Austin Sound

You know, we don’t really condone the objectification of women and all, but damn if the Bloody Tears haven’t unloaded one hot, swaggering video with “Greenville Girl.” The local sextet lays out some saucy southern soul and blues, with horns and guitars heating up the night, some down and dirty R&B, and the new video matches the sound step for step. You can catch the BT’s laying down songs from their debut full length, Downhanded, this Friday, October 17, at the Scoot Inn with Ripe. Get warmed up with “Greenville Girl” below:

Last month, Austin lost a little piece of it’s soul when Danny Roy Young, the “Mayor of South Austin,” passed away. Young was known for his Texicalli Grille and amazing rub board action with the Cornell Hurd Band, but most of all he is remembered for his constant friendly and loving attitude that embodied the spirit of South Austin. This Sunday, Oct. 19, friends and fans will gather to celebrate Young’s life at the Austin Music Hall with a blowout show. Check the bill below.

With the weather tempting us with almost-cool temperatures and Austinites on a mass exodus to the Cotton Bowl, we can be sure of only one thing: It’s October, and it’s the weekend. This week we’ve got a new roundup of shows and album release parties to fill up the old social calendar and CD shelves. On Friday, La Snacks will finally be dropping their new full length, Newfangled, at the Mohawk in a show presented by Party Ends. The show also features a release by Transmography and a set by recent Sound Off graduates Follow That Bird. Saturday brings us solo shows at the Scoot Inn by Shawn Jones of The Lovely Sparrows, who have been all over our radar lately with their new album Bury The Cynics, along with The Wisdom Teeth and Dark Water Hymnal, whose sure-to-impress album we’re still waiting and salivating like Pavlov for. Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s roll through town on Sunday with their set of new albums, bringing David Vandervelde in tow. Think you can keep up? We’ll see, here’s our Weekend Preview.

Many Birthday’s have finally released a follow up to their awesome 2006 EP, Days of Beat/ Days of Hollow, in the form of a limited edition EP called Emptiness is Forever. Cheery bunch, huh!? You might not get from the title, though, just how much fun and infectious Many Birthdays is, so they’ve put out this video for the song “Rock It” just to prove it to you. It’s a gritty, night club type pastiche that includes some live footage from the fine folks over at Switchburn.

The Chronicle is reporting this morning that the Black Angels, who will be serving as both the opening and backing band for psych pioneer Roky Erickson on an upcoming west coast tour, has been entrusted by Erickson’s manager, Darren Hill, with over 60 homemade Rocky Erickson recordings, many of which have never been released. The Black Angels are going through the material and choosing 10 songs to record with Roky at Cacophony Recorders, which will be released as an album. That’s some exciting news for both parties, uniting Erickson’s seminal influence with the contemporary rise of local sextet, but it’s most exciting for Austin as a whole, pairing our exceptional musical history with our promising future. We’ll keep you posted as more details emerge.

This week we are excited to debut a new monthly feature with help from our friends at the Dallas/Ft. Worth blog We Shot JR and Houston’s the Skyline Network that offers some incite into what’s hot in their hometowns right now. We Shot JR takes the pulse of the North Texas scene better than any publication around, and the Skyline Network consistently uncovers the best of Houston before it breaks. Each month, Austin Sound will alternate checking in with each to see what bands are making waves in their neighborhoods and that we in Austin should be on the lookout for. In our first installment, We Shot Jr. offers up four local bands that have recently impressed them: Darktown Strutters, Bad Sports, Sunnybrook, and Febrifuge. Next month, we’ll check in with the Skyline Network to see what’s turning heads in Houston, but we recommend you keep up with both sites for the best that those towns have to offer.

It’s about time to start thinking about Halloween, and the Boxing Lesson have a new video to help you get in the mood. Using the song “Brighter” from the Boxing Lesson’s recent Wild Streaks and Windy Days, director Victor Yiu created the stop-motion animation from over 7000 still photos, and the jittery vibe helps increase the playfully eerie tone of the video. Watch below as Paul Waclawsky and Jaylinn Davidson go tripping through the graveyard!

Follow That Bird! has been quickly gaining force in Austin over the past year, and with the release of their new self-titled debut EP, will likely only be getting bigger. The trio delivers a heavy yet melodic punch, bruising riffs and basslines accentuated by Tiffanie Lanmon’s fervent drumming and Lauren Green’s punkish, jagged vocals. There is a distinct base of Nineties’ Riot Grrrl fury to the band, but they transcend that influence by stamping it with their own unique mark. As their answers below reflect, the trio is sarcastically playful and full of energy, but combine to unleash an infectious blast that continually surprises behind contorting rhythms and shifts and vocals buried deep into the onslaught of distortion. Catch Follow That Bird! this Friday at the Mohawk as they support La Snacks cd release show along with Transmography and the spinning of DJ Gross.

How was the week of rest after ACL? Did you get all that dirt coughed up? Good, because it’s time to get back out there this weekend for this weekend’s special occasions: album release parties. Local bands Low Line Caller, Follow That Bird!, and The Calm Blue Sea will all be dropping new hits this weekend. We think you know as well as we do that somehow buying albums straight from the band’s merch table is more satisfying than rummaging through the understock at Waterloo. As if the manufacture-direct prices weren’t enough, the support at these shows includes The Boxing Lesson, Canopy, UME, The Midgetmen, and a whole lot more.

It’s Friday, here’s your Weekend Preview.

Last month, Hayes Carll and Brian Keane took home the Song of the Year award from the Americana Music Association for their absolutely hilarious tune, “She Left Me For Jesus.” The song is from Carll’s excellent third album, Trouble In Mind, which was released earlier this year, and is easily one of the top country songs you’re going to hear this year. Carll and company has just released a video for it that matches the absolute absurdity of the song. It’s a must see, featuring Jesse Dayton as the jilted boyfriend and even Jimmie Dale Gilmore with a quick cameo as Judas. Seriously, just check it out below!