Category: Featured

FT5: Best Austin Music Venues

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0814top5coverWe spent a lot of time this week debating our favorite venue.  What constitutes the perfect place to catch a show?  Is it sound alone, or beer prices?  Maybe it’s both.  We decided that we wanted to narrow it down to the best five places in town where you’ll most likely see one of us, or one of our favorite bands playing.  We even developed a rating system for them.  We’ll be using our typical 5 Star system (1 being the lowest, 5 the highest) to rate the following areas: Sound Quality, Band Quality, Beer Prices, Atmosphere, and Mobility during packed shows. Follow the jump for full article.
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FTC – Guided by Voices

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gbvRecently I was reading a book from the 33 and 1/3 Series on Bee Thousand. It was perfect timing because everything else lately had seemed a bit stale, so I went back and played the album.  Over and over again, it reveals new sounds to me, just as the band’s output does for most listeners.  It’s great to see that Bob Pollard, sand Guided by Voices,  is still trucking along, releasing new albums to this day, but for those of you who missed out on the genius of this man and his band, I suggest that you go revisit the entire catalogue.  Here’s a little old school, straight off of Bee Thousand.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/08-echos-myron.mp3]

A2W: White White Lights

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whitewhitelightsThe White White Lights are a band that have been receiving a whole slew of positive praise as of late from the local music blog roll.  We decided it was just about time we joined in the fun and featured the band in our artist to watch feature.  Not much information can be found about White White Lights, but we do know that the band has been around for a little over a year and features members of Austin bands Lomita and Monster Girl.  You can also expect a debut self-titled LP from the band sometime this October coming out on local label Indierect Records.  We think they sound a lot like one of our other favorite Texas bands, Eisley, mixed in with a bit more of an atmospheric touch.  You can experience that sound this Wednesday at Mohawk for only $7 along with fellow locals Sleeping in the Aviary.  Give ’em a chance and let us know what you think of this new Austin band.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/its-cold-here-in-japan.mp3]

Download: White White Lights – It’s Cold Here In Japan[MP3]

FT5: Album Closers

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0731top5coverIn the current state of the music industry, we’re all overly concerned with singles, rather than the completed album.  But, long ago, people put thought and art into the creation of the ending of an album, the summation of their musical statement.  We all have sat in our rooms, at least I hope, waiting for that last song, that last breath of music, in hopes of the perfect summation to an album.  A brilliant closer almost always warrants a brilliant album, and we’ve compiled a list of our favorite album closers that always guarantee we listen to said album all the way through until the needles hits the vinyl and emits that hiss signaling the end of the record.
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FTC: Counting Crows

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counting_crows-press081Oh yeah, I can hear the nasty comments already… Counting Crows!?  On ATH!?  Well you can just shaaaat uuuup!  I know a large majority of you people, or at least the none liars of the bunch, all owned a copy of the Counting Crows 1993 debut August and Everything After.  That album was full of hits like Mr. Jones, Omaha, and this little early 90s jam that still pulls on my heart strings, Round Here.  Not as random as you’d think, I bring you this From the Closet because Counting Crows are playing at Austin Music Hall this Monday.  Tickets are a whopping $47 so I hope you’re really feeling nostalgic.  Enjoy this old grunge era jam and forget about those Joni Mitchell covers and terribly outdated singles the band is promoting now.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/255_counting_crows_round_here.mp3]

From The Closet: Embodyment

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embodymentMany moons ago during my high school days, I was heavy into hardcore Christian rock and Embodyment was by far my favorite band of the genre.  Formed in 1993, Embodyment dropped 4 albums and countless demos during their career which sadly ended in 2004.  The band started off as more of a screamo/metal-core band, but after new lead singer Sean Corbray joined the band in 1999, Embodyment found their alternative hardcore sound.  This song, “One Less Addiction”, appears on the band’s 2000 album The Narrow Scope of Things which was the first effort with Corbray.  The album blended the band’s hardcore sound with the new vocal stylings of Corbray to create arguably the best album of the niche genre.  I’m partial to this one because I was in my very own hardcore Christian rock band in high school and our cover of this jam may have been our biggest hit…  Rock on Cornerstone!

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/03-one-less-addiction.mp3]

Download: Embodyment – One Less Addiction [MP3]

Austin A2W: Quiet Company

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streetgangcloseQuiet Company is an Austin band led by native Taylor Glen Muse who has been in and out of countless bands over the last several years. After stints in an early form of Eisley and The Connotations, Mr. Muse moved on to record an album mostly on his own under the moniker Quiet Company. That first record, Shine Honesty, received a mostly positive response from critics which lead to new members and a brand new band. Fast forward to 2009 which sees Quiet Company dropping their sophomore effort Everyone You Love Will Be Happy Soon and extensive US touring in the works. To quote the band directly, expect songs that “will you make you fall in love with life and then just as quickly challenge everything you know about it”. That sounds like a sweet deal to me. You can catch Quiet Company in town July 31st at Antone’s opening up for What Made Milwaukee Famous.  If you dig their sounds, check out their band camp for a full album stream, download a free 3 song sampler or say hi to them on twitter.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/04-seal-my-fate.mp3]

Download: Quiet Company – Seal My Fate [MP3]

Austin A2W: TV Torso

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tv_torso_photographer_tim_murrayTV Torso may not be a household name at this point, but I’m sure some of you are familiar with the Austin band Sound Team that disbanded forever in 2007.  We mention them because two founding members of TV Torso, Matt Oiver (guitar/vocals) and Jordan Johns (drums) were both members of that now defunct Austin band.  After adding bassist Austin Jones, the band has started fresh and are planning to take the Austin world by storm.  TV Torso call their sound minimal rock music and try to keep their sound as simplistic as possible.  Whatever you want to call it, we dig it.  The band also recently finished recording two 7″ singles which will hit stores August 18th and will come with the vinyl, free downloads, a bonus download and a blank CD-R.  You can catch these guys live on Thursday at Mohawk for free around midnight or on August 20th again at Mohawk along with fellow A2W band The Authors.  Check out the TV Torso band camp site for some more free tuneage or enjoy this one “Days of Being Wild”.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/01-days-of-being-wild-1.mp3]

FT5: Long Songs Worth Your Time

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0710top5coverAdmit it: you have the attention span of a coked out squirrel. You don’t want to hear jam bands, experimental noise bands, or ambitious concept albums. You’re a 21st Century, internet-streaming, iPod-shuffling, next-button-pressing, son of a bitch.

I forgive you. Yet I must insist that you occasionally look to songs stretching beyond that holy 3 minute mark to satisfy your fickle rock and roll urges.  Here are 5 Long Songs Worth Your Time.  Follow the jump for the full list.

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