Okay, before we begin, there are some things we must know about El Guincho. First of all, El Guincho is one man, Pablo Díaz-Reixa, and he named his album after the uninhabited island of Alegranza, which is at the northeastern tip of the Canary Islands, which are—of course this is common knowledge—an autonomous domain of Spain located on the west coast of Africa. Díaz-Reixa is from these Canary Islands, and, via Barcelona, he creates swirling and excitable indie pop using loops and samples and an amalgam of musical influences ranging from Benga (Kenyan traditional music) to Bhangra (Indian folk) to any brand of tropicalia that flies well above the head of our good friend Jimmy Buffett. more ›

Editor's note: My Ex-Boyfriend's Band is a reoccurring column that features the opinions and insight of the author, not necessarily reflective of the Ist network as a whole. Thank you for reading! For the times they are a-changin'. And the music festivals are a-changin' with them. Even Dylan, who declined to take the stage at Woodstock in 1969, evolved into the 2007 Austin City Limits headliner. With SXSW, Fun Fun Fun and the C3... more ›

Image from MySpace Ear to the UndergroundSunday, December 9Salvage Vanguard Theatre ()$5, 8pm-12am, BYOB[info] This Sunday, The Church of the Friendly Ghost and the Misc. Music label are banding together to bring new, mind-expanding music to the Salvage Vanguard Theatre. The event, called Ear to the Underground, begins at 8:00 p.m. and ends at 12:00 p.m. Four bands will be performing; Damage Pants and Aliens from Austin, and Make Your Own Maps with the painful-sounding... more ›

Photo courtesy My Guerrilla on Flickr[another wristband for the collection] Austin’s C3 Presents now has three major festivals to go along with their trio of Charlies. The producers of Lollapalooza and the Austin City Limits Festival will put on the Vineland Music Festival in rural New Jersey Aug. 8 to 10, 2008. Vineland is a joint venture with Melvin Benn’s Festival Republic. The U.K. event producer’s portfolio includes the Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury festivals. Set... more ›

Mac Lethal has been called a “contemporary cross between a folk singer and a stand-up comic” by Rolling Stone – and that dichotomy of inane observation and thought-provoking insight defines his debut album, 11:11. We spoke with Mac Lethal from his tour bus while on the road for the Everybody Loves a Clown Tour with label-mates Grayskul and Atmosphere. That tour bus is currently parked outside of Emo’s, where the Everybody Loves a Clown... more ›

While the West Coast leads the pack, it's no surprise that Austin has ranked 7th in a national survey ranking organic food consumption. In fact, the study looked at local organic juggernaut Whole Foods Market, finding "Organics consumers are 272% more likely than the average consumer to have shopped Whole Foods during the past week." According to the survey, the top local markets for organics consumers are: 1. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, CA 2. Seattle/Tacoma, WA... more ›

There's always been something undeniable about a quality West Coast power-pop record. From the mainstream success of Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever to the more obscure gems of The Posies and Jellyfish, the records in this oeuvre feel instantly memorable, lighter than air, and modestly perfect. Such sounds are likely what inspires The Broken West, a Los Angeles-based band that channels these sounds and those of Big Star and early Wilco on their debut... more ›

Z-Trip is one of the foremost live DJs on the planet at the moment. Many would say he pioneered the art of the mash-up before it got ruined by gimmicks and Girl Talk, his independent debut Uneasy Listening is a classic, and he's a festival-headlining rock star in Europe and Australia. Combining the dark atmospherics of DJ Shadow (a close friend) with party-starting club bangers, his sets are perfectly paced with drama to spare.... more ›

Today in Austin, a noteworthy collection of independent venues, booking agents, and filmmakers have announced their intention to collaborate to bring the city a new approach to live music and events. Transmission Entertainment is the first of its kind here in town, aiming to be the "independent alternative to booking in Austin". From their press release: Transmission Entertainment plans to coordinate the talents of great musicians, venue owners, talent buyers, filmmakers, and industry experts to... more ›

It's always awesome when Austinites earn national recognition — unless it's coming from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Back in May, a 20-something-year-old woman robbed a Northwest Austin Wachovia bank, while sporting a UT cap and a rather confident smile. The sassy lady evidently had such a good go of her first robbery that she took her one-woman-act to the west coast. According to the FBI's "WANTED" poster, the "Ponytail Bandit" is believed to have also robbed banks in Roseville, California, and Lynnwood, Washington. In all three cases, her M.O. remained the same: shoulder-length blonde ponytail pulled through the back of a baseball cap, she'd simply saunter into the building, demand money from a teller, and walk out. She's also characterized by a rather unique waiting line stance: arms crossed and shoulders slouching forward ever so slightly, the stick-thin Ponytail Bandit bears a striking resemblance to one Montgomery Burns. Those with info on this fugitive are invited to ring the FBI at 202-324-3000.

Tony from LAist letting you know that you have a hell of a town here. Not only did we get to see Slash last night in an amazingly intimate setting, but we also ran into some Oxfam kids who were spreading the good news while everyone was getting plastered. Now that's sacrifice. Below are some LA bands that we think you might like if you wanna check out what the West Coast has to... more ›

"What people don't realize is that the so-called Seattle grunge scene grew out of several close-knit gourmet supper clubs - we would only pick up guitars to pass the time while our dishes were simmering, baking, boiling, etc." - Kurt Cobain For those Austinites looking to escape a (warm) hip town full of rock and roll, coffee shops, tech geeks and weed for another (rainy) hip town full of rock and roll, coffee shops,... more ›

In the 1970's, famed director Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) walked from Munich to Paris in the hopes that the prolonged journey would keep a dying friend alive. So novice filmmaker Linus Phillips has decided that his life will be made meaningful by emulating the act in an attempt to meet Mr. Herzog. Phillips' journey is a two-month walk from Seattle to Los Angeles, along which he meets various ruffians and eccentrics on the highway.... more ›

Mayor Will Wynn took a break from his hard work of trying to cram as many people as possible into a small area Wednesday to hold a ceremony on the steps of City Hall featuring karate legend and unfortunate pop-culture icon, Chuck Norris. If you are reading this, odds are you are live in Austin, so we thought you should know that this your city council presented Chuck Norris withThe Honorary Austin Citizen Award.... more ›

Decades ago, the eucalyptus-lined, coyote-infested network of bungalows and winding roads known as Laurel Canyon, perched high above Los Angeles in the Hollywood Hills, served as the mise en scène for a countercultural revolution of herculean proportions that uprooted the music industry and launched the careers of dozens of hippie folksingers. This mythic locale is the subject of pop culture journalist and Laurel Canyon resident Michael Walker's book, Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock... more ›

West coast indie pop wizards Pinback (Armistead Burwell Smith IV, Rob Crow et al) will be performing at Emo's this Friday, with Mary Timony opening. more ›

If the San Antonio Spurs want to stay healthy for the playoffs, Austinist suggests they avoid playing the Denver Nuggets ever again. The Nugs are gaining some notoriety around the league for replicating the bruising style of the Knicks and Heat of the early 90's, and last night proved to be no exception. Tim Duncan got poked in the eye twice, Tony Parker was literally tackled on a lay-up, and Ginobili was thrown into... more ›

Austin City Limits is pretty nifty, we'll admit. But let's face it: the lineup for Coachella, ACL's glammed-up West Coast sibling in the desiccated wastelands near Joshua Tree, has all but reigned supreme these last few years. And this year, they're at it again; earlier this week they announced the full roster for the two-day festival, to be headlined this year by Depeche Mode (huzzah!) and ... Tool (huh?). The entire lineup: Saturday, April... more ›

The Austin Chronicle's Daniel Mottola reports in today's issue that our city's title as Clean Energy Capital of the World may be contested in the near future. Last week, Mayor Wynn agreed to the Energy Freedom Challenge, a "national public education campaign to challenge cities around the U.S. to become the first city to acquire over half of its electricity from renewable energy resources." The EFC is sponsored by Solar Austin, one of the... more ›

Austinist's favorite local neo-psychedelic band, the illustrious Black Angels, return to town this Saturday for their triumphant homecoming show at Emo's. In the last few months, they've sold out their West Coast summer tour, been featured on Zane Lowe's taste-making show on BBC Radio 1, and inked a record distribution deal with Seattle's Light in the Attic. The kids are poised to take over in a big way. We've a pair of spots on... more ›

A while back, we interviewed Broken Social Scene co-founder Kevin Drew before their show at Stubb’s. In their latest, self-titled album - one of our favorites this year – they’ve realized brilliant, anthemic indie rock majesty, what Drew himself refers to as a “big, beautiful mess.” And by all accounts, their live shows rival, if not surpass, their studio efforts. Found In Various Contexts In This Interview: “Ibi Dreams of Pavement”, Just Pressing Record... more ›

Last year, Toronto's The Sadies released their fifth full-length album, Favourite Colours, to widespread acclaim. Blending together everything from surf rock to 60's psychedelia to honky tonk country, the foursome created such an eclectic musical tapestry that Paste hailed them as "masters of American musical idioms." Robyn Hitchcock, Greg Keelor and Joey Burns all contributed to this album, only adding to the considerable list of talented musicians that have shared the stage or studio... more ›

F R I D A Y · World Leader Pretend are back in town, kicking the night off with an in-store appearance at Waterloo Records (3pm5pm) and following that with a show at Stubb's (9pm). Opening for them are none other than our new favorite English lads, Nic Armstrong and the Thieves, who'll be trying out all-new material for their forthcoming album. Those of you who were at the Parish this week know why we... more ›

This week is perhaps best summed up by the words of the English poet William Blake, who remarked: "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." As much as we'd like to claim that we've actually read Blake, we stole that from 24-Hour Party People. Did we forget anything? Let us know. M O N D A Y film · The Austin Film Society presents the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund screening of "The... more ›

The Black Angels will be playing a show with the Moonlight Towers at the Continental Club tonight. This is the Angels' first show in town since touring the West Coast in support of their "Sniper at the Gates of Dawn" EP. We've heard that while the shows went well, generally speaking, the Angels spent the past few months skiing along the precipice of disaster, and at least one Angel was poisoned. In other words,... more ›

Apparently when your concert ticket says ALL AGES, it really means that if you are over a certain age you are either A) there with your kid, B) a narc, or C) a pedophile. We guess that’s what happens as you get older; the kids at shows look at you funny as they wonder what category you fall into. It’s strange to be only one of 15 people in a sold-out venue old enough... more ›

The Peels are a rock band out of San Francisco, now under indie DIY darlings Dim Mak Records. Their debut LP "S/T", produced by the legendary John Goodmanson, was released back in February this year. Now on tour with The Raveonettes and Autolux, The Peels took time after their show last week at the Parish Room to sit down for a chat with Austinist. We spoke with lead singer Robyn Miller and bassist Joshua... more ›

For those about to rock we have .. umm ... and then we got …well? Ok, slim pickings this week for the harder side of music. All Shall Perish - Hate, Malice, Revenge (Nuclear Blast) Old-school West Coast hardcore with just a hint of melody via Scandinavian death metal influences. Bleed the Sky - Paradigm in Entropy (Nuclear Blast) This West Coast metal band has yet to develop a unique sound as they try to... more ›