Austin Sound

It’s that time of year again, time to unleash the Fun Fun Fun! For us, that means the means the Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Blog, keepin’ it real like it’s 1998 up in here. Let’s face it, though, for something as awesome as the F3 Fest, we just can’t do it justice in 140 characters and some twitpics, so we’ll be out at Waterloo Park this weekend bringing you awesome pics and quick reviews of the action as it goes down. And what a weekend it promises to be! We were bummed that Devo had to cancel their headlining spot, but Transmission pulled a nice one by slipping in the Descendents in their stead. And the rest of the lineup is, in our opinion, their best yet as the Fest celebrates its 5th year. The weather looks like it’s going to be great, even if a little chilly in the evening (layer up kids!), but if you can’t make it down, just stay tuned here to see what all your missing. Or if your one of those folks checking your phone during the show, we can show you what you’re missing in front of you! Check out the schedule for the action here, and let’s have some Fun Fun Fun Fun!

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 Live Blog

Early in 2010, Balmorhea released Constellations with local imprint Western Vinyl, their fourth album in as many years. The quintet’s sold out release show at the Central Presbyterian Church was a testament to how popular the instrumental outfit has become in Austin, inspiring a fervid but reverential fanbase enthralled by Balmorhea’s intricate, classically-based expositions. With Constellations, principle songwriters Rob Lowe and Michael Muller turned to a much more subdued, if no less impressive, stylistic compositions, peeling back the dramatic build that had increasingly crescendoed on their previous works. Yet what still emerges most from Balmorhea’s tunes are vivid imagistic and emotional episodes, fleeting narratives that arise through their subtle constructions spearheaded by guitar and piano. We spoke with Lowe and Muller via email about their recent work, the philosophy behind the band, and their place in the Austin music scene. Balmorhea will be making their Austin City Limits Festival debut on the Austin Ventures Stage on Saturday, October 9 at 11:20am.

“I’m talking to you in a rainstorm.”

The first words from Danny Malone’s mouth are strangely obvious as I can hear the hiss of inclement weather on the line, but he manages to give it a name, a definition as a sort of enigmatic, chance poet. It’s the kind of dry lyricism coloring the earthy tones of last year’s release, Cuddlebug, that also pervade his conversation. Not much is certain about Danny Malone — even he can attest to that. He has curious bios online, claiming he’s a number of fantastical things, but these all seem fabrications of Malone’s overactive imagination, and almost diversions from the heartfelt songwriter that listeners find in his music. What we do know is that July 29th has been officially declared Danny Malone Day here in Austin, and Malone himself remains humble and politely reticent of his local fame. Austin Sound sat down with the twenty-something songsmith to chat about his commemoration, his seemingly endless ambition as a musician, his forthcoming album, and the Parkside vs. Best Wurst controversy, about which he cares so deeply.

The past year on the Austin music scene has been a rather up-and-down affair. We’ve had some fantastic developments, like the internet radio tastemakers Woxy moving to town and making themselves right at home, and we’ve had a number of low points, like the continued fight over sound ordinances and city hall stifling plans for a dedicated music department. We also lost long time Austin icons like Stephen Bruton, Tina Marsh, and Rusty Wier, and even Sky “Sunlight” Saxon moved to Austin only to quickly move on to yet another plane of existence. And already at the start of the new decade, our music scene is caught between promise and controversy. The former came in the form of last month’s release of Matador Records’ Austin comp, Casual Victim Pile, curated by Gerard Cosloy and hopefully putting a number of new bands on the map, and the latter emerging with the University of Texas’ decision to try to shut down the seminal Cactus Cafe.

There is no band in Austin right now more on their way to domination than The Sword, the lords of thunder that have ripped the local music scene’s indie heart with their heavy pummel of guitars and metal sprung from Black Sabbath’s burning altar. Riding upon an epic sweep, the local quartet has branded Red River behind a fierce doom and sludge onslaught, carving out an international reputation on the strength of their two acclaimed albums, 2006’s Age of Winters and last year’s Gods of the Earth, as well as being tapped to open for Metallica on their 2008 tour. We spoke with the Sword’s frontman J.D. Cronise about the band’s helping forge an unlikely metal resurgence from Austin, his songwriting, and the surprising details of the band’s third LP, planned to be released next year (acoustic guitars!). The Sword will be laying waste to Waterloo Park on Saturday, November 7, as part of the Fun Fun Fun Fest, scheduled to play at 4:25 on the Black stage.

It’s October 8th and I find myself inside the elegantly lit Hideout Theater listening to local folk singer Joanna Barbera pick at her guitar, stomp her foot, and sing raspily into the mic. I’m front left and can almost reach out and touch her. While she is singing, I notice the absolute silence that surrounds her — the unfaltering focus — and it seems that no where else would such nuanced and subtle finger-picking and lullaby-intoning ring out so clearly and impress with such emotional force.

The unlikely convergence of the Band of Heathens serves as the epitome of Austin’s music scene: three distinctly talented songwriters brought together by playing weekly in-the-round gigs at Momos. That was back in 2006, though, and since then, Gordy Quist, Colin Brooks, and Ed Jurdi, along with Seth Whitney on bass and John Chipman on drums, have become a uniquely melded force. Following the release of two live albums, the band issued their eponymous studio debut last year, and have already returned with a sophomore full-length, titled One Foot in the Ether, and released this week on their own label. While the shades of their folk ballads and Little Feet-esque southern jams still emerge on the latest album, their sound has congealed as much more uniquely their own, and the band has never sounded as impressively coherent as they shift into looser, more rockin’ territory. We spoke with Gordy Quist about the new album, the songwriters’ solidification over the past couple of years, and their decision to eschew labels despite widespread interest. You can catch the Band of Heathens’ famous live show again in Austin this Saturday, September 12, at Antone’s, where they’ll be playing with Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir.

Kat Edmonson, whose socially-conscious single “Be The Change” made waves in Austin last year (thanks in part to the excellent video that was made with it), has come back with Take To The Sky, a new album full of old jazz standards and brilliant, unashamed pop covers (although Edmonson may take issue with you calling them “covers”). Her breathtaking live performances have been packing Austin clubs for months behind her band’s unique and versatile arrangements and Edmonson’s stunning vocal prowess. She took time out of her busy independent-artist schedule to talk to us about going up North, the new album, covering The Cure, and “kittenish” puns that were perhaps less than fit-to-print. You can see Edmonson live on Tuesday, July 7, as she plays at the Cactus Cafe on campus. We suggest you stop by and pick up Take To The Sky before a major label grabs it up (seriously).

Ever since the release of last year’s stunning Rivers Arms, we’ve heralded Balmorhea as one of the best bands in Austin, a reputation even further enhanced with this spring’s third album, All is Wild, All is Silent. The band, now expanded from the original collaboration between Michael Muller and Rob Lowe to a sextet with strings and percussion, infuses a classical elegance to their compositions that drift between ambient folk and controlled, understated post-rock textures. Balmorhea returned just this week from their first European tour, and we took the opportunity to catch up with Muller, who discussed the concept behind All is Wild, All is Silent, an upcoming remix project of the album coming out later this year through local label Western Vinyl, and the band’s next record, which is already recorded. If you have yet to see Balmohea weave their exceptional sound live, the band’s show this Friday, May 22, at Stubb’s is a must. Locals Pompeii and Alex Dupree and the Trapdoor Band open.

In January of 2008, Haunting Oboe Music announced their ambitious project to release an EP a month for the entire year. We talked to the band at the outset to gauge where they were starting from and what they hoped to accomplish with effort, and followed their progress throughout the year. Having survived the endeavor and produced an amazing 12 EPs and over 50 new songs, we wanted to check back in with the now-quintet as they prepare to start playing live again. (For an amazing rundown of their EPs, we recommend you check out the awesomely comprehensive review of all 12 over at ‘Nites!). The most impressive aspect of the EPs is the range of styles and changing dynamics that can be witnessed over the course of the year, listening to the band fearlessly explore different directions and then slowly hone that sound back into a more coherent presentation. HOM is currently working on narrowing down and re-doing the songs from last year for their debut full length to be released at some point this summer, but perhaps the biggest change to their equally cathartic and intricate sound will be seen live. They’ll be playing inside at Emo’s tonight, Thursday April 16, along with Lymbyc System and Loxsly. We sat down with Nick Whitfield, Ian Hunt, and Anthony Johnson at the band’s house to talk about the project, where the band is now, and what’s next.