Best known as the frontman of alt-country group Richmond Fontaine, Willy Vlautin is now also an author. His debut novel, The Motel Life, takes the same bleak, resigned-to-fate look on life that fuels his music. The story centers around the relationship of brothers Frank and Jerry Lee, who flee town after one of them accidentally kills a boy in a drunken hit-and-run accident. They find a strange kind of freedom in their ensuing travels; it's......

If last night's rockin' and sweaty Old 97's show at Gruene Hall didn't satisfy your need for songs about west Texas, drinkin' and crazy women then lucky for you Lil Cap'n Travis will be at Room 710 tonight. Their 70s-Beach Boys-from-Amarillo-at-sunset sound can be found on their latest album, In All Their Splendor. Opening the show will be Richmond Fontaine and Baby Girl. Tucson band Friends of Dean Martinez treats us to their dessert......