The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn

The new full length album from 'The Roosevelts'. This is a Nashville group with their feet firmly planted in that Americana sound. 

On the first track, and throughout the album you hear the amazing harmonies between lead singer/rhythm guitar player, James Mason, and lead guitar/mandolin wizard, Jason Kloess.

'The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn' is a wonderful and fun story telling of love,  love lost,  and whiskey. From the fun, up tempo hit song 'This is Life' to the longing and forlorn track 'Ashes', James and Jason simply weave a tapestry of some truly sing along songs on this 35 minute journey.

'Tell only lies' is it that fearful track of a one night stand? Only to be followed with the spirited and lustful track 'Belly of the beast'. The entire story laid out before your ears is only capped off by the tongue and cheek track 'Peaches'. What a great and danceable track,  begging you to enjoy that fruit everyone always seems captivated by. Just grab your honey,  pull them close and tell them to give it to you...Baby!

'Runaround' has that pop sound you would swear you heard on the radio before. In all, I leave to you several other well written and gracious tracks to explore for yourself.

This album, by The Roosevelts, is that beautiful spring day or fall evening soundtrack to our lives. 'The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn' is the sit around the fire pit with your friends, and toast to the wonderfulness of life type of album.

Available online everywhere April 2016.

Enjoy

Whew!

2014 wrap up. I thought it was a quiet and slow year for Live Music In Austin, which looks to be slowly expanding to be Live Music In Texas....YAY!!! But I started to

review and here is what I found...

I saw 80 bands in total. 70 of them I have never seen before. The other 10 are bands that I will always make a point to go see and support here in Austin.

I wrote 42 blog posts. 33 of them were performance review based. The rest were multi part reviews, an album review, and a video post. Doesn't sound like much until you realize that is a show I am going to every 1.5 weeks!

Of all of my trekking around, 13 new venues were explored and talked about. Just a guitar string more than 1 per month.

So the best I can do (without getting crazy with hash tags and photos) is just a few photos from '14. In no particular order or reason, randomness. I will see you in 2015!

Laters

say Uncle

Uncle Billy's Brew & Q (http://unclebillys.com/bs-landing/) on Barton Springs road, Austin, Texas. Located right there on restaurant row. 

I have been here for beer - EXCELLENT selection of craft beers. From local breweries and farther away. I don't know if they have your typical mass produced beer here, if that is what you want...go away.

I have been here for the food - Bar B Que. Good stuff. Good Texas BBQ. The prices were very reasonable and there is not some stupid line to wait in, to sit down and eat some good food. I have done a little bit of each flavor and found none of it to be lacking. So pick your all time fav. Be brave, ask your server for a beer recommendation and enjoy the beautiful Texas brew, Que, and Sun.

Now, I can say that I have been here for the music! The KUTX (https://livevibe.ticketbud.com/kutx) Sunday Funday music series. I will make no bones about stopping in for the performance of one of Ms. Cruz and my own all time favorites, The Roosevelts (http://wearetheroosevelts.com)!

We arrived early and settled into our seats just off center stage. The sun was bearing down and Ms Cruz looked lovely in her Derby hat. Unfortunately it didn't do shit for blocking the sun.  With a little bit of a sound check, you could tell the crowd here was ready for some great music from some great guys.

The Roosevelts ARE James Mason and Jason Kloes. From the humble beginnings of one of Austin's hottest party bands to the Americana glory they are now. The band has songs that pull your heart strings. They sing of love and love lost. The hope of love gained again, and sometimes whiskey too. It is music for the whole family. Gather around, gather your friends and listen to the stories that The Roosevelts weave with their guitars and the unmistakable voice of James Mason.


It was like that, this particular afternoon. The silence was only broken by the music and applause. It is definitely music that is difficult to define. What is not difficult is the great feelings you have at a performance by The Roosevelts. It is music that is full of emotion, proof in the emotional response from Ms. Cruz throughout their performance. It is provoking, unique, and completely familiar all at once.





Not only can these guys perform, but they are genuinely nice people. They love to take the time after a performance and thank those few or many who remain to that their talent.


I will happily go see these guys any and every time I can. I want you to do this as well. Something that you can say you felt good doing.










Laters

The Roosevelts during SXSW 2013

and the blog post for this video is at http://livemusicinaustin.blogspot.com/2013/03/it-was-rainey-for-sxsw.html

It was Rainey for SXSW

That's right, it was Rainey St. to kick off what would be my last day of SXSW.

Rainey St. is the newest edition to the down town entertainment district. Located just on the south end of Red River, but still close enough to walk to several other down town venues. Rainey St. seems to have it all. There are establishments that serve food, some with lots of TV's, some whiskey bars, some beer gartens, and a great time to be had along this small stretch of road. All of the establishments are designed to maintain there original small, older home facade, but then you step in or step out back and you are blown away.

Bungalow (https://www.facebook.com/bungalowatx) was our first stop on our last day and is definitely one of those places. "Bungalow was inviting and is definitely set up for people to stay and have a cocktail (cocktail = beer or whatever else you drink).  It's a nice place to meet people or just hang out. There is a food trailer outback that provides tacos for good eats so they definitely don't want you to go anywhere. You can stay for drinks, a good time, and eat there too!" Mariza Cruz

With performances by The Dunwells (http://thedunwells.com/) and the Roosevelts on tap it would prove to be a great start to a great day. Although we did sit through the sound check for The Dunwells, (which doesn't qualify as a performance) it did keep the audience riveted. As they sound checked on several tunes to make sure everything would be perfect for the evening performance, the audience was definitely drawn in. I can say with the harmonies from the brothers that fronted the band, I look forward for an opportunity to check out a real set, and hopefully soon!

The Roosevelts (http://www.wearetheroosevelts.com) I did catch. Now that I have been privy to several performances already, including a late night fireside acoustic set (DAMN! There should be a BAD ASS video coming from that!!!!!! can you hear me James and Jason, can you hear me?) I am going to turn over the crowd source reaction to Ms Cruz.


I did catch The Roosevelts at a previous show in early February (http://livemusicinaustin.blogspot.com/2013/01/no-reservations.html), but there was much conversation, I was seated in the back, and the crowd was front to back and side to side. It was not easy to see the performance and sort of OK hearing it. THIS EVENING on Rainey St., in Bungalow, during SXSW was a whole different beast. Standing quite close to the stage and being able to enjoy the performance and see the crowd was wonderful. The full and true enthusiasm that The Roosevelts bring to the stage is completely telling. It tells of their joy in performing the music they create, it tells of their joy in performing on it stage, and most of all it tells in the audience reaction. The opportunity was definitely not lost with the band. To have many new faces in the crowd it seems that the band embraced it and returned the excitement ten fold. They have a new video they have released and it there was total crowd participation with "Everybody Knows" (http://youtu.be/TYMLzYJ-pt4). I hope 'everybody knows' about the Roosevlets soon because they are a joy to see and hear.


Laters

Written by:
M. Cruz
edited by:
William Tompkins

No Reservations

I really wanted some BBQ.  I have heard wonderful things about the BBQ at Lamberts (http://www.lambertsaustin.com/) and it smelled fantastic when I walked in. SO...all I wanted were some good appetizers, sit at the bar, and  enjoy some half price apps...blah! No seating at the bar 'cause it is pretty darn small, maybe 10 people. I didn't do my homework, so I didn't realize that you need reservations to sit at a table in the restaurant. My Bad! Guess I will have to try again soon!

The upstairs is where the music happens. Up the stairs from the front door puts you on the second floor at the back of the room. With the stage directly behind the stairs and the bar to the right as you face the stage, it is a very odd layout. Booths at the back and seating along the rail of the stairs leading to the stage it is somewhat of an 'L' shaped room. If it is a packed house, like the SOLD OUT show for The Roosevelts and Quiet Corral, then be prepared to hear a great performance. I managed to be a rebel and stand in the booth seat to be able to see over the crowd and take some photos.


So, for the second live performance of             The Roosevelts (http://wearetheroosevelts.com/), this had to be exciting for them. A packed house, wall to wall people, and chicks making out in the back! WHOOOO HOOOOOO! The music from The Roosevelts is very, very familiar and feels like some tunes currently heard on the radio. It is fun, happy music with melodies and vocal harmonies that blend seamlessly. The sound as a whole doesn't stand out, it just hits that spot somewhere in your brain, makes you smile, and that my friends is good. I look forward to the album that should be dropping at the beginning of March. I want a lyric sheet on the inside because all of these songs are tunes that you just want to sing along with. Front man James with backing vocalist/lead guitar Jason, do a great job of keeping the audience part of their show. The chemistry is visible and it is an all important part of making that a fun night out.


Quiet Corral (http://quietcorral.com/) is this unassuming group of guys from Kansas. With a broad range of ages (early 20's to early 30's) the experience and youthful energy serves them well and makes their performance energetic and smart for a crowd. No egos here for a headliner or touring band, just a band who's sound seemed like it should just be out there on the airwaves for all to hear, like right now! Getting on stage right after The Roosevelts exited and giving the audience very little time to recover was something I really liked. No cool down period, just grab a damn beer or your whiskey and get back into the music. They did a variety of up tempo songs that kept the audiences interest the whole time. For me the most notable and shocking moment of their performance is when one of the front men, Garrett, busted out the little 11 yr old M.J. vocals from The Jackson 5 song 'I want you back!' UNBELIEVABLE! Was absolutely worth it. Go check these guys out when they are in your small town, big city, or neck of the woods....OR when you are in Lawrence, KS.

Laters

P.S. - the making out, hot chick photo is in The Roosevelts photo album on my FB page!

What's new for 2013

DANG!

If your band has a video or an album release that you will be promoting and want some additional traffic then let me know and I will repost it across all of my sites

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Live-Music-In-Austin/239625756088955
Email
livemusicinaustin@gmail.com
                         @hotmail.com
                         @yahoo.com
Twitter
@livemusicATX
Tumblr
http://livemusicinaustin.tumblr.com/
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/soundfiend001

New and upcoming for 2013:

January - Drastik IV (http://drastikmusic.com/) 01/18/2013
                                    CD release "Wrath of the Underdog" and video release @ The Dirty Dog

February - Voting for Austin Chronicle music awards ends 02/01/2013
                   (http://www.austinchronicle.com/feedback/musicpoll/12/)

March - The Roosevelts (https://www.facebook.com/theroosevelts)
                                         CD release for their Debut album

               SXSW

April - Super Water Sympathy (http://superwatersympathy.com/)
                                                   CD release for their sophmore LP "Hydrogen Child"  

as for shows...don't be stupid. Go out see some live local music. Support the live local music scene. check out Austin360.com (http://www.austin360.com/s/music/), Do512 (http://do512.com/events/austin-music) , and AustinAfterDark (http://www.atxafterdark.com/)  




Laters

Caught up in the moment

So it happens, I totally missed a write up of a local performance. More damning is that it was the debut performance of another Austin original.

So here I am again at Stubb's ( http://stubbsaustin.com/ ). I said it in a previous post (http://livemusicinaustin.blogspot.com/2011/06/ponder-this.html ), I love this inside stage. Takes me back to the garage, basement shows I saw in my late teens, early twenties in New Orleans, La. Very dark inside with the exposed ceiling. Bar to the back and bathrooms tucked away in almost impossible to find locations, BUT understand this is better because it is Stubb's. Access to the outside for you smokers from a door just to the side of the stage, a solo pool table cordoned off in another room and most importantly an A_M_A_Z_I_N_G view from the balcony/restaurant above the stage. The stage is well lit and the sound is great.

The Roosevelts ( http://www.facebook.com/theroosevelts ) had their debut performance at Stubb's inside. The band is fronted and founded by James Mason and Jason Kloess, formerly of EPMB fame (and more recently the cover band The Good Nights.) Well, no more cover songs here. With a whole new set list of originals, this band is ready to break out and breakthrough! The Roosevelts have that definitive "Austin sound". If you are from around here you know the sound can't be described. If you are not from around then do some music searches on the web, you will find those Austin bands and you will hear and feel that Austin sound The Roosevlets most adeptly keep to. The band also employs the standard arrangement of rhythm and lead guitars, bass and drums keeping tempo, but the keys really pull it all together.


The Roosevelts have melodies and lyrics that are both fun and moving. You hear the songs and are instantly drawn into them like you've heard them before. You are singing the hook two bars in. By the end of the night you will have picked out your favorite tune and will look forward to seeing this band again. I managed to be the outlaw, and against the venues 'strict' "NO VIDEO" soup nazi command at the door, I did capture and record the majority of the show. Watching it afterwards, shows the brilliance these two young men posses. Not just in writing the music and weaving the stories, but in the fun they have on stage! My girlfriend has a stupid band/musician crush on the lead singer and managed to sit and watch all of the video clips like she was at the show AND she has already picked out her new favorite misery...a track about a lady in white or a white dress. Very cool story told in song form, listen for it when you go to a show! Nonetheless my point is that she DID NOT attend the performance, but was still captivated by it. My friends, that is some powerful shit for a new band!

All of these things went through my mind as I watched their performance again on video. It was a VERY large crowd draw for a debut performance. James and Jason can say they have a devoted following. This is not bewildering for a new band, but amazing and admirable.



p.s. - because I was so busy bootlegging the show, I didn't take any photos. So I had to pull stills from some of the video.

Laters

Official. The Roosevelts announcement

All my friends, readers, fans and strangers

http://youtu.be/7UagfSyjUAc

Laters