Gatekeeping is a touchy — and chronically over-debated — subject these days, in music as well as other places. Some think musical gatekeeping has its place, some think it’s invariably bad, but let’s face it:[…]
Continue reading …
Category: artist feature
Artist interview: S.L. Houser heeds her “phantom limb” as her solo career moves forward
Sara Houser’s long-developed reputation in Austin’s music community hasn’t come by way of putting herself out there as a solo artist. Yet, in emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic with solo billing and a new musical direction, the Austin[…]
Continue reading …
Artist interview: “Something greater than me” provides voltage for Kalu & the Electric Joint
Sounding somewhere between a spiritual advisor and a guide showing us where the road diverts to doomsday, Kalu James introduced Kalu & the Electric Joint’s song “Downfall” during Weekend 2 of ACL Music Festival by quoting its[…]
Continue reading …
Artist interview: On heels of disco-pian single, Caleb De Casper calls for learning “to exist around each other”
(Photo by Phil Kline) Note: This article by Ear Traffic’s Joey Berlin originally appeared in the inaugural issue of Hornmag, a new Texas art and lifestyle magazine, in September 2024. The magazine can be found online[…]
Continue reading …
Show preview: Internally battle-tested DIIV hits Emo’s Friday
(Photo by Louie Kovatch) Somewhat quietly — which is a bit ironic, given its stormy history — DIIV has emerged as one of the best indie rock bands around, and certainly a standard-setter for[…]
Continue reading …
Artist interview: The love and reverence of We Don’t Ride Llamas, and the rage that dug the “(2-inch) Grave”
(Courtesy photo: We Don’t Ride Llamas) Everyone who lived through Winter Storm Uri — more commonly known to Texans as “Snowpocalypse,” Ted Cruz’s infamous dereliction of duty, or simply the 2021 storm that broke Texas’[…]
Continue reading …