Others Lives at The Mohawk on Fri 11/9 & Musicians for Hunger right next door at Club Deville

It's been almost 2 years since I have seen Other Lives come through town.  Last time I saw them was for a SXSW day party where it was open bar, free record bags, free vinyl, and even did some dancing.  I had 4 of my friends accompany me to come see what I was calling "The best band you'll see live".  Soon after that show, Other Lives went on to tour with The Rosebuds, Bon Iver, and opened up the 1st leg of the North American tour for Radiohead.  YUP! RADIOHEAD!  In fact, Tom Yorke has released a remix of the title track from their album Tamer Animals.

So who are Other Lives?

Jesse Tabish (singer/frontman), Jenny Hsu (cellist and other percussion), Jon Mooney (violin, horns, piano, & percussion), Josh Onstott (bass & percussion) and Colby Owens (drummer) comprise of  Other Lives all hailing from Stillwater, Oklahoma (who are GREAT friends with my homeboyz Fatback Circus). 

Their Tamer Animals LP, Other Lives' second album, was produced by Joey Waronker -  Beck's longtime friend & drummer over a 14 month period in Oklahoma in 2011.  This album, personally, has taken me places I never thought I could experience by listening to such a polished and intricate album.


Since Tamer Animals, Other Lives has released an EP called Mind the Gap where all 4 tracks can be downloaded here for $2.99.  The EP was recorded while on tour in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, England as covered here in a Pitchfork teaser. You can also hear "Take Us Alive" courtesy of Other Lives and Pitchfork here.

On my earlier claim on Other Lives being one of "the best bands you'll see live", you have an opportunity to go to The Mohawk this Friday, November 9th to see an hour long set from the band along with Indians, from Los Angeles,  Indians' sound has been compared to "David Bowie, David Byrne & even Billie Joe Armstrong". Tickets here.

Thanks to a great birthday gift from my friend Bob, I will be there! Come find me at The 'Hawk and I will buy you a (cheap) beer. Seriously.

Also, right NEXT DOOR to The Mohawk at Club Deville for the Musicians Against Hunger event, Other Lives' friends, Fatback Circus will be playing an hour long set as well.  Bring 4 items of a donation (canned goods like tuna, chili, canned vegetables, pasta sauce, beans, healthy cereals, etc) you get in FREE! $5 otherwise. All proceeds benefit the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas.

Along with Fatback Circus, other local bands such as Pyramind, Rook, and Holiday Mountain will be performing.  A DJ friend of mine, Adam Warped, will be spinning inside too.


GO OUT AND SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC THIS WEEKEND!

San Antonio Beer Festival - The Offbeats, T-Bird & The Breaks, Act Rights, Lonely Horse, Whiskey Ships, and Advance Cassette this weekend

I am not quite the beer snob as I thought I was until I attended a Yelp Elite event in Austin where I got to taste some of my tried & true breweries from Austin.  As I circled around The County Line at The Lake, I filled my belly with all sorts of beer from Circle Brewery, Independence, and even some tasty seasonal Saint Arnold's - these, respectfully, are my "tried & true" beers I always have when I am out and about in Austin.  However much to my surprise, Ranger Creek Brewery was by far my new favorite...and guess what? THEY ARE FROM SAN ANTONIO!!!!!!  This fact blew my mind considering the only few breweries I have been to in S.A. are Blue Star Brewing and Pearl Brewery - respectfully!!

I ended up having 3 sample tastes of Ranger Creek's Small Batch No. 3 - an inclusive batch of American Barleywine beer issues by the brewery in . It was my first barleywine to try and boy was I HOOKED! So tasty, rich, dark, and a strong alcohol taste was definitely ideal paired with the free BBQ I was having at the event. According to the brew master that gave me the sample(s), the Small Batch beers they make usually are experimental beers they put out in efforts to see what people think of the taste even though the brewmasters have NO CLUE how they taste! Amazing, huh? The exclusivity of the beer and the availability is rare so when you see the Small Batches out at the store or festivals, it is recommended you try it because once it's gone, it's gone!

I also got to try their amazing and lightly smoked Mesquite Smoked Porter beer which was SO damn good that after the event I went straight over to Central Market to pick up a handle of beer for my own. This is the kind of beer you want to drink when it's damn near cold outside.

Luckily, for me (and you too), Ranger Creek Brewery is one of the 150 craft beers you can taste and try at the San Antonio Beer Festival this weekend.  I also hear it's going to be really cool this weekend with temperatures in the lower 60's as the high!!

Of course a ton of breweries will be out at the Hemisphere Plaza (where I used to play on the wooden playground as a kid) right in the middle of downtown San Antonio from 1:00pm - 6:00pm.  Those breweries included are:

 

and SO MUCH MORE!!!! The main breweries I am seeing listed on SA Current's newspaper insert are the Guadalupe Brewing Company, Circle Brewing Co., Pedernales Brewing Co., and Roelbert's Brewery (which has no website on Google listed).  The rest of the beers listed will be available but do not think the actual brewery company will be in attendance - just their beer which is fine by me!

Also, to not forget the local music that will be playing at the festival - my ultimate favorite THE OFFBEATS will be rocking the stage set for their set at the Hemisphere Plaza.



Other bands include:
Whiskey Ships
(remind me of a combination of The Kinks and Guided By Voices)


the Act Rights
(whom I saw at SXSW this past year. They were an official artist in a showcase I stage managed that includes former White Denim's drummer (Josh Block))


 Lonely Horse
(a heavy folkesque sound)



the amazing & Austin's own T-Bird and the Breaks
(this will indefinitely make you wanna move/dance)



Advance Cassette
(kind of remind me of T-Rex)







Ticket information for the SA Beer Festival can be found here - $30 gets you in if you buy online (or phone) BEFORE the event.  Day of event the tickets will be $35.


Come sip some REALLY fine tasty beers and let's marvel at the architecture around us of downtown San Antonio like the Tower of Americas, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, fancy ass Marriot, Mexican Cultural Institute, etc.  You can dance with me too, if you want.

FREE SHOW Thurs. 9/27 - Girl in a Coma, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

I like going to free shows and getting free things.  I can tell you now, that after attending a DOS XX party here in Austin a few years back, that Love, Hope, Strength will be putting on a fantastic and FREE show in San Antonio tomorrow, Sept 27th from 8:00pm - 11:00pm at the historic Sunset Station. 

With a description like this:
"For one night, discover the secrets that lie behind the walls of the legendary Dos Equis Most Interesting Academy. Love, Hope, Strength invites you to an awe-inspiring night of mystique, astonishment, enlightenment, and enchantment. Only those with a predilection for bravery will test their skill against adroit swordsmen; only those with agile proclivities will briskly cross a mind-bending quicksand pit; only those with dispositions of the most resilient kind will resist the siren call of the Kathak temptresses.  Black Joe Lewis and Girl In A Coma will propel the evening's festivities by endowing us with their celestial musical talents.  With panderers, philanderers, cupidity, timidity, goodness, badness, panic, madness, mistakes, fakes, rhymes, crimes, tumblers, grumblers, bumblers, and fumblers, there is truly something for everyone at this unforgettable night of passion, adventure, and intrigue."

YOU AINT GONNA WANNA MISS THIS SHOW!

San Antonio's own, Girl in a Coma, will be opening up for Austin's own Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears.  DJ JJ Lopez (who I've seen more than a couple of times at Limelight a few years back) will be keeping it real in between bands.
I have seen BOTH bands a shit ton of times and well, this event is going to be no exception on how great both bands can deliver to their fans.  Besides, it's been a long while since I have seen Girl in a Coma play in their hometown. You know it's going to be packed and they will be a ton of people trying to get in.  

This is going to be fantastic.  I am driving in from Austin to check it out myself.  Who knows - there might be free DOS Equis as well..just like all the other DOS shows/events I have been to. 

Bring your (valid) ID! 

Trust me when I say this - be sure to lock down your tickets (THEY ARE FREE!) and they will ask for them at the door. 
Go here nownownownownownownownownownwownownwownow!

Ty Segall will be the soundtrack to my 30th birthday, respectively

I turn 30 years old on Saturday, September 15th.  I plan on celebrating by seeing Ty Segall at La Zona Rosa with Thee Oh Sees.

Here is his new video in which he produced and edited on his own from VHS tapes in the span of three days called "The Hill".

I look forward to his new album, Twins, to be released on October 9th.

Psychedelic Light and Sound Fest - September 7th

I love psychedelic music and sounds especially when I find local bands and musicians that can satisfy my fix for such sounds. 

Covert Curiosity and The Austin Chronicle present Psychedelic Light and Sound where you can hear just that.

This Friday (09/7) the 29th Street Ballroom (right next door to Spiderhouse) will host a night of psychedelic music made from local musicians beginning at 5:00pm (just in time for Spiderhouse happy hour!).

trippy poster for Psychedelic Light and Sound Fest

The majority of the bands have already played the Austin Psych Fest in the past hosted by Reverberation Appreciation Society, a record label that releases albums for many of the bands playing the festival, which also includes Christian Bland and the Revelators.  

As posted on their Facebook event page & at Covert Curiosity, the set times for bands are as follows for the one-day festival:

Note: click on the band names to check out their website and music

***INSIDE MAIN STAGE*** DJ sets by The Shake
01:05 - The Vacant Lots
12:00 - Deep Space
11:15 - JuJu

09:45 - The Red 100's
08:15 - Unknown Relatives
06:45 - The Asteroid Shop
04:14 - Cause In Effect

***INSIDE SMALL STAGE*** (next to the bar)
10:30 - Kay Leotard
09:00 - La Migra
07:30 - Black Tabs
06:00 - Pi
05:00 - Frisky Disco

***OUTSIDE MAIN STAGE*** DJ sets by Psychotropic (outside next to Spiderhouse where they usually show movies)
9:15 - The Boxing Lesson
8:15 - Ghost Bikini
7:15 - The Hanna Barbarians
6:15 - Bipolaroid
5:15 - GAUCHE
4:15 - Dead Peasants

Also to be included in the festival is a record boutique, photo booths, live screen printing, live painting while bands play, and more.  Shit, there is even an after-party the next day with FREE BEER (while it lasts, folks) at Hotel Vegas with this line up here: 

At HOTEL VEGAS on Saturday, September 8th (FREE BEER):

1:00AM - Ghost Bikini
12:00AM - Deep Space
11:00PM - Slow Motion Rider
10:00PM - Bipolaroid
9:00PM - New Fumes
8:00PM - JUJU
7:00PM - Cody Jasper
6:00 - Starma

A mere $5 gets you in to hear and see these local bands for the Psychedelic Light and Sound Festival on Friday and the Saturday after-party is free. I will be there, at both, with bells on a Lonestar glued to my hand. 

Hear a MIXTAPE of all the bands playing here. I'm on my 4th listen, respectively.

UTOPIAFEST Schedule posted - 1 month away and less than 400 tickets left

UTOPIAFEST posted their schedule of local, national, and international bands that are playing the 3 day festival out in West Texas.  See below.

In a post on Facebook this afternoon, bookers at UtopiaFest regretted that Bomba Estereo had to cancel their entire tour for the remainder of the year (reason unknown).  In place they will have Mexican Institute of Sound on their Cypress stage on Saturday, September 29th which is as equally exciting!!! 

Get your tickets here for the festival and hurry because they are running low on availability.  GOGOGO!

Pre-Utopia Festival sounds and shows featuring Sour Bridges, Digital Antique, and Hard Proof

A few weeks ago I decided to carpool down with two friends to San Marcos (a mere 20-minute drive outside of South Austin) to catch my dear friends Sour Bridges play a sponsored KTSW 3rd Thursday showcase at the Triple Crown.  This showcase put up by UTOPIAFEST'S bookers & directors, featured not only Sour Bridges but also Digital Antique and Hard Proof Aftrobeat from Austin, Texas.

Not only was impressed with the cheap drinks, free pizza!, and nice friendly people at Triple Crown but the lineup had me dancing pretty much the whole night (paired with a Fire Engine shot that was two bucks and change).  There was even a small video surveillance camera aimed right at the stage so that you couldn't miss watching the band while ordering another drink (or shot in my case). It was a great way to get acquainted from the good folks that are running the festival (bookers and founder of the festival) and get a taste of what acts will be representing Austin at UtopiaFest this year.

Sour Bridges plays on at Triple Crown in San Marcos, Tx. (captured from the pull down screen behind the bar from the video surveillance feed)

UTOPIAFEST is a genius idea for folks who live in or near Austin and want to attend a festival and camp (FOR FREE) in West Texas that has an audience cap of 1,800 people who will experience an amazing live showcase of indie, country/western, rock, and cumbia-dance music and artists.  The festival's eclectic music knowledge from the array of acts and artists that has been booked & confirmed are worth a relaxing weekend of fun that includes festival activities such as a Drambuie sponsored silent dance party & disco and much more fun.  Set in a "natural amphitheater on the 1,000 acre Four Sisters Ranch", you will be able to watch some really stellar local and national bands on 2 stages beginning with a pre-party on Thursday, September 27th and into the festival weekend from Friday, September 28th - Sunday, September 30. 

Booked acts include:  Dr. Dog, Ben Kweller, Victor Wooten, Bomba Estereo, White Denim, Wheeler Brothers, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Houndmouth, KakiKing, Dana Falconberry, Sour Bridges, Hard Proof Afrobeat, A Live One, The Dalles, Flying Balalaika Brothers, Digital Antique, and more.

This past weekend I ended up catching a full night's set from Hard Proof at the ND.  KUT's Lauri Gallardo curates The Good Music Club showcases that happen monthly on the east side that are taped for sessions to be displayed online on sites like KUT Austin, The Good Music Club website, and Austin Chronicle's Earache! web spot. Quality sound recordings and several excellent video shots from API Productions is worth noting.  (These folks know what they are doing even though I am dancing away in my own world during the FREE taping.)  Hard Proof brought down the house with their African, cumbia, and ever going energy that keeps you dancing and sweating.  I highly suggest you catch them again either at the Continental Club on Tuesday 08/28 ($7; show at 10pm).  Their next gig will be at UtopiaFest which they are featured to perform a hour long set in the middle of West Texas scenery (or do both, like I will!)

  Hard Proof (featuring Kalu James) covering Fela Kuti's "Water Get No Enemy" from Chasity Larios on Vimeo.

Digital Antique just had their first LP release party also at the ND the same week I caught them down at the Triple Crown in San Marcos.  Their new LP titled "II" is a must-see live if you can catch them around Austin prior to UtopiaFest on September 28th.  The band reminded me much of Explosions in the Sky mixed with Russian Circles with heavy on the distortion minus any lyricism.  Progressive in their instrumental-only sound, the string quartet melted my brains off and hooked me in as a fan instantly after the first song of the evening. "Doomed Hero".
No shows posted before Digital Antique plays at UtopiaFest but go here to buy the album and stay in the know.

Sour Bridges has been stirring up some honky tonk every week around Austin and I was lucky to have caught them on Sunday, after a run up and down 7th street, at the HOPE Farmer's Market off east 5th street and Waller.

The boys and lady have a few shows coming up before UtopiaFest that includes one at a winery out in Driftwood, Texas on September 3rd , The Blackheart off of Rainey Street will feature the band yet again this week, and even make a show appearance at the local sausage restaurant (right across from The Blackheart) with 101 beers on tap, Bangers.  I highly recommend the Spicy Italian sausage withOUT the spicy peppers...well, unless you're into that sort of thing. I cried the whole time I was eating it. It was so DAMN HOT!  Keep updated on them Sour Bridges shows here.

Austin Beerworks Pearl Snap that helped me wash & cool down that spicy Italian on pretzel bun i had for lunch

6th Annual Bat Fest on Congress bridge

Every year Roadway Events puts up their annual Bat Fest downtown Austin directly where the bats depart nightly from the Congress bridge. If you haven't been to the Congress bridge in the summer to see over 750,000 Mexican bats, mostly female, and their pups fly off in search for food (insects and mosquitos).  The best time to watch the bats are now (late August) when those pups join their mothers. Throughtout the rest of the summer the female bats take the trek north to south to their home under the Congress bridge but the amount of bats is minimal compared to what you could see tonight.

This year Bat Fest turns 6 years old and cnsidering the bats usually take flight around 8:00 - 8:30pm, the festival allows you to enjoy over 75 booths of artisans that sell their crafts to food vendors cooking up local food and has 2 stages of bands to showcase their music.  The festival goes until 12am midnight and is completely FREE so no excuse to not g out and see both the bats and music.

KLBJ stage kicks off their music line-up with Dara Niemi followed by Charlie Hurtin & The Hecklers (a musician I met first time at the Buddy Holly auditions in March of this year) and later on at night Vallejo and Fastball. Schedule here.

The 101X stage will showcase Alex Marley and The Raspas (apparently playing Bob Marley songs), The Black and White Years, The Solider Thread and Adema throughout the late evening and into the night.

I plan on catching Charlie Hurtin and The Hecklers, Alex Marley and The Raspas, and skip The Black and White Years to see the bats, and end up at The Solider Thread.

Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story (a shameless promotional plug) at The Georgetown Theater

(poster by Rich Simms)

My whole life revolved around theater and music even at a young age.  I strive to enrich my life and passion of theatrical work with authenticity, credibility, research, and professional quality to this day.  The values and skills I gained throughout my experience and professional life did not stop short in creating, maintaining, and providing support backstage, onstage, and in pre/post production aspects of this show - Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story..

From left to right: John Wallace (Bass), Benjamin Blaise (Buddy Holly/Guitar), & Raymond Johnson (Saxophone) in the Winter Dance Party - Clearlake concert scene.  (Picture by Elaine Funk)

Ritchie Valens played by Justin Wright (picture by Elaine Funk)

JP "The Big Bopper" Richardson played by Mitch Fairchild (picture by Elaine Funk)

What people don't realize that it goes further and beyond all that you see on stage, in the moment, and in show.  Builders, promotions, publicity, press releases, advocacy, and commitment are the true themes in any kind of theater projects and product.  We are not only putting on a show for a packed audience to see nightly but rather we are MAINTAINING a complete show package from start to finish for over a 5 month time span. This requires passion, commitment, focus, and basically having some fun while we all do it.

Benjamin Blaise as Buddy Holly (left) & Annie Violette as Maria Elena (Buddy's wife) (picture by Elaine Funk)

Nathan Campbell on guitar in Clearlake concert scene (picture by Elaine Funk)

Come see what we ALL have been crafting in Georgetown, Texas.  Live music, attention to authenticity and detail of the time era we are re-creating on stage can be seen through aspects and detail to sound design, the lighting design, from Fender & Gretsch back line , instrumentation, musical direction, stage set design, video/projections, photography, period props, and nostalgic & even the period costuming of the musicians. Pair this all with a talented cast, committed backstage crew, and a production team that carries a vision of what the music, essence, and all-things Buddy Holly should be portrayed on a historical stage like the Springer Memorial Stage.  We genuinely we have ourselves a memorable show.

Jacqui Cross (left), John Wallace (center), and Benjamin Blaise (right) (picture by Elaine Funk)

Cody Wayne Eastman as Hipockets Duncan & Benjamin Blaise as Buddy Holly (picture by Elaine Funk)

Mary Katherine Kinney in the Clearlake concert scene (picture by Elaine Funk)

Watch us have some fun on stage and take you back to how influential Buddy Holly is to rock-n-roll and how the cast of Norman Petty (Sean Denton), Vi Petty (Mary Katherine Kinney), Maria Elena Santiago (Annie Violette), Hipockets Duncan (Cody Wayne Eastman), JP "The Big Bopper" Richardson (Mitch Fairchild), Ritchie Valens (Justin Wright), , Raymond Johnson (Austin saxophonist), Jacqui Cross, and Buddy Holly (Benjamin Blaise) with The Crickets (John Wallace, Nathan Campbell, and Paul Feinstein).

For tickets go here:  The Georgetown Palace Theater website
* UPDATE - WE ARE SOLD OUT! If you ain't got your tickets by now, then I feel bad for you. 


Show runs every Friday (7:30pm), Saturday (2:00pm & 7:30pm), and Sunday (2:00pm) until June 10th.  Thursday nights begin May 31st (7:30pm) at the Georgetown Palace Theater.

P.S.  I was asked to play the role of Peggy Sue. She gets married with the drummer (Paul Feinstein) of The Crickets.  Sadly, I said yes and here is the picture to prove it.

That's me (right) and Paul Feinstein (left) (picture by Elaine Funk)

P.S.S. I am NOT married -THIS IS A SHOW PICTURE that you can see during one of the scene / set transitions.