“For The Love of The City”

The future of New Orleans is in question. The natural events of Hurricane Katrina effected many residences within a city that is a cultural staple for music, food, and art. Now is the time to bring awareness to the public so we do not forget what is happening in our own backyard and begin to help pick up the pieces that have been left behind. Read the rest of this entry »

Founded twelve years ago at a booze and hallucinogen-fueled party at the Dabbs Hotel along the river in Llano, Texas, the Asylum Street Spankers stand as one of America’s most distinctive groups. Defiantly acoustic, fiercely independent and absurdly good, the Spankers have been led by founders Christina Marrs and Wammo from being a country-blues revival act playing happy hours in Austin, through nearly 40 musicians, endless touring and constant evolution to being an internationally reknowned underground institution. Fueled by an ethos born of their punk roots, Marrs and Wammo have built their lives around making unique music that surprises and entertains.

“The decade-old band is a roots-rock riddle, nestled in a satirical Vaudeville enigma, packaged in an old-timey radio-show puzzle and slathered with hippie-fied mystery sauce.” – Tampa Weekly Planet

“…inspired, lunatic brilliance.!” – Richard Skanse, Rolling Stone

“…positively awe inspiring.!” – Chris Davis, The Memphis Flyer

“…musically inventive, terrific and simply brilliant!” – The Berkshire Eagle

“…a national treasure!” – Jazz Review

Sure it was just a film, but it tasted so real. This documetary, I mean mockumentary, was about the assasination of Bush. It was well done. They used real footage of protests and speeches. It was very convincing and had alot to say about the American people’s craving for answers that won’t be questioned.

Scary social comentary wrapped up in a skillfully crafted and well scripted mockumentary. They must have spent months in the editing room. Easily, the best film I have seen at this festival, so far.

Tonight we slid into Bobcat Goldthwait’s new comedy, “Sleeping Dogs Lie.” This was a good flick, folks. Kinda like “Chasing Amy” on crack. It was about one of the skeletons in the closet that doesn’t need to be let out. That big dark secret is better left in the closet. Trust me.

We had a nice talk with Bobcat after the screening. I forgot about “Shakes The Clown.” I have seen that a few times. So, this was his 2nd turn in the Directors chair. It will be talked about, for sure. One of my favorite scenes in the film was the car ride home after the news broke. There is a weird silence between the couple and the dog is between them. It is inescapable.
This interview will appear in the next Issue.
HERE ARE
Austin Film Festival Announces 2006 Film Competition Winners

      AUSTIN Oct. 22, 2006 – The 13th Annual Austin Film Festival (AFF) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2006 Film Competition. A selected group of judges comprised of members of the film industry ranging from screenwriters to editors viewed and scored each film accordingly and confirmed a winner for each category. The winners were announced yesterday at the Austin Club during the AFF’s Awards Luncheon also honoring Extraordinary Contribution to Film recipient Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa, Tootsie); Outstanding Screenwriter Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, A Long Kiss Goodnight, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang); and Outstanding Television Writer David Milch (NYPD Blue, Deadwood). Each competition winner received awards, cash prizes and an additional screening time during the Festival.  All winning shorts will screen on Mon., Oct 23 at the Landmark Dobie Theater at 7:15 p.m. The competition winners with their additional screening times are as follows:

Narrative Feature Jury Award Winner
Chalk
Written by Chris Mass & Mike Akel
Directed by Mike Akel
Narrative Feature Jury: Peter Hyams, Anish Savanji and Howard Carey
Additional Winners Screening Mon., Oct. 23 at 9:30pm at the Landmark Dobie Theater and Tues., Oct. 24 at 7:00pm at the Regal Arbor Theatre

Narrative Short Jury Award Winner
When Elvis Came to Visit
Written and Directed by Andreas Tibblin
Narrative Shot Jury: Steve Collins, Glynis Lynn and Frank Reynolds
Additional Screening Sunday Oct. 22, at 7:15pm at The Hideout Theatre

Narrative Student Short Jury Award Winner
The Dawn Chorus
Written and Directed by Hope Dickson Leach
Narrative Student Short Jury: Glen Reynolds, Cacky Poarch and
Daryl Friemark
Additional Screening Tues. Oct. 24, at 9:30pm at The Hideout Theatre

Animated Short Jury Award Winner
Ujbaz Izbeneki Has Lost His Soul
Written and Directed by Neil Jay
Animated Short Jury: Ali Bell, Troy Campbell, and Jay Edwards
Additional Screening tonight, Oct. 22 at 2:30pm at the Stephen F. Austin Theatre

Documentary Feature Winner
Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story
Directed by Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim
Documentary Feature Jury: Michael Barlow, Jeff Bowden, and Chris Hyams
Additional Winners Screening tonight Oct.22 at 7:20p.m.at the Landmark Dobie Theater
And Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7:00pm at the IMAX Theatre

Honorable Mention Documentary Feature
The Third Monday in October
Directed by Vanessa Roth
Documentary Feature Jury: Michael Barlow, Jeff Bowden, and Chris Hyams
Screening Monday 23rd at 7:00pm at the Regal Arbor Theater

Documentary Short Winner
A Taste of Nate
Directed by Jim McGorman
Documentary Shore Jury: Diane Estelle Vicari, Jeff Bowden, and Chris Hyams
Screening in the Documentary Shorts Program on Sunday 22nd at 3:00pm at the LandmarkDobie Theater as well as during additional screening time Monday

About Austin Film Festival                                                                           
The Austin Film Festival (AFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft and business of writers and filmmakers and recognizing their contributions to film, television and new media. The AFF champions the work of aspiring and established writers and filmmakers by providing unique cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships.  www.austinfilmfestival.com
Special support is provided to the Austin Film Festival by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, American Airlines, Bombay Sapphire, Beringer Vineyards, Champion GMC, City of Austin, Eastman Kodak, IndieWire, Jabberwalkie, KVUE, James A. Michener Center for Writers, Script Magazine, Shweiki Media, Target, WGA, East and Write Brothers.
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FILM FESTIVALS WEAR YOU OUT. REALLY……

6 FILMS SINCE THURSDAY. A FEW PARTIES AND A FEW GREAT INTERVIEWS.
HAVING A GOOD TIME AT THE AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL.. BUT I AM EXHAUSTED…

MET AND HAD A GREAT TALK WITH DANNY TREJO YESTERDAY. YOU MAY NOT KNOW THE NAME, BUT YOU DEFINITELY KNOW THE FACE. HE HAS BEEN IN SO MANY MOVIES, USUALLY AS THE BAD GUY. IN FACT HE IS THE QUINTESENTIAL BAD GUY IN FILM. HE IS A NICE GUY IN PERSON. THE CONVERSATION WILL APPEAR IN THE DECEMBER ISSUE. WE ALSO MET WITH DAVID MILCH ( CREATOR OF HILL STREET BLUES, NYPD BLUE, DEADWOOD, ETC) REALLY A GREAT INNOVATOR.
TONIGHT THE STONES ARE IN OUR BACKYARD. WE WERE PASSED OVER FOR CREDENTIALS. . I WILL HEAD DOWN TO ANTONE’S AND SEE HERBERT SUMLIN. I BET KEITH WILL SHOW UP. HAVING DEREK OBRIEN PLAY WILL BE SWEET.
OK, WE DIVE BACK IN WITH “DEATH OF A PRESIDENT” TONIGHT. I WILL GET SOME PICTURES ON HERE TOMORROW…………..

A few years ago when the famous Ward Churchill essay hit the fan, I read it with mixed feelings. Anytime really bad things happen in this world, there is one point that I’m reminded of in particular in which Ward seemed to question the concept of “evil.” That part went like this:

“…Insanity is a condition readily associable with the very American idea that one – or one’s country – holds what amounts to a “divine right” to commit genocide, and thus to forever do so with impunity… Sanity itself, in this frame of reference, might be defined by a willingness to try and destroy the perpetrators and/or the sources of their ability to commit their crimes. Which takes us to official characterizations of the combat teams as an embodiment of “evil.” Evil – for those inclined to embrace the banality of such a concept…” Read the rest of this entry »

Much is happening here in Austin Dazeland.

That damn new issue is out there and we have been putting em out there further Read the rest of this entry »

AUSTIN DAZE: Where does the name Papa Mali come from?

PAPA MALI: My nickname, Papa Mali came from the Burning Spear band. We were on tour with the Killer Bees opening for Burning Spear back in about ‘86 and they came over to my house one day because we had the day off in Austin and I wanted to stop by my house and pick something up. I was in the van with them and we pulled up to the yard. At that time, my children were all younger – I have six kids–and immediately they said, “Malcolm whose children are them?” I said, “Those are my kids.” I was still in my 20’s at the time and they thought it was really funny that I had so many kids at such a young age. From that point on I was Papa Mali. My manager overheard it and thought it would be funny to put it in an article someone had wrote about us and the next thing I know I’m seeing it in print – it just takes on a life of its own. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594267830938,id=269827227,j=r,s=s,l=p]AUSTIN DAZE: How long have you been doing the record store? Was it always such a pulsating place?

JOHN KUNZ: I just celebrated my 33 1/3 anniversary selling music in Austin a few months ago. Waterloo is 24 1/2 years old now and I came on about three months after it started. The day my original partner opened it up was April Fool’s Day 1982 and that was the same day I was turning in my resignation for the chain music store I was working for. I was looking to open up my own store, so Lewis Carp and I were talking about how we could help one another out as two new kids with record stores in town. The more we talked the more we realized that we actually shared more or less the same vision of what our record stores were going to be but we neither one of us had enough time, money, inventory, energy to do everything that we envisioned. We started talking about partnering up and that is indeed what happened a few months later. Read the rest of this entry »

AUSTIN DAZE: How does the Austin music scene compare to the New Orleans music scene?

CYRIL NEVILLE: Let me put it like this: there’s a lot more activity here after the storm than there was before the storm. I’ll just put it like that. The city is a lot bigger than I thought it was, really. Mechanisms here that allow musicians to help themselves have been in place for awhile now so it’s kind of easier for you to basically make a living doing what you love to do here in Austin. Another part about being in Austin is that you can get connected to a lot of different things. It’s more widespread. New Orleans is really a small place so the difference in the number of clubs is huge – just on sixth street there are more clubs just in that area than in one concentrated area in New Orleans. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594267830938,id=269827791,j=r,s=s,l=p]MISSY SUICIDE OF SUICIDE GIRLS

AD: For people who don’t know. what is Suicide Girls and why did you start it?

Suicide Girls is a pinup site with hot naked girls and a community, with message boards, groups, dating. The site also features a great newswire and a terrific interview section.

I started it as a way to showcase gorgeous women i knew and saw every day, that didn’t fit in with the mainstream ideas of what is beautiful. It was an art project/experiment; something I could be passionate about while doing corporate freelance projects. I had always loved pin-up girl photography and wanted to photograph the girls that I knew with the same sort of control and respect the classic pin-ups were given. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594267830938,id=269827709,j=r,s=s,l=p]AUSTIN DAZE: What does playing at ACL mean to you?

STRING CHEESE INCIDENT: This is actually only our second year here. 2003 was our first year. It’s changed in the three years that we have been away. It’s so great to see so many bands getting together, see all the fans getting together and enjoying the music. It’s extremely hot. ACL, what it means: extreme humidity and lots of heat. We have a really great group of friends and family that we have gotten to know over the years from coming to Austin, so Austin, in a lot of ways, has become a yearly home for us. It just feels good to be around everybody and see how everybody has been doing over the course of the years that we have been doing this. It’s a little bit like a family reunion. Musically, it’s an opportunity to, in a professional setting, see some other people and check out the vibe from the crowd side so it’s really refreshing for us. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594267830938,id=269827768,j=r,s=s,l=p]AUSTIN DAZE: Tell us how you got into playing music and some of your influences.

MATT COSTA: Well when I was a kid my godmother had a piano at her house and she would watch me when my parents were gone. I always would just be drawn to the piano and I would just start playing. So my parents decided that since I was always drawn to music they should start putting me in music classes or get me involved with music. My parents put me in school band, I played the trumpet and I took some piano lessons. I got my first guitar when I was 12. I’ve pretty much just been involved with music my whole life. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:id=269827665,j=r,s=s,l=p]AUSTIN DAZE: Tell us about your new album “Town and the City”. What was the recording process like?

LOS LOBOS: We were recording at Cesar’s house and it was a pretty casual atmosphere. It took a little while to get the ball rolling. We usu- ally go in with a couple of ideas, hopefully to get the thing going, and then get a feel for where it is headed. We don’t have all the material written and it’s not rehearsed or anything. We just go on inspiration. We started off with a couple of songs and then in the middle started writing and everything and we went out with an album. Read the rest of this entry »

AUSTIN DAZE: Tell us about Lemonade and what it means to you?

G LOVE AND SPECIAL SAUCE: It’s our new record. This was a cool record for us because we tried to start out doing a regular G Love and Special Sauce record and we just started reaching out to musicians that we knew. It started with Read the rest of this entry »

We will begin distributing tomorrow. So make sure to pick one up.

Thanks for voting for us in the “BOA POLL.” We are honored to win 2 years in a row.

Our space was under construction over the last many weeks, so our mail must’ve gotten lost. We didn’t know we won until we read it in the paper. A nice surprise.

Thanks again for voting.

I uploaded some new pictures in the gallery. What the new office exterior looks like is there. Tell us what you think..

AUSTIN DAZE: What is the Austin Film Festival and how long has it been around?AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL: This is the 13th year. We are an 8 day festival and have 150 screenings. Read the rest of this entry »