SXSW recently announced its list of 2008 Showcasing Artists and so (officially) begins the countdown, the madness, the drama, and of course the anticipation of it all. Our coverage has been picking up speed with constant updates and an interview with Deer Tick, among others. Of course, showcase information is arriving fast and furious as well, and we will do our best to bring you information regarding some of the choice events scheduled for the week of SXSW....

It's the short-haired waitress at Spider House, or the barista at Flipnotics. It's the winsome Bookpeople guy with glasses, or that guy in all the plays at Salvage Vanguard. It's your local secret crush. It's old news that Austin has evolved from a sleepy college town into a burgeoning city of big-city transplants, international ex-pats, Houston/Dallas refugees and former Californians. With this influx has come the influence of new ideas about urban density, mass......

FRIDAY [8] music • DJ Krames (Cobra Kai), Prince Klassen at Beauty Bar (Free) books • Dominic Smith presents The Beautiful Miscellaneous at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Punchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) film • "The Secret Mirror" at The Paramount film • Master Pancake Theatre: "The Breakfast Club" at Alamo Downtown film • "Severance" at Dobie Theatre food • Central Market Cooking Class: Manicotti Workshop with Foodie Barbara Sampson at......

(FIRST) THURSDAY [7] party • Official Space Launch Celebration at Salvage Vanguard Theater (9:30pm) music • Go Motion! at Beauty Bar music • The Dollyrots, Alright Tonight, The Sweethearts, Abby Birds at Emo's music • Vietnam and Greg Ashley, The Strange Attractors, The Golden Boys at Emo's music • Scott Miller, The Commonwealth, The Gougers at Stubb's music • An Evening with Old Crow Medicine Show at The Parish Room music • Locals @ La......

MONDAY [4] film • "The Big Sleep" at The Paramount film • Eddie Muller Noir Night: "The Window" at Alamo Downtown film • Music Monday: "La Brune Et Moi" at Alamo Downtown food • Central Market Cooking Class: Knife Skills 101 with Chef Cindy Haenel at Central Market Cooking School, 4001 N Lamar ($60, 6:30-9:30pm) music • Lifesavas, Strange Fruit Project, DJ Marc Sense, Who M.I.?, Prawphit at Emo's music • Strange Fruit Project,......

Little-known outside the experimental guitar scene, the immensely talented Japanese guitar-slinger Tetuzi Akiyama has been perfecting his improvisational rockabilly style for the better part of 20 years now. Due to play several shows during SXSW and a smattering of shows in Texas and elsewhere, Tetuzi kindly extrapolated on his singular talents for us: You started playing guitar when you were 13. What sort of music were you listening to at the time that drew......

Architecture in Helsinki is an enterprising collective of musicians adept at relaying diverse and distinct sounds in unison, and they bring their eclectic catalogue (and promise of a new record) to Austin this March for the annual SXSW music festival. The band’s multi-instrumentation utilizes the usual goodness (guitars, drums, bass), along with synthesizers, horns, a variety of percussion, assorted audio samples; the list is long but it all adds to the band’s flair and......

Dick Durbin thinks Cheney should seek professional help. Judging from the evidence, Durbin might have a point. Um. Did you know that the US was carrying out airstrikes in Somalia? "Strikes," as in plural? Somebody should have told us. Poor little Fox, feeling cash-strapped, is trying to sleuth out who uploaded eps of "24" and "The Simpsons" to YouTube. Kids who grow up in houses with books and educational games are spanked less often.......

LAist is flashing a sad peace out to their editor Carolyn Kellogg with one hand and bumping knuckles with their new head typist L.A. blogger king Tony Pierce with the other. Where do ist editors go when they hang up the 'editorial we'? They take on MySpace, apparently. At least Ben Brown does. Austinist reminds us of the just rewards of less savory careers this week and then they witness the Arctic Monkeys and We......

Meet Suzan-Lori Parks, winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Theatre for the fantastic Topdog/Underdog. She’s the author of numerous other plays that are invariably full of dazzling dialogue and original music, and obsessed with history. Parks spent part of her childhood in West Texas, where she set her debut novel, Getting Mother’s Body (2003) and where, she swears, she really enjoys visiting in summer. She’ll be at the Paramount tonight at 7:30 pm, to......

You may have heard that a certain filmmaker is in town for his own personal film fest. Well, he's also making national news, as Quentin Tarantino has reportedly agreed to come on board to direct the new biopic chronicling the life and times of Jimi Hendrix. The film, which has been stalled in development deals for what seems to be ages, has the approval of Hendrix's brother Leon and Jimi's estate. In ACL News......

The Rawk Show, an exhibit featuring art and photography created by musicians, will be opening on March 14 at The Space (4803 Airport Blvd.) The list of artists, which is included in the extended post, is impressive and includes Mark Mothersbaugh, Fischerspooner, and Jimi Hendrix's penis.......