In keeping with its aim of promoting exceptional artists to the unsuspecting masses, or “starting fires”, SureFire Media + Promotion presents an exciting line-up of local talent this Thursday at Antone’s. SureFire takes on responsibilities such as booking, publicity, and marketing for Austin acts with The Soldier Thread and The Mercers being just two of the bands on its roster. The Antone’s showcases are meant to bring a new set of local bands to the legendary venue -- according to SureFire’s Director of Media Relations, Stephen Tatton, “Antone's is really an Austin landmark, and I think that if we can do something there that helps everyone involved, then we've done our part.”...

It’s possible you’ve been tricked into thinking Free Week at Emo’s cares not for days as fickle as Sunday, but, just in case, let’s clear things up: YES, Free Week rolls all the way through, with not a break to be seen. And not only that, but Sunday offers up some of the most compelling bands of the whole shebang, including noted acts Ume, Until We’re Blue or Destroy and that nature battle you’ve been dying to see: Bee vs. Moth....

Photo of Moth! Fight! by Aubrey Edwards courtesy of MySpaceIn 2007, Le Diamant Brut sifted through MySpace, show listings and press releases, bringing you a weekly dose of information and advice on all the bands you might have missed. If you missed a week, or want more information on the bands listed here, check out the archives. Happy New Year! AUSTIN BANDS 12/18 - Ringo Deathstarr: Fuzzy, super-loud shoegaze with guitar noise and warm vocals.......

101X FM presents this year’s final installment of their Homegrown Live series on Wednesday at Emo’s Lounge. Homegrown Live has featured a broad array of local hotshots this year including Born To Lose and Black Before Red, staying true to their mantra of “showcasing promising local artists and the kick-ass live music venues in Austin.”...

Photo by Felicia Graham courtesy of MySpaceTIL WE'RE BLUE OR DESTROY What’s the Deal: One thing that Austin has plenty of is indie bands. There are multitudes of poppy, lo-fi folky or staggering, swaggering rock groups swelling with intrigue and buzzing around the local scene destined to either shoot straight and swift to national cult favorites standing or be just another weekend bar band. However, Til We’re Blue Or Destroy are one of the groups......

Flyer from BGirl City Championships Home Slice Pizza celebrates its second anniversary (happy birthday, guys!) with a giant Pizza Carnival—expect pizza tossing acrobats, pizza eating contests, "Great Calzoni the Slice Reader," and more, with proceeds going to benefit Young Texans Against Cancer The 6th annual East Austin Studio Tour returns, featuring more than 200 artists at over 100 studios—ride your bikes this year! VICE Magazine, Gomikitti, and Scion throw a killer free party at Antone's......

Before Fun Fun Fun Fest begins on Saturday, the good folks at Club DeVille are gathering the troops for one heck of a kick-off party. On Friday night, Robbers On High Street will play the versatile venue and we want you there. Sure, you might have won a contest or two in your lifetime but this special giveaway includes a dinner with Robbers On High Street, provided by the wonderful people at Lambert's. The......

The Beauty Bar presents a quality bill of local pop-rock this Thursday night. Til We’re Blue Or Destroy, comprised of a number of multi-talented musicians, have recently wrapped up work on their debut record, This Train -- due later this year. The band’s delightful ditties fluctuate between catchy dance-pop and melodic guitar-rock, and that’s just fine with us! She, Sir support with an array of guitar laced soundscapes complemented perfectly by soft, distant vocals. Russell......

Look no further than Beerland Saturday night to find some of Austin’s most interesting fledgling indie bands. Headlining is Til We’re Blue Or Destroy, a 9-piece communal rock group utilizing every sound at their disposal. That means occasional horns, digital sounds and synthesizers, vibes, cross-gender choruses and even electronic vocal effects. They could use some wood blocks though. Just a thought. Then, there’s The Corto Maltese, who already gain major points for naming themselves......

THURSDAY [14] dance • Constellation, a site-specific dance work from Sally Jacques at Pickle & Thornberry Federal Courthouses (9pm) art • Guest Tour with Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa at Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress (Thursdays are always free at the Blanton,12:30-1:30pm) art • Opening reception for "Just Been Fired," the mostly at Gallery Lombardi (7-10pm) art and books • Blanton Book Club at Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress 6-7:30pm) books • Reginald......

*The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note My friend and fellow music lover John Gross, one of the proprietors of the fabulous music promotion vehicle known as Party Ends, reminded me about a fantastic weekend fundraiser that will surely entertain with great music…and great beer. Party Ends has teamed up with the good folks of Independence Brewing Co. to......

These teal-shirted, white denim-vested tiger-lovers have been popping up around town since August, piquing our curiosity as to their legitimacy. Touted by some as the “best new” in Austin, The Laughing are set to release their first EP Tiger Cry tomorrow night at the historic Victory Grill. We’d hate to just hype (since we haven’t seen them yet), so we’ll do our best to give it to you straight. The EP is dance-rock fun.......

FRIDAY [26] film • El Automovil Gris at McCullough Theatre ® art • Opening Reception: Ishmael Soto: Vessels and Inspirations: Ceramic and Sculptural Work at Mexic-Arte Museum (7-9pm, free) books • Sarah Lewis presents Indecent at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Bil Dwyer at Cap City Comedy Club film • Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival 2007 at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown ® film • The Bridge at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar community • Meeting......

*The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note Most of us can appreciate a few extra days off from work when there's inclement weather. But there are a few of us who get cabin fever. Severely. Make no mistake: I enjoyed it the first day or so, then things got a bit loopy for yours truly during what the media......

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......

The following is a weekly column by guest contributor Laurie Gallardo. Hear her on KUT 90.5FM, Friday evenings, from 11pm-3am. -- The Editors Hello, music lovers! I’m all a-twitter because, once again – and happily so, I’m in a whirl over the shows going on all over the place. It’s especially groovy for yours truly because it helps me pull my humble radio gig together – in that ragtag, scatterbrained method I’m so used......

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......

KUT's Laurie Gallardo dishes about local music....

WEDNESDAY [20] film • Cinematexas Fest at Various (Various) ® music • Acid King, Black Cobra, The High Divers, Ghetto Princess at Emo's music • Lebanon (ISRAEL), Snake Trap, UME, Something Fierce at Beerland music • Five Times August, Stephen Speaks at Cactus Café music • Jet at La Zona Rosa ® music • Secret Weapons, Til We're Blue or Destroy and The Quicks at The Chain Drive (9pm) food • Angel Valley Organic......

Thanks to everyone who came out to Local Music is Sexy 2 last night! We'll be posting photos from the event in the next few days -- meanwhile, if you took any of your own, we ask that you to tag them with "austinist" and share them in our flickr pool. And a special thanks to everyone who helped us put this all together: Green Potato Ventures, The Mohawk, Sparrowhead, Super!Alright!, Car Stereo (Wars), Stay......

FRIDAY [15] music • Ghostland Observatory and Thee Emergency at The Mohawk (912 Red River) ® party • Earthdance at NiaSpace (7:30pm-10pm, $15) party • Eastside City Limits party with Pink Nasty, Tnlons Fort, I Kill Cars, Missing Tapes, Brothesr and Sisters, Til We're Blue or Destroy, The Black at Red Scoot Inn and Old Austin Daze Compound (9pm-4am, FREE) ® party • Teleport Door presents the Pop Yo Colla' party with DJs Daniel......

Good day to you, music fans! If you weren’t enjoying last night’s music and festivities at the Austinist’s high-energy pre-ACL party, Local Music Is Sexy 2, I regret to inform you that you missed one hell of a great time. I was honored to serve as emcee of this year’s event (although I had to remind myself to shut up and keep it short at the mic), and the evening served as inspiration for the playlist I’m assembling for this evening’s Laurie Show on KUT 90.5. ...

On the eve of Austin's gargantuan music festival in Zilker Park, Austinist is hosting our second annual fall soiree, replete with bands, DJs, video projections, fire dancers, and more!...

THURSDAY [24] music • Brother Will (Brothers & Sisters) and Friends, Lomita, and Sean Ohno (The Arm) at Beauty Bar (10pm, Free, Drink tickets to first 150 guests) ® music • Fiction, Gulf of Mexico, Bello Ragazzo at 912 Red River (10pm) ® party/fashion • DJ Ian Orth aka Learning Secrets spins at Bettysport's cocktail party celebrating the new silhouettes and colors of the Stella Mccartney fall/winter collection for Adidas at Bettysport (5-8pm, Free)......

FRIDAY [23] [theatre] I Love My Dead Gay Son: The Musical! at Off Center (8pm, $15) (more) [theatre] Uncertainy Avoidance at Peacock Lounge (8pm, $11, 220.7198 for more info) (more) [theatre] HMS Pinafore at Forrest King Performing Arts Center at Crockett High (8pm, $15-$20) (more) [theatre] The Return of the Intergalactic Nemesis (Episode II) at Blue Theater (8pm, $12-$35) (more) [dance] Blue Lapis Light: Requiem at Intel Shell (8pm, Pay what you can) (more) [film]......

MONDAY [22] [film] Letters from the Other Side at Congregational Church of Austin (7pm, Free) [link] [film] Hands on a Hard Body at Austin Java (8pm, Free) [link] [film] Jarhead at Cafe Mundi (8pm, Free) [link] [film] True Stories at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) [link] [film] Salt of the Earth at MonkeyWrench Books (8pm, $5) [link] [film] Anime Monday at Ventana del Sol (7:30pm) [link] [tv] 24 Season Finale at Alamo Downtown (7pm, Free) [link]......

FRIDAY [14] [music] The Arm CD Release, with Single Frame, Faceless Werewolves and Lomita at Emo's (link) [music] Sound Tribe Sector Nine with Govinda at Stubb's Austin (link) [music] Matt Nathanson at Waterloo Records (Free, 5pm) (link) [music] Til We're Blue or Destroy at Beerland (link) [music] The Weary Boys Release Show at Continental Club (12:15am) (link) [party] Car Stereo (Wars) at Plush (10pm-2am, $2 Lone Stars) (link) [music] Loxsly and The Lemurs at Blue......

Another victim of the fires that ravaged KOOP's former residence was Sweatbox Studios, the "home to generations of punk and garage rock" and one of Austin's more historic recording spaces. Over at Emo's tonight they're hosting a benefit show with Poison 13, Knife in the Water, The Meat Purveyors, and Possessed by Paul James. (Friday, Emo's, 10pm) On Saturday, the Rhizome Collective hosts the first-ever Clay Hands, a new benefit series that hopes to "raise......