In conjunction with October’s Rumble — which will highlight Echotone, a new documentary about the Austin, TX music scene — we are pleased to post the official Echotone trailer. The film follows a range of indie bands and their culture over a two-year period, spotlighting everything from the musicians to the venues, promoters, and city itself. According to the filmmakers, Echotone is best described as “a cultural portrait of the modern American city examined through the lyrics and lens of its creative class.”
The October Rumble in San Diego (more on that later) will feature two bands from the film, as well as a sneak preview of the documentary itself. Enjoy!
San Diego’s Old Tiger will play the Tin Can Alehouse this Saturday, October 2. In anticipation of their show, they sent us a list of 10 YouTube videos. This is a Poetic Memory first — and an excellent idea — and I’m a bit surprised that nobody has done it before.
For Old Tiger’s list, the self-described “visual learners” did something that they’d normally do anyway: “we sit around one of our places with a laptop, bringing up random videos to show each other that inspire us musically (or are just something fun or so old we’ve never seen it before).”
The first five items in the list were chosen by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Lothspeich; the second five were selected by Old Tiger drummer Eric Boone. The band also has an EP available for free download, which I highly recommend that you check out. Old Tiger’s Poetic Memory is below.
When he’s not busting guts and splitting sides as one of America’s most iconic comedic actors, Steve Martin likes to get his bluegrass on. Continue reading…
Sunday’s lineup at the Belly Up boasted not one but two noteworthy bands: North Carolina’s The Love Language and LA’s fast-rising Local Natives. The Love Language and Local Natives aren’t exactly kindred spirits; the former is known for brittle tavern rock, the latter for catchy, world music-inspired compositions. Despite these differences, both bands suffered from excessively uniform sets. Continue reading…
Menomena‘s sound is that of a mind wrestling with its demons. Their songs careen between cacophony and quietude like an agitated stream of consciousness. The music swells and darkens but, just when it seems as if the demons will win, the band reins in the discord, and serenity is — at least for the moment — restored. Menomena’s mastery of chaos is one of their greatest strengths but, at their recent Casbah show, some real life chaos threatened to derail their performance. Continue reading…
