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November 18, 2019

Ghost Town Atlas

Austin Music Minute

By: Laurie Gallardo

This is magical. No two ways about it. Delve deeply into an ethereal experience made orchestral with beautiful voices and layers of strings, horn, organ and percussion placed within some undefinable cinematic landscape. Dwight Smith presents poetry lovingly created with extraordinarily-placed sounds – unusual in the fact that the arrangements of these new songs cannot be stiflingly placed within one single genre.

Ghost Town Atlas, featuring a few familiar talents contributing to the songs, including Molly Burch, Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski, is a compellingly beautiful portrait with a distinctive voice reaching beyond any singular definition of folk. Join Smith for his album release show tonight at Cheer Up Charlie’s, 901 Red River, sharing the bill with Daphne Tunes and Food Group.

An outstanding bill all around. Doors at 9 p.m. Very recommended.

-Photography by Nathan James Wilkins.

October 21, 2019

Living in Austin as a Musician

Views and Brews

By: Jack Anderson

Listen back to our Views and Brews discussion recorded live at The Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas as we ask What is Austin Music and Can it Feed Your Family? 

KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with Graham Reynolds, Redd Volkaert, Leslie Sisson, Thor Harris, and Brannen Temple to talk about collaborating across musical cultures; what it means to sustain a musical scene; and what musicians need from the city and the community in order to thrive.

October 20, 2019

Higher Ed: How To Keep Tired Students Engaged? Help Them Produce – Not Just Consume – Knowledge

Higher Ed

By: Jennifer Stayton

Students have a lot of tugging at their energy and attention including classes, homework, jobs and activities. In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton strategize on how to keep exhausted students engaged in the classroom.

“I teach an elementary math methods course. My students are seniors who are concurrently student teaching. They have two 3-hour classes each Monday and they are in classrooms the rest of the week. My class is the Monday afternoon class. I am struggling to keep their interest for three hours…. Any ideas on how I can get my tired students engaged and interested for three whole hours?”

Speaking from experience, Ed says several teaching strategies can help keep students’ (or anyone’s) attention when they are low on energy and rest but have a long stretch of classroom or meeting time ahead.

First of all, try to make the longer class feel like a shorter class.

“You’ve got to make sure that you give time for breaks. That’s number one,” says Ed. “It can’t be a three hour block.”

Ed also believes teachers need to inspire and support students’ curiosity about the material.

“Teachers should never be answering a question that [students] are not at that moment asking,” Ed believes. “So the real challenge in teaching math, or frankly, teaching anything … is to bring students to a place where they look at us and say ‘well, how do you do that?’ And than you say ‘I am so glad you asked!'”

He says fueling that curiosity will not only drive engagement and participation but also learning.

“If you make it into a riddle or a puzzle or a conundrum, then there’s this curiosity of ‘how come that person did it and I don’t know how to do it?'” says Ed. “And then it’s like ‘show me how. Show me the secret.’ So it’s like magic. ‘Show me a magic illusion and then show me the secret behind the curtain.’ And all of a sudden they’re learning.”

That active learning will, Ed believes, puts students in the position of creating more ideas themselves, which will in turn keep them more involved in what’s happening in the classroom.

“The more you can create active learning in the classroom or even outside the classroom,” says Ed, “we learn better when we are actively engaged and we’re the producers of the ideas rather than merely the consumers of the ideas.”

Of course, it’s hard to get around the fact that a three hour class is a long stretch of time. Ed says in his opinion, even 50 minute classes are too long. For him, an ideal class would last about 20 minutes in rotation with other subjects.

So Ed says one way to break up the time into smaller chunks is to introduce a new element every 20-25 minutes. What about something like a puzzler? Listen to this week’s full episode to hear more ideas on keeping students (or anyone) engaged and to get the solution to last week’s puzzler. We will cross that bridge when we get to it!

This episode was recorded on Sept. 25, 2019.

October 16, 2019

Lucas Jack: “Send Some Fire Down”

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

After half a decade of practicing corporate law in Chicago, Lucas Jack made a hard left turn, ditched the attorney’s digs, and doubled down on his dream of becoming a full-time songwriter. Jack established his piano-centric sound across his first three records, but he couldn’t do it without the help of drummer Michael Gomez and bassist Justin Schneider, who continue to perform alongside the eponymous frontman.

The next chapter in the Lucas Jack saga is the upcoming Forever and Nowhere, venturing a bit away from the acoustic piano to embrace vintage electric pianos and synths. You can see the trio 10pm next Tuesday at Saxon Pub, you can learn more about Lucas Jack with their recent five-part documentary, Send Some Fire Down and you can enjoy the new album’s lead single of the same name right now!

September 4, 2019

Joan Shelley: “The Fading”

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Kentucky’s Joan Shelley may be influenced by the traditional music of the United States and the United Kingdom, but don’t call her a folk singer. Think more of a soft country mix between Dolly Parton and Roger Miller, with an earnest temperament that’s landed her opening spots for Andrew Bird and Wilco.

Shelley’s been building up her repertoire for most of the past decade but it’s only after the release of her fourth full-length in 2015 that she’s broken out of the local scene to conquer tours across the US and Europe. Last Friday Shelley continued her naturalistic saga with Like the River Loves the Sea, twelve new tracks recorded in Reykjavík, Iceland that are still firmly rooted in Louisville. Shelley kicks off an extended national tour at the end of the month, and today you can treat yourself to an animated video for one of the album’s lead singles, “The Fading”!

Photo: Amber Estes Thieneman

August 8, 2019

Dori Freeman: “That’s How I Feel”

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

With nine years of guitar strumming and more than two decades of non-stop singing under her belt, Southwestern Virginia’s Dori Freeman brings a modern mind to traditional roots music. Freeman’s sound is swayed by all colors of Americana, with a calming vibrato that’s already proved to be the perfect mate to her candid, contemporary lyricism across her first two full-lengths.

Marking Freeman’s third collaboration with British folk-rocker Teddy Thompson, the next chapter in Freeman’s discography is Every Single Star. The record is out September 27th, but Dori Freeman’s shared a well-rounded Americana appetizer ahead of time, “That’s How I Feel”!

August 7, 2019

Mikal Cronin: “Show Me”

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Through his support behind Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, King Tuff and more, you’ve already heard the multi-instrumental work of Mikal Cronin across a few different avenues. Cronin upgraded his status from sideman to solo songwriter in 2011 with the first of three self-titled albums, all of which explore sounds ranging from indie rock to garage punk and noise pop.

But in the wake of 2015’s MCIII, Cronin reckoned with a few years of changing relationships, being on the road, and a serious case of writer’s block. To cope, the L.A. native took to rural isolation in the small mountain town of Idyllwild in composing his new album, but when a series of arsons drove Cronin back to the city, fire and its symbolism of death and rebirth became the underlying theme of his upcoming fourth record, Seeker, out October 25th. With production techniques akin to the White Album and instrumental arrangements reminiscent of Tom Petty, Seeker is a scorcher and a must-have for your collection.

Mikal Cronin will be at The Barracuda on November 27th as part of his North American tour, but to keep you warm til the release and subsequent live show, enjoy of Cronin’s personal favorites from Seeker, “Show Me”!

June 11, 2019

Texas Standard: June 11, 2019

Texas Standard

By: David Brown

With Twitter flourishes and media fanfare the Governor signs new legislation declaring Texas Republicans the party of results. Why that could be fear talking. Today on the Texas Standard.
With Texas Democrats promising a record setting turnout in the 2020 election cycle, Governor Abbott’s pulling out the stops to pitch GOP unity over ideological purity.

Also, two years since the controversial Trans-Pecos pipeline went into service. Now many more projects in the pipeline- we’ll hear what’s at stake.

And, not just Central Americans but an increasing number of central Africans crossing the southern border.

June 8, 2019

Here and There

Austin Music Minute

By: Laurie Gallardo

Behold this dynamic duo to keep your ears out for, combining a beautiful sound with just the right tinge of something slightly dark. Of course your Austin Music Minute maven digs this.

Robin Alice (that’s a duo, not a person) began as a meeting of musical minds on a movie set. Songwriter and actress Kelley Jakle and Jeff Hortillosa (Whiskey Shivers) crossed paths during the filming of Pitch Perfect 3 – and technically where Jakle and Horti played their first songs together. They continued their collaboration via email, and reunited in Austin to get their ideas recorded. With contrasting backgrounds of pop/rock and bluegrass/Americana, respectively, the two artists forged a common thread of melody and harmonies.

Robin Alice celebrates the release of their debut EP, Here and There, with a show tonight at Radio Coffee & Beer, 4204 Manchaca. The magnificent Lex Land’s project of funereal folk-core (your elder-goth AMM host is ECSTATIC), One Big Dark Room, starts out the night.

Say it with me: One. Big. Dark. Room. The music starts at 8 p.m. Recommended.

May 28, 2019

Lee Ann Womack: “Hollywood”

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

With six million album sales, fourteen Grammy nominations, and two decades of straight excellence, Texas native Lee Ann Womack is one of the finest acts country music has to offer. And while Womack may be best known for the 2000 hit single “I Hope You Dance”, her ability to wander across the country genre from Parton-esque traditional style to pop, gospel, blues and Americana has kept her material fresh with each new record.

Womack’s ninth full-length, The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone, was met with critical acclaim when it first came out in 2017 and just last month she shared a music video for the album’s second single. Lee Ann Womack plays an intimate acoustic set tomorrow and Thursday night at the Cactus Cafe and today you can tear into some of her latest with “Hollywood”!

May 17, 2019

Adir L.C.: “Best Version (of my short life)”

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

While the prospect of being on the road all the time had Joey Ramone begging for sedatives, for Brooklyn songwriter Adir L.C., the journey really is the reward. The jangle indie folk jet setter got his start in New Jersey before college in New York and a subsequent two-year relocation to Tel Aviv, and in the process has become a sort of twenty-first century traveling bard.

That sense of kinetic creativity lent itself to Basket Star, Adir L.C.’s latest album and one that weaves together gentle horn arrangements, impressionistic lyrics and dreamy guitar across a dozen originals. Basket Star is available today so make the first move with the record’s inaugural track, “Best Version (of my short life)”!

Photo: Adam Kolodny

April 30, 2019

The Suitcase Junket: “Stay Too Long”

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Given the immense lyrical world and refined arrangements of The Suitcase Junket, it may surprise you that there’s just one storyteller behind the curtain. Multi-instrumentalist and sole songwriter Matt Lorenz (with his almost Dali-esque appearance) has been at it for awhile, zeroing in on The Suitcase Junket’s sound that’s somewhere in a cloud of folk, blues and psych rock. Lorenz’s latest offering, Mean Dog, Trampoline, encourages the spirit of curiosity in light of the world’s cynicism and he’s been spreading that message all across the United States since its release, continuing tonight at The Townsend.

The record was mixed by Vance Powell, who’s worked with Jack White and Houndmouth, making for Lorenz’s sturdiest album yet. So pop some latches on The Suitcase Junket before the show with “Stay Too Long”!

April 24, 2019

Kim Simpson: “By Lake Kavano”

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

For starters, this isn’t Kim Simpson‘s first rodeo with radio. He’s the current host of KOOP’s International Folk Bazaar , co-host of Around the Town Sounds and actually once had a spot with us here at KUTX hosting Folkways. On top of that, a book and a Ph.D., Simpson’s been strumming out his brand of sixties-and-seventies-inspired folk since well before his 1992 debut album, and doing a damn fine job of it too.

On his latest record The Comets Swish Their Tails, Simpson couples his distinctive fingerstyle guitar technique with striking lyrics, covering anything from spiritualism to folk remedies to “sky omens”. Oh, and he’s the sole performer of every single instrument across all fifteen tracks. The Comets Swish Their Tails came out back in January and the release show takes places one day before Kim Simpson’s 50th birthday, next Thursday, May 2nd at the Townsend. You can hear the full record whenever you get a chance but go ahead and kick back this Hump Day with an elegant acoustic tune: “By Lake Kavano”!

-Jack Anderson

April 5, 2019

Jake Lloyd: “Daily Interlude” (prod. DSII)

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Even if you’ve never tuned into The Breaks (which…shame on you if that’s the case), you’ll likely recognize the name Jake Lloyd. This hungry, young genre mixologist is constantly pushing himself out of his R&B comfort zone with influences ranging from rock, soul, funk and hip hop. Lloyd’s wolf-like energy channels through his growling-yet-smooth vocal chords, and across his regular live performances and studio recordings, he’s got an undeniable sense of braggadocio and showmanship.

Last Monday Jake Lloyd premiered his new music video exclusively through KUTX in advance of his upcoming album, MoonLit Mornings. Jake Lloyd plays next Wednesday at Hotel Vegas and you can kick off your weekend right now with Lloyd’s latest single, produced by fellow Austin artist DSII, “Daily Interlude”!

March 29, 2019

This Song: Jenny Lewis on “Govinda Jai Jai” by Alice Coltrane

This Song

By: Elizabeth McQueen

“Music is energy and music can be healing…music has so many different purposes, but at this stage in my life I’m looking for something that’s a little bit nourishing or just like a slight clue to the universe.” — Jenny Lewis

Jenny Lewis’ 4th record On the Line is a collection of songs that tackle love, lust, relationships and death. Lewis recorded the album in Capitol Records Studio B  with a band of legendary instrumentalists — Benmont Tench on keys,  Don Was on bass, and Jim Keltner on drums with contributions by Ringo Starr and Beck.

In this episode Jenny Lewis describes the effect that hearing  “Govinda Jai Jai” by Alice Coltrane while on a road trip across California with Jim James and Gary Burden had on her spirit  and on her approach to her new record.

Listen to this episode of This Song

Hear Jenny Lewis’ new record “On The Line”

Watch “On the Line Online”

Check out Jenny Lewis’ Tour Dates

Listen to Jim James’ episode of This Song

 

March 14, 2019

SXSW 2019: Thursday

Austin Music Minute

By: Laurie Gallardo

Keep those walking shoes on. You still have a lot to cover as you pound the pavement to some great performances tonight during South-By. The Austin Music Minute humbly offers you this little cross section of recommendations:

-The Chicken Ranch Records showcase at Valhalla, 710 Red River, includes AMM fave Mr. Lewis & The Funeral Five, LA surf punks Thee Idylls, New Delhi electronic artist Komorebi and more.

-A world/Latin/urban music showcase at Speakeasy, 412 Congress Ave., includes performances by Columbian bands Los Gaiteros de Ovejas, La Mojarra Electrica, singer Mabiland and more.

–Self-Sabotage Records hosts a showcase at the Museum of Human Achievement in East Austin, featuring Little Mazarn, exhalants, Daniel Francis Doyle and others.

–LIZZO is on the bill for a showcase at Stubb’s, 801 Red River, which includes King Princess, Car Seat Headrest, Cherry Glazerr, and Durand Jones and The Indications. 8 p.m.

-Photo of Mabiland courtesy of the artist.

February 6, 2019

Picturing Texas

Stories from Texas

By: W.F. Strong

Over the past decade I’ve seen more breathtakingly beautiful photographs of Texas than I saw in all the decades before, combined. This is thanks to social media where many photographers share their exquisite work online daily. I’ve made it a point to befriend these great visual artists so I can enjoy Texas in all its resplendent glory from mountain to sea, from high plains to the tropics. I will share with you the names of some of my favorites so that you can see Texas through their gifted eyes. Now this is just MY list, work I’ve come to know somewhat at random. Many of your favorites I will no doubt miss, but perhaps you can add mine to your list of favorites, and you can add yours to mine at the end of this commentary.

In no particular order, here we go.

Wyman Meinzer is the official State Photographer of Texas. He was given this honorary title by the 1997 Texas Legislature at the request of Governor George W. Bush. They wanted to recognize his extraordinary body of work that captures the varied landscapes of Texas and the people who work the land. I love his titles: Between Heaven and Texas, Windmill Tales, and Horses to Ride, Cattle to Cut – among the more than 20 books he has published.

They say he has “traveled to every corner of this great state… in search of the first and last rays of sunlight in its magnificent sweep across the Texas landscape.” Find him at www.wymanmeinzer.com

Jeff Lynch left his heart in West Texas. His photographs of the soft cotton clouds floating above the Davis Mountains on a summer’s day, or his pics of the shadows of those clouds roaming across the vast vistas of West Texas, will make you fall in love with that region just as he has.

See his work at Jeff Lynch Photography on Facebook and Instagram.

Carol M. Highsmith is what I call a photographic philanthropist. She has donated her entire body of U.S. photographs (including hundreds of Texas photos) to an online collection viewable anytime for free at the Library of Congress website. You can search her Texas Lyda Hill collection with simple words like “longhorns,” “cowboys,” or “Big Tex.” Her photographs are downloadable and royalty free. She is a visual documentarian. Her Texas work celebrates landscapes, cityscapes, small-town life, and the diverse cultures of the Lone Star State. Here is her web Library of Congress address:   https://www.loc.gov/collections/carol-m-highsmith/about-this-collection/

My favorite coastal photographer is John Martell. He says, “Texas is a photographer’s paradise.” Every day, it seems, from his base of operations in Rockport, he posts an awe-inspiring photo of a sunrise or sunset over Aransas bay. He says, “Texas is a rich treasure trove for nature lovers. As a photographer I want to capture the essence of these jewels. That always seems to be about the light, which translates into sunrises and sunsets.”

Find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JohnMartellPhotography/

Tim McKenna is to me the consummate photographer of Big Bend. In fact, he was commissioned to provide all the photos for the 2018 Big Bend National Park calendar. He can make a cactus flower in the desert look as delicate as a Tyler rose. He puts you in the moment of being bathed in the pink hues of an Emory Peak sunrise or enjoying the soft grey light of the desert after a rain – so real, you’d swear you can smell the musky tones of the damp creosote bushes around you. His work assures you that the desert is a place of infinite life. When he was a young man he hunted with a rifle. Now, he hunts with a camera. You can find him here: https://www.facebook.com/tim.mckenna.31

Larry White loves trains and old cars and trucks and hill country wildflowers. His photographs of a freight train rumbling through ancient East Texas forests or old trucks sitting in forgotten fields will stir your heart in new ways. His photograph of white horses grazing silently at sunrise in a field of bluebonnets is one of his best. No one is better at photographing wildflowers than Larry White. I think he was born with a camera in his hand.

You can find his work at https://www.facebook.com/larrywhitephotography/

Also, www.larrywhitephoto.com

If the stately nature of the King of Beasts, or the grace and beauty of tigers peaks your interest, then David Pine’s work will inspire you. His aim is to depict the essence of an animal in a still shot. “Still photography,” he says, “is the art of capturing a fleeting moment that can express the gamut of emotions not otherwise seen. You want to capture the soul of a creature through its eyes.” Many of his photos come from zoos and rescue zoos in Texas.

https://www.facebook.com/DavidPinePhotography

George McLemore is an incredibly artistic photographer of life in Texas (Texana), but most importantly to me – he has been the visual chronicler of my social circles for several decades now. For most of his life, he has preserved on film and online, the social gatherings and special events for all who have been in his orbit, and he has done it mostly for free. Thirty  years ago we found his covert clicking unnecessary. But now, for many of us, we realize that we would have no record of that time if it weren’t for him. And we are grateful for the treasures he shares with us often from his labyrinth of negatives and digital files. To all the McLemores of the world, I raise my Shiner Bock to them – those visionary souls who recognized the Kodak moments of our lives that we seemed blind to. www.mclemorephotography.com

February 6, 2019

Represent

Austin Music Minute

By: Laurie Gallardo

The celebration of Austin-based artists continues with #LoveAustinMusicMonth. KUTX is front and center with extra love for local artists across the board.

The bill mentioned on today’s Austin Music Minute is something special because it brings together different generations – classic Austin with a couple of badass music veterans, and a rising star in the local scene. They all share the line up tonight at The Continental Club, 1315 S. Congress Ave. It’s a cross section of what makes our fair city pretty damn cool:

-Not for the faint of heart, or easily-wounded egos. Which is exactly how it should be, damn it. He’s been called a poet, a razor-sharp master of sociopolitical commentary, acerbic, brave, and on fire. James McMurtry tells it like it is, and shows no mercy. Again…as it should be.

-Three-time Austin Music Hall of Fame inductee, former True Believers band member alongside Alejandro Escovedo, as well as a member of Austin’s first punk band The Skunks, a survivor, and all-around fantastic songwriter, Jon Dee Graham aims straight from the heart.

-His first gig was at the age of six at the Austin Music Awards. His debut release Foreign Fields (2015), recorded with his band The Painted Redstarts, scintillates with a breathy, dream-pop/rock-out aesthetic. William Harries Graham‘s new album JAKES comes out Feb.22.

Doors open at 9 p.m., and the music kicks off at 9:45 p.m. So recommended.

-Photo of William Harries Graham courtesy of the artist.

February 1, 2019

Love Austin Music: Go Fever

Austin Music Minute

By: Laurie Gallardo

Your Austin Music Minute maven has hearts in her fluttery eyes. But before you go, “Ewww…,” and get grossed out, remember that it’s all due to a musical celebration of the best kind.

February is Love Austin Music Month, and all month long KUTX, the City of Austin Music & Entertainment Division, the Austin Music Foundation and several other local music org’s will collectively shine the love light on Austin-based artists. True, KUTX does this all year long, but February calls for a bit extra – and that means more musical discovery for you.

The AMM kicks off this love fest with badass pop-rock monsters Go Fever, fronted by one of the best songwriters around, Acey Monaro. The track featured on today’s AMM, recent KUTX Song of the Day “Feel So Much,” an infectious melodic jolt making one weak in the knees with the simple but heart-piercing chorus “I really want you”, is on the band’s new EP, Daydream Hawker. Go Fever celebrates its release with a massive blowout of a party tomorrow (Saturday) night at Cheer Up Charlie’s, 901 Red River. They share the bill with another band celebrating a debut record release, Honk Kong Wigs, as well as Hard Proof, Being Dead, and – check this out – “jazzy avant-garde spoken word beatnik collective” Grant Cross’ Arms.

Oh hell yes. Doors at 8 p.m. Don’t miss a single bit of it. Presented by KUTX 98.9. Recommended like there’s no tomorrow.

-Photography by Salvador Castro for KUTX.

January 29, 2019

Pilotcan: “Daylight Savings Time”

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

If you remember Scottish post-rockers Pilotcan but feel like they haven’t been around for awhile, you’re not wrong. Well guess what? They’re back.

After fourteen long years this Edinburgh quartet has re-emerged with their familiar late ’90s sound, this time for a heartfelt tribute to the Live Music Capital. Mostly written here, recorded entirely across the pond, and inspired by the City of Austin and its residents, Pilotcan’s late 2018 album, Bats Fly Out From Under The Bridge is a knockout of alt-shoegaze post-rock. With another new record already in the can, Pilotcan promises more material in 2019 as well as a compilation of previously unreleased rarities.

For now let’s enjoy a treat from the tourists and Bats Fly Out From Under The Bridge, “Daylight Savings Time”!

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