[FairRetailRecordings] #0124 -- Mark Jungers & Adrian Schoolar -- Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

#0124

Here's our final installment of FRR HQ Christmas 2010, featuring Mark Jungers covering John Lennon's Happy Christmas (War Is Over). If you're in central Texas tonight and need to get away from the family or skip church, Mark and the boys are playing the happy hour (6p-9p) set tonight at the Triple Crown in San Marcos. Please refer to Brock Zeman's song "The Triple Crown" for everything you need to know about the Triple Crown.

Merry Christmas, folks.

Artist: Mark Jungers

Date: 2007.12.07

Venue: Sam's Town Point

Track: Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0123 -- Mark Jungers & The Whistling Mules -- Merry Christmas Throughout The Year

#0123

Part two of three of our FRR Christmas coverage from Mark Jungers. Enjoy.

Artist: Mark Jungers

Date: 2009.12.17

Venue: Gruene Hall

Track: Merry Christmas Throughout The Year

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0122 -- Mark Jungers & The Whistling Mules -- Run Run Rudolph

#0122

Our Christmas coverage here at FRR HQ this year consists solely of three of our favorite holiday tunes courtesy of local staple Mark Jungers. First up, a rocked up version of Run Run Rudolph (the one Chuck Berry made popular).

Artist: Mark Jungers

Date: 2009.12.17

Venue: Gruene Hall

Track: Run Run Rudolph

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

The Best Of 2010...Artist Discoveries

We'll kick off our Best of 2010 coverage with our favorite artist discoveries today and continue with the best studio records and best live shows later next week.

Thanks to our friends over at Review Shine, we discovered a little more in terms of new artists in 2010 than previous years.

Sara Petite (site)
Redeye Junction (bandcamp)
Otis Gibbs (site)
Tim Harwill (site)
The Tallest Man On Earth (site)
Mat D. (site)
Mike & The Moonpies (more of a rediscovery) (site)
American Aquarium (site)
Wrinkle Neck Mules (site)
james Keyes (site)
Jacob Jones (site)
Kasey Anderson (site)
Overmountain Men (site)
Tim Barry (site)
The Fox Hunt (site)

The Best Of 2010...Live Shows In and Around ATX

We say it every year, but it bears repeating. Fuckin' A. What a great year for live music in Austin and the surrounding Hill Country. And We even missed most of SXSW.

We didn't hit up too many of the really huge shows (skipped ACL and the aforementioned SXSW miss due to vacation) but we packed in a boatload of high quality local and smaller touring acts.

Here are some of our favorite shows. Links to the audio of the shows are provided where possible.

Leo Rondeau & Mike & The Moonpies at the Mohawk on 2010.01.01 (Leo's set, Moonpies set)
Scott Miller at the Cactus Cafe on 2010.01.19
Chris Wall at Our House Concert on 2010.01.30
Justin Townes Earle at Stubb's BBQ on 2010.02.04
The Gourds & Otis Gibbs at the Cactus Cafe on 2010.02.19 (the Gourds set, Otis Gibbs' set)
Cory Branan & Tumbledown at the Mohawk on 2010.04.12 (Cory's set, Tumbledown's set)
Roger Alan Wade and Friends at the Mean Eyed Cat on 2010.04.14
The Railbenders at Herman's Hideaway on 2010.04.23
The Gourds at Threadgill's South on 2010.05.28
Mark Jungers and Houston Marchman at Gruene Hall 2010.06.18 (Mark's set, Houston's set)
James Hyland & The Joint Chiefs at the Mean Eyed Cat on 2010.07.10
Shinyribs at the Belmont on 2010.08.03
The Sons Of Bill at Emo's on 2010.08.29
Chris Knight at the Cactus Cafe on 2010.09.18
The Old 97s at the Ghost Room on 2010.10.13
Whitey Morgan and the 78s at Lovejoy's on 2010.10.21
Joe Pug at the Cactus Cafe on 2010.11.06
Various Artists performing the Last Waltz at Club Deville on 2010.11.21
Mike & The Moonpies happy hour run at the Mohawk during September (2010.09.02 & 2010.09.30)

[FairRetailRecordings] #0121 -- Shinyribs -- Buy U A Drank

#0120

A hip-hop gem covered by Shinyribs (aka Kevin Russell from the Gourds).

Artist: Shinyribs
Date: 2010.08,03
Venue: The Belmont
Track: Buy U A Drank

Enjoy. And support your local music.

The Best Of 2010...Official Releases

2010 was an interesting year for us here at the alt512. Lots of our favorite traditional OKOM powerhouses are in between records (some moreso than others - Slaid, Hayes, Corb, Charlie Robison) which really allowed us to focus on some more of the truly independent and self-produced music that came out this year.

Our favorite individual track was a toss up between Roger Alan Wade's "Deguello Motel", JTE's "Harlem River Blues" and Josh Ritter's "Folk Bloodbath". Great fucking songs.

It's hard for us to narrow the best of 2010 down to a single favorite because all of these records are so good but Hyland's Celestial Navigation really blew us away.

Alt512's Top Eight:
James Hyland & The Joint Chiefs Celestial Navigation
Shinyribs Well After A While
Red Eye Junction Better Days
James Keyes Ruminations
Sara Petite Doghouse Rose
The Fox Hunt Long Way To Go -- Late addition to the list, like 12/31 late
Tim Harwill The Wander Man Revisited
Mike & The Moonpies The Real Country

The Best Of The Rest:
Roger Alan Wade Deguello Motel
Buchanan Suit Of Lights
Josh Ritter So Runs The World Away
Various Artists Broken Hearts And Dirty Windows: Songs Of John Prine
Tim Hus Hockeytown
Justin Townes Earle Harlem River Blues
Overmountain Men Glorious Day
Adam Carroll & Michael O'Connor Hard Times
The Tallest Man On Earth The Wild Hunt

[FairRetailRecordings] #0120 -- Graham Weber -- The Way That I Feel

#0120

Gotta start clearing out this backlog in anticipation of the 2nd Annual Christmas celebration here at FRR HQ.

Artist: Graham Weber
Date: 2010.06.24
Venue: Threadgill's
Track: The Way That I Feel

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0119 -- Mike & The Moonpies -- Barrio

#0119

A belated part two here from the Moonpies. They're playing the Hole In The Wall with another favorite of ours, Leo Rondeau next Monday the 22nd. Don't miss it.

Artist: Mike & The Moonpies

Date: 2010.09.02

Venue: The Mohawk

Track: Barrio

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

Joe Pug & The Hundred Mile Band Live @ The Cactus Cafe on 2010.11.06 [Live Audio]

Joe Pug and the Hundred Mile Band closed out their $10 Tour in Austin at the Cactus Cafe to a young, packed room. Accompanied by Matt Schuessler on upright bass and Jordan Hamlin on electric guitar and accordian, Pug tore through a baker's dozen of his best compositions Saturday night before closing the show with a cover of the Low Anthem's "To Ohio". Of the Joe Pug shows I've seen, this was far and away the best.

If you missed it, never fear. LMA link to MP3s and FLACs and stream below. Enjoy.

http://www.archive.org/details/joepug2010-11-06.matrix.flac

Whitey Morgan & The 78s Live @ Lovejoy's On 2010.10.21 [Live Audio]

We figure we'll pile on the Whitey Morgan and the 78s love.

We confess. We haven't heard the new record from Whitey Morgan and the 78s. Our bad. But we have seen them live since the record came out and got to hear a bunch of the new tunes. And they did not disappoint.

From the opening of John Prine's Paradise, to the closing of Dale Watson's "Where Do You Want It?", they band sounded fantastic and looked to be having a great time in front of the regulars at Lovejoy's in Austin. Have a listen for yourself.

http://www.archive.org/details/wm78s2010-10-21.matrix.flac

[FairRetailRecordings] #0118 -- Mike & The Moonpies -- El Camino

#0118

Mike and The Moonpies is one of the best straight-up-country bands on the rise in Austin at this moment. We've got a couple of their tunes over the next few installments of the FRR. Check out their new record, The Real Country.

Artist: Mike & The Moonpies

Date: 2010.09.02

Venue: The Mohawk

Track: El Camino

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0117 -- Sons Of Bill -- Lost Loves And Indie Rockers

#0117

At the Old 97s show last night, I mentioned that there's nothing worse than ugly hipsters. This song addresses many of my hipster-centric concerns.

Artist: Sons Of Bill

Date: 2010.08.29

Venue: Emo's

Track: Lost Loves And Indie Rockers

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0116 -- The Gourds -- The New Way Of Grievin' And Smokin' > Promised Land > Grievin' And Smokin'

#0116

Artist: The Gourds

Date: 2010.05.28

Venue: Threadgill's South

Track: Grievin' And Smokin' > Promised Land > Grievin' And Smokin' (too large to email, click on the track name to download/listen)

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

James Hyland -- Celestial Navigation [Buy This Now]

I've had James Hyland's Celestial Navigation on my iPhone since before it was released earlier this week but finally found time to give it a listen. I will say that I am glad I didn't let it go any longer and that I love this fucking album. I just started my third listen all the way through.

Hyland, formerly of the South Austin Jug Band, spent a good, long time crafting this record, honing the songs and the sound at places like Momo's, the Saxon Pub and the Mean Eyed Cat over the last two years in front of dozens of people (literally). The resulting record is nothing short of incredible. Cohorts Warren Hood, Willie Pipkin, Kim Deschamps, Robb Kidd, Chris Maresh and Dennis Ludiker lend their tremendous talents to Hyland's vision-brought-to-life very skillfully by producer Steven Doster.

Having seen Hyland live year after year in the various forms of the South Austin Jug Band and solo, I've seen these songs evolve and evolve (Come To Me, 2008.04.01) and I can say with some modicum of authority that the result is nothing short of perfection. The ten tracks on this record flow seamlessly from one to another and yet each is able to stand firmly on its own. There is not a low point on the record. IMO, that speaks to the strength of Hyland's songwriting and collective vision and execution between him and Doster and the players, known here as the Joint Chiefs.

"American Son", "21 Days 21 Towns", "Paint A Girl" and "Girls From Lake Ponchartrain" are my early favorites after three listens.

Please, please, please, do yourself a favor and go download this record from bandcamp:
http://jameshyland.bandcamp.com/

Hyland is employing the name your-own-price pricing tier which includes FREE. Whatever you can afford, it will be worth your hard earned greenbacks or silver to pick up this record. What the hell are you waiting for? Go. Buy. Download. Listen.

If you're interested, you can find some recent Hyland live performances over at the LMA:
http://www.archive.org/details/jameshyland2010-08-27.fm.flac [solo, radio show]





http://www.archive.org/details/jameshyland2010-07-10.matrix.flac [Joint Chiefs (band) show]

[FairRetailRecordings] #0114 -- The Gourds -- Chinese Variety Hour

#0114

Sorry, 114 and 115 got switched in the order they were mailed out. My bad. Enjoy The Chinese Variety Hour. Really give the lyrics a listen. Pure gold!

Artist: The Gourds

Date: 2010.05.28

Venue: Threadgill's South

Track: Chinese Variety Hour

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0115 -- The Gourds -- Shamrock Bound

#0115

Nothing quite like a song about growing a beard for a beard-growing contest on St Patty's Day.

Artist: The Gourds

Date: 2010.05.28

Venue: Threadgill's South

Track: Shamrock Bound

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0113 -- Jack Ingram -- Barbie Doll

#0113

To say the crowd is out of tune would be a disservice to how out of tune they really are. And you know it's got to be bad because (1) I wasn't singing along [bucket/tune/no carry] and (2) I am commenting on how out of tune things get on here.

At any rate, this is from a very fun Jack Ingram show we attended shortly after moving to Austin, back in the Second Age of Ingram. The First and Third Ages of Ingram pale in comparison to the Second, in my humble opinion. I'm hoping for good things from the Fourth Age of Ingram due out any decade now.

Artist: Jack Ingram

Date: 2005.03.02

Venue: The Cactus Cafe

Track: Barbie Doll

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

Sons Of Bill Live @ Emo's On 2010.08.29 [Live Audio]

We had the good fortune to have the Sons Of Bill drop by Austin and play Emo's this past Sunday made for an unpleasant Monday (thanks to Jack Daniels) but well worth it. The crowd was sort of sparse but definitely were into the band. And the band definitely came to rock and rock they did.

Given our familiarity with only the Sons Of Bill's latest One Town Away, we were thrilled with the new tunes ("This Losing Fight", "Lost Loves And Indie Rockers", "Valley Of The Dead") and the ones from their previous effort, A Far Cry From Freedom ("Far Cry", "Roll On Jordan", "Whispering"). The cover Neil Young's "Unknown Legend" was what put the show over the top for us.

Come back soon, Sons Of Bill. We'll bring more people next time.

You can can download the entire show from the LMA here (or stream it below):

http://www.archive.org/details/sonsofbill2010-08-29.matrix.flac

[FairRetailRecordings] #0112 -- Eleven Hundred Springs -- Northside Blues

#0112

By chance, today's installment of FRR features Eleven Hundred Springs who will be at the Continental Club tonight at midnight after the Stone River Boys. Get out and support if you can.

Artist: Eleven Hundred Springs

Date: 2009.10.12

Venue: The Continental Club

Track: Northside Blues

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0111 -- I See Hawks In LA -- Slash From Guns N Roses

#0111

These guys need to come back to Austin for some shows. Been four+ years which is far too long.

Artist: I See Hawks In LA

Date: 2006.06.07

Venue: The Cactus Cafe

Track: Slash From Guns N Roses

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0110 -- Leo Rondeau -- Looking For The Heart Of Saturday Night

#0110

Leo covers Tom Waits! Loved it on the Nighthawks At The Diner record. Loved it again on It's A Good Night For Singing.

Artist: Leo Rondeau

Date: 2010.05.29

Venue: Club DeVille

Track: Looking For The Heart Of Saturday Night

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0109 -- Jerry Mynatt -- Forgive Me

#0109

Part two of the Jerry Mynatt hookup. Another excellent selection.

Artist: Jerry Mynatt

Date: 2009.09.03

Venue: The Mean Eyed Cat

Track: Forgive Me

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0108 -- Jerry Mynatt -- Bullet Zero Bottle One

#0108

From a Roger Alan Wade show where he invited Jerry up to play a couple of songs. The two songs he played were absolute killers. Here's the first. The second will be coming next week.

Artist: Jerry Mynatt w/ Jason Daly

Date: 2009.07.08

Venue: The Mean Eyed Cat

Track: Bullet Zero Bottle One

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0107 -- Houston Marchman -- Wichita Falls

#0107

Here's Houston Marchman on the big stage at Gruene Hall with a damn fine band doing one of my favorites of his. Ah, prison songs. Will they ever get old?

Artist: Houston Marchman

Date: 2010.06.18

Venue: Gruene Hall

Track: Wichita Falls

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.

[FairRetailRecordings] #0106 -- Ryan Bingham -- Hard Times

#0106

From back before the fame or the Oscar. Don't know where this came from or who recorded it, but it's definitely worth sharing. FYI, Bingham's also got a new record coming out on September 6th called Junky Star.

Artist: Ryan Bingham

Date: 2005.11.04

Venue: The Blue Door

Track: Hard Times

Enjoy. And support your local music scene.