While Red River Noise is not yet a year old, my crew and I made some serious headway in 2010. We debuted with a an epic day party during South By Southwest that had both Zlam Dunk and Bright Light Social Hour on the bill. We offered media sponsorships to various local shows, including those put on by Giant Steps and Adi Anand. Now, we are back at it this week for Austin's own little local music festival of sorts, Free Week.
This year we went "off the river" to one of my favorite venues in Austin, The Parish. During a cold January, it is nice to have an indoor venue that is not only warm, but has epic sound and lighting. Shows at The Parish always look great in photos and the twenties style speakeasy aesthetic looks great.
Many outside of Austin don't see Austin as a "salsa town." That is true in terms of salsa bands maybe, but not when it comes to salsa music lovers and the amount of salsa dancers we have here. That is why my crew and I at Austin Vida, together with DJ Orion and The Parish, have put together a salsa happy hour tomorrow night. DJ Orion is one of the few DJs I know with a good salsa collection and the good taste not to play any newer, poppier salsa. Him and I see eye to eye when it comes to our love of old school Fania Records classics and obscure salseros from records our parents have tucked away that no one has ever really heard of. We did this once already with mild success and his set was fantastic.
The other details include $3.50 drink specials for my favorite alcoholic drink, the mojito. It is an early evening event so working folks, such as myself, aren't dragging Wednesday morning at work. The Parish is a beautiful room with an epic sound system right smack in the middle of 6th street. My favorite part is the no frills, everyone 21+ is welcome vibe. Salsa can get a little too uppity in this town for my likings sometimes, but not at our Mi Gente events. Come as you are, be yourself and listen to some of the best in classic salsa. It's just a cool hangout with a good setting and good people. I hope to see you there.
I almost forgot...
We are celebrating the release of the new El Rey, Tito Puente CD, from Fania Records. DJ orion will be spinning some of the tracks from the two disc anthology. Here's a small sample:
Sleepy Sun is on tour and will be performing at The Parish on Saturday night. Details on how to win a pair of free tickets here.
For those of you who aren't so indie, Red River Noise is giving away two tickets to see the Japanese icons, Shonen Knife, at Red 7 on Friday night. Details on how to win a pair of Shonen Knife tickets here.
Mother Falcon has been on my list of bands to see here in Austin for a long time, but I have to be in the mood to see something really relaxing in order to see them. When I go see a show, I usually need that live show experience to amp me up and get my blood flowing. If you read any of my online publications, you know that I always go see the hard stuff live and the listen to the slow stuff I review at home. I may make an exception Thursday night as this will be the last chance I have to see Mother Falcon before I start work for the fall semester.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mother Falcon, they are orchestral indie collective of young musicians. When I mean collective, I mean collective. Here is the list of members and which instruments they play:
Laura Andrade - Cello
Rita Andrade - Viola
Italo Benavides - Cello
Diana Burgess - Cello
Kira Bordelon - Violin
Clara Brill - Violin
Nick Calvin - Cello
Maurice Chammah - Violin
Yun Du - Violin
Nick Gregg - Vocals, Cello, Mandolin, Guitar
Austin Harris - Violin
Tamir Kalifa - Vocals, Accordion
Matt Krolick - Trumpet
Gilman Lykken - Bassoon
Josh Newburger - Violin
Claire Puckett - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Matt Puckett - Vocals, Saxophone, Glockenspiel
Luke Stence - Bass
Isaac Winburne - Saxophone, Percussion, Piano
I often describe them to folks as sort of a young Balmorhea. These kids are amazing musicians and The Parish really is the ideal venue for them. The Parish has the sound, lighting and aesthetics suited for a small orchestra. Catching them Thursday night would also be good because they may be performing new songs off their new album they are currently recording. I'm looking forward to hearing it whenever it does come out. This Thursday's show is also the last show with their original line up. To get a better idea of what Mother Falcon looks and sounds like, watch this live video clip of them performing at Mohawk.
Doors are at 7:00pm. Advance tickets for this show are not available. Admission is $8 at the door. All ages are welcome. Also on the bill with Mother Falcon are Battle Bend and Little Lo. For complete details, visit The Parish online here.
This is one of the best poster's I've seen. I love me some classic Farah. Anyway, this is one of the many showcases you need to put on your weekend calendar. It is not often I mention local happenings unless the quality of the bands is on par with most of the touring acts. That is not a knock on the local scene at all, as here in Austin we have lots of local bands/musicians that blow away most touring acts. It is just that it is rare you have three bands that could be a local showcase headliner on one bill.
Saturday night at The Parish, you get two see three top tier Austin bands in good venue with awesome stage lighting and fantastic sound. The semi-newly formed Love At 20 is a blogger buzz band in the indie world, while SuperLiteBike does their brand of experimental indie well. What makes this pick a no brainer for me though is headliner, Fresh Millions. Think indie, electronic dance elements and funky beats all mixed up and all over the place in sort of an organized chaos. I am not even into this sort of genre really, but I somehow manage to find myself liking these dudes. Time to check them out live. Check them out here in this video:
The Parish is located at 214-C East 6th Street. Advance tickets are not available for this show. Tickets are $7 at the door and doors open at 9:00pm.
By the way...
If you'd like to go to this show for FREE, then hit up Red River Noise here for details on how to win a pair of tickets to the show. Add Red River Noise on Facebook here to keep up with all the great eclectic content as well as with our multiple ticket giveaways.
Rasputina is a popular (amongst certain sects anyway) cello driven trio have been around since the early nineties. I remember them getting early buzz from two things specifically 1) Lead singer and founder Melora Creagor played cello with Nirvana and 2) Marilyn Manson once mentioned in an interview that Rasputina was one of his favorite bands. I wish I could remember the magazine but it has been so long at this point that I'm surprised I even remember that. They truly are unique, regardless of who said what or how you are familiar with them. They always seem to come through Austin when tour, the last time having performed at The Parish. With the incredible sound and lighting at The Parish, it is the perfect venue for Rasputina.
Rasputina return to The Parish this Friday, August 6th. Their touring mate this time around is singer-songwriter, Larkin Grimm. It is on this tour that you will see a male cellist for the first time in Rasputina, Daniel DeJesus. If you like Rasputina and want to check out the show for free, we are giving away tickets at Red River Noise. Visit the following link for more details:
The Denton, Texas based pop-punkers, Bowling For Soup, will be playing at The Parish this Saturday in Austin with The Dollyrots. We are giving away tickets on Red River Noise. Visit this link to find out how you can win a pair: http://tinyurl.com/29bpz98.
Samantha Crain is one of my favorite new music discoveries. She is a singer-songwriter of the indie-folk persuasion. I'm not always in the mood for that sort of genre but when I'm at home relaxing late at night in I tend to get in those kind of moods. I'll throw on some J. Tillman, A.A. Bondy, Ola Podrida and now some Samantha Crain. She just released her sophomore album, You (Understood), in June and will be performing at The Parish this Saturday, July 24th. Take a look and listen to Crain's music video for her single "Santa Fe" here:
Headlining will be indie-psych rockers, Royal Forest. If you like what you here or are fans of the either artist/band, Red River Noise is giving away a pair of tickets on their Facebook page. All you have to do is "like" Red River Noise on Facebook and you are eligible to win. It's that simple. Here's the link:
I saw first saw The Dig this past spring with Portugal The Man at The Parish. They are great live. Their new full length album, Electric Toys, is finally out today so check it out and give it some consideration.If you like what you hear on the video posted above, head over to Red River Noise to read my review of Electric Toys and read an interview with The Dig also. Here are the links:
So this past weekend was all about getting down with Portugal The Man at The Parish. I knew they were going to be awesome because well, they are Portugal The Man. The biggest surprise of the night for my friends and I was the opening band, The Dig. I was caught by complete surprise. These dudes are ssssooooooo good live. Their album Electric Toys is definitely worth picking up. Here they are on stage joined by their tour mates, Port O'Brien. I'm not done talking about The Dig. I love this band, but I'll leave it at this short quick post for now.
I saw Zlam Dunk last night at The Parish. They opened up for Bright Light Social Hour. Talk about a killer line up! Zlam Dunk is one of my favorite local bands, local being out of San Marcos as they are Texas State students. Their fans are loyal, enthusiastic and wild. It totally reflects the spirit of the band. If I were a 20-something student, I'd want to be in that band. I'd want to be the hype man with the mic and tamborine. He looks like he has fun.
Man oh man, am I sleepy. For the past ten days in Austin, my Red River cohorts and I have been venue hoping all over downtown for Free Week. With Beauty Bar and The Parish participating in Free Week this year, there was even more to check out. It was fun to see some of my favorite local bands I usually pay to see and to check out some new bands I had yet to check out live.
I didn't go out every night of the week, but almost all. I was glad to see people come out despite the cold weather. After talking to random strangers, old friends I hadn't seen in a while and eaves dropping people's conversations, I learned that a lot of people were really excited about what they were hearing. I only hope that their excitement carries over throughout all of 2010. As much as I love to go check out major touring acts, which I do regularly, there is just something special about seeing a good Austin based band. It is as if our local bands are only for us cool Austin kids and no one else. Some may call it snobby or pretentious, but Austin has the best local scene in the world.
So which band did I "discover" or check out for the first time? Well I liked a young band called In Situ Sound and finally got to see Haunting Oboe Music for the first time. Sadly enough, they will be playing their last show soon from what I'm hearing. Bummer. Other than that, 2010 is off to a good start.
Here's one of the clips I captured on my new toy. It features The White White Lights, a cool indie band with a foxy lead singer and killer guitar player. She even wished David Bowie a Happy Birthday. I just wonder which Bowie she was talking about. Was it Ziggy Stardust Bowie?
Suzanna Choffel in shiny pants (photo by Todd Wolfson)
In the midst of all the A-List Red River bands playing tonight, there is a special treat happening tonight at The Parish. Tonight one of my absolute favorite local artists, Suzanna Choffel, ventures out of Momo's for once to play a venue on 6th. Not only that, it's a Free Week show! For those of you who are too cool to venture off Red River, drop the ego and head to The Parish where it's warm.
I have had the opportunity and privilege of seeing Choffel many times as she is an Austin music staple. She is a great live performer and her style mixes jazz, folk, world music sounds and even R&B. I don't know what color her eyes are, but she is what they refer to as "blue eyed soul". Often compared to Nelly Furtado, Choffel has wide appeal and enough edge for Red River. So after the Longhorns stick it to those 'Bama girls, bundle up and head to The Parish. For those outside of Austin or those not yet familiar with Choffel because you live under a rock, check out the following clip from M.E. Television. Thank me later.
Also at The Parish tonight is Sounds Under Radio, which is a decent radio-rock band with hint of ambient indie. We're talking lots of crunchy guitar riffs, spacey noises, floating notes and heavy bass lines. You may want to hang out after Choffel is done, especially since it is free and warm.
Thursday night I'll be at The Parish checking out Austin based indie-psychedelic group, Amplified Heat. I have been meaning to check these dudes out for while now, but just never got around to it for one reason or another. Shame on me, I know.
I love what I have heard from these guys so far, as they remind me of my dad's record collection. He listens to a lot of Cream, Vanilla Fudge, some Deep Purple and Iron Butterfly. What Hacienda does for old school indie, Amplified Heat do for psychedelic '70s style rock. I bet the Woodstock generation would totally dig these dudes as well.
Amplified Heat (photo by Todd Wolfson)
Amplified Heat is Jim, Chris & Gian Ortiz. They are signed to the Austin label, Arclight Records. Arclight also has one of my favorite local metal bands, Pack of Wolves. That speaks well for Arclight if you ask me.
Anyway, I'm stoked about this show as should you be. The Parish has great sound and an indoor venue on the second floor, so a little warmth should be nice in this cold spell we're having here in Austin. Show up early and you'll be able to check out more local goodness from The Strange Attractors and Smoke and Feathers.
For more info and to purchase tickets, visit the following link:
Monday night at The Parish, one of Austin's best sounding venues, will be one of the most interesting shows of the winter season to say the least. Headlining will be Austin's piano-indie rockers, Quiet Company. They are one of the better local talents not signed to a major label. They have really come up and worked their asses off to build their name this year. I reviewed their album, Everyone You Love Will Be Happy Soon, earlier in the year and enjoyed it despite it not falling in my usual realm of taste. Often compared to the likes of Ben Folds Five, Quiet Company has the potential to be nationally well known. Their music is hip enough for you to like but approachable enough for the JB and Sandy audiences of Mix 94.7. What will determine whether or not they are the real deal or not is their next record. That will say not only to me, but to the world, whether they are capable of sustaining in the long haul. I saw them live recently at Beerland and enjoyed their set. Based on that and their album, my guess is that they will only evolve and get better. Check them out now before their cover charge goes up.
Playing with Quiet Company are two touring acts, both in the realms of a teen market. In fact, I'd be so inclined to label both groups "Disney Rock". I couldn't listen to either Frank and Derol or Windsor Drive very long, but each do have their own interesting stories. I'll break down each group briefly for you.
First, Windsor Drive is a Houston based band that originally from Wisconsin. They are touring to support their latest EP, Bridges. They have pretty much lived on the road since they started as a band, building their name that way. Their sound is very poppy, but mature considering these dudes are young. If music got movie ratings, they'd be PG....maybe even G. There's nothing wrong with that. Not everyone has to be too cool for school or so angsty. Middle America needs something to listen to, along with young teens and tweens. Their music is so ABC Family and Disney movie ready. If I had kids, I'd let them listen to Windsor Drive. Look at these guys; they even look nice and safe.
Speaking of Disney and ABC Family, that brings me to Frank and Derol. These three beautiful young ladies have an entertainment background of sorts. Right off the bat when you read the band's bios, you'll see the last name "Cyrus". The older half-sister to Mylie Cyrus, Brandi Cyrus, plays guitar and sings in Frank and Derol.
Frank and Derol
The other entertainment link is actress, Megan Park. I was already familiar with Park, as she co-stars on the ABC Family series Secret Life of the American Teenager. Before you go judging me for watching it, know it was the Molly Ringwald factor that drew me in. That may date me a little, but so be it. Ringwald plays the mother on the show, but I even that couldn't keep me watching it. It was too sex obsessed and cheesy. Megan Park plays the role of Grace Bowman, a young Christian girl who wants to wait until marriage and have sex then screws her football player boyfriend. Afterwards, her dad dies and she blames herself, yada yada yada. That's when I stopped watching. Anyway, Park sings and plays synthesizers in Frank and Derol.
I feel bad for the third wheel, I mean member, of Frank and Derol. Codi Caraco, who sings and plays piano, is probably always the last member mentioned if at all. That's too bad, because apparently she has talent. Her bios say she went to Berklee School of Music on scholarship for a year before moving back to LA to form Frank and Derol with her friend, Megan Park.
Quiet Company
Frank and Derol sound like indie-Disney, if there were such a genre. Their bios hit it on the nose when describing their sound as "Wilson Phillips meets Postal Service". I wouldn't mix the two, but they did. There you have Frank and Derol. Again, I imagine there will be a lot of young fans in attendance with their parents. I want to tell parents to make the trip to The Parish worth your while and stay for Quiet Company. Kids, stay for Quiet Company and listen to what an adult band sounds like. You'll thank me later. If you're not yet familiar with Quiet Company, check out their latest video for their single "On Modern Men".
Just a reminder, doors open at 7 PM and it is open to all ages. The Parish is located on 214 East Sixth Street, Austin, Texas 78701. For more info, visit The Parish's website here:
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:
Tonight's Monday night show pick is also my second installment of Ian's Indie Girl Crush Series. Tonight at the Parish, Ingrid Michaelson takes the stage. It wasn't too long ago that I saw her on what I think was Jimmy Fallon, but I could be wrong. It was one of those late night talk shows that come on after Dave. Anyway, her voice wasn't the only thing that held my attention. She's super cute inthat singer-songwriter indie sort of way. She looks great in glasses and has that great girl next door approachability.
Michaelson is a New York based musician who got a lot of her early buzz from her songs being used in popular televison shows. Musically, she sings the kind of music you'd hear on KUT or while drinking a late night cup of coffee in your study. She is more singer song-writer than indie, but completely enjoyable either way to both crowds. For a Mondy Night, there is nothing better in town. If you are willing to drive to San Antonio then you can catch Metallica in San Antonio. If you're not the black t-shirt type, then Ingrid is the better choice and in town.
Check out a brief sampling of Ingrid Michaelson here with her video for her most famous single to date, "The Way I Am". It is from here album, Girls and Boys.
For more on tonight's show with Ingrid Michaelson, click here.
I recently saw Montreal indie rockers, The Dears, live in concert for the first time. Their live show is as polished and musically precise as their albums. The Dears were on tour supporting their latest album, Missiles. Lead singer, guitarist and keyboard player Murray Lightburn answers a few questions I had for him after seeing their show. I was surprised by some of his answers. He's a witty one that Murray.
Ian is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. In 2008 he joined the team at Double Stereo (formerly CD Fuse) as their Blog editor where he reviewed concerts, albums, and did interviews for the popular music site.In January 2009, he became the Editor in Chief for Austin Vida. In 2010, with the help of some of his most talented friends, he launched Red River Noise. "Ian's Music Blog" is also one of the few blogs selected to be a Do512 All-Star.
On any given night of the week he can be found in downtown Austin on 6th Street and the Red River live music district.
