TCB
Fifteen music lists from 2003, plus a sample Austin Music Poll ballot. Fill yours out now!
By Christopher Gray, Fri., Jan. 2, 2004
Well, That Was Fun
Has it been a year already? Sure has. Eminem won an Oscar, someone got booted from Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic for smoking reefer, and 2003 is mercifully ready for a toe tag. At least Central Texas was a much nicer place to be than Tikrit or the Neverland Ranch. The world at large continued slipping into darkness, and we just kept crankin' the tunes. Maybe that's why Blender magazine rated Austin No. 4 on its "Best Music Cities" list. Four. Yeah, right. Tell that to the 80,000 on hand for the Austin City Limits Festival in Zilker Park, the 78704 lifers at Threadgill's or the Saxon Pub, and the throngs on Red River every Friday and Saturday night. Don't mess with Texas. But then, who wouldn't take Billy Joe Shaver over Clay Aiken?
Stop the Presses
Hot topics in the 512 this year
1) Rollergirl fever
2) Dixie Chicks: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."
3) Bogus wristbands at SXSW
4) Capital Sports & Entertainment signs on to co-produce Austin City Limits.
5) The Carousel Lounge turns 40, KLBJ-FM and the Back Room 30, and Dazed and Confused 10.
6) Smoking ban goes down in flames.
7) A stricter sound ordinance passes.
8) Billy Bob Thornton is everywhere.
9) So are the Eighties.
10) Musical clubs: the Longbranch Inn and Bigsby's open; Hole in the Wall and the Caucus Club reopen; Ruta Maya relocates; and the Mercury becomes the Parish.
Out-of-Towners
Cool Texas bands not from Austin or San Marcos
Clouseaux (Houston)
The Deathray Davies (Dallas)
The Riverboat Gamblers (Denton)
Dixie Witch (Denton)
Eisley (Tyler)
The El Orbits (Houston)
Fatal Flying Guilloteens (Houston)
The Mars Volta (El Paso)
Molly & the Ringwalds (Houston)
Pleasant Grove (Dallas)
Rusted Shut (Houston)
Two Tons of Steel (San Antonio)
Secret Agent 08 (Texas City)
The Union Underground (San Antonio)
Award Tour
Roadshows worth the "service charge"
Ash, Emo's
Audioslave, Austin Music Hall
The Briefs, Beerland
Cheap Trick, Emo's/Stubb's
Coldplay, Frank Erwin Center
The Donnas, Emo's
Drive-by Truckers, the Parish
Interpol, Stubb's
My Morning Jacket, the Parish
Rocket From the Tombs, Emo's
Slayer, Austin Music Hall
George Strait, Frank Erwin Center
Supergrass, La Zona Rosa
X, Emo's
The White Stripes, Stubb's
Hit Me
Why radio almost didn't totally suck this year:
Christina Aguilera, "Fighter"
All-American Rejects, "Swing Swing"
Audioslave, "Like a Stone"
Chingy, "Right Thurr"
Coldplay, "Clocks"
Dido, "White Flag"
Hilary Duff, "So Yesterday"
Evanescence, "Bring Me to Life"
50 Cent, "In da Club," "P.I.M.P."
Fountains of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom"
Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, "Get Low"
Brad Paisley, "Celebrity"
Queens of the Stone Age, "Go With the Flow"
Sum 41, "The Hell Song"
White Stripes, "The Hardest Button to Button"
The Perfect Kiss
Ten great moments in music television, 2003:
1) Justin Timberlake nearly cries on Punk'd.
2) Johnny Cash's "Hurt" video
3) Dixie Chick Natalie Maines' "F.U.T.K." T-shirt on the CMA Awards
4) The White Stripes' "Jolene" on Late Night With Conan O'Brien
5) Haydn Vitera's "Drinking My Baby Goodbye" on CMT's Stars Over Texas
6) Spoon's "The Way We Get By" opens an episode of Fox's The OC.
7) Comedy Central's Insomniac hits the Flamingo Cantina.
8) The premiere of KNVA-54's All Access Live
9) The Austin Music Network stays on the air.
10) Britney and Madonna
Welcome Back
Clifford Antone
Ed Hall
Roky Erickson
The Motards
J.T. Van Zandt
Get Well Soon
Alejandro Escovedo
Adios Amigos
Handsome Joel
Tary Owens
Al Ragle
Amberdiva
E.R. Shorts
Sound Exchange
Steamboat
Jupiter Records
Ünloco
USS Friendship
Sexy Finger Champs
Winslow
Kris Van Robbins
National Top 10
1) Drive-by Truckers, Decoration Day (New West)
2) 50 Cent, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope)
3) Kings of Leon, Youth & Young Manhood (RCA)
4) Dropkick Murphys, Blackout (Hellcat/Epitaph)
5) Fountains of Wayne, Welcome Interstate Managers (S-Curve/Virgin)
6) Dwight Yoakam, Population Me (Koch/Audium)
7) Ludacris, Chicken-N-Beer (Def Jam South)
8) AFI, Sing the Sorrow (Dreamworks)
9) The Sounds, Living in America (New Line)
10) My Morning Jacket, It Still Moves (ATO/RCA)
Texas Top 10
1) Grand Champeen, The One That Brought You (Glurp)
2) Scott H. Biram, Lo-Fi Mojo (KnuckleSandwich)
3) Zykos, Comedy Horn (Post-Parlo)
4) HeKill Three, 3.0 (Cardinal Zen)
5) Trish Murphy, Girls Get in Free (Raven)
6) The Riverboat Gamblers, Something to Crow About (Gearhead)
7) Masonic, Too Far. Too Fast. Too Soon
8) Pink Swords, One Night High (Mortville)
9) Eisley, Laughing City and Marvelous Things EPs (Reprise)
10) Various, Ear Candy (Affordable Sound)
Poll Tax
Now packing a whopping 52 categories, the 2003-04 Austin Music Poll is more thorough than an Army physical. Here's what one might look like -- emphasis on "might":
Austin Band of the Year: Dixie Chicks
Austin Musician of the Year: Scott H. Biram
Austin Song of the Year: HeKill Three, "Dayglo"
Album of the Year: Grand Champeen, The One That Brought You
Best New Austin Band: This Microwave World
Rock: The Real Heroes
Alternative/Punk: The Ends
Metal/Industrial: HeKill Three
Electronica/DJ: DJ Sue (Fuzz Club)
Pop: Moonlight Towers
Jazz: Gnappy
Blues: Gary Clark Jr.
Hip-Hop: Mirage
Jam: Golden Arm Trio
Experimental/Instrumental: Tia Carrera
Country: Weary Boys
Roots-Rock: Milton Mapes
Folk: Li'l Cap'n Travis
Latin Traditional: Grupo Fantasma
Latin Contemporary: Los Lonely Boys
World Music: The Stingers
Cover Band: Oh, Beast! as Gary Numan's Tubeway Army/ Cruiserweight as G'N'F'n'R'
Kid Band: The Distressed
None of the Above: Pong
Female Vocals: Trish Murphy
Male Vocals: Shane Bartell
Electric Guitar: Jason Morales, Tia Carrera
Acoustic Guitar:
Scott H. Biram
Bass: Jimmy Smith, the Gourds
Drums: Lyman Hardy, Pong
Keyboards: Laura Scarborough
Horns: Grupo Fantasma
Strings: My Education
Miscellaneous Instrument: Attic Ted (theremin)
Songwriter: Matt the Electrician
Record Producer: Joe Gracey, for Willie Nelson & Ray Price's Run That by Me One More Time
New Club: Longbranch Inn
Live Music Venue: Room 710
Acoustic Venue: The Parlor
All-Ages Venue: Emo's
Record Store: Jupiter
Instrument/Equipment Store: Rock n Roll Rentals
Radio Station: Z102.3FM
Radio Program: Hot 93.3's live Saturday night broadcasts
Radio Personality: Trina Quinn, 101X
Band Web Site: www.kissingertheband.com
Local Music TV Series: All Access Live, KNVA
Music Video/DVD: The Reel Austin volumes 1 & 2
Concert Poster: Anything from Bearded Lady, Factor 27, or Billy Bishop
Writer: Max Dropout, Let Them Eat Lead
Cover Art: Robert Earl Keen, Farm Fresh Onions
Roadshow: Audioslave, Austin Music Hall
Hall of Fame: Bill Anderson, Blues Boy Hubbard, Gary Chester, Johnny Gimble, Mike Buck, Terri Lord
Girls Guitar Club
Who said Austin was a boy's town? Not these ladies:
The Applicators
Marcia Ball
Jane Bond
Carrie Clark (Via Satellites)
Kacy Crowley
Fast Tammy (Eastside Suicides)
Ruthie Foster & Cyd Cassone
Claire Hamilton (the Breathers)
Floramay Holliday
Shelley King
Ginger Leigh
Elizabeth McQueen
Doe Montoya (20 Eyed Dragon)
Laura Scarborough
Sarah Sharp
Sheridan
Slum City
Tosca
The Tunahelpers
Patricia Vonne
The Winks
Eliza Wren
Howdy
Richard Buckner
Former Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'Arcy
Max Dropout, Let Them Eat Lead
Her Space Holiday
Will Johnson (Centro-matic)
Neal Pollack
Phil Waldorf (Misra Records)
Feels Like the First Time
Hit the mark right out of the chute
Attic Ted
The Breathers, Work and Sleep
The Dash Kizer Experience, Rise of the White-Trash Superhero
Ainjel Emme, Heartache Is Boring
The Golden Apples
Gorch Fock
The Greencards, Movin' On
Los Lonely Boys, Los Lonely Boys
Manikin
Oh, Beast! Makin' It in the Scene
Onion Creek Crawdaddies, Barn Burners & Bathtub Bourbon
Pink Swords, One Night High
Rockland Eagles, Rock! Fight! Win!
Tia Carrera, The November Session
Zykos, Comedy Horn
In the Pipeline
Bands with albums (allegedly) due in '04
Shane Bartell
Bedbug
Slaid Cleaves
Cruiserweight
Dexter Freebish
Andrew Duplantis
Fastball
Fivehead
The Flatlanders
Kissinger
Li'l Cap'n Travis
Pong
The Real Heroes
Recover
Spoon
Young Heart Attack
The Next Wave
Local bands that won't stay under the radar much longer
The Addiction
American Idles
Bellaparker
Charter Bulldogs
Choking Ahogo
Enough About the King
The Fighting Brothers McCarthy
Low Technicians
The Rock-a-Tones
Slowtrain
Socialburn
SteerS
Stepbrothers
Stop the Truck
What Made Milwaukee Famous
