SXSW 2007

I arrived in Austin late last night and am waiting for the other boys to arrive. We’ll be updating the site daily with coverage of the parties, shows and freaks. If you are out here, and are reading blogs for some reason, keep an eye out for us. One of us should be sporting a HearYa tee, unless Drinking Buddy ruined them.

Yep Roc duo, The Moaners are set to release their second album, Blackwing Yabolusha later this month. For those not familiar with The Moaners, they are a female, blues-rock two piece, fronted by Melissa Pringle on guitar/vocals and accompanied by Laura King on drums.

For their follow up to Dark Snack the ladies descended upon Money Shot Studios. Money Shot was the home of Fat Possum Records and heroes like R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.

Pringle, being from MS couldn’t have been any happier with the news. “It was really important to us to play well while we were in that house,” remarked Pringle. Mission accomplished.

While contemporaries, The Heartless Bastards, seem to go for the knockout on their albums, The Moaners’ albums have a slow burn to them, almost as if they are just trying to wear you down with their devotion to the blues. While Wennerstrom wails on portions of the Bastard’s discs, Pringle maintains a steady delivery that oozes cool over the soulful, bluesy jams.

Some of the standout tracks are the hazy, “Dreaming About Flying,” (I love King’s playing on this tune), the rollicking homage to blaxpoitation hero, “Foxy Brown,” and the riff-laden, “Monkey Tongue.” (Great vocals/ guitar from Pringle and the last minute is awesome.)

While Erika Wennerstrom remains my blues queen, Pringle might just be the second in command. If you’re going to be Austin, the ladies will be strutting their stuff at the following places:

3/15 (9PM)- The Continental - 1315 S. Congress

3/16 (4:45) - Habanas - 708 E. 6th (Yep Roc’s 10th Anniversary Day Party)

Stream the album here, right now.

HearYa will arrive in Austin in full force on Thursday morning and will be updating this blog with the sights and smells from the bowels of the SXSW 2007. We’re hoping to catch Taylor Hicks on film soliciting a prostitute.

Over the weekend I tried to sit down and sift through all the parties, showcases, and band lists to prioritize where we should be and when. I visited countless websites and finally whittled down our list of parties and showcases to a handful, which we will prioritize by bands and free drinks offered on site.

If planning your SXSW 2007 schedule is overwhelming you, here are the best sites I’ve found (excluding the real SXSW site).

Austin 360: SXSW Day Parties

Showlist Austin

You probably know about DoneWaiting.com for up to the minute news.
As always, feel free to check out our SXSW MP3 sampler to find your music.

HearYa was recently featured on The 9 on Yahoo! I tried to find a way to cut out the footage of Maria Sansone telling people to visit HearYa.com for SXSW 2007 coverage (specifically the SXSW 2007 MP3 Sampler), but the best I could do is take a screen shot and put a red arrow on it.

Maria Sansone may just be the hottest chick to mention HearYa.com in a conversation (wives and girlfriends of HearYa authors excluded). She’s also probably the most famous too.

The fuzzy pic of Maria above with her eyes half shut doesn’t really do her justice, so I’ve included another.

VietNam is a band I’ve been listening to regularly. They have a gritty, LSD infused folk sound, complemented with shockingly good lyrics and songwriting. They also have the look of a rock band that lives out of the trunk of their car or on the floor of whatever friend or fan will take them in as they tour around the country.

You can hear the following tracks in the black box below from their recent live recording with NPR:

• “Hotel Riverview”
• “Apocalypse”
• “Lullaby”

Find them at SXSW:

Mar 15 2007 12:00A
Kemado Records Showcase @ Bourbon Rocks (508 E. 8th St.)

Mar 16 2007 2:00P
Little Radio Party @ Red Eye Fly (715 Red River)

Mar 16 2007 10:00P
Nylon/ Diesel/ Dim Mak Party @ at 301 Chicon St, Austin, TX

Mar 17 2007 3:45P
Fader/ Levi’s Party @ 204 E. 4th St. Austin, Texas

Mar 18 2007 1:00A
Kemado Records Party @ Positively 4th St. (1300 E. 4th St.)

http://www.myspace.com/vietnamtheband

Obscure Sound also fired up some MP3’s on their site the other day:

VietNam - Mr. Goldfinger

VietNam - Priest, Poet, & The Pig

VietNam - Step On Inside

1. I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House
2. Elemeno P
3. my!gay!husband!
4. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
5. Green Milk from the Planet Orange
6. i heart hiroshima
7. iLiKETRAiNS
8. Architecture in Helsinki
9. Armor For Sleep
10. Awesome Cool Dudes
11. The Berg Sans Nipple
12. Busty Duck
13. Die Mannequin
14. Delicious Food
15. cheeseburger
16. The Gay Blades
17. Lesbians On Ecstasy
18. Les Breastfeeders
19. River City Tanlines
20. Hot Live Guys
21. Simian Mobile Disco
22. Flaming Arrows Mardi Gras Indians with special guest Big Chief Roddy of the Black Eages
23. Holy Fuck
24. Holy Shit!
25. Fucked up

Chicago’s Maps & Atlases are one of the most creative, spastic, unpredictable, and thought provoking bands I’ve come across in quite some time. One of our readers emailed me this great video that showcases their originality. It’s difficult to only watch once. (Thanks Rick and Travis).

Here are their SXSW appearances:

March, 14 2007 at SXSW - SUB POP SHOWCASE
Emo’s Lounge, Austin

March, 15 2007 at SXSW - Creekside Lounge (Day Show)
606 E. 7th (right off Red River), Austin, Texas

March, 16 2007 at SXSW (Furniture Residence Party)
1009 E. 44th St, Austin

Maps & Atlases - Every Place is a House

Maps & Atlases - “Ongoing Horrible”

A bay area music producer recently told us about a record he produced by a San Francisco based, singer songwriter named AJ Roach. Inspired by his Appalachian upbringing and love of gospel music, AJ Roach puts together well crafted folk songs that have made Europeans take notice (The album is #1 on the Euro-Americana charts).

Check him out at SXSW 2007 before AJ heads off to The Netherlands.

ComboPlate Roster Party @ SXSW 2007
Gueros (Under the Oaks)
1412 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX
TBA
512.447.7688
Free

Music from his upcoming album, Revelation:

AJ Roach - Devil May Dance

AJ Roach - Sears and Roebuck

AJ Roach - Hazel Blue

To satisfy your MP3 craving, here are a few tracks from his debut release, Dogwood Winter.

AJ Roach - Grandaddy

AJ Roach - Mountain Heir

AJ Roach - Temporary

Cincinnati’s The Buffalo Killers have just released a video for “SS Nowhere” and they’ve announced tour dates for their Spring 2007 tour.

3/3 - Covington, Kentucky @ Mad Hatter : All Ages
3/9 - Rochester, New York @ Bug Jar
3/10 - Buffalo, New York @ Mohawk Place
3/14 - Springfield, Missouri @ The Outland
3/15 - Dallas, Texas @ The Bone - Free Show!
3/16-SXSW : Austin, Texas @ The Beerland 10:30pm
4/19-Athens Ohio @ The Union/Blackoutfest
w/ The Willowz, High Strung
4/21-Cleveland Ohio @ Beachland Ballroom w/ The Willowz
4/27-Omaha, Nebraska @ O’Leavers w/ Brimstone Howl
5/1 - Los Angeles @ The Echo
5/2-San Francisco CA @ 12 Galaxies w/ Apache
5/4-Portland, Oregon @ Slabtown w/ The Nice Boys
5/5-Seattle, Washington @ The Sunset Tavern w/ The Nice Boys
5/9-St. Paul, Minnesota @ The Turf Club
5/19- Dubuque, Iowa @ Dubuque Fest w/ Wayne Hancock
more dates to come