Music I Listen To: The Twilight Sad

The Twilight Sad

Lately I have been getting asked more questions about who I listen to, as opposed to what I review. Like what do I listen to for my own enjoyment and pleasure when not reviewing albums? What's in my car stereo or iPod? Those questions came from complete strangers I was meeting for the first time and from friends who I keep in touch with through Facebook. So, I decided I am going to answer that question in a regular column here on my music blog.

It seemed like a good thing to do since I will be getting away from some writing in 2010 to take more of an editor's role and give new writers a chance to shine. I will still do some interviews and reviews, just not in the same capacity I used to. As usual, I'll link them here so you can find them easily. This column won't be reviews in the traditional format, but rather less formal and me speaking freely.  

For the first installment of Music I listen To, I would like to introduce you all to The Twilight Sad. Right now I think they are the best indie band on the planet. I can't stop listening to their latest album, Forget The Night Ahead. Their shoegazey indie meets post rock style appeals to my love of crunchy guitar and spacey notes. Combined with lead singer James Graham's thick Scottish accent, you have one of the most original indie bands on the scene.

I got to check out The Twilight Sad live in Austin this past April when they played at Mohawk. It was a Sunday night and that meant they had to play the inside stage. For those of you outside of Austin, there is a noise ordinance on the Live Music Capital's most popular and iconic street, Red River. It wasn't always that way, but then some idiots thought it was a good ideas to put up high end condos right smack int he middle of it all. In theory it sounds cool to have the Red River music district outside your door, but because the city has laws about decibel levels around residences, there lies the problem. That's the short version.

Me with James Graham, lead singer of The Twilight Sad, in April 2009

So in the tiny and cramped area known as Mohawk's inside stage, which could be any small bar venue really, my good friend, fellow blogger and Austin Vida's managing editor Ajay Miranda checked out their set. I forgot why we were there, maybe it was for The Twilight Sad, maybe it was for an opener. Anyway, we were blown away at how awesome theses dudes were. There weren't too many people there, but I've seen Mohawk less full. Again, it was a Sunday night. It was actually better that way so I could get a chance to chat with them and snap a photo for my collection. They were very cool dudes and very tired from the grind that is touring. I look forward to interviewing them one day soon hopefully, but until then I have both of their albums and an some five song EP of theirs I found online shortly after their show to hold me over.

Their first album is called Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters. Although I dig that record, I prefer the more melodic Forget The Night Ahead. Both have me singing along in what is an awful sounding Scottish accent, but I can't help it as it sounds weird to me with any other tongue to it. The album came out in in the U.S. on October 5th and is available on Fat Cat Records. Here's the video for one of my favorite tracks off Forget The Night Ahead called "I Became A Prostitute"


The Twillight Sad - I Became A Prostitute from TLOBF.COM on Vimeo.

For more on The Twilight Sad, visit their official website HERE.

Ian's Indie Girl Crush Series Volume Four: Alison Sudol

A Fine Frenzy

www.afinefrenzy.com

For my latest Indie Girl Crush, I decided to go with gorgeous and talented red head. Alison Sudol, lead singer of A Fine Frenzy, absolutely melted me last month when I saw A Fine Frenzy at The Parish here in Austin. Her voice reminded me of one of my teenage crushes I had as a teen, Tori Amos. It is as if Sudol is Tori Amos 2000. She even plays the piano ( a la Tori Amos) and has blue-ish green eyes that draw you in. If she didn't list Amos as her primary influence, I'd be shocked.   

That show at The Parish was the first show of her tour supporting her album latest album, Bomb in a Birdcage. It is her second release after a successful first release entitle One Cell In the Sea. I remember at the time that album was out, I got my first glimpse of Sudol on one of those VH1 promos they do called "Artists You Outta Know" or something to that regard. Her big single at that time was the tear jerker, "Almost Lover". I have yet to meet a girl who doesn't instantly love that song. The rest of the album didn't for me though, despite being impressed with Sudol's talent and beauty.

A Bomb In a Bird Cage, however, is excellent. I got to hear the songs for the first time live and at a perfect venue for A Fine Frenzy's sound. Some of the slower songs tended to sound a lot like each other, but none lacked depth or substance. The album is louder and shows off different sounds in comparison to One Cell In the Sea. Live in concert, Sudol shows off her personality. She is charming, at times funny and not afraid to embarrass herself. I'll go ahead and say it...she's actually a big dork posing as an Urban Outfitters model. She even looks good sweaty. Girls should absolutely hate her but instead they love her, as do I. Who could hate those puffy lips that would make Angelina jealous?

So Aison Sudol, the next time you come around to Austin, leave your boyfriend at home. Let's go to a bookstore, have some fancy ass coffee I can't pronounce and go shopping for records. Let's talk about all this angst and give you some new inspiration for your next album. You could call it "Goodbye My Almost Latin Lover". I'll even appear in the video, free of charge.

Check out Alison Sudol here with A Fine Frenzy live on this great video from The Artist Den:


A Fine Frenzy from Artists Den on Vimeo.

For more on A Fine Fenzy, visit the following links:

A Fine Frenzy on MySpace

A Fine Frenzy on Twitter

Some Saturday Fun Fun Fun Stuff with The Sword, Dead Confederate & more!

It's been a long recovery from last week's Fun Fun Fun Fest. It was the best day of the year on Saturday, then got ugly and muddy on Sunday. None the less, it still kicked major ass. How can a festival in Austin, Texas with GZA and Danzig headlining suck? It is not possible. It is has been my favorite music fest not named Pachanga. It was my first year as "press" and it was a blast! I got to meet some local headliners whom I've loved for a long time and some cool touring acts whose music I enjoy.

For coverage my friend and Double Stereo contributor, Ajay Miranda, decided to do photo-slide video podcasts a la The New York Times. It was a way for us to pump out stuff quickly with visuals and to have something to load on YouTube.

On Saturday my first interview was Dead Confederate, a Georgia alt-psych rock band who I really dig. I missed their set unfortunately, but they were entertaining during the interview and cool to just talk to around the media tent during the day. They told me their Danzig story and the reason they never put out the live video footage they advertised recently. Here's that interview:



The second interview I did on Saturday was with a member from The Sword, which as you all know is my favorite band right now. Normally I'd be more geeked out about it, but this interview was different. You see, the interview was with my old high school chum whom I have known for a while, bassist Bryan Richie. We just sat and talked and talked and talked. Bryan has always been a sharp and witty guy. he gives honest answers and some will crack you up. I felt like it was a way for me to catch up with an old friend rather than the traditional interview so to speak.

We talked so long that Ajay had to edit it in three parts in order to upload to YouTube. We start part one by taking it back to our Round Rock High School days, playing in a band with Ryan Figg who is now with The Octopus Project. Part two talks about Third Eye Blind and meeting Lars Ulrich for the first time. In part three, we talk about what is coming up for The Sword in 2010 and he tells me the name of some new tracks.

Sword fans, this is porn for your metal ears! No one but me could have given this to you. I hope to do it again with Bryan and the other members soon. I got to see thier set, and was going to come hell or high water, and it was EPIC! I can't wait for the new album. Here's the interviews:







Some other cool stuff that Saturday night at Fun Fun Fun Fest was getting to check out Ajay's interviews with indie-post rockers Red Sparowes and Russian Circles. As always in the media tent, there were plenty of opportunities for photo ops. I totally took advantage and got some cool photos. Check them out:

Me with Red Sparowes

Me with The Cool Kids

Me with Death

I have more Fun Fun Fun stuff coming soon. On Sunday is when I talked to some awesome Austin bands you should know and took some other cool pics. Thanks again to Transmission, The Austinist, Double Stereo, Ajay Miranda, and my photographers Chantel and Mari for holding it down Saturday. My good friend Sarah Vasquez also helped out big time by taking photos when the other photographers were in the field. I don't know what I'd do with her there or at all really. It was a blast and seeing Death more than anything made the whole experience for me. They were amazing and it felt like I was in a time warp before punk was even a genre. Let me know what you all think, especially Sword fans. 

White Denim Video: "I Start To Run"

White Denim

www.myspace.com/whitedenimmusic

It's always good to see an Austin based band kicking ass and taking names on the national level. Austin based indie-garage rockers, White Denim, premiered their new video on mtvU. I just  recently picked up a copy of their new album, Fits, the other day at Waterloo Records. What sold me was the song " I Start To Run" and the fact that it came with a second disc. That second disc was a copy of Explosions, a previous album from White Denim. I wasn't really into them so much until this album came out, but now it is in regular rotation in my truck's CD player. White Denim, if you or your publicist are reading this, get at me. I want to talk to the band and check them out live. In the meantime, for those of you unfamiliar with White Denim, check out the video for " I Start To Run".

New single from Maneja Beto

One of my favorite bands of all time, Austin's own Maneja Beto, just put out their latest single. Titled "Ofrendas", the Maneja guys get funky on this one. It showcases the band's diversity and ability to play pretty much any genre they wish. Most who are familiar with Maneja Beto know them for their indie meets cumbia hybird that has come to be known as "Indie en Espanol". I'll post more from Maneja Beto later on this month, but for now be sure to pick up the single and support local, creative talent. Check it out!



For more on Maneja Beto,visit the following links:

Official Maneja Beto website

Video Interview on Austin Vida

Win Cafe Tacvba tickets from Austin Vida!

Cafe Tacvba

Since the early '90s, I have been jammin' out to Mexico's own, Cafe Tacvba. I used to find their cassettes int he "Latin" section or later on in the "Rock En Espanol" section. These days the genre has evolved into being labeled "Latin Alternative". Much like the genre or label itself, Cafe Tacvba has always evolved into a more creative group than they were years ago when I got my first cassette. Back then it was their self titled album and my Spanish comprehension wasn't what it is today.

Many albums later, I still read and hear the influence Cafe Tacvba has had on the entire Latin Music industry. When I interviewed the iconic Alejandro Escovedo for Austin Vida, he raved about Cafe Tacvba and talked about a missed opportunity to play with them at the LAMC in 2008. That is just one example of many, but know that list is long. They are the biggest Latin Alternative group in history, with only groups like Los Fabulosos Caddilacs and maybe Soda Estereo being in that conversation. Check out the Cafe Tavcba links below to get familiar with them if you aren't already.

Now for those of you who love Cafe Tacvba and want a chance to win free tickets to their show in Austin, then I have three chances for you through Austin Vida. Every remaining Friday in November, Austin Vida will be giving away a pair of tickets to see Cafe Tacvba at La Zona Rosa in Austin on November 29th. Talk about an awesome Sunday show. Here's how you win this week:

This week's winner will be pulled from out Austin Vida Facebook Fan page. On Friday, November 13th we will be notifying the lucky winner via Facebook. We will also announce the winner's name on our Twitter, MySpace page and website of course. After this Friday's winner is announced, we will announce the details of next week's give away on Monday the 16th. Good luck and thanks to all of you who check out Austin Vida. Feel free to email me with any questions.

Helpful links:

Buy tickets at GetTix.net

Austin Vida Facebook

Cafe Tacvba website

A weekend of Fun Fun Fun Fest

So today was day one of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2009. It was amazing to say the least. The weather in Austin was beautiful, The Sword played new songs from their upcoming record and I saw Death. I fulfilled a junior high dream by seeing The Pharcyde live and up close. I also got to chat with the lead singer of Fucked Up about Mexican punk rock. I'll have plenty of other stories and pics to share soon. Thanks to Transmission Entertainment, The Austinist and to Double Stereo for making it all happen. Thanks also to my crew, who are also my good friends, for doin' work with me today.

If you missed out on the Fun Fun Fun today, go Sunday! Go early! Sunday seems to have the best of Austin happening. Do not miss Pack of Wolves, Riverboat Gamblers, Harlem, The Black and White Years or The Strange Boys. Oh yeah, Danzing and GZA headline.

Sorry for the short post, but I'll get at you all soon with some Fun Fun Fun stuff. If you need tickets or info, check out the Official Fun Fun Fun Fest website.