El Dog Music Blog

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 to be held at Auditorium Shores.

2011-06-01T12:10:00.005-05:00

WHAT? Why would they change it? Waterloo Park is a great setup for what they do, a nice underground/hip festival for hardcore music fans.

The move is supposedly so that they have more room to do things they cant in the 'cramped' confines of Waterloo, but I'm not sold. It seems just another move for more $$ that will water what was a primo product. I will be attending this year for the third year in a row to get to the bottom of this.

I am not going to make up my mind yet and will maintain hope that they will put a comparable product on 'the field' for die hard fans. While I fear for what could be the worst (ACL, expensive and commercial) I will hope for the best (free monkeys at the gate.)

Big money! No Whammies!

DEAD FED FTW!!!

2011-02-10T20:23:00.001-06:00

Ever since I first heard these guys I've been down. I'm sure you will too.

'Doggone Good Song' of the week - 9/30/10

2010-09-30T15:59:00.002-05:00

In honor of a concert I am unable to attend due to work, I bring you 'Black River Killer' by Blitzen Trapper. These guys are one of my current favorites and connect with me even on songs about killing...is that bad?

'Doggone Good Song' of the week - 9/22/10

2010-09-22T18:13:00.005-05:00

Kill Me With Words And Pictures-Angry Vs Bear by Andy Pip

I am a big fan of Angry Vs. The Bear. A self proclaimed 'Space-Punk' band from across the pond, AVTB will get your toe tapping whether it wants to of not. 'Kill Me With Words and Pictures' is their most recent single (released this week and is available for purchase on iTUNES). If you aren't already acquainted w/ them, you probably should get that thing looked at...

Jenny Lewis: The childhood crush that grew as the boy did

2010-09-08T17:56:00.009-05:00

1989 began on a Sunday and the first woman Episcopal bishop would be consecrated shortly after. It was a year of revolution and rebirth...

The end of apartheid.

The fall of the USSR.

It was the year I fell for Jenny Lewis.

For a young kid of 7 there were many joys and games in the world for me to play. None took more of my time than video games. There were several key highlights in 1989 on this front, the debut of Gameboy, the Sega genesis comes up for sale, and a movie about competitive video game playing called 'The Wizard' is released into theaters. At this movie is where i met...her.

Of all the movie joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.

Strawberry red hair...puffy bangs...street-smart tomboy charm... I was in trouble. She had me so twitterpated that I even wished to be Fred Savage for a minute, sharing that youthful romance. Oh to taste her watermelon Chapstick.

This encounter left me confused to say the least. I thought girls were the enemy. Why did I have these feelings for her?

This encounter proved fleeting, and soon we drifted apart. In 1996 I had heard my beloved grew from smart mouthed tomboy to a teen-aged mother (Talk to Me.) Following that debilitating news we lost all contact.

That is until Rilo Kiley was brought to my attention. In 2006 I heard about a sensational band coming out of LALA land. Low and behold, who could it be fronting this group that I was listening to? JENNY LEWIS!!! Childhood memories came flooding back. Visions of power-gloves and rooftop romances twisted in my head. After 18 years my heart had returned to me.

We had both aged accordingly and rocked the battle scars to show for it, but at last we were reunited. After our hearts settled, we agreed things had changed too much for us to ever go back to being naive kids in love, but there would always be 'CALIFORNIA!!!'

Dramatic liberties have been taken with this story to make it somewhat interesting, but I really did have a crush on her in 'The Wizard' and fell in love with her voice sometime later. If you haven't seen the movie yet it's pretty bad. but pretend you are young and just got an NES and it it tolerable. A few of Rilo Kileys standout tracks are 'Portions for Foxes,' 'Plane Crash in C,' and 'Moneymaker' which can all be found here.

'Doggone Good Song' of the week - 9/7/10

2010-09-07T15:17:00.005-05:00

Cee-Lo Green - 'Fuck You'

This is a catchy song w/ a funny video. How can it NOT be a great combo?

Cee-Lo has had a brilliant career so far, from ATL's Goodie Mob, to half of Gnarls Barkley (w/ Brian Burton AKA Danger Mouse.) Even with these groups to his credit his solo work may be better. Expect his new solo album 'The Ladykiller' out in December.

The rise of El Dog!!!

2010-09-02T15:59:00.004-05:00

After the springtime dry launch of EDMB, it is time to Crank this thing to 11! Starting this week I will be posting regularly.

COMING THIS MONTH:

-Band posts covering Midnight Riot, Angry Vs. The Bear, Auto Body, and more...

-Austin Festival coverage

-Weekly posts on the state of Austin music

-More fun, fun, fun than you can shake a
bee-covered stick at

I'm always looking for newness so E-mail me if you hear any must-post tunes/bands...

RAWR,

El Dog

ACL 2010 Must See Bands...

2010-05-20T17:26:00.004-05:00

-Flaming Lips - two words 'Wayne Coyne'

-Spoon - I love them. Austin loves them. So should you.

-Monsters of Folk - 'Supergroup' of the decade. Yim Yames. Oberst. 'Him'. + the other guy (Mike Mogis)

-Sonic Youth - These guys bring the nostalgia of the denim-days. Don't let that fool you though, they haven't stop creating innovative music.

-Deadmau5 - The body movin' music that festival-goers love.

-Gogol Bordello - Their shows are 1 part rock, 1 part vodka, and 3 parts gypsy house party.

-The Black Keys - One of my favorite bands of the last couple of years. They flat out rock.

-Broken Bells - I love me some Danger Mouse.

-The xx - These Brits bring it every time they come to the ATX.

-Ozomatli - Like Sonic Youth and Flaming lips above, these guys have been bringing it for a good while.

-Henry Clay People - Recently opened for the Drive-By Truckers. By no means are they any less.

-MyNameIsJohnMichael - My prediction as the Dears of this years ACL.

-Beats Antique - There music has flavor you can almost taste.

-Two Door Cinema Club - Irish dance-rock. What more do you need?

Let me know if you disagree/agree with these picks. SEE YOU AT ZILKER!!!

Doggone Good Song of the week...

2010-05-10T14:19:00.004-05:00

Taking a page out of the Cher/T-Pain book even these wolves have chops...

Da Wulv - Howls 'bout Some Bottle Service (we're gunna tear the night up)

The Fay Wrays: Songs to annoy your grandmother or something more sinister entirely?

2010-04-29T15:34:00.004-05:00

Trends, like any good wave, are fun to ride into shore just to go back out and repeat the cycle.

It is also fun to defiantly face the surging wave and let it wipe you out headlong onto the beach, hoping it doesn't sterilize important parts in the process.

Why is it any different with the recently white-hot indie scene? It is the same concept, a band gets BIG playing with synths and tracks, or harmonies and nature themed music, and any dateless teenage musician bites the sound and repackages it. This is not a new concept. The Beatles begot The Rolling Stones, who begot BLAH BLAH BLAH, and so on. We are having the same deal happen today with the recent mega-success of bands like MGMT and Kings of Leon. There are so many bands trying to be similar to these super successful bands that the water muddies to the facts, it's all the same.

That's where Fresno's The Fay Wrays come in. They are not MGMT. They are not Kings of Leon. They are not The Beatles. They are closer to Animal from the Muppet's. They are Lemmy. They are the Stooges. They are any band that you played at 11 as a kid to piss off your mom for not giving you the right Transformer for X-mas. These guys are an answer to a generation of kids growing up without their fathers to tell them that disco sucks!

"While we have been told we're a bit too aggressive for some indie rock radio stations, we've actually gotten the opposite reaction a lot more often. People have actually commented on how it's kinda refreshing to hear a band play loud rock songs again," says drummer Eli Reyes in response to throwing his bands face in the Indie wave.

If you are looking for the latest clone to impress you Hipster friends with, the Fay Wrays are probably not what you are looking for (you will probably get mocked and have the card to your 'Hybrid-scooter club' revoked.) This band is however an answer. They are another counter point in a debate among friends that has waged since music-genres were first created. Who is better, the chicken or the egg?

Don't get me wrong, this band is good. Their debut LP 'Mata Hari' has a delightful range of tracks on it. Ranging from the 80's So-Cal Punkesque 'Scottish Lad' to the more put together 'Weatherman' the album has some depth. These guys are here to rock you and they are not even a little sorry for it.

We need more bands who play what they want so if you love a good-natured rocking check them out...

http://www.myspace.com/faywraysfresno

Doggone Good Song of the week

2010-04-26T16:04:00.002-05:00

This is the first installment of a weekly post about the best songs w/ a dog theme. ENJOY!!!

Shadow People - Dr. Dog

Tis' the Season...

2010-04-09T17:29:00.003-05:00

Now that the SXSW hangover is over the average music goer can focus their energy on the up cumming touring season. Here are a few shows gracing our fair city (Austin) w/ their company:

4/10: Vampire Weekend @ Stubb's (promoting their newest album)
4/10: Girl Talk w/ White Denim @ 40 Acre Fest
4/23: Phoenix @ Stubb's

and!!!

Sold Out...

6/6: MGMT @ Stubb's (I was too slow on the draw to get tix today)

That being said, I am probably going to be hosting a 'battle of the bands' in July and am in need of some bad ass up-and-comers to make their presence felt in a band battle royale!!! Send me an email if you know any bands who would fit the bill (eldog@eldogmusicblog.com or send a request on the 'contact' page of the site.)

I'll be @ Parish tonight for the Auto Body show if anyone's down...

Until next time I love you,

El Dog

Return of the Living Blog

2010-04-06T21:45:00.002-05:00

After some technical difficulties and a case of severe burnout I make this announcement, I AM BACK!!! There will be a new post tomorrow featuring:

-The dish on SXSW 2010
-Broken Bells vs. The Shins
-and some minor rambling

~ElDog

Top Bands I Want to See at SXSW

2010-03-10T15:13:00.007-06:00

Here are my top 10 must see acts this week...

10. Peanut Butter Wolf, 3/18 @ Speakeasy Kabaret 1am

9. God-des And She, 3/20 @ Sister's Edge 6pm

8. We Were Promised Jet-Packs, 3/17 @ The Parrish 11pm

7. Roky Erickson w/ Okkervile River, 3/19 @ La Zona Rosa 12:30am

6. Dead Confederate, 3/19 @ Billboard.com Bungalow 1am

5. French Horn Rebellion, 3/20 @ Ace's Lounge 8pm

4. She & Him, 3/20 @ Auditorium Shores 8pm

3. Drive-By Truckers, 3/18 @ Stubb's 10:30pm

2. Angry Vs. The Bear, 3/19 @ Lucky Lounge 12am

1. Neon Indian, 3/19 @ Club-de-ville 11pm

Follow up after next week to seethe post-show favorites...

Labels for People Who Hate Labels

2010-03-10T13:58:00.005-06:00

'I hate Country!!'

'That computer music sucks! I mean A COMPUTER!?!?!?'

'Austin is the live music capitol of the world!'

There are many half truths and fallacies expressed when it comes to music. Austin seems to have hordes and scores more than the average locale and Austinites tend to be very opinionated when it comes to throwing out their point of view ( me ). What I don't understand is why if the type of people usually associated w/ music are so open then why are we so closed-minded when it comes to music outside our bubble?

'I hate Country!!' - Even Johnny Cash? or Willie?

'That computer music sucks! I mean A COMPUTER!?!?!?' - You hate NIN? Pink Floyd?

If you ask the average malcontent these follow-ups to their protests they tend to give a minor retraction in the area of 'Some of their stuff is ok I guess.' We are quick to jump to the preset responses in our head instead of thinking critically about the real answer and therefore cheapen the important point, 'WE LOVE MUSIC!'.

I will start off the sharing circle by clearing the air about over-produced modern pop music... LADY GAGA INTRIGUES ME!!! There I said it...whew, what a relief (I mean she wears a lobster on her head, c'mon.)

This brings me to Austin being 'the live music capitol of the world.' If this is what we are going to call our fair city we had better put our money where our mouth is. When is the last time you heard someone say, 'I'd love to see them but I don't want to pay the cover?' I am sure we have said those hateful words ourselves. We take the local scene for granted and it is really starting to show. We go to 'Dirty 6th' or 'West 6th' to drink on the cheap or hang with the 'Cool Kids' instead of paying $5-$10 to see a local act, but complain about how Austin is changing for the worse. THEN SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC BY CASTING YOUR VOTE (door fee) INSTEAD OF WHINING FROM THE SIDELINES.

The influx of people who do not GET Austin is upsetting but it's even worse when the problem stems from our own apathy. Be supportive of your people Austinites, even if the music is outside of your typical bubble. Who knows, you might surprise yourself and like somethin'.

Here we are on the doorstep of SXSW with a chance to show up and make a statement to the world that not only does Austin Rock but we Rock-n-ROLL DEEP!!!

Go out and see some music friends.

In at the Launch...

2010-03-04T20:53:00.007-06:00

Any good story worth its salt has a compelling beginning. That being said I will be hosting a launch party for this lil' ditty of a blog on March 19th at Lucky Lounge off W. 5th street. The festivities will begin officially at 8pm but I will be there early attending the BMF (bMUSEd Music Fest), as we collaberate with Koffee House Music Productions.

Acts include:

Angry Vs The Bear

Dertybird

Dave Schulz

Theory of Flight

Picture Me Broken

The Bob Hill Band

If you dress themed (Dog or Space) YOU GET IN FREE!!!

See you guys there...