(4/21) Preview: Belaire [LP release], Good Field, Deep Time

(4/21) Preview: Belaire [LP release], Good Field, Deep Time

Words by Annar Verold

After a three-year process, progressive pop-rock band Belaire will be releasing their sophomore album this Saturday, April 21. Supporting Belaire will be pop-rockers Good Field and Deep Time.

Belaire’s fans have been anxiously craving the band’s long overdue second LP, Resonating Symphony. The band—comprising members from Fancy Feast, Fozlur, and Voxtrot—have been composing the album for the last three years, however the time does the album justice. Resonating Symphony does a great job encompassing and harnessing Belaire’s unreplicable sound of upbeat lucid dreams. The album will be free at the release party, and will also be available on 12” vinyl, CD and for download.

Opening up for Belaire is a relatively new pop-rock band, Good Field. Paul Price (The Early Tapes) originally intended for this to be a solo-project but it quickly turned into a collaboration that features current and former band members from The Early Tapes, Coma in Algiers, Brazos and Voxtrot. The band assembled their current members—Esteban Cruz, Michael McLeod and Kyle Roberston—last summer, when they began to record. In February, Good Field released their self-titled album that sounds like a man reminiscing a painfully beautiful summer. Price’s voice sounds of vintage recordings coming out of a mind with unbearably nostalgic memories.

Kicking off the evening is indie pop-rock band Deep Time, formerly Yellow Fever. Since recently signing with Hardly Art and changing their name, Deep Time has been quickly changing and developing into a more solidified version of their original sound. The band has plans to release a new album on July 10, and are currently planning a West Coast tour.


29th Street Ballroom  is located at 2906 Fruth St. off of Guadalupe. Show starts at 9 p.m., cover is $10 and includes a free CD. Click on the links to visit and RSVP to the show post on Facebook or Do512. 

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(4/20) Preview: Amplified Heat, Scorpion Child, Professor Cowboy at Swan Dive

(4/20) Preview: Amplified Heat, Scorpion Child, Professor Cowboy at Swan Dive

Words by Annar Verold

Red River is getting an intense dose of rock 'n' roll this Friday as RRN presents a 4/20 showcase tailor-made for fans of psychedelic, bluesy metal. Our third showcase of the year will feature Amplified Heat, Scorpion Child and Professor Cowboy & The Space Crazies at Swan Dive.

Blues-rock trio Amplified Heat will be headlining the showcase. Among mountains of loud, vintage Fender amps, the Colombian-American brothers—Jim, Gian and Chris Ortiz—will be basking in the limelight as they perform electrifying rock ‘n’ roll influenced by punk, the blues and heavy metal. The band's 2011 album, On The Hunt, released on Gonzolandia Records, showcases this loud, passionate and technical sound brilliantly. Amplified Heat is a band that should be experienced live.

Sharing the bill with Amplified Heat is the epitome of a rock-star performers, Scorpion Child. This band can be dissected into the components of what rock 'n' roll truly is—part metal, part psychedelic, part electrifying progressive, and a whole lot of energy conspiring for a whole lot of attitude. Together, this gives Scorpion Child their knack for excellent rebellion, harnessing the essence of 1970s metal as they destroy their instruments with distortion, impressive guitar-riffs, and the pounding of the drum kit. Aside from performing a few shows in the South, Scorpion Child is working on their debut full-length album with Frenchie Smith Records.

The heavy rock 'n' roll dosage will begin with blues-rock band Professor Cowboy & The Space Crazies. The band, composed of Andrew Weber, Jack Pearl and Davis Cambell, has recently surfaced in the Austin music scene. With a voice as thick and sweet as molasses, ruthless guitar riffs and distortion, and adamant percussion—Professor Cowboy & The Space Crazies are trying to say something, and with that sound, they will be heard. In the last couple of months, The Space Crazies have performed at the Oh Snap! Festival and West by West Campus, and have recently shared the stage with Rebecca Butler and The Richards. This showcase is the last time to see them in Austin for a while as they are taking a break to record.

Swan Dive is located at 615 Red River St. Doors open at 9 p.m., cover is $6. This event is all ages. Click on the links to visit and RSVP to the show post on Facebook or Do512.

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Feature: Whitman toasts to weekends, weird stories and winning new fans

Feature: Whitman toasts to weekends, weird stories and winning new fans

Words by Eugenia Vela.

“We’re not real good at the celebrity-on-a-pedestal thing,” says Kyle Johnson, biting into a pork slider. His friend Ram Vela sits next to him, devouring chips covered in creamy spinach artichoke dip between swigs of beer. Johnson and Vela are also bandmates, and have been since Whitman was born in 2003. Whitman played its first show July 22, 2004—a house party on Oltorf Street, just a block from where we are today at Opal Divine’s in Austin.

Johnson (guitar/keys) and Vela (guitar/vocals) met their sophomore year at the University of Texas. Vela was a radio-television-film major; Johnson studied sociology. They moved in together their junior year and have been making music ever since. They both grew up in Texas—Vela in the south, Johnson up north—and moved to Austin for college, where everything changed. “Growing up in small towns, you don’t know about bands like The Replacements or The Pixies,” says Vela with a wide-eyed look, as if just the thought of it is ludicrous. “Not until you get out of there. And you start to meet other people who tell you to check things out, and you’re like, 'Who the fuck are The Pixies? De-vo? What the hell is a Devo?'”

“Do you remember the first time you and I heard Arcade Fire when we were in college?” Johnson asks with a smile. “And we were like, what the hell is this?”

“And it was amazing!” says Vela. “College is where it started. We heard a lot of good and new music in college.”

Vela and Johnson lead the conversation with the kind of dialogue that only flows between good friends. They’ve both been down the road of exploration together. Neither grew up surrounded by musical influences or learned how to play an instrument until their late teens, so they did all the learning—the evolving—together.

Whitman’s present lineup includes Eric Jenne on drums and bassist Micajah Nye, and by now they’ve all tuned in on what they like, who they are and what they want to represent—which is fun, rock 'n' roll and personal. “We are influenced by bands that span generations,” says Johnson. “I was really inspired by the second-wave Beatles revolution and bands like The Animals and The Zombies. Then into the ‘70s, Elvis Costello and The Attractions, and in the ‘80s The Replacements, and modern day bands like Wilco and The Walkmen. Even if they’re all different generations, they all did very similar things. I think that’s where we started to see our trajectory and understand where we were coming from, and you’re nothing if you don’t have roots, if you don’t understand what you’re inspired by. It just makes you that much more creative, and I think that’s where the Whitman sound came from.”

For everyone else to understand Whitman, we begin with the name. An Austinite would jump to ask—Whitman, as in Charles? The man who climbed the UT tower in 1966 and killed 16 people? “We wanted a one-word name that people would know and question. Those were the two rules,” says Johnson. “We wanted people to remember it and for them to constantly ask us where it came from. Honestly it wasn’t anything in particular, but we knew it would hit a few nerves in Austin.”

Vela instantly follows up. “One of the creepiest stories, man: I come home one day after work and I check my mailbox, and there’s a DVD that says Sniper 66,” he stops for emphasis. “And I think, what the hell is this shit? So I put it on and I’m like ‘Oh my God, this is actual footage from when Charles Whitman shot like eleven people from the UT tower!’ Who would do such a thing? And why? Why me? God damn it. Fan mail. It’s pretty much fan-fuckin’-mail!”

Something else to understand Whitman: Vela and Johnson don’t just talk; they don’t simply provide an answer to a question. Vela and Johnson speak in stories, which all start with ‘we’ and end with a full minute of laughter. Case in point: Johnson nudges Vela, urging him, “Do your guy in Massachusetts, do your guy in Massachusetts!”

Vela laughs and nods. “So we were playing this shithole, and our drummer at the time had developed gallup from eating too much fried chicken and drinking too much. True story, the motherfucker was limping everywhere,” he says, Johnson already cracking up beside him. “And I’m trying to sell some shit at the merch table, and some guy comes up to us and goes, ‘I gotta hand it to ya. You guys ain’t my style of music, ya know. I like real music, ya know, Pantera, Megadeth, Anthrax, but I gotta tell ya, ya guys got heart, heart right here.’ And he sees our drummer just limping across the dancefloor and says, ‘Hey, ain’t that guy your drummer? Man, you in bad fuckin’ shape, bad fuckin’ shape! Hey, I’ll buy a CD, how ‘bout that?’ He gives me 20 bucks and says, ‘Hey…Keep the change.’”

Vela grins. “Only 20 bucks we made that night.”

This kind of storytelling filters into Whitman’s music—three-minute stories of thriving, fleeting moments and trips with friends, summers spent driving around and drinks poured in Dixie cups. It’s evident in Weekends, their second LP which drops April 17 and will be celebrated with an April 13 release party. The record is rich with personality and feel-good songs that are personal, relateable, friendly. “Ram puts identities in narratives, which makes him a great storyteller,” says Johnson. “And what came out was 11 stories—11 chapters in the larger story that is our lives.”

Whitman recorded and engineered Weekends all on its own, resulting in a product Vela and Johnson are clearly proud of. “It’s an honest and concise piece of work,” says Johnson in an unfamiliar serious tone, one suspended by the waiter who suddenly walks by and asks, “Oh, are you talking about The Muppets movie?”

But in between the crack-ups, the beer, pork and dip, what Whitman comes down to is this: They’ve been around for almost a decade. They’ve had seven national tours. They’ve played with Quiet Company, opened for Los Lonely Boys, Titus Andronicus, The Walkmen. They’ve built a loyal following of people who volunteer to hang up posters around town, who drive eight hours to watch them play and stand front row to be doused with Vela’s sweat. They work their asses off in between jobs—Vela teaches high school special ed and referees girls’ and boys’ basketball, Johnson instructs kayaking and owns a small business that makes soap—to pay for their music, to do what they love. And now, with Weekends done, Whitman wants to keep playing and wants to keep growing. “Our ultimate goal is to have a band we really like say, ‘Why don’t you come on the road with us?’ That way we get those unsuspecting crowds every night,” says Johnson. “You know, a lot of bands see that as putting in their dues, but that’s what we love: making fans. It’s the funnest thing you can do.”

“Oh yeah,” says Vela. “It’s great when you get people who say, ‘Let us buy you guys a round! Need a place to crash? My wife will make you breakfast!’” He raises his pint glass to the sky, in an act of appreciation.

Whitman plays its album release party Friday, April 13, at the ND in Austin. For more info, visit Do512.

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(3/31) Preview: The Soldier Thread, Pop Pistol and Rebecca Butler & the Richards at Frank

(3/31) Preview: The Soldier Thread, Pop Pistol and Rebecca Butler & the Richards at Frank

Our second RRN showcase of the year is here, and it features our biggest act yet.

The Soldier Thread are fresh off a sold-out EP-release party and still getting love as a 101X staff pick for their self-released single "Anybody." They headline our showcase tonight at Frank. But don't just show up for the headliner; the rest of the bill is stacked.

Earlier this week, Pop Pistol was named the best indie rock band in San Antonio by the SA Current. That's quite an honor, as San Antonio has a talent-filled though still underrated indie rock scene on the rise. This band brings a dark, seductive style to their mesmerizing alt-rock sound. Don't miss this trio in such an intimate venue. Their shows are only going to get bigger.

Kicking things off is indie-pop songstress Rebecca Butler and her backing band, the Richards. Butler and company recently turned heads and gained new fans while opening for Grammy nominee Katie Herzig at Stubb's.

Frank is located at 407 Colorado St. Doors open at 9:30 p.m., and the music starts at 10:30. It's an all-ages show and cover is $7. RSVP on Facebook. Get an idea of what to expect with the videos below.

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Watch: Megafauna "Touch the Lion" music video

Watch: Megafauna "Touch the Lion" music video

Words by AJ Miranda.

Austin's own Megafauna completed a West Coast tour last year and they have the video tape to prove it.

Videographer Jake Sam put together this rad music video using footage of the band's live sets and random b-roll. We're not sure what it makes us want to do more: rock out or take a trip to California.

The song is "Touch the Lion" from the trio's upcoming sophomore album. You can catch Megafauna live in Austin this week. Their next show is Friday, March 30, at Flamingo Cantina. But chances are, with 11 tours already under their grungy rock 'n' roll belts, you'll have a chance to see them in a city near you sooner or later.

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Feature: The Shears bring glam-pop swagger to the scene

Feature: The Shears bring glam-pop swagger to the scene

Words by Eugenia Vela. Photo courtesy of the band.

It’s a cool Saturday night in downtown Austin, and Beauty Bar is packed. Fans know by now—only a year after The Shears’ inception—that a Shears set is always a party, and as soon as the music starts everyone begins to dance. The Shears plays the kind of pop music its members love and never tire from, reminiscent of Depeche Mode and The Ting Tings. The band looks like a bunch of stylish kids having a helluva good time. You’ve got Adam Bencen on drums, Albert Vuong at the keyboard, Tommy Montgomery on bass, Aaron Blackmar playing the guitar and, finally, vocalist Inné Aguilar, well-known around town by now for her outlandish outfits. After they’re done, people line up to say hello, and The Shears sells about 15 copies of their newly released second EP, Up We Go. All in all, a pretty good night.

It’s been a week since that February night, and The Shears meet up for practice. We’re at Albert’s, a house big enough to fill with equipment and rehearse loud enough for the neighbors to compliment on. It hasn’t been long since The Shears came together through Craigslist, but already one can feel there’s comfort in the way they talk—with each other, about each other, over each other. Their personalities are set and so blatantly present. Montgomery and Vuong hang back, answering questions softly and only when asked directly. Blackmar seems to take the lead, nailing topics like music production and the Austin scene. Aguilar speaks out often and abruptly, sometimes just thinking out loud and giggling. Bencen cracks joke after joke, admitting he will somehow “find a way to say ‘dick’ or ‘vagina’” as often as possible.”

These guys are friends, but they’re also musicians. And they’re doing pretty damn well for themselves. The band’s first EP, The Shears, was released nine months ago. Even though the band wasn’t completely happy with it—which is why they gave them all away, didn’t even try to push it—they quickly became music blogger favorites. Through personal connections, The Shears didn’t even have to deal with playing empty shows. Their first show, they opened for L.A.X.

Fast-forward to today and their second EP, Up We Go, is already out and selling, and they’ve become local favorites, constantly playing with Sphynx and Zeale. They’ve played festivals as well, and have started to get a grasp on the wonders and pressures that come with being an Austin band. It seems every band in the Live Music Capital of the World has something to say about the lifestyle of it—and The Shears is no exception, because a discussion soon arises. “I think the Austin music scene is the most creative and fun in terms of the variety of music that’s out there,” says Blackmar. “Places like Brooklyn don’t have anything on Austin in terms of what we offer. The downside is that it’s oversaturated and there is a lot of rivalry, or bands don’t cooperate with one another as much as they could. It’s not as much of a community as it could be.” But, Bencen says carefully, “I wouldn’t say it’s... animosity. It’s just very competitive.”

Blackmar elaborates. “People don’t want to get too excited about your band because they’re in a band, and they don’t want to take momentum away from themselves,” he says. “But the hype that Austin receives in terms of talent is well-deserved. There’s a lot of talented, talented people here.”

The subject will come up again later, but first, there’s another issue at hand. Google “The Shears” and you won’t find an article that doesn’t mention their style. Especially Aguilar’s. With fashion and music so closely intertwined, the members of The Shears say they do pay attention to what they look like on stage, and their show at Beauty Bar is a good example. They joke that Blackmar outshined Aguilar that night, playing in a striking silver blazer and black hat.

But they’ve all got their own style and their own style icons. They embody the fun and freedom of pop perfectly. Montgomery—who’s covered in leather, tattoos and has a haircut that makes me want to be a man—loves Cyndi Lauper and everything she did for fashion in the music business. Aguilar’s always been inspired by David Bowie and Michael Jackson. She adores leopard and glitter, and everything over-the-top. “We all appreciate fashion,” says Bencen. “And it’s nice to participate on another level of our onstage togetherness.” Bencen is attracted to bands and musicians who are very visual—in their outfits and their performances—because, he says, it’s all part of the package. He likes Empire of the Sun and Of Montreal, whose outfits are “particularly insane and colorful.”

The Shears truly come together through their love for pop and the overall pop aesthetic. They’re saving up to be able to incorporate more effects—lighting, dancers, the works—for their live performance, because they want to make it a visual experience. “Not just a band rehearsing on stage,” says Blackmar. “But 45 minutes that is an entire experience, something that you feel good about giving your money to see.”

They’re already doing a good job at it. They’ve got great energy and the music is catchy and fun, perfect for a night out with friends. “Pop is just fun to play with,” says Aguilar. “Plus, live performance is so, so important. I think if you’re feeling good about your songs, the audience feels that and the exchange of energy just works out.”

Blackmar agrees, saying they've been lucky to have enthusiastic crowds even in the smallest venues. “The crowd participation at our own shows is great,” says Blackmar. “But the awkward shows have been the festival shows.” The band nods along in agreement. “Usually because 90 percent of the crowd is made up of other bands that are also playing the festival, and nobody is worse to be in a crowd than other band members because they’re just standing there, like, ‘My band’s better.’”

So far the band is enjoying its time in Austin. They love the city and talk about how amazing it is to go out any night of the week and stumble upon new music. They mention their favorite venues to play at—Frank, Antone’s, even Club 1808, the shadiest and most fun. They’re looking forward to recording more music and perfecting sound and style. More than anything, they hope to be able to tour nationally and internationally, because even though they love Austin—where people have been more receptive than they could’ve imagined—it’s hard to impress and leave a mark here.

“When you’re playing in front of predominantly musicians, and I do think Austin is just full of musicians, I think it’s much more difficult to have participation,” says Blackmar. “I think that Rapture song says it best, ‘People don’t dance anymore/they just stand here like this.’ It’s kind of how people are here, so we want to take it further.”

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