Something was cookin’ in the kitchen Saturday night in Austin, Texas, and it wasn’t breakfast tacos. Austin’s percussionist Gypsy Twins (Ren Lewis and yours truly) and Austin music patroness Anna Ramsey were delighted to host the first of many monthly musical showcases to come at the Heatherglen House. After much discussion it was decided that the best “stage” in the house was the kitchen. The eating table was relocated to make way for the instruments, PA system, and the performers.Thus the showcase was dubbed “Cookin’ in the Kitchen.” It was an honor to be serenaded by the best songwriters in Austin for the night. Performers included the newly formed House Beer Band, Scott Andrews, Brett Randell, David Ramirez, and visiting Dallas-based musician Garrett Owen.

WANTED: Gunnison

LAST SEEN: Ghost Room

REWARD: Sonic Pleasure

There was a big show down the night of October 15^th at the Ghost Room in Austin, Texas. Duelers included the James Caronna Band, Brian Douglas Phillips, and David Ramirez. James Caronna drew first. He drew fast and shot clean with his own brand of pop rock. Next Brian Douglas Phillips drew for the kill with revolver of pure Americana. David Ramirez finished the night with a weapon of folk brewed pop. The duel evolved into an all-out brawl. The sheriff came too late. There were almost no survivors. Now there is one most wanted: Brian Douglas Phillips’ new album Gunnison. The reward for finding it is a lifetime of sonic pleasure.

It’s hard to believe that Austin City Limits is nearly over! Last night I had the pleasure of seeing GAYNGS at an ACL after show at Emo’s in Austin’s Red River district

The show opened up with Brooklyn-based Indie outfit Bear in Heaven. I didn’t make it in until about half-way through the set, but enjoyed every second of it. I’m new to the power trio, but am definitely now a fan of what their form of what they call “psychedelic minimalist pop.” Despite the self-given genre, I found their sound anything but minimal with the pulsating bass, dreamy synth/pedal work, out-of-this-world guitar (Adam Willis), and ethereal voice (Jon Philpot) floating over tribal drums (Joe Stickney). What struck me most was how comfortable they were with their instruments; like they were holding pillows. They finished the set with the popular ‘Lovesick Teenagers.’ As a drummer myself I especially enjoyed the ending epic tribal drum solo. In my opinion Bear in Heaven had the perfect balance of enthusiasm and humble bad-assedness.

Can I get a slow jam?

The set change was just as epic as Stickney’s drum solo since GAYNGS is a huge ensemble, but it was well worth the wait. I enjoyed picking out the members I had seen in their videos as they set up their gear. When the lights went down and the “Bands Only” door closed we knew it was time. GAYNGS mobbed the stage in their fedora, Eskimo hat, button-down, vest, bow tie, colorful shades, and dino-hoodie wearing glory, many lighting up cigs and popping open beers in preparation (I saw that they discovered Lone Star, Austin‘s favorite cheap beer). The show began with an auto-toned intro from a old, bearded, slightly haggard looking guy whom they announced as Mr. Max Blevins, the newest GAYNGSter. I couldn’t find anything about him on their site, so I’m thinking they just saw him on the street, liked his beard, and asked him to start the show.

Every October musicians don their priestly persona and convene at the sacred site of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. 70,000+ fans make the holy pilgrimage to stay in tents, imbibe, and worship. The musicians then sacrifice a part of themselves to restore their fans souls; that they might live another year in completeness. This is Austin City Limits, Austin’s most spiritual weekend of the year.

On the lineup this year, the artists range from legends to bands that are just emerging. Here's a breakdown of who to look for and links to their sites and MySpace pages so you can get acquainted with them in advance of the festival:

• Band of Horses
• Monsters of Folk
• Deadmau5
• Sonic Youth
• Gogol Bordello
• The National
• Robert Earl Keen
• The Black Keys
• Broken Bells

The Minneapolis based band Cloud Cult broke indie ground by hitting Billboard charts this past week with their newest album “Light Chasers.” I resonate with the song ‘Running with the Wolves’ and can’t stop hitting play on my ipod. The hauntingly beautiful music and profound lyrics will make anyone want to get up out of their cubicle and run away with the wolves.

It's time for us to go.
Left all our clothes.
With the car left by the road.

Girls with guitars seem like a dime a dozen in the city of Austin, Texas, but to categorize musician Jaimee Harris as typical singer/songwriter would be a mistake in the least. Badass with a guitar and killer voice is more like it. I was privileged to have a phone interview with her this afternoon and learn about how she came to the music.

The Running Back, the young indie all-stars based in Little Rock, Arkansas have been running a lot of yards and scoring big points lately. They recently opened a new season with a brand new EP. There are definitely more than family reunions, banjos, and lack of shoes in Arkansas and The Running Back is proof of that! There are a lot of great indie bands coming out of Arkansas and The Running Back is one of the best.

I actually went to college with some of these guys and am proud to have seen them go from playing coffee shops in our college town to touring different colleges. I remember seeing one of front man Alan Thomas’s gigs at our college Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas (a lot of syllables for a small school). It was just him and his acoustic guitar with a friend on drums playing for a fraternity fund raiser. The music was great but the crickets were loud as the event was not well attended. I remember walking by the practice rooms and seeing Alan roughly record glockenspiel on his Macbook in the band hall.

Art Versus Industry has been sonically shocking the Austin music scene for nearly a year now. I recently chatted with Avi and Matt of the electronic trio.

Lacey Lewis: How did Art v. Industry get together? How long have you been a band?

Matt: I've been a long fan of Avi's work, and had so much respect for what he was doing. He was doing everything I ever wanted to do musically, and when he asked me to audition I couldn't say no. Munos came along from a craigslist ad surprisingly enough....and of course we can all make jokes about that one.

Avi: Art versus Industry will have existed for one year this Halloween. It's been a pretty crazy inaugural year.

L: Tell me about the name

Matt: I like leaving our name open to interpretation, because regardless what I have to say about it I know people will have their minds set on it one way or the other.

Avi: While it is pretty open for interpretation, I think there is a distinct bias in the name. It's the end result of our dissatisfaction with the trendy, mass-produced nature of current popular culture. I've always been a sucker for courageous, ground-breaking art whether it be in music, film, or literature. That seems to be missing now because of industry standards and the market machines- forcing outside-of-the-box creative types to live solely in the underground. We hope to reawaken the need for art back into music and change the standard of our iTUNES generation. Music is meant to be ultra-sensory- you need to feel it, touch it, and experience it in person. It's tangible, not a bunch of binary code compressed into a file to sit on your hard drive.

This past August 28^th marked the year anniversary of songwriter Brett Randell’s career in Austin. I am fortunate to call him friend and to have seen him soar to songwriting success throughout the year. I met with him this past week at Dominican Joe’s Coffee to reflect on the Austin experience thus far.

Lacey Lewis: When did you decide to go down the musical path?

Brett Randell: I didn’t do music my whole life. I always considered myself as more of an artist and a writer. Then three summers ago I picked up a guitar after hearing ‘Salvation’ by Citizen Cope. I wrote a song and played it for my roommate and he liked it.

I studied abroad in Milan and played music there for six months. I had my first show there. My friend at the international business school where I studied hosted a party and asked me to play.