The Vans Warped Tour is back and taking charge this summer with more rocktastic bands than ever. Like years past, there is a Battle of the Bands competition. What's different about this year's competition? An Austin band is currently second in line to win the ultimate grand prize—a trip to Hollywood to play at the Vans after party, $15,000 Guitar Center shopping spree, Alternative Press Exposure, full Ernie Ball Music Man endorsement, guaranteed fame for life, etc. Who are these lucky bastards? Fatback Circus, up-and-coming avant-garde funk masters of the city. more ›

You bring up the idea of “art”, and you’re definitely begging for some heated shit talking. Opinions are the first to fly, then potentially followed by epithets, then perhaps some brass knuckles. All metaphoric in form, of course. Why must these disagreements come to pass? Notorious MSG comes to mind. It could be said that this is exactly what art and artists, as functional cogs in the machines of social industry, are supposed to... more ›