Archives for September 2020

Texas Standard: September 4, 2020

After major cuts in the budget for police in the capitol city, Texas’ governor warns of a possible takeover of policing by the DPS. That story and more on the Texas Standard.

Children are dying- so says a federal judge warning Texas isn’t doing enough to protect kids in foster care. The latest from Bob Garrett of the Dallas Morning News.

A border wall–about to fall? A new engineering report warns a three mile section built in south Texas could tumble, as a legal fight to bring it down rages on.

Also the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and more.

The Death Of The Handshake

In the age of social distancing, some traditional ways of greeting one another have fallen to the wayside. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

72 Hours In Newport – Band of Heathens – Black Cat

Episode 2 of 72 Hours in Newport features Austin-based Americana troubadours, Band of Heathens! In this episode our confessor recounts some of his grandfather’s best stories – from coming to America in a barrel to wrestling a panther – Are they true? Are they false? Does it matter? Walker and Gordy Quist (of BOH) discuss the power of family origin stories and the making of “Black Cat.”

For a deeper dive into Americans’ origin history, check out this episode of Code Switch on how projects are using DNA tests to talk about race in America. Listen Here.

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Investment

It’s true investing is not for the faint of heart, but have you ever wondered why?

In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of investing.

Golden Aquarians: “High Enough”

Once again it’s New Music Friday and today we’ve got the debut track from a just unfurled production duo. I’m talking about Golden Aquarians, a collaboration between songwriter-producer Sarah Jaffe and multi-instrumentalist-producer Roberto Sanchez, a relationship first forged between the two while on Jaffe’s SMUT EP tour.

Now settled into their home base in New York, today these Texans released their first offering under the Golden Aquarians handle, “High Enough”, featuring a pedal steel performance from Israel Nash’s Eric Swanson and a colorful, retro-sidescroller-inspired animated video to boot. And with Jaffe’s scathing take on apathy in the midst of disease and social unrest, all proceeds generated from “High Enough” will go directly to The Loveland Foundation, so cough up a couple dollars if you can for this surreal, sample-and-synth-soaked single!

–Photo: Dani Okon

The Shadow Knows

The title of this AMM post is a nice and nerdy double reference. On the one hand, ye olde Austin Music Minute host was thinking of the narrator from a pulp novel series (and eventually radio drama) back in the day, all mysterious and sinister, cloaked in darkness. But The Shadow also happens to be the latest LP by Seattle-based trio Naked Giants. Holy hell, what a badass follow-up to 2018’s awesome garage/punk/pop roller coaster ear feast SLUFF.

The Shadow unleashes killer fuzz and lightning riffs that feels like something out of early-Sub Pop…and beyond. Today’s AMM-featured track “Take A Chance” is damn well ’70s-ish rock anthemic but with funky adrenaline-pumping drums. Then that’s followed by the darkened ’80s-pop video fog “Turns Blue,” only to have the train track switch on a dime yet again with the rock amplified “(God Damn!) What I Am,” then drift into the hazy twang-opened harmonied slide of “The Ripper.” This kind of genre-jumping is magic when executed like this.

Naked Giants are on the line-up in Grounded!, a livestream series hosted by Seattle-based nonprofit record label Big BLDG, which includes The Grizzled Mighty and the Marina Albero Trio, featuring Serena. The livestream starts at 9 p.m. Central tonight, Thursday September 3, on Facebook Live.

Texas Standard: September 3, 2020

April in Texas again? The Lone Star State approaches another potential tipping point as the governor hints at possible re-openings, we’ll have the latest. Also, as college campuses reopen, the look is not good on the COVID-19 front. How colleges and universities are struggling to control spiking case numbers. Plus more sports fans feeling they can’t sit on the sidelines right now, literally and figuratively. A Texas author weighs in on loving sports when they don’t love you back. And remembering the late actor Chadwick Boseman. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Salvasquared: “Streets” (feat. Wardo)

Although he’s got strong ties to El Salvador, Edgar Umana’s enjoyed a fruitful life right here in Austin. For the past decade and a half Umana’s built up a reputation as both MC and producer under the handle Salvasquared, having joined Rhyme Stack in 2005, a full ten years before the release of his debut solo album Peleamos.

Since then Salvasquared’s upshifted his level of productivity, having spent some time in South Korea producing instrumental tracks before teaming up with Tesfa for their bi-lingual 2019 album Nomadas. Just last Friday Salvasquared shared Based On True Stories, a well-calculated ten-track that delves even further into the lyricists already introspective nature and bolstered by a couple strong guest appearances, including one from Wardo on the record’s gritty, penultimate offering.

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Sweet Sour Music

Having a foggy memory at best, thanks to years of endless music absorption, your Austin Music Minute host has some wires crossed when recalling exactly when I first heard The Sour Notes. Their 2010 release It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty figures prominently, thanks to “Do-ers and Say-ers.” But even before then, there were repeated plays of “Holy Terror” from their 2009 LP Received In Bitterness. Then again, revisiting the band’s 2008 debut, The Meat of the Fruit, brings back a flurry of memories.

Through line-up changes, highs and lows, one hell of a discography – including an album of Sour Notes remixes by fellow Austin artists, loads of press and endless touring, The Sour Notes are still creating like mad. These days, founding members Jared Boulanger and Amarah Boulanger perform as a trio with drummer Jeremy Harrell. And, finding time to pause during the pandemic like so many of their musical colleagues, they’re using this moment to reflect on their career. Join The Sour Notes for an all-Sour Notes Video Retrospective at 10 p.m. (Central) tonight, Wednesday September 2, on Austin Music Television Channel 16 and at AMT’s website.

-Video image art courtesy of Jared Boulanger.

Texas Standard: September 2, 2020

It is the first detailed look at the impact of the pandemic on state services and it includes a billion dollars in cutbacks. A thick document detailing how hard COVID-19 will hit Texas’ budgetary bottom line, the biggest hit to social services. Asher Price of the Austin American Statesman got the story and he joins us. Also, a Texas state senator demanding congress step forward to help find out why so many apparent killings at Fort Hood. And does a Texas city really hold the nation’s top spot in a jump in crime? A Politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:

Slug: “Hangouts” (feat. Chucky Blk)

Remote collaboration’s become the name of the game in 2020, so it’s no surprise that we’ve seen more than a couple new groups pop up over the past few months. And today we’re putting Slug under the microscope, the international three-piece of composer-producers made up of White Denim’s Greg Clifford, Soul Food Horns’ Louk Cox, and No. 18’s Chase Goldman, all graduates of the UT Jazz Department. They’ve worked together for the past six years but it’s only been in 2020 that they’ve released their debut EP under the new handle, despite being separated across Austin, Rotterdam, and L.A.

Loot Takers came out last Friday, featuring a handful of outstanding features, perhaps most notably on the appropriately-titled “Hangouts”, highlighting both Austin rapper Chucky Blk and Chicago trumpeter Noe Mina for a track that sounds like a mix of Miles Davis’ Doo-Bop and MF Doom’s Operation Doomsday.

Solidarity for Sanctuary

Solidarity for Sanctuary began as a series of concerts in 2017, created by artist manager and activist Doris Muñoz, who put the shows together to help raise funds for her family’s immigration fees. But it soon evolved into a bigger, more proactive platform, amplifying the voices of immigrant communities through music, art and advocacy.

This week, Solidarity for Sanctuary presents another outstanding line-up of performances by Carla Morrison, iLe, Alaina Castillo, Lido Pimienta (“Eso Que Tu Haces” from the album Miss Columbia is featured on today’s Austin Music Minute), Combo Chimbita, Nitty Scott, Kaina, and recent 2020 Tiny Desk contest winner Linda Diaz. The show starts at 6 p.m. (Central) tonight, Tuesday September 1, on the Amazon Music Twitch channel.

This is a lot of awesome musical discovery to lose yourself in. Go for it.

-Photo of Lido Pimienta courtesy of the artist.

Texas Standard: September 1, 2020

DIY vaccines? Groups of scientists going their own way to try to develop new tools to combat the pandemic, But is it legal or ethical? We’ll have more on DIY vaccines. Also Dr. Fred Campbell of UT Health San Antonio is back to answer more questions from listeners about COVID-19. And with renewed scrutiny on long standing racial disparities, the spotlight turns to interpreters for the deaf in Texas. Plus 75 years after V-J day, how veterans and a Texas museum dedicated to the war in the pacific are marking the moment. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Sango: “Kalimba Funk”

Seattle producer and DJ Sango has always considered himself to be a man of culture. And while that might come across as a bit of a back-patting statement to some, Sango always follows through by building a trade route of genre styles across hemispheres.

This year Sango continues his Da Rocinha series, emphasizing the rich historical background behind Funk Carioca and eventual origins of funk, with the upcoming fourth installment created in direct support of Brazil’s various communities. Da Rocinha 4 drops September 25th through Soulection Records and melds a ton of North American/South American subgenres into something adventurous and new. Listen for yourself on its lead single and maybe even invest in getting the titular instrument for yourself to pass the time, on “Kalimba Funk”!

–Photo: Nick Beeba