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Archives for February 2019

Texas Standard: February 15, 2019

Second shutdown apparently averted, but the focus remains on the border as the fight over a wall looks set to shift to a new venue, we’ll have the latest. Also, a property tax cut that could carry a high price tag for Texans. And honk your horn if you’re behind on your car payments…what a record number of auto loan delinquencies tells us about the health of our economy. Plus 10 oscar nods for the movie Roma: why the spotlight comes at a crucial moment for Mexico. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

Urban Coyote

A couple weeks back, Texas Standard did a story on urban coyotes. The story was about the animal but, for some, it also prompted a few images of hipsters — that was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Bayonne: “Same”

If you frequented the local live music scene some years back, you probably remember seeing stickers that said, “Roger Sellers is NOT a DJ.” Fast forward to today, where we know that’s the understatement of a decade and where Sellers has made a new name for himself: Bayonne.

The sheer talent and keep-you-guessing nature behind this vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer extraordinaire made it easy to name Bayonne our February 2019 Artist of the Month, who also joined us in Studio 1A yesterday. While he was there Bayonne treated us to his latest album, Drastic Measures, a layer-heavy wall of sound and the strongest we’ve ever heard Sellers. The sold out release show for Drastic Measures is 8PM tonight at the Mohawk and in case you missed out on a ticket, you don’t need to miss out on Drastic Measures; here’s “Same”!

Valentine Fabulous

Covering this divine Valentine with a flurry of X’s and O’s… KUTX‘s #LoveAustinMusicMonth celebrations include an Austin Music Minute highlighting Bidi Bidi Banda’s Valentine Ball, stirring up all the sexy tonight at Barracuda, 611 E. 7th St.

Austin’s first all-star Selena tribute band, Bidi Bidi Banda, features vocalist Stephanie Bergara and an impressive group of musicians from some of Austin’s premiere Latin bands. All that work behind the scenes brings Selena’s music to life in one of the most impressive homages ever to grace a stage. And, with an extra dose of love, the band has put together a spectacular Valentine’s bash featuring synth-cumbia outfit Como Las Movies (featured on today’s AMM), and gorgeous glamour rocker Caleb de Casper.

This is your ultimate Valentine – as it would be presented to you by equal parts Danny Trejo, New Order and Tim Curry channeling the ultimate Dr. Frankenfurter with a side of Dietrich. Don’t hesitate. Doors open at 9 p.m. Very recommended, and sealed with a deep-red lipstick smooch.

-Poster art for the Bidi Bidi Banda Valentine Ball by Ben Tipton.

Texas Standard: February 14, 2019

A year and a half after the worst natural disaster in Texas history, 55 counties are still waiting for relief funds. What’s the hold up? Some counties in Harvey hit Texas say they stand to lose billions in federal funds if they can’t match what’s on the table, and the clock is ticking. We’ll have the latest. Also, property tax relief now on the fast track, we’ll have details. And plans for a new energy facility in Brownsville getting complicated because of a cat. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

Mykele Deville: “Type Love” feat. Daryn Alexis

On a day full of marked up chocolates and vain attempts to rekindle romance, Mykele Deville‘s heart beats for something much less superficial: self-love. This West Side Chicagoan knows the complexities of Black life in America all too well, and on top of being a poet, educator and actor, Deville uses hip hop and soul for self-healing, both for himself and his listeners. Mykele Deville’s sense of motivation in light of adversity is at the forefront of his upcoming album Maintain, a seven-song record that seeks to dismantle toxic masculinity and promote mental stability in black men.

Maintain is out next Friday but just for the Hallmark holiday make a move and wrap your arm around this new one from Mykele Deville featuring Daryn Alexis, “Type Love“!

Con Mi Corazon

There’s a lot of celebrating to do during #LoveAustinMusicMonth! It’s a February salute to music artists in Austin of all genres across the board, from indie to folk, hip-hop to country,  soul to a multitude of Latin musical styles. And leave it to a tremendously talented 11-piece (ELEVEN PIECE – how do they all fit on the stage?!) orchestra like La Moña Loca to cover most of the bases on that last one mentioned. They’ve got it all: Salsa, timba, cha-cha, merengue, cumbia…and beyond.

La Moña Loca keeps the dance floor hopping with some sizzling salsa sets every Wednesday night at One-2-One Bar. 1509 S. Lamar Blvd. You can see them perform tonight at 9 p.m. And, since you’ve got all your friends with you and you’re ready to go now, it would be a great idea to get there early for an extra-special happy hour performance by Austin-based folk/pop/jazz/soul-inspired artist Seela, starting at 6 p.m.

Your Wednesday evening is about to be lovely. So recommended.

-Photo courtesy of the artist.

Texas Standard: February 13, 2019

A year after Parkland, what if anything is changing to make Texas schools safer? Five things you need to know about what happens next. Also: The end of El Chapo’s career, but not his cartel. After years of work to win convictions against the drug kingpin, what changes? We’ll take a look. And as many New Yorkers rethink the three billion dollar price tag to land Amazons second headquarters, a researcher says New York could learn a thing or two from the Texas experience. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

This Song: Jackie Venson

Jackie Venson explains how seeing  “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,” from the movie Evita, changed the way she listened to music and the way she saw herself. Then she describes her journey from classical pianist to blues guitarist.  It’s a tale of soul expanding love, self crushing doubt, and musical perseverance.

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Daniel Steinbock: “Out of Blue”

For lack of better terms, Bay Area native Daniel Steinbock keeps himself busy. An avid designer, photographer, coder, ethnographer and educator, Steinbock somehow still manages time to write and record his eponymous solo material. And if you can imagine someone locking Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam, Neil Young and Walt Whitman in a room until they wrote a song together, you’ve pretty much got Steinbock’s sound.

Following up his two introductory EPs, Steinbock is set to release his first ever full-length, Out of Blue, this Friday. The record is rooted in indie folk with a color palette of jazz, rock, gospel, country and blues tracing throughout Steinbock’s seductive songwriting. If you can’t wait a whole two days for Steinbock’s debut LP, get a free download of Out of Blue‘s title track right now!

Love Blooms

There’s a major love fest going on here! It’s one that KUTX 98.9 prefers to keep going all year round, but February happens to be a special time of year. Alongside the City of Austin Music & Entertainment Division and the Austin Music Foundation, we’re celebrating #LoveAustinMusicMonth, championing the endless talent of Austin musicians.

Today’s Austin Music Minute pick is making waves with a February residency at Hole In the Wall, Bleached Roses. Front woman and violinist Lexi Cardenas leads the journey into the eternal uncertainty on the EP Blooms –  all the longing and bittersweet emotion tied to love’s soaring peaks and tumultuous valleys. The HITW residency continues tonight with special guests RLTVS, Tucker Jameson of Sharks In the Deep End, and Jim Hampton.

The music starts at 9 p.m. Recommended.

-Photography by Ryan Rose.

Texas Standard: February 12, 2019

In the west Texas town of El Paso, a political duel over immigration between a president and a popular Texan who might want to be one. We’ll have analysis of the rallies in El Paso as president Trump launches his re-election campaign, and Beto O’Rourke gauges whether to launch a White House run of his own. Also, a judge taps the brakes on the Texas bullet train. We’ll hear how and what it means for plans to link Houston and Dallas by high speed rail. And what a Dollar Store invasion of rural and poorer communities in Texas might really cost. All of those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Lily & Madeleine: “Supernatural Sadness”

Indianapolis sisters Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz, best known simply as Lily & Madeleine, are quickly approaching their fourth album together and strongest songs yet. Both now in their early twenties, the duo moved to New York City last year but kept their hometown’s Canterbury Park close to heart for the full-length Canterbury Girls. Recorded in Nashville, Canterbury Girls finds Lily & Madeleine in complete creative control of their songwriting for the first time ever and boasts the same production talent behind Kacey Musgraves’ recent Grammy winner Golden Hour.

Inspired by emotional baggage and interpersonal sibling discovery, Canterbury Girls infuses a wide array of genres and breaks through its pop crust with a core of emotional expression and sororal spirit. Canterbury Girls is out next Friday so check out this resilient disco-pop narrative, “Supernatural Sadness”!

Hum of the Nest

There is something extraordinary running through the mood fabric of Curtis McMurtry‘s The Hornet’s Nest. No formula, no concrete parameter, and superbly, no predictable indulgences. From the moment the album begins with only McMurtry’s vocals and a stark banjo on the brief opener, “Hard Blue Stones,” right on through to the final sweetly darkened and forlorn realization of “Silver World,” it pulsates with an irregular heartbeat, a complex nest of entrances and exits humming and vibrating with a strange life. That literal/figurative nest is a damn work of art, but dangerous if one is presumptuous enough to believe it can be contained. One is faced with more than a single sting. And the pain can be almost unmeasurable.

Your Austin Music Minute host is a fan. Could you tell? Today’s #LoveAustinMusicMonth AMM spotlight is on Curtis McMurtry, who performs tonight at Geraldine’s, 605 Davis St., inside Hotel Van Zandt. The music starts at 9:30 p.m. Recommended.

-Photography by Pavel Mezihorak for KUTX.

Texas Standard: February 11, 2019

Four days and counting: with a new deadline looming in a shutdown showdown over the border wall, the president arrives in El Paso. We’ll take a look at what this means. Also, a week after Texas Catholic Diocese release lists of what the church calls credibly accused clergy, a new investigation by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express News reports on an abuse of faith in the southern Baptist denomination. We’ll talk with the reporters. Also, an attempt to protect a spot in Texas with one of the most pristine skies on the planet. All those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

Lampland: “Did You Ever Wanna Know Why?”

If there’s one thing Brooklyn songwriter Tommy Bazarian does best, it’s ambiance. Bazarian’s solo project Lampland was created at his 9-t0-5 as a radio producer, taking what he absorbed in the day time and working it into lyrics and music by nightfall. The arrangements on Lampland’s debut album No Mood use heavily-modified tones and various field recordings to create the sonic backdrop for Bazarian’s folksy, fragmented narratives. And true to its name, No Mood doesn’t fall under any one genre, instead illuminating a field of influences, most notably alt-country, acoustic folk, and shoegaze.

No Mood came out last Friday and to ignite the wick on these ten luminous songs, enjoy a free download of No Mood‘s penultimate track, “Did You Ever Wanna Know Why?”

Lena Horne (Ep. 10, 2019)

On this week’s In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents an interview from 1983 with the late Lena Horne, the legendary singer, dancer, actress and civil rights activist whose career in film, television and theater spanned 70 years. Ms. Horne died in 2010.

Higher Ed: “Teacher’s Pet.” “Know-It-All.” “Brown-Noser.” How Labels Impact Learning

“Teacher’s pet.” “Know-it-all.” “Brown-noser.” These are just some of the terms students lob at each other in (and out) of school – especially at students who demonstrate strong mastery of a subject or are enthusiastic in class. In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton  explore how and why those labels are used and why they might not pack the punch they used to.

One of the assumptions underlying the use of labels such as those is that it is not cool to be smart or active in class discussion. Ed remembers that was certainly the case when he was in school.

“It was definitely…. ‘you’re teacher’s pet, you’re a brown-noser,'” says Ed. “And therefore you’re now ostracized because you’re not cool.”

Ed says labels – either positive or negative – cannot help but impact students’ learning and experiences in the classroom.

“If someone is looked at as ‘wow – that person is so cool, that person knows everything’ then I think it actually amplifies that and encourages them to go on,” says Ed. “And when you have a student who is called ‘oh, that person is dumb and doesn’t know any of the answers’ or that person is just trying to impress the teacher – and is a ‘teacher’s pet’ – then it actually I think stifles that creativity and that potential intellectual growth, which is really, really sad.”

Those labels may be losing some of their impact, though, as Ed sees a trend toward more appreciation of participation and engagement in the classroom.

“At all grade levels now, knowing the answer; raising your hand; engaging with the teacher or professor or instructor; is actually kind of a cool thing,” says Ed. “I think this is one of the few directions where I think we have actually evolved and made forward progress in how we view…. being engaged and trying and being open to learning.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about the evolution of labels and attitudes about learning and classroom engagement. There is also a new puzzler that will require your active participation to solve.

This episode was recorded on Jan. 25, 2019.

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