It’s a Friday night in Austin, Texas and The Black Angels are wowing a huge crowd with a reverb-heavy set at Cedar St. Courtyard during SXSW 2011. The lights are turned down to a low red glow and people dance as if they’ve been possessed by some sort of rock n’ roll demon. Lead singer Alex Maas appears to be in a meditative trance as he belts out lyrics to songs from the group’s most recent release, Phosphene Dream.
Ride your bicycle down to Urban Lounge on Friday, April 8 to see Heber City rockers Holy Water Buffalo pair up with indie-dance-pop group Shark Speed and openers Red Dog Revival. $5 gets you in.
It’s hard to believe that the eleventh installment of the SLUG Games has already come and gone. To end the series this year, SLUG Magazine brought you Construction to Destruction, a bone-crushing, face-melting jam of pure destruction housed at none other than Brighton Resort on March 5.
Every March, musicians, journalists, photographers and industry types descend upon the city of Austin for nearly a week of non-stop music. When music oozes out of everywhere, it’s hard to find something that you don’t like. Mediocre performances are forgotten in the sea of awesome.
I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t surrounded by vinyl records. As soon as I had enough money to hit a proper record store, I was there, standing on a box in order to reach the back of the used record bin. Almost a quarter century later, it’s still an obsession of mine. Since record collecting is not an exact science, there are no concrete rules. But there are some things to consider before you jump into it.
After spending an afternoon in the back room of Randy’s Records, a family run establishment that exists because, as founding owner Randy Stinson charitably says, “It’s fun to get vinyl into the hands of people who like it,” I learned just how bad my turntable was. Father and son team Randy and Tom Stinson took one look at my setup and chuckled. I knew my system wasn’t anything special, but a chuckle from these two means bad news.
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