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KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond
This week, an Austin running company changes course amid the coronavirus pandemic. Testing and tracing could get us out of quarantine someday. But what’s tracing, and how does it work? And, with families stuck close to home, ‘bear hunters’ take to Austin’s streets.
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In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke take audience questions about how much is too much when it comes to social media, and how to get anything done when trying to homeschool your children and work your normal job, during a live virtual Views and Brews.
What’s that? A double dose, you say? Yes it is, thanks to your friendly neighborhood Austin Music Minute. Check these out in today’s AMM live stream selections for Friday April 17th:
–Israel Nash celebrates the release of his new EP, Topaz, with two live stream performances you can watch on Nash’s Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. He plays at 8 p.m. (Central) tonight, and again at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday April 18th.
-Got a heads-up from Hayes Carll on the social medias about this one. The Saxon Pub presents Saxon Strong – Let’s Band Together, Vol. 2, streams tonight starting at 7:30 p.m. (Central) on Saxon Pub’s Facebook. It’s a huge list of performers, including Hayes Carll, BJ Thomas, Eric Tessmer, Folk Uke, Brennen Leigh, Matt the Electrician and many, many others.
-Photo of Israel Nash by Kris Wixom.
In the great tourist towns of Texas, it’s far from fun and games this weekend. From the Gulf Coast, Hill Country and Big Bend, how tourist towns are coping with COVID-19. Plus a double hit to small businesses in Texas’ already economically disadvantaged latino communities. And you’ve got questions? Dr Fred Campbell’s got answers. Our go to expert from UT Health San Antonio fields listener concerns about the Coronavirus. Plus a Texas salute to American singer songwriter John Prine. Those stories plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
We always knew the roles of doctors and nurses were important. But, in the midst of a pandemic, they are being revealed even more as true heroes. That was the inspiration for this poem.
In this edition of This Is Just To Say, The Closet Recordings, poet and novelist Carrie Fountain reads, “Instructions on Not Giving Up” by Ada Limón.
Queer, Catholic, and unabashedly fueled by feminism, multi-ethnic native Austinite Gina Chavez has heralded in unheard iterations of Latin music going back to her chart-topping 2014 acoustic bi-lingual record Up.Rooted. A decided shift from the 2007 acoustic folk-pop debut Hanging Spoons, Chavez pushed her sound even further out of the comfort zone with 2018’s R&B-soul-dominated Lightbeam, favoring the twelve-time Austin Music Award winner’s mesmerizing vocals over her once relied-upon guitar. Since starting her songwriting career over a decade back, Chavez’s undeniable talent has given her access to international tours (including appearances as a U.S. State Department cultural ambassador) and exposure through ACL Fest, NPR’s Tiny Desk, First Listen, and All Things Considered, as well as a platform to co-found private college fund Niñas Arriba (which benefits underprivileged girls in El Salvador) alongside her wife.
With a lifetime of experiences marred by critical acclaim and infectious popularity under her belt, Gina Chavez is channeling her observations of women’s oppression into her upcoming fourth release, La Que Manda, or The Woman in Charge. True to its title, La Que Manda sees Chavez’s confidence higher than it’s ever been before, striving to create equalizing Latinx anthems for the gender-downtrodden across the globe. La Que Manda is out May 15th, but just today Gina Chavez shared a Spanish-language single featuring producer Lina Briceno and engineer Fernando Lodeiro, who’ve received two Latin Grammys and two Grammys, respectively. The result is a bold trap beat that bears witness to Chavez like we’ve never heard before and sets the stage for the full album next month, “Ella”!
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The vast unpredictability that lies ahead gnaws at the soul nonstop.
There. That’s another dramatic way of putting it.
But one of the more inspiring things to witness emerging from the fray is local music artists – and those the world over – keeping their craft going, and stepping up to support one another. That includes today’s Austin Music Minute featured artist, Grammy-nominated badasses Black Pumas, who are set to perform a few stripped-down versions of their songs in support of the MusiCares Coronavirus Relief Fund.
Join Black Pumas tonight ( Thursday, April 16th) at 7 p.m. (Central) for their show on Facebook Live and on their YouTube channel. Proceeds benefit MusiCares’ services and resources covering financial, medical and personal needs of music people.
It’s the music that’s keeping us alive. And we, in turn, can help keep the music going.
-Photo courtesy of the artist.
As many jobs lost in the past month as all those created since the great recession, now Texas hospitals struggling to make ends meet, we’ll have the latest. Other stories were tracking: the oil and gas industry asking for more state regulation? More on an historic hearing aimed at trying to stop a downward spiral. Also, one place where business is good? Check in with some factories on the Texas Mexico border. And the Texas governor set to talk about plans aimed at getting back to business. A top pandemic expert at Texas A&M has a warning. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
In this rerun from 2018, Liz Phair describes how the 1980s rock song “I Wanna Destroy You” by The Soft Boys put her in touch with her youthful desire to destroy something. We also hear Phair share what it was like to revisit her early 90’s songs on the recent Girly-Sound to Guyville tour. Plus, she shares a bit of parenting wisdom with host Elizabeth McQueen.
Phair has a new record, Soberish, coming out this summer.
Listen to this episode of This Song
Having previously proven their elegant, earthy style on the 2016 debut World Anew and again on 2018’s Bruise Blood, NORI continues to sustain their spot as one of the most captivating and eclectic ensembles the Live Music Capital has to offer. NORI blurs the boundaries between world, folk, and jazz effortlessly across the core quintet of trumpet, electric piano, upright bass, drums, and the ever-dazzling Akina Adderley on vocals, allowing listeners to just sit back and absorb subtle nuances that recall the records of Joni Mitchell, John Coltrane, and Nina Simone.
This past Monday, NORI shared a new music video and single recorded just weeks before the COVID-19 lockdown, featuring three additional players tracked in live, simultaneously for a shared air of solidarity through creativity and collaboration, “I See You”!
KUTX supports Austin music; your support makes KUTX possible. Donate today.
Your Austin Music Minute maven is missing KUTX’s Studio 1A performances something fierce, and that got me to thinking about a major AMM fave who played 1A back in February.
It was awesome having Olivia Jean come by the station for some major shredding, in support of Night Owl, the Detroit native’s second solo album recorded and produced by Olivia herself, and an absolute killer. Hear a snippet of the title track on today’s AMM, and while you’re enjoying the album, make sure to check out her badass rendition of “Jaan Pehechaan Ho” (complete with a music video that has all the lyrics, thank you very much).
Make sure you catch Olivia Jean’s live stream performance and interview with FOXES Magazine at 2 p.m. (Central) today (Wed. April 15th) on FOXES’ Instagram live story. Night Owl is available through TMR as well as Olivia Jean’s Bandcamp.
All the rawk.
-Photography by Becca Heup.
National trends suggest people of color disproportionately affected by COVID-19. But in Texas, a data gap is leaving health officials empty handed. African American leaders call for the state to address concerns about a lack of data that could be the difference between life and death in some Texas communities. Harris County Commissioner and former State Senator Rodney Ellis joins us. Also, a much anticipated forecast ahead of hurricane season. And it’s only a game, or is it? How many Texans are spending their downtime online and much more today on the Texas Standard:
When he’s not scraping plaque and admonishing your flossing technique, Joe Sparacino moonlights here in town as the passionate, throaty, and ivory-pounding Dr. Joe. During his formative years in pastoral Kansas, Sparacino’s early discipline on piano and young exposure to blues fusers like Leon Russell, James Booker, and Ray Charles lent itself to the heavy-hitting beast that is now Dr. Joe and his backing band. With a sturdy horn section and the frontman’s proven doctorate in rocking out, Dr. Joe’s had little trouble getting deep into the gums of the local scene, and with only three tracks to their name as of yet, the group’s already managed to work alongside six-time Grammy winning producer Vance Powell, as well as Adrian Quesada and White Denim‘s Austin Jenkins.
Last weekend Dr. Joe graced Good Friday with his own sense of sonic spiritualism by way of his third-ever single, co-produced by KUTX favorite Abhi the Nomad and mixed and mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, “Believer”!
KUTX supports Austin music; your support makes KUTX possible. Donate today.
Ah, love in the time of coronavirus! But is it possible to date during social distancing? What of the frustrating debacle of any unrequited feelings? Austin-based songwriter Daisy O’Connor recently explained to your Austin Music Minute host via email that her new track “Evergreen” feels more relevant than ever, though it was recorded at Public Hi-Fi long before quarantine was implemented. Featuring co-producer Josh Halpern on drums and keys, and Gregory White on guitar and bass, “Evergreen” finds O’Connor facing the back-and-forth internal struggle – “It’s wrong / and it’s right,” the heart conspires with the mind.
Don’t miss O’Connor’s live stream performance at 8 p.m. tonight (Tues. April 14th) on Facebook Live. Donations welcome via Venmo, @daisy-oconnor and PayPal, paypal.me/daisyoconnor.
-Photography by Nicola Gell Photography & Art.
Governor Abbott puts millions of dollars into play to help small companies amid growing pressure from some to declare Texas reopened for business. Glimmers of hope with lots of red flags. That’s how the governor’s characterizing the fight against the Coronavirus. but is there a plan for getting back to normal? We’ll explore. Plus an international artery connecting Texas to the world, but in a time of COVID-19, dividing Texans themselves. And the push for vote by mail in this year’s presidential election. Could Texas pull it off? Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
In this edition of This Is Just To Say, The Closet Recordings, poet and novelist Carrie Fountain reads, “If This is Paradise,” by Dorianne Laux.
Texas native Ali Holder was first brought up on outlaw country but in the decades since, her sensibilities have sponged up the likes of Janis Joplin, Wilco, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, Jenny Lewis, Patty Griffin, Neko Case, and more recently Possessed by Paul James and Brandi Carlile. The result is an outstanding auteur who doesn’t feel restrained by any one genre in her guitar/vocal-driven songwriting, be it with indie, jazz, blues, folk, country, or Americana.
Holder moved to Austin after college and quickly harbored her talent within the folk-centric Ali Holder & the Broken Hearted as well as the R&B-inspired Ali Holder & the Raindoggs. Now, following up two EPs and one LP under her namesake, Ali Holder has just shared a dozen new brutally honest tracks on her sophomore solo full-length, Uncomfortable Truths. Staying faithful to its title, Uncomfortable Truths finds Holder tapping deep into her emotions and inner thoughts, proving itself as a set of confessionals across topics like marriage, creativity, chronic pain, privilege, empathy and more through an impressive palette of styles. Uncomfortable Truths came out last Friday and since nobody can really claim the “I don’t have time” excuse these days, go ahead and get started with the album opener, “Take Me As I Am”!
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This week on The Breaks, Confucius and Fresh:
Listen to this episode of The Breaks
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Gina Chavez tiene nueva música para compartir contigo, amigas. So get ready. “Ella“ drops on Friday, April 17th.
Speaking of music for you, Chavez continues her weekly live stream performances each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8 p.m. (Central) on Facebook Live. It’s a cure for the isolation blues, because Chavez is committed to the actual show, going above and beyond with a most insightful look into the creative process, complete with themes for each streaming day.
Monday: Loopy Lunes – live music loops galore as Chavez manifests a magical beast for your listening pleasure. It’s alive!
Wednesday: Watchale Wednesday – Keep your eyes peeled for all manner of badass musical experiences. What will it be this week?? You have to watch to find out…
Friday: Fiesta Friday – The days may feel as though they blend into one another lately, but Chavez keeps Friday as the party day with an end-of-the-week blowout.
The fun includes songwriting on the spot, and if we’re lucky, a special appearance by Chavez’s wife Jodi Granado. All of the awesome.
-Photography by Ismael Quintanilla III.