Austin Bands in Austin for SXSW

Every March brings thousands of bands to Austin in search of record deals, women and free booze. There are unspoken contests on who has the coolest sunglasses at most venues in which normal people do not participate. Most locals attend some free show while others lock all of their doors and board up the windows. Local bands tend to play around the party scene and take part in at least one showcase during the week. Here’s a short list of Austin bands that I recommend. (Disclaimer: all of these bands are better than whatever “wave” party Pitchfork is hosting.)

Monahans – I’ve seen this band live around ten times in the last few years and they’ve all been enjoyable experiences. But, the band is truly firing on all cylinders since last fall and is riding the streak into SXSW. They’ve perfected their live set and mix a good number of old tunes with songs from their latest album, Dim the Aurora. Be sure to check out their “song a month” plan for the rest of 2010 at their website.

Thurs., 3/18 – Space12 (3121 E. 12th St.) - 2 PM
Thurs., 3/18 – TwangFest at Jovita’s – 4:30 PM
Fri., 3/19 – Ramble Creek Party at Show Lush’s Backyard - 3 PM

Sat., 3/20 - Alejandro Escovedo Maria's Taco Express - 11:45 AM
Sat., 3/20 – Spune Party at J. Black’s - 5:30 PM

Cory Branan – His live shows are a unique experience to say the least. If you’re in the need of an attitude adjustment then this is the man to see. He will hopefully be playing some new songs from his upcoming album as well as his crowd pleasing classics. A Cory Branan show will improve your SXSW experience beyond all reason no matter your preference of musical genre.

Thurs., 3/18 - Barbarella - 10 PM

Fri., 3/19 - Continental CLub - 2:45 PM

Sat., 3/20 - Music Gym - 9:30 PM

Centro-Matic – One of the most prolific bands to come from Texas will break their silence starting at this year’s SXSW. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the band perform on stage together. They band splits their time and members between Denton and Austin but I consider them to be more of a local act than most of the transplant bands in this town. I’m sure new songs will be revealed and loved by people who enjoy great music.

Thurs., 3/18 - Emo's Annex - 12 AM

Fri., 3/19 - Will Johnson solo Ramble Creek Party Show Lush’s Backyard - 3 PM
Fri., 3/19 – Brooklyn Vegan at Club DeVille - 4:30 PM

Sad Accordions – If you’re in the mood for music that prohibits you from sitting still then you should check out this band. Just listening to their recorded work doesn’t do the group justice. You have to see them in person to experience the force of their new songs and how each one builds into a storm of sound. That’s right, a storm of sound. They will be previewing songs from their soon to be released EP.

Thurs., 3/18 – Space12 (3121 E. 12th St.)

Conversation with Cory Branan

Hello, Windfarm readers. My name is Derek and I'll be checking in from Austin from time to time with thoughts, reviews, and the occasional interview. I recently caught up with Cory Branan on living in Austin, his upcoming album, and recording his recently released split with Jon Snodgrass.

Windfarm: You recently moved to Austin...

Cory Branan: Yeah, about a year and a few months. I've only been in Austin for about a third of that. I've been touring and recording elsewhere. But, yeah I'm an Austinite now.

WF: What were the some of the reasons that made you make the move?

CB: Well, ever since Memphis I've always had to have a music town. I lived in Nashville, L.A., Brooklyn and none of them fit right. I did two years in Fayetteville, Arkansas because my girl was doing her school there. Every time I toured through Austin I just really dug Austin. It's a cool town. Also, my girlfriend's grad school is down here. So it worked out nice for both of us.

WF: Do you enjoy the music scene in Austin? Was it hard to get a foot down since there are so many bands?

CB: I don't really bother with it honestly. It's just like when I lived in New York or L.A. They're just a place to live and tour out of. I like living in Austin just as a town. Musically, they treat me alright. I get some good gigs at the Cactus and I play some more punk rock gigs here and there. It's good. When I first got here, they were like, "you gotta do that thing where you go over to Momo's and play every Thursday and work your way up". Man, I'm 34 years old so I'm not working my way up to nothing. I've been doing it for eight years. I'll just do a show in Austin every few months and treat it like any other town. I'm not trying to conquer Austin.

WF: How was this last tour, I hear it was a long one?

CB: Yeah, it was with Honorary Title and a band from Philly that's my new favorite band. They're called Good Old War. Just an amazing band made of harmonies and really good guys. I knew Jarrod from Honorary Title from a tour we did before and from when I was in Brooklyn. It was good and everyone was real cool.

WF: Were the crowds good for a diverse musical lineup like that?

CB: It was good. The shows were all ages so it's uh... I find with an acoustic guitar there's not any way for people to reject the aesthetic. The more that you add to it then the more someone can signify that "Oh, I don't like that sound or that thing." But, if it's just a guy and a guitar then you can only chafe at whether or not you like the song. There's really nothing distracting from the song. But, I'm distracting, haha... they can chafe at me. The shows went great. Since they were all ages people came up to me and said "I saw you when I was 16..." and now they can come see me at the dirtbag bars that I normally play.

WF: Tell us a little about the new album?

CB: We have to get it mastered. We're doing that pretty soon. I had Luther Dickinson from North Mississippi Allstars and Black Crowes play on one song, so I'm going to remix that so that he can be on there. I love him and he's amazing. He did a killer job. We're shopping it around trying to find the right home for it.

WF: Is the sound of the record a big departure from the two previous albums?

CB: Well, both of those records had songs that were almost a departure from the one before it. So, the new one is continuing on in a "I don't know what I'm doing and I'm going to do whatever I feel at any given moment kind of thing". There's some stripped down acoustic stuff and some crazy stuff. It was all in San Francisco at a place called Closer Studio with Tim Mooney engineering. He's the drummer and engineer for American Music Club. He was really great. I got a bunch of great musicians to play. My buddy John Murry got that set up for me out there. We even got Tom Waits' horn guy, Ralph Carney.

WF: Do you prefer performing live or working in the studio?

CB: Live definitely, but this studio process was good because it was on the fly. I met them and we were arranging while we were doing it. I like to do things fast. None of the songs on the other two records were more than two or three takes. This was fast too. We cut the whole thing, 13 or 14 tracks in four days and then we did overdubs and stuff.

WF: What are some of you current musical influences?

CB: Currently? I don't know a lot of modern stuff. I don't know what the hell's going on anymore. But, lately I just listen to a lot of older blues stuff: Reverend Gary Davis who I'm still freaking out about every time I hear his stuff. I've been listening to an old soul guy named Gary U.S. Bonds... he's great. But overall as influences I'd say John Prine, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Paul Simon. I've been wanting to get into Chuck Berry a lot. You know, as a songwriter. It's just those songs. They didn't come out of no where. He wrote those. All of those diminishing returns were from the brilliant songwriting.

WF: You just had the split with Jon Snodgrass come out...

CB: Yeah, they did that on Suburban Home. Virgil and all of those guys. I love those guys.

WF: Was that a real quick process? Were you just passing through Colorado?

CB: Well, I spent a little time up there because I was playing some Colorado shows with Jon. But, we just went in and said let's do this. I actually did one of the tracks when I got back here to Austin with Tim from Oh No! Oh My!. It was pretty fast... just us goofin'. I think it sounds really off the cuff because that's exactly what it was. I really enjoyed that. Plus, Jon's one my favorite people on the planet. He's good people.

WF: So, you're familiar with Thrift Store Cowboys...

CB: Speaking of good people.

WF: True. In your opinion what makes Tugboat's harmonies so sweet?

CB: Haha. I'm not sure. I think it's the years that he had with the boy's choir.

Cory Branan & Jon Snodgrass split 12"

Cory Branan & Jon Snodgrass - "S/T"

While Cory Branan fans anxiously await his forthcoming new full length, release date not yet announced, you've got the chance to hear a great sampling of Cory and one of Colorado's finest songwriters, Jon Snodgrass, on this split 12" vinyl (or cassette) release from Suburban Home Records. The recording is made up of 7 songs from these two songwriters. If you are wondering about the breakdown of said songs, here's the quick rundown from SH's Web site: "There are 2 originals by Jon, 3 originals by Cory, and 2 covers (Solo in Soho by Phil Lynott, Wild One by Thin LIzzy)."

Branan's songs include "The Corner" and "Walkaround," two songs that easily stand alongside any of his best material to date. The laughing at the end of the latter song, as well as the shredding at the end of "Yeah, So What?" give the record a bit of a more laid back feel, which, for lack of a better description, provides a bit of a more intimate setting that I appreciate from a limited edition release like this.

Fans should not be discouraged from giving this record a try if they don't have a vinyl player. As most vinyl sellers offer these days, this record comes along with a digital download card for the 7 songs. You can also buy it on cassette (also with downloads), for those of you lucky enough to have a cassette player in your car still. (On a side note, if car companies had just waited a bit longer before pulling cassette players from cars, we would be in so much better shape, because you could so much more easily play your ipod in the car, and wouldn't have to mess with all that itrip business.)

Snodgrass, who is one half of the songwriting core of Fort Collins band Drag the River, adds a couple of nice originals as well. "Born Apart" is a fantastic example of his songwriting style, and is a song that could just as easily be a DTR classic were it released by the band. Even if you're not familiar with his work, I think many can appreciate Snodgrass's voice upon first listen. I struggle to describe it accurately without sounding like I'm overly impressed with my own writing, but it is basically the perfect voice for the music he plays. Part growl, part twang, and just spot on for his alt/country/rock/roll/roots/whatever/drinking songs.

This record has the feel of a couple of friends going into the studio and sitting down to play some of their new songs for each other, with no rigid ideas about a finished product, and they come out with a solid project that is a great listen beginning to end. Each artist provides harmonies for the other, and while the two songwriters' styles are quite different, the songs mesh together cohesively. Plus, if you hadn't noticed, the cover has a cobra and a wolf, which should have sold you on it from the get-go.

Don't miss our recent interview with Cory that you can find here.

Stuff, part 12

I'm not sure that it merits an entire review:

but Lucero's show at the Fox Theatre on 5/30 was hands down the best I've ever heard the band sound. Ben and the guys drank in moderation, and it really showed as they played every song spot on. Sure it lacked the high elevation drunkenness that tends to ensue at their shows, but musically, I was more than exchange debauchery for the perfectly performed set.

What I should have titled my previous blog about The Hangover:
"The Hangover (the movie, not the one from the Lucero show)"

Have you noticed that strike anywhere matches:

don't really light on anything except the striking surface on the box?

I just can't pay for them:

but I'll have to admit I put in to win tickets to 3eb this Friday in Denver.

For those of you who have been chomping at the bit for any and all Avett material (even if it's not new songs):

fuel.tv just posted videos of recent performances of "Color Show" and "Salina."

Very soon:

I'll be posting info about the upcoming Thrift Store Cowboys/One Wolf 7" split vinyl.

Sorry if you hate sports and/or UT:

but this is a good story.

Am I the only one:

who feels a little sad for the Lemonheads for going from being a pretty big grunge band in the 90s who probably played to pretty large audiences to playing 200 person capacity clubs 15 years later? I guess everyone's got to pay the bills somehow.

Forgot to mention:

how cool it is that Bob Dylan mentions Billy Joe Shaver on his new album. Read Shaver's thoughts on the shout out here.

I've been trying to find more info:

but the last update I've heard on Shaver's shooting case was that he was indicted back in September of 2008. Otherwise, news on the subject has completely fallen off the radar. I guess this is probably a case of the wheels of the legal system turning very slowly. Hopefully it will get settled out of court and go away. Whatever actually happened, Shaver's an icon and Texas needs him.

Don't miss:

the Cory Branan/Jon Snodgrass split 12". It will probably sell out at some point in the not too distant future. And also, what's this about Cory's next record coming out on a "much bigger label?" That's fantastic news, but I'd heard nothing about it until the passing comment by VC.

Seen:

Old Chicago restaurant neon sign where the "ago" was no longer lit. The joke possibilities are endless.

Cory Branan

For anyone anxiously awaiting Cory Branan's newest record, which he's been working on in San Francisco over the past few months, I can't really give you an update because I don't know what stage it is in. However, I can direct you to a live recording just posted by Ardent Presents. The sound quality is really good for a live recording, and there's even some banter in between the songs, which is a great thing given that Cory is one of those guys who just knows how to tell good stories and entertain. Anyway, enough talking about it, check it out for yourself. You can right click the "Download" link at the bottom to download the full podcast.

Need to get caught up on some things

Lots of free download links I want to pass along to get caught up on various things that might be of interest to some of you:

The New Frontiers - Daytrotter live performance (4 songs)

Cory Branan - 2 live shows 

This one has some great songs, one set with Thrift Store Cowboys as the backing band.

I recommend "Summertime" and "Prettiest Waitress in Memphis" from the Earl show, and "Tall Green Grass" from the Uncommon Ground show.

Thrift Store Cowboys - Nothing (new song live from Taos)

Doug Burr - In The Garden

Okkervil River - Golden Opportunities Mixtape

The Paper Hearts

Boxharp - old side project of The Court & Spark.  Click on "Store" to find the free album download.

That's a few pretty good ones.  Send along others if you've got them.

Now can we be friends?