michael favia

SXSWThe South by Southwest Interactive Festival doesn't begin for another three days, but a theme is already emerging: tools that tell your friends where you're at and help you find other interesting folks around you.

Known generally as geolocation, these programs zero in on your location, then broadcast that information to a selected group of followers. Austin's own Gowalla is one of the industry leaders, along with Foursquare. Both gained huge attention at last year's event, and have beefed up their services in anticipation of this year's festival.

Another big player just announced a move into geolocation. MG Siegler of TechCrunch, who predicted last month that location would be hot at SXSWi, reported today that Twitter turned on geolocation on its website today for the first time.

One promising newcomer is SitBy.Us, whose site allows you to share where you’re sitting at SXSW Interactive using your Twitter friends list.

If you're shy about sharing your whereabouts with the world but still want to build your network at SXSWi, festival organizers have made that easier through a special kind of bar code on every badge. When you let someone scan your badge with their smartphone, they automatically connect with you on the my.SXSW site, where they can send you messages or look up your contact information. Think of it as exchanging business cards, but without the messy paper part.

Team Clermont Team Clermont & MBV Music present the Official SXSW College Party
Thursday, March 18
Flamingo Cantina (515 E. 6th St.)
Free, 12pm-5 pm
[info]The avalanche of SXSW day party announcements continues, and here’s another one to add to your list: on Thursday the 15th, the Athens, Georgia-based PR and radio promotions powerhouse Team Clermont is teaming up with music blog aggregator MBV to present their now annual “SXSW College Party” at Flamingo Cantina.

They’ve cooked up all kinds of reasons to induce you to attend, first and foremost being the lineup, which includes notables Califone, Dengue Fever, and the excellent Collections of Colonies of Bees. They’ll also be giving away scads of free vinyl from various indie labels, which will be handily delivered in a tote bag designed by animator and poster designer Lauren Gregg.

Full lineup and set times (beginning at noon):

12:00 Venice Is Sinking [Official] [MySpace]
12:50 Jeremy Jay [MySpace]
1:40 Collections of Colonies of Bees [Official] [MySpace]
2:30 Jookabox [MySpace]
3:20 Dengue Fever [MySpace]
4:10 Califone [Official] [MySpace]
5:00 Special Guests!

BigGigAustinFor the past month, cities have been lobbying to be part of Google's planned ultra-high speed broadband network, bringing internet service to select markets at speeds up to 1 gigabit-per-second, or more than 100 times faster than many high-speed networks in the US today.

Austin city officials are preparing their official response to the company to illustrate why Austin is the best place for the high-speed service. Now there's a website that gives the community a chance to chime in as well.

Information at BigGigAustin.org tells you how to submit your nomination to make Austin the home for the gigabit network. Chip Rosenthal, the chair of the Austin Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission, unveiled the site today.

"What Google wants is a community that will step forward and make the project a success," Rosenthal said. "That's not something the Mayor can do, and that's not something the Chamber of Commerce can do. That's something that only we the people - the broadband citizens of Austin - can do."

On Wednesday, the telecom commission is holding a public forum at 7 pm in City Hall to discuss what this project means to Austin. The public is invited to speak on what they would do with a gigabit network, and give ideas on how to tell Austin's story to Google.

March 26 is the deadline for submitting nominations for the project.

Image from Merge Records KUT @ SXSW
Wednesday, March 17 - Saturday, March 20
Various Venues (Austin)
[info]

It’s a blessing living in a city with a radio station which offers consistent, quality music programming. But, when it comes time for SXSW, that fact doesn’t make things any easier for you. Rather, you just have that many more amazing choices for live music. There are worse things in this world though, seriously.

Not only will music fans be able to tune into KUT 90.5 or on the Web at kut.org to hear plenty of special SXSW programming, but many of the nine different live shows KUT is involved in will be broadcast live on the station. For example, for the first time KUT will be presenting free live music showcases from the lobby of the Austin Hilton Wednesday through Saturday beginning at 9am.

Also, the following artists are scheduled to appear live on KUT during SXSW: Harlem, Anais Mitchell, She & Him, The Strange Boys, Local Natives, Sleigh Bells, Surfer Blood, G-Side, and more. So, Stay tuned.

Follow the jump for all the details.

KUT’s LIVE MUSIC DURING SXSW:

KUT MORNINGS AT THE HILTON
Wednesday, March 17th
9am: Carrie Rodriguez; 9:45am: Hayes Carll; 10:35am: Brazos

Thursday, March 18th
9am: Dawes; 9:45am: Frightened Rabbit; 10:35am: Carolina Chocolate Drops

Friday, March 19th
9am: Elliott Brood; 9:45am: John Hiatt; 10:35am: Courtyard Hounds (Martie and Emily of the Dixie Chicks)

Saturday, March 20th
10am: Danny Barnes; 10:45am: Exene Cervenka; 11:35am: The Gourds

KUT SXSW DAY STAGE: Wednesday, March 17th @ Austin Convention Center
3pm: Bobby Bare Jr. with David Vandervelde; 4pm: Jason Collett; 5pm: Nneka

NPR’s SXSW SHOWCASE: Wednesday, March 17th @ Stubb’s
The show will be broadcast live on KUT.
8pm: Visqueen; 9pm: The Walkmen; 10pm: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings; 11pm: Broken Bells (James Mercer and Danger Mouse); 12:15am: Spoon

NPR MUSIC DAY SHOW, co-sponsored by KUT: Thursday, March 18th @ The Parish
1:30pm: Smith Westerns; 2:15pm: Brooklyn Rider; 3pm: Local Natives; 3:45pm: G-Side; 4:30pm: Surfer Blood; 5:15pm: Sleigh Bells

‘THE WORLD’ AND KUT PRESENT: ALL MUSIC IS WORLD MUSIC:Thursday, March 18th @ Momo’s
Marco Werman, host of ‘The World’, will curate and emcee.
8pm: Lingital; 9pm: Somi; 10pm: Mundo Livre S/A; 11pm: The Unthanks; 12am: ChocQuib Town; 1am: Gong Myoung

KUT’s SXSW MOMO'S SHOWCASE:Friday, March 19th
This show will also be broadcast live on KUT.
8pm: Kat Edmonson; 9pm: Sarah Jarosz; 10pm: Freedy Johnston; 11pm: Citizen Cope; 12am: Jon Dee Graham; 1am: Chuck Prophet

Image from Pitchfork Pitchfork/Windish Austin Party
Friday, March 19
Emos (603 Red River St)
Free, 12-6pm
[info] Pitchfork is coming to Austin, and they're working with the Windish Agency to once again throw a big, freakin' free party at Emo's.

This marks the fifth time such a party has gone down, and the list of performers is fierce, including Surfer Blood, Best Coast, Memory Tapes, and more. This party will take place at Emo's on both the outside stage and on the indoor stage, as the latter of which cutely becomes Emo's Jr. during SXSWtime.

Here's Pitchfork's advice concerning the bash: "The party is free and open to the public, but be warned: Lines get long if you don't show up early." As usual, Pitchfork will provide detailed coverage of the festival, which we can only hope will include a great deal of personal narration as well as rambling, first-person anecdotes.

Lineup after the jump:

The Pitchfork/Windish Austin Bash (Emo's, March 19):

12:00 - Warpaint (Emo's Jr.)
12:30 - Local Natives (Emo's)
1:00 - Javelin (Emo's Jr.)
1:30 - Free Energy (Emo's)
2:00 - Real Estate (Emo's Jr.)
2:30 - Washed Out (Emo's)
3:00 - Dâm-Funk (Emo's Jr.)
3:30 - Best Coast (Emo's)
4:00 - Memory Tapes (Emo's Jr.)
4:30 - Surfer Blood (Emo's)
5:00 - Neon Indian (Emo's Jr.)
5:30 - Japandroids (Emo's)

Japandroids: [website] [myspace]
Neon Indian: [myspace]
Washed Out: [myspace]
Best Coast: [myspace]
Surfer Blood: [myspace]
Memory Tapes: [myspace]
Real Estate: [myspace]
Free Energy: [myspace]
Local Natives: [website] [myspace]
Javelin: [myspace]
War Paint: [myspace]
Dâm-Funk: [myspace]

Arthouse Arthouse Visiting Lecturer Series: Sina Najafi
Thursday, March 11
George Washington Carver Museum (1165 Angelina Street)
7pm, free
[info]On Thursday, New York based Sina Najafi, the editor-in-chief of Cabinet Magazine, will be in town as part of the on-going Visiting Lecturer Series presented by Arthouse. The series began last fall as a way to bring world renowned figures in contemporary art to Austin to benefit our visuals artists and art community. In conjunction with the free lecture series, the program also brings art professionals to conduct studio visits with selected area artists.

Cabinet is an award winning quarterly magazine that explores art and culture using a cross-section of formats including regular columns, essays and special artists projects. Past projects have included build-it-yourself paper sculptures and printed drawings or photographs. Cabinet is also lauded for its intellectual and scholarly sensibilities and has been called the "secret best art magazine" by art critic Jerry Saltz. Cabinet's Iranian born Najafi was raised in England and has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, the Tate Modern, and everywhere in between.

While Arthouse's downtown gallery is closed for renovations the contemporary art powerhouse is dedicated to bringing art related programing to Austin. Najafi will speak at the Boyd Vance Theater at the George Washington Carver Museum on Thursday at 7pm - admission is free. Check out more information on upcoming lecture speakers and visiting artists over at the Arthouse website.

Seth Olenick

Comedian Doug Benson has spent the past several years working hard to lay claim to the title of America's top pot comic. His 6th place finish on NBC's Last Comic Standing in 2007, his regular appearances on VH1's Best Week Ever, and the documentary Super High Me, where Benson smoked pot continuously for 30 days, have all helped him stake that claim. In addition, Benson's also done his work on the ground, touring constantly over the last several years. (Last fall's "Medical Marijuana Tour" saw him perform in all 13 states with medical marijuana laws in as many days.) And if that's not enough to earn him the distinction of being America's hardest-working stoner, Benson also co-created the live show The MarijuanaLogues, which has played in clubs and theaters across the country.

In addition to his pot-centric pursuits, Benson also records a weekly podcast, I Love Movies, at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles, and released his latest comedy album, Unbalanced Load, on 4/20/2009.

And he's also coming to Austin. He'll be performing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at Cap City Comedy Club, and he'll also be hosting the SXSW Web Awards. Austinist caught up with Benson to ask a few questions about being identified as a pot comic, playing a mailman, and how he's just like George Clooney.

In 2008 your workload included 40-plus weekends on the road. Is that still true?

Yeah, it's still true. This year I've got gigs coming up in Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Raleigh, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Grand Rapids, and those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my drug-addled skull. I'm not complaining. I have fun on the road. I'm like George Clooney in Up In The Air, but instead of firing people I make them laugh. Or I get fired. By George Clooney. It's a vicious circle.

You made it pretty far in Last Comic Standing a few years back. What was that like?

I loved it because I didn't take it too seriously. I wanted to win, but I also wanted to be funny on network television. Even though I only came in sixth, the exposure I got from that show helped tremendously. I believe it helped me to get Super High Me made.

How much of your stage material relates to pot?

I like to say it isn't all about pot, but most of it is pot fueled.

Your last CD was recorded on April 20th and you're planning to record your next album on April 20th this year. What happens if something goes wrong—do you have to wait another year?

No, I'd try again the next day, or a week later, or whatever. It's always 4/20 somewhere, right? No, it isn't.

Between I Love Movies and Best Week Ever you must have an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture. Have you always been drawn to pop culture?

I've always been a TV and movie junkie. The only reading I do is books about TV and movies. So I have a lot of useless knowledge in my head to share with everyone whether they like it or not.

You're appearing on The Sarah Silverman Program next month. Can you tell us a little about the character you play?

In the first season I showed up briefly as a mailman. This time I show up slightly less briefly as... a mailman.

What else are you working on?

I'll be doing more live shows that are less traditional, like 4:20 matinees in towns like Chicago and Milwaukee, The Benson Interruption at Largo in Los Angeles once a month—that's a show where I host and sit onstage while the other comics do their acts and I interrupt them—and live tapings of my podcast in cities like Austin and Irvine, CA.

Yeah, Irvine, an hour away from where I live. I work hard for the money.

You're the creator of The Marijuana-Logues and starred in Super High Me. You're referred to as a "Stoner Comedian" and "Pot Comic." How comfortable are you with that?

By participating in so many pot projects, I pretty much have to be comfortable with it. What's the expression? I made my bed, so I should pass out on it.

• Mr & Mrs T and Rachael Ray’s Feedback Festival is scheduled to take place on March 20th at Stubb’s. Expect to enjoy quality sets from the likes of She & Him and Jakob Dylan and Three Legs, along with delicious Tex-Mex sliders, pulled pork tortitas, quesadilla suiza stacks, queso fundido taquitos, and albondigas subs. The drink menu is not too shabby either -- bloody marys, frozen daiquiris, piña coladas, plus margarita bars.
• Austin360.com has compiled the much-anticipated line-up for this year’s Levi's/Fader Fort (1101 E. 5th St.); a few headliners yet TBA.
• Our friends at WOXY host Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Frightened Rabbit, and We Were Promised Jetpacks, among others, for in-studio sessions at their lounge on 2130 S. Congress Ave. all through the week -- details / try your luck for a chance to attend.
• Rogue Wave, The Middle East, and Lissie are the featured artists at KCRW 89.9 FM’s official day showcase at the Austin Convention Center on March 20th (noon - 3pm); Miike Snow headline the Santa Monica station’s official evening showcase at the Galaxy Room Patio on the 17th. KCRW has also partnered up with Filter for the LA magazine’s annual extravaganza at Cedar Street Courtyard -- RSVP here for those stellar day shows.
• The Beatles Complete on Ukulele’s SXSW effort at Jaime’s Spanish Village on March 17th and 18th promises to be an intriguing affair. Roger Greenawalt (ukulele) and local favorites The Eggmen back a whole host of performing artists such as Ben Kweller and Drew Smith.

[Austinist SXSWist]
[Austinist SXSWist Party Guide]

In anticipation of SXSW, The LimeWire Store has released Ear to the Ground: Austin -- curated by Austinist -- featuring tunes by some of our favorite up and coming artists in town. The free download, available online here, includes tracks by Bear Claw, Yellow Fever, Beautiful Supermachines, TV Torso, My Milky Way Arms, Sunset, Burywood and more.

The bands were hand-picked by Austinist music writers and editor Paige Maguire.

At SX, The Limewire Store will make a splash at a couple of events. ODA/LimeWire Opening Day Bash will be March 17th at Emo's Annex, 600 Red River St. [noon-6pm]. There will be performances by Les Shelleys (Tom Brosseau and Angela Correa), A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Zeus, Summer Cats, Tobacco, The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!, Carsick Cars, Bear in Heaven, and Sleepy Sun. Plus, giveaways including free subscriptions to The LimeWire Store, T-shirts, and thumb drives loaded with Ear to the Ground: Austin.

Download the mix here.
Read a brief SXSW-related interview with Paige Maguire here.
Follow the jump for the full track-listing.

Tracklisting for Ear to the Ground: Austin

1. Corto Maltese - "The Heat Death Of The Universe"
2. Bear Claw - "Warm Winter/Cold Fall"
3. The Steps - "Blond Smoke"
4. Wild Harem - "Blue Voodoo"
5. My Milky Way Arms - "Helicopter"
6. YellowFever - "Culver City"
7. The Gary - "(Eyes In The) Tap Room"
8. Leatherbag - "Lines"
9. The Distant Seconds - "Between The Brackets"
10. TV Torso - "The Black Mask"
11. Wild America - "Mountain"
12. Follow That Bird! - "Where They Rest"
13. Lost Controls - "Contribute"
14. Beautiful Supermachines - "Oakland 2008"
15. Dikes of Holland - "Into the Ditches"
16. Sunset - "Sunshine Hair"
17. The Happen-Ins - "Be Yer Fool"
18. The Laughing - "Runner"
19. Brazos - "We Understand Each Other"
20. Burywood - "Things Which Give Us Pause"

• Test vote on unemployment extension bill today.
• Palin admits to making a run for the (Canadian) border for health care.
• So NOW Obama gets all mean to the insurance companies!
• Big surprise: home-schooling textbook market full of books that deny evolution.
• Hey, Toyota, you got more problems: Prius on California highway goes 94 mph against its driver's will.
• Canada came close to unigendering its anthem; at least, until citizens rebelled.
• It's Sandra vs. Halle in the race for the EGORT.

Image of the Coathangers from MySpace 2nd Annual Panache Pre-Party
Tuesday, March 16
Scoot Inn (1308 E. Fourth)
$10, Doors at 7pm
[info]

Get a head start on your own week-long hangover by partying on Tuesday of this year's SXSW. Amongst the many parties crystallizing on this date, the Scoot Inn looks to be especially rowdy with two stages worth of bands.

Outside we'll have Turbo Fruits, Golden Triangle, The Strange Boys, Thee Oh Sees and The Coathangers . On the inside stage, So Cow, Signals, Z's, Videohippos, and Baths will perform. Panache is a company that does booking for a living, so they're no strangers to putting on strong shows. They also have official showcases on Friday and Saturday.

Turbo Fruits: [myspace]
Golden Triangle: [myspace]
The Strange Boys: [myspace]
Thee Oh Sees: [myspace]
The Coathangers: [myspace]
So Cow: [myspace]
Signals: [myspace]
Z's: [myspace]
Videohippos: [myspace]
Baths: [myspace]

Image courtesy of BrooklynVegan BrooklynVegan & M for Montréal’s Official SXSW Daytime Party
Saturday, March 20
Galaxy Room (508 E. 6th St.)
Noon - 6 p.m. | Free
[info]Each year during SXSW, there are a handful of acts that you can’t get away from. They perform at every day show or after-party you attend, and their mugs are on every free piece of promotion handed to you. As always, there will be plenty of artists contending for that title of “omnipresent band” this year. But never mind the bands, it’s New York blog BrooklynVegan that seems to be leading the race to anoint itself as THE ubiquitous entity in Austin come mid-March.

BV’s list of events is quite impressive. This throwdown at Emo’s on the 17th and this metal/pizza bash at Hoeks on the 18th will surely satisfy yearning ears and hungry stomachs alike. The cream of the crop, however, may well be BV and M for Montréal’s official day party at Galaxy Room on the 20th. The two stages at the former Radio Room are set to feature some of Montréal’s finest such as Plants and Animals, DuChESS SayS, Think About Life, Beast, and The Besnard Lakes, along with fellow Canadians Holy Fuck and Jason Collett from Toronto, and Jonquière metal legends Voivod. Local Natives, Andrew WK, Suckers, Wye Oak, and the Austin dream team that is Roky Erickson with Okkervil River ensure that some U.S. talent is on offer as well. Seattle’s KEXP 90.3 FM plans to document all the revelry at this free show and Nudie Jeans will be on hand to give away goodies to lucky fans. And as if the line-up wasn’t mouthwatering enough, the lure of free treats from local favorite Daily Juice and the ever-popular wagon that is the Ice Cream Man should make this shindig a destination of choice come Saturday morning.

We’re eagerly awaiting the release of Roky Erickson’s True Love Cast Out All Evil, recorded with Okkervil River and produced by OR spearhead Will Sheff. The album is due next month but this SX provides numerous chances to witness the magic, live in concert, before the record hits the streets. We hope to see you at the Galaxy Room Main Stage at 4:50pm next Saturday; in the interim, enjoy this clip of Roky and the lads performing “You’re Gonna Miss Me” at Threadgill’s World HQ last March.

Main Stage: 4:55pm: Roky Erickson with Okkervil River; 4:15pm: Andrew WK; 3:15pm: Voivod; 2:30pm: Holy Fuck; 1:45pm: Think About Life; 1pm: The Besnard Lakes; 12pm: Wye Oak
Side Stage: 4:30pm: Local Natives; 3:45pm: Plants and Animals; 3pm: Suckers; 2:15pm: DuChESS SayS; 1:30pm: Beast; 12:30pm: Jason Collett

From Amelia\’s webplace Amelia Gray Reads
Monday March 8th
Austin Java - Parkway Location (1206 Parkway)
7pm - free!
[info]

If you made it through another Monday, celebrate! At Austin Java! Tonight at 7PM, ACC Literary Coffeehouse is presenting the author Amelia Gray followed by an open mic session for anyone willing to share their poetry, prose, monologues, etc. If you're not yet familiar with Amelia Gray, where have you been? Go to BookPeople right now and pick up a copy of her book AM/PM, a collection of work that is short, sharp and funny with some unforgettable characters.

And if you need lessons on cutting out the fluff (like Tuesday thru Thursday), visit the Dzanc Books website and sign up for her one day writing workshop on Saturday, March 20th. Ms. Gray's next book, Museum of the Weird, is forthcoming from Fiction Collective 2 in October 2010 and she is currently the cohost of Five Things! Austin.

With mere days left before you'll be armpit-deep in free taco-having, beer-spilling mayhem, now's a good chance to surf on over to our annual SXSWist microsite, our headquarters for all things festival-related.

Wednesday ViewIn addition to aggregating all of our coverage, we've brought back and upgraded our handy interactive party planner that first saw the light of day back in 2006. We're tracking over 350 parties starting this Friday and running through Sunday the 21st, broken down by day. There's also an integrated Google map, so you can see just where the shenanigans are taking place.

We're still adding events, and will be updating the guide as new listings (such as the soon-to-be-announced Fader Fort lineup) and corrections as they come in. If you have a tip, shoot us an email at SXSWist@austinist.com, or direct a tweet to @SXSWist.

[SXSWist]

Davis Ayer for Austinist/flickr

The 82nd annual Zilker Kite Festival, traditionally held on the first Sunday in March, has been pushed back a week to this coming weekend due to rain. Due to the schedule change, they're in desperate need for volunteers—you can help out by filling out this form.

Related:
Snapshots: The 80th Annual Zilker Kite Festival

Photo by Michael Starghill / blog.michaelstarghill.com

• DCist was down at the courthouse when the very first same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses in the District of Columbia.
• Gothamist heard more about Governor Paterson's many multiplying problems while dolphins frolicked in the East River.
• Phillyist debated the city's top pizzerias after Playboy included a local joint in its list of the country's best.
• SFist posted an over-the-top letter to the editor lambasting gifted comedian Dave Chappelle's Oakland performance, which led to a heated debate about humor, censorship, race and the transgender community.
• Seattlest honored Dr. Seuss' birthday by sharing their recipe for Green Eggs and Ham.
• Torontoist saw one its city's busiest intersections have a big week: on Sunday night, thousands congregated there for an impromptu party after the Canadian men's hockey team took Olympic gold, and on Tuesday afternoon, one brave young man streaked across it for a school project.
• Shanghaiist, after coming across an absolutely abhorrent list of Chinese foods in China to introduce to foreign visitors, decided to write up some better recommendations.
• Bostonist went to the White Snake opera, but no '80s metal was involved.
• LAist heard about a panel of former Scientologists who say they endured 100-hour work weeks for $50 in pay, were billed for thousands after leaving, and were made to sign billion-year contracts.
• Chicagoist took a few moments to ponder: where in the White House could President Obama sneak in a smoke?
• Houstonist had the good fortune to get an interview and a couple of exclusive songs from local glam-revivalists Roky Moon & Bolt, and became giddy thinking about the Astros in spring training.
• Londonist had a poke around Gotham City police headquarters and Sherlock Holmes's favourite catacombs, a.k.a.the Farmiloe Building and the fantastically-named Clerkenwell House of Detention.

• Iraqis turn out in solid numbers to vote
• Obama takes health care message on the road (again)
• US eases sanctions to promote Web use in Cuba, Iran, Sudan
• The week in surveillance: Pentagon-Backed Venture Aims for "Google Underground"
• "Space Summit" slated for April in Florida
• Opinion: Will democracy in Iraq vindicate Bush?
• Kathryn Bigelow wins first Oscar for a female director, just in time for International Women's Day

Image from Austin Vinyl 1st Annual Austin Vinyl Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, March 6
Progress Coffee (500 San Marcos)
3-7pm
[info]

Do you like vinyl? How about scavenger hunts? In your greatest and most ambitious dreams, have you even dared to imagine combining the two? Well. This Saturday, teams will be formed, vinyl will be scavenged, and there will be prizes.

Have you checked out the website Austin Vinyl yet? It's a site all about records, record collectors and more from our fair city, and this scavenger hunt is their brainchild.

Here's How it Works

1. Your team needs to sign up, which you can do here or just by sending them an email with your team name and the number of players you're going to have. The minimum is one (duh), and the maximum is four.

2. Make sure, after signing up, that your team has at least one digital camera and one car between the 1-4 of you, as well as 20-30 dollars and a "ton of energy."

3. Meet at Progress Coffee at 3pm for your objectives.

That's it! Your objectives will be detailed when you arrive. Prizes include shirts, vinyl, gift certificates, etc. Happy hunting.

Artist MySpace MURAL / Vic Firth and the Lutherans
Saturday, March 6
Austin Art & Music Partnership (411 West Monroe)
$8-$15, 8 PM-10:30 PM
[info] It's no surprise that the Norwegian-Australian trio Mural (comprised of percussionist Ingar Zach, guitarist Kim Myhr and reedman Jim Denley) will find a fitting home in the semi-rarified spiritualism of Houston's Rothko Chapel on Thursday night. Their music - popping, fluttering woodwinds, plaintive but terse guitar rattle and airy bells and gongs - certainly stands in respectful relief to Mark Rothko's malleable color fields. It will be equally interesting to see how they transform the space of Austin's AAMP on Saturday night. Mural's music, which at times recalls Tony Scott's Music for Zen Meditation as well as English sound artists like Clive Bell and Sylvia Hallett, is both cavernous and intimate, much like the Austin Art and Music Partnership space.

Norway has been giving the area a spring blitz this year, with Frode Gjerstad's trio coming through in February and the Oslo-Chicago group Free Fall hitting on March 12. What's particularly great is that all three of these groups are very different, with Mural being the furthest from traditional jazz and improvised music structures.

Vic Firth and the Lutherans, a trio comprised of Austin percussionists Chris Cogburn and Nick Hennies, along with Bay Area guitarist (and former Austinite) Kurt Newman, opens the concert.

Mural Myspace