Austin Music Minute

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April 27, 2022

Brian Jonestown Massacre at Stubb’s

By: Laurie Gallardo

Anton Newcombe. Photo courtesy of Owen Conway.

A lot has happened since Brian Jonestown Massacre made their 1992 debut with the single “She Made Me/Evergreen.” A total of 18 albums were recorded by the various incarnations of the San Francisco-based outfit, led through the journey of ups, downs and unexpected sideways jaunts by songwriter/producer Anton Newcombe. Now, from Newcombe’s Berlin studio – and from the flames raging within, emerges BJM’s 19th release Fire Doesn’t Grow On Trees.

“When you are compelled to do the right thing, when you live by some internal code, and you don’t shy away from standing up to, and in the face, of adversity, or against the mob, or the man, no matter what that might mean to ‘your fame or prospects,’ it’s doing the right thing,” says Newcombe, sharing the insight behind the title. “…That’s a fire inside you, and it doesn’t grow on trees. I create my own culture because it is what I need and what I feel isn’t being provided. It doesn’t exist unless I participate.”

BJM’s Texas tour dates include a show in Austin tomorrow night, Thursday April 28, at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater. Doors at 7 p.m., and Mercury Rev opens the show.


Episodes

August 31, 2022

A Love No Longer

Even if you bothered looking behind you, nothing would be there. Only ghosts. The heartbreaking, gut-wrenching romances of the past tend to fade over time. Yet there are those fleeting moments of wondering why…what the hell was it about…and maybe even, whom. Who was this person, and why did it feel like the end of […]

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August 30, 2022

Fantasy Gateway

The bedroom can be a great spot for recording your music. Get it done on your time, and put something together the moment you’re inspired. Omar “Cuco” Baños is among a league of bedroom-pop artists that got it done that way. Nothing uncommon about the method. But if one of your tracks blows up on […]

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August 29, 2022

Far In

Far In, the seventh studio album by Roberto Carlos Lange‘s genre-defying musical incarnation Helado Negro, was inspired by a desert landscape familiar to many Texans. Those who love Marfa often comment on its natural beauty and the moods it seems to invoke. Whatever the case, it seems Marfa’s atmospheric wonder impacted Lange’s own creative exploration […]

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August 26, 2022

For the Love of SIMS

Get to know the SIMS Foundation, because it’s an extraordinary presence in the Austin music scene – really, a unique entity that has yet to be replicated anywhere else in the U.S. Founded in 1995 and honoring the memory of Austin musician Sims Ellison, SIMS set out to increase access to mental health care and […]

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August 25, 2022

Rock the Funk

Another all ATX line-up takes over the outside stage at the Mohawk this weekend, Saturday Aug. 27. It’s lightning striking three times, baby: Brownout already had something special with their eclectic spins of Latin funk, soul and psyched-up grooves. Yet these sonic explorations took them to another level with mind-blowingly unconventional covers, like their Public […]

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August 24, 2022

I Don’t Mind

So…the exposure one might get through Tami Roman‘s explosive Unfaithful series on VH1 may not be the kind some folks are looking for. (Unsolicited tip – stop trying to talk your way outta that one, fool, they caught you on camera…) But the AMM brings news of a better kind of exposure: Austin-based artist Alesia […]

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August 23, 2022

Maestro

JaRon Marshall has honed his skills as a musician and producer since he first got his hands on sequencers and DAWs (digital audio workstation) at the age of 14. This shaped the sophisticated composer we hear behind the infectious beats and multi-layered funk/jazz/soul/hip-hop coalescence of The Gold Tapes: Vol. 1-3 and monumental EP The Black […]

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August 22, 2022

Bear Songs

Austin-based songwriter Bear Ryan was born in Arlington, TX, the youngest of four children. Music was a part of her life, though it wasn’t through music lessons. Instead, Ryan absorbed all the music her family listened to – old vinyl, eight-tracks, and cassette tapes of everything from The Beach Boys to John Denver, Frank Sinatra […]

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