Tribella
It’s hard to imagine that only a year after their formation the stellar group Tribella is just now releasing their first LP. Their engaging live performances as well as the range in their music, it’s the maturity of a band that is in the prime of career, not one simply making it out of the gates. Sarah Glynn, Rae Goldring, and Dena Gerbrecht each channel a feminine power in their artistic vessels that is both unique and a much needed voice in the Austin lesbian music scene. Tribella is living the rock star life as well as forcing/sharing their powerful journey with the listener.
The grassroots feel of the music correlates strongly with the production of the CD itself. It was musically produced here in Austin as well as the design and implementation of the CD cover and booklet were all done by local graphic designer Medea Lee. Their EP can be purchased at Waterloo and it’s various listing stations, truly giving it the Austin flavor this rich band deserves. Imagine if the rest of the country took a closer look at this un-conventional rock trio? Quite the needed change if you think about it. Then again, it’s kind of nice having this gem rocking out in our own personal backyard.
Black Cherry
It seems that once again, the United Kingdom is bringing the States more and more bands that we can truly rock to as well as be inspired by. Take the wonderfully advanced evolution of the current French Electronica scene and stir in a sultry Brit femme lead singer and you have the simply divine Black Cherry. No other band at SXSW will provide you with the much needed raw sexiness your life strives for but will also have you feeling as though music is truly a viable option to the pessimism we are being constantly surrounded by. Just as seductive as real black cherries are to your mouth, Black Cherry will make your ears squeal with pure delight and wonderment.
The Brunettes
Arguably the most important act to see this year at SXSW this year has to be the fascinatingly heartbreaking group known as The Brunettes. The transcendental song “Stereo” quietly screams at us that “after all these years the only thing that keeps us apart are these speakers”. It’s quite the poignant statement, especially after living through eight turbulent years of the Bush administration. We as humans and as music listeners and consumers have been quite disillusioned in what it truly means to simply connect with another human being or to connect with the music they are quietly exposing in their music. As you listen to this duo from New Zealand, it’s hard not to see that they illustrate the quiet glimmering hope we have in music as well as the much needed connectivity to our dysfunctional society.
Chanel Campbell
We can only imagine what it would be like to wake up after a soul seeking night of passionate interludes next to the understated complexity that is the beautiful Chanel Campbell. Take the fiery lyrical passion of Fiona Apple and picture convoluting it with Jewel’s angelic voice and you have SXSW’s devilish angel Campbell. It’s easy to be disarmed by the lyrical beauty she protrudes from every pore, but a cautious panoply of emotional guards is needed when delving into the world Chanel Campbell illustrates. Be prepared to be emotion- ally and musically entranced and challenged as a listen to her CD will surely make a convert out of the most emotionally hardened listener.
Candy Coated Killahz
The Candy Coated Killahz rip through the speakers with such vigor and with such a distinct sound, that you as the listener have no other option to listen to the future of electronic/hip-hop libertines in the 21st century. The secret lies within the melding of the beautiful vocals of Tosha and the lyrical hip hop beats of Icon where this group’s success is found. It is in the fusing of soul shattering beats with equal- ly smooth hooks and rhymes that make this the show at SXSW that will be the be-all and end-all of musical civilization. Simply listen to “Playboy” to see that there is no doubt that the thin blue line will attempt to distinguish this no hold bars group at any cost. This Canadian group wants nothing more then for you to cut loose on the dance floor as well as throw all inhibitions to the wind. We are in solidarity with you Candy Coated Killahz. We will follow you to the end for the impeccable quest for liberal independence.
Also check out: The Cliks, Beach House, Arms and Legs, The Happy Hollows, Dead Sexy Inc,, Gabriella Climi, Act of Congress, and Annuals. (Make sure to flip over for my G Style picks!)
THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE BY CHRISTOPHER CARBONE 90 MINUTES
For media watchers and fashionistas, September 2007 will be remembered as the month when Vogue – and by extension its awe-inspiring editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour – reached the zenith of its power. Bursting at the seams with 840 pages of fashion (727 advertisements) and weighing over five pounds, the issue featured Sienna Miller on its cover, in a glamorous Marchesa gown next to the words “Extra, Extra Large!”
Director R.J. Cutler, whose previous work includes the 1992 Presidential documentary The War Room, had never met Wintour but became interested in doing a film about fashion’s most famous name after reading a New York magazine piece about the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute Ball, a glittery annual affair that Wintour oversees. Meetings with her Communications Director followed and, eventually, they agreed to produce The September Issue, an insider’s look at the eight month process of producing the magazine’s largest issue ever.
The documentary had its premiere at Sundance and will hit theaters later this year; culled from 300 hours of behind-the-scenes footage in Vogue’s Times Square offices and elsewhere, the film offers unprecedented access (Cutler had the final say on everything) to a world few have seen but many have fantasized about. Depicting the frenetic frenzy of a place where editors scurry around hoping to curry favor with the one woman whose opinion still has the power to make or break careers in a $300 billion industry, the documentary offers the type of commentary – on celebrity-based consumer culture, the creative editorial process, digital media manipulation, the idiosyncratic nature of fashion and the often-speculated upon future of Wintour’s 20-year career – that you won’t see anywhere else.
