Chaos In Tejas 2008 kicks off this evening at Emo’s with Roky Erickson & The Explosives headlining the outside stage. Erickson has had a storied if troublesome life -- he was an instrumental force in the psychedelic music revolution in Texas in the 60’s with the 13th Floor Elevators, he then battled mental illness and had some run-ins with the law, and in the 80’s, he apparently claimed to have been possessed by a Martian. Erickson’s career returned to some sense of normalcy in the 90’s and by 2005, he was back in the limelight, performing at the 2005 Austin City Limits Music Festival with The Explosives....

Local outfit What Made Milwaukee Famous have already had a seasoned career since forming in 2002 in the state capital. They captured the city's attention early on with a number of captivating live shows, charming audiences with their catchy pop songs. Their debut full-length Trying to Never Catch Up initially dropped in 2004 and was greeted by Austinites as gem of a record with the act touching on a number of genres and garnishing their melodies with appropriate instrumentation and impeccable production to conjure up a wide variety of delightful ditties -- many gratifying immediately, others already timeless. The record was re-released by Barsuk Records in 2006; the label is also home to the band’s sophomore album What Doesn’t Kill Us released earlier this year. Keeping with the times, What Made Milwaukee Famous launched a YouTube channel called WMMF TV this March where fans can enjoy the band's videos as well as live clips from their concerts....

Founded in 2000, Kentucky post-rock outfit Foxhole specialize in (largely) instrumental epics that utilize the tried and tested routine of building songs layer by layer until the desired crescendo and ensuing coda can take full effect. The band’s early compositions employed a number of instruments, some generic, others self-created, while the trumpet is heavily featured on most of their work. Previous recordings in Church settings have accentuated their sound with a distinct, spacious element and Foxhole’s intricate arrangements include exhilarating moments of clarity perfect for pacifying far reaching emotions. The act falls within the Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky family tree (relatively speaking) and their grand soundscapes should definitely appease fans of the genre. Their newest EP, Push/Pull is available off their official website as is their 2004 debut full-length We the Wintering Tree....

Besides big shows like The Raconteurs at Stubb’s and Atmosphere at Emo’s outside stage (both concerts are on Friday as well as Saturday) and tonight’s Tapes 'N Tapes and White Denim at Antone’s, there are a number of other stellar events of interest in our city this weekend. Soundcheck Magazine’s Spring Showcase takes place at Buffalo Billiards on Friday with two expert songwriters in the spotlight -- Brother Will (Brothers and Sisters) shall be accompanied by a variant set of musicians for this gig while Micah P. Hinson (Le Diamant Brut) also puts in a shift, fresh off his recent European jaunt. Swing on by to catch their performances and enjoy a game of darts or shuffleboard to boot. Toppie Haynes and Chris Brecht round off the bill....

It seems like just yesterday we were honoring The Midgetmen’s five year anniversary. Well, turns out it has been a year already and this weekend at Emo’s Lounge, the local pop-punk act is celebrating its sixth birthday which conveniently coincides with the release of their third full-length album. The band’s new record Show Pony (Buy it here) is as eco-friendly as it gets -- per bassist / vocalist Marc Perlman, “100% post-consumer cardboard with environmentally friendly inks with no plastic shrink wrap. And, we just signed an agreement with our friends at MoveNeutral.com to carbon offset the CD release show as well as the entire tour!” Nice!...

Kick off your weekend at End of An Ear with Ethan, Master of the Hawaiian Ukele's (Le Diamant Brut) poignant tales at 6 p.m. Light-hearted ditties like “If You’re Acting Like A Baby (How’re You Gonna Be Her Man)?” and “Out Of A Rut” are just two of the aural delights that can be found on his record, So Real. He plays another set at the 21st St. Co-op at 9 p.m. For late evening activities away from downtown proper, the United States Art Authority offers up 60’s style psychedelic folk from Brothers and Sisters along with a set by Love lovers Forever Changes. Headdress and Poor People round off this eclectic bill. The Continental Club is home to the wacky compositions of Pong and The Horsies while Cactus Cafe hosts veteran singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked. Southern rock, blues 'n metal from Amplified Heat at Trophy’s is another alternative....

Now that the Old Settler’s Music Festival and the Austin Reggae Festival are done and dusted for another year, the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival is still a ways away, (and c’mon, Eeyore’s Birthday Party is not a music fest, drum circles or not), what are we left with to fulfill our longing for another event that fosters song and dance under the Sun? The 1st Annual Pachanga Latin Music Festival is here to salvage the month of May and provide an assortment of music and art to coincide with the culmination of Austin’s Latino Music Month. Waterloo Park (also home to Fun Fun Fun Fest and now, Mess With Texas) will host this fiesta on May 31st and tickets went on sale today! All proceeds benefit ALMA....

After celebrating its four year anniversary in January, the regular dance party in town known as Learning Secrets presents its latest edition this weekend. Originally started by DJ and promoter Ian Orth during his stint at the Rutgers’ college radio station 88.7 FM WRSU (where he booked acts such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Rapture for events on campus), Learning Secrets has evolved from a weekly shindig at the Whisky Bar on 5th St. into a conglomeration of sorts. Orth is working to expand the party into an entity -- “The biggest change and step forward has been turning Learning Secrets into a boutique PR firm with my best friend Jeramy Neugent who recently moved back to Austin from L.A. where he was the tour publicist for everybody from Animal Collective to Marissa Nadler to Federico Aubele to Fela Kuti. Our platform is to work with the music we love and firmly believe can make some sort of positive cultural impact on our society, and get those bands the exposure they deserve.”...

After the break-up of influential alt-country act Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar and Mike Heidorn formed Son Volt in 1994. Their debut record Trace was released in 1995 and featured the radio hit "Drown". After putting out two more albums in the late-'90s, the band faded away somewhat; Farrar worked on solo material for a few years before rejuvenating the Son Volt moniker with new members in 2005. This new look outfit dropped The Search in 2007 on Legacy Records while they also found time to cover The Beatles’ “Hello Goodbye” last July for a commercial on ESPN advertising David Beckham’s addition to the MLS roster. To some Son Volt will always play second fiddle to Wilco, a bit like Spectrum did to Spiritualized, or Kelly Rowland to Beyoncé even. However, Jay Farrar more than holds his own with his work; his lyricism is astute and his John Fogerty-esque vocals are a perfect fit for the band’s classic Americana concoctions....

Marfa, Texas, over 400 miles from Austin and an extremely intriguing city to say the least, is home to plenty of art, special concerts, and of course, those lights. This weekend, the quality concerts continue as Marfa Public Radio (KRTS 93.5 FM) rounds off its Spring Membership Pledge Drive with the 2008 Far West Texas Radio Round-Up featuring music from a number of excellent acts....

Max Bemis is the man behind California pop outfit Say Anything. Bemis started the band in 2001, self-releasing Baseball that year followed by …Is a Real Boy on Doghouse Records in 2004. The latter was Bemis’ attempt to ease out of the pop-punk category towards what he calls “respectable music” per the band’s website. In fact, he went through quite a contemplative stage as he prepared the album -- “I thought often about what the point of my life was. Was I doomed to remain yet another earnest, upper-middle class bred whine-rocker? After all, hidden deep in the recesses of my mind, I had hidden the notion that I could do something incredible and different, that I could be somebody like Warhol, or Jesus. I had to write an album that was revolutionary in its content and presentation. Finally, one night, it hit me. That was what my record had to be about: the artistic struggle, the fact that every creative person has this sick ambition to affect some sort of change in society with their art, to be more than just a guy in a band or a poet or a sculptor. I couldn’t decide if this ambition was a good or bad thing but I decided to parody that overzealous drive in human beings by crafting a truly over the top musical about...myself.”...

Emo’s shakes things up this Friday with RJD2 and dälek bringing the beats and rhymes to what promises to be an innovative evening of hip-hop at the Red River venue. Also in the vicinity, The Ramonahs cover various Ramones classics at the Beauty Bar. The “All Drag Queen” tribute act debuted in Dallas in February to a sold out show and why should Austin miss out on this shenanigans! Firekills at Red 7, Demontuary at Room 710, The Ends at Headhunters, and The Hex Dispensers at Beerland offer further options in the area....

If you’re in the mood to delve into the music of some fine local acts, you will not want to miss SureFire Media + Promotion’s latest event at Antone’s tonight. When we last checked in with them, we learnt of their plans to bring fresh faces to the historic venue on 5th St. Thursday’s bill features four exciting bands primed for their moment of glory in the Live Music Capital. Haunting Oboe Music has been ubiquitous in the past year, playing everywhere, from The Parlor up north to the Do512 Compound down south, and almost every Red River venue in between. The ambitious band plans to drop an EP every month this year; you can read our review for January’s h here and buy it, along with the February, March, and April releases at Waterloo Records or via iTunes. The Fever Dreams’ experimental psychedelic concoctions are intriguing to the say the least, with numerous twists and turns throughout. The outfit’s versatile creations can be found on last year’s Tregan of Polycorns, also available at Waterloo Records, as well as End of an Ear and Cheapo Discs....

Eisley headlines Antone’s on Wednesday in support of its second full-length Combinations (released last August.) The record is chock-full of the gleaming melodies and soothing harmonies we’ve come to expect from this Texan family. We first witnessed Eisley in action at Stubb’s during SXSW 2003. The bill that evening featured the likes of Supergrass and The Polyphonic Spree but we vividly remember Eisley holding its own with exquisite renditions of early material such as “Memories” and “Sea King.” Check out Eisley's new video “Invasion” via YouTube and catch the act's ethereal pop soundscapes live in concert this evening. We caught up with Chauntelle DuPree recently to decipher the Eisley’s family tree, inspirations, and the key moments that have shaped the band’s journey....

Cry Blood Apache drops its latest output in the form of Northern Travelers (on Ghetto Pagoda Records) this Tuesday. The EP will be available starting April 1st at Waterloo Records and End of An Ear, and also online at listen.to/crybloodapache. CBA formed in 2005; currently the trio consists of Jason Chrien, Ben Ellis (or “Kaspar Glass”), and Mitch Hinrichs (or “Hans Hinrich.”) So what exactly are the band's influences? According to bassist Chrien, “The three of us take stylistic cues from old-school reality television shows like Real TV and Max X. The low-fidelity presentation of those programs makes it clear the power immediacy has in art, regardless of medium. We apply a “hand-held” aesthetic to our music in tribute.” CBA's most interesting discography includes an Untitled CD Demo (2005) and a Self-Titled Cassette EP (2005) along with the Performing Diversion Acrobatics LP from 2006 and the Industry MixTape Vol. 1 EP from last year. CBA’s latest 4 song effort was recorded in January of this year, clocks in at just over ten minutes, and was produced by Chrien....

“America’s Funnyman” Neil Hamburger brings his offbeat comedic ramblings to Emo’s (Inside) this Friday. Drag City will release the cult figure’s latest album Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners on April 21st; you can preview new material here. Dave Gleason, Rachel Haden, and Joe Goldmark are just a few of the musicians that aid Hamburger’s country cause on the record....

SXSW is done and dusted and we had a blast. But normal service is resumed this weekend in Austin with a number of appealing shows. Melodies and (so-called) punk go hand in hand these days in mainstream America, with Warped Tour fervor influencing one new generation of mall-punks after another. Bob Mould shaped at least a segment of the sound of pop-punk to come during his Hüsker Dü and Sugar days, and has churned out a versatile solo career as well. His performance at the 2005 Austin City Limits Music Festival was epic and you can witness the magic first-hand, up-close this Thursday when the Bob Mould Band takes centre-stage at Antone’s. Mould’s new record, District Line can be purchased here....

The wait for SXSW Music is almost over but the information overload will persist for another few days! Our writers combed through stacks of emails, tons of event listings, and pages and pages of our beloved "Party Flyers" slideshow to come up with a list of recommended happenings....

So the time is ripe for the 2008 SXSW Music Festival and what better way to lead into that madness than with a host of quality bands at Emo’s to kick off this weekend. Friday marks the CD Release show for local outfit What Made Milwaukee Famous. Officially released on March 4th, What Doesn’t Kill Us will be available for purchase during the show; the album finds the band maturing into a polished rock act while maintaining their keen ear for pop melodies, their expert arrangements of well-crafted tracks, and their penchant for catchy guitar hooks. Check out the video for “Sultan” off the new album via YouTube here....

"I was initially drawn to Crawford, because I'd been effectively duped. I didn't know that Bush wasn't from Crawford."...

Thursday Flamingo Cantina takes a break from bringing in bands like The Skatalites and Israel Vibration. Instead, for this free day show they will host the shimmering and sentimental, Swedish alt rock of the Shout Out Louds. You’ll also hear the catchy California rock of Rogue Wave and the love song sing-alongs and quirky experiments of Akron/Family. Sub Pop’s Portland drums-and-guitar duo The Helio Sequence come prepared with spacey indie rock prettiness, and Fleet Foxes are set to impress with charming guitars and melodic tones. Expect a thrilling display from Athens’ psych-folk collective Elf Power. ...

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....

Our barely-frigid winter is turning tail and running, with nary an “ice storm” or onslaught of freezing rain thrown at us all season. Though spring in Austin doesn’t mean the slow rebirth of nature like it does up north, March still brings good tidings like SXSW, the promise of sunny and beautiful days - not to mention a new season of concerts, shows, and all that jazz. Always on the ball, The Church of the Friendly Ghost is here to welcome March with a show on the 1st featuring a three-part show from notable local and far-off acts....

Let's not mince words: when Cat Power comes to town, it's pretty much mandated by law that you attend. This is because not only will you be able to witness one of the most shockingly talented vocalists in the world, but you also may learn a thing or two. For those who don't remember, let's do a brief recap of what we learned last time the timeless (and timelessly eccentric) soulstress was in town: that Chan Marshall, the woman behind the voice, is on steroids, that she was born deaf, that she wants to shoot her monitors, that she likes to apologize to the crowd, that she was born deaf, that steroids make you angry (and that's why they make you stronger), and on and on she went with her pearls of wisdom. Pretty much, she's a spectacularly unpredictable bounty of non-sequiturs and stunning musicianship....

What would you get if you snatched up Bob Dylan while he was sitting backstage at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963, strapped him to the rather large hood of a Chevrolet K20 pickup and drove through the deserts and ranches of the Southwest finally making your way across to the southern states and stopping for an extra long time in Tennessee? What if he soaked it all up and adopted a little more of the sounds, culture and twang? Well, he’d be a lot like Randy ‘Bag’ Reynolds and company. Saturday night at Hole in the Wall you’ll be able to make your own assessment when locals Leatherbag make their way to the stage sometime around midnight. Between tunes of cello, slide guitar and smokey vocals and others full of fuzzy guitar and brash rock and roll sounds, there exists a captivating balance of sentiment and flat-out fun. ...

Sunday night may usually be time for relaxation, for winding down your weekend's bunch-o'-bliss and preparing for the drudgery of Monday and all the muck that follows it. Sunday night may usually mean propping yourself up with a stick, so exhausted from all yer football-inspired whoopin' and hollerin'. Sunday night may even be a time of penance. But this Sunday night, get ready for a change of gears and an old-fashioned opportunity to headbang, because Dead Meadow and Black Mountain are delivering a sea of drums and guitars and outright ferocity to this usually staid part of the week....

As we reported last week, the Austin-birthed Teeth will be hitting our silver screens on Friday, January 25th. But of course, it would be a grievous crime against the good people of Austin to not give them the chance to see this genre-bending flick before the rest of the unwashed masses, so the tireless miracle-workers over at Ain't It Cool News and the Alamo Drafthouse have cooked up a little sneak preview for our collective cringing pleasure, with Director Mitchell Lichtenstein live in person to field all of your probing questions....

Tired of free shows? Me neither. But Beerland is upping the ante this week with two impressive bills on days that start with “T;” first with School Police, The Pillow Queens, Poor People, and The Nasty Rumors this evening, and a great line-up on Thursday as well (preview forthcoming). ...

Zookeeper is the perfect nom d’arte for Chris Simpson. Technically Zookeeper is a band, a group effort, but Simpson is the one constant. He acts as frontman and ringleader for a pack of ragamuffin rockers associated with projects like Bishop Allen, Zykos, The Glass Family, 1986 and Sad Accordions. And Simpson knows how to write songs that capitalize on this unique amalgamation of talent. Zookeeper is more into performing than practicing, which makes each show a distinct and fantastic musical circus....

Image from Benko’s MySpace Benko, The Boxing Lesson, & The Story OfWednesday, November 21Stubbs (801 Red River)9 p.m. | $8[info] | [Benko MySpace] | [The Boxing Lesson MySpace] | [The Story Of MySpace]Thanksgiving is just around the corner but before you get stuffed and sleepy, get your long weekend started right on Wednesday evening. There is a mouth watering set of shows on the Austin schedule for the 21st. Extended details to follow in our......