It’s a tad ironic that I first saw Wild Light perform at a party hosted by Paste, since it’s Rolling Stone, the grande dame of rock rags which I have to thank for putting Wild Light on my radar. Since Wild Light wasn’t one of the bands that chose to include an .mp3 on the […]
John’s SXSW ’09 Highlights: I Wanna Be Where the Bands Are
The South-by countdown clock reset around 2 a.m. on the morning of Monday, March 23, as the last chords of Alejandro Escovedo’s traditional closing night South-by show at the Continental Club rang out. The wake concluded with a typically majestic reading of “Sway” (a song that Al stole from the Rolling Stones many years ago […]
The Legacy of Townes and Sir Douglas
Spring brings us two phenomenal releases honoring the legacy of Texas music pioneers Doug Sahm and Townes Van Zandt. The recently released Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm (Vanguard Records) pays tribute to San Antonio native Doug Sahm. Sahm established himself in 1965 as leader of the Sir Douglas Quintet, a band whose […]
SXSW: My ears and heart are full
This festival has been amazing and overwhelming, in a very good way. I’m barely alive (among other things the Hold Steady nearly killed me last night, two shows from them in one day) so what I can offer right now is a look through my lens these last three days. Words to follow when I […]
Elvis Perkins, midnight church, and redemption
Elvis Perkins just restored in my faith in the hot-blooded beating heart of music, in a cavernous church sanctuary in the middle of Austin tonight. Playing a midnight set with his impassioned band Dearland, he left me reeling in the front pew as he wailed and pounded and jangled through his heartbreaking song catalog. I […]
Austin Here I Come: Mayer’s SXSW preview
Recession, what recession? The 2009 SXSW Music Conference and Festival begins this Wednesday and, as far as I can tell, the event shows no signs of a slow down. Over 1,800 bands are expected to descend on Austin Texas for nearly five days of non-stop activity. The day parties are as plentiful as ever, filling […]
SXSW 2009 Preview
March madness is upon us once again. Not the kind that involves a hoop and a ball, I’m talking about the Austin version of madness that is SXSW. Every year in the middle of March tens of thousands of musicians and fans settle upon the Longhorn town to celebrate the best of American music festivals. […]
The Whipsaws- 60 Watt Avenue
The Whipsaws are a bar band…. a glorious, alt. country ass kicking bar band. Just listen to the tossed off rock and roll of their sophomore effort, 60 Watt Avenue. Though Neil Young is the easiest influence to infer as the band moves from Crazy Horse style rockers to Harvest-era ballads with ease, the Whipsaws […]
The Day the Music Died
Fifty years ago tonight, the music world lost some shining lights. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper died when their plane crashed into a field on February 2nd, 1959. We’ll never fully know what they would have accomplished had they lived. Yet there is little doubt of the impact that they’ve had on […]
Best Albums of 2008, Official Twangville Picks
This is our second year aggregate of our year-end best album lists representing another great year in music. This year we’ve broadened the list to include our Reader’s Picks and Bobby K’s annual picks. Scoring was based on 10 points for a #1 pick working its way down to 1 point for a #10 pick. […]