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"This is simply one of the greatest clubs in the country.
With its rich tradition and great reputation for always having good music,
the Continental Club seems to be a hot spot for anyone who really likes
music. And if you go, you just may find yourself sitting next to Julia Roberts
or Johnny Depp. You never know at the CC. And that's why bigger acts always make a stop here on tour. As far as
musicians are concerned, there's no better place to play...or go."
~CitySearch.com
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Hello everyone! The weather in Austin has been crazy again with torrential thunderstorms & tornados & hail. With all that, we still haven't made a dent in the drought - we'd need another 13". And our winter will be over in just a few weeks anyway. Our real spring begins in March, and that's right around the corner. And you know what that means... requests are beginning to flood in from bands looking for a place to play around and during SXSW. Why does it seems so early this year? And just a word to the wise, if you don't already play here SXSW is not the best time to ask for a gig. SXSW Interactive will be March 9–13; Film: March 9–17; and Music: March 13–18. And of course the end of SXSW leads us right to the 11th Annual Lonestar Rod & Kustom Round Up. The Round Up will be April 13-15 this year, and registration is now open! And yes, the week of the Round Up will see Southern Culture On The Skids back for a Tuesday-Saturday round of gigs. Steve is working hard on putting together another awesome lineup of bands for the Round Up. It's going to be a blast. Ahhh, Spring! How I love thee...
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You can follow us on our Facebook Pages for The Continental Club & CC Gallery in Austin. If you're on Facebook, we'd love to have you "Like" our pages. And we've just joined Tumblr as well! We also have Twitter accounts for The Continental Club and The Continental Club Gallery that are updated daily (unless it's my day off and I forget). We're still on MySpace for The Continental Club & The Continental Club Gallery in Austin. Things change so quickly though that it's always best to double-check with our Austin online calendar (click on Upcoming Shows and then click on calendar date), or call the Austin Club at 512-441-2444 for the most up-to-date information.
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Please Note: While I try to be very accurate with lineups, times & cover charges for our shows, last-minute changes and errors can, and sometimes do, occur. Call the Club at 512-441-2444 for the most current information for Austin shows. Also, we are a 21+ venue! No under-21 admissions!
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The Continental Club History is always an ongoing project for me. If you have stories or photos to share, I would love to hear/see them! I've posted several photos of the refurbished CC sign from 1987 on our photo page. I'm now I'm also getting together with Mrs. Jeanette Brown regarding the early years - her family owns the 1200 block where Amy's Ice Cream & Zen are located. Mrs. Brown has many early photos & stories for me! Jennifer Luna, the granddaughter of previous operators, Gilbert & Jo Kathryn Grovier, is arranging for me to interview her relatives regarding their memories of The Continental Club. I've also found a lot of information on The Continental Club's very first residency band - The Mascots - from 1955! You can even hear 6 of their songs on MP3. Click here to learn more, view the photos & find the link to hear the MP3s.
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Do you want to see the photos that we take around the
Club? Photo links . If you would like to submit photos you've taken, please
send JPGs in either of the following formats: approximately 5"x7"
@ 300dpi to allow for resizing, or 300 pixels height @ 72dpi.
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Are you a customer with questions about upcoming show times,
tickets, cover charge etc.? In Austin call: (512) 441-0202 or (512) 441-2444
or e-mail Dianne at info@continentalclub.com.
In Houston call: (713)529-9899 or (713) 529-9666. Are you a musician inquiring
about booking a gig? Booking in Austin: steve@continentalclub.com.
PR in Austin: Dianne, info@continentalclub.com.
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If you would like to get on the list to receive a weekly e-mail
of our happenings, please request the Austin info from Dianne at info@continentalclub.com.
Please let me know if you want to receive the newsletter for the Club or the Gallery or both! To unsubscribe from the e-mail version, or if you feel that you have received
the e-mail in error, please respond to info@continentalclub.com with "unsubscribe" as the subject. Don't forget to get your birthday
to me if you want to be on the monthly birthday list.
Keep readin' & rockin'....
Dianne
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These are ongoing charitable organizations and/or friends in need that could use your help...
• Family Eldercare provides essential services to seniors, adults with disabilities and caregivers. Family Eldercare works toward olders and adults with disabilities living in a supportive community with dignity and as much independence as possible. Family Eldercare was founded in 1982 by a group of professionals concerned with supporting the family's role as caregiver for frail elders through training and information. The agency soon expanded to include services to prevent abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of elders and adults with disabilities. Today, Family Eldercare provides a continuum of services on a sliding fee scale to more than 6,000 elders, people with disabilities and their caregivers annually in Travis, Williamson and Hays counties. Contact and Staff Information; Map and Directions
• Breast cancer Resource Center The Austin chapter could use your support! You can donate via PayPal here. Breast Cancer Resource Centers (BCRC) of Texas is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting individuals affected by breast cancer and their families, caregivers and friends. Staffed by breast cancer survivors, we are a professional organization that eliminates barriers to quality treatment and provides support and information in ways that are as unique as the individuals we serve. Our services are offered at no charge and are available regardless of age, income, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. With information that empowers, a community that understands and help where—and how—you need it most, breast cancer is a journey you don’t have to make alone.
• SIMS Foundation Confidential Clinical Number: (512) 494-1007; Office Number: (512) 472-1008; Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2152, Austin, TX 78768-2152; Email: info@simsfoundation.org. The SIMS Foundation’s Mission is to provide access to and financial support for mental health and addiction recovery services for Austin-area musicians and their families. SIMS' therapists offer individual and family, group, and couples counseling and have a variety of specialties to meet our clients' needs. In addition, SIMS provides a full range of addiction recovery services: medical detoxification, inpatient treatment and sober living.
• Three years ago, Austin Pets Alive! set a goal of making Austin a no-kill city and we never once doubted that, of all cities, Austin would be able to do it. On March 1st, 2011, Town Lake Animal Center announced that in the month of February their Live Outcome rate was 92%. The No-Kill goal is 90% so not only did Austin reach No-Kill, we passed it! Donations to Austin Pets Alive! are always gladly accepted. Short on cash? Also, consider that Austin Pets Alive! is always in need of more foster homes too. The number of lives they can save is directly related to the number of foster homes they have. Fostering a pet for as short as 24 hours can save its life. Click the links if you would like to foster a pet or volunteer your time. Austin Pets Alive! has moved to 1156 W Cesar Chavez St, Austin, Texas 78703
• Austin Animal Center has moved to its new larger location at Levander Loop, Austin, Texas 78702. 512-978-0500. Please call 3-1-1 for assistance with an animal issue after business hours. After 60 years of operation the Town Lake Animal Center closed on Nov. 9, and reopened as the Austin Animal Center in a new state-of-the art facility that is designed to provide a safer, healthier atmosphere for lost and homeless animals and for visitors who come to get a pet. It’s modern features allow for more efficient and effective care by staff and volunteers, including vastly improved facilities for animals with injuries or illness. Austin Animal services runs the largest animal shelter in Central Texas, providing shelter to more than 23,000 animals each year and animal control services to all of Austin and Travis County. The Animal Center is an open-intake facility where stray and owned animals from Travis County in need of shelter are accepted regardless of age, health, species or breed. It is the goal of the Austin Animal Center to place all adoptable animals in forever homes.
• Humane Society of Williamson County - A non-profit, No-Kill shelter! 10930 E. Crystal Falls Parkway, Leander, Texas 78641. Call (512) 260-3602 for more information. The Humane Society of Williamson County (HSWC) is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization founded in 1979. HSWC is 100% funded by donations, grants and fees for services. They receive no government funding. Their mission is to provide innovative programs and services to eliminate pet overpopulation and to improve the lives of pets and people. On March 1, 2007, the HSWC implemented a "No-Kill" sheltering model. With the opening of the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter - the new municipally-operated facility to house all stray and owner-released animals in the area - we have refocused our life-saving efforts towards community services and programs that will enable Williamson County to become a safe place where no adoptable pet is euthanized simply because it cannot find a home. With more clearly focused programs to support our mission, we can achieve more to move our community toward a No-Kill community. The combination of high volume adoptions, accessible and affordable spay/neuter services along with programs to help families keep their pets are the keys to building a No-Kill community. There are no good guys or bad guys in the animal sheltering world. Both "No-Kill" and open-door organizations want euthanasia to end. You can help reduce euthanasia rates by spaying or neutering your pets, adopting from a shelter, and supporting your local animal shelter with monetary donations or volunteer time.
• Formed in 2009, the Pinetop Perkins Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide encouragement and support for young people at the beginning of their musical career; and help provide care and safety for elderly musicians at the twilight of their career. Fulfilling the first part of their mission, the Foundation offers an annual Youth Workshop Series to bring world-renowned blues artists for instruction and mentoring to young musicians. To find out about the 2012 workshop series and to find out more about the foundation's many activities check out the website.
• The James Burton Foundation supports music education for those in need through guitar donations and music instruction to schools, hospitals, and community service organizations. Research proves the academic and social value of music education through higher scores across study areas, and improved psychological health among students. However, national, state, and local governments under support music education. The Foundation has given thousands of guitars to schools, and children’s and veteran’s hospitals, and will continue this effort. Now, the Foundation is prepared to expand its music education program, facilities, and partnership outreach through their many community outreach programs. The James Burton Foundation is a 501c3 organization.
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Monday HH @ 6:30-9pm. No cover - Adam Johnson & The Pay Me's. Combining elements of Blues, Soul and hard driving R&B, Adam Johnson & The Pay Me's have been entertaining crowds all across Texas from dive bars to high class music venues. Presenting a diverse showcase of house rockers, slow ballads & originals in a revue style that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Johnson is basically a blues and soul enthusiast‘s vinyl collection personified; heartfelt and heartbroken, smooth yet fierce and raw. Only 19 years of age, Johnson already has several years (and several hundred shows) worth of stage experience, brimming with machismo energy and a knack for catching the eyes of all. Backed by the newly-dubbed Pay Me’s, an Austin rhythm section consisting of the Asylum Street Spanker’s Morgan Patrick Thompson (bass) and Mark Henne (drums), Johnson’s abilities finally made it to the studio for an album. Teal Collins' new project, Whiskey Sisters, will debut here in March!
Video Links:
Adam Johnson
Tuesday HH @ 6:30pm-9:30pm. $7 - The undisputed Queen of The Continental, Miss
Toni Price, continues to pack the house for her
Happy Tuesday Hippie Hour! The cover is $7 for an incredible evening of music. She will feature
a cast of musicians which will include some of her super-talented sidekicks like Rich Brotherton, Marshall Hood, Warren Hood, Willie Pipkin, and others.
Video Links:
Toni
Price
Wednesday HH @ 6:30-9pm. No cover - Hot Club of Cowtown returns for January & most of February! Since their first recording in 1998, Austin-based Hot Club of Cowtown have grown to be the most globe-trotting, hardest-swinging Western swing trio on the planet. The first American band to tour Azerbaijan, they have opened stadiums for such artists as Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson and continue to bring their brand of western swing to a wide range of festival audiences all over the world. But for guitarist Whit Smith, fiddler Elana James and bassist Jake Erwin, it has always been about staying true to their roots.
Video Links:
Hot Club of Cowtown
Thursday HH (since August 2007) @ 6:30pm-9:30pm. $5 - Three…two…one…BLASTOFF! Rock-it with Casper Rawls and the Planet Casper crew every Thursday at the Continental Club! Planet Casper’s revolving cast of characters includes David
Grissom, Warren Hood, "Scrappy"
Jud Newcomb, Rich
Brotherton, Marvin
Dykhuis, Mandy Mercier, Rick Richards, Rosie Flores, Steve Doerr, Robyn Ludwick, Earl
Poole Ball, Tracie Lynn, David Halley, Julieann Banks, Glenn
Fukunaga, Kevin Smith, Chris Maresh, Randy Glines, David
Carroll, Ivan Brown, Nate Rowe, Jackie Newhouse, Sarah
Brown, Barry "Frosty" Smith, Ernie Durawa, Lisa Pankratz, Eddie Cantu, David Sanger, Jim Starboard, and Jon Hahn. What to expect? Just about everything from an all-acoustic front-porch hang to an electric romp through blazing instrumentals. Planet Casper is abundant with surprising and unpredictable treats of musicianship, groove and damn good songs. Strap yourself in -- you never know who might share the planet with Casper that night.
1/26: Guests Warren Hood and Marvin Dykhuis make this the SoCo place to be...only 5 dollars!
2/2: First February Thursday Fun with Marvin Dykhuis, Ivan Brown and Jim Starboard...only 5 bucks!
2/9: Roots Rock? Americana? These guys invented it! Join Steve Doerr, Jackie Newhouse and Ernie Durawa for some SoCo rockin! Just 5 bucks!
2/16: Join Guitar Hero David Grissom, David Carroll and Jon Hahn for some Continental Club style fun...only 5 bucks!
2/23: Mucho award winning singer/songwriter/producer Robyn Ludwick, her husband John and talented bandmates make this the Thursday spot to be! So happy for their return to the Planet...just 5 bucks!
Video Links:
Planet Casper
Friday HH (since January 1988) @ 6:30pm-8:30pm. No cover - The
Blues Specialists have played continuously on Fridays at The
Continental Club for 22 years! Although founding members Erbie Bowser &
T.D. Bell have passed on, the authentic blues tradition continues with band Mel Davis(T-Bone Walker's nephew - he doesn't brag on it, so I will) on vocals, sax & harmonica and T.D.'s son, Lawrence on keyboards.
Video Links:
Blues
Specialists
Saturday Matinee (since 2001) @ 3pm-7pm. No cover - Redd Volkaert (Merle Haggard) picks & grins for his classic country Saturday matinees
with a great cast of players, including Rich Harney, Nate Rowe and Chris Gilson. Redd's playing is so revered that many other
musicians come to Redd's shows just to study his technique & sound.
He is a Telecaster master with a Sex
Drive™, Zia
Drive™ and a Mucho
™ too! Except 1/28 when Earl Poole Ball's Rockabilly Bluze, featuring Casper Rawls is here.
Video Links:
Redd Volkaert
Rockabilly Bluze
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Early Show Sunday Evenings! Doors open @6:30pm, Show @ 7pm. $15 - Returning to where it all began, JUNIOR BROWN! Junior Brown & the lovely Tanya Rae will be here most Sundays from now to eternity (or until he gets tired of doing it!) In Junior's hands, the guit-steel is an amazing tool, a means to creating some of the hottest, most heartfelt playing heard in years (and in a town like Austin, that's saying something). His talents have led major magazines like Musician to herald Junior as a genius. Life magazine honored him as the only contemporary musician included in their "All Time Country Band," and Guitar Player magazine's 1994 "Best of..." listings made him their #1 lap steel player, #2 Country Artist, and #3 country album (Guit With It). Instrumentalist is only one of the hats the 43-year-old is comfortable wearing – along with singer, songwriter, and producer – and he is equally adept and impressive in each role, having turned professional as a teenager in the late 60's. "Junior and Tanya Rae decided to seek out the best environment for their musical vision. The place was Austin, Texas, where the lines between various musical styles and genres have always been a bit blurry. They set up shop at the legendary Continental Club, where slowly but surely their appearances there got people talking." Now after several years of living in Oklahoma they've returned to us! With the addition of the Junior Brown early show, Sundays have become one of our most action-packed, music-filled days of the week. Occasional afternoon benefits will still be scheduled that may take the place of the Early Show.
Video Links:
Junior Brown
Sunday nights (since July 2000) @ 10. $8 - Heybale! featuring guitarist and singer Redd Volkaert (Merle Haggard) and piano man & singer Earl
Poole Ball (Johnny Cash) is Austin's best & most popular country
supergroup! The lineup includes singer, songwriter, guitarist and SeriusXM host of Outlaw Country and Willie's Place, Dallas Wayne,
upright
bass player Kevin Smith (Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, High Noon) and
drummer Tom Lewis (Raul Malo, Jim Lauderdale). It's all
Heybale!, all night, and still a bargain at $8!
"When country music was 'discovered' to be more popular than rock and a host of other genres in the 90s it seemed to prompt Nashville and elsewhere to aim to be everything for everyone. To some extent they succeeded, but they gave up something in the process, and if you want to get a taste of what that something is here it is. I love these songs, and the way these guys play them and write them it's obvious they do too. I've seen them a number of times at the Continental and the audience is madeup of a crazy mixture of hipsters, drunks, punks dancing with sexy grandmas and a smattering of Austin's best musicians. The music transcends a lot of the usual barriers. Whether of not you went to church you can still get a little bit of heaven on a Sunday night." ~David Byrne, Talking Heads.
Video Links:
Heybale!
Monday nights @ 10. $7 - Dale Watson & his Lone Stars are in the business of making music on stage for their fans on the dance floor. Traditional country music gets its due when Dale & his Lone Stars are playing it. Dale's originals fit seamlessly with the few covers he throws in. You never know who's going to show up & end up on stage with Dale... James Intveld, Chris Wall, Ian Moore, Gordie "Grady" Johnson, Alan Haynes, Tommy Mack, Hilary York, a fiddle player from Scotland, a harmonica player from Spain... who knows. This just might be the best $7 you'll ever spend! Yes, the cover charge just went up, but if anyone's worth it on a Monday night, it's Dale Watson & his Lone Stars! *Except Monday 1/30, $10: Bobby Bare Jr. @11:30, Low Volts @10. Do512 Event. Austin Chronicle Recommended.
Video Links:
Dale Watson
Tuesday nights @10:30. $10 - Singer, songwriter, guitarist Alejandro Escovedo & The Sensitive Boys will play "Sessions on South Congress" in February @10:30. Check out the article The Incredible Gravity of Being Alejandro Escovedo from Time Magazine! Alejandro will be followed by at midnight by The Coveters! Do512 Event.
Video Links:
Alejandro Escovedo
Coveters
Wednesday nights @ 10:30, 12:00. $8 - Veteran Austin rocker Jon Dee Graham has returned to his long-standing Wednesday night residency and is in fine form! He's got a batch of new songs, too! Check out Andy Langer's recent interview with Jon Dee on YNN.com's (formerly News8Austin) Backstage Pass. James McMurtry
&The Heartless Bastards are here every Wednesday when they're not in the studio or on tour. "James McMurtry is a true Americana poet – actually he is a poet regardless of genre." ~Michael Nesmith. From touching balladry to raucous rockers, this is still one the best "bang for your buck" shows we offer!
Video Links:
James McMurtry
Jon Dee Graham
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Thursday, January 26, $7 at the door. Doors open at 9pm. No advance tickets! - Roots-A-Rama
@ 10:00: Eve & The Exiles, Mike Buck, Eve Monsees & Pat Collins, combine blues, garage & roots for a retro rock & roll sound. Eve and the Exiles have proceeded to carve out a niche on the Austin club scene. In March of 2004, they released their debut disc in mono which was recorded at Fort Horton Studios with tube equipment exclusively for that classic 60s sound.
@ 12:00: Two Hoots & a Holler "The phrase 'come and take it' is experiencing a rebirth, so it's no surprise that Rick Broussard co-opted it as title for the only instrumental on his new CD. It's a muscle-bound rocker, one of many shades of roots rock he and his band, Two Hoots & a Holler, built a career on in Austin over the years, but never so unabashedly recorded. Broussard's never been afraid to walk the swamps ('Go Ahead and Cry'), and here he hits the country notes hard, too ('Every Bit as Proud,' 'Me Not Calling'), going head-to-head on guitar with bandmate Matt Brooks and waxing Pogues-like over Dylan's 'Times They Are a Changin'. Yet Broussard finds his muse in the Texas Tornado himself, rendering the anthemic 'I Cried and Cried the Day Doug Sahm Died' an instant classic tearjerker. If Come and Take It isn't a 'career' album, Broussard's still got lots of tricks up his sleeve and plenty of fire and brimstone in his tank." ~Margaret Moser, Austin Chronicle.
Video Links:
Two Hoots
Eve & The Exiles
Friday, January 27, $10 at the door. Doors open at 9pm. No advance tickets! - An Eclectic Evening!
@ 9:30: Low Volts is a 2011 San Diego Music Award winner for 'Best New Artist' and 'Best Blues Album'. Low Volts is one hombre, a 60's Silvertone & a 20's kick drum laden with tambourines. Heavy, swampy, beautiful. Kind of a cross between early Elvis and Evel Knievel.
@ 10:30: Flying Balalaika Brothers The Original Flying Balalaika Brothers were formed in Los Angeles in 1995 by Zhenya Kolykhanov (a.k.a. Z Rock), the former lead guitarist of the Russion surf/rockabilly group Red Elvises. The group started as a street band and later transformed into the group Red Elvises; which had a large history of performing for clubs, motion pictures, and tv shows in California. After Zhenya set up shop in Austin TX, he reestablished The Flying Balalaika Brothers. The band represents a blend of traditional world music and original musical pieces.
@ 12:00: White Ghost Shivers. Imagine a smorgasbord of Cab Calloway, circus sideshow, KISS, cabaret, Hee Haw and Robert Johnson served up at Andy Kaufman's bat-mitzvah. A joyous mixture of the absurd and sublime, the six-piece ensemble gracefully blends a musical amalgam of Hokum Blues, Hillbilly Swing, Country and Hot Jazz. Mmmm-Mmmm good.
Video Links:
WGS
Flying Balalaika Brothers
Low Volts
Saturday, January 28, $10 at the door. Doors open at 9pm - Rockabilly, Roots, & Garage Pop!
@ 10:00: Horton Brothers In 1996, the Horton Brothers–Bobby and Billy–moved from their hometown of Beaumont, Texas, to the capital of that great state, Austin. They had visited the city for several years and realized that it was the place they should go if they wanted to play rockabilly and americana music. And they've been doing it ever since! Their influences, which you can clearly hear, include Jimmy & Johnny, Rusty & Doug Kershaw, the Sparkletones, the Everly Brothers, and the York Brothers.
@ 11:15: Bellfuries "The Bellfuries’ new 60’s sound is not news (Austin Sound has previously compared the band to The Zombies), but the band - comprised of Joey Simeone (guitar/vocals), Shecky Seaver (bass), and Bobby Trimble (drums/vocals) - continues to work this sound in a way that is both nostalgic and innovative. While the pop tracks...remind us of more innocent, pre-1968 times, the lyrics often hint at something else....and Joey’s sharp vocals distinguish the band’s sound from more general mid-century pop." ~Austin Sound.
@ 12:30: The Ugly Beats. "Revivalism? Not really. The Ugly Beats dress, play, and rock like 1967's still giving off heat waves of love. The local quintet has carved out a sweaty niche in Austin's garage, slapping on go-go boots, igniting dance parties, and lamenting the hot death of wax through their own high energy twist and shout. 2003 saw their formation - frontman/guitarist Joe Emery, organist Jeanine Attaway, guitarist Jake Garcia, drummer Stephen Austin, and bassist Jason Gentry - from the ashes of local bands like Sir Finks and the Shakewells. The group grew out of the DJ Sue Fuzz Club parties, securing the Ugly Beats as torchbearers of the Nuggets sound and American Bandstand’s stomping grounds. 2005 brought Bring on the Beats!, and 2007 saw the debut of Take a Stand. Both discs were released on Get Hip, the label run by fellow garage rockers The Cynics, and boil down Farfisa rock into a beehived, lollipop rock around the clock. The rave up is not dead." ~Last.FM.
Video Links:
Ugly Beats
Bellfuries
Horton Brothers
Thursday, February 2, $7 at the door. Doors open at 9pm. No advance tickets! -
@ 10:00: Frank Smith Austin360.com's Pete Mongillo reviews Before You Were Born... "In 2007, Aaron Sinclair moved from Boston, where things weren't going too well, with a relationship ending and a band breaking up. One bright spot was his country rock outfit Frank Smith (which, yes, does not have any members named Frank Smith). Over the past few years in Austin, Frank Smith has endured. Big Strike in the Silver City was released in 2009 to a good deal of local praise, as was the following year's Nineteen. Not terribly different in terms of style, both records put forward a mission of bleakness that defines the band's sound, with twangy, midtempo guitar and pedal steel that adds a sense of mourning." Their brand spankin' new CD Before You Were Born "represents a departure from the country influence, with a stronger strain of rock making its presence felt. Opener 'Monsters' sets off with a spacey and sparse Pink-Floyd-style intro; the rest of the song exists beneath a veil of darkness as horns chime in, setting a twisted, disturbing tone for the album."
@ 11:15: Frank Mustard Project "He wants you to buy his songs and merchandise. So, let us stand tall with this man. Let us praise Frank Mustard and his fiendish project..." ~Frank Mustard.
@ 12:30: Oh No Oh My is a four piece indie-rock band based out of Austin, Texas. Members include Daniel Hoxmeier, Joel Calvin, Greg Barkley and Tim Regan; all of whom are multi-instrumentalists.
An active band since 2005, they have toured nationally and internationally alongside acts like Mew, Gnarls Barkley, The Flaming Lips, Au Revoir Simone, and The Deadly Syndrome. Praised for their upbeat sound and versatile instrumentation, this group is quickly gaining recognition as a very talented and promising indie-rock outfit.
Video Links:
Oh No Oh My
Frank Mustard
Frank Smith
Friday, February 3, $10 at the door. Doors open at 9pm. No advance tickets! -
@ 10:00: Mudphonic The vast Blackland Prairie ends at The Balcones Fault line where the Texas hill country begins. The rugged hills are covered with ancient live oaks and scrappy junipers. Crystal clear springs bubble up from the limestone depths shocking the arid landscape. Mudphonic was born in Austin TX gathering inspiration from this sparse organic phenomenon. The debut album, “Music for Dorothy”, was recorded in a barn on the banks of the Colorado River. Steeped in the soul of the humid southern air; soaked in the sediment of the underground aquifers; cicadas and frogs bleed into the recording. Mudphonic brings you honest melody. Take your shoes off, open the front door, turn up the volume and begin to move….
@ 12:00: Lightnin' Malcolm is doing this show as a one-man band! You may have seen him in configurations with Cedric Burnside or with Cameron Kimbrough, but you've never seen or heard him like this before! It'll be worth the price of admission just to watch. Music has always been part of Lightnin’ Malcolm’s heart and soul. From the moment he discovered an old raggedy guitar with a couple of strings and cassette of Muddy Waters his life and the music world would change forever. Malcolm’s journey began near the railroad tracks in rural Southeast Missouri. For several years Malcolm traveled the world spreading his love for the blues. It wasn’t until Malcolm settled in North Mississippi that he had a musical epiphany. He was drawn to the hill country blues first made famous by Fred McDowell and later R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and Jessie Mae Hemphill. Fresh off the road Lightnin’ Malcolm forges ahead with his new album “Renegade.” The album came out last April on Ruf Records. “Renegade” is high energy, hill country blues fused with modern elements of funk, reggae, soul, and rock. It features 13 new original songs all written and produced by Lightnin’ Malcolm.
Video Links:
Lightnin' Malcolm
Mudphonic
Saturday, February 4, $10 at the door. Doors open at 9pm -
@ 10:00: Lightnin' Malcolm is doing this show as a one-man band! You may have seen him in configurations with Cedric Burnside or with Cameron Kimbrough, but you've never seen or heard him like this before! It'll be worth the price of admission just to watch. Music has always been part of Lightnin’ Malcolm’s heart and soul. From the moment he discovered an old raggedy guitar with a couple of strings and cassette of Muddy Waters his life and the music world would change forever. Malcolm’s journey began near the railroad tracks in rural Southeast Missouri. For several years Malcolm traveled the world spreading his love for the blues. It wasn’t until Malcolm settled in North Mississippi that he had a musical epiphany. He was drawn to the hill country blues first made famous by Fred McDowell and later R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and Jessie Mae Hemphill. Fresh off the road Lightnin’ Malcolm forges ahead with his new album “Renegade.” The album came out last April on Ruf Records. “Renegade” is high energy, hill country blues fused with modern elements of funk, reggae, soul, and rock. It features 13 new original songs all written and produced by Lightnin’ Malcolm.
@ 12:00: Lost Bayou Ramblers The evolution of the Lost Bayou Ramblers music continues to excite, challenge, and redefine both genre expectations as well as cultural preconceptions. With hundreds of shows, five albums, and a Grammy Nomination behind them, the band finds their sound evolving into something more than what has been represented to date. The result is an amplified live show and a fresh and rocking new album to be released sometime in early 2012. The Lost Bayou Ramblers begin a new decade with their finest material to date and a progressive sense of urgency and attitude for the bands future. The band is based out of Lafayette, La. and is comprised of Louis Michot (lead vocals/fiddle), Andre Michot (accordion), Cavan Carruth (guitar/vocals), Andrew Thomas Austin-Peterson (bass), and Pauly Deathwish (drums)
Video Links:
Lost Bayou Ramblers
Lightnin' Malcolm
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Coming.... Sunday 2/5: Closed for a Private Party.... Monday 2/6: Dale Watson & his Lone Stars @10, $7; HH: Adam Johnson & The Pay Me's @6:30, no cover... Tuesday 2/7: The Coveters @12, Alejandro Escovedo @10:30, $10; Happy Hour: Toni Price @6:30, $7.... Wednesday 2/8: TBA @12, Jon Dee Graham @10pm, $8; Happy Hour: Hot Club of Cowtown @6:30, no cover... Thursday 2/9: Dustin Welch & Kevin Welch @12:00, Michael Fracasso B'day Bash! @10, $7; Happy Hour: Planet Casper @6:30, $5.... Friday 2/10: Bill Carter & The Blame @12, Lou Ann Barton @10, $10; HH: The Blues Specialists @6:30, no cover.... Saturday 2/11: Adam Johnson & The Pay Me's @12:00, Soul Track Mind @10, $12 at the door; Matinee: Redd Volkaert @3:30, no cover.... Sunday 2/12: Heybale! @10pm, $8; Early Show: Junior Brown & the lovely Tanya Rae @7:30, $15..... Monday 2/13: Dale Watson & his Lone Stars @10, $7; HH: Adam Johnson & The Pay Me's @6:30, no cover... Tuesday 2/14: The Coveters @12, Alejandro Escovedo @10:30, $10; Happy Hour: Toni Price @6:30, $7.... Wednesday 2/15: TBA @12, Jon Dee Graham @10pm, $8; Happy Hour: Hot Club of Cowtown @6:30, no cover... Thursday 2/16: Los Fabulocos @12:00, Dash Rip Rock @10, $7; Happy Hour: Planet Casper @6:30, $5.... Friday 2/17: TBA @12, TBA @10; HH: The Blues Specialists @6:30, no cover.... Saturday 2/18: Dale Watson & his Lone Stars @12:00, TBA @10, $10 at the door; Matinee: Redd Volkaert @3:30, no cover.... Sunday 2/19: Heybale! @10pm, $8; Early Show: Junior Brown & the lovely Tanya Rae @7:30, $15.
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Walter Traggert, Laura Chambless (1), Stephen Stills, Billy Chainsaw (3), Matt Ryan, Justin Hess (4), David Halley (5), Kim Wilson, Kelly Burns (6), Kathy Valentine (7), *Elvis Presley, Tracy J Ward (8), Roy Head, *Lavada Durst (9), Alejandro Escovedo (10), Robert Earl Keen, Kellye Rila, Ben Pagac (11), *Tex Ritter, Ray Price, Beatle Bob (12), Trish Wagner, Stacie McClane (13), T-Bone Burnett (14), Clara QueSi, John Roseborough (15), Jennifer Catherine Oines (16), Steve Earle (17), Eric Hill, Julie Hewitt, Gary Kirkpatrick (18), *Janis Joplin, De Lewellyn, Cecile McVicker, Marta Remmers (19), Mac Davis, *Huddie Ledbetter, Erica Wissolik (21), Celeste Martin (22), Lisa Pankratz Fordham (23), Harvey "Tex Thomas" Young, Kent "Omar" Dykes, Dennis Fallon, Jean Schlitzkus, Chris Moore (24), Christian Long, Tiffany Neece, Betty Pruitt (25), D'Jalma Garnier (26), Wannes Smeets, Ali Anderson (27), Mary Cutrufello, Jenni Sperandeo (28), Jan Mirkin-Earley, Bobby "Rock" Landgraf, Karen Raymond, Kim Randolph (29), John Rath (31)
1/1: Hank Williams (1953), Townes Van Zandt (1997); 1/2: Tex Ritter (1974); 1/4: Phil Lynott (1986); 1/10: Howlin' Wolf (1976); 1/13: Doyle Holly (2007); 1/14: Bobby Charles (2010); 1/15: Amos "Junior" Wells (1998); 1/16: David "Junior" Kimbrough (1998) 1/21: Jackie Wilson (1984); 1/23: Albert Collins (1990); 1/29: Willie Dixon (1992); 1/30: Professor Longhair (1980)
Don Everly, Joe Sample, *Rick James, Nash Hernandez, Kathy McCarty Thornberry,
Margaret Tucker (1), *King Curtis, Graham Nash, *C.B. Stubblefield, Cody Nicolas,
Alexis Sheehy, John Denier, Dianne Scott (2), Shawn Phillips, Toni
Luckett (3), David Garza, Courtney Audain, Amanda Buie, Cyndi Rutherford
(4), Tyrone Vaughan (5), Fabian, JJ Johnson, Gerald Teller (6), Mike Keller
(7), Ray Sharpe, Alvin Dedeaux, Erik Huebner (8), *Ernest Tubb, Ruben Ramos,
Joe Ely, Mike Campbell, Rebecca Elder (9), Ruthie Foster, Clarence Pierce (10),
Slim Richey, Raleen Forare (11), Chris Knudson (12), Barry Tubb (13), "Mercury"
Charlie Runnels (14), Gary Clark Jr., Mandy Weeks (15), C.L. "Blues
Boy" Hubbard, Chris Duarte, Kris McKay (16), *Gene Pitney, Johnny Bush,
*Doyle Bramhall, Lou Ann Barton, David Gunter (17), Smokey Robinson, Mark Andes,
Alan Haynes (19), Tad Kinchla (21), Drew Barrymore, Robb Kidd (22), Johnny Winter,
Bart Padar, Nathan Futey, Charles Raines (23), Miss Xanna Don't (24), *George
Harrison (25), *Johnny Cash, Fats Domino, Chris Wall, Bob Brown (26), Marty
Muse, Stevie Jo Lake, Jesse Garza III, Jean Gehring, Jeff Rowe (27),
Domingo "Sam The Sham" Samudio, *Brian Jones [The Rolling Stones],
Jon Dee Graham, Troy Dillinger, Bonbon Vivant (28), *Xalapeño Charlie Duggan (29)
2/3: The Day The Music Died: Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson & Ritchie Valens (1959); 2/6: Frankie Laine (2007); 2/8: Del Shannon (1990); 2/9: Bill Haley (1981); 2/13: Waylon Jennings (2002); 2/19: Johnny Paycheck (2003); 2/22: Florence Ballard [The Supremes] (1976)
Birthday Legend: * = deceased; italic = Continental Club staff (past & present)***
Etta James (neé Jamesetta Hawkins) - b. January 25, 1938 (Los Angeles, CA)* d. January 20, 2012 (Riverside, CA)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Etta James, the feisty R&B singer whose raw, passionate vocals anchored many hits and made the yearning ballad "At Last" an enduring anthem for weddings, commercials and even President Obama, died Friday. She was 73.
James had been suffering from dementia, kidney problems, and battling leukemia. In December 2011, her physician announced that her leukemia was terminal, and asked for prayers for the singer. During her illness, her husband Artis Mills and her two sons fought bitterly over control of her $1 million estate, though a deal was later struck keeping Mills as the conservator and capping the singer's expenses at $350,000.
James died at Riverside Community Hospital, with her husband and sons at her side, De Leon said.
"It's a tremendous loss for her fans around the world," he said. "She'll be missed. A great American singer. Her music defied category."
Boldness was as much a trademark of James, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as her platinum-dyed mane.
She scored her first hit when she was just a teenager with the suggestive "Roll With Me, Henry," which had to be changed to "The Wallflower" in order to get airplay. Over the years, she'd notch many more, carving a niche for herself with her husky, soulful voice and her sassy attitude, which permeated her songs.
But it was her jazz-inflected rendition of "At Last" that would come to define her and make her legendary. The song, which starts with sumptuous strings before James begins to sing, was a remake of a 1941 standard. James made it her own, and her version became the new standard.
Over the decades, countless brides have used it as their song down the aisle, and it has been featured in car commercials and films like "American Pie," But perhaps most famously, U.S. President Barack Obama and the first lady danced to a version of "At Last" at his inauguration ball.
But the tender, sweet song belied the turmoil that James - born Jamesette Hawkins in Los Angeles - would endure for much of her life. Her mother - whom she described in her 1995 autobiography "Rage to Survive" as a scam artist, a substance abuser and unstable - was a fleeting presence in her life during her youth.
She never knew her father, although she had been told that he was the famous billiards player Minnesota Fats. When she was older, she met him and asked about the rumor. He wouldn't confirm or deny it: as James recalled, he simply told her: "I don't remember everything. I wish I did, but I don't."
Her mother would come in and out of her life, so she was raised by Lula and Jesse Rogers, who owned the rooming house her mother once lived in. The pair brought up James in the Christian faith, and even as a young girl, her voice stood out in the church choir. James would soon get solos and became so well known, she said that Hollywood stars would come to see her perform.
But she wouldn't stay a gospel singer for long. Rhythm and blues soon lured her away from the church, and she found herself drawn to the grittiness of the music.
"My mother always wanted me to be a jazz singer, but I always wanted to be raunchy," she recalled in her book.
She was doing just that when bandleader Johnny Otis found her singing on San Francisco street corners with a couple of girlfriends in the early 1950s.
"At the time, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters had a hit with 'Work With Me, Annie,' and we decided to do an answer. We didn't think we would get in show business, we were just running around making up answers to songs," James told The Associated Press in 1987.
And so, they replied to Ballard with the song "Roll With Me, Henry."
When Otis heard it, he told James to get her mother's permission to accompany him to Los Angeles to make a recording. Instead, the 15-year-old went home and forged her mother's name on a note claiming she was 18.
"At that time, you weren't allowed to say 'roll' because it was considered vulgar. So when Georgia Gibbs did her version, she renamed it 'Dance With Me, Henry' and it went to No. 1 on the pop charts," the singer recalled. The Gibbs song was one of several in the early rock era where white singers got hits by covering songs by black artists, often with sanitized lyrics.
After her 1955 debut, James toured with Otis' revue, sometimes earning only $10 a night. Things changed for the better in 1959, when she signed with Chicago's legendary Chess label and began cranking out the hits and going on tours with performers such as Bobby Vinton, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Everly Brothers.
"We would travel on four buses to all the big auditoriums. And we had a lot of fun," she recalled in 1987.
She also had a lot of success. James went on to record a string of hits in the late 1950s and '60s including "Trust In Me," "Something's Got a Hold On Me," "Sunday Kind of Love," "All I Could Do Was Cry," and of course, "At Last."
Chess Records founder Leonard Chess called James their first soul singer, she wrote.
"He went up and down the halls of Chess announcing, 'Etta's crossed over! Etta's crossed over!' I still didn't know exactly what that meant, except that maybe more white people were listening to me. The Chess brothers kept saying how I was their first soul singer, that I was taking their label out of the old Delta blues, out of rock and into the modern era. Soul was the new direction," she said in her autobiography. "But in my mind, I was singing old style, not new."
In 1967, she cut one of the most highly regarded soul albums of all time, "Tell Mama," an earthy fusion of rock and gospel music featuring blistering horn arrangements, funky rhythms and a churchy chorus. A song from the album, "Security," was a top 40 single in 1968.
Her professional success, however, was balanced against personal demons - drug addiction.
"I was trying to be cool," she told the AP in 1995, explaining what had led her to try heroin.
"I hung out in Harlem and saw Miles Davis and all the jazz cats," she said. "At one time, my heavy role models were all druggies. Billie Holiday sang so groovy. Is that because she's on drugs? It was in my mind as a young person. I probably thought I was a young Billie Holiday, doing whatever came with that."
She was addicted to the drug for years, beginning in 1960, and it led to a harrowing existence that included time behind bars and sapped her singing abilities and her money, almost destroying her career. It would take her at least two decades to beat her drug problem - her husband even went to prison for years, taking full responsibility for drugs during an arrest, even though James was culpable.
"My management was suffering. My career was in the toilet. People tried to help, but I was hell-bent on getting high," she wrote of her drug habit in 1980.
After she hit rock bottom, she finally quit the habit and managed herself for a while, calling up small clubs and asking them, "Have you ever heard of Etta James?" in order to get gigs. Eventually, she got regular bookings - even drawing Elizabeth Taylor into an audience. In 1984, she was asked to sing the national anthem at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and her career got the resurgent boost it needed, though she fought addiction again when she got hooked on painkillers in the late 1980s.
Drug addiction wasn't her only problem. She struggled with her weight, and often performed from a wheelchair as she got older and heavier. In the early 2000s, she had weight-loss surgery and shed some 200 pounds.
James performed well into her senior years, and it was "At Last" that kept bringing her the biggest ovations. The song was a perennial that never aged, and on Jan. 20, 2009, as crowds celebrated that - at last - an African-American had become president of the United States, the song played as the first couple danced.
But it was superstar Beyonce who sang the song to the Obamas, not the legendary singer. Beyonce had portrayed James in "Cadillac Records," a big-screen retelling of Chess Records' heyday, and had started to claim "At Last" as her own.
An audio clip surfaced of James at a concert shortly after the inauguration, saying she "can't stand Beyonce" and the singer had "no business singing my song." But she told the New York Daily News later that she was joking, even though she had been hurt that she did not get the chance to participate in the inauguration.
James did get her accolades over the years. She was inducted into the Rock Hall in 1993, captured a Grammy in 2003 for best contemporary blues album for "Let's Roll," one in 2004 for best traditional blues album for "Blues to the Bone," and one for best jazz vocal performance for 1994's "Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday." She was also awarded a special Grammy in 2003 for lifetime achievement and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
But her health went into decline, and by 2011, she was being cared for at home by a personal doctor. A struggle between her sons and her husband developed as she became more ill, as he sought to control her estate. Her sons, Donto James and Sametto James, had power of attorney over her affairs.
Her doctor, Elaine James, who was not related to the singer, said the legend needed help with basic tasks, such as feeding, dressing and hygiene.
In October 2011, James retired from recording. A final studio recording, "The Dreamer," was released, with the singer taking on classic songs - from Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Dreamer" to Guns N' Roses "Welcome To the Jungle" - and still rocking, a fitting end to her storied career.
ROBERT JABLON/Associated Press
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Robert Lee Dickey (a.k.a the original 'Bobby Purify') - b. September 2, 1939 (Tallahassee, FL) * d. December 29, 2011 (Tallahassee, FL)
Robert Dickey, ‘I’m Your Puppet’ Singer, Dies at 72
By The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Robert Dickey, a guitarist and singer who was half of the duo that recorded the hit song “I’m Your Puppet,” died here on Dec. 29. He was 72
His death was confirmed by a Tallahassee funeral home. No cause was given.
Mr. Dickey, born in Tallahassee in 1939, began his musical career in the ’60s and spent time touring with Otis Redding and other singers. He eventually teamed with his cousin James Purify to form the soul duo James and Bobby Purify.
The two had their biggest hit in the fall of 1966 when “I’m Your Puppet” reached the pop Top 10. They went on to have three other Top 40 singles in 1967.
Mr. Dickey told The Tallahassee Democrat in 2000, when he was honored as part of an exhibition on Florida rock ’n’ roll at the Museum of Florida History, that he never liked “I’m Your Puppet,” one of many hits written by the team of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham.
“I hated it,” he said of the song, which he noted had originally been intended as a B-side. Recalling the grueling recording session that produced “I’m Your Puppet,” he explained, “I sang it for 23 hours straight; that’s why I hate it.”
Mr. Dickey abandoned his music career in 1972, and was replaced in the duo by Ben Moore, who became the new “Bobby Purify.” Mr. Dickey returned to Tallahassee, where he became a city maintenance supervisor. But he continued to sing and play guitar with his church and as a member of the Bethlehem Male Singers.
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Johnny Otis (neé Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes) - b. December 28, 1921 (Berkeley, CA) * d. January 17, 2012 (Los Angeles, CA)
LOS ANGELES — Johnny Otis, the "godfather of rhythm and blues" who wrote and recorded the R&B classic "Willie and the Hand Jive" and for decades evangelized black music to white audiences as a bandleader and radio host, has died. He was 90.
Otis, who had been in poor health for several years, died at his home in the Los Angeles foothill suburb of Altadena on Tuesday, said his manager, Terry Gould.
Otis, who was white, was born John Veliotes to Greek immigrants and grew up in a black section of Berkeley, where he said he identified far more with black culture than his own. As a teenager, he changed his name because he thought Johnny Otis sounded more black.
"As a kid, I decided that if our society dictated that one had to be black or white, I would be black," he once explained.
His musical tastes clearly reflected that adopted culture and even after he became famous, his dark skin and hair often led audiences and club promoters to assume he was black like his band mates.
Otis was leading his own band in 1945 when he scored his first big hit, "Harlem Nocturne." In 1950, 10 of his songs made Billboard Magazine's R&B chart. His "Willie and the Hand Jive" sold more than 1.5 million copies and was covered years later by Eric Clapton.
He later wrote "Every Beat of My Heart," which was a hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips.
But the influence of Otis was felt most through his ability to recognize and promote talent. He wove into his bands such diverse and legendary R&B vocalists as Etta James, Hank Ballard, Big Mama Thornton and The Robins, the latter a group that would evolve into the Coasters.
He produced Thornton's original recording of "Hound Dog," a song that would later become an even bigger hit for Elvis Presley.
"His band shows a different style on pretty much every new recording," said Piero Scaruffi, author of "A History of Rock Music, 1951-2000." ''The reason is that Otis did not force his personality on others but worked with the personality of the others. He may not have been a great composer or performer himself, but he was an impressive conductor."
Otis launched his professional music career as an 18-year-old drummer for bawdy barrelhouse pianist Count Otis Matthews, although he had never played the drums until then.
Matthews instructed him to simply pound out the syncopated "shave and a haircut, six bits" beat that would become the backbone of early rock 'n' roll. His mastery of it soon proved his ticket to other bands and eventually to headlining his own group.
Otis saw himself as curator of black popular music, which for him represented much more than a diversion or livelihood. His cross-country R&B reviews and his radio and television appearances were dedicated to delivering black music to white audiences.
"The music isn't just the notes, it's the culture — the way grandma cooked, the way grandpa told stories, the way the kids walked and talked," he once said.
While he always returned to playing music, in later years touring with his sons Shuggie and Nicky, Otis' eclectic interests also included politics, art and organic food.
He worked for years as deputy chief of staff to state Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally when Dymally served in the Assembly, state Senate, as lieutenant governor and as a congressman.
In later years, Otis spent much of his time painting and sculpting. He also opened an organic grocery store in Sebastopol in the early 1990s to sell his son Nicky's vegetables, decorating the store with his own colorful murals.
Although he had little success selling groceries, he did draw large crowds to the market every Friday and Saturday night when he performed there with his band.
"It was a smashing success," Gould said. "You had to make reservations three weeks ahead. It was amazing."
Otis also had a regular show playing records on the nonprofit Pacifica Radio Network's stations until failing health prompted him to retire in 2005.
In addition to his sons, Otis is survived by his wife, Phyllis, whom he married in 1941; daughters Janet and Laura; and several grandchildren.
Tom Ardolino - b. January 12, 1955 (Springfield, MA) * d. January 6, 2012 (Springfield, MA)
Tom Ardolino, a longtime drummer of NRBQ, died on January 6 at the age of 56.
The band announced Ardolino’s death on their Facebook page on Friday: "Friends, We regret to inform you that Tom Ardolino passed away today. Tom will be missed but his spirit lives on through those who were touched by him."
Ardolino had joined NRBQ in 1974 after years as a fan and stayed with them for three decades, playing in thousands of the cult favorites’ legendary live shows and on 15 studio albums. In 2004, during NRBQ’s hiatus, he released a solo album, Unknown Brain.
Ardolino was living in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the time of his death.
"He was a great drummer and a great guy," former NRBQ guitarist and singer Al Anderson told the Hartford Courant. "He had a totally unique style of drumming that nobody can ever duplicate. That was one of the baddest rhythm sections in the world."
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Esmeralda Barrera - b. 1982 (El Paso, TX) * d. January 1, 2012 (Austin, TX)
'Esme' Barrera was a native of El Paso who worked with special-needs children at Casis Elementary School, as a counselor at a summer music camp and part time at Waterloo Records.
By Joe Gross
Austin music suffered a hideous blow Monday when Esme Barrera, 29, was identified as the victim in the New Year’s Day homicide.
As was covered in our story here, Barrera was well-known and well-liked. She volunteered at Girls Rock Camp, worked at Waterloo Records and Casis Elementary School and was known as an ebullient supporter of Austin’s punk and indie rock scene. She loved Ted Leo’s music and once booked the Hex Dispensers for a show on a barge.
According to folks at Red 7 and Beerland, there will be donation jars at all of their free week shows for the fund set up to cover services and funeral expenses.
A benefit has for the fund been slated for Jan. 13 at Club 1808. Band involved include Literature, Quin Galavis, Cruddy, The Gospel Truth, The Flesh Lights, Crooked Bangs and more.
Check back for further details as events warrant. Our hearts go out to her friends and family.
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Jennifer Miro (neé Anderson) - b. 1957 * d. December 14, 2011
Jennifer Miro, Keyboardist/Vocalist for the Nuns, Dead at 54
Jennifer Miro, best known as the keyboardist/vocalist in '70s San Francisco punk group the Nuns alongside Alejandro Escovedo, died last month in New York following a bout with cancer. She was 54.
According to a Jan. 4 story in San Francisco Weekly, Miro -- born Jennifer Anderson -- was suffering from liver and breast cancer and lived her remaining days in a Manhattan studio apartment. Refusing standard treatment, the musician died on Dec. 16 at Bellvue Hospital where she was receiving hospice care. Various message boards speculated on her passing over the holidays but nothing was officially confirmed until now.
Growing up in California, Miro met Escovedo and Jeff Olener to form the Nuns in 1975 and became known around the San Francisco punk scene. They are also noted for being one of the support bands playing the Sex Pistols infamous final show of their original incarnation at Winterland in January, 1978.
The Nuns -- viewed as the launching pad for Escovedo's later singer-songwriter career -- released their debut self-titled album in 1980 after initially breaking up in 1979. Although the Nuns would reform again in 1986 without Escovedo (who would form the group Rank and File), Miro became part of the VIP's from 1979 to 1981.
"When I became a teenager, I noticed that boys were afraid of me," the musician also known as Mistress Jennifer is quoted as saying on the band's website. "Then I bought a riding crop and starting hitting them with it." She would also add: "A woman's place is in the home, as long as it has a dungeon."
In the 1990s, Miro -- who had become a fetish model and was well-known in S&M circles -- also contributed to recordings by Narada Michael Walden while the Nuns remained idle. She would also focus on writing screenplays, with two television pilots included in the Nuns DVD release 'New York Vampires.' Prior to her diagnosis, Miro was a receptionist at the law office of celebrity lawyer Raoul Felder.
There has been no comment thus far by Escovedo via Facebook, Twitter or through his official site on Miro's death, although a fan posted the news on his Facebook page this afternoon. Escovedo reflected on his years in the group on 'Nuns Song' from his 2008 album 'Real Animal,' singing "Jennifer my scony/Don't need anybody's pain/She had enough desire/To shatter window pains."
In a strange twist, Miro named a co-worker in Felder's firm as the executor of her estate without informing the person. A longtime neighbor, Jill Lamar, is reportedly sorting through "piles of Nuns memorabilia" in Miro's apartment.
[Alejandro wrote: It saddens me to hear of the passing of Jennifer Miro. She was a lovely young girl from Mill Valley when I met her. A talented pianist, singer and an artist with strong commitment to her vision, she was always a few steps ahead of the rest of the pack. The combination of Jeff Olener, myself and Jennifer was striking in its odd beauty, imagine the Stooges with Nico and you get a good idea of what the Nuns were all about in the early years. We shared a lot of wonderful experiences in what now seem like such innocent times.
She was a true Diva in the best sense of the word and I will miss her very much. "You take a Mill Valley charmer/mix in some Bowie trash/a little too much mascara/under a surgeons mask... "Nuns Song" ~C.Prophet / A.Escovedo]
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"The Continental Gallery’s ambience is strikingly
different from most other clubs around town, highlighted by the revolving art
displays on the walls and relatively quiet live music. Upstairs from The Continental
Club, patrons find more secluded seating areas and a ping-pong table. Unique
touches like this one are what make the gallery so exciting." ~DTWeekend.com
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Hey, y'all! There are lots of changes & additions to our calendar this month, so you'll want to check out ever night's schedule! Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison begin a short residency on Thursday 2/2 @8:30, $15. Jon Moeller will be the featured performer on Friday night with Mike Flanigin & Frosty. Derek O'Brien will be their Saturday night guest. The Jon Dee Graham & Friend Show will feature Whit Williams. Steve Bernal's Zodiac will be gone on 1/28, so Marshall Hood & the Bads fill in. Please join me on Friday, February 3 @7pm for a post-birthday celebration at my friend Tom Runkle's art opening.
Keep readin' & rockin'....
Dianne
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Art show openings will usually take place on the First Thursday of each
month at 7pm - doors will open at 6pm - and will run for the entire month. This
will be the general rule, although as with everything in this business, there
may be exceptions. Art can also be shown during the day by appointment by sending
an email to Steve to make arrangements. Check this section regularly for news on current &
upcoming shows.
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January Art: Pehr Smith's exhibition features large scale Paintings, and large format framed Digital Prints of the Equine form, printed on Tyvek from drawings by Pehr. "Pehr Smith earned a B.F.A. in painting with Departmental Honors in 1984 from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and an M.F.A. in painting from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990. He has exhibited his work throughout Texas and had solo exhibitions in Denver, Colorado and The University of Texas. Mr. Smith teaches courses in 2D Design and Painting at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and has taught at Austin Community College in Austin Texas, The University of Texas and at the C.G. Jung Educational Center in Houston. His works combine elements of drawing, painting collage and bas-relief effects, working a series of references, materials and colors in harmonious relationships of successive washes and layered peelings. Through the ritual acts of painting, drawing and collaging, the making process can become a fruitful continuum. At a given moment crystallizes and becomes the completed work: echoing past travail and ispiring vibrations into the future." ~PehrSmith.com.
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Coming 2/3 @7:00pm: Tom Runkle - Music To Mirrors!
Tom Runkle has done a lot of things and seen a lot of music in his life. Using skills he perfected over many years as a stained glass craftsman, he creates unique portraits of artists who have inspired him using mirror as his medium.
"While playing around with some scraps of stained glass and mirror in my studio, I stumbled upon the fact that great images could be created from such materials. The first piece I did was Johnny Cash, and I was blown away at the clarity of the design. With encouragement from family and friends, I started thinking about every act that I was fortunate enough to see in person, while living in the Bay Area in the early 70's. I saw them all, from Hendrix and Joplin, to the Dead and the Stones, and the images sort of just flowed into their mirror form."
"Having done stained glass for 35 years, I am old school when it comes to cutting and shaping each piece of mirror, I have never used a glass saw, and never will. Each image I create is signed and numbered, and this an artistic expression that I have discovered and refined. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?"
"I am fortunate to live in Austin,Texas, The Live Music Capitol of The World, and folks like Stevie Ray and Willie have afforded me with new image inspirations. With colored mirror now being available, new avenues of execution of ideas abound. I also gladly accept custom orders for musicians that are other's favorites."
[Help me celebrate my birthday at Tom's opening! ~Dianne]
Johnny Cash by Tom Runkle©
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Saturday 2/4 doors open @8:00pm, show @8:30, no cover: Quarterly Tertulia. "A Tertulia is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones." On Saturday, February 4th at 8:30 The Continental Club Gallery will host the fourth Tertulia, a Convergence of Music, Words and Performance. Writers, Poets, Musicians, and the community that supports them, will gather for an intimate performance of songs, songs, poetry, fiction, and essays by some of Austin's finest.
Organized by Gretchen Harries Graham, Kellie Salome, and Robert A. Kraft, the February gathering will feature Musicians JD Pendley, (Erik Hokkanen, The Jazz Pharaohs) Elias Haslinger, Simon Wallace (Porter Davis), and Jess Klein, with readings of fiction and poetry by Jon Dee Graham, Sarah Bird, Jesse Sublett, Maya Perez, Ron Deutsch, Gretchen Harries Graham, and Todd Alley. Robert A. Kraft will continue in his role as Master of Ceremonies.
Thursday 2/9 @5:30-7:00pm - Texas Book Festival and Kirkus Reviews present: mystery writer Charlie Newton in conversation with Kirkus Reviews’ Mike Hejny at the Continental Club Gallery! Start Shooting was awarded a coveted STAR by Kirkus Reviews. “Fierce and terrific” by the New York Times “Cult Classic” by the Chicago Tribune and “Sensational” by the Chicago Sun-Times. A thumbnail on the Chicago-born author reads like that of one of his characters—a fellow who has seen a bit more reality than is often healthy but come away with P. J. O'Rourke's sense of humor instead of angst and Hunter Thompson's pathology sans the .44 magnum. Charlie's early career leaned toward pirate-adventurer rather than responsible citizen, living and working in exotic, often-unhealthy places, doing some of the devil's business and some of the king's.
The semi-adult epiphany arrived with his thirtieth birthday. Charlie Newton has built successful bars/restaurants and resort apartments, raced thoroughbreds that weren't quite so successful, and brokered television and film in the Middle East to gentlemen who often weren't. Generally speaking, he's lived a life in the borderlands (literal and figurative) where stories like START SHOOTING and CALUMET CITY happen. And survived to enjoy it.
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Mondays, doors @ 8pm, no cover all night.
@ 8:30: Amy Cook has found her home amongst the musical family of Austin. Since moving to Texas from LA some years ago, she has earned critical acclaim, a solid fan base, and a place at the mic alongside some of music’s most beloved troubadours – including collaborations and performances with Alejandro Escovedo (who produced Cook’s 2010 album Let The Light In), Ben Kweller, David Garza, Heartless Bastards, Joe Ely, Patty Griffin, Hacienda, Ryan Bingham, and Shawn Colvin, among others.
@ 10:30: Crybear is an Austin-based singer-songwriter who infuses rock and pop with a Latin feel and whose vocal style draws comparisons to Freddie Mercury, Jeff Buckley, Donovan and Robert Plant. People as highly regarded as producer/soundtrack icon Jon Brion, Nickel Creek, Grant Lee Phillips and Fiona Apple have regularly sat in with him. He has also done extensive work as a producer and session musician. Can't guess? Follow the link!
Video Links:
Crybear
Amy Cook
Tuesdays, doors @ 8pm, no cover all night.
@ 8:30: On 1/31 Steve Bernal's Zodiac fills in while James McMurtry is on tour. Hot Club of Cowtown fills in on 2/7 & 2/21, and Hot Club's Elana James is sure to charm everyone with her Valentine's Day show on 2/14! Since their first recording in 1998, Austin-based Hot Club of Cowtown have grown to be the most globe-trotting, hardest-swinging Western swing trio on the planet. The first American band to tour Azerbaijan, they have opened stadiums for such artists as Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson and continue to bring their brand of western swing to a wide range of festival audiences all over the world. But for guitarist Whit Smith, fiddler Elana James and bassist Jake Erwin, it has always been about staying true to their roots. James McMurtry returns on 2/28.
@ 10:30: The Ephraim Owens Experience is the brainchild of trumpet master in the jazz arena, Ephraim Owen. He is especially well known for his signature solos and ability to improvise. He has an uncanny ability to imagine his music laid on top of anything else he hears, and his adaptability makes him a welcome addition to any lineup. The Austin Chronicle ranks Ephraim as "Best Horn" in Austin.
Video Links:
Ephraim Owens
Steve Bernal's Zodiac
Hot Club of Cowtown
Elana James
Wednesdays, doors @ 8pm, no cover all night.
@ 8:30: Bustamoovalators will be in this spot in January & February! Sometime in the late 80s, a group of old friends, all professional musicians, who had played with people as diverse as Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, Natalie Cole, Killer Bees, I Tex, David Garza, Patrice Pike, Kirk Whalum, etc got together to play the funkiest, deepest second line grooves heard outside the Crescent City. The chemistry was instant....and the pot started cookin'. Simmering for several years as the musicians played their regular gigs, taking time out a few times a year to "Bustamoovalate". Into the 90s, word was out on The Bustamoovalators, everybody'd heard OF 'em...But very few'd actually heard it. A couple of more visible spots, and the Bustamoovalators started gathering momentum, and after simmering on the back burner all these years, the Bustamoovalators are serving up hearty helpings of good vibin', funky music that make the good times roll regardless.
@ 10:30: Trube,
Farrell & Snizz are Anthony Farrell and Andrew Trube of the
Greyhounds, along with drummer Dave "Snizz" Robinson. They bring their
mix of funk, soul and r&b to the Gallery every Wednesday night for a real
happening scene. When Trube, Farrell are out of town, Snizz puts together a great band of co-horts to fill in. I don't always know about these shows in advance, so check out Trube, Farrell & Snizz on Facebook for the most accurate info.
Video Links:
Trube,
Farrell & Snizz
Thursdays, doors @ 8pm.
@ 8:30, $15: Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison have been collaborating together on new music for the past few months. Last summer they were performing together doing shows all over North America.... they are now presenting The Bruce & Kelly Show and we'll have them in this spot through the end of February as an acoustic duo! As a SXSW reviewer wrote, "Kelly Willis’ voice swoops and offers a satiny sheen that is both silky and so fluid it threatens to slip through the notes being played by her and husband Bruce Robison’s crackerjack band. For years the darling of progressive country fans, the sweetheart of the post modern rodeo was both too cool and too traditional for what got on the radio. That said, there’s no argument about the kind of country the first couple of Austin’s roots music scene crafts. Loose-limbed, sweeping and designed to get those belt buckles polishing, it’s a testament to road houses, honky tonks, Wurlitzer jukeboxes and neon that’s fixing to buzz until it’s burned out."
@ 10:30: Tameca Jones owns Thursday nights! Coined the "Tina Turner of jazz" due to her long legs, fierce hair, and aggressive vocal stylings, Tameca Jones brews a fragrant potpourri of jazz, blues, rock, and soul with her quintet. She has opened for Smokey Robinson, David Sanborn and Joey Defrancesco, Oleta Adams, Take 6, and many other notable artists. Her honeyed tone and passionate, soulful renditions of jazz and rock classics captivate her audience. Backed by Wayne Salzmann II on drums, Jake Langley on guitar, and a rotating cast of bassists and pianists, her quintet serves honey buttered performances to the hungry patrons of Austin and San Antonio.
Video Links:
Tameca Jones
Kelly & Bruce
Friday 1/20, doors @ 8:00pm
@ 8:30, no cover: The Robert Kraft Trio will be performing American popular song, originals, Seventies pop and soul. It's more about songs than genres. Clean, tight arrangements that emphasize the beauty and lyricism of the songs. If they like a song, they will do it, no matter what era it hails from. Robert Kraft- voice; JD Pendley- guitar; Lindsay Greene- upright bass.
You can pick up one of their new CDs too!
@ 10:30, $5: Mike Flanigin Trio w/Jon Moeller & Frosty. The Mike Flanigin Trio features Mike on Hammond organ amplified through a classic Leslie cabinet. His backing players vary from night to night, but you count on it being the cream of Austin's crop in jazz, blues or funk. Possible guitarists include Derek O'Brien, Jonny Moeller, Mike Keller, Dave Biller, Denny Freeman and Jimmie Vaughan. The drummer will most likely be Barry "Frosty" Smith, but George Rains, Damien Llanes, JJ Johnson and Chris "Whipper" Layton are also on tap.
Jon Moeller is a blues guitarist currently with The Fabulous Thunderbirds. He had early exposure to music in the home as his father played a little boogie-woogie piano and was constantly listening to music. He started playing guitar in his early teen year. Moeller's main influences have been from Freddie King, Lightnin' Hopkins, Earl King and Grant Green. Lesser, but meaningful influences come from a wide variety of other blues, soul and funk artists. The Austin Chronicle quoted Clifford Antone (who also helped launch Stevie Ray Vaughan) as saying: "Johnny, nobody can burn like that kid. He's got the heart like Stevie had, about the only one I've seen with that kind of heart. Johnny's so quiet and bashful, just a sweet kid and sometimes those kids get overlooked." By the time Moeller had joined The Fabulous Thunderbirds in mid 2007 he had recorded, played regularly with, or toured North America, Europe and Scandinavia with Darrell Nulisch, Lou Ann Barton, Mike Barfield, Doyle Bramhall II, Gary Primich, and Guy Forsyth.
Video Links:
Mike Flanigin
Jon Moeller
Robert Kraft Trio
Saturday 1/28, doors @ 8:00pm
@ 8:30, no cover: Steve Bernal's Zodiac. Ease your way out of 2011 with the soulful strains of Steve Bernal's solo cello. Early gig, chill vibe, and No Cover! Every Saturday. Steve says "This week - works for Solo 'Cello. New stuff, weird stuff, pretty stuff, noisy stuff. Bach, Bernal, Beatles. He will have his new CD with him too! Can't make it to the show? Decibels - new music for 'celli, basses, & computer - is available online at iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody & Napster, and at Waterloo Records, 5th & Lamar Austin, TX. *Except 1/28 when Marshall Hood & the Bads fill in & 2/4 when the Quarterly Tertulia takes place.
@ 10:30, $5: Mike Flanigin Trio w/Derek O'Brien & Frosty. The Mike Flanigin Trio features Mike on Hammond organ amplified through a classic Leslie cabinet. His backing players vary from night to night, but you count on it being the cream of Austin's crop in jazz, blues or funk. Possible guitarists include Derek O'Brien, Jonny Moeller, Mike Keller, Dave Biller, Denny Freeman and Jimmie Vaughan. The drummer will most likely be Barry "Frosty" Smith, but George Rains, Damien Llanes, JJ Johnson and Chris "Whipper" Layton are also on tap.
Derek O'Brien is a Texas-style blues guitarist, sometime bassist and record producer based in Austin, TX. A stalwart of the house band at the famous Austin blues club Antone’s Nightclub, O’Brien is most often found backing up other Austin frontmen, including Delbert McClinton, Lou Ann Barton, The Texas Tornados and almost anyone recording on the Antone’s Records label. O’Brien has also backed up major blues names such as Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. Ted Drozdowski, writing on Gibson Guitars’ website, says, “O’Brien has a terse, arrow-sharp and spare style comparable to Jimmie Vaughan’s – light on flash, but soooo right. Check it out.”
Video Links:
Mike Flanigin
Derek O'Brien
Steve Bernal's Zodiac
Marshall Hood
Sunday 1/29, doors @ 8pm.
@8:30, $10: The Jon Dee Graham & Friend Show w/Whit Williams. Jon Dee Graham & Friend is an acoustic format with Jon Dee playing guitar, lap steel and who knows what else. Each week he invites a special guest to join him for a semi-acoustic concert punctuated by stories that will bring lots of laughter and maybe even a few tears. Jon Dee has a way of getting his fellow musicians to relax & talk & share stories that you probably haven't ever heard before. It's not just music - it's also part talk show & part comedy hour, and 100% genuine. Don't forget to check out the JonDeeCo Manifesto!
Whit Williams - Austin, Texas guitarist/songwriter/poet/ bookmender Harold Whit Williams delivers his first solo release The Daily Worker Songbook. The record is a stripped-down, mostly acoustic affair evoking Texas folk and Appalachian murder ballads, all the while lyrically tapping into his native Muscle Shoals, Alabama roots. Formerly of the critically acclaimed band Cotton Mather, Williams - "a genuine power-pop guitar hero" according to Trouser Press - tips his new-found songwriter's hat to artists like Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. However, one cannot overlook the influence of Mather band-mate and songwriting genius Robert Harrison, along with Austin singer-songwriter Kacy Crowley, who he performed with as sideman.
@10:30, no cover: Mike Flanigin Triois B-3 organist Mike Flanigin with drummer Kyle Thompson and guitarist Jake Langley! The Mike Flanigin Trio features Mike on Hammond organ amplified through a classic Leslie cabinet. His backing players vary from night to night, but you count on it being the cream of Austin's crop in jazz, blues or funk.
Jake Langley is an award winning guitarist, producer and composer, a master in azz, country, R&B, Soul, and Rock. The media has referred to Jake as a "rising star" and a "hot, young talent". New York Jazz Magazine says "... infectious... Langley (is) one of the most
notable musicians to come to light in the past years." He will blow your mind and then some. Come check him out!
Video Links:
Mike Flanigin
Jake Langley
Jon Dee Graham
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Coming.... Monday 1/30: The Lost Counts @10:30, Ben Livingston Trio @8:30pm, no cover... Tuesday 1/31: Late: The Ephraim Owens Experience @10:30, no cover. Early: James McMurtry @8:30, $10... Wednesday 2/1: Trube, Farrell & Snizz @10:30, Bustamoovalators @8:30, no cover... Thursday 2/2: Late: Tameca Jones @10:30, no cover. Early: Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison @8:30pm, $15.... Friday 2/3: The Mike Flanigin Trio w/Jake Langley @10:30, $5; Early: The Robert Kraft Trio @8:30, no cover; Art Opening: Tom Runkle - Music To Mirrors @7pm, no cover... Saturday 2/4: The Mike Flanigin Trio w/Jake Langley @10:30, $5; Early: Quarterly Tertulia @8:30, no cover.... Sunday 2/5: Late Show: The Mike Flanigin Trio w/Jake Langley & Kyle Thompson @10:30, no cover; Early show: The Jon Dee Graham & Friend Show w/TBA @8:30, $10... Monday 2/6: Crybear @10:30, Amy Cook @8:30pm, no cover... Tuesday 2/7: Late: The Ephraim Owens Experience @10:30, no cover. Early: Hot Club of Cowtown @8:30, no cover... Wednesday 2/8: Trube, Farrell & Snizz @10:30, Bustamoovalators @8:30, no cover... Thursday 2/9: Late: Tameca Jones @10:30, no cover. Early: Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison @8:30pm, $15.... Friday 2/10: The Mike Flanigin Trio w/Jake Langley @10:30, $5; Early: The Robert Kraft Trio @8:30, no cover... Saturday 2/11: The Mike Flanigin Trio w/Jake Langley @10:30, $5; Early: Steve Bernal's Zodiac w/special guest Jesse Sublett @8:30, no cover.... Sunday 2/12: Late Show: The Mike Flanigin Trio w/Jake Langley & Kyle Thompson @10:30, no cover; Early show: The Jon Dee Graham & Friend Show w/TBA @8:30, $10
And there you have it until next week,
Dianne
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