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:
What's up everyone? After you recover from all the New Year's stuff, the real fun begins with Free Week. There will be many free shows (for 21 and up, small cover for under 21) all over downtown at venues like Emo's and Red 7 just to name a few. My first Free Week show I'm recommending to you is Built By Snow at The Mohawk. On the bill with them is my new favorite band, Zlam Dunk, and The Always Ready. I'll be out and about all week, discovering new bands I like, learning about bands I don't like and enjoying my current favorites. See you on Red River.
We just received the upcoming release, Mega, from Austin’s own Built By Snow. Mega is set for a January 20, 2009 release, but I got an early listen this week. Having followed Built By Snow for some time now, I was not surprised or disappointed by what I heard on Mega.
Can you believe I got up early on a Saturday and didn't play golf? I know, sounds crazy right? Well I had a good reason as The Summerfest kick off at Guero's was happening. The first band started at noon, but I got there a little after one o’ clock in time to see a local indie rock favorite of mine, Built By Snow.
The whole event was hosted by local KUT personality Laurie Gallardo and put on by The Loyalty Firm. I thought it was cool that show such as this with a long line up was going to be at Guero’s. It had been a while since I hung out at Guero’s for show. I like shows there as it is outside and small. Plus, they have a separate outside bar right there so you don’t have to go inside for a drink.
Right after I parked, I could hear Built By Snow playing as I walked down Congress on my way to Guero’s. I recognize their video game like synthesized sounds anywhere. This was my first time seeing them live despite having their music in my ipod for some time now. Even though it was more humid and hot today than any other show I’ve been to this year, they still rocked. “Juliana” was the song playing when I arrived.
During their set I was looking up at the sky and kept thinking to myself this was going to get rained out. Once my attention was back on stage, JP (guitar and lead vocals) had his keyboard player play a ditty from an old Nintendo Game. He asked the crowd if anyone recognized it, even gave them hints that it was from an old Nintendo (NES) game. I knew it right away, but didn’t want to reveal how big of a nerd I was. Some people made good guesses such as Contra, but no one seemed to know. I didn’t want them to feel bad so I shouted out the answer for them, which was “Double Dragon”. They all looked surprised that someone there actually knew. They said to “give that guy something”, but I got nothing. Wait, that’s not entirely true. I got a good show. I mean they played “Invaders”, which is one of their better tracks. I only wish I could have caught their whole set.
Built By Snow, in addition to having cool music, have some of the coolest videos of any local band I’ve seen. As far as their sound, I describe it to friends by saying it is as if The Cars and Weezer spawned a band. Built By Snow is that band. I have also described it as “video game rock”. If you plan to be in Austin on July 12th or 14th, you can catch them at Emo’s. They are one of the better indie rock acts to come out of Austin. Finally, I will leave you with this video of theirs that seems to be somewhat of a You Tube phenomenon. It’s for an awesome song called “All The Weird Kids Know”.
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.
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:
