Tonight’s Show: Shivery Shakes/Roses/She Sir @ Cheer Up Charlies

Shivery ShakesIn a week of great goings-on, you should be thrilled that brilliant pop music exists so abundantly in town. One of our favorites, Shivery Shakes, are about to hit the road and spread their gospel of surfy pop all over the States (the East Coast at least). So tonight, join them in celebration as they play one last local gig, try out some new tunes and melt your hearts. Plus, perennial ATH favorites She Sir will be opening, as well as the hot pop band in town, Roses (my old lady can’t stop talking about them).

Also…there’s a great pre-pop show bill featuring some really talented ladies (Aisha Burns, Molly Burch) going on at Cheer Ups earlier in the evening, so make it a night of great music and show up!

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My Free Week Afterthoughts

freeThere’s still some Free Week activities for you over at Barracuda this week, which you should attend, but the main stretch of Free Week is over. I had a pretty solid time, bouncing all down Red River, catching over 60 great Austin bands (and a few from out of town). It’s a really special time for the Austin music community and its fan, so I’m going to leave you with some notes, as well as some highlights and things you should look forward to in 2016. Read more

ATX Popfest 2015

ATX Popfest 00It all started when Nathan ran his mouth about getting a bunch of bands together to celebrate just how damn good Austin’s Pop scene is right now. It is a renaissance. With long time ATH faves like Shivery Shakes, She Sir, Young Girls (HTX) and Letting Up Despite Great Faults, Popfest had a number of shiny new things to shimmy to including Templo X, Summer Salt, Polio Club, (new to me) MCG and new old friends in Tres Oui to round things out. Well, OK, Tres Oui is kinda Literature, but not really, so still “new”…

Pics and recap? Sure.

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ATX Popfest (9.12) – The Definitive Edition

11895936_10207422291186088_4494044377145704198_nTomorrow is the ATX Popfest over at Cheer Up Charlies, doors are at 6 PM, bands start at 7. It’s $5 for 10 Bands. All the money goes straight to the bands…so let’s not complain about $5. But, I also want you to have notes on all the bands, and why you should check them all out. It’s a long post, so please read it all. It should convince you why attendance is required.

Come enjoy yourself some pop music. There’s no place else to be Saturday. 

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ATX Popfest Playlist – Show Saturday @Cheer Up Charlies

11895936_10207422291186088_4494044377145704198_nWe’re really excited to be part of the first ATX Popfest, trying to encourage love and adoration for our favorite local pop bands. The event features 10 of the best pop bands in Austin, and it’ll be going from 7 – Close over at Cheer Up Charlies. I figured the whole world might not be aware of our scene, so why not create a little playlist to get you hip to what we’ll be throwing down on Saturday.  Two notes, Polio Club have been battling Soundcloud, and have chosen instead to only stream their music via Tidal, so you can buy their excellent tape HERE.  Also, Literature is not officially playing, but members past and present will be playing in Tres Oui, and we’re hoping Nate will DJ late into the evening…playing indiepop hits.

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Announcing ATX Popfest!!! — September 12th @ Cheer Up Charlies

11921975_1035276473149720_2134988977_nPop music is near and dear to my heart…it was my gateway drug into music.  And, Austin’s got an incredible pop scene that often goes unnoticed, so I got together with some friends and some great bands in Austin, and we’ve organized a great night of music for you.  We’re calling this gathering the ATX Popfest; it’ll feature 10 great bands for $5.  That’s 50 cents a band, so you can’t beat that. Here’s the line-up: Tres Oui, MCG, Letting Up Despite Great Faults, Templo X, Rose Selavy, Young Girls, Shivery Shakes, Summer Salt, Polio Club, She Sir and a Guest DJ.  Show will start at 6 PM, and there will be bands selling merch, booze, etc.  Come enjoy and partake in some of Austin’s finest pop delights.

Also…I’ll be celebrating the release of the Rose Selavy/Templo X 7″ that night, so if you can’t make it to grab one, order it HERE.

Have a listen to it now; I’ll make a master mix of the great bands for you guys later!

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Austin Spotlight: Rose Selavy

roseyFree Week in Austin is all about discovery, or at least it used to be about discovery…so I’ve got one that I think deserves your attention: Rose Selavy. The group has fulfilled my need for someone new to bring some delightful indiepop to our fair city (She Sir can’t hold down the fort forever!). They’ve only got one single for you to hear, but it’s enough that it should entice you to catch their sets.  You’ll hear jangling guitars knifing their way through this song, using synth stabs and nice vocal touches to wrap you in the perfect warmth.  They’ll be playing Free Week at Holy Mountain on Saturday, so if you’re not afraid of the cold…this is a good solid spot to end up.

Top 15 Austin Albums of 2014

Top LocalsIt’s that time of year when we all toss up our arbitrary lists of what we think is best, and seeing as we’re based here in Austin, we opted to go with our Top 15 Austin Albums first.  Why 15? Well, there were a lot of great releases all over the place, covering different styles, and appealing to our different writers. Sure, the list isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t reflect singles and EPs, as that could get entirely too crazy.  I included links to the labels so you can buy these albums from the hard-working folks in our town.  Also…there are two releases on our label, but I have no qualms about that; I didn’t set out to put out a bad LP, so obviously, they’re going to be in here.  And without further meaningless words…here’s the best records from Austin that you should already own!

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Show Pics: Ramesh Release Party (9/18)

RameshA big thank you to all who braved the elements on Thursday night to come hang with us. The show had a feeling of family as everyone was a familiar face. Ramesh shared a few stories of roommates and eating bugs. We spilled beer, cleaned it up, danced quite a bit and I was on hand to get photographic evidence of two great sets, She Sir opening and Ramesh celebrating this great new record. All hail, The King.

Won’t you join in a photographic journey as we pretended to ignore the flood outside…

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Ramesh The King LP Release – TODAY!!! Album Stream

ramFor a kid born and raised in Austin, there are a handful of bands that hold a great deal of meaning to my life, at least in regards to growing up.  Voxtrot is one of those bands, so it has been an absolute pleasure for me to work with Ramesh, one of the main songwriters in the group.  He quietly released The King digitally earlier this year, and we here at Austin Town Hall Records are releasing the album TODAY on vinyl.  It’ll be at all your local shops, but you can also grab it from us online HERE. And, if you’re lucky enough to live here in Austin, Ramesh is playing his album release show at the Belmont on Thursday night with She Sir and Mahogany.  It’s going to be a great night in honor of this great release.  I hope to see you there, or ship you a record.

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