Two days after SXSW kicks off and our city becomes a living, breathing conglomeration of people from all walks of life, Austinist presents Local Music is Sexy at the PureVolume Ranch. Past Local Music is Sexy events have showcased acts such as The Black Angels, Brothers and Sisters, The Lemurs, The Corto Maltese, Black Before Red, and IV Thieves to name a few. Last year, we remember dancing the night away to Car Stereo (Wars)’ mad mash-ups, drinking free Red Bull (among other things), and having a go at the sweet Wii set up in that little lounge at the location. All in all, an excellent time....

The Black and White Years are not merely a group of affable gents - as Austinist discovered in a recent interview - they're also way into creating compelling pop morsels that eschew immediate categorization and confound otherwise severely judgmental blog-journalists....

Here’s the scene: It’s late in the evening on a Saturday night, and there’s a line full of 16-to-30-year-olds wrapped around the block extending away from the large black door of the New Brookland Tavern in Columbia, South Carolina. Tonight, local, epic, electronic rock band Baumer is playing, and it’s going to be a packed house. A sizable portion of those dance party hungry hipsters clad in t-shirts both black and neon waiting in queue will not even make the capacity cut-off point. But, many of them will stand outside for a good portion of the set, listening from the street. Inside, as Baumer heats up, the cramped crowd bounces and sweats to New Order-inspired electronics, indie rock guitars and a bold voice not unlike that of Muse singer Matthew Bellamy. This isn’t a rarety for the band; it’s every time they play a show in their hometown. ...

Item: The organizers at SXSW have responded to years of complaints about long lines and short notice by dramatically revising the wristband system for the 2008 festival. 4,000 wristbands priced at $139 are reserved exclusively for Austinites and will be distributed via an online lottery system that commences at 9am on Thursday, February 21st. There is a four-day period for sign-up, then the festival will let the winners know they've been selected shortly thereafter. All registrants must live in the Austin area - a credit card with an Austin metro area billing zip code will be required (this generously stretches as far as San Marcos, Georgetown, and Taylor). One can purchase two wristbands, but one of them must be for the purchaser...and the recipient of the second one must be named when placing an order....

You may have already purchased tickets, or you might have been our lucky winner last week (Dax Riggs post-show included), but what you didn't know at the time was that local heartthrobs the Lemurs would be opening. The Lemurs are an impenetrable Austin mainstay, and they have been very busy these last couple months. They headlined our Local Music Is Sexy IV party ACL weekend, then went on tour, then said goodbye to their long......

The Austin Museum of Digital Art (AMODA) is bringing back its monthly Digital Showcase tomorrow night at Club DeVille, and, as usual, they've managed to assemble an impressive roster of electronic musicians and visual artists. Saturday's headliner is New York City's DJ /rupture, aka Jace Clayton. A gifted musician and producer, Rupture has enjoyed a prolific career that's run the gamut from releasing mix albums and performing with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (as a turntable......

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......

Photos from last Thursday's Local Music Is Sexy party. Thanks again to everyone for coming out. We hope you had a good a time as we did. Photos courtesy of Keith Gaddis, John Pesina, Erin Hanson, Zach Ground, Aasim Syed, Rich Merritt and outwithme.com. If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump.......

Hi folks, Thanks for helping us make Local Music is Sexy IV such a success! We hope you guys had as much fun at the free show as we did putting it together. For those of you who weren't able to snag an Austinist tote bag but wanted one, we're gonna make things right: fill out the contest form below, and we'll randomly select twenty people to receive their very own, plus assorted goodies. If......

In less than two days, we'll be hosting our big annual pre-ACL party, Local Music is Sexy IV, Thursday night's soiree will feature Austinites The Lemurs, The Corto Maltese, and Brazos on the outside main stage, with DJs Car Stereo (Wars), Ceeplus Bad Knives*, and Markus with a K supplying dance-party jams inside alongside Magic Surprise. We're also thrilled to be bringing in Seattle indie rockers Say Hi To Your Mom* as our headliners. What's......

ACL Previews Interview: Patterson Hood Del McCoury Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band Jon Dee Graham, Kevin Devine, and Ike Reilly Assassination Beau Soleil & Will Hoges Rail Road Earth It's Official: Bob Dylan & His Band Set to Play Stubb's Aftershow So You Wanna See An ACL Taping Trent Summar, Steve Earle, & DeVotchKa Interview: Crowded House It's Official: Bob Dylan & His Band Set to Play Stubb's Aftershow Weekly Features The Accidental Gentrifist:......

On the eve of ACL Fest, we're gonna turn off our laptops, put on our drinking shoes, and head over to the Mohawk, because Austinist is hosting Local Music is Sexy IV. An annual tradition since its inception in 2005 (back when the 'hawk was the Velvet Spade, and folks were still arguing over the smoking ban), Local Music is Sexy showcases a bunch of promising young Austin bands and DJs that we're most excited......

Austin Sound, if you haven't checked it out already, is a great site featuring information about local music. This Saturday, they're pulling out all the stops to celebrate their one year anniversary, and throwing a mini-ACL that's much, much cheaper. With 13 bands playing, there's bound to be someone to rock your picky ass. Also: free food and FREE BEER for five bucks! We know, it doesn't make sense to us either, but it......

We had, like, totally the best time at the Rude Mechanicals' annual fund-raising shindig this past Saturday, the Magnum P. Eye Ball. Hosted by Jonathan Quayle Higgins III, of course, the island-themed event featured local music icon Graham Reynolds of The Golden Arm Trio spinning period tunes. Meanwhile, numerous dudes walked around in mullets, mustaches and Hawaiian shirts, and several screens played different Magnum P.I. adventures. The night even included the chance to ride "The......

ME Television (Time Warner cable channel 15), Austin's local music video station, is gearing up for their own reality show which will be based on their nationwide search for two new VeeJays. The first set of open auditions takes place Thursday, August 30 in Austin. These auditions will be filmed for the reality series, which will start showing on ME in October. Duties of ME VeeJays include artist interviews, as well as coverage of......

Chicagoist is gearing up for this weekend's annual Air & Water Show along the lakefront. In what's becoming an annual tradition around there, staff member Todd McClamroch even got to fly with one of the participants. Chicagoist's decidedly opinionated readership was also appalled that one of their staffers found a popular local brewpub to be a great place to bring a kid. They also think that an unlikely activist for immigration rights should just take......

Single Frame has been creating eclectic electro-pop for a good number of years now. The band formed in 2000 in Austin and early recordings included a first full-length, Wetheads Come Running, and the Burn Radio Airtest EP released under their original moniker Single Frame Ashtray. Now veterans of two additional records, Single Frame distinguishes itself with eccentric pop that utilizes a variety of jingles, be it the simply synth outputs or unusual sounds obtained from......

Author's note: I will do local music stuff next time, I swear. As an old-school Interpol fan, there is no way I'm not reviewing this record. Interpol - Our Love To Admire Despite all the Joy Division references, Interpol made an impression largely by splitting the difference between The Cure and Duran Duran. The balance of minor-key dirges and slick decadence, perfected on 2002’s Turn On The Bright Lights and poppified on 2004’s Antics, made......

It must be the week of a major holiday, because there won't be a lot of new beautiful stuff on the walls at Waterloo or End of an Ear this week. If you're anxious for Kelly Rowlands' latest (Ms. Kelly), you're breathing a big sigh of relief right now, but H-town is about as close to home as it gets July 3 (please correct us if we're wrong). The new Madlib effort, Yesterday's New......

*The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note Greetings from your San Francisco-bound host of The Laurie Show. I'm going on a trip with my Broken Clock Cabaret peeps to the Bay Area for a short tour of Inside A Broken Clock: A Tom Waits Peepshow next week. However, you can bet I'm on the air tonight, 90.5 on the......

The Octopus Project can be classified as one of the most eclectic acts in town. Their brand of post electro-rock is exciting enough for us although some of their eccentric concoctions have raised a few eyebrows. The band is adept at their trade, combining beats, melodies, and an assortment of sounds in a highly complex yet exhilarating fashion. They headline tomorrow night’s Peek-A-Boo Records showcase which promises to be a quality night of local music.......

Pitchfork reports that Okkervil River have settled on Stage Names for their upcoming release (slated for August 7), featuring artwork by William Schaff (featured left). The album was recorded here in Austin with Brian Beattie and Jim Eno. Follow the cut below for the track listing and tour dates for the summer (hint: there's only three). The Chronicle has taken note of the Tonewheel Collective's recent Beerland extravaganza / farewell show. The news here, incidentally,......

Another special night of local music beckons Friday at the baby Emo’s (Lounge). Headlining will be fast rising favorites Golden Bear, featured recently as the Artist Of The Day by Spin Magazine, while fellow Austinites Peel celebrate the release of their self-titled debut out now on Peek-A-Boo Records. Sandwiched between the two are the Midgetmen who specialize in beer infused punk n’ roll fit to kick off any weekend, or week-day for that matter.......

Austin's Rock N Romp is a monthly concert series dedicated to getting parents out of the house, offering good local music for parents, kids and those just under the legal bar age a chance to rock out, bounce in a moonwalk, and relax. Recently profiled on the Today Show, in Newsweek and Rare magazines, as well as featured in the Statesman, RNR is quickly becoming the go-to solution for adults and children all over Austin......

Clap! Clap! are a hard-working band. Besides playing numerous shows in and around town, they have been in the studio recording their debut full-length (You Love This), chock full of blistering synth pop-rock no doubt. The number of members in the band has peaked at fifteen during some stages of their career, making for some riveting performances but Josh! Clap! verifies the current number of constituents to be eight. He also points out that......

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......

Back during SXSW, we booked an opening DJ for Local Music is Sexy III on a total whim, encouraged by the recommendation of our fashion editor. We were so impressed with DJ Markus ("with a K") that we asked him back to spin at our day party, which he managed with aplomb. We dug it. Former Denton/DFW residents might recognize Markus from his gigs with popular DJ trio The Flashlight Party, which enjoyed residencies at......

*The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note I would never have guessed it would’ve taken some of my friends an entire week to recuperate from SXSW, but it was staring me in the face. Peeps were laying low and catching up on sleep. I didn’t go too crazy myself, due to work obligations, but it also helped to partake......

As SXSW grows into an ever larger behemoth, touring acts have been increasingly drawn to its critical mass like pop matter into an indie black hole. Now it's not uncommon for the parties and music to begin well into the film and interactive festivals. This Saturday was good evidence of this trend, with parties like Local Music is Sexy (Full disclosure: Yes, it was an Austinist sponsored event) and bands like Snow Patrol, who......

On Sunday afternoon, Austin Rock N Romp and Book People are sponsoring an all-ages event on the patio at Mohawk featuring Neal Pollack and Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg. The show will also feature Black Before Red, amps still warm from their Local Music is Sexy 3 performance the night before. Rock N Romp has been putting on all ages rock shows since last summer, and in the coming months will be moving their events to......