'Tis the season to release CDs, and The Murdocks are nothing if not seasonal, hence they now bring forth Distortionist, and the accompanying party at the Parish, tomorrow (9/4), along with The Couch, Naysays, and Through the Trees. 

Coming up a little later today, the second installment of KUT's Happy Hour series at La Zona Rosa...The Sour Notes (above) + The Happen-ins, doors at 5:30. And if you're in the mood to extend the evening on into, you know, night, The Authors  - as noted by our friend Ms. Eavesdropper - are having their Get Haunted CD release with MoTel Aviv, Politics, and hey, wait a sec, the Happen-ins again on the decks, all at the Mohawk. Go on. 

While this week’s scorching heat reminds us that summer isn’t over just yet, our calendars say otherwise – it’s September, people! While fall is just around the corner, Neon Indian (now officially a partly Brooklyn based band) is keeping our summer endless. Starting today, you can download a newly remastered version of Psychic Chasms, to be released with a deluxe edition bonus disc called Mind Cntrl: Psychic Chasms Possessed, on Spinner (the deluxe includes some pretty trippy live tracks and a remix by Au Revoir Simone)! FADER is also giving away the Anoraak remix of “Psychic Chasms” fo’ free on their site. The album art is also pretty cool (just imagine looking at the original with some hippie stunnah shades). Hey, Neon Indian, remember that song “Should’ve Taken Acid with You”? Are you sureeeeee you never tried it at least once? – Alex Daly

Seth Woods, The Whiskey Priest, composes a haunting effort in his album Wave & Cloud, which debuted August 23^rd.  For the most part, Wave & Cloud is an airy, ghostly sound, with songs that simply have a single line repeated throughout on top of lonely instrumentals.  Wave & Cloud at times showcases the ‘priest’ part of Whiskey Priest, as it has hints of inspiration from a hymnal in its repetitions and sometimes simplistic song structure, and, in rare times, the upbeat life of gospel music.  Wave & Cloud is folk music that will give you the blues, but not without a hint of light and hope in it overall.  Wave & Cloud, if anything, will be the best sermon you’ve heard all week.

--Mitchell Mazurek

Saints Of Valory come with quite the international flair. Front man Gavin Jasper is Brazilian, guitarist Godfrey Thomson is American, on drums Gerard Bouvier is from France, & on keyboards Stephen Buckle hails from Canada. After just a few shows in Austin, Saints Of Valory already have a rapidly growing fan base due in part to such crowd favorites as Merry-Go-Round, Providence, Stay Wild & more! And now, with headlining shows coming up at Stubb's Jr (Sept 4th), and the Parish (Sept 30th) this is a band you will not want to miss!

(Ed.: this post taken from Saints of Valory's post on our DIY Open Blog, check out other Open Blog posts in the Deli Kitchen.)

The Bright Light Social Hour, who will one day go head to head vs. The Black & White Years in a mustache-maintenance contest, are tonight (8/26) taking the stage at Antone's to support The Starlight Children's Foundation, whose mission is to educate, entertain, and inspire seriously ill children. If there's a better excuse to get out and see an excellent local band, I'd like to hear it...

(photo by Annie Ray) 

While most of Austin is stuck in traffic steeping with road rage as cars start growing moss and Delilah crackles softly with unwitting irritance, there are a few souls that are having fun riding their bikes. Much of the two-wheel insurgence in Austin is due to the Austin Yellow Bike Project, an all-volunteer non-profit community initiative which serves to equip Austinites with bicycles. The Austin YBP recently moved their entire 4500 sq. foot headquarters by “human-power” alone—no moving trucks or even pow-pow-power wheels—in a truly remarkable tour de force. 

The Yellow Bike Project provides a space (1216 Webberville Road) and the equipment for the bikers that bear their sweaty brow to build and repair their bikes. The result is community-focused, beneficial, environmentally kind, and nearly free transportation. Austinites feel the love from YBP with their Bikes to Schools Program and their efforts to keep Austin healthy and clean. Now is Austin’s chance to show some love back. On Thursday, August 26, Austin is invited to turn down all the excess noise of the raging freeway, to shut off the ignition and let Delilah drift away to the nearest Dillard’s and experience the Yellow Bike Benefit Show in support of this really great collaborative. The Sour Notes (above), She Sir, The Boxing Lesson, White Rhino, and Searching for Signal will lay on the bike horns at Red 7 starting at 9pm for a night of music and spinning wheels.

--Lauren Hardy (YBP photo by Blake Gordon, The Sour Notes photo by Eric Morales)

Since Dignan’s conception within a church sanctuary seven years ago, the indie rock outfit from McAllen has been diligently carving into Texas’ music scene.

Between extensive touring schedules, Andy Pena (lead vocals/guitar), Devin Garcia (bass), Heidi Plueger (keyboard/vocals), and David Palomo (aux instruments/vocals) have released two successful EPs and a debut album, Cheaters and Thieves. 

The quartet has performed twice at South by Southwest. They rocked New York City’s 2009 CMJ Music Marathon, and they played a special in-house show at Paste Magazine’s headquarters. 

This small town band is on the verge of breaking completely onto the music scene. 

“We’re not unknown, but we’re not really known either,” Garcia said. “We’re in the middle…Right now it’s a lot of multitasking and doing little odd and end jobs on the side [for income], doing a lot of internet work, all while performing each night.” 

Dignan is currently on the road again, playing through Texas, the Carolinas, Florida and other southern states. They will hit The Mohawk in Austin at the end of August. This tour, and all events prior, has been fueled on the band’s own budget and determination.

 “We don’t have any label support or booking agents or anything,” Garcia said. “We’ve kind of done it all. We’ve done it by slowly working towards it, working our way up, and doing it by ourselves.”

Dignan attributes the internet to their independent success. 

“These days you can do anything through the internet,” Garcia explained. “With the right dedication and drive and persistence, I think [a band] can build themselves as big as they’d like to be.” 

And big they will be. For the next three months, Dignan will take on various stages and perform a shifting set list for fans.

“It will be kind of different each night I think,” Garcia said. “Hopefully we will have some variation.”

Although their shows will be a mix of old and newer tracks, the band hopes the atmosphere remains the same. 

“Having a really energetic crowd and a good response is what we hope for of course every night,” Garcia said. “It’s really nice when that happens—when it’s a good intimate moment with the crowd and the band.” 

Dignan’s emotional lyrics paired with sweet melancholy melodies could easily consume a crowd. 

“I feel like [our music] is very hopeful—our songs are very hopeful even when the lyrical content is darker,” the band’s bassist said. “It’s kind of eerie at some points. It shakes my bones up sometimes even playing it on stage. It throws a chill down my spine. I like it.” 

Their whimsy, wanting sound has been described as a blend of Arcade Fire, Cursive, and Broken Social Scene. 

“It’s always nice being compared, or people telling us that they hear a certain band in us,” Garcia said. “That’s always a nice compliment.”

For their own influence, Dignan draws from other indie works.

“We are all very big fans of David Bazan of the band Pedro the Lion,” Garcia explained. “Just recently we found out he had our record and he sent us a picture of himself holding our CD. He is such a big influence on our band, and a personal influence on our lead singer. It’s a great moment when you look up to someone and then they turn around and are like, ‘No, you’re great too. We enjoy what you do.’…We’ve had a couple of moments like that, where people we look up to shine light on us.” 

By this time next year, Dignan fans will have another album to hold.

“Right now we are in the early stages of slowly working towards getting some songs complied for, what I believe will be, our full length release,” the bassist said. “We are trying to have that out late July or early August of next year.” 

Until then fans will just have to hold themselves over with Dignan’s current tour and hits. 

After each show fans can catch Garcia, and the rest of the members, hanging around their merch table and talking about their sound. 

“Our band just kind of enjoys meeting new people and talking to people, and spreading the word about our music—one by one,” he said. 

--Cassie Morien, photo by Taylor Pool

(As mentioned above, Dignan hits the Mohawk this coming Sunday, 8/29...) 

One Hundred Flowers are releasing their national debut full length album on October 26, 2010. After two and a half years of playing in Austin and all over the Southwest Region, they will support the release of their upcoming album by playing a Southeast tour. The band is working with locals Stem & Leaf and Team Clermont (Athens, FL) to promote their independent release, Mechanical Bride, recorded at Cacophony Recorders with Erik Wofford. Release party will be on October 23, 2010.

(Ed.: this post taken from One Hundred Flowers' post on our DIY Open Blog, check out other Open Blog posts in the Deli Kitchen.) 

Here's a music industry story for your Tuesday: The Toadies released Rubberneck long, long ago, and saw their baby debut laminated in platinum; however, their label (Interscope) "unapproved" the follow-up, Feeler, in 1997. Years and tours and break-ups and reconstitutions later, Dallas label Kirtland Records stepped in, and so Feeler comes out...today. And you can find those Toadies playing an in-store at Waterloo Records today, 5 pm.