David Bazan, of Pedro the Lion, has built his musical persona largely on autobiographical songs narrating his fretful longing for belief. His is the uneasy province of agnosticism without the benefits of hindsight or the comforts of detachment. This translates musically into straightforward guitar melodies functioning mainly as the conduits for non-sequiturs and one-liners that we can’t quite call zingers but that nonetheless carry that beloved hallmark of indie lyrics- irony. more ›

Eric Elbogen formed Say Hi To Your Mom in 2000, eventually also founding Euphobia Records to release his indie-pop ditties. He tweaked the act’s moniker to simply Say Hi before the release of 2008’s The Wishes And The Glitch (Purchase it here). The album features Say Hi’s trademark catchy synth-powered melodies along with Elbogen’s always entertaining lyricism. A classic D.I.Y. project, Elbogen handles the entire recording process and is responsible for the majority of the sounds you hear on Say Hi’s catalog, sans the occasional guest contribution. We caught up with the man himself recently over email and received some insightful responses to our quickfire questions. more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

TUESDAY [17] film • SXSW Presents: Viva Les Amis on KLRU (9pm, Free) film • AFS Essential: Heaven Can Wait at Alamo Downtown (7pm) film • Bad Education at Arbor (1:10pm & 6:50pm) ® film • Live Flesh at Arbor (4:10pm & 9:30pm) ® film • Gimme Shelter at Alamo Downtown (9:45pm) ® film • The Weather Underground at The Space (8pm, Free) film • Gremlins at Rounders Pizzeria (9pm, Free) comedy/wanted • HBO... more ›

Eric Elbogen’s Say Hi To Your Mom matches sweetly conjured melodies with self-produced perfection to reach an indie-emo hybrid more common than not these days. His Euphobia Records has been home to 4 releases under the SHTYM moniker, with themes ranging from vampires to self-reflection. DC-area based Metal Hearts open with their collage of softly produced sounds. Supplementing their strengths, the band’s precise arrangements on their Suicide Squeeze release, Socialize builds on articulate instrumentation, and the Austinist wants you to watch them produce live. Win tickets here: more ›

MONDAY [music] Say Hi to Your Mom, Summer at Shatter Creek, 1986 at Stubb's BBQ. [music] Digable Planets with The Procussions, DJ Vajra at La Zona Rosa [party] Digable Planets After-Party with Element 7D, DJ Kunal M, DJ Inverse at Red Fez. [poetry] Speaking the Spoken: The Art of Verse at The Vortex. Hosted by Xenogia and Zell Miller III. Readers $1, all others $3. 7pm-945pm. TUESDAY [film] Austin Film Society presents John Schlesinger’s "Billy... more ›