“Orange Is In” to perform at SXSW

 

Our resident house band, Orange Is In, will plug in and play at Guero’s Taco Bar, 1412 S. Congress, this Saturday, March 21 at 1:30 p.m. This is one of those *free* day parties that are being thrown all over town.  In other words, you don’t need one of those funny SXSW badges to get in. The showcase was put together by Pete Lippincott, leader of the band Pete Simple, who will also be playing at 6:45 p.m.

According to my partner on this blog, the day parties are a hell of a lot more fun than the official SXSW showcases and South Congress apparently is the place to be.  Right down the street from Guero’s (which I’m told has great tacos) is Jo’s Coffee Shop (Alejandro Escovedo will be playing this venue on Friday night), an ice cream place and a pizza joint, all with live bands. The legendary Continental Club is also right next door and will also be throwing a day party featuring Mojo Nixon and pancakes.

So if you’re in Austin on Saturday, come by and say hello. The boys from Orange Is In would love to say hello and share a taco or ten.

Orange Is In MySpace Page

SXSW Official Website

Odds and Ends

      

Today we catch up with all the junk cluttering our in-box.  First, a couple of reissues: Blondie‘s Parallel Lines 30th anniversary set, and War from U2.  Blondie was one of the first American punk bands to make an impact at New York’s club CBGB, and they were probably the first to top the charts.  When Parallel Lines came out in 1978, Blondie was a slightly different band with a few more musicians but the spotlight remained on lead singer Deborah Harry.  And rightly so – Harry was an ultra-hot ex-model who put a beautiful face and a not-bad voice on these polished not-so-punk tunes.  “Heart Of Glass,” with its thumping disco beat, hit No. 1 on the charts.  And rockers “Hanging On The Telephone” and “One Way Or Another” were worthy follow-ups.  Anyhow, the 30th anniversary reissue of Parallel Lines includes extra oddities like a French-language version of “Sunday Girl” and remixes of some of the other songs on the album.  Oddly, they didn’t include the original (non-disco) version of “Heart Of Glass,” which appeared on previous CD reissues of the album.  Toss in a DVD of videos and you have a so-so package.  Unless you don’t already own the album that kicked off American New Wave, you can pass this one up.

MP3: “One Way Or Another” by Blondie

Review: “The Last Country Album,” Heybale!

It’s no secret that Austin, Texas, is a town full of veteran pickers and players.  One of the best things you can do, for example, is visit the Continental Club for a Sunday evening performance by Heybale!, the pure country unit headed by guitarist Redd Volkaert and pianist Earl Poole Ball.  The Last Country Album is Heybale’s (let’s just drop the exclamation point from here on) first studio effort, and it’s mighty fine for a Saturday – or any other – night.  The first thing that hits you here is these musicians certainly know their way around a country song: Ball is the honky tonk piano player who worked with Johnny Cash and Buck Owens, as well as the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers.  Volkaert played for years behind Merle Haggard in the Strangers; vocalist Gary Claxton is a mere pup by contrast but his whiskey-soaked voice is perfect in this company. 

Many of the songs are originals, the highlights include Ball’s “Honky Tonk Mood,” which will certainly put you in one, “Everything … About Drinking,” and the instrumental “Heybalin’.”  Redd croaks the lead vocal on “Step Aside” in his unique singing voice.  And “Let’s Go To Mexico” puts you in a cantina on the Texas-Mexico border.  If you are a fan of real country music, I can’t recommend this album enough.  Just about as far removed from current Nashville country product as you can get, The Last Country Album could very well be the last country album … but let’s hope not.  For one, I am going to want to hear as much Heybale as I can.

MP3: “Honky Tonk Mood”

Heybale! official website 

Live: Alejandro Escovedo, Austin

The release of Alejandro Escovedo’s new album Real Animal is taking on national holiday proportions in Austin.  In the past seven days, Escovedo and his crack band have already appeared on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” and “The Today Show.”  Thursday afternoon, they kicked off a three-day Austin home stand with a rollicking in-store appearance at Waterloo Records.

Escovedo remembered how he once worked at Waterloo, and how he played Iggy Pop and the Stooges on the store sound system every chance he got.  “And I was never late, and I did everything they told me to,” he joked.  “I was the best employee they ever had.”  Then he charged into his “Real As An Animal” rocker, the song he wrote about Iggy Pop.  “He (Iggy) represents everything that is exciting about rock and roll,” Alejandro said.

Led by guitar genius David Pulkingham, the band performed a handful of songs from the album including “Sister Lost Soul,” “Slow Down” and the great new single “Always A Friend.”  Escovedo and band will play a two-night stand at the Continental Club Thursday and Friday, and Saturday night they headline the “Keep Austin Weird Festival.”  Then, Alejandro said, they begin a long tour of the midwest.  Then they’ll come back home to Austin.

Real Animal is out now in record stores.  You can hear Escovedo’s Friday (June 27) night show live on KGSR radio, at 10:30 p.m. CDT.  Go here and click “Listen Live.”  You won’t regret it!  UPDATE: KGSR radio has promised that you can still hear the live June 27 show as a streaming program.  Check their website.

MP3: “Real As An Animal”

Alejandro Escovedo official website

Live: Alejandro Escovedo, Houston

Alejandro Escovedo hit Houston Friday night (April 11) with both guitars blazing, eager to share some songs from his upcoming album, Real Animal.  Playing the Continental Club with a spare four-piece rock outfit, Escovedo explained how the album chronicles his early days in the music business from a stint with the Nuns (“The world’s worst band,” he recalled), through Rank and File and the True Believers.

 

Many of the songs were written with Chuck Prophet, the guitarist with Green On Red, the lyrics recall friends and idols of Escovedo’s youth.  “Sister Lost Soul,” dedicated to former Gun Club member Jeffrey Lee Pierce, has some of the jangly feel of Escovedo’s former work but “Real Animal,” ostensibly about Iggy Pop, snarls and rocks like it’s 1978 all over again.  Backed by fiery lead guitar work from David Pulkingham, Escovedo once again sounds like the true child of punk rock that he is.