Take A Look & Listen to Monterrey's XYX

From Austin Vida's Alysha Hernandez: "Austin Vida sat down with the duo outside of Sound on Sound Records to talk musical projects, chemical inspiration, and the Monterrey music scene. Anel – clad in a black dress, tights, and wrestler-esque boots – stared into the skyline. She seems quiet, but on stage she sings and screams like a banshee – her heart’s contents on display for all to see. Meanwhile, Mou wore dark-rimmed glasses; his hair was characteristically unkempt, with curly tufts shooting into the air."

Here is a YouTube video from their recent show at Emo's, a video different from the one we used for Austin Vida. This should give you an idea of why we were so fascinated with XYX. On Austin Vida, we use the Vimeo player for the better sound quality and HD capabilities.



Click here to read the full interview with XYX on Austin Vida featuring live video.

New Shakira Video for "She Wolf"

Good God Almighty! Shakira, Shakira, Shakira. I do love me some "She Wolf". MTV premiered the new video for "She Wolf" Thursday night. I love the song, but much prefer the Spanish version, "Loba". It is sure to be the fresa club jam of the next year. It was just recently posted on her official website, but you can also check it out right here.

Shakira - New Music - More Music Videos

The Riot Scene, Say Hello To The Angels & Blameshift tonight at Red 7

Tonight at Red 7 there is a great rock show going on that you guys need to know about. Local hometown favs Say Hello To The Angels and newly formed The Riot Scene play tonight with touring act, Blameshift. For those of you familiar with the Austin scene, you will recognize The Riot Scene as being made up of former Firekills members. This will be my first time to check out The Riot Scene and I look forward to seeing how they are live. I loved Firekills so I hope I can be objective.

Even if there were no Riot Scene, I'd be in attendance for Blameshift. I caught these guys last year at Stubb's indoor for some Hot Topic sponsored tour on a Monday night of all things. Having not heard of them previously, I was really impressed with their live show and overall sound. It's very approachable, post hardcore with a little bit of pop. With two vocalists, one being the lovely Jenny Mann, Blameshift offers a little something different. Jenny and Tim Barbour compliment each other well. Some of you may have caught them yesterday for an acoustic show at Hot Topic in Barton Creek. If you're like me and missed it, come out for the real show and enjoy yourself. See you there!

Say Hello to the Angels: http://www.myspace.com/sayhellototheangelsband

The Riot Scene: http://www.myspace.com/theriotsceneband



Blameshift: http://www.myspace.com/blameshift

The Used Premiere New Video on Myspace

The Used "Blood On My Hands"


The Used debuted the new video for "Blood On My Hands" today on Myspace. It's the first single off their upcoming album, Artwork, which is set to hit stores on September 1st. Here's a brief description from the official press release:

"The video, directed by Lisa Mann, was shot at Linda Vista Hospital in Los Angeles, CA, and is centered on the narrative of front man Bert McCracken’s obsession with a serial killer in a small town. Intercut with performance, the twisting narrative follows Bert’s increasing rage as he tracks the killer…or maybe a victim…and the line between hunter and hunted becomes blurred."

Album Review: Fugatives Of Pleasure And Pasajeros by Monte Negro

Monte Negro is a band whose sound is as diverse and cross cultural as the band members themselves. Having already successfully fusing rock, reggae and Latin together previously, the band stuck with the same winning formula in terms of sound. While many follow up efforts from great bands fall short, Fugitives Of Pleasure and Pasajeros by Monte Negro, picks up where I expected them to. After an impressive full length debut album, 2008’s Cicatrix, I feared a drop off in quality with their next release. It happens to too many good bands. They will try to go in a different direction in fear of being typecast or not being labeled as “artists”, often leading an album receiving harsh critical dissatisfaction. Fear not Monte Negro fans. Fugitives Of Pleasures and Pasajeros does not disappoint.

Click here to read the full review on Austin Vida and see the first video off the new EP

Album Review and Upcoming Show for Closure in Moscow

Closure For Moscow is an Australian progressive rock band that captures the ear’s attention. Their guitar riffs are all over the place, but seem to be well placed in each song. The drums come at you at the speed of a metal band drummer. The vocals are crisp sounding and clearly understandable. Their latest album, First Temple, was released on Equal Vision records in May. This is the band’s first major label backed attempt at national success stateside. Fans of Circa Survive and The Mars Volta will want to give First Temple a listen.

Click here to read the complete review on Double Stereo

For those interested in checking out Closure For Moscow live here in Austin, join me at Emo's this Friday to see them with Emery. It should be a great show. Here's the flyer and a link for tickets right below it.


Buy tickets for this show at Ticket Web

Check out this video from Emery for "The Party Song":

The Band of Warped Tour Generations:Less Than Jake

I have been a fan of Less Than Jake ever since I saw them at the first Warped Tour I ever attended as a teen....way back when. I caught them last year at their in store at Encore and at La Zona Rosa. This year I had to drive down the road to San Antonio, my second home, to see them on Warped Tour. It is good to see so many kids (teens and tweens) still geeking out over Less Than Jake. They always put on a great live show and their whole vibe is about having fun. Speaking of fun, you see me pictured with Buddy and JR above? They insisted I make a mean face in the picture while they flexed their "He-man" muscles. Of all the interviews I conducted this year, Less Than Jake was the most hilarious. Buddy had just woke up and was super caffeinated during the interview. I got more Less Than Jake stuff coming soon right here in my blog. It will be in reference to a video to took with my digital camera last year that I got lots of questions and comments on. For now, do check out the Double Stereo interview.
Click here to read the full interview with Less Than Jake on Double Stereo.

Jennifer's Body Trailer & Soundtrack

Megan Fox is always worth seeing on the big screen. She's gorgeous to say the least, unmatched by any other Hollywood actress in that department. She is starring in the upcoming movie, Jennifer's Body. If I don't have a show to go to or anything else to do, I'll go check it out when it hits theaters in September. The reason for this blog post though, is the soundtrack.

The soundtrack is put out by Fueled By Ramen and features a wide selection from their catalog and few from some other good bands. On the official soundtrack to Jennifer's Body you'll find the now defunct Panic At The Disco, All Time Low, Cobra Starship and even Silversun Pickups just to name a few. It will be released in stores on August 25th but you can preorder it on July 28th through the Fueled By Ramen store.

Here is the official trailer for the upcoming film, Jennifer's Body:

Jennifer's Body

Chris Brown's Apology on YouTube

This is official. I am surprised it took him this long to put something like this out.

Free EP from Noise Beat Propaganda

Noise beat Propaganda is a four piece Indie-pop band from Mexicali, Baja California. We’re In Love, Yeah Right! is their new 4 track EP on Poni Republic. This EP is the reason I hate getting good EPs in the mail. They might as well rename EPs “teasers” because that’s what We’re In Love, Yeah Right! is.

Click here to read the full review on Austin Vida and find out how you can download your own copy for free (legally).

Rancid! Let The Dominoes Fall tonight at Stubb's

No punk rock album release other than maybe a new NOFX record can get me as excited as a new album from Rancid. Let The Dominoes Fall, the band’s latest release, continues the punk rock excellence you’d come to expect from Lars, Tim, Matt and Branden. It isn’t the classic that And Out Came The Wolves is, but pretty close. Click here to read the full review I wrote for Double Stereo.

They're playing tonight at Stubb's with Rise Against and Billy Talent. Tickets are sold out so hit up Craig's List and the dudes outside holding up tickets.

Check out this video for "Last One To Die" off the new album Let The Dominoes Fall:

Therefore I Am Warped: Interview with Alex Correia

One of my favorite new bands, and not just on the Warped Tour, is Boston’s own Therefore I Am. They are a post hardcore band who is going to make some noise and take the scene by storm anywhere they play. There is just something about Boston that produces great hardcore acts. The Dropkick Murphys have always been my favorite band from Boston, but Therefore I Am get just as many plays in my iPod these days. I sat down with Alex Correia (vocals) to talk about their home town, the dark anger of their new album and of course Warped Tour.

Click here to read the full interview with Therefore I Am on Double Stereo

Me with Thrice at Warped Tour 2009

Me with Ed (bass) and Riley (drums) of Thrice at the Warped Tour stop in San Antonio, Texas. You can check out our Double Stereo interview with Thrice here:

"Thrice's Ed and Riley find the groove on Beggars"

New Interview With The First Child of Nineties Punk Rock, TAT

On this year’s Warped Tour, there is quite the diverse line up of old '90s Warped Tour (Bad Religion, Anti-Flag) and the newer Warped Tour (3OH3! and Brokencyde). Good, bad or indifferent, that’s the way it is. Being a long time Warped Tour attendee, I do tend to favor the harder punk rock and metal bands. That's what I grew up with. I do like to check out new bands I have never heard before in hopes of discovering the next big thing… or at least something new to add to my iPod. I can only listen to NOFX and Bad Religion for so long before even I go stir crazy.

This year, I saw a great new young band that I somehow missed last year. They were playing the Hurley Stage in the early afternoon and just caught my attention somehow as I was walking around. I thought maybe it was an older Warped Tour band because their music was a little throwback, assuming we can now label '90s music “throw back”. That band was the English punk rock trio, TAT.

Click here to read the full interview with TAT on Double Stereo

Some More Warped Tour Pics

Me and my good friend Ajay Miranda with Brad Bell and Craig Owens from Chiodos. Check out Ajay's interview on Double Stereo with Chiodos. For being such a huge star in the Alternative Press world, they were some of the coolest dudes you'll meet.

Me with Dallas Green from Alexisonfire at the San Antonio Warped Tour stop. In case you were wondering, it is pronounced "Alex-is-on-fire". They're a cool band from Ontario, Canada. You should check them out along with their interview on Double Stereo.


Me with Chris 2 from punk rock legends, Anti-Flag. Unfortunately I didn't catch their set this year, but I have seen them three times already. I was just stoked to get this picture.

Hacienda Interview Now Online at Austin Vida

Hacienda is an indie-rock quartet from Boerne, Texas, located on the outskirts of San Antonio. As kids, they spent their money at local antique shops in Boerne, buying old Beatles and Beach Boys records instead of the typical '90s alternative and nu-metal of their peers. It is no wonder, then, that Hacienda is now the reincarnation of both iconic '60s bands.

Click here to read the full interview and check out our exlcusive live footage of Hacienda from Antone's

Me and Buddy Nielsen from Senses Fail

Here is a picture of me with Buddy Nielsen, lead singer of Senses Fail. This was taken at the San Antonio Warped Tour stop on July 2nd. I like Senses Fail, but I didn't do the interview for Double Stereo. My good friend and writer extraordinaire, Ajay Miranda, made his first Double Stereo contribution with his interview with Buddy. I commissioned Ajay to help with Warped Tour being that we had so many opportunities for interviews. Plus it was his first time going to Warped Tour, so I was happy to share that with him. I wish I was press at my first Warped Tour. Anyway, we got more Warped Stuff coming your way on Double Stereo. I'll be introducing you to some great new, young bands as well as publish my conversation with a Warped Tour legend.

Check out this video for "Family Tradition" off Senses Fail's latest album, Life is Not a Waiting Room:

Senses Fail - New Music - More Music Videos

Album Review: The Tender Box EP

The Tender Box is a four piece rock band from a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood called “South Gate” out in Los Angeles. I got wind of The Tender Box from none other than Tender Box fan, Perez Hilton. He said this on his site about The Tender Box: “Every once in a while we discover a singer or band that makes us flip our shit”. I wanted my shit flipped too, so I got a hold of their music.

Click here to read the full review on Austin Vida

Rihanna's Revenge Video

I came across thin online this morning when I was looking around for an "Umbrella" cover to show a friend of mine. That beast called YouTube has everything. This video was made by comedians Kenny Johnson and Tiffany Haddish. It reminds me of something I would have seen on In Living Color back in the 90s. They did a good job rewording the Chris Brown songs and inserting sound clips from stuff like Thriller and even the video game, Mortal Kombat. The video, as you can imagine, has already surpassed well over a million views.

Living Things to Play the Ramones in The Runaways Movie

St Louis indie-garage rock band, Living Things, will be playing the part of the Ramones in the upcoming movie The Runaways. It is a movie currently being filmed about the 1970s all girl group that Joan Jett was in. "Cherry Bomb" anyone? Get this though...Kristen Stewart of Twilight will be playing Joan Jett. I'm not sure how I feel about that but I will watch the movie with an open mind. Dakota Fanning will be playing the part of Cherie Currie. At least I know Dakota can actually act. No problem there.

Living things recently recorded a cover of "We're a Happy Family" for a scene in the movie. According to the info I received, the singer for Living Things is the husband of the film's writer and director Floria Sigismondi. Interesting....I still can't wait to see it. The Runaways will be in theaters in 2010 sometime. I bet the soundtrack will be good.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with The Runaways, check out these videos real quick:

New Interview with Underoath's Chris Dudley on Double Stereo

Warped Tour veterans and Christian metal core extraordinaires, Underoath, are a big deal these days on The Warped Tour. It wasn’t always that way for them believe it or not. In the early part of the decade The Warped Tour started to shift gears a little bit from its largely punk rock beginnings. Not all fans, or bands for that matter, were enthusiastic about the heavier changes. Not only that, some were even more appalled that Warped Tour was featuring “Christian” bands like Underoath. Well several Warped Tours, Taste of Chaos Tours and even a Grammy nomination under their belt, it is hard to believe that they were once unknowns struggling to make it.

It has now been six years since Underoath played their first small stage on Warped Tour. I caught up with Chris Dudley (keys) at the San Antonio Warped Tour stop to chat about Warped Tour, Christian Metal and of course why we don’t see them in Austin too often. If you’re like me and live in Austin, that’s just not acceptable. Chris even gave us a little insight to what’s to come from Underoath after Warped Tour is over.

Click here to read the full interview on Double Stereo

Album Review: Bad Veins (self titled)

Bad Veins is two man indie band from Cincinnati, Ohio. Members Ben Davis (vocals, guitar, keys) and Sebastian Schulz (drums) have put together something that will draw them comparisons to the likes of The Killers and Franz Ferdinand. After listening to their upcoming self titled album, it is hard to believe there are only two of them. Their sound is much bigger than I expected after reading their bio.

Click here to read the full review on Double Stereo

Mark Your Calendars for Built By Snow on July 15th

One of my local favorites, Built By Snow, will be playing next week at Emo's inside stage. I haven't seen these dudes play for a while an shame on me. They are one of those stand out bands in a crowded Austin, Texas that has bands playing in every corner of downtown. Their latest album, Mega, is still one of my top ten album releases of the year so far. You can purchase it from their store front on Double Stereo. For those of you unfamiliar with Built By Snow or have never seen them live, you're missing out on a good time. To give you an idea of what they sound like, or who they sound like, just think 8 Bit Nintendo meets Weezer. Check them out for yourself here on this Insite Night Video my good friend Ajay shot recently:

Built By Snow @ INsite Night [May 16, 2009] from INsite Magazine on Vimeo.

The Used Give Away "Blood On My Hands" Guitar Tab

The Used is giving away a new guitar tab each week at TheUsed.net from their new album “Artwork”, in stores September 1st. The first handwritten tab is “Blood On My Hands”. The band is encouraging users to play and upload video of their guitar skills to each new song released before street date at TheUsed.net. New tabs will be given way each week until the release of "Artwork" on September 1st.