As heartbroken as we are about the loss of Dart Bowl last week, it’s important that we remember the people who made it such a special place for so many years, many of whom are now out of work. A longtime Dart Bowl league player, a former employee himself, has organized a GoFundMe effort to put together some help for former Dart Bowl staffers as they begin the hunt for new gigs.
The Siamese Dream record from Smashing Pumpkins is a prominent piece of the soundtrack of my first years in Austin in the early ’90s – their 1994 gig at Southpark Meadows on that tour was one of the first big rock shows I experienced in my new hometown. A new take on that alt-rock masterpiece is on the way from Fruit Bats, as part of the Sounds Delicious subscription program from Turntable Kitchen. You may have heard their new take on “Today” this morning on the show – if not, it’s at the link.
For my wife and myself, Hopfields has become our knee-jerk “date place” over the last few years, and their survival in the pandemic situation has thus been a source of worry for us. A new piece in Eater details the efforts they’ve undergone to hang on – really hoping they’ll make it, as their Pascal Burger is my favorite on the planet, and a future without it is frankly too frightening to imagine.
Eddie Vedder took part in a recent episode of sportscaster Joe Buck’s fatherhood podcast Daddy Issues, during which he discusses his own late father, who was part of the subject matter of Pearl Jam’s first single “Alive”.
Considering that we’ll not have an Austin City Limits Music Festival this year, memories of the 2019 run are especially valuable – for me, the chance to have seen The Cure twice in eight days is a major part of that. They’ve discussed the new music we’ve been expecting in NME, and are certainly setting up some lofty expectations.
As the COVID crisis began, you’ll recall the short-list of famed musicians who initially came down with the disease – tragically including John Prine, who didn’t make it, but also our own Ray Benson, leading to much concern. Ray made it though, and has told his story to the Austin Chronicle.
Have a great weekend y’all – looks like rain, maybe.
