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From The Mind Of Adi: Adi-Fest II Recap
The highlights of my birthday party at The Mohawk last Friday are captured below courtesy of photographs by Nash Cook, Cynthia Rodriquez, and others. It was an amazing evening -- ridiculously awesome live sets by StABBA and BANG, and a late-night dance-floor furnished by Team Fabrication, along with plenty of good times, bits of debauchery, and a magical crowd-surfing moment made this is an unforgettable night.
StABBA

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I enjoyed three quality days of music in Toronto at this year's NXNE festival. Check out my recaps on Austinist -- Day One | Days Two & Three and enjoy some choice photographs below to boot.
With Graham Williams & Audrie San Miguel, NXNE HQ, Hyatt Regency, 6.18.09
Black Lips, Yonge Dundas Square, 6.18.09

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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Matt Ragland’s Firsts! This time, we examine what inspired Matt Ragland from Nelo. Catch Nelo’s poignant folk-pop ditties at La Zona Rosa next Thursday; the show is a release party for their latest EP Two Years Ago.

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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Richard Henry’s Firsts! This time, we examine what inspired local DJ Richard Henry. You can catch him spinning the beats at a number of upcoming events in town, including the 2 Live Crew show on June 25th at The Mohawk.

1st favorite song: “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino. I used to sit and listen to the radio when I was little and always try to pick up shortwave radio stations that catered to songs of that time.

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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Jen Rea’s Firsts! This time, we examine what inspired Jenifer Rea, fashion designer and DJ, and one half of the lovable duo that is Team Fabrication. Head down to Antone’s tonight and check out Team Fab’s wares and wears at The Summer Sizzle Fashion Show; buy Jen Rea a Birthday drink to boot.

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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Nancy Whang’s Firsts! This time, we examine what inspired Nancy Whang, keyboardist for LCD Soundsystem and vocalist for The Juan MacLean through the years. Whang will be in town this Friday, performing at The Mohawk as a part of The Juan MacLean’s live show.

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General Admission: This week, we present our interview with The Steps at the Zilker Botanical Garden on April 18th. Check it out below to learn more about the band’s history, Steps-mania in Japan, and release date information for their upcoming EP as well as their second full-length. The Steps headline Antone’s tonight.
General Admission Archives:
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BreakThru Radio, out of NYC, is doing its bit in bringing the best independent music to the internet airwaves by allowing regular people (like me!) to play (almost) anything we’d like. BTR hit me up to start an Austin music show for its website in late 2007. Since early 2008, I have been hosting River Runs Red, an hour showcasing the best music from Austin, from The Mohawk to Antone’s (and beyond), and from White Denim to Grupo Fantasma (and beyond). Transmission Entertainment was kind enough to post information about the show on this site in July '08 (a couple of weeks before From The Mind Of Adi’s launch in August '08).
Earlier this week, the twelfth edition of River Runs Red hit BTR. Check it out via BTR’s website and jam out to past River Runs Red shows (further) below.

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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: James Moody’s Firsts! This time, we examine what inspired James Moody, co-owner of The Mohawk through the years. Moody is a legend to many of us but anything I write about him (genius, icon, did I say legend already?) would not sum him up as well as this blurb on his own Facebook page – “rambler. rhinestone cowboy. wanderer. spelunker. spirit animal. chief. home skillet. mule. mega. tonto.” Enough said.


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General Admission: This week, we present our video recap of Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau’s party at Antone’s on February 26th. The event, entitled Come Hang, marked the release of ACVB’s Austin Music Volume Eight CD. The recap features our interviews with Dan Dyer, Drew Smith, Kat Edmondson, and Guy Forsyth, and a few live clips of those artists as well.
General Admission Archives:
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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Jeramy Neugent from Learning Secrets’ Firsts! This time, we examine what inspired Jeramy Neugent from Learning Secrets through the years. The Nuge spins the beats this Saturday at Beauty Bar as a part of Learning Secrets’ latest event. RSVP to get in for free!

1st favorite song: Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.
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General Admission: This week, we present our interview with The Calm Blue Sea at The Mohawk from last Friday. The band will perform at the venue this Sunday with The Twilight Sad and My Education.
General Admission Archives:


Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Ben Brown and Jeff Brown from No Show Ponies’ Firsts! This time, we examine what inspired these two brothers that comprise No Show Ponies. The band was a part of local PR firm Giant Noise’s “PR Lab” boot camp which taught musicians how to best market themselves. The brothers Brown visited the Giant Noise twice a week and received tips on writing press releases, media alerts, and more. Head down to Club de Ville tonight to catch No Show Ponies live, away from the office and on stage, as they deliver poignant Americana ditties aplenty. And pick up their debut full-length The End of Feel Good Music while you’re there. The band goes on at 9 p.m.

1st favorite song:
Ben Brown: "Science Fiction Double Feature" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. My aunt introduced my brother Jeff and I to this film when we were quite young. She had gathered an assortment of the famous audience-participation props (cigarette lighter, pieces of toasted bread, etc.) and a VHS copy of the film. I remember watching those infamous red lips sing this song during the opening credits and being transported into another world. Some say I've never fully recovered...
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Metallica at SXSW? Surely not. I kept hearing the rumors, confirmations, and what not. It was hard to believe. But it made sense. Guitar Hero: Metallica was due for its release and what better way to get everyone stoked for the game than by giving the masses the real deal for one night only. And at Stubb’s, a minuscule venue compared to the usual arenas and stadiums Metallica is used to.
So Friday the 20th came along. I had already enjoyed SPIN’s day show at Stubb’s but I returned at 8 p.m. and slipped in quietly (and legally), avoiding the long lines and the hordes of people camped all around Stubb’s. After enjoying the end of Silversun Pickups’ set and “Fuel” by three Guitar Hero contest winners, I was all set. I camped out near stage right, right up front, and I could not have been better placed for the metal mayhem that was to ensue. “Creeping Death.” “For Whom The Bell Tolls.” “Harvester Of Sorrow.” “One.” Bang. Bang. Bang Bang. In what could be ranked as Top 10 (err maybe Top 30) starts to a show – all-time – Metallica grabbed the audience by the scruff of its neck, held ‘em in their powerful fist-o-metal, exhilarated and inspired, caused much ear damage, and then did it all over again.

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Mess With Texas, the ultimate fill-in-the-blanks opportunity for one to close out SXSW week by catching all the bands they aimed to check out all week but were unable to. This year, Transmission Entertainment, along with F Yeah Fest put together another stellar line-up for the “one day Fun Fest” at Waterloo Park on the 21st. Some of my personal highlights follow!

Vivian Girls / Stage One / 4:40 p.m.: Vivian Girls, from Brooklyn, were definitely in the running for the title of “having played the most shows this week in Austin.” Having missed seven (or eight) of their performances in town already during SXSW week, and having loved their self-titled debut full-length for the last month or so, I had to catch their set this afternoon and they did not disappoint. This modern day version of a 60’s girl group turned in 40 minutes of harmonies and reverb aplenty, and Cassie Ramone and Kickball Katy constantly engaged the energetic crowd with cheerful banter. They covered WAVVES, almost covered WAVVES twice per the audience’s request, and charmed the attendees with a plethora of noise-pop nuggets.

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The whirlwind that is SXSW has come and gone. Transmission Entertainment’s venues were home to some of the finest action during the week. Here are some photographs from Club de Ville, The Mohawk, Red 7, and Radio Room. Stay tuned to From The Mind of Adi for a Mess With Texas recap in a few days.
Telekinesis, The Mohawk, 3.18

Here We Go Magic, The Mohawk, 3.18

Young Widows, The Mohawk, 3.18

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From The Mind Of Adi #27: General Admission
General Admission: This week we present our interview with The Black Angels at the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture on the 21st of last month. The band is gearing up for Psych Fest #2, a three day celebration of all things psychedelia. The event is curated by The Black Angels and takes place at Radio Room all weekend.
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General Admission: There is no shortage of intriguing spots around Austin and there are definitely plenty of interesting musicians in town -- this week, FTMOA brings you its brand new series called “General Admission” where William Mills and I interview bands in various locations, some picked up by the artists themselves, others willingly selected by us. Our first two interviews are posted below – the first one is with Built By Snow at Arcade UFO (1.19.09) and the second is with The Eastern Sea at Auditorium Shores (2.9.09)
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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Marcos Cabral and Jacques Renault from Runaway’s Firsts! I hope you enjoyed my personal Firsts, James Petralli from White Denim’s Firsts, Chris Rose’s Firsts, JP from Built By Snow’s Firsts, Lauren Larson from Ume’s Firsts, John Farmer from What Made Milwaukee Famous’ Firsts, Martín Perna from Ocote Soul Sounds’ Firsts, and Adrian Quesada’s Firsts. This time, we examine what inspired Marcos Cabral and Jacques Renault from Runaway through the years. Catch Runaway at Beauty Bar this Saturday the 28th.

1st favorite song:
Marcos: Carmen Miranda's "Mama Yo Quiero" I think I was around six years old when I first heard this on the cartoon Tom and Jerry. It used to drive me crazy...in a good way.
Jacques: Beethoven's “Violin Concerto, Movement #3.” My mom would only have the classical radio station on and it was the only one I could really recognize.
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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Adrian Quesada's Firsts! I hope you enjoyed my personal Firsts, James Petralli from White Denim's Firsts, Chris Rose's Firsts, JP from Built By Snow's Firsts, Lauren Larson from Ume's Firsts, John Farmer from What Made Milwaukee Famous' Firsts, and Martín Perna from Ocote Soul Sounds' Firsts. This time, we examine what inspired Adrian Quesada (Grupo Fantasma, Brownout!, Ocote Soul Sounds, etc.) through the years. Catch Quesada and Brownout! tonight at Lamberts.

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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Martín Perna's Firsts! I hope you enjoyed my personal Firsts, James Petralli from White Denim's Firsts, Chris Rose's Firsts, JP from Built By Snow's Firsts, Lauren Larson from Ume's Firsts, and John Farmer from What Made Milwaukee Famous' Firsts. This time, we examine what inspired Martín Perna from Ocote Soul Sounds through the years.


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What Next?: Monotonix @ Red 7 this Friday!
Any plans this Friday? Cancel 'em and head to Red 7 to witness Israeli legends Monotonix in all their glory. The three-piece annihilated The Mohawk last October, turning in a ridiculously outrageous performance -- beer flying everywhere, the singer climbing up everything, trashcans being dumped on band members, the audience transporting instruments while the band played on, and yes, fire. I had my shirt off. I didn't know what hit me. Oh, and not that it matters (it really doesn't when it comes to these guys' ferocious live show), the band churns out some pretty spankin' rock 'n' roll. Drag City released Monotonix's Body Language record in 2008.
Check out this video below from the show at The Mohawk and some photographs here.

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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: John Farmer's Firsts! I hope you enjoyed my personal Firsts, James Petralli from White Denim's Firsts, Chris Rose's Firsts, JP from Built By Snow's Firsts, and Lauren Larson from Ume's Firsts. This time, we examine what inspired John Farmer from What Made Milwaukee Famous through the years.

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This week has already been special. Here's a bonus edition of From The Mind Of Adi to add to all the glory.
Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Lauren Larson's Firsts! I hope you enjoyed my personal Firsts, James Petralli from White Denim's Firsts, Chris Rose's Firsts, and JP from Built By Snow's Firsts. This time, we examine what inspired Lauren Larson from Ume through the years. Ume celebrates the release of Sunshower this Saturday at The Mohawk.

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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: JP's Firsts! I hope you enjoyed my personal Firsts, James Petralli from White Denim's Firsts, and Chris Rose's Firsts. This time, we examine what inspired JP from Built By Snow through the years. Built By Snow celebrates the release of MEGA this Saturday at Club de Ville.
We interviewed Built By Snow this past Monday evening at Arcade UFO -- check it out via Roxwel's site.

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From The Mind Of Adi #18: Chris Rose's Firsts
Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Car Stereo (Wars)'s Firsts! I hope you enjoyed my personal Firsts and James Petralli from White Denim's Firsts. This time, we examine what inspired Car Stereo (Wars) (a.k.a. mash-up guru Chris Rose) through the years. Car Stereo (Wars) spins the beats at Beauty Bar this Saturday the 17th.

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Austinist Indieroke celebrated its one year anniversary inside at The Mohawk on New Year's Eve with many an exhilarating performance and quite a few comical efforts as well. Some inspired others to get on stage and pick up the mic, others cleared the room with their vocal chops, but everyone surely had a blast. We even had a few local stars turn up and turn in their best renditions of classic ditties. Car Stereo (Wars), a.k.a. Chris Rose, had the masses dancing up a storm outside all night. Nash Cook and I documented the revelry – as I always say, pictures tell the story best!
White Denim's James Petralli, fiancée Elaine McDonald, and friend:

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What Next?: Austinist Indieroke One Year Anniversary + Car Stereo (Wars) (New Year's Eve @ The Mohawk)
The previously advertised Austinist Indieroke, scheduled to take place last Saturday the 27th, has been moved to New Year's Eve! Join us on Wednesday starting at 9 p.m. and sing all your favorite ditties, and then head to the dance floor for some fine mash-ups courtesy of Car Stereo (Wars). All for $5! Champagne at midnight to boot.

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Five Memorable Moments: This time – Five magical interviews at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2008.
As I mentioned previously, Austinist and Roxwel teamed up with Transmission Entertainment at this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest to interview much of the talent in action. Here are five of the special moments we were fortunate enough to share with a few of our favorite artists.

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Five Memorable Moments: This time – memories of SXSW.

It would be impossible to sum up of all the exciting times I've experienced at SXSW and by no means is this initial list of memories a comprehensive recollection of my many years of SXSW revelry. Regardless, here are some choice moments, in no particular order, from the ten plus years I've been lucky enough to be in Austin in mid-March.

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What Next?: Austinist Indieroke One Year Anniversary, December 27th at The Mohawk

It's hard to believe it has already been year since Austinist had its first karaoke party at the 'hawk last December. What started out as an evening of keeping busy during the Christmas lull, singing indie and not-so-indie classics with friends, has turned into a fairly consistent occurrence.
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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: James Petralli's Firsts! I hope you enjoyed my personal Firsts; this time, we examine what inspired White Denim's James Petralli through the years.

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As I mentioned in my Day One recap, the 2008 Fun Fun Fun Fest brought some incredible punk, hip hop, indie, electronica, and comedy acts to Waterloo Park in Austin in early November. The result was a mouthwatering buffet of an assortment of musical genres to satisfy our appetites. The stellar lineup had a fair balance of local and national talent and I was lucky enough to have the honor of interviewing a number of the artists in the Austinist media tent at the fest. The Austinist and Roxwel teamed up with Transmission Entertainment to conduct 54 (has to be some sort of record!) interviews in two days – most of the individual interviews are still being edited and will be available on Roxwel's site in due time, but we can offer a couple of early, sneak-peak recaps -- Day One and Day Two. Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy some action from my Day Two at Fun Fest below!

On Sunday, our initial afternoon interview schedule was light so the Austinist and Roxwel early birds decided to take a walk to the Indie Stage. Til We're Blue Or Destroy really seem to be finding its feet of late and although I wasn't able to stick around for the set, I did watch them investigate a few songs during their soundcheck (pictured above). I have seen this band live quite a few times on Red River St. and the multi-faceted collective and its novel compositions seem to be getting better and better with time. Ume has been receiving rave reviews as well and Lauren Larson is a true rock star on stage. I took in quite few of Ume's crunching rock ditties before making my way back to the media tent.
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The 2008 Fun Fun Fun Fest brought some incredible punk, hip hop, indie, electronica, and comedy acts to Waterloo Park in Austin last weekend and the result was a mouthwatering buffet of an assortment of musical genres to satisfy our appetites. The stellar lineup had a fair balance of local and national talent and I was lucky enough to have the honor of interviewing a number of the artists in the Austinist media tent at the fest. The Austinist and Roxwel teamed up with Transmission Entertainment to conduct 54 (has to be some sort of record!) interviews in two days – most of the individual interviews are still being edited and will be available on Roxwel's site in due time, but we can offer a couple of early, sneak-peak recaps -- Day One and Day Two.

I arrived at Waterloo Park bright 'n' early at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday the 8th, as evidenced above. By 10, I was enjoying The Dead Milkmen's energetic soundcheck and sticking around to ensure they made the short trip to our media tent for the first interview of the festival. The band spent a good twenty minutes with us, going over countless classic anecdotes, and their families were equally friendly, thoroughly enjoying the spotlight thrust upon their fathers and significant others.
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TEN REASONS: Exploring the pros versus the cons of a pop culture phenomenon. Today's topic: SPI Music Fest at South Padre Island, October 31st – November 2nd. (Lineup)
South Padre Island -- what you do to me. The first thing that comes to the mind of adi when that little party spot in Texas is mentioned = SPRING BREAK '99. Sure that was a while back but the memories of those debaucherous days, including a Toadies concert at Charlie's, and tons of late night poolside fun (not to mention countless beer bong efforts), have me desiring a second bite at it. So it's no surprise that I'm heading back to check out this little music festival taking place all over the island during Halloween weekend. But should you join me? That question needs some closer examination.

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From The Mind Of Adi #8: R.I.P. Lucy's Retired Surfer's Bar.
Now fulfilling the fine citizens of San Marcos, Lucy's was one once a 6th St. staple in Austin. The space that used to be Lucy's Retired Surfer's Bar is now motoring on as The Chugging Monkey -- Andy Roddick thinks it's good and so do tons of college kids probably. But I have to give a shout-out to some classic Lucy phenomenons -- "Power Hour" when the blinking light and siren announced that it was $1 drinks for the hour, Jello-Fest (a plethora of bands, tons of slimy jello, wrestling included, and plentiful sausage wraps), and of course the many BANG shows.
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Firsts: Sh*te that happened before other sh*te happened.
Today: Adi’s firsts!
1st favorite song: “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel.
Yes, it was probably Christie Brinkley who did it."
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A Look Back: Exploring the rich history of live music in Austin.
Today’s topic: Fugazi @ Liberty Lunch in 1995.
Growing up, I had a fair share of musical acts recommended to me,
primarily via two personal sources, besides the staple radio and
television suggestions. My father entrusted me with some of his finest
tapes – quite a wide variety – Black Sabbath, Kraftwerk, Simon &
Garfunkel, and The Police. My cousins’ collections turned out to be a
useful secondary supply and would lead to the hair metal mania that duly took over the Mind of Adi until the early 90s. Yes, thank them for the RATT in me. All was not lost, though – I would continue to find time for
cheese-free acts like INXS, U2, Crowded House, and Midnight Oil.
Still, there was work to be done, more musical education to be
acquired, and more live concerts to attend...all of which would change
my life.
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A Look Back: Exploring the rich history of live music in Austin.
Today’s topic: Garbage @ Liberty Lunch (R.I.P.) in 1996.
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Welcome to our new Thursday column, FROM THE MIND OF ADI, written by local music writer Adi Anand. We have no way of controlling what he'll say in this column as the weeks come and go...his mind is like a wild stallion that grimaces at the thought of rein and bridle. So, we just let him go off on whatever's on his mind each week here on the Transmission site and hope he doesn't hurt anyone or destroy any large buildings in the process. Of course, we can guarantee nothing, so consider this our official disclaimer.
Greetings, friends.
TEN REASONS: Exploring the pros versus the cons of a pop culture phenomenon.
Today’s topic: Rock The Bayou in Houston, August 29th to September 1st. [Check out this amazing line-up]
Observe.
Obviously,
at first glance, this seems like an amazing opportunity for even the
most selective music fan. Who among us wouldn’t hit this up? But
let's not get ahead of ourselves. To be more objective, let’s dig in
and really evaluate the options here.

Ok, this is a radio show that is DJ'd by the only person in the world that we know that got an email from Iron Maiden wishing him happy birthday this year (true - I saw it). In fact, you want the f-ing truth? Here it is:
Nuff said. He seeks out hair metal festivals in the Oklahoma territories, wears maiden slip on vans, knows the rock the bayou line up front to back, has a mean back hand, and will call in sick to drive to El Paso to see Cinderella. He's one of the great warrior kings of our metal, hairband, and glam rock pasts...and we love him for it. This great past also serves as a healthy foundation for knowing his indie rock future and the like. He gets today's music better than anyone.
The radio show is posted on break thru radio , and will be like pouring fun dip in your ear. It's full of local flava and is perfectly curated (except for White Denim oversight...but we know that's coming).
This ain't your mamas radio show...but it should be. Here's the schedule for this show:

00:01 DJ Adi
00:14 Know By Heart-The American Analog Set
03:00 Evil Ape-The Black and White Years
06:04 Bossa Nova # 7-Black Before Red
10:00 DJ Adi
10:15 Battle School-Blackholicus
12:41 The Sundering-The Sword
14:42 The Frost Giant's Daughter-The Sword
19:42 DJ Adi
19:53 Down On You-Ringo Deathstarr
23:09 Like A Rocket-The Bubbles
26:09 Juliana-Built By Snow
29:37 DJ Adi
29:48 The Man I Don't Remember-The Channel
32:39 Trumpets-Zookeeper
38:38 Always-You Were Always
42:48 DJ Adi
43:01 Mark David Chapman-...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
47:12 Heavy Heart-Ghostland Observatory
51:18 Maze Song-The Fever Dreams
58:10 Quickie-The Quitters
58:49 DJ Adi
You can also now subscribe to River Runs Red via iTunes (free of course) and it'll download automatically into your Podcasts section each month. Be sure to cut and paste this entire link, including the itpc part -- itpc://breakthruradio.com/_xml/podcast.php?dj_id=53 <http://breakthruradio.com/_xml/podcast.php?dj_id=53> <http://breakthruradio.com/_xml/podcast.php?dj_id=53>
Long live Adi. He is Austin's Venus Fly Trap. The ladies love it.