There’s nothing like a true love revival. Leave it to Roxy Roca and Outlander Productions to turn this classic concept into a zombie music video premise just in time for Halloween. From the coffin to the stage, watch the life creep back into Taye Cannon’s bones, and the crowd’s, as he shows up for the after party of his own funeral to reunite with his true love. –Written by Charise Sowells

Every now and then there’s a band whose music truly takes you somewhere. Dead Tree Duo is the sort of journey you wish would never end. This duo rocks harder than a lot of 4 piece bands out there and they’re doing it acoustically.

In their more intense songs such as "Sisyphus" and "The Hanging of Mary", the vocals are reminiscent of System of a Down and Tool in terms of tone, energy and airtight harmonies. "The Harvest" starts off as a glorious sounding ode to Nick Drake but soon becomes something all their own as it whips around a dark corner and screams, "All things pass!" The words reverberate off the walls that were closing in around you just moments ago… 

Scaffold, is a debut album with depth. Emotions run high from beginning to end, genuinely shaping each and every song’s unique and at moments even theatrical environment. In listening to the lyrics, it’s clear that AJ Seidner and Mark Ford are men that have read a lot and asked life’s big questions. I’m not usually one for repeats but when you reach your destination at the end of this album, you can’t help but ride the wave again. –Written by Charise Sowells

On their new EP, The Hereticks deliver a moody little masterpiece. From the first strums of "I Only Pretend" to its reprise three tracks later, I was completely taken with this release. Warm guitars, swirling organs, and shakers populate the opening minutes, as well as enough references to dying stars, gravity, and evolution to firmly place them in terrain The Flaming Lips explored back when they actually rocked. In fact, the vocals even have that same charming quality as Wayne Coyne, anxiously straining for notes that might just be a hair out of reach. And I mean that in the most affectionate way possible.

Where the two bookend songs mine their spacy side, The Hereticks kick out the jams in the middle. In particular, "Promised Land" packs a wallop. It boasts a chorus worthy of The Strokes and a verse so smooth, it wouldn’t surprise me if these guys listened to Hall and Oates on the sly. In "Girl", the question is posed: “I’ve been paroled, now where the fuck’s my trial?” which is followed by a rip-roaringly fun guitar solo, the likes of which I don’t hear much anymore.

With only four songs, the EP feels brief. I think that has to do with how effortlessly it all comes together, the way the tracks bleed from one into the next. It feels assured and effortless, which means it had to be hard as hell to accomplish. I can’t wait to see these guys live. But most of all, I can’t wait until they do a full length. –Written by Josh Denslow

You’re out of scotch. You open all your windows and a slight trickle of the afternoon’s rain drips into the spongy grass outside. The perfect stillness of the night makes you wonder if you’ve come untethered from the world, a blip in a timeline that has already forgotten you. This trancelike moment, when others with weaker constitutions have abandoned hope, is precisely when the three members of Yum picked up their instruments and recorded their hushed bossa novas and fragile music box melodies. They did it to save you.

Imagine "The Girl from Ipanema" shipwrecked on an island made of tinfoil where it is perpetually five minutes before sunrise. Samantha Skinner’s breathy voice can at once be a soothing lullaby and a whispered warning. That tension is what makes this album so wonderful. Opener, "In My Room", threatens to burst from its quiet confines, the drums crispy in the mix but played with a gentle touch. When the distortion finally kicks in halfway through, there’s still that sense of unease, as if you don’t know the whole story.

The album standout comes at the end. "Medicine and Tea" is mysterious and atmospheric  like the best qualities of Blonde Redhead, a band that must come up a lot when discussing Yum’s sound. Skinner’s plaintive coos supplant the chorus in favor of a dreamy haze. After eight songs of late night reminiscing and nuanced discord, this is the perfect way to end their flawlessly sequenced album. That’s the magic of Yum, even after Take My Blue has ended, it’s still with you, echoing ever so slightly in your head. You don’t have to spend those late night hours alone. Hear for yourself, in person, at their album release party on Friday, 10/18/13. –Written by Josh Denslow

Generally, I prefer singing to screaming but as far as screamers go, Vegatron will show you how it’s done. As the newest members of Eye in the Sky Collective, this heavy rock band out of Austin is releasing their single, "Shot My Fate", on Thursday at Mohawk during the AFI aftershow. Their album, Awakening, is scheduled for a release date next month. Opting for a no frills recording style, you’ll hear an honesty in this album that so many others have left behind. Check out this video for a teaser of what’s to come. –Written by Charise Sowells

Misay Day‘s Kate Robberson is turning another year older and celebrating with quite a few musician friends at Parish Underground on October 4th, 2013. Sharing the stage will be Michael Kiwanuka, Chave Do Mar and Attic Ted. It’s a special lineup for a special singer songwriter that we featured a few months back. 

Like so many other bands, Misay Day has recently undergone some changes. But unlike a lot of bands, they pulled through the tough times and got back onstage as soon as they could to prevent losing momentum. In case you missed our first write up, here’s a sample of their sweet and simply lovable folk music. –Written by Charise Sowells

If you’ve ever had a random photo op on 6th street with a giant, glow-eyed robot and a dude decked out in Superman gear holding a boombox over his shoulder, you may already be familiar with J Ray and his automaton counterpart, Boxman 3000. With the recent release of his first album, Some People, a music video for the track "When I Grow Up", and a comic book chronicling their adventures, J Ray and Boxman 3000 are hitting Austin hard. The feel good title track is one of the strongest on the album, with sweet sounding guitar licks and a fun, dancy chorus. But, there’s a whole lot of polished, heartfelt awesomeness throughout the rest of the album too.

Think the awkward genius of Beck meets Jack Johnson’s laid back sound and everything that we love about Flight of the Conchords. Make no mistake, J Ray is making all of the right moves, offering tons of fun and some serious musical talent. Check him out next Thursday at Flamingo Cantina with Dear Watson and Scares. A year from now, you’re not going to want to say that you missed the J Ray Train. – Written by Jodi Lang  

When I first read Bandhaus’ self-described tagline, "We play whiskey folk for whiskey folk," I immediately placed them into some Irish sounding category of music, which is simply not my bag. I was super stoked when what I heard was more of The Replacements and The Ramones than The Pogues. While Bandhaus does offer some sweet sounding folk ballads and lighter vocals on tracks like "Teddy Ruxpin" and "Sometimes I Look Like Jesus", at their core they’re a punk rock band that seems to have had more acoustic instruments lying around than they did electric. Don’t be fooled with the whole whiskey thing though, they’re really into gin too. –Written by Jodi Lang 

It’s official! We’ve just booked Spiderhouse on 1/18/14 for an evening of music featuring some of my favorite female fronted bands here in town, TBA. Partnering with The Deli are local companies such as GENaustin and MEOW Con who will be raising awareness about their female focused cause.

Men, women and everyone in between are welcome to come support these ladies on and off the stage and learn about some of the missions in our very own city that exist to support them. Sponsorships are in the works, bands are being booked. $10.00 at the door will not only get you into the event but you’ll also get a meditation CD to promote your own well-being once the night is over.

Another element to the evening is my goal to bring attention to the sex trafficking of underage girls. I read an article about it a while back, reached out to local organizations such as Restore a Voice and Allies Against Slavery, looked into broader initiatives such as Love 146 and have been researching to figure out how I can help make a difference. Then I saw this:

Art is always a powerful way to convey a message, perhaps the most powerful. I’d love to do some sort of performance video piece as part of the evening as well. If you want to be involved with any aspect of this event, please email me at thedeliaustin@gmail.com. See y’all in January! –Written by Charise Sowells

A little bit country, a little bit rock a roll, and sometimes a little bit Vampire Weekend meets The Band, The Gents cover most of Austin’s most sought after musical genres. With three of four members being songwriters, their recently released EP has a charmingly eclectic sound. Their obvious respect for one another’s musicianship creates beautiful cohesion among the diversity, some sweet vocal harmonies and a super cool blend of musical influences.

Check out this sneak peak at their music video, in which a certain band member may or may not be hopping around uncomfortably on some stilts. Then see them tomorrow at The North Door with Holiday Mountain for their Music Video Release and Watch Party presented by Covert Curiosity. —Written by Jodi Lang 

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Carla Black, the founder of MEOW Con. It went a little something like this…

DELI: What’s your background in terms of music?

CARLA: I was a professional, full time musician in the early ’80s. Played bass in an all-female band. My mom taught piano (still does) and my dad did publicity for local bands. Before playing in bands, I was the entertainment editor of my college paper so I reviewed music in that capacity. It seems like I have never been very far from it my entire life.

DELI: What is MEOW Con?

CARLA: MEOW Con is a conference for women in music – imagine SXSW as a conference for women that included many issues women face as artists. We talk about trends – like the recent Miley Cyrus and Michelle Shocked dustups – and more practical issues: how do you tour if you are a mom? how do you deal with hostility, put-downs, patronizing behavior – and take control of your career on your own level.

DELI: How did MEOW Con come to be?

CARLA: I founded, edited and published a magazine called ROCKRGRL for 10 years. When it folded in 2005 the archive was acquired by Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe (part of Harvard University) as part of its collection on American Women’s History. Since then I have been researching a way to bring back the feel of the magazine in a different way. So when I moved to Austin at the end of 2010, MEOW was born (it stands for Musicians for Equal Opportunities for Women).

DELI: Who is MEOW Con for?

CARLA: I want to reach women who are starting out in music before they see that sexism exists and support the women who have already been through it. It is a place to tell our stories and work together across all musical genres to make sure that women have a chance to do whatever they want. I recently met a young college student whose dream is to be a classical composer. But when she entered a classroom of 30 students and found she was the only female she changed her mind. When women’s perspectives are not included in the conversation, it’s bad for culture in general. We need to make sure that everyone has a chance to be as creative as they want to be – on their own terms.

DELI: What is the best part of MEOW Con?

CARLA: The upcoming conference – Oct 24-26. We will be honoring Suzi Quatro – the queen of rock. Suzi is originally from Detroit, has sold 55 MILLION records and in the US is probably best known as Leather Tuscadero on the hit TV show "Happy Days," which brought us Henry Winkler and Ron Howard. Suzi has been living in England since the ’70s and people don’t realize what a major influence she was on people like Kathy Valentine formerly of The Go-Gos (one of our keynote speakers!) and Joan Jett. If you like those artists, you will be blown away by Suzi – who is still a powerhouse.

DELI: Why should someone go to MEOW Con?

CARLA: All are invited to attend, but anyone who cares about women in music getting a fair shake should definitely attend. If you are a musician, care about a musician or ever wondered what it was like, this is a great place to go. Our panels are not just about how to make it in the music business, but an examination of why we still see so few successful all-female bands, why white male rappers are fully accepted but Miley Cyrus is "appropriating black culture" for twerking in that awkward Video Music Awards performance, etc. We will talk about areas where women are doing well, and where there are few. We’ll also strategize ways to make sure women like my friend who dropped out of the classical composition program find support and stay in the game.

DELI: Any exciting sponsors and partners lined up for this years MEOW Con?

CARLA: As a first year event the stakes are very high and we would appreciate any and all support. But some of the people coming are: Jennifer Batten (played guitar with Michael Jackson), Kathy Valentine (formerly of the Go-Gos), Patricia Kennealy-Morrison (one of the first female music journalists) and nearly 100 bands from as far away as Brazil and Singapore!

DELI: Anything else you want us to know?

CARLA: Tickets are available at www.meowcon.eventbrite.com. The official site schedule can be found here. Suzi Quatro’s dinner, which will also be honoring Margaret Moser of the Austin Chronicle, is $125 per person. Suzi will be performing 5 songs at the event with a full band, including her sister Patti, and a horn section. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of this historic moment!

— Interview by Charise Sowells

Summer is mostly gone, but the season never ends in the impossibly optimistic, ne’er-say-die "surf rock" that can be found on our scorched and shore-less environs. And you can’t find a better example of said genre than Wave, the brand-new, tanning-oil-shiny release from La Vega, the off-shoot for Wild Child‘s Evan Magers and Manateam‘s Daniel Vega. But tighten up that drawstring and lock your toes into your flip flops before proceeding; despite the "side project" roots, this is one wipe-out-inducing bomb.

Spot-on, sand-encrusted production grunge on brilliant poppish, fire-side-possible numbers; pulled along with 60-ish reverb, beachy choruses, acoustic strumming, and pushed down drum kits. Check out the surf with "Do The Surfer Girl Limbo!", "Love Ya Self", and "Where You Normally Go". Watch them channel "Wipe Out" with "Shade", Nick Lowe with "Slow Down", and The Everly Brothers with "Exit Tax" and "Jackie". Then go all Alt Rock with "Key West" and "Minor Nightmares". 

Classify this as one set of far out gnarly numbers, Walter Styled and clean. Magers and Vega have been going off on this collection, and releasing such a sick nug is enough to turn this tubular side project into an epic headliner. –Written by Scott Osborn