I had the fabulous opportunity to hang with Chris Hill (owner of the Esquire) and his sister, Stacey Hill (co-owner of the Monterey) a couple of weeks back. This originally ran on Plaza De Armas, which you need to subscribe to if you want to know everything San Antonio.

Tim Mcdiarmid and Peter Zubiate have brought to life something quite magical with The Special Projects Socials. Peter designed and built the brilliant tables and benches that offer enough space for the delectable dishes that Tim serves up, yet, he built and designed them with the idea of closeness, conversation and intimacy in mind.

I watched, witnessed and experienced a few dozen folks enjoying food, old friends, new found friends and beautiful conversation last night, all at the gorgeously constructed Zubiate tables and benches, and all over the divine TimTheGirl.com cuisine.

Some of the best of San Antonio were in attendance last night…but why read my ramblin’s…just watch below…

Special Projects Social – Zubiate Studios, San Antonio

The Esquire Re-Opens!

Mid-Week Pearl’s Brewery Farmer’s Market

Seryn Performs at Local Coffee

Ramble Creek/ShowLush Showcase – 2011 SXSW

Goofy romanticism? Yes. But that’s what makes up Seryn. The band is a lovely mix of passionate talented artists who harmonize beautifully and bring (it on) music that evokes beautiful emotion and love to a music-lover’s very soul. Plus, I have this creepy old lady crush on Trenton Wheeler and the rest of the band.

I’ve experienced Seryn on numerous occasions, always brilliant performances, but this was my first to see them all acoustic-y. They did not disappoint. Do they ever? No. No, they don’t. But who am I to say? You be the judge…

By the way, Local Coffee, in the ‘burbs of San Antonio, is heaven, in the ‘burbs of San Antonio. The feel, the look, the attention to decor detail, the fabulous crew (‘specially one Jason Tantaros)…it all adds up to splendid coffee heaven. Go there. You are so welcome.

One of the best times of my life, start to finish. I shot. He talked. “We” (meaning mostly he) edited. Janik=Genius on so many levels.

Sarah Jaffe. A looooooooong time FineLineFave. Check the new video, es muy bueno. Keep your eyes peeled for band members who play in bands such at Centro-matic, Doug Burr, Seryn and Bosque Brown. Nice little band’o'playa’s.

Sarah Jaffe performs at the Ghost Room in Austin on September 25. See you there.

I had the fantabulous opportunity to be a part of these videos (either via puppeteerin’ or just looky-looin’…have a great weekend.

PS: I’m now blogging from the south Texas Hill Country…expect stuff from Austin to San Antone and beyond…, so this is the last of my DdFW/North Texas blather unless one of youse bands or artists or photographers or videographers or whomever come out and do shite in this neck of the woods. If so, I’d sure like to meet up with a camera and a smile…word…

…couple of last coolio moments I got to shoot video of – some of the best of Big D…

Call me?

Art&Seek, my favorite place to be…just launched an absolutely fabulous new site just in time for their 2-year anniversary. Alan Melson deserves the medal of A&S….Check it out every single day.

Two of my favorite humans doing what they do bestest…

The fabulous Belmont Hotel in Oak Cliff is host to the equally fabby KXT 91.7, “Barefoot at the Belmont” concert series. The Belmont continues its traditional poolside concert series featuring some of the best bands and musicians from North Texas, along with a breathtaking back-drop of the downtown Dallas skyline…reserve a room, wine, dine and take a dip in the Belmont pool…all the while experiencing the whole BFatB/KXT magnificence…you’ll thank me in the morning….prolly twice….

I gushed awhile back about the greatness that is Ryan Scheer and Lucky Rabbit Films. I fell in love with the whole bunch after watching (and watching and watching over and over again) their brilliant short film on Deadman.

I just found another great video (above) that Ryan and crew have done…a PSA..for the Austin-based SIMS Foundation…

The SIMS Foundation’s Mission is to provide access to and financial support for mental health and addiction recovery services for Austin-area musicians and their families. SIMS was founded in 1995 by the friends and family of Sims Ellison, a talented young Austin musician, after his battle with depression ended in suicide.

Austin is hailed as “The Live Music Capitol of the World” for good reason. With over 200 live music venues and internationally recognized music festivals such as SXSW and ACL, thousands of musicians make this city their home. Unfortunately, with the rising cost of living and increasing competition for jobs in the music business, many musicians find themselves struggling financially and emotionally.

Irregular hours, travel schedules, financial insecurity and proximity to alcohol and drugs can take their toll on musicians and their families, sometimes resulting in depression, anxiety, relationship problems, and alcohol and drug abuse. Professional musicians are often uninsured or underinsured and cannot always pay out of pocket for expensive counseling and addiction treatment. That’s why SIMS is here to help. SIMS serves more than 600 clients annually and provides over 5,000 units of service (defined as one counseling session or one day in recovery).

Leave it to Austin to provide such a wonderful organization directed towards musicians in need with little or no insurance.

Keep an eye on Lucky Rabbit Films. Every dang thing outta there is fabby, quite fabby.

Anna Thomas, Anna Thomas, Anna Thomas….that’s the name you need to know. She just turned 14, but possesses and old soul and an uncanny ability to write and perfom her music flawlessly.

Here are a couple of videos she’s put together. Check out my studio tour with Anna and her bandmate, Matt Gaskins over at Art&Seek.

Just another reason I freakin’ love my job…I get to hang wit’ people like Allan Hayslip. This dude is the real deal…I love him. He shall be mine….

Catch Allan and his rockin’ band, Bonedome at the Kessler Theater on April 8.

Celebrate the moments of your life with a hot cup of International Brand Coffee? Fergetabout it. Do the international thang live and in person with some of the bestest bands coming out of China and good ol’ Poland. My pal, Dave Dart, founder of Dart International, hipped me to some wicked awesome shows a’comin’ our way…

L.Stadt – “Great pop songs. Hang on a second! – Is this actually Pop? But what is the definition of Pop? If it’s melodic music which is easy on the ear, presented in an accessible, short format – then it can be described as Pop… Intentionally rough around the edges, reminiscent of a demo CD sound. Hats off to the band for this decision. On the L.Stadt album every song sounds different.”
- Debut album review, Don’t Panic We Are From Poland

Tonight, March 26
Fred’s Cafe in Fort Worth
Early show and Special Acoustic Set – 5 p.m.

Saturday, March 27
The Moon Bar in Fort Worth
9 p.m.

The Chinese Invasion Tour is gonna be off-da-hookity!

Sunday, March 28
The Double Wide
The line-up is below, just add in a little DJ Woodtronic and Wanz Dover to round out the evening’s festivities. Click here for more details, including how to score free tickets.

Wednesday, March 31
Hailey’s in Denton

Carsick Cars
“Sonic Youth and the Clean both released worthy albums this year, but these three Beijing kids in their early 20s took those bands’ classic guitar-drone sounds and made it pulse with the excitement of discovery.”
- David Malitz, “Lists: David Malitz’s top ten albums of 2009″, The Washington Post
From: Beijing, China
Genre: No Wave, Indie Rock
Touchstones: Sonic Youth, Jesus and Mary Chain, Suicide, Velvet Underground

P.K.14
“P.K. 14′s thrashing chords, dark bass lines and frenetic beats resonate with echoes of Sonic Youth, the Pixies, Fugazi and the New York Dolls. But the Beijing band’s charismatic vocalist, Yang Haisong, 34, says he takes his lead from songwriters such as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and a whole generation of protest musicians. Think of P.K. 14, in other words, as neither punk nor postpunk but postfolk.”
- Lara Day, “Asia’s Best Bands”, Time Magazine
From: Beijing, China
Genre: Chinese Rock, Post-Punk
Touchstones: Talking Heads, Television, Woodie Guthrie

AV Okubo
“Hong Kong experimental cinema, 80′s Kungfu movies, triad gangsters, Chinese and Japanese cartoons, Qian Xuesen and China’s early space program all collide together in AV Okubo’s sound to create a weird kaleidoscope of modern Chinese sensibilities.” AV Okubo’s debut album is produced by Martin Atkins.
- Maybe Mars
From: Beijing, China
Genre: New wave, experimental noise, disco punk
Touchstones: Ratatat, Battles, These Are Powers, Orange
Home page: http://maybemars.org/index.php/artists/av-okubo/

This was my b-roll camera…didn’t mess with focus, just wanted extra sound. In fact, I just sat the camera down on the table and let it roll…just goes to show ya that even sitting on a table is a good seat at the the Kessler Theater!

Hands-down, Rawlins Gilliland is among my top favorite writers and commentators. I fell in love with him during KERA pledge drives, his voice and sense of humor made me want to pledge my first born. Please take a moment out of your busy day to listen to his latest contribution to KERA…you’ll thank me in the morning.