Join KUTX as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Armadillo World Headquarters, the music venue that helped put Austin on the musical map. In this bonus episode, hear how the Armadillo became the unlikely home for punk rock and new wave in Austin: Joe Ely blows away the Clash. The Ramones put their bodies on the line. The Runaways inspire an Austin musician to form one of the most popular bands of all time. Hardcore punk gets a Texas flavor. And the Armadillo crowd won’t let the Police leave until they play their entire set–again.
Archives for August 2020
All Spaced Out
Perhaps you’ve done more than your fair share of spacing out during quarantine. This will be even better.
Austin-based songwriter and musician Gary Newcomb, known throughout the universe as Sweet Gary, has shared various bits of pedal-steel magic throughout the COVID madness, everything from a song inspired by his love for red wine (since replaced by an admiration for a good pilsner, if it’s on hand), a flower-inspired piece or two, and some generally badass noodling. This week, Newcomb presents a special livestream performance featuring improvised instrumentals on the ol’ twelve-string that could fly in any direction.
Catch Sweet Gary’s Thursday Space Out, starting at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, Thursday August 20, on his Facebook and Instagram.
-Photo courtesy of the artist.
Jay Wile: “Lifetime”
For the past couple of weeks you’ve heard an awful lot about our August 2020 Artist of the Month Jay Wile, whose motivation through quarantine has been nothing short of stellar. Jay just dropped his R&B/hip-hop-leaning Better Times EP and was recently featured at the heart of a social distancing pop-up video.
You’ll be able to hear more from Jay Wile at 6PM this Saturday for his My KUTX session and today mellow out to the EP closer and by far one of Better Times‘ best (and the studio rendition of his pop-up pick), “Lifetime”!
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Motenko Vibe
Austin-based songwriter Micah Motenko fell in love with the Motown sound when he was a kid. That’s the kind of thing that shapes your mind as you grow, and it definitely shaped the way he’s in love with music today. Anybody who plays the keys like that has got to be in love with it.
In 2018, he formed his band Motenko, and created an outlet for all of his influences shine to through – ‘60s and ‘70s soul, ‘90s R&B, New Orleans boogie-woogie. Hear for yourself when Motenko is joined by Dana Marie on bass for a live stream duo set at 7 p.m. Central tomorrow night, Wednesday August 19, on Motenko’s Facebook and Instagram. And while you’re at it, check out the video for “Silhouette,” the track on today’s AMM.
-Photo courtesy of the artist.
Texas Standard: August 18, 2020
Sisters in Texas, Brothers in Texas! Today we commemorate and reflect on 100 years of women voters and we do it on the Standard.
Voting by mail and some challenges facing Texans. How the army helps Texans fight against COVID-19. And one scientist who’s painting a more accurate picture of the past and future spread of the virus
Is it possible to have it all at 15? Including a book deal? A Texas story that is sweeter than honey.
And we lay a virtual wreath at the feet of the graves of the suffragettes. Wear a white dress- this is the Texas Standard.
Phil Augusta Jackson: “Get It”
Currently in L.A. by way of Philly, Phil Augusta Jackson spends a good chunk of his time writing, directing, and acting, as one often does near the Hollywood sign. But when Jackson’s not racking up awards and nominations for shows he’s helped produce, including HBO’s Insecure, he’s also one hell of a rapper.
Jackson’s latest creation comes in the form of his upcoming six-song EP, The Redondo Tape, and he’s been prefacing it with a couple singles and music videos. The Redondo Tape is out September 4th and today you can inhale those sweet West Coast vibes on its latest offering (and visual counterpart) that make for a great track for both working out or just cruisin’, “Get It”!
The Lonesome Lounge
Extraordinary occasions call for extraordinary people. Your Austin Music Minute maven has just the person for you.
Garrett T. Capps is not your ordinary vaquero. The San Antonio-based music artist is bounding beyond genre lines from cosmic country into otherworldly Americana territory with his LP All Right, All Night, then leaping into fiery rock riffs on the seven-track EP TALKIN’ BOUT LUV. All Capps. (See what I did there?? All Capps? Okay.)
Great performer, great songwriter, lover of great sandwiches. He tweets about the sandwiches. And usually, you’d find Capps performing at, and booking shows for, St. Mary St.’s honky-tonk hang The Lonesome Rose.
Then stupid COVID-19 has to come along and put live shows to a halt. Boo for that. However, Capps is playing host to a new live stream series, The Lonesome Lounge: Local Sessions, presented by Texas Public Radio. The first guest for the bi-weekly series is none other than “El Chief,” Santiago Jimenez, Jr. Catch the show at 7 p.m. Central tonight, Monday August 17, on Facebook Live.
And, as Capps loves to say, ¡VIVA!
-Photo of Garrett T. Capps courtesy of the artist.
Dyana Williams (Ep. 37, 2020)
This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Dyana Williams, a veteran radio and television personality, music industry professional, member of the Board of Directors of the National Museum of African American Music, and co-originator and co-founder of Black Music Month.
Texas Standard: August 17, 2020
Lovers of the political theater get two extra hours of screen time today as the Democratic National Convention kicks off.
COVID cases in children are steadily increasing , says the CDC. And yet, in-person classes have resumed in some Texas school districts.
Airlines are losing money — but airlines are hoarding money? How those two can be true.
Join us as we re-imagine the US postal service. This reimagining has to do with healthcare and wellness checks that could come along with your mail.
WAP!
This week on The Breaks Fresh and Confucius:
- Talk about why they love “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan thee Stallion and explain why they’re frustrated by the backlash surrounding the song.
- Celebrate the birth of hip-hop on on August 11, 1973. That’s when DJ Kool Herc threw the “Back to School Jam” at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, NYC.
- Debate what it means for a song to be “a hit.”
- In his Unpopular Opinion, Fresh states that the XXL Magazine Freshman Class is still relevant.
- Confucius encourages people to rethink what closure means in his Confucius Says segment.
Help Society: “Better”
There’s a big grocery list of bands that I miss seeing due to quarantine, but COVID circumstances aside, Austin outfit Knifight hasn’t really been the same since synth-player/vocalist Patrick Marshall moved to New Orleans. But Marshall’s semi-recent move to NOLA didn’t put an end to his music, instead it came alongside a re-embracing of solo material that never quite meshed with Knifight and the like.
Thus, after nearly a decade and a half, Help Society was reborn and, more than ever before, able to capture the unfiltered emotions experienced over the years. The nine tracks on Help Society’s debut solo album Gettin’ Low and Lettin’ Go feature Marshall’s synth and vocal work front and center to channel themes of acceptance and closure, and for the remainder of the year, 100% of streaming and album sales revenue will be donated directly to the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation. Gettin’ Low and Lettin’ Go already came out back at the start of June, but Marshall’s been dropping a few music videos here and there to keep the energy going, including one that sonically channels ’80s new wave in the vain of Tears For Fears or INXS while visually referencing games like Final Fantasy in its graphics for a complete package of aural altruism on “Better”!
Saturday Live Streams
Oftentimes, your Austin Music Minute maven gets greedy with a little extra for the AMM. Can’t help it. Here is some live stream action to celebrate today, Saturday August 15 (apologies for saying “Saturday August 14” on the AMM; yes, it is the 15th, but what do days and months mean anymore…?):
-The third annual Austin’s Birthday Bash, hosted by Republic Square, is online this year, featuring an excellent all-local line-up curated by Chaka of Riders Against the Storm. They share the bill with Torre Blake (the single “Ain’t Thinkin'” is featured on today’s AMM), Sam Houston and Vonne. The two-hour celebration starts at 6 p.m. (Central) tonight on Facebook Live. Find more details at the Republic Square website.
–Tomar and the FCs are featured on Bud’s Live and Direct live stream show, direct from Bud’s Recording Studio. The show starts at 7:05 p.m.(Central) tonight on Bud’s YouTube channel and Facebook Live.
-Photo of Torre Blake by Julia Reihs for KUTX.
Social Media and The Brain
Our brains really cannot comprehend the hundreds of thousands, even millions, of people who have access to what we post on social media.
On this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about how and why posting on social media is the “high-tech version of picking your nose at a stoplight.”
Back Home To The Armadillo
In August of 1970, a music venue opened on the corner of Barton Springs Road and South First in Austin, Texas. The building was an old National Guard armory—no air conditioning, no seating, just a giant cavernous space that frankly, was not well suited for music. Yet this local eyesore would go on to change the identity of Austin, culturally, politically, and artistically. Its reverberations would be felt far and wide, helping turn Austin into the Live Music Capital of the World. This is the story of how that happened. This is the story of the Armadillo World Headquarters.
Join KUTX as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of this historic music venue. Hear an hour-long oral history featuring staff, musicians, and fans. They trace the Armadillo’s immense impact as a music incubator, community gathering space, and home to hundreds of life-altering concerts: Willie Nelson to Frank Zappa. The Runaways to the Ramones. Freddie King to the Clash. You’ll learn why 50 years later, the Armadillo World Headquarters is still a beacon for Austin’s past, present, and future.
KUT Weekend – August 14, 2020
Austin’s city council cuts the police budget. Plus, how Census changes could take political power and funding from Texas Latinos. And a funeral home founder dies from COVID-19. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
Subscribe at https://weekend.kut.org
Show Number Three
Yesterday’s Q&Q live stream with …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead on Facebook had a little bit of everything for the ultra-fan. Jason Reece, Conrad Keely and AJ Vincent (who hovered in the back on a studio computer screen, social-distance style) shared tour stories, venue memories, thoughts on concept albums, how playing live stream shows feels, tidbits on all the goods, really. Like, “Will You ever do Worlds Apart in its entirety?”
And…there were the basic…basics: “If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?”
Laughter erupted. “That sounds like hell,” Reece chuckled.
“Oooh man, that’s brutal,” Keely said. “What a brutal question. It’d be an album called Spotify.”
“Lou Reed‘s Metal Machine Music,” Reece chimed in.
Vincent had no earthly idea, and rightly so. I mean, how does one even begin…?!
But that’s the best part of Q&A’s with your favorite band, riffing back and fourth and having fun with it, which is exactly what the guys did, all in anticipation of this evening’s big event. This is the third Trail of Dead livestream show during the pandemic, and the longest livestream set to date, including many rare and never-before-played songs. The show starts at 8 p.m. (Central) tonight, Friday August 14, live from the Mosaic Sound Collective studio.
You can get your virtual ticket from Trail of Dead’s website. Click on the AUGUST 14 date on the right. Twenty percent of ticket sales will be donated to select independent record stores across the U.S., which are struggling to remain open because of COVID-19. And Trail of Dead merch is also available.
-Photography by Michael Minasi for KUTX.
Texas Standard: August 14, 2020
A new bill coming before Texas lawmakers next year addresses police action and accountability. It’s called the George Floyd Act, we’ll have the latest. Also, a Texas federal prison has more COVID-19 positive inmates than any other facility in the country. What’s being done about it. And what are you still wondering about the Coronavirus? We put your questions to a doctor. Plus, what Kamala Harris said about Texas in this election season before she became the VP nominee. And 50 years later… why it’s still worth remembering a long-gone Austin music venue. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Willie’s Always Right
The pandemic and its toll on lives and livelihoods cause many to feel strong negative emotions: fear, anger, stress, depression. Those feelings are valid. But a reminder from a dream version of one iconic Texan might be just what some need in these dark moments. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
DOSSEY: “This Feeling”
As a firm opponent of the phrase “disco sucks”, Austin multi-instrumentalist songwriter-producer DOSSEY has always had more than just a soft spot for the retro stuff. DOSSEY’s Chic-meets-tUnEyArds/Madonna-meets-Dua Lipa style incorporates all the best elements of ’70s disco-funk and ’80s synth-pop into modern electronic production, giving a space for DOSSEY to stay mindful and progressive with the romantic atmospheres she conjures.
And today, perfect for Austin Pride Month, DOSSEY’s shared a new single made in collaboration with Blue October bassist Matt Novesky for a poppy anthem that champions freedom of love without shame, “This Feeling”!
KUTX supports Austin music; your support makes KUTX possible. Donate today.