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:

The Steps album reviewed on cdFuse

The Steps are one of the most polished indie rock bands to come out of Austin in a long time. I first caught wind of them when they won last year’s ACL Sound and the Jury Competition. The prize was a slot to play ACL Fest. Of all the bands at Antone’s that night, they were the best fit for ACL in terms of being ready for the big stage. I admit I wasn’t happy that they won. I was there to support 60 Tigres, a great rock band from Monterrey, Mexico. I felt ACL needed more Latin representation last year (still think that). Ever since that night, I haven’t seen The Steps or heard their music until it came across my desk recently. Since they are from Austin and did put on a great live show, I decided to give it an honest listen with an objective ear.

Click here to read full review on cdFuse

I Love Girl in a Coma

Friday night I saw for the second time live, San Antonio’s own Girl in a Coma. I don’t think I can express in words how much I love Girl in a Coma. I only discovered them last November at a show they played here in Austin at Stubb’s indoor with The Cliks.

At that time, I had never heard of Girl in a Coma. I remember the day of the show was my last day of finals for the fall semester and I just wanted to go downtown. None of my friends were free that night so I went down Red River by myself. I went to Stubbs to eat barbeque and found out a “girl” band from San Antonio was playing there that night for ten bucks. That sounded good to me so I went downstairs to see the show. Both bands, The Cliks and Girl in a Coma, won me over that night.

Girl in a Coma is signed to rock goddess Joan Jett’s label, Black Heart Records. They are a three piece band of Latina women from San Antonio that sing in English. They named themselves after a Morrissey song “Girlfriend in a Coma”, but oddly enough they do not sound anything like Morrissey (Side note: Mexicans from San Antonio are obsessed with Morrissey). Their sound is a blend of punk, garage rock, and melodic rock.

What really captivates me about Girl in a Coma is their combination of energy, well written music, and Nina Diaz’s (lead vocals/guitar) voice. She does scare me a little when she sings. She makes such mean facial expressions but her voice still melts me none the less. Nina’s voice is the best blend of strong and feminine that I have ever heard in a female lead rock band. I know it is bold to say that, but listen for yourself. You should find it to be true. It also doesn’t hurt that Nina Diaz is gorgeous.

Last night I got to experience Girl in a Coma’s greatness again as they played at Emo’s inside. This is after months of listening to their album “Both Before I’m Gone”, which is a phenomenal album. Despite feeling under the weather, I drug myself out to Emo’s. There was no way I was going to miss their show. Somehow I started to feel better once their set started. Maybe it was all mental, I don’t know.

It seemed that all of Girl in a Coma’s San Antonio fans made the drive up for their show. It was no surprise to me because Girl in a Coma has a loyal and devout fan base in their hometown. Their fan base is mostly young women as I saw last night, but by no means are they a “chick band”. They rock too hard and the few guys in the house were digging their set. Even the staff at Emo’s took notice as I caught them bobbing their heads a little and listening.

The crowd last night also got treated to a few new songs from Girl in a Coma. My first impression was that when they wrote those new songs, they were listening to blues and maybe some stuff from The Doors. It was a different sound for them but still very good. I look forward to anything new from Girl in a Coma, but am curious about those particular songs. According to their set list Jenn gave me, I believe they were called “Empty Promises” and “Vino”. Look out for those on this tour.

Their set did not disappoint. Rather than elaborate on that, I wanted to share with you all some thoughts I had last night. There were three differences I noticed since I last saw them in November. Lead singer Nina Diaz shrunk. By that I mean she lost a lot of weight. She also played a set with her hair down and in a presentable shirt, which looked really good on her. In November, she was heavier, had her hair slicked back in a pony tail and was in a wife beater tank with Dickies slacks. Now honestly I could care less what a band looks like, but I think these changes should help the band go forward and get an even bigger fan base. They already have an amazing sound and are genuinely cool people. I expect nothing but big things for Girl in a Coma from here on.

If Girl in a Coma is unfamiliar to you, get acquainted first with this seemingly controversial video for one of my favorite songs, titled “Road To Home”:

Standout tracks: Say, Clumsy Sky, Their Cell