Local production company Action Figure might not be a household name yet, but we bet you know their work. The group, based in (where else) East Austin, has produced shows like "Rollergirls" for A&E, and the Lone Star Grammy nominated show "Downtown" for KLRU/PBS. They're also not too shabby when it comes to dabbling in the music video market: their work for Okkervil River's "Our Life Is Not a Movie (Or Maybe)" made the e-rounds late last year, and this year, a company video they produced found its way into the hearts of local DJ duo Ocelot Mthrfckrs. ...

Six Organs of Admittance, complete with awkward band name and bootfulls of whispery/screechy talent, will be taking this town by storm (or sea, or desert cyclone) tonight at the Mohawk. Serving up super-soothing melodies mixed with squalls of distortion to make one big ball of twine, psych-folk style, Six Organs has over the last ten years developed an utterly unique sound, as well as a veritable sand dune of critical acclaim. While they usually tend toward the contemplative and hauntingly beautiful, their most recent album, Shelter from the Ash, has some disturbingly dead-on rockers sure to shake the Mohawk all the way to the lake. And did we mention that Six Organs' frontman Ben Chasney is a guitar god?...

The 6th annual Indie Music Video Festival rolls into town tonight at the downtown Alamo Drafthouse....

Photo by Will Pate on flickrInteractive + ScreenBurn The preliminary list of Interactive panels has been released, and includes topics like "The Great Debate: Is Web 2.0 Bulls#!t?", "The Porn Police: Know the Rules," and "The Suxorz: The Worst Ten Social Media Ad Campaigns of 2007." [Preliminary List] Additional, several panels for the gaming-centric ScreenBurn fest have been revealed. These include "The Future Virtual World Game Development: Rise of the Indies," "You Are Here: Gaming......

If you had the opportunity to tell the world your deepest, darkest secret, would you? Would you do it if you could reveal these feelings behind the anonymity of a postcard? That's the idea Frank Warren had in 2004 when he created PostSecret as a community art project in Washington D.C. The website, which has received multiple awards, now takes in roughly three million new visitors a month and has been visited by over 100......

Denmark darling Figurines will be playing tonight at Emo's (in the lounge) in support of their most recent release, When the Deer Wore Blue. For those unaware, Figurines play a charmingly off-kilter form of retro pop, and their catalog is a must-have for fans of the European refiguring of American indie standards. That's great and all, but we're more excited to catch Dappled Cities, an Australian outfit that, for reasons unknown to us, haven't......

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice......

US bands have less than two months to apply for a showcase slot at SXSW Music. Turn in your application before next Friday and you'll save yourself a little beer money. There are two ways to apply: through SXSW's site, or using Sonicbids. The latter is a great option for bands who already have an electronic press kit (EPK), as they'll just use this to evaluate the application. If you opt for the former,......

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......

[[Although the show ran only one weekend and closed some time ago, we're sharing new contributor Anna Hanks' notes on YTCC's latest production. -Ed.] The next time you're at a rock show, take a moment to observe the crowd, and you'll notice something interesting: most human interaction takes place on a non-verbal level, manifested in acts of flirting, fighting, and everything in between. Since that kind of voyeurism makes us giddy, we’re glad we caught......

Neal Kay’s Heavy Metal Soundhouse inspired the first set of air guitarists in London in the late 1970’s and the spectacle has truly evolved into a world wide phenomenon in the last decade. The first World Air Guitar Championships were held in Finland in 1996 (at the Oulu Music Video Festival) and 12 years later, the event is still going strong. Austin is no stranger to the scene, holding regular contests at the Alamo......

"The cure for the common film fest," Austin Underground Film Fest is the way to go if you're beginning to tire of the latest blockbusters. Rest assured Delta Farce, The Ex, Knocked Up, and their ilk won't be on the program June 9, when you'll begin to feel what the weather is like underground. The 2007 lineup for the underground festival features several shorts, including Ghetto Big Mac, A Girl Like Me, Drawing Between the......

We’ve had a soft spot for Jamie Kennedy ever since his performance as mega film geek Randy Meeks in Wes Craven’s Scream. And we’ve also spent a lot of time watching his short-lived but very funny hidden-camera show, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (which for our money was much more daring and inventive than that lame-ass Punk’d. For example…). At the tail end of South by Southwest this year, we got a chance to chat with......

THURSDAY [1] party • Learning Secrets hosts Optimo's JD Twitch (Glasgow, UK) at Whisky Bar (10pm-2am, $5) art • Public Tour: The Geometry of Hope: Montevideo in the 1930s at The Blanton (7:00 - 8:00 PM) art • Curator's Tour: The Geometry of Hope at The Blanton (12:30-1pm) art • Texas Biennial Opening Reception at Dougherty Arts Center (7-10pm) art • Art Fix: Enjoy an introduction to Latin American wines with Seth Pollard, Central......

WEDNESDAY [28] film • Beats Per Minute, the 48 Hour Music Video Competition at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Premiere screening of Party 101: Consequences at The Paramount Theatre (7pm) film • Mardi Gras: Made in China at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Weird Wednesday: Massacre of Pleasure at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown music • Grizzly Bear, The Papercuts, Peter & the Wolf at Emo's music • This Life Electric, Goldcure, Starchild at Stubb's music......

Hometown rock stars I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness have finished two quick jaunts to Europe, are working on a new album, put together a terrifyingly beautiful music video for "The Owl" with Emmanuel Ho, and will be playing at SXSW. If you aren't already familiar with their unique brand of Peter Murphy meets Nick Cave inspired minimalist (but fist-flinging urban) post-rock, change your ways: you don't want to miss them live. Recently......

Tomorrow's your last chance to vote in the PLUG Independent Music Awards, the annual audience-juried awards event that recognizes the most promising artists and members of the independent music community. Beyond traditional music categories like Album of the Year, New Artist of the Year, and genre-specific awards, PLUG also celebrates everything from live venues and music festivals to internet radio stations and music blogs. This year, several Austin or Texas-based bands, stores, and organizations......

Cristal. Bentleys. Iced-out grills. Thongs. Admit it, you’ve always wanted to be in a music video. Well, tonight’s your chance. But leave the aforementioned accoutrements at home, cause we’re talking about a rock video. During their set at the Mohawk tonight, The Mercers will be shooting footage for their new video. So before you head out tonight, spend a little more time makin yourself hot and a little less time getting drunk. After all,......

As MSTRKRFT, Canadian duo Jesse F. Keeler and Al-P first gained prominence back in late 2004 for their remix of The Panthers' “Thank Me With Your Hands," included in a Vice sampler disc. Since then, they've gone on to remix everyone from Bloc Party ("Two More Years") and Metric ("Monster Hospital") to Buck 65 ("Kennedy Killed The Hat") and The Gossip ("Listen Up"). “We like to make the songs we remix our own,” says......

South by Southwest (SXSW) has begun accepting applications for the 2007 music and film festivals. This year, all applications must be submitted electronically, including music and press kits. Here's the summary: SXSW Music Early Application: $20, Due October 6, 2006 Regular Deadline: $30, Due November 10 (US artists) or October 27 (international artists) Showcase Notification Deadline: February 9, 2007 Things you'll need to apply: name, address, phone, and email of the applying act's label representative......

Our apologies, Austin. This time we let you down. We try to do a lot here, but if there is one thing that we, as a blog, must do, it is deliver the latest in stupid internet humor. It's in our charter. So even though we're two months and about 300,000 YouTube views late, we have to link to this incredible music video from Austinite and Creased Comics creator Brad Neely. Let the other......

Several weeks ago we told you about SXSWclick, the annual competition held by the SXSW-offshoot organization that seeks to showcase "short-form storytelling" on the web and on mobile devices. Entrants were invited to submit short films running under 10 minutes long in one of five different categories: "Old School Shorts" (narrative), "Really Real Shorts" (documentary), "Animate-It" (animation), "Sound Checks" (music video), and "What the F*#!?" (experimental/machinima). SXSWclick trimmed the hundreds of entries received down......

Tomorrow night, The Streets take to the stage at La Zona Rosa. Mike Skinner's third album, The Hardest Way to Make An Easy Living, has drawn many favorable reviews ("twice as good as any album about the price of celebrity has a right to be" -- Guardian UK). Be sure to arrive in time to check out opener Lady Sovereign, easily one of the most entertaining acts we caught at SXSW. If you haven't......

Having played an outrageously amazing show at Coachella after winning a MySpace contest they didn't even know about, Austin's The Octopus Project are coming back to their hometown this Saturday to headline at Emo's outside, with Loxsly, Gil Mantera's Party Dream and Featherweight Burden. The trio's been busy these past few months: they played a bunch of well-received shows back at SXSW (prompting Rolling Stone's David Fricke to name them one of his standout bands......

You're listening to your iPod walking down Congress Ave., the beats pounding in your head conspire with your artistic sensibilities, painting in your mind's eye a visual landscape for the song you are hearing. You're sitting on the couch at home, trying to finish that twelve-pack, hearing something come from the latest Dead Prez album that makes you think, "Oh, this song would make the perfect video. There'd be a kid sitting obliviously on......

The Scion xPress Fest Screening Tour started off as a chance for filmmakers around the country to each partner up with an independent band and create a music video. From the hundreds of submissions they received, they chose a mere ten, representing cities such as Orange County (CA), Savannah (GA), New York (NY), Iowa City (IA), and, yep, Austin. In our city, The Arm and UT student filmmaker Lawrence Johnson were paired up (we're not......

As always, let us know about any corrections or suggestions! MONDAY [3] [music] ICP Orchestra at Scottish Rite Theatre (link) [art] Gabriel Perez-Barreiro, Curator of Latin American Art, discusses "Art is Connection: America/Americas" at Blanton Museum of Art (Free, 6-8pm) (link) [books] Michael Gordon presents Cobra II at BookPeople (7pm) (link) [books] AAIM, Austin Area Interreligious BookGroup will discuss Peace is the Way by Deepak Chopra. Lori Seremetis will be the Special Guest at BookPeople......

FRIDAY [3] [music] Ariel Pink, Belong, Weird Weeds and Ralph White at Emo's (Inside) (link) [music] What Made Milwaukee Famous, Deathray Davis, AUX at Emo's (Outside) (link) [music] Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables and Bedouin Soundclash at Stubb's (link) [music] Bucketheard and Kid Beyond at La Zona Rosa (link) [music] Dirty Hearts at End of an Ear (Free, 6pm) (link) [DJ] Whee!Explode! By Learning Secrets and DJ Ian Orth at The Peacock (10pm-2am) (link) [fashion] ATX......

A few weeks ago, local bands and filmmakers were asked to submit their music videos for consideration in this year's inaugural Texas Indie Music Video Festival. Tonight the selected works are being shown at the Drafthouse Downtown, brought to us by End of an Ear and Emo's. The list of chosen videos includes some of our favorite regional acts, including now-defunct Canoe, Peter & the Wolf, and Okkervil River. Check the full listing after......

Local band Furthest From The Star are hoping for a record deal with one of the major labels, and need a music video to send off to them. They're asking for a "a lot of friends and people" out in the audience over at Music Lab (Oltorf & Lamar), tomorrow evening for a brief shoot. (Tuesday, 6:30-7:30pm, Music Lab) This weekend, our buddy Angel and cohorts are organizing a Dia de Los Muertos-themed party (isn't......