Until The Autmn by The Story Of: Review on cdFuse

Some of Austin’s best local talent was recently featured on an Austin Week segment of some sort on MTV2. I missed it because I stopped watching MTV2, or anything MTV, a long time ago. When I do peek at video channels on rare occasions, it is usually Fuse or one of the Spanish music networks, which are not all that great by the way. When I heard that MTV2 was doing an Austin week, I was thinking it was going to be along the lines of another Real World Austin, Jack Ass, or some other dumb downed garbage. Instead, they were showcasing great Austin talent. One of those bands was The Story Of. After learning they were one of those featured bands on MTV2, I wanted to see what the buzz was about.

Click here to read the review on cdFuse

Oh! And ABout Last Night... Reviewed on cdFuse

Love She Wrote is another member of what I refer to with my friends as “Generation Fall Out Boy”. That is good or bad depending on your musical preferences. If you hate what the Warped Tour has become these days or despise bands will overly colorful t shirts and skinny jeans, no need to keep reading. If you like young, high energy bands with catchy hooks then perhaps you should give Love She Wrote a listen.

Read the full review here on cdFuse

The Brilliance that is The Calm Blue Sea

I first discovered Austin’s own The Calm Blue Sea at this year’s Free Week, a January tradition here in Austin. They were actually the first Free Week performance I caught and was no doubt one of the best I have ever seen. It was a beautiful night for a concert at the Mohawk on January 2^nd. The Calm Blue Sea played early and on the outside stage. I admit that I wasn’t there for them, but I couldn’t be happier about what I heard and saw that night. They took me by total surprise and I have been hooked on their music ever since.

Full review and story on cdFuse

Manu Chao Gives Rare TV Performance on Austin City Limits

Austin Vida just launched a new article about the upcoming Manu Chao performance on Austin City Limits. KLRU was also kind enough to work with us so that could provide a sneak peek video of the Manu Chao performance. You can see it now on Austin Vida in the music section, and can even play it full screen. Thanks also Scott Newton and KLRU for the great photo pictured above.

Click here for the full story on Austin Vida

Driver F & Zlam Dunk at Stubb's Friday Night

Two hot young cdFuse artists, Driver F and Zlam Dunk, will be playing Friday at Stubb’s. They will be playing with Austin rock group, Spin Alley, as they release their new album entitled Victims. I have not yet checked out Spin Alley, so I look forward to seeing them for the first time. From what I hear on their myspace page, its sounds a little like 311 meets Faith No More.

I have seen co-headliners Driver F and Zlam Dunk many times this past year. Neither band ever disappoints me. Both bands are young and very high energy, but my comparison stops there. Both are worth checking out, and here’s why:

Driver F has the best album release of 2008 with Chase the White Whale. Don’t believe me? You can listen for yourself here on cdFuse or view their praise on the Driver F myspace page. All those critics and publications can’t be wrong. In addition to their great CD, their live show is the best it has been right now. They always had that “it” factor, but lately they sound more polished. It is a great blend of keys, horns, guitars, and energy. The horns don’t over power but compliment the vocals of Tyler Welsch and (W)Andy Lane. Even your mom will like Driver F.

Zlam Dunk is the hottest young band on the scene since Driver F. Having only been together since last spring, they too continue to improve their already exciting live show. Since they don’t fit a specific genre, I call Zlam Dunk’s music “dance punk”. It is certainly punk enough to mosh to, but hip enough to make you dance. There are lots of drums, keys, guitars, a tambourine and even the quintessential cowbell….because we all need more cowbell. Let me warn you though, their music and live show never slow down. You know when some bands play a couple of fast tracks and slow it down for a song or two? Not the Zlam Dunk guys. This band needs ritalin, but even that probably wouldn’t work.

If you don’t like mosh pits or crowd surfers, avoid the front and post up with me at the bar. I'll see you there!

Kalua Album Review on cdFuse

Rock en Espanol in Austin has a new voice and youthful energy with Kalua’s debut album, La Novedad. What’s hidden in that youthful energy is an old spirit that summons the old Mariachi classics of our abuelos. Every song is passionately sung in Spanish, the native tongue of all four Kalua members, who hail from Mexico, Columbia and Venezuela respectively.

Read the full review on cdFuse

Kalua Interview on Austin Vida

Last month I sat down with Andres Delgado and Juan Diaz from Kalua. They were a fun interview to say the least. I spoke with them about their new album, a new video,The World Cup, The Police, Latin Music in Austin, and even heavy metal.

Check out the interview with Kalua on Austin Vida.

New Bocastria Album Review on cdFuse

Texicana is an album that could only have come from a Texas band. Bocastria’s unique mixture of influences, which include everything from rock en Espanol to Tejano, make Texicana an interesting listen. You’ll hear everything from melodic guitar hooks, edgy vocals, soft harmonies, keys and percussions. It is tough to really pinpoint what genre of music Bocastria fall under other than Latin rock. Songs are sung in both English and Spanish, reflecting the culture of the band and their hometown influences.

Read the Review on cdFuse

We launched the new Austin Vida!!!

After a three month layoff and an ownership change, Austin Vida is back and better than ever in 2009. With a new team and attitude behind it, Austin Vida has more to offer than ever before. We will be featuring music, reviews, business spotlights, news on the arts, blogs, and sports. That’s right. We’re introducing sports to Austin Vida this year.

Sports is the theme for our first cover, which features Austin MMA champ Nick “The Ghost” Gonzalez. Nick sits down with us to talk about growing up in Austin, his new management and major network deal. Nick is quite the charismatic personality with a lot to say. Austin Vida is proud that he represents Austin.

As always, Austin Vida will continue to support the local Latin Music scene with articles, Q&A’s and album reviews. After all, Austin Vida was originally founded to support Latin Rock in Austin. Be sure to check out our Ozomatli feature as well.

Also in this edition, we will be featuring book reviews, a business spotlight on Carlos Santana’s new restaurant, and our contributor’s blogs about whatever is on their mind. Be sure to click on the share buttons at the end of every article, add Austin Vida to your myspace friends, and “tweet” with us on Twitter.

Finally, we wanted to thank Austin Vida founder, Brian Stubbs, for creating this wonderful and much needed webzine for Austin’s Latino community. We needed something like Austin Vida that was uniquely ours...something that represented our viewpoints. We promise to hold ourselves to the same high standards Brian set forth for Austin Vida.

My Second Free Week Pick: The Applicators

I just read on myspace today that my favorite Austin female punk rock group, The Applicators, are reunited for Free Week. They will be playing at Red 7 on January 10th with another local favorite of mine, The Lower Class Brats. You can check your listings, but I assure you that there is no better Free Week show that night. The last time I saw The Applicators play was at last year's Free Week inside Emo's. They played right before Cruiserweight that night. I still listen to their album, My Weapon, from time to time. I figured that was all I had left of my sweet Applicators as they supposedly played their last show during last year's Free Week. I remember reading something about one of them going to school or something. If you are in the San Antonio area, you can check them out at Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar on January 9th. I am not sure they will play again, so take advantage folks.