My friend Jason Molin and his band played the coolest little lunchtime show on the UT campus this afternoon. They played from 12:15-12:45 so everybody could get there and back on their lunch break. Really cool idea. Great tunes, and great weather. (See my sketch.)

On our way to the Urban Outfitters day show, we got randomly solicited by some KLRU folks for an ACL Stage Left taping, and decided any band in a warm studio with free beer was better than an arctic windy parking lot. Boy, am I glad we did. Lost In The Trees put on an amazing show!

Man, this was such a cool, chill party. I sat up in the balcony at Klub Krucial dead center and drank ice water that the nice dude next to me kept bringing me when he’d go to buy whiskey. I liked all the bands, but I LOVED The Golden Filter and really liked Dum Dum Girls. Thanks, Gorilla Vs. Bear!

UPDATE: Cameron Cantu took this cool pic of me drawing during The Mantles’ set. Thanks, Cameron!

Don’t know how it happened, but I was going through my archives recently and found these index cards from Mirah‘s gig at Domy Books here in Austin during SXSW 2009. I had a lot of fun at that show, and a lot of fun drawing there. These drawings make me happy.

Here’s a fun example of selling your by-products: The Texas Observer ran one of my cartoons in a feature on The Minor Mishap Marching Band in their November ’09 issue.

I drew the band at the Austinist Local Music Is Sexy event and the writer (and band member) Michael May saw the drawings and T.O. bought one. (Thanks, Michael!)

My friend Marsha Riti has a photo in the feature as well.

Pardon the crummy iPhone shots…

10 good albums I listened to this year:

	1. white denim – fits At the moment, my favorite band. Saw these guys twice this year — once at Antone’s, once at The Mohawk.
	2. bill callahan – sometimes i wish we were an eagle My favorite songwriter — at this point, he seems incapable of making a bad record.
	3. the monks – black monk time A record from 1966 at #3? Yep.
	4. the beatles – stereo box set Speaking of records from the 60s… The Beatles’ intentions be damned, skip the mono versions, and go for the stereo. They sound amazing.
	5. cass mccombs – catacombs I first heard McCombs’ “That’s That” on a White Denim radio show. I went out and bought all his records. This album is probably the best entry point to his stuff.
	6. dirty projectors – bitte orca I blasted Rise Above during my bus rides last year, while I was making the book, and although that record is still my personal favorite, this one might be even better.
	7. animal collective – merriweather post pavilion Yeah, this is as good as everyone says it is.
	8. atlas sound – logos / megamixes / 7 inches Do yourself a favor: go subscribe to Bradford Cox‘s blog. Not only does he give us Deerhunter and Atlas Sound records, he’s constantly posting these amazing megamixes and free 7 inch singles. If only every musician was so generous.
	9. phoenix – wolfgang amadeus phoenix Phoenix! What a cool pop band. Watch them tear up Letterman and try not to be impressed. This album isn’t perfect, but it’s great.
	10. st. vincent – actor Her Austin City Limits taping was the best live show I saw this year. Amazing.

10 songs I couldn’t stop playing

Take a listen on my Blip.FM playlist.

1. “when I grow up” – fever ray
2. “stillness is the move” – solange’s cover
3. “1901” – phoenix
4. “how to be invisible” – kate bush
5. “river of dirt” – marissa nadler
6. “leave me be” – the zombies
7. “money” – barrett strong
8. “fool for you” – the impressions
9. “come to life” – arthur russell
10. “beach on the moon” – kurt vile

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My favorite sources for new tunes: Gorilla Vs. Bear, Pitchfork’s Best New Music list, or Twitter (mainly @woxy, @papertrail, & @fluxistrad).

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Favorite live shows:

1. St. Vincent @ Austin City Limits
2. Gary Claxton @ Gruene Hall, Gruene, TX
3. White Denim @ Antone’s, Austin, TX
4. The Reivers @ Carousel Lounge, Austin, TX
5. Andrew Bird – Austin City Limits

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For more reading, see my live music sketches from this year and all my posts about music.

Let’s get something straight: I hate music festivals. I don’t dig on big crowds, standing around for extended periods of time, port-o-johns, and overpriced beer. All that said, Fun Fun Fun Fest is a pretty awesome time. I made it a record 6 hours yesterday, and even got inspired to doodle a few index cards here and there. Once it got dark, and I couldn’t see anymore, I headed home.

I won’t be going back today, because I have a ton to do, and I like my health and my sanity. (If next year, FFF Fest wants to provide me with a lawn chair and a good view, I’d be happy to doodle away all day.) Yes, I know I’m giving up the chance of a lifetime to draw Danzig. So it goes.

Death came out onstage in monk costumes:

Crazy-loud metal band, The Sword:

Friday night the Austinist folks had me out to draw their Local Music Is Sexy pre-party for Fun Fun Fun Fest. Music + cupcakes + booze = a magic formula. My favorite moment was TV Torso covering The Wipers’ “Over The Edge.” You can hear an MP3 of them doing it in the studio if you head over to Paige Maguire’s blog. (Thanks, Paige, for inviting me!)

Note: click any of the drawings to see them bigger.

Thursday night was a historic one for Austin City Limits: the studio was officially designated as a rock and roll landmark, and it put on it’s first hip-hop show.

My neighbor Dusty was kind enough to give me one of his space available tickets for the (somewhat grueling) 3-hour double taping—we stood on the floor for the full set, and I learned one thing: it’s near impossible to draw and raise the roof at the same time.

Really rough doodles below.

Mos Def

(more…)

I’ve been wanting to see Elvis Costello live ever since I was a teenager. Last night, we got to see him tape Austin City Limits. Talk about wish fulfillment!

Sure, he was playing bluegrass (with The Sugarcanes), but his voice sounded great, the band was top-notch, and he was witty and great with the audience. We even heard “Mystery Dance”, “Everyday I Write The Book,” and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding.” Not too shabby.

I was going to take the evening off and devote my attention solely to the music, but I pulled out the Sharpie for a couple doodles.

I frequently get asked by people how they can get tickets to ACL. You’re best bet is to follow Leslie (@theotherleslie) and Emily (@acltv) on twitter, and subscribe to the Austin City Limits blog for giveaways.

And to see drawings I don’t post to the blog, check my twitter feed!

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See all my drawings at Austin City Limits.