So Many Bands

Damn you NBC's The Voice. That shows sucks me in. They get you with these background stories from each singer so you find yourself on the edge of your seat waiting for one of the judges to push their button. I'm so invested in this show that I find myself cheering when a chair turns around and sad when no one turns around (except for Cameron Novack. He was a douche). I even shed a tear heavy with happiness a couple of time. How embarrassing. It's a show for cryin' out loud!

But the talent this season is amazing. There are some really strong singers (along with some big egos) and some great sob stories. I'm a sucker for a good sob story.

So far my favorite contenders are Jamar Rogers, James Massone, Charlotte Sometimes and Pip.

I view Rogers' as the comeback kid. I really, really, REALLY want him to do well. His audition made me cry, and I love his style and that growl he does with his voice. If he's up for an interview, I'm down. Hell, I'll hang out with him if he wants. I just want to be friends.

Background:

Audition:

Then there's Massone. He looks like he belongs in an episode of Degrassi (*sings* “Degrassi Junior Hiiiiiiiigh...) or a greaser film. His appearance doesn't match his voice, because it reminds me of Tevin Campbell (showing my age here?). His voice also made me swoon. And when he broke down after his audition, aww, I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him “You, sir, kicked ass. Be proud, son.”

Background:

Audition:

I love the texture in Sometimes' voice. Why can't I sing like that? Oh that's right, because life's unfair. I also want her dress.

Background:

Audition:

And my last favorite is PIP. How adorable is he? He reminds me of some of my nerdy friends and man, that kid has a great voice. I think he'll do well.

Background:

Audition:

There are other great singers but these four appealed to this organ in my chest area called my heart.

The battle rounds start this week and I'm already dreading it. Why? Because someone has to lose and that means someones has to go home. And I don't want anyone to go home.

Looks at this upcoming battle:

How do you pick from that? I couldn't. They are all winners in my eyes.

Do you hear how pathetic I sound right now?

Thanks a lot NBC.

I can't believe we're already less than a month away from South by Southwest. Granted, everyone is talking about it on Facebook and Twitter. I've recieved emails from publicists and bands asking me to take the time to check our their band during the week. The RSVP lists have opened up. SXSW is in the air all right.

I, of course, will attend SXSW this year. It wouldn't be Spring Break in Austin without it. However, this year I will not be officially press. I didn't apply for press credentials. I was going to but it didn't work out (it's a long story). But then I decided I wanted to enjoy SXSW as a music fan again. Granted I love having a press badge. As much as I hate to admit it, having the badge made me feel kinda cool and the perks were nice. Ha. But it's a lot of pressure to pump out quality content so your publication can get a badge next year, and right now, I have no desire to deal with that.

Sooooo this year, I'm gonna go with the flow. Check out some shows, hang out with friends and hope to discover bands for future stories. I won't say that I won't work, because we all know how that worked out during Free Week, and I have publicatons that will need content too (I already have some assignments). So yes, feel free to hit me up for interviews or to check our your show. Most likely that will dictate how I'll spend my week.

Also, I need to find a band with Texas State University students or alumni that are playing shows during SXSW (officially or unofficially). Yes, it's for a story. Let me know if you fit this description and I'll tell you what I have in mind.

Email me at sarah @ somanybands.net. Please include "SXSW" somewhere in the subject. Otherwise, I'll probably overlook it.

Man, everyone is making music videos it seems. Hell, even I did. Cameras with high quality recording capabilities are pretty easy to obtain these days, so it's really no surprise. It's not a bad thing, because I, for one, miss the days of spending hours watching music videos on MTV. I was even that girl who recorded her favorite videos on VHS (showing my age here). I'm always curious to see how bands visually interpret their own songs.

First is this adorable video from Mother Falcon, which according to a comment they posted on FB, was made with the help of director/producer David Bukstein, some kid actors and volunteers. This just shows how much crazy talent fills this town.

However, filmed on the other side of the country (New York), Quiet Company released their latest video for "You, Me & the Boatman." Such a different experience to watch than their previous video for "On Modern Men." I can totally see this on MTVU which I watch every time I grab lunch or a latte in the student center. They've come a long way. They're like a real rock band now. ;) Love it, guys!

Finally someone is going to tell the story about Bankrupt and the Borrowers! I wanted to write this story, but timing just got in the way, and now I don't have time to take a project of this magnitude. However, I did write several articles about The Revival Fund and East Cameron Folkcore after Bankrupt disbanded. But the end of Bankrupt and the Borrowers still hurts me to this day. But for this documentary to happen, donations are needed. Trust me, you will want this film to happen. Watch the video below and then head to their Kickstarter page to donate what you can. There's not much time. I'll admit, I got a little heavy in the heart once I heard the guitar strumming intro to "Holden Caulfield at Age 35." That song just brings me back to a time of happy memories and drunken sing-alongs... well I wasn't drunk, but everyone else was. :)

Wild Child released their video for "Pillow Talk." It's a good thing they write adorable music, because their lyrics are depressing. Ok, I'll take that back. No, I won't. This duo sings about heartbreak and love, and they do it in such a way that will trigger all those feelings no matter how long ago your latest or traumatic breakup was. They just capture them so well. But like I said, the adorable music that accompanies it and the chemistry between vocalists Alexander Beggins and Kelsey Wilson keeps you wanting more. Plus there's also happy lyrics in some of the songs so it's not a complete downer.

Hour Band, who I recently interviewed for UWeekly, released a little trailer for their Warehouse Sessions. They performed a lot of their songs live in, you guessed it, a warehouse. Look at that quality, son. Can't wait to see the finish product.

This video is epic, but it's from Driver F so that comes with no surprise. Driver F is smart. They are one of those bands that rarely plays and rarely releases albums. So when they finally do, their fanbase comes in droves. What I love about this band is that they are fun. That's it. No matter how old I get, I find myself wanting to dance, let loose and just be a nerdy young adult again at their shows. So it should be noted that they are releasing an album on Feb. 25 at the ND.

And last but not least, the Dalles. This is my latest it band. I've been listening to this album on repeat, which will be released on Feb. 9 at Hole in the Wall, and I recommend you check them out. And how awesome is it that they film this in our own state's capitol?

Oh yeah, before I forget, check out these two videos from The Couch. I can't embed them, but click on the link to see them here. They were filmed by Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon. For those that remember this blog post, this is the journalist who inspired me to pick up a camera and work with video.

I recently discovered Rawktumblr on Tumblr and I freaking love it. A must read for any fan of music journalism.

Journalist David Greenwald posted some really good tips for bands on how to get press. As someone whose inbox has 2,000 unread emails (I wish I was kidding), I love that this post exists. One of the duties as a writer and an editor is weeding through all the story pitches thrown your way, so there's a lot of competition out there to get a media person to pick your band as their next story. I've been wanting to write a post like this, but alas, just never had the time. Story of my life.

But David got the point across. So bands, if you're struggling for media attention, give this a read and most importantly, use his advice.

"Print (and many web!) publications still make plans months in advance. You need to get your material to writers and editors before that so they can even have you to consider when they start making plans."

My personal favorite (and what really gets me to schedule an interview.)

Writers like a hook. It makes it easier for us to tell people about your music instead of just saying, 'It’s really good, check it out!'

Click here to read the rest at Rawkblog.

Also a great post for inspiring writers out there, read his post "14 Ways Music Blogs Could be Useful Again" here.

Good ol' Free Week. I didn't want to write a recap, but a lot of people asked me if I was going to. So here I am, but I'll keep this brief.

Here's a quick list of bands I saw during Free Week: The Midgetmen, Franny & Zooey, Tactics, Oh Look Out, The Couch, The Nouns, Hour Band, Technicolor Hearts, Black Books, Marmalakes, Stereo is a Lie, missions, and The Tontons. I also saw Tje Austin, but his show wasn't officially part of Free Week.

Best performance of the week (because everyone kept asking me...): Hmm, that's a tough one. I saw a lot of great shows, but I guess the one that sticks out in my mind is definitely Franny & Zooey. This is Eric Green's (formally of Riverboat Gamblers and I followed him for my We Are The Lottery League story) new band. It's just him on drums and Mrs. Glass (real name: Jordan Webster) on guitar and vocals playing blues. Think The Black Keys but way way WAY better. I caught the end of the set, because set times for Free Week were frustrating, but that's another blog post for another day, but what I did catch was awesome. I will sit down with these guys in the future and tell you more about them. That plan is already in motion.

Honorable Mentions: Marmalakes, Black Books, Equals, Tactics and Sorne

The "It's About Time I Finally Saw This Band" Award: The Nouns. I interviewed them almost a year ago (You can read that article here). Timing just never worked out so I made sure to check them out this week. I wasn't disappointed as I dug their grungy garage rock. Singer/guitar Travis Beall's huge grin on his face just added more to the show. They even threw tamales at the crowd. I'm a fan.

Other bands I caught that I've been meaning to see: Oh Look Out, Hour Band and Zorch

Below you can check out the photos I took during the week, including a stupid amount of Equals. Sheesh. This is becoming a problem. I did take photos of Zorch, but they're on my friend's camera.

Tonight I'm watching the Riverboat Gamblers perform at Emo's for the last time. Aww. The downtown location doesn't officially close until Dec. 30, but knowing me, I'm probably not going out again until Free Week.

And it also makes me sad because this is the last show I'll see with my BFF Marlee for awhile. She moved to Colorado a few months ago, so I gotta cherish these moments whenever she's in town. I have yet to find someone who appreciates music just like I do, and she just had to leave Austin for job opportunities. You mean I can't stay in wonderful Austin and struggle as writer while working in retail for the rest of my life? Oh, adult responsibilities.

But tonight we will have fun, because after all it is the Riverboat Gamblers and that band never lets me down. Unfortunately, the bassist Rob will not be in attendance because of sad family news. However, the original bassist/founding member Patrick Lillard will fill in instead.

Anywho, I've seen a lot of shows at Emo's. I loved the intimate setting the inside stage provides. I won free tickets from Spin Magazine to see The Constantines. It was crazy packed so I sat on the bleachers in the back of the venue (anybody else miss those?). The crowd knew it was time for business when the band raised their instruments when they started playing the first note. The entire set was intense. It's still one of the most memorable shows to this day.

I saw The Bronx and Mariachi El Bronx for the first time on that stage too. I remember when Von Iva didn't finish their set because the singer couldn't finish her vocal duties. But that was also the same night as the Spiro's shooting so because of that, the show ended early. I went home early and that saved me from a bad situation. So hey, at least there's that.

Man, who else? I can't even begin to list all the bands I've seen or interviewed there. A lot of local bands held their CD releases there or opened for a bigger headliner. I remember squeezing inside to check out the free shows during SXSW. I remember freezing my ass off at the outside stage during previous Free Weeks. Oh yeah, I saw Glassjaw, Thrice, Tyler Hilton and Zykos on that outside stage. All for different shows, of course.

I'm sad Emo's downtown is closing, but at least we still have Emo's East (although, I haven't been there yet). I am curious to see how the closure will affect the Free Week and SXSW crowds though. Emo's East does have shows scheduled during Free Week, but I gotta plan to stay there the whole time if I attend any of their shows. I don't know about y'all, but I like to bounce around throughout the night. I've discovered some great bands that way. In the meantime, I plan to have fun at my last time at Emo's tonight.

In case you aren't aware by all the Christmas lights around town, Christmas is coming (in exactly one week in fact)! And several Austin bands have released Christmas tunes to bring in that holiday cheer.

I haven't listened to that many Christmas tunes this year, because I, for one, am tired of Christmas music. It's a result when your former boss kept her radio on all day to whatever station plays Christmas tunes 24/7 from the Monday after Thanksgiving to Christmas day. There's only much Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera trying to outdiva each other a girl can take, you know what I'm saying?

But these Christmas tunes prevent me from acting like Scrooge.

First up is Little Lo's "Toyland" as part of Skank Family Collective & Chinquapin Records Presents: A Holiday Charity Jungler). Vocalist/guitarist Ryan McGill takes a step back as vocalist/keyboardist Bailey Glover takes over lead vocal duties in this dreamy lullaby. Makes me want to break out the eggnog and yearn for snow.

I love this Zorch interpretation of "Last Christmas." This song, originally written and performed by '80s duo Wham!, is usually covered in the pop world (Glee, Ashley Tisdale, etc.), but Zorch brings in their interesting style. This may be the best version ever, at least in my opinion.

Kris Keyz, professional pianist (you can see him perform with Tje Austin), released "Kris KeyZ Productions Presents: This Christmas" with 10 tracks of traditional Christmas tunes sung by local musicians.
Edited: The album was free to stream and download for a limited time. Contact Kris if you would like a copy.

Speaking of Tje Austin, he will perform with Nakia at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 22 at Zilker Park's Hillside Theatre. They will perform Christmas songs at this FREE show.

And SPEAK released an interactive SPEAKMAS card. So break out the artistic skills and doodle away here. It's in realtime too.

They are also selling a limited edition SPEAKMAS Singing Greeting Card which plays a SPEAK rendition of "O Holy Night," and the cover was drawn by guitarist Nick Hurt himself.

See? Isn't that cute?

I don't have a tune to share, but The Shears posted on Facebook on Dec. 11 that they are working on a Christmas tune. Come on guys and gal, stop the teasin' and get to releasin'. There's not much time left!

Added: A little bit after I posted this blog post, I got an email from Mobley with a Christmas tune of their own. Here's a video with 2/3 of the band, Anthony Watkins and Tim Shelburne, performing Wham!'s "Last Christmas." You can download a copy of the single here.

I can’t believe 2011 is already coming to an end. Where does the time go? 2011 was an interesting year for sure. I’m not a fan of top 10 lists, mainly because it’s hard for me to rank anything, so instead here are some highlights.

Bittersweet goodbye: SPEAK for a Year
Yep, the project that took over my life in 2010 is finally over. And it’s weird. On one hand, I’m sad. It’s like an end of an era. When I held that issue in my hands for the first time, I felt like I had just given birth and then gave the baby up for adoption. I put so much into this project that now that it’s done, I don’t know what to do with myself. On the other hand, I’m happy it’s done. I finally got to show the result of all that hard work and now I can move on. Although, who are we kidding? I will never move on from this band.

But I’ve been thinking about this… those that know me know that whenever I discovered a new-ish local band, I tend to cling to them and basically become their biggest cheerleader. It usually starts with an interview. Then I get the CD and that CD just becomes a drug that I can’t get enough of. Then I start going to as many shows as I can.

This has happened on many occasions with Firekills, The Drawing Board, Bankrupt and the Borrowers, Fireants, Oliver Future and most recently, SPEAK.

You can tell who my latest “baby band” is, which I mean in the most endearing way possible, by the sheer fact that I won’t shut up about them. Could be worse. If it weren’t for these bands, I would probably annoy my friends with conversations about Hanson and Glee (although, this season of Glee has been very hit or miss).

So basically what I’m saying is that since I’ve cover the local music beat for almost nine years (geezus), I’ve seen a lot of bands’ first shows, gotten their first EPs and full-lengths and gave them their first interviews. I’ve kept up with their growth afterwards.

SPEAK for a Year was the first time I documented this trend of mine extensively. Yeah, it’s over and I’ll still attend SPEAK shows when I can and turn into a fangirl whenever they release anything new, but there will always be a new band that grabs my attention.

On that note…

Best band discovery: Equals
As I mentioned in my post about them here, I was not expecting much from this assignment. I thought it was going to be in and out. I interview the band. I write the story. I move on.

Instead, I found myself listening to the album a lot. I hung out with the members a couple of times (of course, it didn’t help that the drummer ended up in one of my classes). And I ended up going to a lot of their shows. It felt like I was slowly starting Equals for a Year, because after all, that’s how SPEAK for a Year started, but I’m not. Though who knows… 2012 hasn’t started yet.

But all this was a complete surprise to me. It wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t create such damn good music and gave me one of the most entertaining interviews I did this year. This instrumental band won over a generally pop-centric music fan. That’s a big deal, y’all.

Getting my associate degree
I also didn’t expect to say I’m an ACC graduate this year. Hell, I didn’t expect to say I’m a college graduate, period. But I am and I’m the first in my dad’s immediate family to do so. It’s a pretty good feeling.

This only happened because always-curious me happened to glance at my degree audit and saw that I only needed one class to get a degree. Shoot, I’ve come this far, might as well go all the way.

I went to advising to see what I needed to take. I applied for graduation and now I have an actual college diploma. It’s insane to think I finally have a degree. Better late than never, right?

My family didn’t get to celebrate this achievement as much as we would have liked because immediately afterwards, I had to pack before I left for PCF11 the next day.

PCF11
When one door closes, another one opens. I applied for TCCJA’s Journalist of the Year award towards the end of the spring semester. The chosen one receives a 10-week paid summer internship for the Corpus Christi’s Caller Times. And I was devastated when I didn’t win.

But weeks later, I discovered I was one of the 30 journalism college students picked to study at Poynter Institute’s 2011 College Fellowship (PCF11) in St. Petersburg, FL. Whoa. I still remember when I got the email. I was waiting at the bus stop to start my day of interviews when my phone informed me “You got mail.”

I was in shock that I just put my phone back in my purse and told myself I’ll deal with this later. My main concern was figuring how on earth was I going to pay for this fellowship. It was a lot of money. But thanks to the support of my family and friends, I got there and had enough money to take care of all my expenses.

But we all know the rest of the story. I met 21 BFFs for life and spent two of the best weeks of my life. I’m ready to go back. I definitely miss the fellows and free coffee.

But mostly the fellows.

Backbeat Magazine
Being an editor for Backbeat Magazine was… an experience, but I learned from that experience, and it was nice to hold that debut issue in my hand knowing I had a huge part in putting that together. Not many people can say that.

Plus it came out sooooo pretty!

Good job team.

NBC’s The Voice
I briefly watched the first season of American Idol with Kelly Clarkson, but that’s where it ended with singing competitions for me. So when I found out my then-roommate, Tje Austin, was going to be on NBC’s The Voice, I tuned in to see him. Of course, the moment Karissa found out, I was assigned to write a story. Tje welcomed the opportunity.

Once the show started, I found myself immersed it. Because there were other Austin contestants, it seemed that a lot of people were talking about the show too. Tje and I would have intellectual conversations (and sometimes debates) after each episode, and we became more than just roommates. We became good friends. Aww.

Through him I interviewed other contestants, including the winner himself, Javier Colon, who by the way is one of the nicest guys ever. My favorite memory from that interview was watching him catch up with Tje on the phone.

I witnessed how this show affected Tje and his music career and yes, an article is coming about that. Mainly because I’ve had to tell the same story over and over again when people find out. “Your roommate was on The Voice!?! What was it like?” It was pretty awesome.

Becoming a Bobcat again
So I’ll be honest. I was not supposed to start at Texas State this semester. I hadn’t applied for financial aid, because I was still waiting for the school to accept me back. ACC took forever to send my transcript. I made them wait until my final grade came in after graduation in May, but still I think it took over a month for Texas State to get my transcript and process it.

As soon as I got accepted, I rushed through the financial aid, advising AND registration process. Luckily, they still had money so close to the first day of classes to cover my tuition. The catch was that I had to enroll in a minimum of 12 hours, which I hadn’t done in a very long time.

Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep this semester and pushed my coffee addiction to the limit that I might seriously need to enroll in CA, but I adjusted accordingly.

Meeting Jason Dohring
I MET JASON DOHRING! And his face was super close to mine! Ah-maz-ing.

That weekend was seriously the best weekend of my life for sure. I don’t need to rehash that here though. You can read my nerdy blog post here.

Hanson

Yes, I finally saw Hanson perform live at this year’s SXSW, which you can read here. Fifteen-year-old Sarah is very happy about that.

Page One: Inside the New York Times

I can’t believe I almost forgot to include this movie on this list. I freaking love this movie. I first saw it during SXSW and seem to watch it every chance I get. A lot of journalists’ dream is to write for the New York Times. I know it’s one of mine. It’s the freaking New York Times.

And watching this movie gave me hope for the future of journalism during its current state of evolution. Journalists aren’t one-trick ponies anymore. We have to know how to do more than just write an article, thanks to the Internet. So this film gave me some hope.

But seriously, any journalism nerd will love this movie. I love getting that peek behind the curtain, seeing the reporters conduct interviews just like I do: waiting for sources to call back, trying to get them to open up, balancing the phone between their ear and shoulder while they type their notes as quickly as they can (spelling errors and all) during phone interviews.

They’re people just like us. The difference here is that they work for the New York Times.

Albums of the Year (in no particular order):
Mother Falcon “Alhambra”
Sphynx “Human Beast”
SPEAK “I Believe in Everything”
Equals "Equals”
Marmalakes “Even Clothed”
Final Exam “Final Exam”
Payne “Late Night Thoughts”
Quiet Company “We Are All Where We Belong”
The Couch “Old and Touchin’ Blue”
The Nouns “Party With The Nouns” (This also wins Best Album Cover.)

The final chapter of SPEAK for a Year was published in UWeekly yesterday. It feels surreal, because now it's officially over. Granted I still have a lot of material from the interview that could still be used, so maybe it'll see the light of day eventually, but SPEAK for a Year is officially over. What do I do now?

Click here to read it at UWeekly.

Here's the video for "81" that was mentioned in the article. You can't see me (but you can hear my camera beep in the beginning), but I was standing on the left side of the camera getting eaten by ants while they filmed the performance part. The things I do for a story.

Here are the links to all the blog posts for SPEAK for a Year:
January through April
May
June and July
August
September
October
November
December
2010 in Review: SPEAK
SPEAK for a Year is over. Why am I here?

Or go through this timeline with all the blog posts, articles, photos and videos.

Again, special thanks to SPEAK for letting me do this project. It's definitely one that will define my writing career.

Post-rock band Equals is up for Artist of the Month at The Deli Austin. Normally I don't promote these voting things, because it brings me back to high school politics. You know popularity contests, unfairness, blah, blah, blah. So glad adult politics are nothing like that.

However, I do promote good bands. After all, the tagline for this site is "I write about bands. Good ones."

Equals is a good band. And they need your help. The voting ends on Dec. 1 and it's been pretty close between Equals and Auto Body.

Sooooo do me a favor and vote for Equals, ok? All you have to do is go to the page HERE and click that little circle next to their name. No registration. No email address. You don't even have to prove your citizenship (not that I know of..).

Still not convinced? Listen to their EP below or grab a copy, because after all, it is a free download. And why did they do that? Because they care.



To find out more about Equals, you can read the UWeekly article I wrote about them by clicking on the photo below.