Where have all the badass female rockers gone? Three of them will be at Emo’s Friday night under the The Smiths’ induced moniker “Girl in a Coma”. While other concert goers jump up and down and throw bows at shows (not sure what the punk term for that is), each time I see the band perform live I can’t help but to stand there motionless with my mouth dropped open in awe of Nina’s sweaty guitar strumming, lyric pelting badassness. The passion and energy that she (Nina-lead singer) and her sisters (Phanie Diaz-drums, Jenn Alva-bass) put into their music is enough to awaken your senses to reminisce back to a time when indie music was about more than major promos and competing for TV car commercial spots.Girl in a Coma was recently signed to Joan Jett’s Blackheart Record’s label, which was started by Jett herself during the release of her first album. After being rejected by several major labels, Jett became the first female performer to start her own independent label and that once-rejected album went on to reach Gold status in the U.S. Girl in a Coma was asked by Morrissey to open for his ‘07/’08 US and European tour, and has performed at SXSW 2007, the 2008 True Colors Tour, and will be opening for Tegan and Sara during their tour this fall.
Can’t make this show? Dry your emo tears and wipe off that mascara. GIAC will be back in Austin to perform with Bitch (another awesome! artist) at the Mohawk on November 9th.
Girl In A Coma - Say
from Both Before I’m Gone, 2007
Biography from Wikipedia: Tilly and the Wall is an indie pop group from Omaha, Nebraska. They are particularly noted for having a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, instead of a drummer. The group formed in 2001 after the demise of several Omaha groups, including Conor Oberst’s Park Ave., of which Neely Jenkins and Jamie Pressnall (then Jamie Williams) were members. Their first show was an open-mic night at the now defunct Ranch Bowl. Their first release, Woo!, was recorded in Conor Oberst’s garage, self-published, and distributed at shows around the Omaha area.
Tilly and the Wall - Pot Kettle Black
from O, 2008
Tilly and the Wall - Lost Girls
from Bottoms of Barrels, 2006
Tilly and the Wall Lost Girls Lyrics
Girl, I know the hall looks dark
and the storm it seems so scary.
Your face lit up on beats of lightning.
You start, you start running.
And your eyes are like screaming.
And since there is no end and no beginning, you will run.
Girl, I know the woods look dark
and the trees they seem so deadly.
The girls around you are so frightened,
You start, you start to panic.
And your courage starts to vanish.
And the world it really is on fire.
And it burns. It burns. It burns.
Vivian, your life is told through 19 thousand pages
in a world too unreal to behold.
Your innocence has faded.
Faded all your blues to gray.
Your skin has bruised through moving days.
Glue is peeling back away.
Curling. Cracking. Painted.
Girl you’ve been rolled up in colorful carpets.
Your blood is rushing, look around you.
You’re froze, you’re frozen quiet.
And your eyes they are widened
Room unfurnished, no light for nightfall.
Just rugs for rolling you up.
You know you can’t get up.
When you do, you swear you will run.
You will run. You will run. You will run.
No one will ever save you if no one can ever find you.
Lost girls. Lost girls. Lost girls.
(Girl I know the hall looks dark when you’re all alone.)
Biography from Wikipedia: Lucero’s punk rock roots flavor their now “country-ish” music, while their southern roots give them the twang that they have come to be known by. The band played for the first time in spring 1998. Since 2001, they have played between 150 and 200 shows a year across the United States and Canada. They have released six full length albums (as of fall 2006), the latest entitled Rebels, Rogues, and Sworn Brothers.
She had a weakness for writers and I, I was never that good at the words anyways.
Lucero - Nights Like These
from Tennessee, 2002
Lucero - Nights Like These Lyrics
It’s nights like these that make me sleep all day.
It’s nights like these that make you feel so far away.
It’s nights like these when nothing is for sure.
It’s nights like these I don’t want you anymore.
Yet I’ve only got this one wish,
that I was good enough to make you forget
the only boy who ever broke your heart.
‘Cause nights like these tear me apart.
It’s nights like these the sad songs don’t help.
It’s nights like these your heart’s with someone else.
It’s nights like these I feel like giving up.
It’s nights like these I don’t seem to count for much.
The beer tastes like blood and my mouth is numb.
I can’t make the words I need to say.
She had a weakness for writers and I,
I was never that good at the words anyways.
Biography from Wikipedia: Pinback is an indie rock band from San Diego, California, currently signed to Touch and Go Records. The band was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV (also known as Zach Smith) and Rob Crow. The band’s moniker is a reference to a character in the film Dark Star and audio samples from this film are used frequently in the band’s early works.
I spent a life time knocking ’round the same old patch of concrete. I waste all my time breaking rocks and painting smiles on my feet.
Pinback - Avignon
from Nautical Antiques (yet released as a B-side many moons ago). 2006
A Handful of Favorite Pinback Words and Songs from Past Albums:
If the line snaps, there’s no air, will you hold me? If I’m asleep, will you wake me? If this rises, we hit the waves, will you dive back down? Someday I will sail again, to a distant shore far away. Pinback - Boo
And the ripped ones say goodbye, while the others meet. Attached somewhere, at least they’re shared. And the ripped ones never collide, while the others… Pinback - Loro
It’s good to see you. Strange when your mind burns. It’s good to see you go. Strange when your mind burns. Oh no, I hit rock bottom. Pinback - Good to Sea
Oh Penelope, are you filled with air? Swallowed oxygen, made you float up. Is it dropsy? Will your lungs swell? It’s depressing me, to see you struggle. Pinback - Penelope
Late at the station, feeling all wound up. Got to walk several blocks past you. Try to read a t-shirt, thinks that I’m a pervert. Sorry, wasn’t getting fresh, but…everything I say to you will probably come out wrong anyway. Pinback - Concrete Seconds + Penelope(fast version)
Nothing makes you writhe. Nothing makes you move as far down the wire. A sudden gesture. Bruise your faith into right. Read yourself into history. Re-write your dementia. Revision.
Co-sign my letter. Pinback - From Nothing to Nowhere
Islands - Creeper Lyrics
Right from the start I was stabbed in the heart.
Didn’t
know I wasn’t breathing.
Didn’t
know I had been bleeding.
Open my door.
Thought I was alone but someone was hiding in the dark room in my home.
Haunted.
You will remember some of it.
But if you solve it,
you will remember all of it.
Creeper in my home.
Crawled in through the window.
I grabbed the kitchen knife.
Couldn’t stick it in. No.
Creeper had his own.
Shinin’ in the moonlight.
My home was very cold.
And something didn’t feel right.
Right from the start I was stabbed in the heart.
Didn’t
know i wasn’t breathing.
Didn’t
know i had been bleeding.
Open my door.
Thought I was alone but someone was hiding in the dark room in my home.
Her Space Holiday will be back in Texas after a four year break from the Lone Star state to promote their new album, “XOXO, Panda and the New Kid Revival”. The 14-track album is two and a half years in the making, and is set to be released on September 9th, 2008. The new album doesn’t contain any samples or electronics, just natural instruments which is quite a change from past HSH releases. The album features guest appearances by Caitlin Love, Kenneth Holland, and Hanni el Khatib. HSH was booked to play SXSW, and I remember my dismay when I saw their name on the south-by schedule one day…and then gone the next. They had to cancel that date, so here’s a second shot at ATX love. The new Texas tour date with Lymbyc System was added in short notice and tickets will be sold at the door, so get there early.
Added Coolness Factor Bonus Point: HSH has toured with the likes of Bright Eyes, Pinback and The American Analog Set (three all time awesome indie bands).
If she had her way, she would know what to say to that girl that comes into her store. By herself, but not alone. It’s her confident charm. And the curve of her arms that tightly bends her circuitry, into a twisted mess of interesting. Her Space Holiday - A Match Made In Texas
I did this myself, it’s a sick cry for help. But it doesn’t mean the situation’s clean. Additional stress that will come from the press, the mess I made putting my life on parade. Now the writers can say “We were right all along, you can’t make someone love you with your songs.” Her Space Holiday – My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend
I used to know this boy who took notes in a book. But he ripped out all the pages, before I got a look. At all the words he scribbled, at all the lines he filled. But the ink stains on his fingers, told me he was skilled. At capturing a feeling, that most of us just miss. The simple pain of living, with goodbyes on our lips. Her Space Holiday – Japanese Gum
Sympathy is everything, when everything fell short. A textbook example of childhood in shambles. It’s not what I want, but it’s what I got. Eventually, I came to see I was seeing things all wrong. I’ve no expectations of people who gave in. My broken heart beats like a bomb. Her Space Holiday – Forever and a Day
The Grammy-Award winning and Academy-Award nominated singer and songwriter, Aimee Mann, will be in Austin tomorrow night. She has been performing for over 26 years, with a discography that includes 15 albums. Will everyone stand up and tearfully sing along Magnolia-style to Mann’s “Wise Up“? One can only hope.
The opening act, David Ford, is a one-man show formerly of the indie rock group Easyworld. It’s safe to call his solo performance an “act”, as Ford is known for a live performance that boasts a sound that appears to be backed by a full band. Checkout the video for “Go to Hell” to get a glimpse of what to expect at a show. It was recorded live and in one take, with Ford playing each instrument while mastering the looping effect that he brings to most of his songs.
After their long awaited reunion in ‘07, the Toadies are touring once again in support of their new album, No Deliverance set to be released on August 19th, 2008. Tickets for their September 3rd show in Austin went on sale this morning over at the Stubb’s website. Tickets will sell out, fast. I saw these guys perform back in the day during their prime (aka: Rubberneck). The albums that followed weren’t quite the same, but If you’re from south Texas it’s a must to see a live show (at least two times, if not more).
Here’s a video attempt at guerrilla marketing for their upcoming album (really, this place doesn’t have locks?…right) from TOADIESsuperfan, plus an old favorite about a stalker from Tyler, Texas.
Toadies in the studio!!! proof!, 2008
The Toadies – Tyler
from Rubberneck, 1994
The Toadies – Tyler Lyrics
And she runs through her days with a smile on her face.
And she runs, and she waits.
And I wait.
We can drive to any place.
Day and night, to cross this state.
And in the morning, into Mexico, we will wake up.
We will wake up.
We will.
I will be with her.
I found a window in the kitchen, where I let myself in.
I rummaged through the refrigerator, poured myself a beer.
I can’t believe I’m really here, and she’s lying in that bed. I can almost feel her touch, and her anxious breath.
I stumble in the hallway, outside her bedroom door.
I hear her call out to me, I hear the fear in her voice.
She pulls the covers tighter.
I press against the door.
I will be with her tonight.
I will be with her tonight.
I will be with her tonight. I will be with her tonight.
I will be with her.
I will be with her.
Playing The Mohawk June 5th in Austin, French Kicks with Frightened Rabbit and Zykos. A night of awesome opening acts. Get there early. I met the guys from Frightened Rabbit back in March and their show definitely topped my all time favorite highlights of south-by-south-west. Great energy, great music. Super stoked about this one, and I haven’t been early for something since…well, I’m just always late.
Playing Club Deville July 25th in Austin, Black Tie Dynasty with The Always Already.
With most indie bands these days taking a trip back to the seventies (no pun intended with the word “trip”), this band’s going to the eighties and I like it. Black Tie Dynasty has been listed under “sounds like” categories with classics such as Depeche Mode, The Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen. The Dallas natives are, however, from the text happy thousands…what with being too busy to add the y and the o to the “u” in the song title below.
