OMG! WE TOTALLY READ JANA’S DIARY!

By now, you have no doubt read somewhere that much of Jana Hunter and tour-mate Ray Raposa (Castanets) gear was stolen while in part of the hella suspect non-Texas part of the country. Sucks. Sad story condensed for those not in the know: The pair were in Tuscon, van door got damaged and couldn’t be locked, Ray slept in van, triflin’ bitches quietly open van door and jack gear with Ray inside. Check out the story on Pitchfork for all the details. If you are of good heart, consider donating some scratch to help get some replacement gear in time for the next leg of her tour – paypal it to mutualincarnation@gmail.com.

Sadly, that wasn’t the only mellow-harsher on the tour, as Jana originally set out with Ray and friend/photographer/driver of van Yoni, who got sick and had to fly back to Portland before the tour was even over. Damn.

And what a mellow it was, for it seems like, up till then, the tour was going pretty well. HOW DO WE KNOW, you may ask? WELL – like you know we would, we’ve gotten a sneak peak at Jana’s tour diary, one that she was keeping for the good folks at Plan B Magazine. HIGHLIGHT REEL:

Playing with Dan Deacon:

we played on oakland with dan deacon, video hippos, scary mansion and michael leviton. i've seen dan and the hippos several times before, but never played with either, and found it kind of intimidating. these are acts that compel dancing, among other things, directly and indirectly. people sometimes say that our performances are compelling, but it's hard to know what exactly, if anything, we compel people to do. regardless, our show was good, maybe the best of this tour to date. one label boss said, just as he did last time, that it wasn't even all that bad. video hippos and dan deacon were fucking great, and i danced, against my will. i got to see dan's extensive stretching routine, some awesome kids lit off fireworks, some friends had a refreshingly casual, intimate and disturbing conversation that involved, among other things, bestiality and "spotting," and the folks at 21 Grand were, as they'd been on a previous trip, truly wonderful.

Vegas and a show with Deer Tick:

i drove us to vegas. we're still mostly rocking yoni's double ipods full of heavy jams and ray's booted copy of the most recent lil wayne mixtape. we got to vegas very early. i'd never been. it's been 13 hours now, and i still think of it as i first saw it, as a series of strip malls, everything stinking of the past decade or two at most. i had a conversation with a deer tick member at the show about how it's difficult in vegas to associate it with any of the references pop culture has made of it most of our lives. we played an in-store; folks were nice. yoni and i fought-danced while ray played and got a disapproving-dad look that turned out to be a jealous-of-your-fun look. we played with deer tick and jacob smigel at night in the live room of a magic studio, and didn't learn any tricks. there was a hidden doorway, behind a secret bookcase! castanets threw in a set, during which i made a booze run for castanets. i shot-gunned a beer for, somewhat incredibly, the fist time right before out set. i liked our set very much, but it was most certainly not played to our crowd; it was loud and cryptic, quite indulgent.

deer tick as a full band is a full-blown emotional experience for me. i wouldn't necessarily expect this effect on anyone else, but i cried. fantastic.

Gotta love Deer Tick. Not only has he recorded a duets album with Jana, but, as we previously reported, his is to be the first release by the local Feow! label (War Elephant, currently slated for a September 2 release). Yuss. We’ve bumped into Jana a few times since she’s been back, and gotta say her sprits are high all considering. Ever the prankster, she has already been to the gun range, and texted people standing right next to her about her show tonight. And speaking of tearjerking, we are bummed as a hobo to be missing tonight’s happening at The Orange show (we will be DJing at the GRAB) which has a totally wicked aces lineup, including Jana, The Castanets, Pink Nasty and Macon Terry. Its an early one – 7pm, so get there and take pictures for us. No, really, take pictures.

PHOTOS: ANNA + MARIA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

While many of you were no doubt up the street rocking it out at the Battles Show (or perhaps shakin it at the Pride Parade), a whole sweaty mess of party time party timers were over at Leon's Lounge where Anna and Maria were having a birthday party with a little help from some DJs, Raddage, AWESOME! and Golden Axe. We've got the scoop for you with some LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY PHOTO CAPTURES shots hot and fresh from the flickrs of Oak Forrest Hustla' Carrie Murphy (AWESOME!) and the eternally stylish Diana Perez (Las Panteras Negras).


THE REASONS FOR THE SEASON (CM)


Shaggy (Bring Back the Guns) plays one of your favorites in AWESOME! while James Love (Golden Axe) looks on (CM).


IMPOSSIBLE?! Carrie Murphy is back in AWESOME! (DP)


Golden Axe makes funny faces while melting yours (CM).


Ben Murphy (Bright Men of Learning) demonstrates his patented Double Kick Workout Routine to the sweet sounds of Golden Axe(CM).


DJ LIVE FREE and DJ OR DIE set the dancefloor on fire. Diana, Shu (Danseparc - who also played some hits)and Anna find relief by dancing on the bar. Some shirtless dude who no doubt wandered around the corner from the Red Door looks on and thinks about cheeseburgers(CM).


BALLOONS! (DP)

PHOTOS: BATTLES / PONYTAIL / SHARKS AND SAILORS

Some ACES photos that our friend Elissa Brown took at Saturday night's show with Battles, Ponytail and Sharks and Sailors. Peep the entire set here. Big thanks with Elissa for sharing with us so we could share with you.

BATTLES


PONYTAIL


SHARKS AND SAILORS




UPDATE: Looks like Melissa from Sharks and Sailors took some pictures of Battles as well. You can view her snapshots here.

REVEALED: PRESS MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEES

Well, SUPA DUPA! Thanks to loose lips and sinking ships, we’ve been able to get our hands on the list of bands set to show up on the ballot for this year’s Houston Press Music Awards. Many will enter, few will win – but congratulations to everyone whose made it on to the radar. We could divvy it up for you, and present a reasonable approximation of what we think the ballot would look like, but there’s already been one parade rained on this weekend. So, we’ll leave the thunder to the official announcement and present to you, instead, the award we think all of these folks should win. Congrats again, and keep yr browser pointed here for the details of the actual announcement and our totally helpful voting guide.

• Arthur Yoria – Most likely to be compared to Tody Castillo
• Blaggards – Most likely to be the punk band your Irish great uncle can sing along to
• Bring Back The Guns – Best Verizon Wireless Theater audience reception
• Chrome 44 – Most Likely to encourage you to rise up
• Cl'che – Most likely to be confused with a part of speech
• Collective Hallucination - Highest per-capital acid consumption
• Deadbolt Zen – Scariest website flash intro
• Dizzy Pilot – Best vocal performance with a telephone microphone
• Drop Trio – Most likely to be nominated every year they are a band
• Dune TX – Most likely to be a band longer than your first marriage
  
• Eyeagainst – Best sunglasses
• Fatal Flying Guilloteens - Most into it
  
• Fondue Monks – Most delicious clerics
• Glass Intrepid – Most unintended Star Trek reference
• insect warfare – Best artwork no matter what
• Jack Saunders Band – Closest relation to a chicken kingpin
• Jana Hunter – Most likely to move to Baltimore
• Karina Nistal – Most likely to have last name mispronounced
• Katie Stuckey & The Swagger – Surliest backline
• Kemo for Emo – Must unlikely Turbojunged hump night performer
• LL Cooper – Largest name overlap with LL Cool J
• Lone Star Porn Star – website URL most likely to get you fired from work
• Sideshow Tramps – most likely to loose due to a name change
• Million Year Dance – Least favorable reception at a nonalignment pact cocktail party
• Miss Leslie and Her Juke-Jointers – Stonedest coin-op iPod
• Molly and the Ringwalds – Grossest pet condition
• Ninevolt – Most likely to be pirated from your smoke detector to power a delay pedal
• O Pioneers – Best bass player
• Opie Hendrix – Reddest Afro
• Peekaboo Theory – Most surprising nominee (seriously. Glad these guys are getting props)
• Poor Dumb Bastards – Poorest, dumbest bastards
• Pride Kills – least likely to turn the other cheek
• Ragged Heart – Band we are most annoyed we haven’t caught live yet.
• Satin Hooks – Taking longest to record LP we predict will destroy our face
• Sean Reefer and the Resin Valley Boys – Most weed references
• Sharks and Sailors – Most likely to topple pillars at your house party
• Skyblue72 – Most stickered van
• Snit's Dod and Pony Show- Biggest dick to the staff at bars he plays at
• Something Fierce - Most earnest rock kids
  
• Southern Backtones – Hottest audience
• Spain Colored Orange – Most cancer aware
• The Allen Oldies Band - Oldest
• The Aqua Velva - Wettest
• The Black Math Experiment – Best performance of a song about David Arquette with David Arquette
• The Dimes – Best music video
• The El Orbits – Best outer space cantina
• The Flamin' Hellcats – I has a fire
• The Gritboys – Most sandpapery
• The Handsomes – Jeepiest Brahs
• The Jonx – Nicest dudes
• The Mighty Orq – Most likely to be in Shrek 4
• The Scattered Pages – Most handmade gear
• The Wiggins – Best use of Neil Patrick Harris
• Tody Castillo – Most likely to be compared to Arthur Yoria
• Wayside Drive – Least likely to be named after an actual street
• Whorehound – Baddest bitch
• Zydeco Dots – Best use of genre in name.

In other Press news, big ups to music editor John Lomax for winning two AAN Altweekly awards from Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. While we may occasionally poke the hot poker at Lomax and the press for their editorial decision making (for example, in one of the stories he won for he flat-out states that he took an un-informed pro-Blue October stance simply because it was the opposite view held by you damn hipsters and indie rock types), we would never dispute the hypothesis that he is a good writer. Congrats.

ATTN THIS WEEKEND: YOU ARE REALLY REALLY GAY

YUSS! Favorite parade of the year is SATURDAY NITE! And every year this timeless Montrosian melt-down of a good time is always on our high-light list. Sadly, though, this year other activities will keep us from the fun on the sidelines sadly, Friday and Sunday are a little show, so now that summer is officially here, I think we can all agree that this is the perfect chance to get a head start on your beach book.

FRIDAY

• Ain't nuthin happenin'

SATURDAY

• THE PRIDE PARADE: IN YR STREETS GAYIN UP YR HOOD!
• Battles, Ponytail, Sharks and Sailors @ Numbers
• Anna Garza and Maria Guzman's Birthday Party featuring Golden Axe, Raddage, AWESOME!, DJ Live Free or DJ Die, Shoo and ADR.
• Over Sea, Under Stone, Tzar Bomba, Transmography, The Boxing Lesson @ Walter's

SUNDAY

• Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Debbie Harry, Dresden Dolls, MisShapes @ Woodlands

GOLDEN AXE CLEVES AGAIN

We are not afraid to show a bias. Nope, no way. There are some bands that we love more than others, and one of those is the shredertaining hypermetal instrumentalism that is Golden Axe. Though earlier this year they were as much a staple of nightlife as disappointing co-ed interactions, this turned into somewhat of a hellacious hiatus as Warren (he with the fingers of The Flash) went on tour with Valiant Thor and James concentrated on Act of God-like duties. Well la de dah – you know we wouldn’t be writing about them if we weren’t able to use the words “stoked” “playing again” and “this Saturday.” And whattya know – turns out that the terrorizing twosome of terrible terror are wrecking shop at none other than the party which we shamelessly plugged the other day. Yep – Saturday night at Leon’s Lounge with Raddage, AWESOME! and some WHIPS DJs, including our very own adr.


IN OTHER NEWS. Perhaps you were one of the folks who, like us, saw the above picture of Mr. Warren while he was on tour and assumed the worst: Loss of eye due to guitar pointeyness, fan insanity, groupie indiscretion or other hazards in the World of Metal. Turns out, quite the opposite. You’ll be relieved to know that he has retained both eyes. Awesome. And you’ll be deviled to learn that the patch was due to a scratch on his eye that was caused by a particularly deadly bit of bread on a sandwich he was eating one day. Metal.

DUMB QUESTIONS/SMART ANSWERS: THE WATERMARKS

Every now and then, we take time off from the rather time consuming task of serving as our own real estate agents to ask someone that rock it like a socket some pretty dumb questions. This week, we were just-in-the-nick-of-time fortunate to be able to sit on the crumbling stoop of our current headquarters building and pester Jason from The Watermarks our patented blend of insufferable inquisi-poo.

What records have you been listening to lately?
Lately, the new Paul McCartney, Memory Almost Full, U2's Achtung Baby; played that just the other day.

What do you think of the new Paul McCartney record?
I think it's kind of creepy how much he references Beatles things. Like the line "the end of the end" and it starts out with the same piano chords as 'The End,' how Abbey Road ends.

Is it wrong to reference yourself, he is Paul McCartney?
I don't think it's wrong, I think it's kind of spooky

Is it kind of "I'm old now" now thing, like the last Johnny Cash record?
I hope not, but I kinda got that feeling from it.

Did you buy it at Starbucks?
No, I didn't

Are there any Houston bands you are into lately?
A band called Ladyheat, they used to be called Cluster Fck, prolly the best show in Houston

What's their story - what do they sound like, what do they do? Why is it the best show in town?
It's kind of like Electric Six; a couple of guys having a good time, singing stupid songs. When You're Older, for example - one of their songs. They just put on a great show, great energy. I think it reminds me of a drunken Mic Jagger.

Do you have a secret Houston spot?
No, not really. I have places I go, but nothing secret. I go to the Mink alot.

Why don't more people goto the Mink - why do all these rock and roll types end up at the Proletariat or Poison Girl or Rudyards or Catbirds?
Familiarity, I guess. The Mink is still relatively new. Almost Midtown, but not quite

What's your ringtone?
It's one of the default ones. My phone died a couple days ago. This is my girlfriend's old phone.

Are you going to get an iPhone?
No

Why Not?
I dunno. I have a phone, I have an iPod. I don't think i need to combine the two just yet. Maybe someday.

Just use some duct tape maybe?
I could. I hadn't thought about that. Or maybe velcro.

What do The Watermarks have going on right now?
We have five shows coming up. The next show we have is with local bands - DJ Sun, D.E.M.O., Heist at Hand.

Oh yeah. So, Heist at Hand hasn't played in town for like, two years - how do you know those guys?
One of the guys from D.E.M.O. just asked us to play the show. Then we're playing with Lady Heat July 13th.

Are you recording anything right now?
Yeah. We're always working on new stuff.

How long have you guys been together now?
Cesar and I have three years now working on stuff.

Catch The Watermarks next Friday, June 29th, playing the show Jason talked about above at The Engine Room. To check out some of their retardedly good jams or peep the rest of their upcoming schedule, head on over to their MySpace.

LATE PASS: FGHOTS PHOTOS

Well, like we said, we didn't much have time to take any snapshots of the various goings on that took place a few weeks ago at the more-successful-than-the-George-Forman-Grill Feel Good Hits of the Summer Fest. Fortunately for us, and for you, a few people did. Please enjoy the following thousand-word encapsulments of a few of the day's performers, and don't forget to send any you might have hiding on your flickr our way. Also, please do not forget we are the kings of R&B. Just sayin.

WATERMARKS (photo by Mindy)


DIZZY PILOT (photos by Erica Cleveland)




PARIS FALLS (photos by Erica Cleveland)

ATTN THIS WEEKEND: YOU ARE RATHER FATHERLY

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to our Dad, your Dad and any of you that may be the pater of your own familias. Take the day off from your honey-do list, soak up some suds, sun and bbq sausage – you’ve earned it and you more than deserve it. Thanks again for teaching us how to throw a ball, a punch, a test curve or whatever else that came with your oft under-appreciated role in the home economy. BIG UPS to Camille for letting us use this picture of her Paw Paw and Uncle Danny. Now, check out these wicked shows.

FRIDAY

• Great Lake Swimmers @ The Proletariat (early show)
• North, The Hope Symphony, Storms Threaten to Destroy, Co-Pilot, Glacial Pace @ Super Happy Fun Land
• Hearts of Animals, Muzak, Graustark, Daddy’s Belt @ Notsuoh

SATURDAY

• Skinny Puppy @ Warehouse Live
• Unsane, 400 Blows @ The Proletariat
• Narrator, The Jonx, Woozy Helmet, Tame, Tame, &Quiet @ Rudyards

SUNDAY

• Dinosaur Jr., The Black Keys @ Warehouse Live
• Houston Rollergirls Big Top Brawl @ Verizon Wireless

HOT QUESTIONS/HOT ANSWERS: FINALLY PUNK

Every Thursday we bombard some bad ass bombers with some really bad questions and blowback their responses like Bikini Atoll. Fortunately for you, the beautiful people, and Finally Punk (also the beautiful people if there ever were any), this week The Skyline Network's senior ACES correspondent Anna Garza (Las Panteras Negras) took time off from being THE Anna Garza to ask one of our favorite Austin (hell, Texas) bands, Finally Punk, some HOT questions. Here is what the WAY FUN foursome came back at her with.

How did you meet and what was the inspiration to form Finally Punk?
Steph, Erin, and Veronica were in The Carrots and it was a girl group band so they were looking to start a more free form band. They practiced once and then I met them at a Gossip show at Emo's in Austin and we all practiced together. It was love.

How long have you been playing your instruments? i love the concept of switching instruments every song. was this a conscious decision to spotlight everyone in the band equally?
That was part of the free form idea. We all didn't know how to play anything so we thought we would all equally learn everything. Also it keeps it more interesting and on tour we don't have instrument related injuries ( i.e. our voice doesn't go out, our fingers dont bleed from playing guitar all the time.)

Since you switch instruments frequently, who owns what instruments / equipment in the band?
Elizabeth owns everything except the guitar amp.

Give me the scoop on your songwriting process. how do you decide who is going to sing / play on any given song?
One person comes up with a bass line, or guitar line, or drum part and everyone else just makes up stuff to suit. Dean from No Age once said that he had no idea how we wrote our songs cause they were constructed so strangely.

When did you realize your band is awesome?
In Mobile, AL when everyone left after we played and didn't even stay for the next 3 bands after us.

What advice would you give young ladies interested in forming bands?
Don't think about it too hard. Don't second guess yourself ever.

Some of you are involved in side projects such as the carrots and lil sandwich. are there any other side projects I have failed to mention?
We are shocked that you even know about lil sandwich. Seriously how do you know?

What are your current favorite bands and / or songs?
on the tour we've only been listening to classic rock, we've heard every Heart hit so far except Barracuda.

If you could assemble the line up for the ultimate FP show, who would you choose?
It's more fun when we draw names from a hat.

What does the future hold for Finally Punk?
Another 7", adding a sax, more touring with wild times, more night swimming. this is Summer of Swim tour 2k7, we only want to swim and make out, only with hotties (unless we've had a beer or 10).

Finally Punk, who is the only band who has ever melted both our faces and hearts with a Nirvana cover, will return to Houston to play just as soon as their schedule allows. We are very confident of this. We hope. We promise to send people to defend you, oh Finally Punk, so there will not be a repeat of last time. We hope.

SHAMELESS PLUG AND EARLY WARNING: WE DJ THIS WICKED PARTY!

Dang - life is killing us; we can't even find the time to write something adequate to strongly encourage you to go see Deer Tick (whose forthcoming album War Elephant is not only ACES, but is expected to be the first release by local FEOW! records) and The Wiggins at Rudyards tonight. But fortunately, this next weekend will be a different story - for atleast a few hours we'll be able to pull ourselves away from the computer terminal, battle with house-flies eternal happy hour of bachelorhood to play some records at Anna Garza and Maria Guzman's birthday party (both are members of Las Panteras Negras, you may recall). Also on the DJ bill is Shoo, who recently returned to Danseparc and the 3rd Ward Bike Shop duo of DJ To Live & DJ To Die.

PLUS LIVE MUSIC COVER ACTION! Raddage, the Descendants cover band with members of 50/50, Gay Marriage and Laws, will share the stage (wait, Leon's has no stage... FLOOR SHOW - STOKED!) with AWESOME! - the eternal huckster party time trio. Stoked.

WEEKEND WRAP-UP: FALLING ON OUR ASS EDITION

You may have heard, but we were a little busy this weekend. So much so that we let a number of things not get done. The fruit-fly population in our office kitchen is beyond epic, to say the least. But, back from a trip to Austin and with the planning and preping and decorating and stage managing and pure rockuledge of some festival or another behind us, we are stoked to be back on the job. Here's the dirt on this past weekend.

• The Feel Good Hits of the Summer Fest was a great time. A big thanks to all the bands, especially Paris Falls, who was kind enough to bring their lighting rig when some problems popped up with The Proletariat's array. The Western Civilization and The Watermarks both moved their cribbage piece up a notch in the category of ACES Local Indie Pop Band You Have Never See Live Which have a Definitive Article in Their Name (we should stop and point out here that Coach Springer, owner of more enviable records and listening taste than we will ever have and consulting muse to the Skyline Network seemed pretty stoked on The Watermarks' set). We could go on and on about all the performances - like whats up Kimonos, way to shred the heck out of a Zeppelin tune?! - but how about that decorating?!
  

• A big thanks again to all the bands, the Proletariat, Gilbert, Dunnock, the hard working folks behind the bar, and the door and in the sound-booth and all the people that showed up. With as much of a success as it was, very unlikely that this will be a one-off. Also, while we didn't see too many flash-bulbs throughout the evening, we did see a few - if you took some pictures, post links in the comments section.

• Speaking of Paris Falls, their first CD, the succinctly titled Volume One, was finally available at the show on Saturday. We picked up a copy and are looking forward to bringing our review of it to you soon.

• Speaking of the Kimonos, their next release is in the mastering stage and we are hopeful to have a sneak peak for you soon.
  

• Speaking of record reviews we are looking forward to bringing you soon, we've been blaring Wicked Poseur's 7" ep around the office for the last week, though sadly we were unable to come up with the words to describe it in time to share with you before his show with Dan Deacon at the Mink last night. We also were so flubterghasted from Saturday that not one of our correspondents actually made it to the show. Had we wrote about it in advance, we would have told you that, Mr Deacon, in an inspired moment, was the source behind the name for Jana Hunter's dance troupe, Bony Poner.
  

• Speaking of Jana Hunter, she left Sunday morning for the next stretch of her tour. Pitchfork has the dates as well as the deets on some other stuff she has going on. For this stretch of the tour she is joined by Ray of the Castanets as well as a photographer whose name we are completely drawing a blank on and cannot locate the napkin we used for notes.
  

• Speaking of people who practice in Jana's living room, we learned that Bring Back the Guns have been notified that they are up for a Houston Press Music Award; ditto for the Fatal Flying Guilloteens (we had previously reported that Something Fierce is also on the ballot).

• Speaking of things we are unable to connect to other things, we ran into Bianca of Heist at Hand over the weekend. She's moved back into town after a series of escapades we'd eventually like to get a summary of, and HAH is gearing up for some shows once again. Welcome back kid.

DUMB QUESTIONS/SMART ANSWERS: CALVIN JOHNSON

Every Thursday, we pose some of the most asinine questions imaginable to a person that rocks the real like a set of 28s. Though usually a Houstonian is at the losing end of our prompts, this week we are all whips to be able to bring you one step closer to the mind of Calvin Johnson; founder of K Records, force behind the International Pop Underground Festival, rocker of Beat Happening, The Go Team, Dub Narcotic and most recently the Sons of Soil. Over the years Johnson has been an icon that, in short, made stuff happen. For the many Houstonians doing the same, take note.

On your latest album, Calvin Johnson and the Sons of Soil, you collaborate with, Kyle Field, Jason Anderson and Adam Forkner – how did that come about?
Jason Anderson and I were touring about in 2002, and he got the idea into his head that I should tour with a "real band", that my songs could benefit from some fleshing out. Up to that point, all of my solo shows were just me and an acoustic guitar. Jason put a band together of felow pals Adam and Kyle, and away we went. At the end of the tour, we decided to document the confusion. Thus, the album.

The record has new takes on a number of songs from your catalog – why these nine?
On the tour we played twice as many songs, these were just the ones we ended up recording that day; to answer your question why, there is no good reason!

Everything about this record (not just the Cattle Call interludes) indicates an affinity for the beach, the surf, the sun and the sand – what are some of your favorite records for a day at the beach?
Annette Beach Party, Jan and Dean Drag City, Little Wings Wonderue

Your albums are only permitted to exist in one section of the record store - would you rather it filed as Love Rock, Soul or something else?
Field Recordings

Now some questions about Calvin Johnson, the man and his tastes. When you put your Wranglers on the same as everybody else, are they straight-leg or boot cut?
Straight-leg, slim fit; cant deal with anything that could suggest bell
bottoms. But actually, I pull the pants on both legs at the same time. I
gots to be me.

In Texas, there is a great cultural debate as to whether men should ever wear shorts or flip-flops, separate or together – what side of this social cleavage do you come down on?
I'm down with shorts and flip flops; however, cargo shorts are a no-no, or any "big" shorts. Also, no shorts on stage.

In addition to helping nerds always get the girl, the ZZ-TOP Magic Hot Rod is alleged to get fantastic gas mileage – where do you suppose you would drive it and what would be the preferred scenario under which you would pass the keys onto the next owner?
What kind of car is it? A hearse?

You were name-dropped on the TV show The Gillmor Girls; would you like to name drop any television programs in particular?
What is the Gilmor Girls? Is it another "reality" show? I'm very into Leave It to Beaver.

You are alleged to bake a fantastic Apple Pie - can you share with our readers which are the best kind of apples for such a creation?
Jonathans, macintosh, gala; anything except red delicious. We only grow those to ship out of state.

Are apple pies part of the secret diet that keeps you looking so young?
fruit, olives, chocolate, green tea, and never wash your hair.

Let's chat about the business end of music. There are a number of folks in Houston taking the plunge and setting record labels, what advice could you offer to these optimistic start ups?
Follow your heart.

What do you suppose has been the secret to K Record's longevity?
Beats working.

The K Records logo is as much a part of rock and roll iconography as the Crass cross and Iron Maiden's Eddie, no doubt sketched on spiral-bound notebooks to this day – where did the crest come from and what tips can you offer Madison Avenue ad firms on creating as durable and grass-roots of a brand for the purposes of selling soap and toothpaste?
IT is a way to make a single-letter name stand out. My advice would be to not settle upon a single-letter name.

Houston, though the country's 4th largest media market, does not have a summer independent music festival – you were key in the creation of the International Pop Underground Festival – top five things that a prospective festival organizer should know.
The International Pop Underground Convention was not a festival, it was a meeting of the minds. Festivals are usually tedious; they are best when they include a lot of non-music activities, and are held in a location where people can come ansd go freely.

Finally three questions from our readers: Who would win at high-stakes four-square – the Go Team or The Go! Team?
Prolly the Brits; we are not very coordinated.

Any plans to re-issue the Go Team recordings in the future?
dunno

Who is Polly Pereguin?
again, dunno

You can catch Calvin Johnson performing in Houston tomorrow, Friday June 8th, at the Aurora Picture Show.

UPDATED: FEEL GOOD HITS OF THE SUMMER FEST SET TIMES!

YUSS. The lineup for Saturday's flock of CRUCIAL summer jam seagulls is finally out. PLUS, we are stoked to announce that the whole shebang is gonna only set you back a measly $5 for the whole day ($8 for folks 18-20). That's $0.55 a band. That's dumb cheap. Here is how you will melt your face:

Program 4:30pm
The Watermarks 5:30pm
Dizzy Pilot 6:30pm
The Kimonos 7:30pm
Paris Falls 8:30pm
The Western Civilization 9:30pm
Spain Colored Orange 10:30pm
Arthur Yoria 11:30pm
Tody Castillo 12:30am

Our advice? Get there early. We still have a few tricks up our sleeve as a big 'HELLO THAR' to get you there as the ripping riffage commences. As if the bands weren't enough. More details soon. PS - This all takes place at the Proletariat.

UPDATE: We are bummed to announce that, due to a totally no-fault conflict on their part, Bright Men of Learning will no longer be able to play the festival. They are, however, playing a show later in the summer (September 16th at Rudz) with Magnolia Electric Company as well as working on their next record. Hopefully they'll add a date or two soon, in the meantime, you can console yourself by downloading practically their entire catalog for your listening pleasure.

SOMETHING FIERCE GET AWARD NOD; PREP YET ANOTHER 7"

The other day we were at a BBQ and were pretty sure we saw Steven Fierce rocking it out on Guitar Hero II. Before we could we could finish setting up our delectable anti-pasta spread and go say hello, he was gone. Presumably, his early departure from the foody festivities was because, well, Something Fierce always has a ton of stuff going on. Just today, for example, they announced that not only had they been contacted by the Press about being a nominee (in an unknown category), but that they have yet another seven inch coming out.

We say "yet another" because, as of this writing, it will still be another month before their split EP with College Station's The Hangouts will drop. Slated for an October Release, the next next 7" will be put out by Indiana's Bitchin Riffage Records, and is said to include their recently demoed "Modern Girl" plus three other brand new jams. Stoked.

Back to the Houston Press Music Awards, we have a suspicion that the nominees for this year's go-around will be announced as soon as this week. We'll have the Real Talk you expect on the ballot after a suitable period of digestment. Mind control you then.

Stream: Something Fierce - Various Tracks

BAD PHOTOS: TAMBERSAURO & ANTARCTICA STARTS HERE

We were pretty stoked Friday night to be taking what we thought would be the last batch of blurry and poorly lit photos from lovable but large and technologically not-up-for-the-dim-bar challenge camera. Sadly, Saturday morning, the front shock on our extremely less lovable Official Skyline Network Scooter blew a seal, forcing our budget director to allocate the new camera funds to the cursed two-stroke again. So, set aside your critical eye and enjoy these bad photos, which, sadly, will not be our last.

ANTARCTICA STARTS HERE








TAMBERSAURO

ATTN THIS WEEKEND: REGULAR OR EXTRA CRISPY?

OH SNAP PICNIC WEATHER! Looks like it may actually be both temperate and dry enough to spend one last weekend in the outdoors. But that shouldn’t keep you away from the four-walled confines of good olde-fashion indoor fun! Here’s our list of picks for this weekend. Bring a blanket.

FRIDAY

• By The End of Tonight (tour kickoff), Nathan Kalish and the Wildfire, Riff Tiffs, O Pioneers!!!, Buxton, Blades @ Walter’s
• Tambersauro, Antarctica Starts Here @ Rudyards

SATURDAY

• Hearts of Animals, Alps of New South Wales, Wolf Explosion, Dodo Bird @ Super Happy Fun Land
• Stevie Nicks, Chris Issacs @ Woodlands
  

BY THE END OF THE TOUR BY THE END OF TONIGHT’S VAN WILL NEED AN OIL CHANGE BY THE END OF JULY

Tonight, Alvin-based instrumental hot-rockers By the End of Tonight kick off their June tour at Walter’s on Washington. Having on just recently been in the studio to record their latest release for way way well rostered label Temporary Residence Limited, the guys are packing up the gear and carving a path of punishment through the west. Seriously guys, no would be upset if you didn’t sneak in a day off or so:

Jun 1 - Walter's on Washington - Houston, TX
Jun 2 - 715 Panhandle - Denton, TX
Jun 3 - The Conservatory -Oklahoma City, OK
Jun 4 - Bash Riprock's - Lubbock, TX
Jun 5 - The Warehouse - El Paso, TX
Jun 6 - Verb Albuquerque, NM
Jun 7 - TBD - Tucson, AZ
Jun 8 - Ramsey's in the Foothills Mall - Tucson, AZ
Jun 9 - Modified Arts w/Chinese Stars - Pheonix, AZ
Jun 10 - TBD - LA, CA
Jun 11 – TBD - ANYWHERE IN SO CAL!
Jun 12 – TBD - ANYWHERE IN SO CAL!
Jun 13 – TBD - ANYWHERE IN SO CAL!
Jun 14 – TBD - ANYWHERE IN SO CAL!
Jun 15 - Pizzaland - Fresno, CA
Jun 16 - Fool's Foundation - Sacramento, CA
Jun 17 - Holland - Reno, NV
Jun 18 - Satryicon - Portland, OR
Jun 19 - Ground Zero w/Tera Melos, and Facing New York Bellvue, WA
Jun 20 - Empyrean Coffee - Spokane, WA
Jun 21 - The Venue - Bosie, ID
Jun 22 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 23 - Velour - Provo, UT
Jun 24 - The Element - Colorado Springs, CO
Jun 25 - Piano Warehouse - Colorado Springs, CO
Jun 26 - Warehouse 21 - Santa Fe, NM
Jun 27 - Absolute Zero - Clovis, NM
Jun 28 - Red 7- Austin, TX
Jun 29 - The Fallout - Baytown, TX

Originally scheduled for July, their tour of the nation East of the Mississippi will now get the party started in August, with dates already scheduled in Minneapolis, Cambridge and New York City (local luckys O Pioneers!! will be on tour with them for atleast part of this too).

But REAL TALK: Tonight’s kickoff show at Walter’s has an ACES lineup, including Riff Tiffs, whose new CD we have made a copy of and placed in our canoe should the rain continue (aka N2IT). If that wasn’t enough, you’ll also get treated to Nathan Kalish and the Wildfire, O Pioneers!!!, Buxton and Blades. YUSSSS. Drive safe guys.

INFOMERCIAL: FEEL GOOD HITS OF THE SUMMERATOR!