After far too much local hype (for my comfort, anyway), our 17-band, 3 night spectacular at Austin’s Beerland kicks off this evening (doors at 9pm, music at 1opm) with the first show from The Persimmons in many months.  Running orders for all 3 evenings are below (headliners on top) but please be advised of the following ;

a) we’re giving away a ltd. edition screenprint of the above poster to the first 30 paid attendees tonight
b) End Of An Ear will be selling LP’s and CD’s on Friday and Saturday
c) Alan Benavides and Fred from The Stuffies will be spinning records Friday and Saturday
d) Friday and Saturday night’s shows start at 9pm sharp.
e) it’s $5 to get in.  If you don’t think it’s worth paying .83 cents (U.S.) per band, please keep it to yourself rather than requesting guest list space for a blog we’ve never seen before.  Thanks, dignity (yours especially) is a precious thing.

Thursday, February 4

Follow That Bird!
Dikes Of Holland
Kingdom Of Suicide Lovers

The Distant Seconds
The Persimmons

Friday, February 5

Woven Bones
The Young

Wild America
Flesh Lights
Elvis
The No No No Hopes

Saturday, February 6

Harlem

The Golden Boys
Bad Sports
Love Collector
The Stuffies
Lost Controls

(Order ‘Casual Victim Pile’ on LP, CD or digital album from The Matador Store)

While this week’s release of Matador’s 19-band Austin/Denton compilation, ‘Casual Victim Pile’ has met with mostly favorable notices, some have rightly raised the question, “where’s the inflammatory, entirely unnecessary attacks on other genres / scenes etc.?”   So with that in mind, we commissioned Denny Schmickle to design (and Obsolete Industries to print) a limited edition poster for next week’s 3-night stand at Beerland.  Please, if 60 of these managed to completely obscure the entrance to the Saxon Pub,  rest assured this was purely the handiwork of an overzealous street team.

That said, a limited quantity of the above poster will be free with paid admission ($5) to next Thursday’s NIGHT ONE featuring Follow That Bird!, Dikes Of Holland, Kingdom Of Suicide Lovers, The Distant Seconds and The Persimmons.  On the subsequent Friday (Woven Bones, The Young, Wild America, Flesh Lights, Elvis, The No No No Hopes) and Saturday (Harlem, The Golden Boys, Bad Sports, Love Collector, The Stuffies, Lost Controls) nights, Alan B will be playing records between sets and our good friends from End Of An Ear Records will be peddling LP & CD copies of ‘CVP’.

(Wild America, photo taken from ballrogs kill’s Flickr stream)

WOXY.com co-sponsor of next week’s shows (along with Austinist), will be broadcasting live sessions from Follow That Bird! (February 4, 4:30pm), Wild America (February 5, 12:30pm) and Love Collector (February 6, 4:30pm) as part of their Lounge Acts series.

(Order ‘Casual Victim Pile’ on LP, CD or digital album from The Matador Store)

(top, bottom : insanely great comp. of Austin/Denton talent, entry point to cathedral of sophisticated entertainment)

For a couple of months now we’ve been in semi to full-on promo blather mode about our ‘Casual Victim Pile’ compilation 2XLP/CD, out January 26. As promised (with some gracious assistance from Austinist and WOXY)  all of the comp’s 19 bands  —- save for Tre Orsi (outta town) and The Teeners (split up) — are taking part in a 3 night series at Austin’s Beerland. Lineups below don’t necessarily reflect the running order (though they might), but we’re hopeful with a $5 cover each evening you’ll get your money’s worth.

Thursday Feb. 4

Follow That Bird!
Dikes Of Holland
Kingdom Of Suicide Lovers
The Distant Seconds
The Persimmons

Friday, Feb. 5

Woven Bones
The Young
Wild America
Flesh Lights
Elvis
The No No No Hopes

Saturday, Feb. 6

Harlem
The Golden Boys
Bad Sports
Love Collector
The Stuffies
Lost Controls

Persons living outside the Central Texas region are fully encouraged to fly in for the event —- you’re welcome to stay on my couch at one of Austin’s many economically priced hotels.  And keep in mind, the following Sunday is Super Bowl XLIV, and there’s almost certainly going to be a huge party at my house one of Austin’s many generic sports bars/taverns.

Failing that, four of CVP’s leading lights are playing Denton, TX on Sunday, January 17. Bad Sports, Tre Orsi, Follow That Bird! and Dikes Of Holland are joined by Teenage Cool Kids at Rubber Gloves. The following Monday is Martin Luther King Day, and if you’re hoping to make the trip from Austin, you can always catch a ride with me Greyhound ($28.40 roundtrip). But you can figure out your own travel plans – what am I, Expedia? ‘Casual Victim Pile’ is still available for preorders from The Matador Store, double vinyl for the discount price of $15.30, single CD for $8.50

As most of you are aware, when I’m not opening prescription medication I’ve found in Chris Lombardi’s desk attending marketing meetings at 304 Hudson Street,, I spend the majority of my time in the lovely city of Austin, TX. The region’s musical heritage, while often acknowledged in the major trade fairs and sprawling rock festivals, often leaves some folks more recognized than others ; 13th Floor Elevators, Bubble Puppy, Moving Sidewalks, Doctor’s Mob, True Believers, Big Boys, Dicks, Nice Strong Arm, Butthole Surfers, Scratch Acid, Texas Instruments, Daniel Johnston, 16 Deluxe, Glorium, …Trail Of Dead, Spoon, Shearwater, Strange Boys, Total Abuse, Hex Dispensers, etc. NONE OF THESE WONDERFUL ARTISTS HAS A STATUE, and that makes me want to cry.

The thing is, I really suck at making statues. I’m a little more accomplished, however, at putting together compilations. On January 26, Matador will be releasing a double LP / single CD collection/ digital album called ‘Casual Victim Pile (Austin 2010′), featuring 17 songs from a newer generation of Austin bands (plus a couple of wildly talented ringers from Denton for good measure). I’ve been working on this comp. off and on over the past year and I feel pretty good about this record being a valid representation of….uh…..the bands I like to see most often? The Austin Chronicle recently touted CVP as “shaping up to be the most impressive regional comp since 1983’s ‘Cottage Cheese From the Lips of Death’ (Ward 9) , and while I’ll take that praise any day of the week, to my ears it more closely recalls Matador’s 1991 NYC underground sampler., ‘New York Eye & Ear Control’.

Of the album’s 19 songs, 18 are previously unreleased, Harlem’s “Beautiful & Very Smart” being the only current exception. Only Harlem, The Golden Boys, The Distant Seconds and Elvis have released full albums previously, while several of the bands on this album (Flesh Lights, Dikes Of Holland, KOSL, The Stuffies, The Persimmons) are making their recorded debuts (at least as of this writing). Here’s the track listing.

Follow That Bird! – The Ghosts That Wake You
The Young – Blister
Woven Bones – Spirits Roam
Flesh Lights – Crush On You
Dikes Of  Holland – Little City Girl
Tre Orsi –  The Engineer
The Distant Seconds – Akron Bureau
Kingdom Of Suicide Lovers – Hoboken Snow
Elvis – Mommy’s Little Soliders

Love Collector – First 48
Bad Sports – Can’t Remember Your Name
Wild America – Drink It Dry
Harlem – Beautiful & Very Smart
The Stuffies – No One’s Gonna Miss You
The Golden Boys – Older Than You
The No No No Hopes –  Nobody’s Fool
The Teeners - Nazis On Film
The Persimmons – The Notice
Lost Controls –  Entirely Wired For Sound

There will be more news to follow in the days in weeks ahead, including a multi-night stand at one of Austin’s more beloved nightspots (OK, Beerland) featuring the majority of the album’s participants. In the meantime, ‘Casual Victim Pile’ is available for preorders starting today from The Matador Store,  2XLP for the discount price of $15.30, single CD for $8.50

P.S.  ‘Casual Victim Pile’ is an anagram for ‘Live Music Capital’.   I learned that from a talking statue.