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KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond

Archives for September 2019

HEELS: “I’ll Have A Name Someday”

Bread butts. Ankle joints. Wrestling villains. Whatever “Heels” means to you, it guarantees a damn good time for a Memphis duo of the same name. HEELS first stepped out with the 2015 EP Even If It’s Nothing, It’s Something, where they raised up their cuffs to reveal just how powerful a drum kit, a guitar and two vocal mics can be between a couple of irreverent punks.

HEELS made their full-length just this past July, and with titles like “King Drunk” and “Are You a Goddamned Vampire”, Good People Even Do Bad Things is lighthearted, sarcastic, and oozing with all the caustic energy you’d expect from the punk genre. HEELS plays Saturday night at Kick Butt Coffee for Altercation Comedy Festival and you can amp up the angst with “I’ll Have A Name Someday”!

HAAM Day 2019

A very Happy HAAM Day to you from the Austin Music Minute!

And, in case you need a little introduction: The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) provides access to healthcare for Austin’s working musicians and their families. Every year, HAAM Day brings together local businesses and venues to host more than 200 live music performances by local musicians, and a portion of the day’s sales are donated to HAAM.

The AMM recommended a handful of performances you can catch tonight, including DJ Shani spinning at Fine Southern Gentlemen at 507 Calles (6 p.m.); Will Courtney at Buzz Mill, 1505 Town Creek Dr. (9:20 p.m.); Ley Line at Cenote at Windsor Park, 6214 Cameron Rd. (7 p.m.); Pelvis Wrestley at Cheer Up Charlie’s, 901 Red River (8:30 p.m. ); Tomar & The FCs at The ABGB, 1305 W. Oltorf (10 p.m.); the entire awesome Latinapalooza line-up at the Scoot Inn, 1308 E. 4th St. (starts at 7 p.m.); and, of course, Bruce Robsion & Kelly Willis and Sir Woman at the Four Seasons Hotel lawn, ’til 8 p.m.

If you’re unable to be out and about tonight, you can also make your donation directly on the HAAM website. And thank you for  your support.

-Photo of Sir Woman’s Kelsey Wilson courtesy of Missing Piece Group.

Texas Standard: September 24, 2019

Democrats raise the bar for the next presidential debate and at least one Texan isn’t likely to make the cut, we’ll explore. Also, there’s a new law in Texas designed to make it easier for third party candidates to mount a challenge. But is it really about boosting third parties? We’ll take a closer look. And for decades Texans have half-jokingly complained of a California invasion. Now one that could help Texas conservation. And writer Stephen Harrigan on the daunting challenge of writing a book as big as Texas. Those stories and then some today on the Texas Standard:

The Mammoths: “To The Bone”

Hearkening back to their migratory namesake, The Mammoths have done most of their tusk-cutting on the road. This Austin quartet has been averaging at nearly two hundred shows each year since 2017, riding off a crowd-commanding palette of funk-metal, blues-rock, and sludgy, soulful psychedelia. Basically imagine the flair of current groups like The Black Keys or Arctic Monkeys but with all the caveats of classic rock.

The Mammoths have flaunted their woolly sounds onstage opening for the likes of Bright Light Social Hour and A Giant Dog, and they’ve most recently joined forces in-studio with producer-mixer Jeff Saenz, who’s already collaborated with Leon Bridges, Paul Cauthen, and Nikki Lane. The Mammoths’ inherently nomadic elements pop up again on their upcoming debut LP Loney Roller, a national tour awaits them next week, and today you can get down to the core of what makes this infectious four-piece great, “To The Bone”!

Search and Destroy

Carrying on the riot grrrl legacy at full throttle, by way of Sacramento, is Left Coast punk outfit Destroy Boys, reminding everyone how it’s done with classic punk evolved for current times that’s equal parts hardcore and humor. Front woman Alexia Roditis and guitarist Vi Mayugba lead the way on vocals and shreds, putting it all out there with unapologetic fierceness in all its scathing glory. This is the energy every grrrl needs in life.

This will make your Monday night a hell of a lot better. Catch Destroy Boys tonight at Empire Control Room, 606 E. 7th St., with opener Lechuza kicking things off. Doors at 7 p.m. Very recommended.

-Photo courtesy of the artist.

Texas Standard: September 23, 2019

Imelda now blamed for five deaths in Texas after one of the strongest tropical storms in U.S. history draws comparisons to Harvey. We’ll have a firsthand view of the impact of flooding in Southeast Texas. Also, a deal with El Salvador designed to make would be asylum seekers think twice about coming to the U.S. And the trial of a Dallas Police Officer accused in the shooting death of a man in his own apartment. Plus, a quarrel over quarries. Who can stop them from moving in next door? Those stories and then some today on the Texas Standard:

Marco Benevento: “Baby Don’t Make Me Wait”

The term “experimental” gets thrown around a lot, especially with younger artists who are hesitant to aim for anything on the genre dartboard. But after two fruitful decades cemented in the New York experimental jazz-rock scene, the label definitely fits multi-instrumentalist songwriter Marco Benevento. This oddball virtuoso has never felt comfortable sticking to one sound, so its no surprise that Benevento’s got some eye-opening grooves on his seventh solo album, Let It Slide.

Benevento tosses caution to the wind on Let It Slide, ditching his producer’s hat for the first time ever in favor of Lee Fields/The Arcs collaborator Leon Michels. The result is a baker’s dozen of eclectic styles, marked by Benevento’s care-free improvisation, a newfound devotion to lyrics, and a high enough production quality to rank among Aja and Dark Side of the Moon. Let It Slide is out as of last Friday, Marco Benevento kicks off a national tour next month, and right now you can jam out with “Baby Don’t Make Me Wait”!

Higher Ed: Want To Prevent Students From Dropping Out? Provide More Support, Realistic Expectations

Fewer college students than you might think make it from Freshman orientation all the way to graduation. In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss why students drop out, and what colleges and universities can do to help them stay in.

David Kirp’s book “The College Dropout Scandal” (excerpted in The Chronicle of Higher Education) is packed with statistics about college attendance. One data point from the book really stands out: over four in ten college freshman will not graduate with a degree within six years.

As Ed points out, some of those reasons are practical or situational, such as an illness in the family or a change in family geography or status.

But there are other reasons more rooted in the institutions than in the students.

Ed says universities who make special efforts to recuit groups of students such as first generation college students or international students also need to then provide those students with the necessary support.

“Once a student arrives, there are instutions whose attitude is ‘we took that student… and now we’re done,'” says Ed, “instead of thinking about ‘ok, how do we now map a way for that student not just to graduate… but to flourish.'”

Ed believes that support – for any student – needs to include personal connections because “the moment it becomes less personal, it’s easier to find a way out.”

Ed believes higher education as a whole should also examine the culture around expectations of what is “normal” and achievable in the standard four year time frame. He says acceptance and flexibility in that regard might help more students stick with school.

“If someone needs, for whatever reason, a little more time to finish, they shouldn’t think anything except ‘this is the time that it takes me,” says Ed. “This idea that four years is success- is really nonsense.”

Listen to the entire episode for further discussion about helping students stay in school. The puzzler takes to the gridiron this week, but no special knowledge of football is needed to figure this one out.

This episode was recorded on Aug. 7, 2019.

After this episode was recorded, Dr. Ed Burger announced that he is leaving Southwestern University in Jan. 2020 to become President and Chief Executive Officer of St. David’s Foundation.

Duke Fakir and Mary Wilson (Ep. 42, 2019)

On this week’s edition of In Black America, John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Motown legends Abdul “Duke” Fakir, a founding member of The Four Tops, and Mary Wilson, a founding member of the Supremes. Both were participants in The Summit on Race in America this Spring, at the University of Texas at Austin.

It’s On In The Park

Did some serious bragging on the Austin Music Minute today. It’s about Butcher Bear: An Austin-based musician, DJ, owner of iNSECT Records, show booker for The North Door, and co-creator of Exploded Drawing. Got enough to do there, Bear?

But, in all seriousness(es), Butcher Bear puts on some excellent shows, which is why you don’t want to miss out on the 2nd annual In The Park series, going down this Sunday at Givens Park, 3811 E. 12th St. It’s a free event, featuring a mix of local and nationally known artists in the realms of electronic, hip-hop, rap, trippy and beyond. The line-up includes Black Taffy, Jane Claire, The Heavy Twelves, HARA, Expansions of Q and Cactus Lee. DJs will get the afternoon started tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., followed by live performances at 3:30 p.m.

Don’t miss the party. Butcher Bear set it up just for you. Recommended.

-Photography by Gabriel C Pérez for KUTX.

Trailer: The Breaks

Hosts Confucius and Fresh are here to let everyone know about Austin’s vibrant hip-hop and R&B scenes. They’re fun, bold, informed and making it clear that “The Live Music Capital of the World” has a lot more going on than Stevie Ray, Willie, Spoon and other great artists.

Bang It Up

When you think of green, don’t stop at the color. Remember the state of mind, of being – and a real, tangible thing, all at once.

Green Balloon is the latest release from New Orleans outfit Tank and The Bangas, who got their start at an open mic night in their hometown. However, it was an NPR Tiny Desk Concert that put them on the map for their distinctive sound and infectious live performances, with an extraordinary mix of energy derived from soul, hip-hop, R&B and spoken word artistry. For front woman Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Green Balloon is layered with different meanings: The green of moods (envy, naïveté) and things she’s bought; and the balloon that’s floats up high, or gets held down. Through it all has been growth and change, “every version of myself that I’ve met so far,” she explains.

Tank and The Bangas bring their celebration to Austin tonight at Emo’s, 2015 E. Riverside Dr. Houston Gulf Coast outfit The Suffers opens the show. Doors at 8 p.m. And you’ll fly with them all. Recommended.

-Photo courtesy of the artist.

KUT Weekend – September 20, 2019

Austin’s city council punts on reinstating rules to limit camping and resting in public. Plus, when taking out a reverse mortgage in Austin means losing your home. And Austin students demand government action on climate change. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!

Subscribe at https://weekend.kut.org

Texas Standard: September 20, 2019

At least two dead, nearly 4 feet of rain and some parts of southeast Texas calling it worse than Hurricane Harvey. Our own Michael Marks joins us with the latest on tropical storm Imelda’s toll in Texas. Also, you’ve heard the phrase ‘it takes a village’, but to go to Mars? Why SpaceX is offering to buy an entire south Texas community. And Houston says Howdy Modi as the Indian Prime Minister makes Texas a centerpiece of his U.S. visit. Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and more today on the Texas Standard:

Second Hand Boots

A lot of boots have life left in them after they’ve been grown out of, discarded, or left behind by their original owners. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Madi Meeks: “Cigarette Rain”

As the genre permeates through ever-changing trends, it becomes increasingly difficult to make yourself stand out in the world of pop music. But when you’re born and raised in the Live Music Capital and have been writing since your tweens, the diversity and maturity of folks like Madi Meeks shine through all the other corporate cookie cutter pop formulas. Last summer then-sixteen-year-old songwriter Madi Meeks put out her debut EP, For You, showcasing her deep and delicate, yet vigorous vocal style, eventually earning her a couple Austin Music Awards nominations.

Meeks’ passion has put her in the limelight once again, this time with an electronic-over-acoustic approach on her self-titled full-length, out today. Her gentle, moving pop goes live at the Madi Meeks release show 7PM tonight at Carousel Lounge, and you can take a quick break from the Friday work gauntlet with “Cigarette Rain”.

Far Out, Baby

The party’s goin’ down tonight in South Austin. Funk, soul and R&B are on the menu at the Far Out Lounge, 8504 S. Congress Ave., with performances by ATX soul outfit Tomar and The FCs, sharing a bill with songwriter/keyboardist Micah Motenko and his band getting the show started.

Doors open at 8 p.m., and the live music kicks off at 8:30 p.m. You know you wanna. Recommended.

Texas Standard: September 19, 2019

Life threatening conditions in parts of Southeast Texas as a tropical depression named Imelda moves inland and takes its toll. Water rescues underway as the first named storm since Harvey hits the Houston region. We’ll have details. Also, accusations of rising crime rates feeding into a big city mayoral contest in Texas. And, new smartphones hit the streets. Our go to tech guy on whether to buy in. All those stories and then some today on the Texas Standard:

Dry Cleaning: “Sit Down Meal”

At this point in time, if you haven’t heard of Dry Cleaning (outside the world of clothing), we can’t really blame you. Dry Cleaning’s debut EP only came out in mid-August and these South Londoners are already about to pull another one off the rack. It’s incredible that half the band doesn’t have any prior experience, but this actually lends itself to Dry Cleaning’s stripped down, direct brand of alt-rock.

Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks finds Dry Cleaning pressing a bit more texture into their songs, and it’s out October 25th. Dry Cleaning tours the UK over the next couple months, they’ve got plans for a US tour farther in the future, and today they invite you to pull up a chair for the new EP’s closer, “Sit Down Meal”!

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