CC: What is Lissy Trullie all about? How did the band form and what inspired you to start making music. What is the music like to the uninitiated?
LT: I’ve pretty much always played music since I was a child. I wrote lots and played in other bands… Lissy Trullie is basically me finally playing/doing my own thing. The Lissy Trullie band has been through many incarnations but this is by far the greatest. CC: What was it like cutting the Self-Taught Learner EP? What was the recording experience like? What’s the story with the wild cover?
LT: The recording of the EP is like that expression “if you blink, you’ll miss it” It was such a rushed experience. We had little money and little time. We literally worked around the clock. The cover is an image that a friend of mine had from an early 70’s porno mag. I changed it a bit to make it less “porno-ie”. I guess it’s my homage to the butt cover of Springsteen’s and the crotch cover of The Stones.

CC: Tell us a little bit about your songwriting process. Is it a collaborative effort? Where do you draw inspiration from? What are some artists that inspire you?

LT: I write the songs on my own and them bring them to the band… They develop from there. I think as far as the song writing goes, my inspiration isn’t a constant “this or that”… I’m inspired by whatever I see or observe. Some come from personal experiences and others don’t. I think I’m beginning to realize that I write a lot about relationships (not of the romantic kind… or not always) But i dunno. That could all change. It’s hard to determine what kinda ridiculousness is coming next.
CC: A lot of press on the band seems to mention your modeling work or the NYC fashion scene just as much as the music – does that association bother you or do you think it helps the band? How would you like to be portrayed by the music media?
LT: It’s more of a surprise than a bother. I did model, but a long time ago and not for a long time. It’s bazaar to be described as a model because that seems like a different life. Musically, I don’t think it helps at all (press wise), but I think that has more to do with the music industry’s beef with the fashion industry and unfortunately I’m getting shit for it. It’d be very nice if our press focused on the music more. If i was really still a model then maybe it’d be relevant? But I’m not so I’m not sure why people care.

CC: What’s next for Lissy Trullie and company? What’s the takeover plan for 2009? Any plans for a full-length?

LT: We’re gonna record the full length!!!!!!!!! July and August. I can’t sit still, I want to start now.

A new Lissy Trullie full-length being recorded this summer? Sign us up please. Be sure and check Lissy and co. opening for the Virgins tomorrow May 27th at Emo’s.

Lissy Trullie – “You Bleed You”
********************************************************************
THE ACTION DESIGN LIVE IN AUSTIN
Yet another awesome performance from Cannibal Cheerleader favorites the Action Design, this time decked out in their sunday best looking like a ramshackle gang of Mods and bringing the dancey hooks to match. With excellent renditions of crowd favorites like “Connect/Disconnect” and “Landmines” and moody takes on slower songs such as “Laundry Day”, the band continues to astound with their brand of Bloc Party-meets-Blondie dance rock. Here’s hoping the band keeps on trucking, catch them on tour!
The Action Design – “Landmines”
********************************************************************
NEW BAND CHEER: KASMSDuring our SXSW 09 Blood Bath members of Rolo Tomassi asked us if we were anglophiles (partly because I invited them to play, partly because of the Gallows shirt JB wore) and we can’t help but confirm their suspicions with our latest obsession from across the pond: Kasms, a quartet with a 50/50 boy/girl split from London. Packing a powerful post-punk crunch and a Jemina Pearl-wailing frontwoman, Kasms balances on the fence between punk fury and experimental feedback loops, creating an art-rock package that one might expect from a band with twice the experience of these UK youngsters. With such an interesting and frankly frightening blend of Liars-style guitar-shredding attacks and crushing wails, it’s no wonder Kasms list both Swans and Six Finger Satellite in their influences. Plus, seeing as how the band has just released their debut album Spayed, we plan on hearing a lot more from this group in the near future. Fantastic stuff, definitely worth checking out (see video for “Bone You” below).

Kasms – “Bone You”
Kasms – “Murmur”

Comments? Whose going to the Lissy Trullie show?

Pearl Jam
Dave Matthews Band
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon
Ben Harper and Relentless7
Thievery Corporation
John Legend
The Dead Weather
The Levon Helm Band
Ghostland Observatory
Sonic Youth
Mos Def
Toadies
Flogging Molly
The B-52s
Lily Allen
Citizen Cope
Arctic Monkeys
The Decemberists
Coheed and Cambria
Andrew Bird
Girl Talk
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
Phoenix
Bassnectar
Bon Iver
!!!
The Avett Brothers
The Airborne Toxic Event
Medeski, Martin & Wood
Clutch
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Grizzly Bear
Heartless Bastards
Passion Pit
White Lies
Dan Auerbach
The Walkmen
The Scabs
Reckless Kelly
Devotchka
Blitzen Trapper
The Virgins
Here We Go Magic
Eek-A-Mouse
K’ Naan
Asleep at the Wheel
Dr. Dog
The Raveonettes
The Knux
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
State Radio
Los Amigos Invisibles
The Felice Brothers
Federico Aubele
Raul Malo
Daniel Johnston
Poi Dog Pondering
Brett Dennen
Rodriguez
Henry Butler
Preservation Hall
Sam Roberts Band
The Greencards
Sara Watkins
Walter “Wolfman” Washington
David Garza
John Vanderslice
Zac Brown Band
Todd Snider
School of Seven Bells
The Dodos
Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3
Alberta Cross
Deer Tick
Bell X1
Alela Diane
The Wood Brothers
The Parlor Mob
Rebirth Brass Band
Marva Wright
Terri Hendrix
L.A.X.
Lisa Hannigan
The Low Anthem
Sons of Bill
Suckers
Sarah Jaffe
Cotton Jones
The Henry Clay People
Papa Mali
Jypsi
Vince Mira
Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights
Mimicking Birds
Jeffrey Steele
Jonell Mosser
Leatherbag
Keith Gattis
Damien Horne
Sarah Siskind
Dexateens
Nelo
Danny Brooks
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
The Soul Stirrers
The Durdens
Palm School Elementary
The Gospel Silvertones
Diaconos
Quinn Sullivan
Ralph’s World
Q Brothers
Milkshake
Telephone Company
Loose Cannons
Lunch Money

In other news, there’s NO news about the release of an EP this summer that BYOP promised would feature the three missing tracks from their excellent sophomore LP Get Awkward. I fully encourage everyone to buy this when it hits the shelves (or better yet just import the UK version with the tracks already one there) but if you haven’t heard these tunes yet, give them a listen here. “Black Hole” and “Becky” both make the top ten list of best BYOP tunes of all time.

Be Your Own Pet – “Becky”

Be Your Own Pet – “Black Hole”

Be Your Own Pet – “Blow Your Mind”

********************************************************************
NEW BECK SONG – CHEMTRAILS


You can check out a new Beck song from his upcoming (supposedly titled) Modern Guilt LP. It’s called “Chemtrails” and if this is any indication about what producer Danger Mouse has done with the alt-folkster, we can expect a softer, more stylistic Beck, combining the sonic palette of Sea Change with the lyrical content of his past few LPs, like The Information. Definitely check it out over at Beck’s Myspace or his website (just click on the jukebox in the upper right).
********************************************************************
NEW BAND CHEER – FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE


Speaking of South by Southwest here’s a UK band that’s seemed to hedge its reputation on its completely awesome SXSW performance. They’re called Florence and the Machine and they recall Amy Winehouse with a garage-rock bent. Check out a video from their SX set below and then listen to their awesome first single “Kiss With A Fist”. Enjoy people and comment!

Florence and the Machine – “Kiss With A Fist” (link removed at IAMSOUND’s request)
Whoops! Instead here’s the Imeem stream of “Kiss With A Fist”! Enjoy!

Check out the view from my apartment complex! If you were in Austin on Thursday night this is what you woke up to, if you didn’t wake up due to the torrential hail and wind.

This news tidbit is actually here to mark a change in the blog’s structure. For too long has this blog tried to be a national act when instead Cannibal Cheerleader should be concentrating on what it does best: reporting on the happenings of Austin, the live music capital of the world. From now on most if not all stories about bands will have some sort of Austin tie-in if they are to be reported here. I want this to be the official blog of Austin!
********************************************************************
LADYTRON – “GHOSTS” VIDEO


Here’s the video from Velocifero standout “Ghosts” from electro-poppers Ladytron, who will be making a jaunt through Austin Friday June 6th. You know we’ll be there with spurs on.

********************************************************************
TERROR THURSDAY – DERANGED


This week’s movie at Terror Thursday was a gorey doozey, combining sick humor with even sicker violence. Skinning girls, vomiting blood, bashing heads in, digging up the dead, Deranged pretty much ruled. Weird beyond imagination this was one of the few Terror Thursdays that was genuinely unsettling for me. Definitely deserving of four out of five bloody pon-poms.

********************************************************************
NEW BAND CHEER – PINK NASTY

In keep with our efforts to keep the blog local, here’s a gal we haven’t genuinely reported on yet who nonetheless rocks my socks off – Pink Nasty. A combination of singer-songwriter a-la Cat Power with a lo-fi, rocker grrrl twang, all wrapped up in an attitude and pop sensibility that’s both defiant and listenable. You know we’ll be hitting up her show this Saturday at Mohawk, but for a taste, check out this track from her excellent LP Mold the Gold.

Pink Nasty – “Away Message”

See y’all next week! Comment folks!

PS. This is how I feel at the end of a heavy week of music journalism. Thanks Jemima for the visual aid!