After taking last week off because we were sure SXSW would release their master plan, we now return as there seems to be no end in sight to the band list embargo. Many indie labels and some marquee acts have simply announced their appearances, as bands attempt to book routing shows in Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, or elsewhere to make their long drives worthwhile. The lack of info has started to get the press......

Our recent SXSW coverage has been generating a lot of buzz. So much buzz, in fact, that MTV News recently tracked down Austinist writer Tom Thornton to discuss it. They even went so far as to call our unofficial SXSW lineup "a certifiably punk-rock way of sticking it to the man"! And though we would like to officially deny that our intent was to stick anything to anybody, we think Tom summed things up pretty......

With national gas prices soaring past that dreadful $3-per-gallon mark, most of us at Austinist have had to rework our upcoming roadtrip plans. But what about our city's vast legions of musicians? Summer's a great opportunity for bands to get out for a bit of stateside touring, but it's hard enough for most indepedent artists simply break even -- especially when you've rented a jalopy of a gas-guzzling touring van to house all those damned......