Infusing psychedelic blues and punk disposition White Denim is one of Austin’s most formidable acts. They’ve toured relentlessly the past several years; releasing a slew of EP’s and albums slowly creating a name for themselves. Their unique brand of Rock and Roll is a great motif of what we can expect future artists to embrace. It’s high energy, intricate, and emphatic; the face of music is changing and White Denim is on the front-lines.

  Josh Block, James Petralli, and Lucas Anderson began as part of the Austin group Parque Touch. In 2005 they were performing at Beerland in Austin with another local Peach Train. Steve Terebecki, who was playing bass for Peach Train at that time, was asked to join Parque Touch. He accepted the offer and they continued for another year; playing the central Texas circuit. Until, in 2006, Lucas would leave the band. Taking the absence of Lucas as an opportunity for change the resulting trio became White Denim.

  Block’s 1940’s Spartan trailer would be the site where much of the Early White Denim recordings would occur. They independently released their first EP “Let’s Talk About It” in 2007; which was only available on vinyl. Later the band would re-release the EP on itunes. That same year the band began to tour. While on the road they would create their second EP “Workout Holiday.” They sold pressings of the nine-song EP exclusively on tour. It garnered the attention of an online record label RCRD LBL; who would have White Denim re-record three songs from Workout Holiday and release them as an exclusive EP entitled “RCRD LBL EP.” Teetering on the helm of major exposure, White Denim pushed on with more extensive tours and performances at SXSW and the CMJ Music Marathon. The efforts would not go overlooked; in 2008 they would win the “Best New Band” at the Austin Music Awards.

In 2008 White Denim would finally release their full length debut “Exposion.” The album was self-produced but distributed by Austin’s Transmission Entertainment.  This partnership would not last long; they would part ways in 2009. White Denim had still not signed with an American Label by June of 2009. If they were to release their second LP in the US they would need to make a deal. Finally they were approached by the Label Downtown Records; they signed quickly and released their sophomore effort “Fits.” The album came with their previous LP “Exposion” as a bonus disc; this gave it a proper release in the US.

Returning MR Fest artist, Quiet Company, has come a long way since their first appearance at the festival. The Austin, Texas based group composed of Taylor Muse, Thomas Blank, Matt Parmenter, Jeff Weathers, and Cody Ackors, have accumulated through the past several years after Muse recorded the bands’ first record solo.  During 2010, the band had their break out year with their first single “How Do You Do It?” receiving so much airplay that it catapulted them into the hearts of their local listeners and into a global market after their collaboration with Grooveshark.

Since then, the band has been paving their way to stardom. Their most outstanding accomplishment was during the 2012 Austin Music Awards, sweeping the competition with Band of the Year, Song of the Year “You, Me & the Boatman,” Best Indie Band, Best Rock Band, and several individual recognitions. “We had hoped to win a couple awards, but certainly didn’t expect to get ten awards,” Muse said. The bands’ ability to interact with fans, especially during South by Southwest, has certainly gained them credibility. At SXSW, Quiet Company strutted the streets of Austin, Texas wearing cardboard signs offering “Free hugs from Quiet Company.” “We’ve been doing that for about three or four years now, and vowed to always do it,” said Muse. The band has also hosted Twitter contests in which they would allow winners to ride with them in their van to different shows.

Quiet Company has put out several recordings since their formation, but more recently released the album We Are All Where We Belong, including singles “You, Me, & The Boatman” and “Fear and Fallacy, Sitting in a Tree.” The 2011 release is meant to incorporate all of the emotions felt during a break up, but not in a sort of romantic way. “This record is directed towards relieving religion and embracing humanism and atheism and celebrating that,” said Muse, “It’s like a break up record with God.”

Future Quiet Company recordings are in planning, but Muse said they won’t be released for a good while; however, the band is releasing new recordings for fans through a current cover project that has lasted a lot longer than they had expected. “We each pick four songs we want to cover, and then we let the fans vote on which song they would like to hear and whatever wins we go in the studio and record,” said Muse. The project isn’t expected to drop as a record, but the tracks include covers from Arcade Fire, Pedro the Lion, the Cure, and Florence & the Machine and are posted as free listening for fans.

 Rather hear them live? You're in luck, Quiet Company will be performing live at Texas Music Theater (TMT) this Saturday at 11:30pm. See ya there!

-Andrea Carr and Stephanie Cavazos

`https://www.facebook.com/quietcompany

STEREO IS A LIE formed in late 2008 by simply plugging in a guitar, keyboard, and Glynn Wedgewood belted out some vocals. Front man and guitarist Glynn Wedgewood moved from his native England to pursue music and assemble a band. He was joined by drummer Jayson Altman and Justin Scott on keyboards. Glynn then met bassist Marcus Piña who signed on later, “Sharing a passion for pints, football (soccer), and loud rock and roll, we stayed in touch until I got a call a few months later to play bass, Piña states.” The band now consists of a forceful four piece.

Since its inception, STEREO IS A LIE has released a self-titled LP and received immense credit for resurrecting Rock and Roll! Located in Austin, Texas “the music capitol of the world,” they have been getting loads of feedback, and it is much deserved. With a British Rock and Roll music style, STEREO IS A LIE earns worthy comparisons to famous artists such as Oasis and Radiohead.

Currently, the band is doing a lot of writing in their practice room, “Once we have some songs we feel work together, we'll look at getting in the studio again,” says vocalist Glynn Wedgewood. Fans are anxiously awaiting STEREO IS A LIE’s newest release, but for now the band is concentrating on their songwriting process, which is constantly changing. “We're all bringing ideas to the table and then developing them from the ground as a unit. Ultimately there is no process, we'll try anything,” states Wedgewood.

Before they continue conceptualizing more tracks, STEREO IS A LIE will be performing at KTSW 89.9 5th annual MR. Fest. Not only is STEREO performing, they are also one of the headliners! “I'm really excited about playing the festival, especially in such a great room. All the gang at KTSW are incredibly passionate about music, so it's nice to be around people who really get behind the artists,” Wedgewood says. Bassist Marcus Piña states, “It feels awesome to be playing MR. Fest, so pleased to be back.” The band will be performing live at the Texas Music Theatre at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28.

-Reyna Caraveo

http://www.stereoisalie.com

http://www.myspace.com/stereoisalie

http://twitter.com/STEREOISALIE

http://soundcloud.com/stereo-is-a-lie

http://www.last.fm/music/STEREO+IS+A+LIE

http://www.youtube.com/user/STEREOISALIE

http://stereoisalie.bandcamp.com/

http://www.sonicbids.com/stereoisalie

http://stereoisalie.tumblr.com/

SuperLiteBike has come a long way since their initial alias as A Pocketful of Deng nearly ten years ago. The members found each other in Austin, Texas and after the name change; continued to collaborate their artistic efforts through who is now lead singer Patrick Husband, lead guitarist Travis Larrew, bassist Jackson Ellis, and drummer Rob Edmiston. The band has yet to release any new recordings since their first EP, Away We Go, dropped in 2010, but they mention an upcoming album in the making.

SuperLiteBike is all about creating an entertaining experience for their audiences during live shows. “When I see a show I want to dance and I want to feel it,” Ellis said. “So we always try to get people moving and make sure everyone is having a great time.” Lead singer Patrick Husband makes it a point to keep up the intensity on the stage. “It’s important to make eye contact with the audience and make them feel what you’re doing on stage. Patrick always has a crazy stare in his eyes while he moves around and shakes and then stares again at someone in the audience,” Ellis said.

Aside from shaking things up on stage, SuperLiteBike’s unique song writing techniques set them apart from the rest. Their writing process revolves around collaborative jam sessions and spontaneous lyrical ideas of their lead singer. “Lyrics come from what I think I hear myself say while we are jamming ‘cause it seems to make sense,” Husband said. “I’ll go back and listen and try to come up with something that fits a certain tone of what were about and.” Though SuperLiteBike does not give their sound an official label, Ellis said the band has a sort of melodic indie rock sound. Each member incorporates their individual influences into the writing process, including country and classical sounds, but are collectively influenced by Radiohead and the Beatles.

It has been years since SuperLiteBike has made an appearance in the San Marcos music scene, but they are set to hit the stage at Taxi’s Piano Bar on April 28th during MR Fest. They are also scheduled to play shows at Beauty Ballroom and ND @ 501 Studios in May.

    -Andrea Carr

  http://superlitebike.com/

            If you’re a San Marcos local, you’ve at least driven by the little pink coffee house on the corner of Hopkins and Comanche numerous times. Tantra Coffeehouse doubles as a coffee shop and an outdoor music venue for bands to share their music and locals to enjoy San Marcos’ growing music and arts scene. The coffeehouse opened in 2007 by Nathan and Jaimie Todd and is now owned and managed by Adam Lilley. “Nathan had always wanted to own a coffee shop where people could gather, kind of like a community center,” Lilley said. “He wanted to create a place to foster music and art and alternative ways of thinking.” Another reason the original owners opened Tantra is because of the lack of places for the “different” people of San Marcos to gather. “The coffeehouse is so representative of all different walks of life,” Lilley said.

Tantra has provided San Marcos with live music since its opening, but the outdoor tent wasn’t added until about three years ago. “Tantra started becoming a constant venue, so we added the tent to keep shows from getting rained out,” Lilley said. Tantra has been a venue for KTSW’s MR Fest since the beginning and is the home of the station’s monthly event, Third Thursday. It provides the San Marcos music scene with live music every night of the week, including their Wednesday night Bluegrass and Open Mic Nights. Tantra hosts other local events such as Bike Prom and its outdoor stage has been played on by many big names in the Austin and San Marcos music scene. The coffee shop also supports local artists by showcasing their works throughout the venue.

            Tantra’s dishes range from $0-10, and accommodate vegetarians as well as meat lovers. Breakfast, lunch, and appetizers are served as well as an assortment of beer and wine. Tantra is open seven days a week from 7 a.m to 12 a.m and until 1 a.m on Saturdays. During this year’s MR Fest, eleven artists will take the stage at Tantra on April 26th and 28th, including Henry + the Invisibles, Victor Holk, and Whistle & Fish.

            https://www.facebook.com/tantracoffeehouse

      It’s been an exciting ride so far for Black Pistol Fire since formed in 2009 when the Toronto, Ontario natives, Kevin McKeown and Eric Owen moved to Austin, Texas.  The band released their first LP, Black Pistol Fire, in February of last year and since have been busy writing, recording and finalizing their second LP, Big Beat 59, and a five song EP, Shut Up!, which is actually a tribute to Little Richard.  And just before all of that happens, they are headlining Friday night at KTSW’s Fifth Annual My Radio Fest.

“We are going to just dominate that stage and maybe scare some people and make ‘em dance and move and maybe even cause some seizures, who knows?” Eric Owen says of their Friday night Texas Music Theater performance.  The drummer and his best friend/guitarist, Kevin McKeown, met when they were five years old.  The two began to play music together in high school and formed a classic rock inspired band, The Shenanigans, with a third member.  Years later, the two are playing a high energy evolution of their brand of classic rock & roll mixed with punk, garage rock and even a little bluegrass.  “We’ve really kind of honed into this jam band mentality.  Though jam band purists would never call us that, their shows are always different, they’re improvising and kind of challenging each other and making stuff up on the spot.  We really appreciate that in Black Pistol Fire where that really wasn’t much of an element in The Shenanigans,” Owen explains.

Black Pistol Fire also hit the road in Europe for ten days last September in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  Owen recalls, “It was a trip.  People just let loose and they dig the music.  They kept coming and thanking us for coming to their city.  It was probably the best experience of my life really.”  And with the release of their upcoming LP, the band will go on a short tour of Texas and Louisiana, followed by a well-deserved break in late June and early July. 

  Big Beat 59, recorded in Toronto just last fall is set to release May 4th, 2012.  Shut Up! will release shortly thereafter.  Find out more about this band at blackpistolfire.com 

          Clad in button-up shirts and fedora’s, with either a pint or bottle of alcohol to accessorize the ensemble, the six members of Mr. Lewis and the Funeral 5 will bring their unique blend of storytelling to their debut performance at MR. Fest 2012. My phone interview, albeit short and sweet, with Gregory Lewis, vocalist/guitarist of the Austin-based macabaret band, had been about a week coming. Phone tag and text messaging conversations aside, I look forward to meeting him and his five merry pallbearers: James Sheeran, drummer, Rob Metcalfe, guitarist/percussionist, Danny Dervish, bassist, Philthy Howard, keyboardist/percussionist and James Bonura, saxophonist. 

In case you were wondering what ‘macabaret’ means, a Google search leads me to believe it is a fusion between the words ‘cabaret’ and ‘macabre.’ It completely makes sense (at least to me) once you give the band’s second album- released in July 2011- “Delirium Tremendous” a listen.  

Jordan Gass-Poore’: How did the band become involved with MR Fest 2012?

Gregory Lewis: As far as how we got involved with that, my bass player (Dervish) asked if we wanted to play. I guess he knows somebody down at the station. JGP: What was your first reaction when you found out the band will be playing during MR Fest?

GL: Sounds fine. We normally play at the Triple Crown, so it will be nice to play in San Marcos in more than a tiny, little place. JGP: How long has the band been playing at Triple Crown?

GL: I’m really not good at history. I’m trying to think when my bass player joined because that’s when we basically started playing there a lot. Probably three, four, five years maybe. Probably somewhere around there. JGP: Had the band played anywhere else in San Marcos prior to playing at Triple Crown?

GL: We played Lucy’s (Bar 141) before, but they’re not really a venue anymore, I don’t think. JGP: Where did the band’s name come from? 

GL: It was originally Mr. Lewis and the Funeral Jazz Quintet and that was kind of a mouthful. But it was basically inspired by New Orleans jazz funerals, stuff like that, because I wanted it to be happy and sad at the same time. Dark music, but festive, if that makes any sense. The Mr. Lewis part, that’s what people used to call me where I grew up (in Michigan). 

       Before he was a side-splitting comedian on tour with Ronnie’s Block Party, a Howard Stern Show affiliate, John Tole was a frontman in a metal band.  “I was tired of splitting no money five ways and living in a van.  If I’m gonna live in a van and still be an artist, I could do stand up and then I don’t have to split the money.  And at that time there was no money because there was no act because I wasn’t funny!”  Tole laughs as he recounts the days of his beginnings.

       He took up comedy in 2003 with an unrefined act of simply getting on stage and insulting everyone in the crowd.  “That only runs its course because then you start doing shows and no one’s there.  So now what do you do, you have no act?  I had to start writing material,” he pauses and smiles, “and then it got good.”  According to Tole, it took about six years before his act really “started to gel.”  It was 2009 when he decided to give up his day job and perform full time.  “I really got to that point where I thought ‘I can no longer put this tie on anymore, this is miserable.  I’m miserable waking up in the morning, I’m late for work, I don’t want to be there, I’m not working and all I want to do is comedy anyway.’  So I threw caution to the wind and now I’m all in, all my chips are in, I have no Plan B, I have no retirement, I’ve got nothing.  …sink or swim.”

         Today he’s performing multiple sets every night of the week in various clubs around Austin and on the road with Ronnie’s Block Party.  “It’s amazing, just to be part of the Stern Show, the greatest radio show in the history of radio… it’s like a dream come true, I’ve been a fan since ’94.”  Tole nods and smiles, “Things are well, I’m definitely blessed to be where I’m at right now.”  

John Tole is on Twitter @JohnTole

HoneySon began as a songwriting experiment turned into a one-man act. A year and a half ago at an open mic night, Mars Wright had his first running with a looping pedal. With persistence from a good friend, he began booking shows regularly, HoneySon was born. “I had no real plans to take it anywhere, but it just took off,” he said. Considering how much is necessary for a solo performance, especially an act as imaginative as HoneySon’s, a lot of preparations were made, “I’ve been amassing ‘tools’ for a good while now.  It’s a very piece-meal process, and there’s the period of getting acquainted with new additions as well,” he says. Becoming familiar with the equipment HoneySon uses requires a large amount of time, effort, and patience. “Having to actively loop and manipulate live takes a bit of practice, as well.”

Courtesy of A to Zimmerman Photography

Aside from all the practice, “Once I get into the vibe, it’s very liberating. Being up there alone is very freeing as well,” HoneySon says about playing a live show. “Prior to playing publicly, I spent a lot of time in my bedroom just flowing into bits and ideas I liked, which eventually got refined into the songs I have now.” After his hard work, HoneySon has established himself as a talented solo artist with a unique style, “I tend to drift towards the shoe-gazey, post-rocky, introspective stuff.  Lately, I’ve been touting myself as “soulful shoegaze,” he states.

Taken by Veronica Lourdes Luna

“This current solo act is still very much a learning experiment for me; I simply see it as another step.” HoneySon will continue his journey at this year’s 5th annual MR. Fest. “I’m very excited. I think it’s a hell of a festival, and I’m honored to be a part of the line-up; there’s some amazing talent in store for the whole weekend.” HoneySon will be performing live at the Green Parrot in San Marcos, TX April 28th at 5:00 p.m. He is grateful for this opportunity and would like to thank everyone who has been pushing him to pursue musical endeavors publicly.

Taken and conceptualized by Daniela Riojas

  https://www.facebook.com/SweetHoneySon\

About a year and a half ago, a Wild Child was born. The Austin-based band considers the child drunk, poppy, lovely and bitter, ultimately stemming from their musical style. Front man and ukelelist, Alexander Beggins, met Lead Vocalist and violinist, Kelsey Wilson, while on tour with another band, and began writing songs together. Coincidentally, “when we got back to Austin, we realized that we were actually neighbors,” Wilson recalls. “We kept writing for a couple months and then started pulling from the incredible pool of musicians we knew, and formed the band Wild Child.”

Wilson and Beggins knew Wild Child’s drummer, Carey McGraw, and banjo player Matthew Mares even before they had both met each other. Bassist, Chris D'Annunzio, “is a very talented old friend who plays for a ridiculous number of bands here in Austin,” Wilson states. The rest of the band formed with Beggins’ cousin from San Francisco, keyboardist Evan Magers, and cellist, Miss Sadie Wolfe, the younger sister of a good friend of the band. “Once we had everyone together, we started drinking and no other preparations were made then that! Just a LOT of whiskey,” Wilson says.

Wild Child has officially been together for one year now, and planning an upcoming album. The songwriting process is soon to be finished, and the band is now “just tying up loose ends and figuring out where to record at this point,” says Wilson. Hopes are that by next year there will be a new full length Wild Child album, resulting in plans for a second tour.

According to Wild Child, “there is literally nothing better than performing live,” which explains how pumped they are for this year’s MR. Fest. The band is looking forward to performing at Sean Patrick’s Pub in San Marcos, TX, Saturday, April 28th during KTSW 89.9 5th annual MR. Fest!

https://www.facebook.com/wildchildsounds

http://www.wildchildsounds.com

             From their first show at bassist Price Newell’s high school pop’s concert to their upcoming performance at the 2012 MR Fest at 9 p.m. April 26 at Tantra, Stegosaurus Lips is still keeping it fresh. Newell says when the band, which he describes as the lovechild of the Beatles and Cake, formed five years ago he had dreadlocks and the four other members:  Judd Absher, Daniel Furman, Jason Rodriguez and Matt Ramos had long hair. Even though the band members may have cleaned up their looks, and Absher is getting married in summer 2012 (Newell says even though he received his online minister ordination to officiate friends’ weddings, he will just be playing music at  Absher’s wedding), Stegosaurus Lips’ sound is still young and rambunctious. “It’s like a big musical queso,” says Newell. 

Jordan Gass-Poore': Where did the name come from?

Price Newell: This is the first time I've given a straight answer on this question. It was supposed to be a temporary name. We had our first show and I was driving down the road, it was late at night, and I was on my way home and for some reason (I) thought of a stegosaurus with just bright, smackin' red lips. Stegosaurus's have beaks, you know, so to have bright red lips was quite the comedic thought to me, I just started laughing. I told all of them that and they thought, 'Ya, that's a good band for a show.' And the, lazy as we are, we just never thought of a new one. We've sat down and tried to think of a new one over the years and nothing else works I guess. 

JGP: How did you become involved with MR Fest?

PN: Through some people that work here. I know last year, I guess 2011,  (and) we played one of the First Thursdays y’all do over at Tantra and so, that happened to fall under one of our really big shows, The Michael Jordan Birthday Bash. I guess a couple of people from KTSW noticed us then and somebody got a hold of us for this year and there ya go.

  JGP: History of the band?

PN: It’s definitely hard to pin a genre. It’s one of the hardest questions we ever get is: what kind of music do you play? We don’t really know precisely. We’ve all been friends for a long time. I grew up in Canyon Lake, they all grew up kind of in the New Braunfels Area. I’ve known some of theme for as far back as eight years. We’re all buddies from a while ago and we all acted together in a kind of community theater troupe, I guess. And then everybody kind of started playing music and everybody was in different bands, but at some point we all kind of came together and made a band about five years ago. We’ve just been going ever since then.

  JGP: How do the band members find time to practice?

PN: The rhythm guitar player, the UT graduate, actually just started teaching this semester, down in Marion at an elementary school, which is very interesting. We practice Thursday nights when we can, we usually pick one day out of the week, Thursdays is the day for the rotation, and just try to stick to that and usually we can all make it in. We’ve been doing it for five years, so we’re kind of used to at least one day a week needs to be band practice time.

          Father of four by day, comic by night Toby McElroy dreamed of being a comedian since the age of 12 and has been performing stand up for the past 3 years. “I grew up watching a lot of comedy,” McElroy said. “I didn’t initially begin doing stand up comedy, though, until I was about 35.” McElroy graduated from Texas State University in 2008, and was also affiliated with KTSW 89.9 during his college career.

The 6’0 tall redheaded comic said because of his image, he has pretty much been on stage his entire life, helping him to deal with nerves towards unresponsive audiences. “I’m a big goofy red head named Toby, even in my every day life its hard for me to be incognito,” he said. The MR Fest performer gets inspiration for his jokes based off every day life and the things that happen within his family. “I try to stay away from politics and religion because they are such polarized topics,” he said. Some of his influences include Robin Williams and Barry Sobel, whom he had the chance to work with during his time performing stand up. “Barry had the biggest influence on me. I got to know him and said that’s what I want to do and that’s who I want to be,” McElroy said. McElroy has competed in both Austin’s Funniest Person Contest and the Funniest Person in South Texas.

McElroy’s favorite thing about being involved in the comedy scene is other comedians. “I’m blessed to be put in situations with people who share one common goal or one common denominator,” McElroy said. “Like some of the guys in San Marcos would probably never even talk to each other outside comedy if it wasn’t for comedy.” Comedy allows McElroy to be surrounded by other comedians who also see things in a different, non-judgmental light. Toby McElroy will be at the Vault in San Marcos, Texas on April 28th.

Curtis Hammell is yet another talent that will be showcasing at San Marcos’s very own Mr. Fest this year. He began his career in comedy in March of 1980. His inspiration is driven primarily by personal experiences that he has been through.

            Located off East Hopkins Street in the heart of the San Marcos square, The Coffee Pot has been a “hot spot” downtown for about 5 years ( even though the building itself has been around for much longer!) and will be one of the many venues hosting this year’s Mr. Fest occurring April 26th- 28th.  

          Their main time slots will take place on the 28th starting at 3pm with, acoustic artist, Joe Rice. He is followed by Pastor Cory Cross and Ali Holder at 4pm, Elaine Greer at 5pm and finishing the night with Rebecca Butler at 6pm. This venue has the perfect atmosphere for music and relaxation along with tasteful drinks that range from coffees to smoothies and teas. The dim lighting and comfortable setting provide a great environment to get in touch with the artist’s performance. They plan to host other events like this one in the future and pride themselves on giving students a comfortable place to hang out and be entertained. So if you are in the mood for an intimate music experience, be sure to check out The Coffee Pot on April 28th for the Mr. Fest free weekend!