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.
My crew and I at Red River Noise are big fans of the Red River music scene. We all have our own individual favorites. We disagree on who is good locally and who sucks. One thing we all agree on is that the local scene must be supported either way. I know that not all bands here are "there" yet, but some are and aren't being talked about enough or at all. I know because I am out and about and see first hand for myself. Plus I do have all the "buzz" blogs in my reader and do listen to who is being talked about, eventually that is.
So one way to help promote good Austin based bands on our site which is nationally focused is we have a "Made In Austin" feature we are expanding on currently, so I'll keep you posted for that. In this case, we are helping local promoters with good shows get the word out. After all, we kicked off our site's (delayed) launch with a bad ass showcase during the week of South by Southwest at The Parlor. We want to continue to do so, and are open minded about genres unlike other indie leaning blogs around town.
Tomorrow we are presenting a cool show at Beauty Bar which features three good bands with a different enough sound to be entertaining but not boring. I say boring because I personally don't like shows where are the bands on the bill sound like the same band. You know what I mean right? Tonight though, this isn't the case. Now I will be the first to admit these bands are the most popular or the big local buzz bands, but all are of top quality in their respected realms and worth checking out.
First there is They Mean Us from McAllen, Texas. They are an instrumental indie band that sound decent on MySpace, but that is honestly all I can tell you as I have never seen them live. I look forward to it though and am very interested in checking them out. I have a thing for instrumental indie and post-rock music for some weird reason. Bands like Mono and even Calm Blue Sea locally are the bees-knees. This is a video for They Mean us I found on their MySpace that kind of gives you an idea of what they sound like, but keep in mind it is a tour blog and not a professional video so please mind that when you hear it.
The locally known favorite on this bill are The Paper Shapes. I've seen them live once, but it was only for a short bit. My friends and Red River Noise peeps Ajay Miranda and Sarah Vasquez talk about them. They basically told me I need to check them out so I'll do that tonight. I just downloaded a free mp3 of their song "Bed Bugs"they were giving away on their website. Check it out:
The other band on the bill is a semi-new band on the scene and one that came highly recommended to me by one of the guys I know in The Sword, my favorite band not named Rage Against The Machine by the way. I'll show you my tattoo one day when it's done. Anyway, so I got word of Tornahdo when I interviewed Bryan Ritchie of The Sword last fall at Fun Fun Fun Fest. That's all I needed to hear. He said "They are totally worthy of some praise" and "they have this little Zach Hill on drums". It's totally different from what else I've seen or heard locally lately. Check out this clip of them performing on the steps of the Capital.
So there you have it. Three bands, all different but good. This show is 21+ and only $5 cover. Come out and have a good time doing something different. Keep checking in with me here on occasion as I keep you up to date with more happenings with both Austin Vida and Red River Noise. Thanks as always for reading. Feel free to RSVP for the event on Facebook since you're other tab is on Facebook anyway:
I got the chance to interview international Latina superstar, Kat DeLuna, for Austin Vida recently. She was super cool and had a super sexy accent. I didn't think of it at the time, but I should have had her record my voice mail. I also should have asked her to marry me. Oh, and my good friends Ajay Miranda and Mari Hernandez got great video and photos for the piece. Check it out here:
"El Ritmo Me Manda" is the new music video from Austin's own Los bad Apples. The video features footage from when Los Bad Apples were overseas entertaining our troops. That alone warms my heart. My boys from Subrosa Union did the same recently. This video is also something of meaning to me as it was edited by my good friend and Austin Vida's Managing Editor, Ajay Miranda.
For those who have seen Los Bad Apples live, you are probably familiar with the song "El Ritmo Me Manda" already. For those who haven't hear of Los Bad Apples yet, do give the video a watch. If you like what you hear, I have posted some links for you to check out below the video. Their next show is at Lambert's here in Austin on September 4th. Show your love for talented Austin bands and check out the show. Lambert's is a good spot and worth checking out.
On July 29th at The Mohawk here in Austin, some of my team from Austin Vida and I checked out local Latin Fusion Band, La Guerrilla. My friend and Austin Vida staff writer, Sarah Vasquez, knew the lead singer from a previous band he was in a few years ago. I had heard of La Guerrilla before but never got a chance to see them live. In Austin, with so much music everywhere you turn, it is difficult to catch everyone on your list of bands to see.
After I got wind of them opening for Grupo Fantasma recently, I knew I needed to make them a priority on my list. When we saw them at Mohawk that night, I realized that this band was numerous in members. They had the usual guitar, bass, and drummer, yada yada yada. What I didn't know until that night was that La Guerrilla also has a brass section, an extra percussionist, and a violinist. It made for a great live sound collectively. Take a listen to La Guerrilla here on this YouTube video my friend and Managing Editor, Ajay Miranda, shot for Austin Vida:
I first saw The Morakestra last year. What I saw and heard was a group of talented young Latinos doing some fantastic indie rock worthy of everyone's ear. This year I reviewed their latest album, Witness To Connection, for Austin Vida. I thought it was solid album with only a few songs that made me go "huh?".
Originally from El Paso, the Austin based Morakestra is steadily becoming a regular Austin staple around Red River. When I got word of their CD release show, I made sure my Austin Vida team and I included The Morakestra on the website somehow. I am very happy with the way everything turned out. Ajay Miranda shot great video once again, and Sarah Vasquez gave us an insightful interview to help those unfamiliar with The Morakestra get acquainted.
Here is a YouTube video from the Austin Vida YouTube Channel that did not get published with the article that will give you an idea of The Morakestra's look and sound.
I recently fulfilled a childhood dream of mine when I not only met the legendary B-Real, but also interviewed him for Austin Vida. He was here in Austin touring with Bizzy Bone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. B-Real was supporting his solo album, Smoke N Mirrors.
That day was also a special day because it was my good friend Ajay's birthday. I never had a birthday with a hip hop legend, but I was glad for him. We even did birthday shots with B-Real, Sick Jacken (Psycho Realm) and their crew. I never do shots or drink anything not marked "Lone Star", but it was a special occasion. If only someone would hurry up and invent time travel. I'd go back to visit 8th grade me in Cincinnati (where I lived at the time) and tell me about that night.
I hate to sound like such a fan boy, but Cypress Hill turned my world upside when I was a kid. When I first got my own adult stereo, CD player and all, I owned only three CDs. Those three were 1) Pearl Jam's Ten 2) The Red Hot Chili Peppers classic Blood Sugar Sex Magic and 3) Cypress Hill's self titled debut. "Latin Lingo" was the song that I used to play on repeat, now that I had that ability to do so without rewinding a cassette tape. Remember....it was the early '90s.
To check out the greatness that is B-Real, check out this montage Ajay filmed and edited from his show at The Mohawk. B-Real does some Cypress Hill hits along with some tracks off of Smoke N Mirrors.
This month on Austin Vida we have introduced a new feature. Our new music editor, Ajay Miranda, has captured some great video from some amazing Austin bands like Brownout, Del Castillo and Pack of Wolves. We also shot our first video pilot at La Rumba Disco on Riverside, featuring none other than Houston' Los Skarnales. Feel free to embed and share the videos from the Austin Vida Vimeo or You Tube. Thanks again to Ajay and thanks for reading the new Austin Vida.
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.
