Mac Lethal has been called a “contemporary cross between a folk singer and a stand-up comic” by Rolling Stone – and that dichotomy of inane observation and thought-provoking insight defines his debut album, 11:11. We spoke with Mac Lethal from his tour bus while on the road for the Everybody Loves a Clown Tour with label-mates Grayskul and Atmosphere. That tour bus is currently parked outside of Emo’s, where the Everybody Loves a Clown......

The Trip Fives are a long-form improv troupe from Kansas City performing tonight as part of the Out of Bounds festival. We caught up with Tim Lemke on Thursday night spoke with him about improv in Kansas City and the upcoming Trip Fives performance. Is this your first Out of Bounds? Tim Lemke: Yes, this is the first time that we’ve submitted anything for this festival and it will be the first time that we’re......

*The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note My apologies for my absenteeism, kids! It's been awhile since I've set my babblings online at the Austinist. I've either been taking nights of from The Laurie Show on KUT or sitting in for Jeff McCord on Left of the Dial, which is on earlier than my show. It'll feel great to......

While the Austinist staff remains split on the subject, some of us are pretty partial to meat. No offense to our vegetarian friends, but some of us just have too many positive associations with delicious animal parts. So when we had the chance to interview Ray Lampe, national barbecue champion and author of three books on the subject, including his latest, Dr. BBQ's Big-Time Barbecue Road Trip!, we were more than a little excited.......

Austin Music Foundation is bringing back its Music Industry Boot Camp (MIBC) tonight, with a panel discussion entitled "Road Warriors: The DIY Approach to Successful Booking and Touring." This 33rd installment of the popular seminar series features five local (and popular) musicians, each well-versed in scoring that perfect last-minute gig in Omaha or knowing where to get a drink when your van breaks down in Kansas City. The lineup: Matt Drenik, Artist, Lions; Talent Buyer,......

Andrew Bird's Armchair Apocrypha arrives officially on March 20, and after his performances here for SXSW, he'll embark on an international tour to support it. The Suzuki method-trained violinist, whistler and multi-instrumentalist is known for heart-stoppingly impressive live sets, and his use of Line 6 DL4 Delay Modelers for live phrase samples has prompted a wave of innovative live acts, as artists like Feist and Final Fantasy make use of similar modelers during their......

“We’re just trying to recreate things that have yet to be created.” Split Lip Rayfield Kirk Rundstrom: Guitar and Vocals Eric Mardis: Banjo and Vocals Jeff Eaton: Bass and Vocals Wayne Gottstine: Mandolin and Vocals In room 147 of the Austin Hotel, several packs of Marlboro "Cowboy Killer" Reds are strewn on the bed, alongside a brand new captain’s hat. Hanging out and watching a VH1 special on drugs and the 90's are Jeff......

A young African-American man with Snoop Dog cornrows was selling the tickets for America: From Freedom to Fascism at the Barton Creek AMC today. He was passing them through the circle cut in the window over the book he was reading: The Millionaire Next Door. Another man—white, middle-aged, wearing khakis, and not a theater employee—was handing out xeroxed fliers about the film that had “WAKE UP!” in bold letters. He wasn’t pushing them into anyone’s......

*Update: We guess we were slightly short-sighted and admit we see your point about eBay having to be concerned about charitable auctions, but does that mean I couln't say I'm selling my baseball card collection in order to put my newphew through preschool? Anywho...Harold has moved the piece in question to his site. He is selling it for $250. All proceeds will go to Tamara Hoover.* Remember how we told you about that lovely......

Kansas City artist Harold Smith has come up with a unique way to help embattled art teacher Tamara Hoover raise money for her legal fund. The artist has put an 18" x 24" acrylic abstract jazz painting on Ebay, with all profits going directly to Ms. Hoover. Bidding on the item will end on July 12th. So if you want to help Ms. Hoover, and you want a nice piece of art to hang......

Old Spice today released its Fifth Annual Top-100 Sweatiest Cities List, with Austin coming in seventh place. Overall, Texas has the dubious distinction as being the sweatiest state in the country, with six cities -- Dallas, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Waco -- all among the Top 10. The rankings are based on the amount of sweat a person of "average height and weight" would produce from walking around for an hour in......

Do you miss football already? Have you actually gotten excited about Terrell Owens signing with the Cowboys despite his pending destruction of the team...just because you know it means there will be games on again someday? If so, Austinist suggests a fix in the form of an Austin Wranglers Arena Football game this Saturday at the Erwin Center. Austin's AFL squad recently returned from a lengthy road trip (caused by a UT basketball homestand),......

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors The insanity has officially arrived. By way of rented Uhaul trucks, borrowed Econolines, and I’d like to say: VW Microbuses, but it’s really hard to tell when that population has increased around here. You can’t drive drunk down Kinney Ave. without pin-balling off one of every color in a standard crayon box......

Oh, God. Might San Antonio play host to the 2008 Republican National Convention? In a press release issued today by the RNC, 31 cities across the country were chosen as preliminary contenders to host the next convention, two years from now. Each is required to submit an application proving that they can meet such requirements as: Main Convention Area: Facility capable of seating at least 20,500 persons, including the convention floor with seating for......

The annual Men's Fitness survey of America's Fittest and Fattest Cities just came out again, and lo and behold, Austin remains among the top 25 of the former. Austinist is hardly surprised by these findings: on our once-yearly morning traipse around Town Lake this morning we exchanged pleasantries with dozens of fellow runners, all no doubt preparing for February's orgiastic Freescale Marathon. And just last week our spiffy and intimidating-as-hell gym, 5th and Lamar's......

Dios (malos) Feels Good Being Somebody Asshole All Said and Done Nic Armstrong and the Thieves If We Can't Escape, My Pretty The Samples Walking Through The Snow Don't Let It Bring You Down Empty Angels The Oranges Band All the Ghosts in Your House Around the Track NextStopExJock Stars Are Ours Stuck Surf Song Cerberus Shoal Wyrm Pie for the President New One Jr. My Morning Jacket Heartbreakin Man The Dark St. James......