EARLY FALL 2023 CORN LOVING SPECTACULAR | |
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Hello again friends --
Apologies for the long delay between newsletters. It's been a long hot and kind of chaotic but good summer. Hickoids had a great trip to Portugal and Spain - I'd like to thank everyone who helped make that happen, including those of you who bought tickets to shows over there that you had no means or intention of attending. Your support is not lost on me.
The weather was great, as were the shows and the people were universally warm and welcoming. We couldn't have asked for or expected more.
As I mentioned in the last newsletter we are finally getting down to the business of some new releases! AND, we observe our own corny rites of fall with the Austin Corn Lovers Fiesta two weekend from now -- including a couple of satellite events in Houston and San Antonio.
(It should be noted that this newsletter was intended to go out yesterday but Constant Contact had a regional outage which caused the slight delay - I haven't edited anything referencing "today", etc.)
I appreciate your support, patience and love.
Jeff Smith/Saustex et cetera
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THE 14TH ANNUAL AUSTIN CORN LOVERS FIESTA!
It's hard to believe what started on a lark in the back of the Hickoids van on the way home from California in 2010 still persists, but it does. As I'm often wont to say: Some people never learn. It hasn't always been easy but we keep coming back, even staging a two day live stream in front of limited audience over two days in 2020. This year we're putting on satellite shows in Houston and San Antonio. I think the lineups speak for themselves. The goals remain consistent -- Keep it easy. Keep it cheap. Keep it fun. Y'all come.
(Please note - details are still developing - please refer to ticket links and FB event pages in the next two weeks for set times, etc.)
The Space City Side Show
Friday October 6th
Black Magic Social Club
Houston, Texas
Coody Gold Enterprises and Saustex Records are proud to present a satellite event of the Austin Corn Lovers Fiesta - The Space City Side Show! Friday October 6th the Hickoids will pull into Houston's Black Magic Social Club and will be joined onstage by their good amigo Frontier Dan (in his first ever Houston appearance) and special guests Jane Woe, Sean Wheeler Fake Emos, and, all the way from Alaska -- Cliff & Ivy. Make the scene.
Tickets are WILL CALL, no paper tickets will be issued.
Advance tickets for the Space City Side Show Friday 10/06/23 at Black Magic Social Club - Houston, TX
Facebook event page for the Space City Side Show
The 2023 Austin Corn Lovers Fiesta
Saturday October 7th
Sagebrush
Austin, TX
The 2023 Austin Corn Lovers Fiesta promises to be one for the books with a lineup featuring headliner Tav Falco and Panther Burns, The Beaumonts, Jane Woe, Sean Wheeler Fake Emos, Cliff & Ivy, The Ghost Wolves, Pussy Gillette, Mean Motor Scooter, The Living Pins, Hamell On Trial, Jack Shit (Nashville), Ginny Mac, The Lost Knobs, Harvey McLaughlin and of course the Hickoids featuring Frontier Dan and maybe a little more. Saturday October 7th at Sagebrush Austin. We're releasing 100 advance tickets at only $15. Get 'em while they're cheap and hot! This show is 21+ only.
TICKETS ARE WILL CALL - NO PAPER TICKETS WILL BE ISSUED.
Advance tickets for the 2023 Austin Corn Lovers Fiesta Saturday 10/07/23 at Sagebrush - Austin, TX
Facebook event page for the 2023 Austin Corn Lovers Fiesta
The Side Show En Satantonio
Sunday October 8th
The Lonesome Rose
San Antonio, TX
Coody Gold Enterprises is proud to present the Sideshow En Satantonio starring Tav Falco and Panther Burns with special guests Hickoids with Frontier Dan, Fiend Without A Face with Dirty B and the Boys (featuring Brent Hinds of Mastodon) , Sean Wheeler Fake Emos, The Hares and, all the way from Alaska, Cliff & Ivy. Sunday October 8th at the Lonesome Rose 21+
TICKETS ARE WILL CALL ONLY. NO PAPER TICKETS WILL BE ISSUED.
Advance tickets for the Side Show en Satantonio - Sunday 10/07/23 at Lonesome Rose - San Antonio, TX
Facebook event page for the Side Show en Satantonio
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SOME QUICK NOTES TO OUR VALUED MAIL-ORDER CUSTOMERS
- SPECIFIC QUESTIONS NOT ADDRESSED HERE? EMAIL JEFF.SMITH(AT)SAUSTEX.COM
SAUSTEX RECORDS AT BANDCAMP
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NEW AND UPCOMING RELEASES | |
Call Me Animal? I've been called a lot worse!
New MC5 tribute from Joecephus and the George Jonestown Massacre features an off the hook guest list!
As a young teenager growing up in San Antonio many of my greatest musical discoveries were in the cut-out bin of the big record store in a local mall. (For those younger folk the cut-out bin was where overstock LPs would end up, in the days when labels and distributors would often send hundreds of copies of a new LP to each outlet. One of the LP jacket corners would often be clipped - hence the term "cut-out".) There were often many misses but then there were the gems. In my case, two particularly great finds were the Flamin' Groovies 'Teenage Head' and the MC5's 'Back In The USA'...I already loved fifties rock'n'roll like the Coasters, Chuck Berry, Elvis and Bo Diddley but when I put these two records on the turntable something really clicked. It was the sound of rock'n'roll's past meeting its future. SO...it is particularly resonant to share that Saustex will be releasing 'Call Me Animal: A Tribute to the MC5'!
Finally! Saustex Records is proud to bring you a tribute to one of the most important bands in the history of punk and rock'n'roll - Detroit's MC5. With hard as nails backing tracks provided by Memphis based Joecephus and the George Jonestown Massacre the 22 tracks feature guest stars: Alice Cooper, Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, OFF!), Zal Cleminson (Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Nazareth), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), Wayne Kramer (MC5), Tex Perkins (Cruel Sea, Beasts of Bourbon), Cherie Currie (The Runaways), Mike Watt (The Minutemen, The Stooges), Lydia Lunch, JD Pinkus (Butthole Surfers), Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Danko Jones, Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Brett Bradford (Scratch Acid), Eugene Robinson (Oxbow, Whipping Boy), JG Thirlwell (Foetus), Tommy McLoughlin (The Sloths), Norman Westberg (Swans, Heroine Sheiks), Lisa Kekaula (The Bellrays), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Phil Campbell (Motorhead), Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson Band), Jon Mikl Thor (Thor), Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P), Neil Turbin (Anthrax), Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde), Jimbo Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers), Steve Selvidge (The Hold Steady, Bash & Pop), Jeff Clayton (Antiseen), Ruyter Suys (Nashville Pussy), Jeff Smith (Hickoids), Richie Stotts (Plasmatics), Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks, Ministry), Robbi Robb (Asylum Kids, Tribe After Tribe), Billy Gould (Faith No More), WE Are The Asteroid, Brandon Yeagley (Crobot) and Harold Richardson (Negative Approach)...
As is the case with all the Joecephus & GJM tribute albums this one has a charity component, this one benefits MC5 founder Wayne Kramer's Jail Guitar Doors -- a program that aids inmates in correctional facilities by providing them with instruments and musical fellowship. We'll be donating 15% of all Bandcamp sales directly to the charity.
The album will be available on digital, a double LP on color vinyl and compact disc (in limited-editions of 1000 and 500 respectively.) The lead track 'Ramblin' Rose' featuring Cherie Currie, Mike Watt and J Mascis is available for immediate streaming and download with purchase via Bandcamp, and we'll make another available around October 1, with the full album becoming available November 1st via BC and major platforms, and. physical editions arriving before Black Friday (November 24th.)
Pre-order double LP, CD or stream and download 'Call Me Animal: A Tribute to the MC5' via BandCamp
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Sh*t gets in your eyes...Hamell On Trial unleashes assault from forthcoming album with ‘Pepper Spray’ single and video
If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter Ed Hamell aka Hamell On Trial should be no stranger to you. While the rest of the world was “pandemic-ing” this man continued to release singles and albums (including the pure charity release ‘The Pandemic Songs’ which benefited food banks), sell his paintings mail-order, stage a series of livestreams, and, perform live when and where he could in between covid variant outbreaks -- all in a successful to bid to pay his rent and send his son Detroit through college.
He also relocated/returned to Austin and has been working with his manager Mike Henry on creating a new Hamell live experience which should see a test run towards the end of the year. But perhaps most importantly and relevantly he began work on his new album ‘Bring The Kids’ (originally titled ‘Bring The Kids, Every Song Could End In Bloodshed’.) The new project, having spent almost two years “on the stove” is now ready for a November 17th release.
‘Bring The Kids’ is everything you’ve come to expect from Hamell and much more. There’s plenty of his biting, hard-edged and heartfelt yet comedic satire and social commentary. But, it’s also a departure on the musical and the lyrical level. You’re not going to hear the manic acoustic guitar splay of songs like ‘Safe’ (with the acoustic guitar being used sparingly and differently on this album.) Instead this album has a denser, crafted sound forged by Hamell and producer Matt LaBozza with a variety of styles and influences on display. It features several guest performances by English folk singer/songwriter Ruth Theodore and a spot by Christine Ohlman of the Saturday Night Live band, and, even includes (tastefully) the use of strings on a couple of the numbers.
I’ve dubbed Hamell’s new genre “aAA” (anarchist Adult Alternative).
And, while there is plenty that will seem familiar in the album’s lyrical landscape there is a more reflective turn at play, especially on the tunes ‘Jelly’ and ‘Trail Mix’...I could go on but I suggest instead that you ingest the new single and video for ‘Pepper Spray’, pre-order the LP (in a limited edition of 500 on neon orange vinyl), anxiously await the next single drop in a few weeks time, go see Hamell at the Austin Corn Lovers on Saturday October 7th and join his Patreon page where he and Mike have created a lot great content.
Watch the new Hamell On Trial 'Pepper Spray' video
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Jane Woe’s self-titled debut album drops just in time to butter your corn...
"Houston is a cruel, crazy town on a filthy river in East Texas with no zoning laws and a culture of sex, money and violence. It's a shabby, sprawling metropolis ruled by brazen women, crooked cops and super-rich pansexual cowboys who live by the code of the West -- which can mean just about anything you need it to mean, in a pinch."
Hunter S. Thompson
Recently, while playing a ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’-themed event at Hotel Vegas in Austin with the Hickoids I wondered aloud from the stage about the literary merits of said book. Whatever my misgivings about the book, I can state with a fair amount of authority that Thompson’s quote was fairly spot on. If the band X had written the masterful song ‘Los Angeles’ about Houston it would probably have required at least three additional verses and a second bridge. To use a romantic analogy, Houston is that person you love but must question yourself daily as to exactly why that is. And rather than maddeningly attempting to equivocate you must instead simply accept it for what it is or leave it.
By now you’re wondering what all this has to do with a band called Jane Woe and their album... The self-described “boot-gaze” band hail from Houston and is made up of lifer Houston band-folk: pedal steel guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Scott Ayers from H-Town legends Pain Teens and more recently Frog Hair, bassist and backing vocalist Carol Sandin Cooley who has deep roots in the city’s punk and experimental scene (including time as the Poor Dumb Bastards only female member ever), drummer Kirk Suddreath who in addition to working with Ballet Houston and local theater groups creates improvisational recordings, and, are fronted by relative newcomer vocalist and lyricist Erin Dance.
If you extrapolate the Thompson quote two decades and post #metoo on down the line you’ll find resonance in Dance’s spare lyrics. They pose both statements and questions relating to sexual politic and power and the transactional facets of love. The main question seems to be what’s a gal gotta’ do get some layin’ AND some love, and, reading between the lines that maybe unconditional love just doesn’t stand a chance in proximity of the heat and humidity of the Buffalo Bayou (Thompson’s “filthy river”.) The innocent seeming, girlish timbre of Dance’s voice belie the experience of her words. Cast this against the fairly succinct country arrangements and atmospheric playing and you’ve got a humid mess of heartache that is tuneful and manages to find humor and hope in the middle of it.
The first single ‘Gimme Gold’ is available today via Bandcamp and the full album arrives on major platforms on just in time for Jane Woe appearances at the Space City Side Show in Houston Friday October 6th at Black Magic Social Club and the Corn Lovers Fiesta the next day at Sagebrush in Austin. The limited edition vinyl is available for pre-order via Bandcamp and releases October 20th.
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The Krayolas drop new single and EP
'King Of Pop'
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"Imagine the early Kinks on holiday at the Neverland Tombs." That's how the Krayolas describe the title track of the new five-song dispatch, 'King of Pop.' Electric guitars, bass and drums frame the latest story lines, whether it's a hallucinogenic cab ride gone wrong or a love story gone bad. A pop-punk shout-out to Goffin-King via 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' and an anniversary remix of a Coolest Song in the World radio favorite bookend the fun. All of it blasting out loudly from a remote garage in suburbia just a stone's throw from Alamolandia.
Top picks: "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "King of Pop."
STREAM OR DOWNLOAD THE KRAYOLAS 'KING OF POP' VIA BANDCAMP
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STEVIE TOMBSTONE'S '7:30 A.M.' DIGITAL REISSUE VIA BANDCAMP
Saustex is happy to announce the digital-only reissue of Stevie Tombstone's late 2003 full-length debut '7:30 A.M.' This record was not only the first Saustex release but also the album that put Stevie on the map as a solo performer with extensive airplay on the Sirius XM Outlaw Country Channel.
It's now available again for the first time in a couple of years with a bonus track version of '7:30 A.M.' featuring the Texas Tombstones.
Stevie and the record deserve a lot more play than they're getting in this very brief pitch. Please give it a listen if you're uninitiated or it's been a while and check out Stevie's more contemporary material on Bandcamp.
STREAM OR BUY '7:30 A.M.' VIA BANDCAMP
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NEW JOECEPHUS AND THE GEORGE JONESTOWN MASSACRE ALBUM
'SNOWBLIND IN THE RISING SUN'
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Joecephus and the George Jonestown Massacre latest album of originals 'Snowblind In The Rising Sun' on Saustex Records
Hard-working Memphis rockers Joecephus and The George Jonestown Massacre new album of originals recorded in Tupelo titled 'Snowblind In The Rising Sun'
draws lyrical inspiration from both the band's travels and the dystopia that is modern America. Musically the new volume occupies a space at the crossroads of punk blues, Southern rock and heavy metal. The first single from the record is the uneasy chuckle of 'Voices'.
If you're a regular reader of this newsletter you'll recognize the band’s name from their previous Saustex charity-oriented tribute releases feting Nazareth, Johnny Cash and Black Oak Arkansas - all made with a stunning array of guest stars including King Buzzo, Jello Biafra, Shooter Jennings, Mick Harvey, Warren Ellis and Blayne Cartwright to name just a few. They've also racked up airplay on Sirius XM's 'Outlaw Country' Channel and toured regularly up until March 2020 when a West Coast tour came to a screeching pandemic triggered halt, and a fall 2021 trip was scuttled after several members came down with the Covid Delta variant.
STREAM, DOWNLOAD, ORDER CD OR LP JGJM 'SNOWBLIND IN THE RISING SUN' VIA BANDCAMP
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NEW CHURCHWOOD ALBUM '6: THE BOULE OUI' OUT NOW!
Churchwood is destined to be remembered as one of Austin's all-time greatest acts even if they're not a household name. With a scintillating stew of guitar interplay, buoyant yet driving and diverse rhythms, other worldly lyricism and an unbeatable live show -- they are the apex. On this newest release, as the title suggests, they take a slight detour through bayou country.
Not much I can say about this brilliant band I haven’t said before so I’ll paraphrase a conversation I had with Harvey McLaughlin not long ago “They’re the kind of band that make you jealous…not in a bad “Why do they get so and so?” sort of way but you listen to or watch them and think wow, that’s everything a rock band can be…sophisticated and well executed music and lyrics that is not pretentious in spite of its over-achievement.”
So yeah…he’s a fan, I’m a fan and if you dig in you may well be too. It’s a honor to work with these guys.
STREAM, DOWNLOAD OR ORDER CD CHURCHWOOD '6: THE BOULE OUI' VIA BANDCAMP
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THE KRAYOLAS NEW LP 'HAPPY GO LUCKY' | |
The Krayolas
‘Happy Go Lucky’
Box Records and Saustex bring you the second archival release from San Antonio‘s Krayolas. Contemporarily the band is often heard on Little Steven’s Underground Garage on Sirius XM and these lovingly restored recordings will take you back to the dawn of the MTV era...brimming with excitement and possibility the band folded Latin R&B, Motown and the poppier side of their sixties chart-making heroes into their already well defined garage and power pop sound with the help of the legendary original West Side Horns. Imagine Dexy’s Midnight Runners debut ‘Searching For The Young Soul Rebels’ if rendered more slickly by Texans as a starting point. Fully half the tracks were culled from 1982 masters that were thought lost for good and now see their first release.
The limited edition Neon Orange LP in gatefold package is sure to be one of the most collectible records of the year.
VINYL AND CD ARE AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT. FULL DIGITAL RELEASE ON FRIDAY JULY 1st.
STREAM, DOWNLOAD, OR ORDER LP OR CD - THE KRAYOLAS - 'HAPPY GO LUCKY' ON BANDCAMP
CHECK OUT BILL BAIRD'S IN-DEPTH SAN ANTONIO CURRENT COVER STORY ABOUT THE BAND AND RECORD HERE
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