Cannibal Cheerleader

FOLLOW THAT BIRD! AT BEAUTY BAR
Sorry for not updating Wednesday guys – a combination of more moving difficulties and a slow news day meant no time for an update. However, today is a double update, beginning with a show review of one of the best local bands we’ve stumbled upon all year, the punk trio Follow That Bird!.

Stunning an elated Beauty Bar crowd with their massive set, these women pack a sound laden with furious feedback and chugging basslines under the magnificent croon of Corin Tucker incarnate lead singer Lauren Green, whose wail refused to be overpowered even by the crunching notes of her own guitar shredding. The trio stormed through a set comprised half of punk vignettes highlighting Green’s vocals and half of more melodic pieces which challenged with their improvisational fuzz-work and splintered in a million different directions before returning to a poppy whole. All the while bassist Rachel Badger provided a solid base for the action to take place on, whipping through intricate basslines and diving below the lead guitar all with a moment’s notice, and drummer Tiffanie Lanmon railed on her drums and whipped her head about like the most metal of moshpit fanatics. Overall, the band surprised with its larger than life sound that nonetheless managed to hold fast to a punk ethos that kept us engaged and enthralled. We can definitely say without question that this was one of the best shows we’ve been to all year and we hope to see more of these girls soon! Here are some more pictures and another YouTube we found.

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SOUTHERN DRAMA INTERVIEW ONLINE
The special interview we did a few weeks ago with our friends in Southern Drama is now up at the Soundcheck Magazine website. Go check it out here and be sure and swing by the ladies’ Myspace when you get a chance as well.

Southern Drama – “Blood Red”
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CRYSTAL CASTLES HEADS CMJ LINEUP
The NYC equivalent of Austin’s own SXSW madness the CMJ Music Marathon has announced its lineup and up near the top of the list is Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Crystal Castles, along with other favorites like the Virgins, the Cool Kids, A Place To Bury Strangers, etc. We’ll definitely be looking forward to what these cats pull when their massive music fest isn’t in a town where the weather seems perpetually beautiful and cooperative (most of the time, haha). In other CC news, the duo is currently in Europe on tour and pretty soon they’ll be swinging back into the US for a romp with none other than Trent Reznor and co. We’ll be keeping you up to date on those shows when they happen!

Crystal Castles – “Trash Hologram”
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THE NATIONAL REVEAL NEW TUNE
Recently at a show in Copenhagen our favorite brooding indie-rockers the National revealed a new track entitled “A Thousand Black Cities” which you can view below. A bit jazzier and light than the title might suggest, the song starts slow but then really comes into its own and stands aside some of the band’s strongest work, with a soaring chorus and the same hopeless, inner-city existentialism we’ve come to expect. Maybe not the band to soundtrack your latest frat party, but it’ll do if you can’t find your copy of Unknown Pleasures (lord knows that gets the sorority sisters bouncing!).

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ACL AFTERSHOWS ANNOUNCED
According to the Austinist the lineup of ACL Fest aftershows has been officially released and along with cool Texas acts like Bill Callahan (aka Smog) and the Butthole Surfers, there’s a special show at La Zona Rosa on Sunday night featuring none other than Conor Oberst and special guest Jenny Lewis. You know that we’ll be waiting in line all day for that one, screw waiting for Foo Fighters. List of shows below:

Stubb’s BBQ: Thursday Sep 25: (outdoors) An evening with Manu Chao Ticket: $35 adv/ $35 dos Doors 7pm, show 8pm.

Friday Sep 26: (outdoors)
Gnarls Barkley w/ CSS
Ticket: $27 adv/ $30 dos
Doors 8pm, Show 9pm

Saturday Sep 27: (very special gospel brunch)
Gospel Brunch w/ Mike Farris featuring the Roseland Rhythm Revue
Ticket: $30, $40 (Call for reservations 512-480-8341)
Doors at 11am, Brunch at 11:30am

Saturday Sep 27: (outdoors)
Return of the Butthole Surfers w/ The Kills
Ticket: $30 adv/ $33 dos
Doors 7pm, Show 8pm.

Saturday Sep 27: (indoors)
Mugison
Ticket: $15 adv/ $15 dos
Doors 11:30pm, show midnight

Sunday Sep 28: (outdoors)
The Black Keys w/ The Black Angels & Jessica Lea Mayfield
Ticket: $25 adv/ $25 dos
Doors at 7pm, Show at 7:30pm

LaZona Rosa:

Friday Sep 26
G Love & Special Sauce
Ticket: $25 adv/ $27 dos
Doors at 10pm, Show at 11pm

Sunday Sep 28
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band w/ Special Guests Jenny Lewis and M. Ward
Ticket: $30 adv/ $30 dos
Doors at 9pm, Show at 10pm

The Parish:

Friday Sep 26
Jamie Lidell w/ Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears
Ticket: $20 adv/ $20 dos
Doors at 10pm, show at 11pm

Paramount Theater:

Thursday Sep 25
David Byrne on Tour – songs from David Byrne and Brian Eno
Ticket: $50, $55
Doors at 7:30pm, Show 8:30pm

Saturday Sep 27
The Swell Season w/ Bill Callahan
Ticket: $35, $42.50 (depends on where seat location is)
Doors at 7:30pm, Show at 8:30pm

Emos:

Friday Sep 26 (outdoors)
Drive-By Truckers w/ Shooter Jennings
Ticket: $20 adv/ $22 dos
Doors at 10pm, Show at 10:30pm

Friday Sep 26 (Emos Jr)
Heartless Bastards w/ Dead Confederate & Wax Fang
Ticket: $15 adv/ $17 dos
Doors at 10pm, show at 10:30pm

Friday Sep 26 (Emos Lounge)
Car Stereo Wars
Ticket: $8 adv/ $10 dos
Doors at 10pm, show 11pm.

Saturday Sep 27 Emos Outside
Okkervil River w/ Man Man & Crooked Fingers
Ticket: $15 adv/ $17 dos
Doors at 10pm, show 10:30pm

Saturday Sep 27 (Emos jr)
Jose Gonzalez w/ Neva Dinova & McCarthy Trenching
Ticket: $18 adv/ $20 dos
Doors at 10pm, Show at 10:30pm

Saturday Sep 27 (Emos Lounge)
Car Stereo Wars
Ticket: $8 adv/ $10 dos
Doors at 10pm, show 11pm.

Antone’s:

Saturday Sep 27
Jakob Dylan and The Gold Mountain Rebels w/ Back Door Slam
Ticket: $23 adv, $25 dos
Doors at 10pm, Show at 10:30pm
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NEW BAND CHEER: KYLESA
Make no mistake about our indier-than-thou, twee lovin’ credibility over here at Cannibal Cheerleader – heck, we’re a stones-throw from tight-jeans wearing hipsters – but we love ourselves some face-melting fuckin’ metal every once in a while. And while we hate the radio-ready rock of bands like the much maligned Disturbed, we can’t help but be intrigued every time we hear about a band that takes the dynamic elements of metal (it’s penchant for feedback-heavy riffs, it’s air of slow-burning experimentation, etc) and fuses them into a truly unique package. That band is Savannah, Georgia’s Kylesa, a beast of a band combining swirly guitar-noodling, teeth-grinding riffs, and a brilliant vocal dichotomy between two lead vocalists, Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants. With a psychedelic tinge and a habit of making loud-quiet-loud seem like doom-hushed oblivion-doom, Kylesa take Southern metal and brand their mark of experimentalism and purebred fury into its dusty hide. Lucky for us Austinites the band will be swinging through on Sept. 20th supporting Pinback, and you know, as always, Cannibal Cheerleader will be there!

Kylesa – “Between Silence and Sound”

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TREASURE MAMMAL – INTERVIEW
Hey everyone, Cannibal Cheerleader is back in action, all moved in and now located at its new office here in Austin, Texas. So, without further ado, let’s get back to the music. Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Treasure Mammal, aka Abelardo Gil has been busy these days, popping back into the studio and releasing a split EP with Whitman. Today though might be one of the most exciting in recent memory as tonight our friend T. Mammal is playing a show in Phoenix with none other than Austin’s own Octopus Project. If you’re in the Arizona area, it’s obviously completely crucial that you attend this once in a lifetime convergence of so much bizarre talent.

In other TM news, recently we here at Cannibal Cheerleader got a chance to conduct an email interview with the madcap experimental artist and here’s a sample for your reading pleasure:

“Describe the Treasure Mammal experience to the uninitiated. What is
your music all about? How would you describe it?

The TM experience for the uninitiated is communal experience conveyed through performance/music about trying to live in the moment, dancing, enjoying the ones around you (even if they are strangers) and enjoying music. My music is all about embracing musical mistakes and trying to make a world to escape in for a short time. My music is like surfing on a dream catcher that eventually got lifted up by a pegacorn (unicorn/ pegasus) and you were taken in to space and shown all the possibilities/ beauty of life.“

This completely awe-inspiring answer is of course just a sampling, read more at the bottom of this post and of course read the full interview in the September edition of the Cannibal Cheerleader zine.

Speaking of which, copies of issue #1 are going fast so if you’d like a copy delivered to you, email me at cannibalcheerleader@gmail.com. Of course, you’re going to have to do something for me too, such as recommend a few cool bands or take some rad pictures of CC favorites!

Here’s a quick T. Mammal video to jump-start your work week:

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SPINNERETTE REVEAL “VALIUM KNIGHTS”
We here at Cannibal Cheerleader have long since been betrothed to Brody Dalle. She doesn’t really know this yet, but we’ve been together for a long time. Growing up in Smalltown, East Texas left plenty of room for romance in our nerdy lives and the raucous rampage of the Distillers was just the kind of girl we were looking for. Seriously though, Brody remains one of the greatest vocalists in rock music ever, and her seering punk poetry still manages to make our ears bleed to this day.

Now, having placed the Distillers on hold after their magnum opus Coral Fang, Brody Dalle has formed a new band called Spinnerette, supposedly offering a more experimental and electronic edge to the Rancid-ready sound of old. This weekend on the band’s Myspace it was revealed that the first single off the album “Valium Knights” would be sent to members of their email list, and what a doozy of a track it is. Taking the Brody croon to new heights of musicianship and combining a grimy bassline with light, spidery guitarwork, all behind a cascading din of drums, the track is painfully short but packed with enough sweet grooves to suffice until the whole album is revealed. Definitely a far-cry from anything Distillers but incredibly satisfying nonetheless, here is Valium Knights:
Spinnerette – “Valium Knights”

I strongly encourage everyone to join the band’s email list, and not just to honor the memory of the late-great Distillers, but to become involved in what’s promising to be an excellent and engaging band. Looking forward to hearing more from these guys!
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NEW BAND CHEER: FOLLOW THAT BIRD!
Straight off a recommendation from the gals in Southern Drama comes Austin’s own Follow That Bird!, an all-girl punk trio with a penchant for snaky guitarwork, fierce and passionate drumming, and the unhinged and unmistakable vocals of one Lauren Green, whose voice comes across as a mix of the Corin Tucker operatic-yelp and post-punk songstress Siouxsie Sioux’s husky growl. The demos on the band’s Myspace speak to a collection of whip-smart punk begging to be committed to tape, so much so that the group’s earlier tracks seem pale in comparison. Follow That Bird! are clearly on the verge of dropping a bomb on the Austin punk and indie scene, just feel lucky that you’re getting to hear them they explode. The girls in FTB are playing this Wednesday at Beauty Bar and you know Cannibal Cheerleader will be there snapping pictures for your enjoyment!

I haven’t been able to find any mp3s online but here’s a quirky little YouTube video of one of our favorites, “Run With Knives”:

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TREASURE MAMMAL INTERVIEW (CONT’D)
Here are a few more questions from our special Treasure Mammal interview – enjoy!

Talk about the T. Mammal live show. Do audiences need to see your performances live to get the full effect? What goes through your mind when you’re performing?

I do think that the TM experience isn’t fully expressed until the live show has been seen. When I am performing I usually think about the environment that I am in, what is my part in this environment, and how can I change this environment.

Your music is a really unique blend of genres. What are your influences? Do you listen to much modern music? Who are some of your favorite artists? Do you take influence from anything other art forms like film or literature?

During my first couple of records I wanted to make songs like Robert Rauschenberg made art. So I was really into the cutting/ pasting element of music. He made me want to make sound collages. John Cage has also been a huge influence on me … I do kind of group him with Rauschenberg from the sound collage aspect of things. The only modern stuff I like lately is on the hip hop station. Some of my favorite artists right now are Add N to X, Kanye West, R. Kelly, Babies, Whitman, Abe Vigoda, and Brian Crabtree. I try to take things from everything that I come in contact with in my environment. We are a product of our environment. My favorite people/artists are the ones that make their own environment no matter the situation.

classically trained or self-taught?

I began by doing alot of improvisations, experimenting with effects pedals, putting contact mics on vacuum cleaners. Also, that around a time when I was experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs. The only reason I bring up hallucinogenics is because they put me in a mind frame of putting genres together that wouldn’t neccessarily work together. In short, it made me care alot less about having these music rules make sense. After doing quite a bit of experimentation I started song writing, and over some time I tried to put those ideas together.

I do think of music sometimes as an equation that needs to be solved. For example, if you try to make a song from a country music loop and a hip hop loop where do you place them in relation to each other. Once you try to figure out the composition variables will start presenting themselves and I am self taught.

I remember seeing you perform in East Texas when I was in high
school – you’ve been at this for quite a long time. Is Treasure Mammal
a permanent career choice for you? What is your career trajectory and

what tips can you give for independent artist just starting out?

This November the entity of Treasure Mammal turns 5 years old. This is a permanent career choice for me. I have decided to dedicate my life to music and being the enitity of Treasure Mammal. I do like the idea of getting old and still doing a version of the project. We do live in an ever changing world and it will be great to just ride it out. I do plan on touring in Canada and in Europe sometime in the near future. For anyone starting out, I would say they should figure out the purpose of the music they are making first, constantly make goals for yourself, put out your own records and tour all the time.

What future releases do you have planned? How do you plan on
expanding the Treasure Mammal universe? Has your fanbase grown over

the years?

I have a new split 7 inch coming out with the Numerators from Lubbock, Texas coming out in the late fall. I have a new record coming out early next year called “If You Love Me You Will Get a Vagina”. A mixtape will also be coming out with remixes, different version of songs and freestyles things of that sort. A dvd is also in the works. With my fan base I have planted the seeds, watered them and they grown more than I ever thought they would. I plan on expanding the TM universe by eventually doing some art installations and trying to do some more work on the visual aspect of things

your artistic expression?

I sell stuff on ebay, and sometimes I substitute teach. Lately, I have liked ebay better than any job because it takes the least out of my creativity and I don’t get bummed out on my job. Because there are those days where I wish I could do TM all the time but I have not figured out how to make a solid income doing that. yet.

Does your music have a message? What are you trying to convey?

If there was a message to my music. It would be to realize that you are great, to not be afraid of who you are, that one small thing can change your whole world, if you want to make a change (change it), and to do what you are really meant to do in this life. I guess in summation the message would be to be more self reliant. I write these songs for other people, the people I love, and I also write them for myself.

Stay tuned for bonus questions in next month’s Cannibal Cheerleader zine! Any comments?