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....

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....

The Mohawk presents a solid double bill of local pop this evening. The Lemurs have been writing new material over the last few months and a handful of those songs will be included in their set tonight. The band enjoyed a stellar 2007 -- highlights included licensing their music to NBC show Las Vegas (as well as an Australian indie flick called Newcastle) and touring with Canadian act Stars. This past Sunday, ME Television telecast a 2nd ME Live! featuring The Lemurs' shimmering melodies in concert at a recent La Zona Rosa gig....

Because we're all hoping they'll finally find their audience (aside from our moms) and land a record deal, The Black Crowes have announced their 2008 tour, which includes a stop at SXSW 2008. They will headline at Stubb's, no less. Keep your fingers crossed for them, folks. In other news, we've received word on a handful of local bands that have been accepted by SXSW, including (but not limited to) The Lemurs, Peel, Weird Weeds, Car Stereo (Wars) and almost local rapper Bun B of UGK (Houston). We'll be updating with local additions as often as we can, so stay tuned!...

As promised, here's the schedule of set times for this weekend's Fun Fun Fun Fest, sponsored in part by Austinist.com. Fun Fun Fun Fest: [official] [myspace] [tickets] Update: Download this as a pdf Saturday, November 3rd Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 12:30 PM 12:45 PM The Lemurs(12:50-1:20) Down To Nothing(12:40-1:10) 1:00 PM Djs Manny and Bigface(1-2) 1:15 PM Iron Age(1:10-1:40) 1:30 PM Zykos(1:25-1:55) 1:45 PM Viva Hate(1:45-2:15) 2:00 PM Brothers and Sisters(2-2:30) 2:15 PM......

You may have already purchased tickets, or you might have been our lucky winner last week (Dax Riggs post-show included), but what you didn't know at the time was that local heartthrobs the Lemurs would be opening. The Lemurs are an impenetrable Austin mainstay, and they have been very busy these last couple months. They headlined our Local Music Is Sexy IV party ACL weekend, then went on tour, then said goodbye to their long......

Fun Fun Fun Fest captured more than a few hearts last December on a cold winter evening with a three-stage-pronged attack that provided ample genres for everyone in attendance. Some of the stand-out acts included Spoon, The Black Angels, The Octopus Project, Peaches, and Prefuse 73. This year, the fest is back, bigger than before, and a month earlier to boot. November 3rd and 4th will see Waterloo Park transformed into a musical carnival featuring......

Fun Fun Fun Fest captured more than a few hearts last December on a cold winter evening with a three-stage-pronged attack that provided ample genres for everyone in attendance. Some of the stand-out acts included Spoon, The Black Angels, The Octopus Project, Peaches, and Prefuse 73. This year, the fest is back, bigger than before, and a month earlier to boot. November 3rd and 4th will see Waterloo Park transformed into a musical carnival featuring......

Do Make Say Think blend blistering rock guitars with numerous other soundscape generating instruments to create sophisticated and epic compositions of the finest caliber. The Toronto outfit captivated us with a rousing performance (when they opened for Broken Social Scene) last year at Stubb’s. The band’s use of an assortment of unconventionally obtained audio along with their application of jazz standards makes for a truly unique post-rock sound. Largely instrumental, Do Make Say Think have......

If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump. Less than a week after the Austin City Limits Music Festival packed up its gear for another year, La Grave Field in Fort Worth hosted the 2007 Wall Of Sound Festival. Presented by Spune and co-sponsored by Coors Light, the Fort Worth Weekly, and yours truly (among others), the event kicked off bright n' early on the 22nd of......

Eleven Hundred Springs specialize in a pure brand of country that should provide a perfect anti-dote for fans of that genre amidst the variety of pop, rock and electronic acts at the 2007 Wall Of Sound Festival. Lead by Matt Hillyer and Steve Berg, the band has put out a number of records on labels such as 13 Recordings and Palo Duro Records. Besides their upcoming gig at the Wall Of Sound festival, Eleven Hundred......

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......

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......

Austinist co-sponsors an awesome boat party out on Lake Travis, with bands, DJs, swimming, and more. Tickets are still available, but get yours now before they sell out! Gallery Lombardi's latest ocean-themed exhibition, entitled "Radical Nautical," opens with a full evening of music, videos, and more Forklift Danceworks debuts their "revised and expanded" performance of their Elvis-inspired dance production, The King and I Austin Film Festival brings in veteran screenwriter Dan Petrie Jr. ("Beverly......

WEDNESDAY [16] music • Locals at La Zona Rosa Showcase with Zookeeper, The Laughing, A Pocketful of Deng at La Zona Rosa (Free with RSVP at Do512) books • The Intimacies Group with Guest Rick Lannoye discuss "Sex Drive" at BookPeople (7:00pm) film • "Willy Wonka" Chocolate Feast at Alamo Downtown film • Open Screen Night at Alamo Downtown film • Weird Wednesday: "Daydream" at Alamo Downtown food • (The Original) Willy Wonka Chocolate......

As we reported a month ago, Little Richard will headline this year’s 40 Acres Fest at UT’s annual shindig. He will be supported by assorted acts such as up-and-coming party favorites Jungle Rockers as well as local dance-poppers The Lemurs. Complete details can be found, well, not really anywhere as far as we can tell, but 40 Acres Fest’s MySpace page might be one’s best bet. The event has a long tradition of showcasing emerging......

ME Television and the Austin Music Foundation continue to promote the best of the city’s promising up-and-coming acts at Antone’s on Thursdays. After the success of the first Emerging Artists Series, the time is ripe for the latest edition. The good times rock n’ tonk of The Jungle Rockers (featured today in The Daily Texan) along with prog-metal from Stasis promises another night of diverse music. Add to that one of our fast emerging favorites,......

THURSDAY [8] film • Austin Film Festival screens an archival 35mm print of Trading Places, with screenwriter Herschel Weingrod (Trading Places, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Brewster's Millions, Space Jam) introducing the film, at Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (7:30pm, $4 General, Free for AFF Members, "Prince and Pauper"-style menu) books • Dalton Gang Poetry Showdown with Ric Williams, Lyman Grant, W. Joe Hoppe and Rob Lewis at Intellectual Property (6:00pm) film • Love Bites, the 80s......

The following is a weekly column by guest contributor Laurie Gallardo. Hear her, Friday evenings, on KUT 90.5FM. -- The Editors Shalom, hepcats, and a Happy Hanukkah to you. I listened to Adam Sandler this morning because I truly appreciate his renowned tribute to the season, “The Hanukkah Song.” I appreciate the fact that he updates it every year, too. Put on your yarmulke…  I’ll feature groovy music this evening on KUT 90.5, in my......

Long a bastion of hilarious pseudo-journalism veiling insightful and viscous social commentary, The Onion was once relegated to small hamlets like Madison, Chicago and New York City. Over the years, it has published compendiums of articles in book format and expanded its coverage to include non-pseudo-reporting with the Onion A.V. club. Now, It has taken itself one step further, reaching out to us smaller urban communities to promulgate its singular wackiness and educate the......

THURSDAY [30] music • Dave Brubeck, Ramsey Lewis at Paramount Theatre music • The Onion's Corporate Expansion Celebration with Sount Team, IV Thieves, Eugene Mirman, The Lemurs, Tacks the Boy Disaster at Emo's music • UT Dance Marathon Fall Benefit Concert feat. Danny Malone w. Smile Smile, The Downside Up at The Parish Room music • Lower 4th, Exeter, Blackholicus, She, Sir! at Flamingo Cantina music • The Fall Collection, The Always Already, AUX......

The following is a weekly column by guest contributor Laurie Gallardo. Hear her Friday evenings on KUT 90.5FM, 11pm-3am. --The Editors Greetings to you, sufferers of post-Thanksgiving stress disorder. Come, now! You know exactly what I’m talking about. Were you one of the brave souls up this morning waiting at some random department store before the grand 5 a.m. opening to get your holiday shopping on?  Not me. “Black Friday” is not my cup......

FRIDAY [17] music • Frida Hyvonen, Tacks the Boy Disaster, Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater) at Emo's Lounge music • She Wants Revenge & Pretty Girls Make Graves at Stubb's music • Deftones, Deadsy at Austin Music Hall music • Steve Carter at Waterloo Records music • Grupo Fantasma at Antone's music • Golden Bear, The Lemurs, Glass Family at Continental Club (9:30pm) music • Joe Ely at Cactus Café music • Chin Up Chin Up,......

The following is a weekly column by guest contributor Laurie Gallardo. Hear her Friday evenings on KUT 90.5FM, from 11pm-3am. -- The Editors Hello again, kids! I’m not sure how you’ve been feeling as of late, but it seems time is flying by faster than I can read the clock. Must be all the shows that keep popping up, one right after the other. That spells goldmine for me.  First things first, ladies and......

WEDNESDAY [1] music • Minus the Bear, POS, The Velvet Teen, Russian Circles at Emo's music • Social Distortion w/ Blackpool Lights & The Chelsesa Smiles at Stubb's music • New Found Glory at La Zona Rosa music • The Mozart Requiem: A 250th Anniversary featuring Les Violons du Roy & La Chapelle de Quebec at Bass Concert Hall music • Capitol Years, The Lemurs, National Eye at The Mohawk books • Poetry on......

When most people think of lemurs, cuddly ring-tailed animals usually come to mind, and not, say, an enterprising Austin band as equally fitting on a bill with The Smiths as with Bloc Party. The word lemur actually means "spirit of the night," and like a spirit in the night, local favs The Lemurs are going to sneak their infectious melodies into your brain this Saturday at Emo's to celebrate their CD release. Drawing on......

The following is a weekly column by guest contributor Laurie Gallardo. Hear her on KUT 90.5FM, Friday nights from 11pm-3am! -- The Editors Far too much going on in the weeks ahead, but technically, staying busy keeps me out of trouble. Right?  Well…it’s a good theory.  Hello again, music peeps! I’m compelled to begin this column with self-promotional frivolousness, but what the heck. Keep in mind that next Friday, I won’t be on the air......

THURSDAY [21] books • Chuck Klosterman presents Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas at BookPeople (7pm) ® books • David Oshinsky presents Polio: An American Story at Barnes & Noble, 701 Capital of TX Hwy (7pm) ® books • Ayun Halliday presents Dirty Sugar Cookies: Culinary Observations, Questionable Taste at BookWoman (7pm) music • French Kicks, The Little Ones, The Lemurs at Emo's ® music • The Yellow Umbrella......

Tomorrow night, we're helping out folks from PartyEnds.com, Green Potato Ventures, Sparrowhead, and Super!Alright! to throw one hell of a party over at Gallery Lombardi. Come and check out bands, video projections, art installations, and DJs while you enjoy complimentary beverages, courtesy of Austin's own Independence Brewery. The Lineup: The Lemurs [link] Cue [link] Tacks, the Boy Disaster [link] Economy [link] Stay Gold DJs [link] Luther at PartyEnds has also put together his first......

THURSDAY [6] [film] Hanging Tough: The Boy Band Sing Along at Alamo Downtown (7pm, Sold Out) (link) [film] Patton at Paramount Theatre (7:30pm) (link) [music] We Will Rock You: The Queen Sing Along at Alamo Downtown (9:45pm, $10) (link) [film] Terror Thursdays: Parents at Alamo Downtown (11:50pm, FREE) (link) [books] Helen Thomas presents Watchdogs of Democracy at Austin Marriott at the Capitol (6pm, $5 in advance or at the door) (link) [books] Sheila Kohler and......