Sources reported on Wednesday that Ty Segall, 29, was cleaning up the remains of a heavy metal vomit party when a serendipitous interaction occurred between his foot and a prized Fender Jaguar.
“Next thing I knew, an entire concept album was born,” said Segall, playing a few tracks from his computer. “These are just some demos--the whole thing should be finished in a day or so.”
If you're in Austin during SXSW, we hope you'll join us at KRTUesday: Live Rooftop Showcase. This live-broadcast rooftop concert featuring San Antonio artists will take place on a 6th Street venue in the heart of Austin, TX on Tuesday, March 14th, right in the middle of SXSW.
It's John Morgan here, KRTU Indie Overnite intern, introducing new music from Austinite Matthew Squires. Critics are hailing his new album, Tambaleo, as cosmic-folksy gold, and it's always great to see recognition of a Texas musician on a national scale. Hopefully we can get him through San Antonio at some point. In the mean time, take a listen and read a bit of what his promoters had to say about the album Tambaleo...
"The styles and influences of the arrangements vary widely from track to track, drawing from artists as diverse as Television, Paul Simon, and early Modest Mouse. The songs consistently manage to surprise with a peculiar — even ironically self-aware — twist on a tried-and-true approach. Squires has taken up and fully met the challenge of drawing a great amount of influence from a wide variety of artists, while managing to tie them all together in a way that is wholly unique.
In an era with so much music so widely available, it’s a great relief to hear something which stands out so firmly. Tambaleo is an album of truly masterful songwriting which offers to touch your heart, mind, and spirit in one stroke, leaving you a little better off than you were before you heard it."
-Terrorbird Radio
Check out Matthew Squires' Bandcamp, right here!!
IN OTHER NEWS...
Real Estate just announced their new album, titled In Mind. This will be yet another sweet Indie Pop release from Domino, coming to the market on March 17, 2017!
More information on this release can be found here on Pitchfork-->
For those of you in the "scene" who need a break from the Sufjan Stevens Christmas discography, I present to you ten songs that will send you running straight back into his folk-rock arms. For some of these tracks, the horror is exacerbated by the music videos themselves, which I encourage you to watch at your leisure. They may not all be indie, but they certainly make for some "alternative" listening.
Everyone's favorite vegan anti-Pop Idol--the Pope of Mope, Moz, Morrissey--lived up to his reputation for fatalistic narcissism on Tuesday when he cancelled the remainder of his
Texas shows, including his sold-out performance at the Tobin Center this Thursday.
Some laughed, some cried, and others saw this coming: Morrissey has cancelled twice in San Antonio already, and carries a legacy of backing out of shows with an impressively varied pool of excuses (Consequence of Sound has put together a definitive list).
Some of the highlights include, but are not limited to, penne pasta food poisoning (a "deadly and delirious bedridden disease"), not being as popular as David Bowie, and performing too close to a Taco Bell.
Last Saturday, San Antonio Sound Garden presented the official launch and celebration of their completed recording studio and working space in the form of "11/11: You Vote. They Win. Party" at Alamo Beer Hall. There were light shows, food trucks, beer-induced dancing, and, most importantly, a host of ten local artists performing in a Battle of the Bands-style competition to the tune of a $2,500 to $30,000 business package reward.
Despite the high stakes, the atmosphere at Alamo Beer Hall was anything but ruthless, instead reflecting the kind of collective atmosphere SASG intends grow through networking, mentoring, and equal access to state of the art music recording technology. Artists patted each other on the back and stressed the importance of community support, while audience members found themselves in the wonderful communal intimacy of mosh pits and crowd surfing (seriously.)
For anyone who was fortunate enough to go to the inaugural Sound on Sound Fest last weekend, you might have experienced music festival history in the making. SOS was founded this year by Graham Williams, a household name in the music festival famous for his other creation, Fun Fun Fun Fest. After leaving FFF’s team in May due to creative differences, the future of the festival seemed uncertain and many loyal festival-goers were nervous. However Williams restored hope with the announcement of what is now everyone’s new favorite music festival.
Nestled in the beautiful and secluded location of the Sherwood Forest Fairgrounds, Sound on Sound’s three sizable stages were home to an impressive array of artists, something that instantly gave the festival legitimacy in its first year.
Featuring acts from ACL-worthy headliners like Beach House, Phantogram, and Purity Ring to up-and-coming artists more likely to be found on a SXSW stage like Alex G, Emily Wolfe, and Thundercat, Graham Williams and the other masterminds behind SOS did a fantastic job of booking big enough artists to attract the impressive turnout we saw this past weekend, but not blow their budget on a few superstars only to have the attendees be disinterested in the rest of the acts - a problem that some key festivals experience today. Instead SOS featured a balanced lineup with artists spanning a wide range of genres that kept the excitement and energy up for the entire weekend.
However, the festival was not without its setbacks - after all, this is its first year. From a number of technical problems (Deerhunter’s set was interrupted by glitches in the sound system), to logistical issues associated with the location (traffic jams created by the single road into and out of the fairgrounds), and some problems beyond anyone’s control (major rain delays on the event’s final day), Sound on Sound was by no means perfectly run or perfectly organized, but no one left the festival thinking about that.
They were remembering the unexpected Prince tribute by the Dead Milkmen, or the cinematic image of Car Seat Headrest rocking the stage as the sun went down on Saturday, or the seemingly random wedding that took place on the Globe Stage amidst the wailing guitar licks of the appropriately named band Holy Matrimony, or any number of shenanigans involving turkey legs that came with the territory of having a music festival located on Renaissance Fair grounds.
The point is the memorable far outweighed the inconvenient and you can bet that ten years from now people are going to look back and remember this first year at Sound on Sound as the historic start of one of Texas’s greatest musical traditions.
Here in South Texas, festival season is officially upon us. Earlier this month, Austin City Limits Music Festival graced us with their 15th year, which of course, did not disappoint. I mean, how can you go wrong with the iconic Radiohead as a headliner?
In addition to Radiohead, the lineup was jam-packed with other big-name KRTU Indie staples, including LCD Soundsystem, M83 and Foals. After 15 years, Austin-based promoter C3 Presents seems to always blend the perfect lineup together.
However, the real treat for us San Antonians was the large amount of intimate spillover shows this month. Between the Aztec Theater and Paper Tiger, SA has been flooded with stellar acts including M83, Foals, Saint Motel, Die Antwoord, Melanie Martinez, Cold War Kids, and more.
This trend of emerging national acts coming to San Antonio has continues this weekend with the inaugural Mala Luna Music Festival, presented by Austin-based Scoremore Shows, who also books Alamo City Music Hall. The electronic/hip-hop festival will be a first for the Alamo City, with headliners like Steve Aoki and G-Eazy.
Next weekend, the inaugural Sound on Sound Festival kicks off in McDade, TX, just east of Austin. The medieval themed festival takes place of the beloved Fun Fun Fun Fest, from the new promotion company, Margin Walker Presents. San Antonio has already begun to see SOS spillover with Neon Indian last weekend, and a full weekend of Baio, HUNY, STRFKR, SWMRS, HEALTH, Diarrhea Planet, and more on the horizon.
In the exciting times, one thing is for sure. Austin-based promoters are starting to see more value in the San Antonio music scene, and us San Antonians can only hope we’ll see not only more emerging national artists, but new music festivals in the near future.
Rock on, Float Fest. Photo by: Nathan Edge
In 2014, I worked for a local promotions company that would send me to various music festivals to interview bands. This gave me a chance to experience each festival inside and out. The constantly improving Float Fest was my first stop and there is no other way to put it, 2014 was not their year. Based out of San Marcos, Texas the festivals focuses on floating the river and catching your favorite touring acts. Maybe I’ve just turned into the old woman I secretly am, but between zero provided shade, lack of food, and overpriced bottled water, I was not impressed.
I decided to give Float Fest another chance this year when I discovered that Pop Pistol, Future Islands, and Metric was on the line up. Yes, I know. We’ve all seen Metric, but 2009 was the perfect year for “Sick Music” to come out for a 23 year me, and I geeked out internally as she so sweetly sang it to the crowd.
Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring dancing into the night. Photo by: Nathan Edge
Day 1 provided a solid lineup to include, Yeasayer, Santigold, Future Islands, and more. I was most impressed by the Baltimore based band Future Islands. You can’t help but think that Meatloaf and Rammstein singer Till Lindemann had a love child that formed singer, Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands. Being my first live experience with them, I was completely enamored by his stage presence and passion for each lyric. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about Santigold. How many wardrobe changes can you fit in a 40 minute set? Four. You can fit four. The alternative reggae band that I was very much excited for was shadowed by awkward DJ sets and a confused audience.
Day 2 could have been the hottest day of the year in Texas. Thankfully, the festival provided plenty of shade and very affordable beverages to keep you hydrated. Small groups formed in the shaded areas to catch sets from local acts like Wild Moccasins, Pop Pistol, and Emily Bell. Each opening band that played powered through the 100 degree weather, which made for an even more powerful performance.
Photo by: Nathan Edge
The crowd seemed to double in numbers as the sun went down. Frat-Friendly Indie Pop band, Bleachers drew a massive crowd playing hit after hit to an increasingly intoxicated audience. That’s when the real party began. Big Gigantic took the Indie day theme and brought it down to a full on dance party, paving the way for Chromeo’s set. The Canadian electro-funk band stood unfazed on the side of the stage with guitars in hand while the crowd chanted, “Chromeo, Chromeo.”
There is something to be said about the beginnings of a new festival. It’s a learning experience and not a cheap one. Many things go into planning such a large event, and after getting the full Float Fest experience, I must say that I am extremely impressed by the lineup and care for the audience and plan on attending again in 2017. If you’re looking for live music and a quick getaway by the river, then Float Fest is for you. I’ll see you there.
