Two days after SXSW kicks off and our city becomes a living, breathing conglomeration of people from all walks of life, Austinist presents Local Music is Sexy at the PureVolume Ranch. Past Local Music is Sexy events have showcased acts such as The Black Angels, Brothers and Sisters, The Lemurs, The Corto Maltese, Black Before Red, and IV Thieves to name a few. Last year, we remember dancing the night away to Car Stereo (Wars)’ mad mash-ups, drinking free Red Bull (among other things), and having a go at the sweet Wii set up in that little lounge at the location. All in all, an excellent time....

Psychedelic music came of age in Austin in the 60’s thanks in large to The 13th Floor Elevators and the emergence of The Vulcan Gas Company as a community and a venue to support the genre. (Check out this site for a history.) The Vulcan Gas Company (316 Congress Ave.) shut its doors in the 70’s but lately there has been a renewed interest in the era in part due to Scott Conn’s Dirt Road To Psychedelia documentary. The Black Angels must also be blamed thanked for this rejuvenation; the local outfit has paved the way for a new generation of psychedelic acts with their impressive 2006 release, Passover. A full-length follow-up is expected this May....

Every week, Le Diamant Brut shuffles through our inbox, unearthing musical MySpace gems for you -- here at home and beyond. Enjoy. ...

The Black Crowes are accusing Maxim Magazine of writing a review of their record without actually listening to it. When Busey Attacks: Gary Busey crashes the Oscars, much to the chagrin of Ryan Seacrest. Over the weekend, Hillary Clinton provides the public with further evidence that she's basically already lost by doing the one thing she shouldn't do: Go even MORE negative. Check this video footage from Rhode Island last Saturday... Ralph Nader's running for President again. We guess he's just bored or something. What other reason could he possibly have?...

The Black and White Years are not merely a group of affable gents - as Austinist discovered in a recent interview - they're also way into creating compelling pop morsels that eschew immediate categorization and confound otherwise severely judgmental blog-journalists....

Monochrome is having a big night this Saturday, with the rebellious flower-punk of Atlanta’s Black Lips coming together with our own freewheelin’ sons of garage rock, White Denim....

Sonic Boom (a.k.a. Peter Kember) makes his 2nd appearance in Austin within the last six months at The Mohawk on Saturday. Since our city regularly hosts acts numerous times in a year, this might not seem too extraordinary. But this is no ordinary act -- Sonic Boom was once part of the legendary British outfit Spacemen 3 whose psychedelic innovations influenced many of the bands you might listen to today....

What’s the Deal: Austin’s own experimental electronic, post-whatever eclectica outfit The Black & White Years – Scott Butler, Landon Thompson, John Aldridge, Billy Potts – have an album arriving this month. They’re having an album release show at Stubb’s on February 22nd. They’ve brought on some comparisons to the Talking Heads, and their upcoming album was even produced by Talking Head Jerry Harrison. Even though it’s not exactly the most accurate comparison that could be made here, there’s still a little fingerprint present in the punchy, artful rock and funky, dance-heavy sounds. ...

While a great deal of lip service is paid to “Keeping Austin Weird,” how did Austin manage to get so weird, anyway, and how far have we strayed from that great flashpoint of weirdness, the sixties? This special installment of Music Mondays at the Alamo Drafthouse will answer all this and more, with a presentation of the film Dirt Road to Psychedelia by director Scott Conn....

The Invincible Czars have long had a knack for blending rock with various genres to create entertaining concoctions and unexpected inventions. From ska to metal, from jazz to country, a Czars live show twists and turns through a variety of rhythms and tempos, all while demonstrating their astute musicianship....

Emo’s Free Week has come and gone, but the venue and the city march on with a buffet of mouth-watering shows available for consumption tonight. Eclectic beats from Dan Deacon pace Emo’s inside stage (as a part of the Ultimate Reality Tour) while Steamroller, She Craves, Killer Crocs of Uganda, and The Banner Year rock Emo’s Lounge....

Because we're all hoping they'll finally find their audience (aside from our moms) and land a record deal, The Black Crowes have announced their 2008 tour, which includes a stop at SXSW 2008. They will headline at Stubb's, no less. Keep your fingers crossed for them, folks. In other news, we've received word on a handful of local bands that have been accepted by SXSW, including (but not limited to) The Lemurs, Peel, Weird Weeds, Car Stereo (Wars) and almost local rapper Bun B of UGK (Houston). We'll be updating with local additions as often as we can, so stay tuned!...

SXSW has announced via official mailing that there are a few bands confirmed for the festival aside from those we've mentioned already: R.E.M., My Morning Jacket, Daniel Lanois, The Black Keys, The Kills, My Brightest Diamond, Pato Banton, Vampire Weekend, Joe Lean + The Jing Jang Jong, Jens Lekman, Sia, $olal, Tech N9ne, and Mala Rodriguez have received the official nod. A couple of those names will look familiar to those of you following our ongoing coverage, but the big names are news to us as well. ...

The holiday season can slow things down in town but it cannot keep you from yearning for some good, live music and busting out your new, Santa provided wardrobe. If you have not had your mistletoe and Kringle fix, Emo’s steps in with a Christmas special (literally) on Friday. Christmas Special (featuring members of Voxtrot) provide Holiday cheer and Christmas carols with support from The Black and Red Leaves....

Photo by Daniel Perlaky The Black and White Years Wednesday, November 28Emos (603 Red River St)$5, 10 pm[info] Locals The Black and White Years have had their genre-blurring, squiggly synth rock compared to The Talking Heads so many times it should come as no surprise that Jerry Harrison of that band (not to mention a one-time member of The Modern Lovers) produced their self-titled debut album. As a producer, Harrison’s work can be seen all......

Image provided by Soundcheck MagazineWhile attending the University of Texas at Austin, one faces a constant barrage of “the weekend starts on Thursday” type advertisements. Although largely for exposure of Thursday night drink specials at bars on 6th Street, the intrinsic appeal of that statement bleeds through on days like these. Kick off your weekend early (and gently) with Swedish singer-songwriter José González at The Parish or dance away at the Electric Six show at......

Japancakes Loveless (Darla) They probably knew that people would love or hate it, but they did it anyway. Japancakes, an eccentric instrumental band from Athens (featured previously on NRT for the release of Giving Machines), have released a full-length album cover version of My Bloody Valentine's 1991 instant classic. While reactions have been mixed, we feel that the decision to take on such a publicly adored album is ballsy, exciting, and makes us feel that......

Zookeeper Becoming All Things (Belle City Pop) Chris Simpson (formerly Gloria Record, Mineral), has completed his first full-length under the moniker Zookeeper, and old pal Brian Malone has released it on his Belle City Pop record label. The album careens between honky tonk dissonance and dissolving harmony ("Trumpets" sounds like the closing tune in your favorite dive bar) against whimsical banjo, organ and horns. Simpson's voice plays well with the Wilco-ish (Being There era)......

Fun Fun Fun Fest captured more than a few hearts last December on a cold winter evening with a three-stage-pronged attack that provided ample genres for everyone in attendance. Some of the stand-out acts included Spoon, The Black Angels, The Octopus Project, Peaches, and Prefuse 73. This year, the fest is back, bigger than before, and a month earlier to boot. November 3rd and 4th will see Waterloo Park transformed into a musical carnival featuring......

Fun Fun Fun Fest captured more than a few hearts last December on a cold winter evening with a three-stage-pronged attack that provided ample genres for everyone in attendance. Some of the stand-out acts included Spoon, The Black Angels, The Octopus Project, Peaches, and Prefuse 73. This year, the fest is back, bigger than before, and a month earlier to boot. November 3rd and 4th will see Waterloo Park transformed into a musical carnival featuring......

Although Austin isn’t without its own freak-folkiness, former Texans Devendra Banhart and Jana Hunter will be journeying to La Zona Rosa on October 7th to present their own take on the genre for what has become a burgeoning fan base. Banhart, as close to a superstar as an acid-folk rocker can be, is supporting his newest album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, which features contributions from surprising sources including Nick Valensi of The Strokes, actor......

The Black Lips impressed us immensely during their various SxSW performances this year. Their fusion of garage, punk, blues, and pyschedelia packaged in an extremely energetic live show was one of the more memorable moments of the festival. The Atlanta based act returns to Austin this Friday for multiple performances yet again. The Black Lips released their fifth album (and their first studio full-length for Vice Records), Good Bad Not Evil in 2007. The......

Austin's own geographically misleading rockers What Made Milwaukee Famous will be debuting their new album at The Parish Room over two nights this Thursday and Friday. Both bills feature diverse acts with personality to spare: Thursday, they'll be supported by local contenders White Denim and the one and only Pink Nasty; Friday's show features pseudo-metallic slashers Ume, The Black And White Years, and a few of the friendly folks in Zykos. Tickets are on sale......

We first fell in love with Yo La Tengo at 17. We were still stuck out in the sticks in high school, still reading Rolling Stone and still wearing those pink crackle-finish Vans. And Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out had just been released, and Rolling Stone recommended it for people who liked the Velvet Underground. We ordered the album from Hasting's, and when the album came in and we popped it into the Discman we......

From his beginnings in youth flicks like Explorers and Dead Poets Society to his modern-day gigs with Rick Linklater and Sidney Lumet, Austin native Ethan Hawke has done his fair share of acting. Now he's jumped behind the camera to direct an adaptation of his novel The Hottest State, a story most believe is based on Hawke's 90's fling with singer Lisa Loeb. Regardless of the truth of that rumor, the story centers around......

Danny Taylor and Simeon Coxe III created The Silver Apples in 1967 in New York City. With Simeon supplying the vocals and synth, and Taylor providing the percussion, the duo created psychedelic soundscapes accentuated by electronic beats. Their name was coined from a William Butler Yeats poem while musically, the duo employed all the tricks of the trade that might seem fairly standard now but were truly innovative at the time. Simeon utilized multiple audio......

On the eve of ACL Fest, we're gonna turn off our laptops, put on our drinking shoes, and head over to the Mohawk, because Austinist is hosting Local Music is Sexy IV. An annual tradition since its inception in 2005 (back when the 'hawk was the Velvet Spade, and folks were still arguing over the smoking ban), Local Music is Sexy showcases a bunch of promising young Austin bands and DJs that we're most excited......

Austin Sound, if you haven't checked it out already, is a great site featuring information about local music. This Saturday, they're pulling out all the stops to celebrate their one year anniversary, and throwing a mini-ACL that's much, much cheaper. With 13 bands playing, there's bound to be someone to rock your picky ass. Also: free food and FREE BEER for five bucks! We know, it doesn't make sense to us either, but it......

Emo's is packing in approximately half of the bands in Austin this evening for a Bacchanalian orgy of rock and roll, Lone Star, and - with all due respect - poorly conceptualized tattoos. Silly tats aside, tonight is guaranteed to be a blowout, and whether you're looking to get familiar with some of the best indie that this town has to offer, or a long-time fan, you'll be sonically satiated come this evening. Here's......