Archives for May 2018

Skating Polly: “Hollywood Factory”

Photo by Angel Ceballos

“Stagnant” is not a word you’d associate with the pop-punk/riot grrrl trio Skating Polly, who since 2009 have taken their self-proclaimed “ugly pop” from unassuming venues in OKC to full-on Western hemisphere notoriety. X’s Exene Cervenka produced the group’s sophomore album Lost Wonderfuls, and their third album had the frontwomen of Veruca Salt reaching out to then-members Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse, resulting in a trio of pro-fem anthems last year called New Trick. Since the release, Skating Polly added Kelli’s brother Kurtis to the group and the trio has kept a dense itinerary, playing over 100 shows including major festivals, a stint in Europe, and joining X for a couple legs of their 40th-anniversary tour. The band’s busy touring schedule took a short rest stop long enough for the band to record their 5th album, The Make It All Show, out this Friday. Now they’re out on the road again and stopping at Austin’s Stubb’s Indoors next Tuesday.

“Hollywood Factory” shows a bit of a sonically softer side of Skating Polly. No growls or abrasive riffs here, just catchy skater-punk-meets-indie-pop hooks, a lo-fi gel placed over the guitar, and Mayo’s sour-sweet, loose-jawed vocals. Skate on with your ugly pop!

-Taylor Wallace// Host, Thursdays 8p-11p & Saturdays 2p-6p; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli

Ten Songs About Lovin’ The Lone Star State

About six months ago, I took a look at songs about Texas towns – “Amarillo by Morning,” “Galveston,” “La Grange,” “Streets of Laredo,” “China Grove,” etc. Now I figure, why not just do Texas? Let’s talk about songs that show their love for Texas in a Texas-sized way – paying homage to the whole state and her irresistible charms.

So this would leave out songs like those already mentioned, and also those that have Texas in the title, but are either primarily instrumental songs or have no specific lyrics of Texas praise or adoration. Much as I love Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Texas Flood,” it doesn’t qualify here. Neither does “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” since it is a song about loving one incredible Texas woman, but not the state.

We must begin, I suppose, with our official state song, “Texas, Our Texas,” written in 1924, by William Marsh, a British immigrant from Liverpool.

Another early classic would have to be “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” written in 1941 and first recorded by Perry Como. But probably the best-known version is this one by Gene Autry.

Just a few years later, Ernest Tubb gave us another classic that could have been used by The Texas Travel Bureau as their theme song; “There’s a Little Bit of Everything in Texas.” Willie Nelson covered it in 1993.

In 1975, The Charlie Daniels Band released its Texas anthem simply titled. “Texas,” on the album “Nightrider.”

Sometimes we show how much we love something by how much we miss it – by how much we long for it. That’s what George Strait did in “Can’t See Texas From Here,” from his 1982 album, “Strait from the Heart.” And I believe it was.

Gary P. Nunn gave us “London Homesick Blues,” which is hard not to put on the list. But from the same 1984 album, “Home With the Armadillo,” we get “What I Like About Texas.” That’s dead solid perfect. Bet Gary hadn’t had to pay for a Beltbuster or Blizzard since 1984.

I first heard the song “Texas” by the British singer Chris Rea while driving across west Texas in 1989, appropriately under a big yellow moon, on Highway 90 south of Van Horn, a road that goes on forever.

And you certainly know “God Blessed Texas,” which has been ubiquitous since its release more than 25 years ago, believe it or not. It’s by Little Texas.

Vince Gill sang “I’ll Take Texas” in 1998. And his song did indeed take Texas by storm.

We wrap up our list appropriately with Miranda Lambert, with “Texas Pride,” from 2001. And that’s an ideal title, because her first professional singing gig was with the Texas Pride Band.

That’s my list. What’s on yours?

The Wheelwrights: “Travelin’ On”

If there’s one word to define the multi-instrumental, multi-songwriter partnership that is The Wheelwrights, it’s “handmade”. Since the release of their self-titled EP just three years ago, this Austin-based acoustic Americana trio has made the most of their shared passion and dedication to their craft with each new piece and performance. Last year The Wheelwrights released their debut full-length album A Forest In Trees, a baker’s dozen of songs paired with a unique piece of visual art to create a magnificent model of multimedia.

The Wheelwrights will be playing this Friday at the Cactus Cafe along with Margaret Chavez and you can let The Wheelwrights carry you through your Tuesday travels with the third of thirteen tracks on A Forest In Trees – “Travelin’ On”.

–Jack Anderson (Host, Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)

Texas Standard: May 1, 2018

A Foster care system so dangerous to kids, its been ruled unconstitutional. Should the Feds be permitted to order a fix for Texas? We’ll have the latest. Also, after parkland everyone seems to have an opinion on whether there should be tighter controls on guns. But some Texans with a personal stake in the matter say they don’t have a seat at the table, and they’re demanding a hearing. We’ll hear why. Also, Sprint and T-Mobile want to get married. If anyone has reasons why these two should not be wed, it might be Texas-based AT&T who’s fighting its own anti-trust battle at the moment. We’ll hear why that might matter to you. Plus a surprise endorsement in the Governor’s race and so much more today on the Texas Standard: