Best Austin Shopping Districts: Technicolor Guadalupe says ‘Come Play!’
Editor’s Note: With the big Christmas shopping season right around the corner, we want to share some great local places to hit up for all the people on your shopping list. Over the next few weeks we’ll be visiting all seven Austin Independent Business Alliance IBIZ districts to help you get inspired to ditch the mall and buy local!
Laid out in an L-shape along Guadalupe and 29th street, the Guadalupe shopping district is made up of of several small shopping strips and stand-alone stores. With it’s proximity to UT, stores not only cater to college students but also their visitors - parents and friends - so gift options are abundant for practically everyone on your list.
Toy Joy
2900 Guadalupe, 78705
512-320-0090
Being in Toy Joy feels like your living inside a technicolor, psychedelic television set while the rest of the world still lives in black and white. It’s the type of store you can spend hours just looking around into all the nooks and crannies and exploring every square inch. They have dozens of lucite bins filled with fake plastic bugs and bouncy balls of all different shapes and sizes. If you’re searching for actual kid toys, you can find retro alphabet blocks in different languages including sign language and Chinese, building blocks to create masterpieces of Roman architecture, and stuffed animals that express feelings such as curiousness and bossiness. Oh, and remember those old Choose Your Own Adventure novels, they have them!
Who to shop for: Any and all kids on your shopping list; adults with a passion for nostalgia
Antone’s Record Shop
2928 Guadalupe, 78705
512-322-0660
Antone’s reminds you of those records stores from your childhood complete with old-school punch-tape labels to mark each artist’s section. It used to be that ex-Hippies were their primary customer, but more college kids and younger people are rediscovering vinyl. Vinyl allows you to become more intimately connected to the music experience - touching the album cover and carefully placing the needle on the record is very tangible - you can’t touch a download. And since vinyl is making a come-back, Antone’s makes sure to carry new artists, too.
Who to shop for: your music collector friend or relative; someone who remembers vinyl and appreciates the qualities
Oat Willie’s
617 W. 29th St., 78705
512-482-0630
Don’t let the rolling papers and tobacco products scare you away from this surprisingly mainstream gift store. All tobacco related products are thoughtfully relegated to the back of the store, so your immediate impression of the store becomes the knicknacks - fragrant candles and incense, hand-carved wooden boxes from Poland, and figurines from India. Further exploration of the store reveals flowy women’s blouses, beaded bedspreads, and satirical bumper stickers such as “Jesus was a community organizer.”
Who to shop for: anyone who likes knicknacks and trinkets
Breed and Co.
718 W. 29th St., 78705
512-474-6679
Breed and Co, is literally half hardware store and half high society gift store. Shelves are stacked high with pre-packaged snacks and sweets, and they aren’t ashamed to promote Texas at every turn with cookbooks, baking mixes, and housewares. One room is set aside for their china and an impeccable mock holiday table settings complete with a Christmas tree centerpiece.
Who to shop for: co-workers who share their break-room treats; Texas “ex-pats” to give them a taste of home
While you’re shopping the district don’t forget to take a break at one of the great restaurants they have there. During my afternoon I stopped at Thai Kitchen (awesome 7-days/week lunch special) and Texas French Bread.
What is your favorite store in the Guadalupe District?
Check out more pictures from Guadalupe:
Plastic duck and other animals from Toy Joy
Eeek! Fake roaches at Toy Joy
Cute sign at Toy Joy
Old school labels at Antone's Records
I didn't know you could still get cassettes...they also had "Mystery Boxes" for LPs
Record player for previewing your LP at Antone's
Cheers to Texas at Breed and Co.
Wait....there's another Republic of Austin?!
Austin’s The Black and White Years new album ‘Patterns’ is a beautiful synth-pop shamanistic journey into the soul. [REVIEW + LISTEN]
Not sure if you guys are big Bowie fans, but I love the man. With a diverse body of work that includes everything from folk music to 80′s pop to Drum and Bass, the dude has gone through quite a few changes in his career. The biggest jump was probably from folk to funky. I wasn’t alive at the time, but I always wonder if he was changing his style or finally recognizing the sound that he’d always wanted to make?
This is the question I asked myself a couple weeks ago when I received a copy of the new album by Austin’s Black and White Years. From the dreamy “Up!” to the echoing, heavenly loops on the closing track “Promises,” this album is distinctly different. The college rock drums and guitars are gone, replaced by rich layers of sound and melodic synth lines. For me, “Patterns” is a well-thought techno-pop album that shows the bands true voice.
For me, “Patterns” feels a little like a journey through the inner self. With it’s dense layers of sound, there’s something organic and shamanistically spiritual about the album. In fact, it kinda makes me feel like I’ve taken mushrooms. Plus, the lyrics carry us through one man’s journey that begins in a place that’s empty and pointless and ends with the discovery of what’s important to him. But don’t let that scare you away; it’s ultimately a danceable, uplifting album that I can’t stop playing.
Track-by-track listen to Black and White Years new album “Patterns”
- The opening track Up! sets the mood for the album. Dreamy, almost Japanese-sounding synths swirl around like early morning grogginess. Like an alarm clock, the vocals kick in: “Wake Up. It’s morning,” reminding us of another day of stress ahead: work, maybe a boring relationship and the artist’s quest to balance a job and art. He questions his own work: “There are too many artists, too much noise and not enough genius.” Or maybe it’s a wake-up call to the masses influenced by pop music?
- As Thick As Thieves takes us through a scarlet darkwave journey through paranoid love. With all the isolation of a Suicide track combined with the emotional synths of the Knife, it’s violent yet danceable. Distorted everything, but still uptempo and poppy, like Joy Division on a happy day, it ends with an electric guitar riff layered over distant grunts. My favorite track on the album, I’ve had this on constant repeat all week. <3 srsly.
- LISTEN: “Thick as Thieves” by Black and White Years
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- LISTEN: “Thick as Thieves” by Black and White Years
- Patterns feels like a Cut Copy track if they stripped away all the diva disco beats, and dance floor light. Love the harpsicord. And how can you go wrong with a song that talks about dancing? Actually, I think this might be some sort of metaphor about Plato’s the Cave?
- DOWNLOAD: “Patterns” by Black and White Years [right click to download]
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- DOWNLOAD: “Patterns” by Black and White Years [right click to download]
- Animal Behaviors uses a dark, grimy synth line, techno beats and fun wordplay to explore the relationship between modern man and our animalistic self. This is that heady part of the trip where you’re alone, exploring your darker side.
- Perfect is definitely the most trippy track on the album. Looping high-pitched pygmy voices, I’m kind of reminded of 90s techno band Deep Forrest. The keys kinda drift between 60s psychedelic playful to a cinematic Vangelis. This is where our hero starts to come out of his head.
- Luck and Timing has a dirty, funky synth line. There’s something sardonic about the lyrics-like Pink Floyd’s “Money” except less obvious and more Buddhist. He’s discovered his true self. Another one of my favesies on the album.
- Quintessential Twenty-something is a brilliant pop song. The uptempo beats remind me of Knife’s Deep Cuts album with a dash of Erasure. With his new found knowledge of himself, our hero reflects on a past relationship.
- Helen has a beautiful 80′s synth pop sound that reminds me of early Depeche Mode or Yaz. Very heavenly song about reconciliation with a lover.
- Silence Is Our Medicine is like if Prince and Gary Numan had a kid and raised it at Elysium. Seriously, I swear there’s a Prince sample in there. Love this song.
- Everything’s Eventual reminds me of a 90′s pop song. Maybe Color Me Bad? Back track has some house music horns and strings. Makes me think someone is in love…woooooo
- Promises continues the happy house, lovefest. This is that part of the trip when you all sort of gel. Watching the sun come up, everyone is feeling good. You want to be with your friends forever. Such a HAPPY HAPPY song
It’s like
The album comes out next Tuesday, but if you can’t wait that long to hear it, scoot on down to the Album Release Party TONIGHT at ND Studios. You can also cop the first single, Up!, on iTunes.
- EXPERIENCE: “101X Homegrown Live Presents The Black and White Years CD Release Party w/ Sip Sip and MoTel Aviv” (Friday, 11.12.10); ND Studios (E. 5th St and Brushy, 78702); Doors at 9P; Do512 Event
Austin blues-folk band Monarchs perform a sultry version of ‘A Love Alive’ inside a church. [VOYEUR MUSIC VIDEO]
Our “Voyeur Video” series is a lot like porn for music lovers. Shot in one take at locations around the city, the videos are intimate, stripped down and raw-nothing like traditional live performances. Enjoy!
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Last summer, we caught up with Celeste Griffin from the Monarchs while they were recording their new album [Check out 'Take an enchanted hike with Austin chanteuse Celeste Griffin from blues-folk band Monarchs"]. Well, recording has finished, and now the band is working on mixing and mastering the album. Look for the final result early next year. In the meantime, fans of Celeste’s sultry voice can get their fix in today’s Voyeur Video.
There’s something gritty and soulful in Celeste’s voice. In the South, you might call it stank. Here’s how I described it back in July:
Celeste’s voice is an interesting one. There’s a sort of salty soul that carries you into the Deep South, like you’ve just had a batch of collard greens cooked in bacon. It’s got a hint of Janis Joplin, but without all the heartbreak and Jack Daniels; instead, Celeste’s voice fills you with light and hope. Plus, Celeste ain’t no East Texas coastal girl like Janis; just like the bacon in those collard greens, her saltiness comes from her Alabama upbringing.
- LISTEN: “Move On Out” by Monarchs from “Those Words, Those Frames”
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It took a lot of searching to find a place that’d fit Celeste’s unique sound. In the end, we settled on the chapel at St. Davids Episcopal Church downtown. With its stained glass windows, rows of pews and giant organ, it helps set a soulful mood. It’s a little too clean, so when you watch the video, picture it crumbling in a swamp, covered in moss and vines, and you’ll pick up on the perfect vision.
In the video, Celeste sings ‘A Love Alive’ off the upcoming album. Produced by Mike McCarthy of Spoon and Heartless Bastards fame, the song starts off slow and soulful. For me, I picture a small one-bedroom cabin in the 1940′s. It’s a steamy summer night, and a young girl is waiting for her lover. She’s got some candles lit and a blues record on an old player. When her lover walks in, he gets excited because he thinks he’s gonna get some. As the song goes on, however, you realize this girl is ready to drop an ultimatum: We’re either together or we’re not. She needs full commitment-but is she ready?
This song has a great build to it. I love seeing the band break it down in the end: Celeste pounding on the Steinway, Van Hollingsworth ripping into his acoustic guitar and Josh Halpern shaking the tambourine like his hand’s on fire.
Monarchs - “A Love Alive”
Monarchs are playing TONIGHT at Stubb’s. You’ll also be graced with Frank Smith and Dana Falconberry both performing before Monarchs go on.
- EXPERIENCE: “Monarchs w/ Frank Smith & Dana Falconberry” (Thursday, 11.11.10); Stubb’s Indoor (801 Red River St, 78701); 8P-MID; $5 w/DO512 RSVP, $7 at the door Facebook Event
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Walking into Wheatsville Co-op at 31st and Guadalupe feels at first like walking into any grocery store. The are the ubiquitous aisles labeled so you know that aisle 3 has juice and aisle 4 has bottled water. The produce section is piled high with pears, oranges, and apples. The bulk foods sections has bins of nuts, grains, and spices. But as soon as you turn the corner you really get into the heart of store. That’s when you realize that this isn’t your typical grocery store.
Here are three reasons why you should check Wheatsville Co-op out.
#1: Samples served by the actual producers
Every grocery store offers samples on Sundays. Most of the time they are given out by store employees or people paid by the hour to dish them out. At Wheatsville, it’s the actual producers of the product passing out the tastes.
Six bottles of cloudy liquid in unlabeled bottles line one long table, and four smiling faces offer up samples. The owners of Kosmic Kombucha, a quartet of a mother/daugther and husband/wife pair, are about to celebrate the company’s one year anniversary.
Across from the frozen foods you find Baby Zach’s smoked hummus. Without the use of liquid smoke or other artificial flavors, he’s able to create an incredibly unique type of hummus.
Finally, the Hearty Vegan herself, Beth Taylor, is serving up samples of her tempeh.
#2 - Employees are visible and accessible
Produce Manager, Adam King was busy neatly stacking a fresh batch of organic pears. Another employee stood waiting to help customers in the natural medicines and beauty section. And as I walked past the meat counter, a young girl said, “Hi!” Plus, every checkout lane was staffed and ready to go.
#3: Selection of both local produce and your favorite brands
Signs clearly labeled food as “Local” and proudly listed the farm that produced that item. However, Wheatsville also carries popular national organic brands. Their website tells you to just let them know if there is certain product you would like them to carry and they’ll work to get it in the store.
Wheatsville offers the comfort of your neighborhood grocery store combined with the local feeling and offerings of a farmer’s market. It almost feels like it’s YOUR store, and it can be by becoming a member of the co-op. A $70 membership allows you to make decisions about the store to help it better serve fellow members and the community. But membership or no, shopping here is a great experience.
Store Hours and Location
3101 Guadalupe
512-478-2667
Open Daily: 7:30am to 11pm
What’s your favorite thing about Wheatsville?
The first time I visited Austin, before I learned about crazy Sixth Street, or all the festivals, or even friggin’ Leslie — the very *first* thing anyone ever said to me was, “You don’t look like you know where you’re going.” And that was true. But the *second* thing anyone ever said to me was, “Have you heard about the moonlight towers?”
To steal a question from Kurt Vonnegut: “What is it, what could it possibly be” about the Austin Moonlight Towers that brings Austinites such unbridled fascination and joy?
Early Image of an Austin Moonlight Tower
Then, two weeks ago happened. I wrote a piece for the site on Austin’s Servant Girl Annihilator, and bucket loads of feedback poured in about the Serial Killer being the origin of the Moonlight Towers. Everybody loves these things. So this week, because I can’t help myself, its time to hop in the way-back machine and take a look at what these towers are all about.
In 1894, the city of Austin bought 31 moonlight towers from Michigan and placed them all around the city. The towers were in part a response to the multiple murders committed by an unidentified serial killer, known only as the “Servant Girl Annihilator,” a few years earlier. They were also purchased because they were a relatively inexpensive and modern proposition in the 1890s — a luxury that many major metropolitan areas in the country and around the world utilized at the time. The original moonlight towers were bright enough that, if you set a newspaper down on an otherwise unlit street, you could read the headlines simply from the light of the towers.
This exceptionally intense light was a new prospect for not only just Austinites, but everyone. Electricity was still in its infancy, and most Americans still lived by sunlight and candlelight. The newness of that brightness brought about several myths, some of which still exist today. Alas, chickens did not gobble (or whatever chickens do) all night long, crops did not grow 24-hours per day, and the towers did not cause a sudden, mass exodus of bats.
The prospect of the moonlight towers being a viable way to light the city was short-lived, however. By the 1920s, major renovations already were taking place to alter the towers powering system, and switching to a different lighting system. This allowed the city to more easily control the brightness of the towers and effectively made them 165 foot tall lamps. In the 1940s, a central switch was installed in the moonlight tower system, allowing Austin to shut off all of the towers with a single action. It’s purpose? To safeguard the city in the event of air raids during World War II. By then, street lights were so prominent that the moon towers were in some ways rendered obsolete.
Image of the first erected Austin Moonlight Tower, in today's Hyde Park area. Credit: Austin History Center
Today, 17 of the original 31 moonlight towers still exist, mostly as a novelty. Two of those 17, however, have been moved from their original location in order to make way for downtown construction. Admittedly, there is some worry about the extinction of the towers heading into the future. As downtown Austin continues to grow, the space downtown comes at a much higher premium and, like any historical artifact, rumblings will begin about how long the towers should remain standing considering they are not necessarily needed any longer. To Austin’s credit, they have done an admirable job in protecting the towers as a historical treasure to date, and the tower’s addition to the National Registry of Historic Places in the 1970s gives them an extra layer of protection.
The moonlight towers existed before paved roads existed. Credit: Corbis Images
While other cities still have the physical towers, Austin is the only city in the world — that’s right, people - the only one, who has a functioning system of moonlight towers. As a result they may be Austin’s most unique attribute. The next time you’re out-and-about, take a swing by one of the Austin moonlight towers and snap a photo. In a few decades they may not be here and, at least you’ll be safe from the Servant Girl Annihilator, in case he’s still out there.
Where you can visit still-standing moonlight towers. Credit: Travelpod
Would you be okay with removing moonlight towers for downtown construction?
Have you ever heard a crazy moonlight tower myth?
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Who are Austin’s Top Bloggers? You decide! Announcing the 2010 Austin Blogger Awards.
When Republic of Austin won Best Local Blog and Best Local Blogger from the readers of the Austin Chronicle, I was shocked. For me, there are so many amazing blogs in this city-many of whom never receive recognition. It was in that moment I decided I wanted to do the Austin Blogger Awards to recognize some of the top bloggers in this city!
Similar to the Roaries (our Austin Music Awards), the Austin Blogger Awards are reader nominated and reader voted upon. With categories that range from Blogger of the Year to Best Food Blog for Recipes and Best Tumblr, we really want to celebrate the diverse blogosphere this city has to offer.
So how do you help us recognize Austin’s top bloggers?
- Head over to the nomination page and lay it down. (Only one nomination form per email, so make it count!)
- Share the nomination page with your friends or fans.
- Check back on November 29th to see who the finalists are.
- Vote!
Oh yeah, and did I mention there will be a PAR-tay? Yup, we will be honoring the winners at the Bleet-up on December 3rd. The Rooftop Terrace at Whole Foods Downtown plays host to our revelry. Along with an ICE SKATING RINK, there will be a slew of local bands to help you get down. Tolly over at Austin Eavesdropper has the full scoop on the Bleet-up, so head over there to find out all the deets.
OMG! I’M SO EGG-SIDED!!
This madness was captured at the Summer Bleet-up. WHo knows what madness will ensue at the Bleet-up in December!
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Thousands have joined the 10:10 campaign across the globe. Photo by Jeff Moore
I’m really set on this idea that we don’t need government to pass legislation to tell us that we should reduce our carbon emissions. I think, we can just do it. I mean, what’s stopping us?
I realize some folks just roll their eyes at the idea of global warming. Other peeps don’t appreciate the intrinsic immorality of over consuming one’s resources. But I think we should all strive to be more efficient and more sustainable whether or not you believe that the planet has finite resources.
So last year I made a pledge to reduce my carbon emissions in 2010 by 10%, and invited you to do the same. Now, I’m not the kind of gal who counts her calories or really pays much attention to any details, but this year has made me a bit of a crazy. Those of you who made the pledge can probably agree that it’s been exhausting.
The results to my 10:10 challenge are in. Last year my total carbon footprint was 8.1 metric tons. I had to achieve 7.29 metric tons of CO2 or less in the last 12 months to have reduced emissions by 10%. Aaand I came in at…. DRUMROLL……
7.71 metric tons of CO2!!!!!!!
I was so close! I feel like a contestant in The Biggest Loser. I’m really disappointed, kids. While I was able to lower it by 9.5%, all I see is room for improvement. I just keep thinking, one day these efforts will become habits that I’ll just do, subconsciously. For example, when I first started recycling in 2005, it was really, really difficult. But now I just effortlessly take the extra seconds it takes to toss things into the recycling bin.
Maybe I shouldn't have taken that trip to Tulum? Nah. Photo by Evan Mathews
My biggest point of opportunity is cutting back on travel. I know it’s easier said than done, but flying is one of the worst things we can do with respect to carbon. Still, we all have places to be, and no one wants to be a radical, hippie that tells their cousin they’re not attending his wedding because you’re counting your carbon tons. However, we CAN cut back. Even if you don’t lay out an exact carbon budget, I think it’s as easy as just saying no to trips that feel excessive.
This is no time for panic or wallowing in misery! I’ve got a game plan:
1. I’m going to work from home more. If I can cut back on unnecessary commutes into town, that adds up 16 miles in one day. HUGE savings!
2. I’m going to go back to Pescetarianism. I’m not really the type that craves meats. I really only eat them to agreeable with my dinner dates, and that’s not a good reason to eat meat at all.
3. I’m going to make my house more energy efficient. I feel that the roomies and I are pretty efficient, the house could use some work. If I can explore more ways to lower our monthly bills, I may be able to get down another 9.5%-10% in 2011! Or maaaaybeeee, 11% in 2011!?!?!
Ready…. BREAK!
What are other ways I can cut my carbon emissions?
Yo, mang, we can all agree that Fun Fun Fun Fest has the best line-up. And with a variety of music comes a diversity of hotness. Depending on your tastes, you’ll be almost guaranteed to find your flavor. Whether a hip hopper, a goth kid, a fly girl, a crusty punk, a hipster chick, a metal cougar, an electro bear or an alt dad, Fun Fun Fun Fest has probs got it.
And it’s pretty simple to bag your target: Just camp out in front of the stage of your choice and wait. Use the music as an ice breaker, mention a show you want to check out, and then get they number. OR you can post a Missed Connection on Craigs List and pray that your cutie will see it.
Well today your boy Roary Dillo is gonna help increase them odds. Hopefully by featuring some of our favorite Missed Connections from Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010, you’ll get lucky, and everyone will be happy. And, hey, if it does work out, you can pay it forward by mentioning ROA to your friends 
Grindcore? More like “grind me more!”
This missed connection is looking for that one chick in blue jeans by the Black Stage. You know the one: She was wearing the Heineken bracelet…the same bracelet everyone over 21 was wearing. Hey, at least you know she’s legal
Our advice: If you have to grab a beer, ask her if she wants one!
[Click photo to enlarge]
Blood soaked and lovelorn
This missed connection has a romantic story to share with his grandkids: He met his true love at a GWAR show after being splattered with bodily fluids. Well, he would have, had he been a gentleman. Stop spittin game and save the intro for when she’s not dripping in blood.
Our advice: Dude, offer her your shirt or bandana to wipe herself off with. THEN introduce yourself At the very least, ask if you can get her a paper towel or walk her to the nearest bathroom.
[Click photo to enlarge]
Not-so-smooth Operator
This missed connection had two things going for her: First, the dude she likes was wearing a Sade shirt, which means he’s a sensitive lover. And second, he calmed a drunk dude down, so you know he’s good at communication. Too bad she played the wall. And 10 times without saying sup? Gurl, you’re either an alkieholic or a stalker.
Our advice: Wait until it slows down a bit and then turn it on. Or be a true playette and slip him your phone number and a grin while he’s handing you your drank.
[Click photo to enlarge]
If you’re going to San Francisco…
This missed connection acts like he’s never seen boobies before. Seriously, if you are at the Black Stage and you’re surrounded by hot chicks, you’re basically in heaven. Nothing against heshers, but the Black Stage has a tendency to lean towards sausage and testosterone, if you know what I mean. Plus, if you’re from out of town, shouldn’t you be passing out that hotel card key like it’s a life jacket on the Titanic?
Our advice: Move out of San Francisco.
[Click photo to enlarge]
Did you miss out on love while at Fun Fun Fun Fest? Leave your generic description of some vague encounter in the comments below (or on our Facebook page) and you might just find the love of your life.
Oh yeah, and don’t forget to share the (potential) love by sharing this post with your friends.
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Find something Austin-related that you want to share? Photos, screen shots, articles, news? Email us at [email protected].
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Austinites Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 Picks: Jill Sorrels and Aaron Berkowitz from Knuckle Rumbler
Fun Fun Fun Fest is like Austin’s little secret music festival. Everything is bigger in Texas, so a “little” music festival still means it needs a roadmap and a hand guide. With 3 days and 4 stages, Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 may be the funningest festival ever–especially if you like electronic, indie, hip-hop, metal and comedy. And since the festival includes more emerging artists than you can shake a stick at, it can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve asked some of our favorite peeps in Austin to help interpret the line-up by sharing their Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 Picks!
Like a bad case of crabs that you just can’t get rid of, our favorite party team, Jill Sorrels and Aaron Berkowitz from Knuckle Rumbler, are back to give their festival picks…again. With parties that span the gamut from hip-hop to indie to electro and dance, these guys know how to have fun. To quote an intro I wrote last year:
kinda like if your friend had a house party with a bomb sound system, invited all your friends, booked the dopest DJs and some kick-a bands, and then blew out your eardrums
If you are into dancing, hip-hopping, bouncing or any other derivative of shakin your ascot, then you’ll love their picks.
Knuckle Rumbler’s Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 Picks
Friday:
Jill: Magnifico: queen cover band - so much fun and the lead singer really pulls it off
Aaron: Magnifico: Purple leotard on a bearded man don’t get much better.
Jill: weird al yankovic: cuz he looks like someone I work with
Aaron: Chris Hardwick: I miss Singled Out on MTV
Saturday:
Jill: Live Stunt show by jacob cale of ‘what the hell’ - do I really have a choice with a title like that
Aaron: League of Extrodinaire Gz - assuming they all show up and are on time they have one of the more promising hip hop groups on ATX
Jill: The Antlers: cuz I saw them on a commercial and am a product of marketing
Jill: anarchy champion wrestling: is good with hotdogs and beer
Aaron: I may enter this wrastlin’ thingy
Jill: slick rick!
Aaron: Slick Rick with my gold plated eye patch
Jill: ariel pinks haunted graffiti
Jill: dominique young unique: she played our party with Rhapsody during SXSW and is going to be a big EFFING deal this year and next
Aaron: DYU cuz she shake shake dat assss
Jill: delorean: cuz I miss the beach
Aaron: Monotonix - I’m going for the three peat. Crowd surfed at Monolith Fest and Emo’s last time they came. They are brethren
Aaron: Big Freedia - If you haven’t noticed it KR is a huge bounce supporter
Aaron: GWAR - I guess Insane Clown Posse wasn’t available
Jill: rjd2
Aaron: RJD2 / Bad Religion
Sunday:
Aaron: Eagle Claw - BIG UPS TO BART!!
Jill: jean grae
Aaron: Jean Grae - she once called me out in front of an entire crowd in Bloomington IN. I fell in love right there.
Jill: cults: they may be the new sleigh bells or ting tings
Aaron: Cults
Jill: pharaoh monche: simon says so
Aaron: Monche - Get the f*ck up
Aaron: P.O.S. - its not FFF without some emo rap
Jill: the bronx
Jill: high on fire
Aaron: High on Fire - I hope they go acapella…
Jill: yelle: she was absolutely amazing at her show at the Mohawk 2 years ago, really looking forward to her energy again
Jill: A-Trak! Been waiting a while for this one
Aaron: A-Trak - Morgan Freeman
Jill: mastadon: trex
Since last Fun Fun Fun Fest, these guys have gone from once-a-month parties to multiple parties a week. During Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010, they’re gonna be bringing the Bizzoounce to the Scoot Inn. We here there will be a BIG (*wink*) special guest. SO EGG-SIDED!!
Check it:
- EXPERIENCE: “Bizzoounce” (Saturday, 11.06.10); The Scoot Inn (1308 E. 4th St, 78702); 9P-8P; $5 w/ FFF Fest wristband, $10 w/o, $8 pre-sale online Facebook Event
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Austinites Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 Picks: Natchet Taylor organizer of Texas Punk Rock Fest Disaster Fest.
Fun Fun Fun Fest is like Austin’s little secret music festival. Everything is bigger in Texas, so a “little” music festival still means it needs a roadmap and a hand guide. With 3 days and 4 stages, Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 may be the funningest festival ever–especially if you like electronic, indie, hip-hop, metal and comedy. And since the festival includes more emerging artists than you can shake a stick at, it can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve asked some of our favorite peeps in Austin to help interpret the line-up by sharing their Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 Picks!
Gurgling up from the ground like oil gurgling is Austin’s strong black-as-your-soul underground punk scene. In fact, Central Texas has gotten large enough to support Disaster Fest, a 3-day festival celebrating “habanero-hot rock-&-punk from the Lone Star State.” The dude in charge of organizing all that madness is my soul brother, Natchet Taylor.
Natchet has been trolling around the Austin/San Antonio punk and rock scene since he was yay big. In fact, his current band, New Disaster, is a super group formed by members of prominent Texas Rock and Punk bands. For me, New Disaster combines the best of LA’s Sunset Strip in the late 80′s with the best of 70′s British Punk.
If you came to rock out, check out Natchet’s picks.
Natchet Taylor’s Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 Picks
Friday, November 5th:
Magnifico: Way to start off a festival: a raucous Queen tribute band. Count me in.
Weird Al Yankovic: 80′s Flashback Alert. The white and nerdy satiric singer and star of the ultra-funny movie UHF hits the stage. I remember sitting around, watching MTV and laughing at his outrageous videos… “Smells Like Nirvana”, my favorite.
Saturday, November 6th:
The Briggs: Anthemic punk rockers from California, The Briggs are a must see. Fist pumping, sing-along, punk glory. I love this band.
Valient Thorr: This band is HEAVY. I first saw them live at Emo’s and they tore the place apart. Beards, hair, thundering drums, and concrete filled guitars: this is going to be a hard rocking show. I dare you not to move your hips to this.
The Casualties: This is going to be a rowdy show with an insane pit. Jorge’s stage energy is crazy. Get yourself ready for this straight up punk assault.
The Dwarves: The Dwarves are one of those bands that are hard to categorize and that’s what makes them so cool. Is it possible to blend punk and psychobilly-thrash with a beat you can dance to? Let’s find out at the Black Stage on Saturday.
The Vandals: Yeah! The Vandals. This brings me back to punk rock high school times. The Vandals are infectious and fun. Aw yeah.
GWAR: C’mon. Blood-spraying, demonic, sci-fi, thrash, fluid-spewing, shenanigannery onstage? There is always a time for this.
Bad Religion: This punk band has always been somewhere in the soundtrack of my life… whether I liked it or not. This is a definite highlight.
Sunday November 7th:
Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s: I was pretty intrigued when I first heard this band. I first heard them on local radio KUT and couldn’t shake how much the vocals resonated with me. Their sound was HUGE! I am excited to see if they can bring that fullness and passion to their live show.
JT Haberstaat and the Altercation Punk Comedy Tour: JT and Crew have a funny stand-up routine going. JT also runs a local yet international punk rock record label here in Austin, TX. Definitely worth checking out.
The Bronx: I love The Bronx! Straight-up rock and roll, in your face, the way it ought to be. The Bronx is one of those bands that just rumbles the ground underneath you. This set will be epic.
Suicidal Tendencies: Roll your amps out on a skateboard and the bill of your trucker hat up, Suicidal Tendencies is here! I cannot wait to catch this set. Another 80′s flashback. It’s thrash punk time. Now gimme a Pepsi and I’ll see you in the pit!
Decendents: Another flashback for me. These guys recently jumped on the Fun Fun Fun bill and I can’t wait to see ‘em.
Mastodon: Heavy as lead. Dark as my soul.
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