The pun and western outfit lead my MXPX's Mike Herrera, Tumbledown, is playing Monday night at Mohawk. I saw these guys at Emo's last year. It was a fun show. You need to check them out. Tumbledown is the kind of country and Americana I do like. Cory Branan opens.
I hope you guys got to check out Amplified Heat at Emo's Friday Night. If you were at Beerland, I hope you saw Sober Daze, a crazy ass punk rock band I've been following for a few years now. Well if you are like me and took the day to recover and rest Friday, then Free Week starts for you on Saturday night. For those of you in clouds or from out of town, Free Week is where the best venues on and around Red River waive the cover charge. It's like five bucks or so if you are 18+, but still a great deal none the less. It goes from January 1st through the 10th. I'll pick the best of the best of stuff to check out that may not be on the average readers' radar. Let the Free Week picks begin....
Get downtown early at Emo's to check out Mike Wiebe of The Riverboat Gamblers and his side project, Ghost Knife. I saw them open for Mike Herrera's Tumbledown this past fall and they sounded good. They aren't as punk-ish as The Riverboat Gamblers, but in the same realm of taste for fans. Think post rock and indie with a slight hint of hardcore. Weibe has a great rock voice, so you already know they are good. You won't be able to find them on MySpace or online anywhere that I know of. When I last spoke with Mike maybe a couple of weeks ago, he was showing me his stitches in his left hand and telling me about Ghost Knife. He told me he hadn't made anything for it yet as far as online stuff. So, you have get to Emo's early as Ghost Knife opens.
The Lions (photo by Katrina Hercules)
After Ghost Knife finishes, I'm heading over to Mohawk on 10th and Red River to see one of my favorite local rock groups, The Lions. They're kind of a '70s throwback to the time when psychedelic, cock-rock was king. I've heard older folks call it "camaro-rock". Either way, it's bad ass. I am listening to their album, My Generation, as we speak. Some of you may have even played one of their songs on Guitar Hero called "Heavy Metal Lady". That song doesn't appear on My Generation, but it still rocks. Check out this clip.
Playing before The Lions are local rock bands Vinhomudeh and Eagle Claw. Don't let any kind of cold weather keep you home. Mohawk has those tall space heaters and the wall around the outside stage blocks the wind pretty good. Also, it's Free! Free! Free! So get there and support good local live music. For more Free Week selections, check in again with soon. I'm always available by email for questions and/or suggestions.
Mike Herrera is known to most people as the bassist and frontman of the popular punk band MxPx. What many still don’t know is that Herrera is also an avid classic country music fan. He has been writing country songs with his own style and twist for many years now. It warms my heart to know that I'm not the only punk-rock lover who enjoys classic country.
With Tumbledown, Herrera fronts a new group of musicians from his home town of Bremerton, Washington, while being signed to an Austin-based record label called End Sounds. Herrera toured with Tumbledown recently, which included a stop in Austin. We caught up with Herrera at Emo’s and chatted with him in his tour van while he restrung his guitar. Apparently, the show in San Antonio the night before was a little crazy and all hell wasn’t the only thing that broke.
Click to read the full interview with Mike Herrera here:
This past Saturday I had the privilege of seeing live in concert, MXPX's own Mike Herrera's punk meets western band "Tumbledown". It is not alt-country, but more like a punkish Old 97s. Tumbledown is not a side project, but rather a second band for Herrera. MXPX is recording a new LP and recently released a new album, Covers II.
I absolutely love Tumbledown and seeing them live is a must. Their show at Emo's was great to say the least, with Western Ghost House, Jim Nolan and Ghost Knife. I didn't know this until Saturday, but Ghost Knife is fronted by Riverboat Gambler's lead singer, Mike Wiebe. They were probably the best opening act I have seen all year. In fact, they were too good to be an opener. As for Tumbledown, they are touring only with Jim Nolan. He wasn't bad either actually.
There are still a few dates on the tour. If you didn't make it out this time around, Tumbledown will be back again sometime in the future. Go and pick up their self titled album and have the beer ready when listening, unless of course you're driving. Check out this video for my favorite Tumbledown song, "Ballad of a Factory Man".
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.
I hope you guys got to check out Amplified Heat at Emo's Friday Night. If you were at Beerland, I hope you saw Sober Daze, a crazy ass punk rock band I've been following for a few years now. Well if you are like me and took the day to recover and rest Friday, then Free Week starts for you on Saturday night. For those of you in clouds or from out of town, Free Week is where the best venues on and around Red River waive the cover charge. It's like five bucks or so if you are 18+, but still a great deal none the less. It goes from January 1st through the 10th. I'll pick the best of the best of stuff to check out that may not be on the average readers' radar. Let the Free Week picks begin....
