We begin by talking about national election security. Also, the long awaited tracker of hurricane Harvey spending is out: we’ll tell you more. Plus towns near the Texas/Louisiana border flooded before and after Harvey. learn about their recovery efforts. Plus, Election information “compromised” by Russian hackers? In Texas? We’ll take a look. And watch out! The light rail is coming! A program aimed at preventing crashes. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Archives for February 2018
This Song: Luke Lalonde of Born Ruffians
Canada’s Born Ruffians just released their 5th album, Uncle, Duke and the Chief. Listen as singer, songwriter and guitar player Luke Lalonde explores why he loves John Prine’s “Far From Me” and describes the deep impact his father has had on his musical journey.
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Listen to Uncle, Duke and The Chief
Check out Born Ruffians Tour Dates
Listen to Songs from Episode 120 of This Song
Marmalakes: “Not Gonna Control You”
Photo by Katrina Barber
Marmalakes have been an Austin underground mainstay for the greater part of a decade, a household name with anyone who kicks it with the city’s indie scene. Formed through the friendship of lifelong buds Chase Weinacht and Josh Halpern, Marmalakes are folk-pop fun without sacrificing the integrity of their storytelling or songwriting, even when they’re slow and meditative. Their words are honest and their music is effortlessly smooth and endlessly interesting, like a good peanut butter that sticks in your head instead of your mouth. Pointing to the complicated and talented minds behind two of this city’s most warm-spirited musicians, their music has the singular ability to float about as soft, introspective indie-folk then appropriately inject growling electric guitars or bubbly keysmelodies to add texture to the Marmalake’s surface. At long last, following a handful of EPs and many, many shows and tours, comes the group’s long-anticipated debut full-length Please Don’t Stop, out in May. Their infectious tuneage is punctuated by their real-life energy, abundant in their live performances and heartily evident in their new video for one of the group’s softer, melodic songs, “Not Gonna Control You,” shot last week with KUTX’s multimedia team.
“Not Gonna Control You” appears on Please Don’t Stop, out May 11th via Austin Town Hall Records. Pre-order available now.
Upcoming (non-SXSW official) Marmalakes shows:
Sunday, Mar 9: Spiderhouse || All the Friends Ball
Thursday, Mar 15th: Kitty Cohen’s || Noisy Ghost PR & Graveface Records SXSW
Saturday, Mar 17: Butterfly Bar || w/ Carry Illinois and Star Parks
Sunday, Mar 25: Flat Track Coffee || Vinyl Party
-Taylor Wallace// Host, Thursdays 8p-11p & Saturdays 2p-6p; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli
Austin (2.25.18)
In this edition of Liner Notes Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about the significance of jazz in the “Live Music Capital of The World.”
Texas Standard: February 27, 2018
Turnout looks up at the polls and some political rallies draw big crowds. But what does excitement about the primaries really mean for election results? We’ll explore. Also, there’s been a lot said about more women running for office and more minorities. Today a look at what veterans could bring to the race. Plus federal legislation on sex trafficking is getting some pushback from technology companies. Why they’re concerned about culpability. And another delay on DACA: It’s continued protection from deportation for those enrolled in the program but also continued uncertainty. What all the back and forth could be doing to their health. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Dryspell: “Can’t Wait”
Can’t wait to dig into another excellent Austin-based indie garage rock outfit? Yes? Luckily for us like-minded folks, the local quartet Dryspell has been sonically seducing listeners since the release of their 2015 debut demo “Leaving Town”. In light of guitarist-vocalist Hunter Thompson and bassist Samuel Jacobson’s involvement in White Reaper and Hovvdy, respectively, the four members of Dryspell have continually found time to forge their own sound over the course of three singles and one EP. The latest endeavor for Dryspell is the EP More – four songs recorded straight to eight-track tape that perfectly capture Dryspell’s live ferocity, albeit in-studio. More releases digitally this Thursday and the release party is this Friday at Cheer Up Charlie’s alongside previous KUTX Artists of the Month Duncan Fellows and Growl, as well as Marijuana Sweet Tooth and The Nymphs. Can’t wait for More? Have I got a song for you! Check out track two of four from More – “Can’t Wait”.
–Jack Anderson (Host Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)
Texas Standard: February 26, 2018
The headlines are disturbing. In the wake of a Florida school shooting there have been threats in Texarkana, Houston and more. Unpacking the apparent uptick on today’s Texas Standard.
Linemen from the Texas Panhandle deal with conditions they never encountered in the high plains in efforts to restore power in Puerto Rico. We’ll hear from one of them.
Plus,Central Texas bats have changed their migratory patterns ever so slightly. We’ll try to get at why.
A Mexican college could soon join the NCAA. What’s in it for teams on both sides of the border.
And, understanding the Supreme Court’s ruling on DACA.
Chief Perch: “Far Away”
If you’ve missed out on catching a live performance from Austin-based eight-piece Chief Perch, you’ve got a golden opportunity this weekend! Only a couple years into their time as a group together, Chief Perch boasts Ariel Herrera’s vocals at the forefront, backed with trumpet, saxophone, trombone, keys, auxiliary percussion, and of course the essential, guitar, drums and bass. The result is an aurally expansive but technically tight foray into the electronic future of funk. Chief Perch released their debut full-length Shoulda Coulda Woulda last year and they’ll be performing live this Friday at Spiderhouse Ballroom alongside Willy McGee. Prepare yourself for Chief Perch’s live presence with track six of twelve from Shoulda Coulda Woulda – “Far Away”.
–Jack Anderson (Host Monday – Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)
Higher Ed: How Formal Education Can Instruct Us In Good Decision-Making
Making decisions – large and small – is not always easy. We are called upon to make countless decisions in life, but when do we receive effective tools for doing that? In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger discuss how lessons from our formal education can help us make better decisions. We are not likely to encounter specific courses in school that can assist us in making good decisions (“Good Decision Making 101” or the “History of Good Decision-Making” anybody?) but Ed maintain lessons abound throughout the disciplines if we keep our eyes and minds open. He says learning how to think better; how to challenge ourselves; and how to identity and acknowledge our blind spots can aid us in effective decision-making long after school. Ed and Jennifer also discuss how bad decisions can be instructive if we are willing to learn from the experience. Hopefully it is not too tough a decision to listen to the entire episode and catch a new puzzler about an endless chess board.
This episode was recorded Jan. 7, 2018.
Dr. Christine Nix (Ep. 12, 2018)
In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Dr. Christine Nix, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Criminal Justice at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and the first African American female Texas Ranger.
KUT Weekend – February 23, 2018
This time, a three-part series on maternal deaths in Texas and how to reduce them.
Texas Standard: February 23, 2018
A death sentence commuted to life in prison. We’ll talk with the Texas dad who fought to keep the state from executing his son. Today on the Texas Standard.
The firearm industry is in the news these days for possible restrictions on what can be sold. We’ll take a closer look at the business itself.
A Texas State Senator found guilty on 11 felony charges. What happens next?
Country singer Lee Ann Womack has a different sound from her “I Hope You Dance” days. We talk with her about how Texas helped shape her new album.
Plus… it’s Friday- that means another custom poem written for us on a vintage typewriter… and a wrap of the big stories this week in Texas politics.
Holiday Mountain: “All Night”
Seven years since first seeing the shared potential between two fellow Berklee students, Holiday Mountain is back once again! We’ve learned since 2011 that vocalist-keyboardist Laura Patiño’s proclivity towards the stylings of Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse couples perfectly with drummer-producer Zander Kagle’s extensive knowledge of Latin, reggae and of course – electronic music. From the get-go, Holiday Mountain enthralled audiences with their live shows in Austin and beyond, eventually releasing their first studio album in 2015 with You Be You, Part One, following it up with 2016’s SHIA. Holiday Mountain left the live music capital and are currently bringing down the house in Brooklyn and packing in tour dates left and right. In the midst of all of Holiday Mountain’s activity, Patiño and Kagle have followed up their standalone single “Crawl Back” with the premiere of a brand new song that’s upbeat, uplifting and overall smile inspiring – “All Night”.
–Jack Anderson (Host Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)
Primaries
It’s primary season here in Texas. The Lone Star State has among the lowest voter turnout rates in the country – so here’s a poem for those of you who are heading to the polls.
Raiders of the Lost Archive: Is This Building Off Shoal Creek A Top-Secret Warehouse?
What really happens inside this government facility in Central Austin?
Theatre
It might seem odd that when we have so much entertainment at our fingertips every day that anyone still treks out to see live theatre.
However, as Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, psychologically we may get more from a visit to our local playhouse than we think.
Texas Standard: February 22, 2018
Governor Abbott is not having it: schools need to implement safety measures or be be called out publicly, we’ll explore. Also, the reverend, crusades, and the role Texas played in all this. Plus, presidential Elections are coming up in Mexico: what’s different from US elections? And in Texas how do you become “election judge”? We’ll tell you. Also, the tug of war for the “rainy day fund”, could it pay for flooding? Plus boots that sustain the soul and a tech giant that’s house hunting. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Rosie & the Riveters: “Ms. Behave”
A name like Rosie & the Riveters paints a fairly specific image in your head. You think of a vintage sound, a majority or completely female outfit, and some sharp-tongued lines in songs with a lot of real talk. If that’s about what you’ve got in your head, go all in with that hand because that’s exactly what these Canadian female dynamos deliver. Back with their sophomore LP Ms. Behave, the trio returns with each member more developed individually and more gelled collectively. Their stark difference in approach to this album is reflected probably the most in the lyrics. Their debut featured a lot of songs that were positive and inspiriting, but the 3 or so years between the albums afforded ample time to contemplate the state of womanhood on all scopes. The result is an album chock full of acid-laced lines and thought-provoking perspective. “Ms. Behave” epitomizes all of this.
“Ms. Behave” appears on Ms. Behave, out April 6th and available now for pre-order.
-Taylor Wallace// Host, Thursdays 8p-11p & Saturdays 2p-6p; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli
This Song: Mélat
Austin based R&B artist Mélat just released her latest record Move Me II: The Present. Listen as she explains how two very different songs –Ella Fitzgerald’s version of “Misty” and Mariah Carey’s version of “Always Be My Baby” — helped her understand the deep connection between music and emotion.
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Mélat is playing KUTX’s Live at the Four Seasons during SXSW. See the full lineup here
See Mélat live at Stubb’s Austin on Friday April 6th
Listen to Songs from Episode 119 of This Song
Texas Standard: February 21, 2018
Some momentum behind tightened accountability for firearm background checks. The top Texas Republican who now seems to be at least partially on board. Also, early voting is underway. The first choice those heading to the polls will have to make is which party’s primary to vote in. Why crossover voting isn’t all that common. Plus, Texas coastal cities still cleaning up from Hurricane Harvey are also looking ahead to mitigating the damage of the next storm. Why folks in Corpus Christi are concerned. And it’s been 25 years since the siege at a Branch Davidian complex outside of Waco. What law enforcement learned from that deadly encounter. Plus a profile of a man known as “the Galveston Giant.” Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard: