of boy-meets-boy, boy-meets-Jesus, Jesus-doesn't-approve-of-boy, boy-chases-Jesus-while-also-chasing-boys. As you can guess, things get complicated.

The Lemurs have been a huge part of Austin's power pop scene for years now. This most recent year, however, has brought huge changes to the group. Members leaving, new ones coming on board, a transitional EP and a full-length in the works combine to make the Lemurs a band to keep a keen eye on once again. Tonight, they'll play at the Mohawk with Michael Kingcaid (What Made Milwaukee Famous) and do a couple of new tunes. We had a chance to catch up with singer / guitarist Mitch Billeaud and talked about the scene, what's been going on, and what's around the corner for the Lemurs.

Between running a coffeehouse and his recent venture, Owl Tree Roasting, Progress Coffee owner Joshua Bingaman was surely already one of the busiest people in Austin—it was of some surprise, then, when he sent out a random dispatch a few weeks ago from Turkey, excitedly announcing the launch of yet another enterprise—in footwear.

As we mentioned on Monday, Austinist is pleased to present two nights of The Sword’s metal massacre at The Mohawk this weekend. We caught up with bassist (and producer) Bryan Richie recently -- check out the interview below. And enjoy “How Heavy This Axe” off Gods of the Earth via YouTube -- the video was directed by local media entity Super!Alright!.

This weekend Austin will play host to the first ever film festival for non-profit and cause-driven organizations. Lights. Camera. Help. received submissions from over 140 groups and selected nineteen finalist to be screened this Friday and Saturday. Of these films, one will win the Lights. Camera. Help. Judge's Prize which comprises all the proceeds from ticket sales and donations collected during the festival. Lights. Camera. Help. co-founder Aaron Bramely answered some questions for us about non-profit organizations, new technology, and this weekend's festival.

Stellastarr*’s brand of 21st century new-wave contains plenty of ingenious riffs, catchy melodies, and passionately delivered chorus’ but the Brooklyn band continues to fly somewhat under the radar, never quite attaining the widespread acclaim their talent merits. The band’s self-titled debut dropped in 2003 with memorable ditties such as “In The Walls,” “Jenny,” and and “My Coco; 2005’s Harmonies For The Haunted was an equally stellar record and included gems like “Sweet Troubled Soul” and “Lost In Time.” Stellastarr*’s latest effort Civilized (released on July 7th) arrived nearly four years after Harmonies but the band stays true to form, delivering instant gratifiers (“Freak Out”), distressed pleas (“Warchild”), and wistful odes (“Sonja Cries”) via another impressive collection of pulsating rock songs.

When one writer critically examines another respected author, readers should be skeptical. In Notes on Sontag, Phillip Lopate reflects on Susan Sontag’s essays, book-length nonfiction and fiction. He works from his strength as a personal essayist: intimate, balanced, and a generalist. Lopate’s appreciation of literature keeps the focus on her writing and not her personality. In fact, he cautions this is not, “Thank God,” a biography. He does, however, interweave some personal encounters with this fellow New Yorker. More significantly, he digs deeply into her writing. He quotes widely and at length from her body of work. And he chooses wisely. Look at this Sontag gem from an essay on Nazi symbols: “The color is black, the material is leather, the seduction is beauty, the justification is honesty, the aim is ecstasy, the fantasy is death.” Throughout, Lopate writes honestly, as readers should expect from an essayist, on her strengths and weaknesses as a writer.

It’s normally not a huge surprise when a dance club or watering hole on Sixth Street proper switches names, ownership, or even format. Aces Lounge on Sixth and San Jacinto Blvd. is just one such example, having been through a number of changes over the years. From Icon to Inferno to Austin’s own Hard Rock Cafe, the bar has run the gamut in terms of modifications. Transformations on Red River St. (from Sixth to Tenth) tend to be less frequent. Sure, the location that is currently The Mohawk, now firmly entrenched as a key player on the street, once played its fair share of musical chairs (Caucus Club, Le Privelege, Velvet Spade). But of late, the Red River District, which is home to the most prolific stretch of live music venues in town, has been sustained by quite a few resilient clubs (Beerland, Red Eyed Fly, Headhunters, Club de Ville, Elysium) and consolidated by emerging venues (Red 7, Creekside Live, Beauty Bar). And with enhancements of their own, Emo’s and Stubb’s continue to march on as well. If you noticed one prominent bar missing in that who’s who of Austin venues, it’s Room 710. The home of Tia Carrera Happy Hours and the place to catch shows from a slew of tireless local acts like Pong, Foot Patrol, and Golden Hornet Project, to name a few, is shutting its doors on August 2nd.

April 20th, 2005 is the date on the tape Erik Wofford pulls out from his archives. The head honcho at Cacophony Recorders is eager to start from the very beginning as we sit down on the comfortable green couches to discuss what went on in the four plus years since Will Rhodes, also seated beside us, first came into the spacious studio in East Austin. The tape in question contains "Graffiti The Night," a song done by Rhodes four years ago and one that can now finally be enjoyed by everyone. The ever-evolving local indie-rock outfit 'Til We're Blue Or Destroy has finally released their very long awaited self-titled debut and will celebrate by performing at Club de Ville on Friday.

Buddy Holly, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Janis Joplin, Townes Van Zandt, Roky Erickson, ZZ Top, Spoon, the list is endless. Texas has nurtured plenty of legendary musicians over the course of the century and it could be argued that Powell St. John merits a mention in the annals of state’s esteemed music history for his songwriting alone. He has penned a number of ditties for the 13th Floor Elevators and many of his songs have been covered by the likes of Joplin, Erickson, Doug Sahm, and Boz Scaggs. A prodigious harmonica player, St. John was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame in 2005 during SXSW; and while he was in town, he recorded Right Track Now, his first solo disc containing new material as well as a few gems he had written in the past.

Axel Willner records under the moniker The Field, and just released the thoughtful Yesterday and Today, his sophomore album and first with the addition of two new members. Yesterday and Today features six tracks of warm, personable techno, and includes guest John Stanier of Battles on the title track. The Field is performing at The Mohawk on Friday with The Juan Maclean, Ian Orth, and Jeramy Neugent, and Willner talked with us about his move from Stockholm to Berlin, remixing Thom Yorke and making changes.

Clinton Kelly and Macy's kicked off the "Makeover Across America" tour this past Saturday at the Domain. Before the former Mademoiselle and Marie Claire editor presented his Texas-style makeovers of 15 lucky ladies, he sat down with us to school us on trends, the economy, jumpsuits and everything in between.

Robyn Hitchcock is one of those musicians who has diligently labored in semi-obscurity for decades, starting out as a member of the Soft Boys back in the '70s and continuing through a respectable solo career. Known for his esoteric lyrics, Hitchcock has developed a loyal following but never become an overnight sensation, although he's attracted the attention of some impressive fans -- including fellow musicians like Peter Buck and Syd Barrett and filmmaker Jonathan "Silence of the Lambs" Demme.