MIRROR TRAVEL (formerly Follow That Bird)

If – over the past few weeks – you’ve asked me who’s been on my radar, it’s likely I’ve responded with an almost incoherent ramble about Follow That Bird. It’s also likely you’ve exclaimed, “Oh! They sound like Electrelane…” upon hearing current single “Wooden Bones”. While that’s a fair and accurate description of their work, there’s more to this trio than meets the eye.

Holed away in Austin, Texas, apparently neither drummer Tiffanie Lanmon, guitarist Lauren Green nor bassist Paul Brinkley have ever heard of the Brighton post-rock pioneers. Which explains the rampant and fresh energy they pour into each song – they’re not rehashing anyone’s ground, they’re creating their own, thanks very much. That – in doing so – they reminisce on the music of a British band only implies their creative direction and sonic aspirations. I’m not going to complain about that – and neither should you.

Over the past few years the band have gone from strength to strength: they’ve performed at SXSW countless times, contributed to Matador Records’ Casual Victim Pile compilation, released several EPs through Austin art collective Monofonus, and signed to Seattle indie label Mt. Fuji Records at the beginning of the year.

Fresh from their tour with …And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead, Lanmon and Green took some time out to talk to DrunkenWerewolf’s Tiffany Daniels about Big Bird, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and losing their jeggings on tour.

How long have you been together,how did you form and what made you start a band?

Lauren and Tiffanie started playing together in high school and Paul has been in the band for about a year now. He’d expressed interest in joining the band when we all met – he used to joke that he’d wear a wig if we’d let him play – but really just the timing was never right.

What type of bird are you following? Does your name refer to Sesame Street?

Bird birds, of course! Our name isn’t a reference to Sesame Street but we’ve been told to stop telling the story because it’s not as good as the folklore. People believe we were named after [Big Bird’s Follow That Bird movie] but we really were named after [the Follow that Bird! Dora the Exporer book]. Does it make it better that we found the book while buying spray paint?

You’re signed to Mt. Fuji Records – who are based in Seattle – but you live in Austin. What are the connotations of signing to a label so far away from home? How did you get involved with them?

So far signing to a label far from home has meant grand tours of fish ladders and the ship locks of Ballard! As far as any connotations though, I’m not sure it has one since the label is still from the US – it’s not uncommon for a band to sign to a label in another city. Seattle came a courtin’ and we can’t say we didn’t have a crush on it already.

Michael contacted us after hearing “The Ghosts That Wake You” on the Matador Casual Victim Pile compilation. He was really enthusiastic about our song and about the potential of working together, which was really exciting. As most things go, some stars aligned and we were able to meet him during SXSW last year. We kept in contact through email and phone calls and decided to release the Wooden Bones 7” together as well as an upcoming full length on the label. We knew we’d made the right choice when we saw Michael worked at a bar with a good jukebox, pool table, and a menu with champagne and tater tots on it.

Follow That Bird songs have also been released on Matador and you self-released your debut EP. Do you have any plans to release an album and, if so, what label will it come out on?

Absolutely. We’re going to start recording our full length album that will be released on Mt. Fuji after we return from tour. We’re planning on recording our full length out in Marfa, TX. We were given a tour of a studio out there when we were in town playing on our last tour and all fell in love with the space…but I mean, what else are you going to do to a studio out in the desert?



The Austin music scene is usually associated with country and jazz. What’s the local indie rock scene like? Who do you consider as peers?

It tends to lean more towards the garage end of the spectrum. The Casual Victim Pile compilations are real fine examples of what’s going on – Dikes of Holland, Holy Wave, Horse + Donkey.



Austin is “The Live Music Capital of the World”. How does it qualify? Which is the best venue to play in, and which is the worst?

You could probably watch a show at any minute of the day in Austin so we’d say it qualifies by quantity. There’s plenty of great bands to see live…but there’s also like, a bunch of old dudes playing Stevie Ray Vaughn. We tend to stick to the clubs on Red River Street – mostly Beerland or Mohawk.

As far as the worst club? We don’t wanna name names…but if had to, Trophy’s.

Have you found it hard to stand out in such a saturated music scene, or do you find the network more supportive than detrimental?

There are a lot of bands doing a lot of good things so it can be hard to stand out. Another catch is everybody here is in a band so half the crowd play music in some capacity so, while they are supportive, they’re also in need of a leg up themselves. We support one another as much as we can.

I know you played SXSW this year, but have you played it before? As native Austinites, how involved do you get with the festival?

We’ve played SXSW a few years now, but only the last two “officially”. The official SXSW scene gets to be a little overwhelming though and you don’t really need an official showcase. We actually prefer to play the unofficial shows going on all over the East side of town.

We got involved with the unofficial side of the festival around 2006 – someone just asked us to play a house show. There were probably only 20 people there but it was a blast. People were just having a great time and dancing their asses off.

Follow That Bird’s music has been compared to everyone from Sleater-Kinney to Kraus, by way of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Have you been influenced by any of the above? Who inspires you?

The instrumentation of Sleater-Kinney and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have certainly influenced us. Lauren was particularly inspired by a live DVD of the YYYs – just in the way they performed and by Nick Zinner’s guitar style. We are also inspired by a lot of classics – Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, The Pretenders, Grace Jones…

Your Twitter account documents things you’ve lost on tour. What’s the most annoying thing you’ve ever lost, and where did you lose it?

Tiffanie is still particularly saddened by the loss of her Toad Suck Park Arkansas t-shirt….and her pillow with her favorite pillowcase still on it. Oh I mean “favourite” pillowcase. Paul left his mug outside a music store in San Francisco, Lauren and I were jerks enough to sit and have a beer at a pub while he walked a mile back to get it. (He said it was fine!) Lauren left some jeggings…somewhere. Please call if found.

You’re currently on tour with …And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead. Who’ve you toured with in the past? What dates are you looking forward to the most?

We’ve done a few small tours with a few bands from Austin. Once with Dikes of Holland. We became good friends with them after the Casual Victim Pile compilation and went on a short tour of Texas and Oklahoma together – it was some of the most fun we’ve had on the road. They’re like family to us and we learned so much from watching them put on these really amazing shows.

We also did a bus tour one summer with some other bands on Monofonous Press. We took this retro-fitted school bus the guys from Monofonous put together – it was really fantastic. Each weekend we’d play in two cities close to one another but maybe too far from Austin to play often. Texas summers are really hot so we’d just drive around with all of the windows down, yelling over the wind. Falling in love with West Texas and New Mexico while doing a short thing with Bill Callahan one summer wasn’t too bad either.

We love those little tours around Texas but are really excited to be heading back West again. We were just there in February so I think we’re looking forward to playing the same cities again but with Ringo and TOD this time.

Are you long term fans of AYWKUBTTOD and how did you come to support them?

We’ve known of them a while from living so close to Austin. We opened for them last Halloween with Marnie Stern and Ringo Deathstarr.

Lauren Laverne Esq. has touted you on her radio show. Does Britain’s new found love for you mean you’ll be touring the UK soon? Please.

YES, WE’D LOVE TO! Someone help us make this happen?

Finally: on FaceBook you’ve listed “pizza” under band interests. What’s your favourite topping?

BLACK OLIVES. MUSHROOMS. ONIONS. ARTICHOKES. - DRUNKENWEREWOLF

Matador Records chose this band for the lead song on their Casual Victim Pile compilation. After gaining critical acclaim, gone were the days of releasing EP’s on their own. Follow That Bird is a Texas 3- piece band from Austin, fronted by Lauren Green on guitar and vocals, accompanied by Tiffanie Lanmon on drums and Paul Brinkley on bass. The result is a fusion of art punk, motorik Kraut and garage rock. Their single “Wooden Bones” was released by indie label Mt Fuji Records, a label that has been establishing itself with favourite Seattle bands.

“Wooden Bones” shows influences from rock bands such as Joy Division, particularly with the opening guitar that sounds rather similar to the opening of “Love will tear us apart”. The track then breaks open with a fusion of rock and punk, with vocals that make you reminiscent of the female rock artists heard in the past. The howl of the chorus is accompanied by sentimental verses with a voice that sings so longingly. The drums are relentless, the bass is fuzzy, and Green’s sultry voice ties everything together.

This is a band that makes Southern rock a pleasure to listen to. They project the sun bleached musical landscape of their hometown Austin. The band’s laid-back nature shines through this track, and you can expect to hear a lot of noise that will get your shoulders shaking too. - AltSounds

Matador Records chose this band for the lead song on their Casual Victim Pile compilation. After gaining critical acclaim, gone were the days of releasing EP’s on their own. Follow That Bird is a Texas 3- piece band from Austin, fronted by Lauren Green on guitar and vocals, accompanied by Tiffanie Lanmon on drums and Paul Brinkley on bass. The result is a fusion of art punk, motorik Kraut and garage rock. Their single “Wooden Bones” was released by indie label Mt Fuji Records, a label that has been establishing itself with favourite Seattle bands.

“Wooden Bones” shows influences from rock bands such as Joy Division, particularly with the opening guitar that sounds rather similar to the opening of “Love will tear us apart”. The track then breaks open with a fusion of rock and punk, with vocals that make you reminiscent of the female rock artists heard in the past. The howl of the chorus is accompanied by sentimental verses with a voice that sings so longingly. The drums are relentless, the bass is fuzzy, and Green’s sultry voice ties everything together.

This is a band that makes Southern rock a pleasure to listen to. They project the sun bleached musical landscape of their hometown Austin. The band’s laid-back nature shines through this track, and you can expect to hear a lot of noise that will get your shoulders shaking too. - AltSounds

why you should check them out:
Austin-based indie trio Follow That Bird share a name with a 1985 Sesame Street film, starring none other than Big Bird in the lead role. Searching for footage of their live shows, and being a helplessly sappy doofus, I watched several clips of the film - which of course triggered deep, mournful sobs of regret for my lost childhood. I digress! While Follow That Bird may have a sweet and soulful core like their namesake film, this band lead you to some darker places with an occasionally-heavy garage rock format that draws obvious comparisons to 90s post-punk powerhouses like Fugazi or Sleater-Kinney. Their sound is epitomized by “Wooden Bones” from their 7” EP of the same name - an ebullient, deftly-layered, wavy, jangly, echo-y song that almost seems as if it could disintegrate, wonderfully, at any moment. Similarly, a song from a 2010 Austin compilation curated by Matador Records titled “Ghosts That Wake You” (check bandcamp for a free download) puts their sound on full display, building and sustaining ominously, producing a surprising amount of head-bobbing power for a three-piece band.

background check:
Young musical acts tend to inspire wildly inflated expectations or disdainful envy (see: Odd Future), but Follow That Bird are participating in a much-beloved vein of music and have displayed the steady expansion that can signal great things ahead - perhaps to grow beyond the easy 90's comparisons into new spaces. We’re certainly not the first to hear their potential: the trio opened on tour earlier this year for ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead as well as receiving the aforementioned Matador nod, wholly appropriate from a label that nurtured Pavement and Guided By Voices. Vocalist and lead guitarist Lauren Green and drummer Tiffanie Lanmon first got together at the precocious ages of 17 and 15, respectively, and along with bassist Paul Brinkley have only recently hit drinking age. They signed with Seattle-based label Mt. Fuji this year, with their first full length album anticipated forthwith. So we’re expecting a lot. No pressure, though. - mySpoonful

This song is awesome. I suppose that's not saying it with much flair, but sometimes you have to call 'em like you see 'em. A garage band at its core with the wherewithal and dominating vocal presence of Lauren Green to slow it down without getting sloppy, "Wooden Bones" is a great example of the Austin trio's range. Walking more of a post-punk line, Green packs gorgeous and badass all in one punch, recalling at times long-lost Richmond favorite Denali. Featured on a 7-inch released yesterday on Mt. Fuji, the label will also put out the debut LP from Follow That Bird this fall, and you can catch them on tour now with ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.

By Shannon Hassett - RCRD LBL

5. Follow That Bird!
Muscular guitar rock never goes out of style, and the two-ladies-one-dude combo in Follow That Bird! have heavy endorsements — Matador Records co-owner Gerard Cosloy declared them “one of the best bands in the country.” Their full-length debut is due later this year. - MTVHive

(refer to mag) - Austin Monthly

After a quick bite, I strolled over to Headhunters to see local greats Follow That Bird. Like many Austinites, I'm at a loss for why this "post-Sleater-Kinney" trio isn't a bigger name. They make complex, moving, excellently articulated rock music and they've only gotten better as they've evolved. Matador believed in them enough to put them on the first volume of Casual Victim Pile. Might I recommend their Wooden Bones seven-inch to future converts? - Bitch Magazine

With February's Casual Victim Pile II compiling another local indie sampler through Matador co-owner and Austinite Gerard Cosloy, Follow That Bird!'s track from last year's inaugural collection continues to haunt. Literally. During the Austin trio's set – which got off the ground 20 minutes late – "The Ghosts That Wake You" rattled Headhunters' tiny patio with such force that beer bottles flew off the bar. Through the locals' short existence, singer/guitarist Lauren Green and drummer Tiffanie Lanmon have been the constants, twin forces of rhythm and propulsion, but they seem to have found a groove with their third and latest bassist. Green's become more confident with her playing, and though that voice is still a bang-blower, she's harnessed its power as another rhythm instrument. Tonight, they were a rock & roll band, both in volume and garage punk abandon, even if they were rushing through the set. A debut full-length finally drops this year on Seattle's Mt. Fuji Records, following up a few angled 7-inches. If this preview of new songs is any indication, they'll be headlining next SXSW. - Austin Chronicle

Follow That Bird's Singer/guitarist Lauren Green should be proud. She's leading her trio away from the lo-fi garage haze and into Austin's next big thing: solid, never precious guitar rock. Like Ume's Lauren Larson, Green isn't afraid to let the chugging, angular guitar take center stage along with her incredible vocals. Though the group is undeniably tight -- drummer Tiffanie Lanmon's support makes the rest of everything work beautifully -- there's no pretense here. Green isn't afraid to wail on and off key, there's no fear of jagged, three chord epics, and the mood is always some sort of mildly controlled rage. There's punk here, some Sleater Kinney phases and lots of gritty rock, but the band is doing something wholly new and different with these well established elements. Catch them this weekend at the United States Art Authority (next to Spiderhouse) with Dikes of Holland, Literature and the Pillow Queens. The reasonable $7 entry fee gets you a free 10".

This release is the first edition of Monofonus Press' 10" series, featuring one-sided 10" vinyl EPs with handmade art on the flipside.

(by Paige Maguire) - Austinist

Thick, bruiser bar chords, bombastic drums and a singer who can BELT it! …and guess what, they can get get quiet too. Singer/guitarist Lauren Green weaves between snake-charmer riffs and power chord chunk, employing the right amount of dissonance as Mitchell Tellstrom’s sinuous bass stays right on the trail, creating the inextricable root-note thread found on the best of punk records. Tiffanie Lanmon’s shoulder-popping percussion meanwhile pushes the band through the aforementioned dynamic ranges, holding back until just the right moments; she knows when to accent and when to blow up.

Monofonus is psyched to kick off it’s vinyl-only “one-sider” series with a heavy three trakcer from Follow That Bird, available Oct. 20th - Monofonus Press

The modern slate of Austin rock is chockfull of polished, nuance-filled indie rock bands that dabble in orchestral wonder or gleaming pop channels. Follow That Bird! wants no part of it. Where other bands spend hours trying to concoct the perfect chord structure, Follow That Bird! blares through measures and melodies with more simplistic elements in mind: it’s gotta be catchy, and it’s gotta be noisy.


There is something distinctly raw in the sound that Lauren Green, Tiffanie Lanmon, and Mitchell Tellstrom churn out. It’s a style that resonates best from the floors of beer-caked New York clubs, balancing post-punk sass with traditional rock gravitas. With amps blaring and guitars hazing, the trio shines with 1960s fuzz put in a late 1990s blender. It’s too thick to be Yeah Yeah Yeahs, too catchy to be Drive Like Jehu, and too unrefined to be Pretty Girls Make Graves or The Rapture, instead carving an independent space somewhere in-between.


Our download, “Stable Sound”, dabbles in airy vocals as if it was trying to reel in more visceral inclinations. It settles in nicely with the stripped-down sounds that Follow That Bird! consistently finds new life in. The result is a scratchy-but-pleasant listen, an affecting listen by a mostly semi-raucous band.


Still, for as much of a distorted, garage-bouncing wreck as Follow That Bird! can create, the melodies are strong. The band’s dirty production initially indicates a teenage fervor, but the songwriting reveals a more understanding, harmonious element that makes the tracks memorable despite their house party buzz. Despite all of the messy rhythm-driven post-punk glory there is something accessible here. Follow That Bird! has the ability to sound like they don’t give a damn, but, at it’s core, there is something more poignant and sincere in the songs. It’s like spotting the sun during an overcast…that is, when that overcast is ear-rattling guitars echoing and sharp vocals.


The group formed in 2005 and has recently caught the eye of Matador Records, home to such industry icons as Belle & Sebastien and (somehow appropriately) Sonic Youth. But don’t expect the band to be ruminating over polished Pro Tools chords just yet. The trio’s bread-and-butter is inevitably attached to its jagged, frenetic sensibilities. The group is made for cramped hipster living rooms, sweaty Red River clubs, and noisy subterranean bars. This being Austin, I’m sure they’re just fine with that.

(by Elliot Cole) - Launch787.com [publication from publisher of RARE magazine]

"There are plenty of guitar-rock wrinkles to be found all over this comp, but if you're looking for the best Pile has to offer, the album graciously gives listeners that right at the start. Follow That Bird!'s "The Ghosts That Wake You" is a propulsive and wiry tune that's agile enough to shift gears gracefully and has its shows of musical force ably abetted by Lauren Green's unfettered belting. It makes the sort of first impression that quickly leads to a second and third one, and hopefully a quick web search to purchase some of the group's offerings."
- David Raposa

full article here:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13919-casual-victim-pile/ - Pitchfork

http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/matador-records-gerard-cosloy-builds-his-casual-vi,36656/


Venerable indie-rock label Matador Records has long carried on a not-so-secret love affair with Austin—what with the signing of bands like Spoon, Shearwater, and most recently Harlem—but with the Jan. 27 release of Austin scene compilation Casual Victim Pile, it engages in its first sloppy public display of affection. Label co-founder Gerard Cosloy has been a local since 2004—a fact brought to unfortunate national attention when his SoCo-area house burned down in 2009—and Casual Victim Pile (an anagram of “Live Music Capital”) reflects all the years he’s spent supporting unfairly unheralded bands, ranging from relative stalwarts like Golden Boys to newcomers who have never even played downtown, like Wild America. The A.V. Club spoke to Cosloy about how he chose those 17 bands to represent Austin, and why he doesn’t particularly care if anyone else thinks they do.

casual victim pile, matador records, austin, gerard cosloyThe A.V. Club: Why Austin, why these 17 bands, and why now?

Gerard Cosloy: It’s admittedly a very arbitrary, self-indulgent thing. I don’t pretend that this is a comprehensive overview of everything happening musically in town. This is just something that was gnawing at me from the middle of 2008 onwards—that there were certain things on the live music front that were not getting their due. Austin is a great town and it’s very supportive of live music, but I feel there’s a built-in hierarchy, where certain versions of live music are considered more legit than others. A lot of people are left out in the cold, and they happen to include not only some of the best bands in Austin, but some of the best bands in the country. Just the fact that three of the bands on the record hadn’t heard of ELVIS before, I felt that was a serious problem that needed addressing.

AVC: Are there bands you wanted to include but couldn’t, for whatever reason?

GC: There were certainly bands I like here who are good—not just okay, but world-class good—who I could not think of a way they would sound right alongside everyone else, without it seeming so incongruous that it wasn’t doing anyone any favors. The only band I asked to be on it who said no was Total Abuse. I managed not to cry about it for more than a couple days. [Laughs.] Had the process begun much later, there are certainly other people I would have asked. After my house burned down, I lost all the artwork and had to start over again, which meant we could add more bands that hadn’t broken up yet. The Teeners have broken up. The Persimmons seem to be on hiatus. One of my big fears is that by the time this thing comes out, 10 of the bands will have broken up. And if I’d started this six or eight months later, there are other bands I would have asked. Cruddy, Dated, and The Zoltars are as good as anybody on that record. If someone else wants to do Volume Two, they’ll have no problem with side one, at least.

AVC: Is it cool if they just Xerox your artwork and Wite-Out the names?

GC: I would love it if this became a Killed By Death thing, where people are doing their own volumes and misspelling “Matador,” doing bad variations on the logo, misspelling my name on the back. Hopefully bands would give their permission and would actually get paid, but that would be great. That’s probably too lofty a goal.

AVC: What would you say is CVP’s stylistic gamut, from extreme to extreme?

GC: From loud, mid-tempo rock to loud, up-tempo rock. [Laughs.] I do understand that some people will check this out and say it all sounds the same. There’s nothing I can do for people like that. It’s not my job to sort it out for them. I don’t think there’s a tremendous amount of common stylistic ground between, for instance, The Distant Seconds and The No No No Hopes. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy both of them, or that there’s not a place for both in this wonderful mosaic we call the Austin music scene.

AVC: Are there any you feel are particularly on the verge of breaking out?

GC: In spite of the fact that they’ve got the albatross of a Matador contract, Harlem seems to be getting a lot of attention nationwide, which is wonderful. I heard about a New York label looking to put out The Young, which would be a coup for that label if it happened. The new Golden Boys album is the best thing they’ve ever done, and hopefully it’ll win them a lot of fans in Germany. Woven Bones have probably made more of a stink in such a short period of time than a lot of the others on the record, save for Harlem. The new Love Collector 7-inch is fantastic, and when I see WMBR’s Late Risers’ Club playing their record—and they only play pretty much every great punk-rock single of my childhood—it’s like, that’s exactly the way it’s supposed to work. I’ve felt like Follow That Bird is one of the best bands in the country for a couple years now, and hopefully someone else will throw them some money soon. They’ve got a Southwest tour with Dikes Of Holland next month—which is another world-class band that doesn’t get nearly enough attention.

AVC: Is there a current "sound of Austin”?

GC: No. There are many, many sounds, and only a handful are represented on this. Obviously, the singer-songwriter sector is not particularly well represented, and those who are enamored of what you might call “the world music scene” might find this record a bit lacking. The twee-pop thing is not well represented either, and there are obviously people here who love that stuff to death. I’m sure there will be another enterprising person who will put out a very interesting record using a number of the bands not featured on this one.

AVC: Although, a lot of the bands on this compilation do share a shambolic, go-for-the-gusto sound—almost a purposeful amateurism.

GC: Like people playing ukuleles while sitting on the floor? “I’m gonna play the xylophone even though I don’t know how”? “I’m gonna pretend I’m 9”?

AVC: More like simple song structures, lots of fuzz, an almost calculated aloofness.

GC: Oh, we’re not talking about the same thing. I was thinking of a touring band I saw at Hole In The Wall, with a woman singing really off-key and a guy sitting next to her playing ukulele. It made most of the early K Records output sound like Throbbing Gristle, just the most sexless, soulless, horrible thing I had ever seen in my entire life. Like, if you could trace everything from Chuck Berry to The Beatles to the Stones to The Stooges to Alice Cooper to the Ramones to Black Flag—and now we’ve got this dude with a ukulele. You know the scene in Animal House where Stephen Bishop is playing the acoustic guitar at the toga party and Belushi fucking clobbers him with it? I would have given anything for Belushi to come down out of the heavens and slug the fuck out of this guy—who I’m sure is a wonderful person who doesn’t deserve physical violence of any sort. I’m not really encouraging that people get beaten up. [Sarcastically.] Unless that’s what it takes! But that’s not what you’re talking about.

AVC: Unfortunately, no.

GC: The thing is, a lot of great rock ’n’ roll is ramshackle. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a Swell Maps record and thought, “Man, if they just had Bob Clearmountain in to fix this, they would have been so much better.” I don’t think Harlem are trying to be an archetypal, sloppy indie band. They’re just trying to be Harlem.

AVC: It seems natural to draw parallels between this and 1991's New York Eye And Ear Control, which was your last regional compilation.

GC: And I don’t take that comparison lightly. A number of the bands on that record at that time could not get arrested in New York City; clubs were not going out of their way to be hospitable to the likes of Dustdevils or Unsane or Cop Shoot Cop, or even two-decade veterans like Borbetomagus. It was very hard to get people to check those bands out, and I’m not saying that that record necessarily opened a ton of doors for those bands. Most of the door-busting, those bands accomplished on their own. It was a snapshot of a particular time and place, and I’m the one who decided who got to be in the snapshot. Now, the snapshot may have been a little blurry. [Laughs.] It’s the same way this time around. This is an entirely arbitrary, self-indulgent portrait saying, “Here’s who I like from this town, circa 2008-2010.” There’s not much more to it.

AVC: So who is Austin’s Cop Shoot Cop?

GC: Wow. Fuck. I’m gonna say ELVIS. They certainly don’t sound like them, but just in terms of being somewhat polarizing. And with Cop Shoot Cop you had two extremely strong personalities fronting the band that tended to be very provocative, and with ELVIS you’ve got Brian [Rowland], who is one of the more dynamic front-persons I’ve ever seen—in Austin, in America, the world, period.

AVC: Austin has long been "the next_____"—Seattle, Brooklyn, whatever. From your perspective, what’s held it back from taking whatever that next step is?

GC: To tell you the truth, I don’t care. Not once in my life have I ever walked in a record store and said, “Do you have any bands from Seattle?” Stuff like that is very convenient for media types to say there’s this particular movement or scene and blah blah blah—and I think the rest of the country is getting a little weary of hearing about Austin, and how everyone is in a band here, and everywhere you go bands are playing in someone’s living room. The rest of the country is beginning to think of that as a cliché. So I don’t know how to answer that question. That’s more of a chamber of commerce issue. I’m interested in what people actually sound like, and whether they’re good or bad. I don’t give a fuck where they come from.

Now, that may sound weird coming from a guy who’s just spent the better part of a year putting a regional comp together. [Laughs.] But I did that a) for fun and b) as a way to get people to check those bands out. But they’re not any better than anyone else because they’re from here. I do think, at the end of the day, people will understand that it’s a very insular thing I’m shining a light on, but I’m doing it because I want it to be less insular. It’s not about, “Hey, support Austin music! Move to Austin!” I’d ask people to move to Austin only if I could rent a room to them. For way too much money. - The Onion A.V. Club

go here to listen to our tracks: http://woxy.com/blog/2010/02/08/lounge-act-recap-follow-that-bird/

Follow That Bird! began as an instrumental duo when Lauren Green and Tiffanie Lanmon were still in high school. The band evolved into a trio, vocals were added, and the current lineup took shape when Mitchell Tellstrom took over bass duties last year.

They’ve quickly become one of our favorite bands in Austin and their 10? EP on Monofonus Press last fall earned a fair amount of airplay here at the station.

Now, they’ve got the lead track on Matador’s Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010 compilation and are at least looking in the direction of a full-length album.

In this performance you’ll hear a few brand new tracks, a tune from their debut EP, one from the Monofonus Press 10?, and their recently released song, as featured on the Casual Victim Pile release, called “The Ghosts That Wake You.” - Woxy.com

http://www.austinsound.net/2009/11/19/singles-roundup-tv-torso-the-sour-notes-follow-that-bird/

By year’s end, Austin will have boasted an impressive number of singles. Credit the the downturn of the economy, the upturn of vinyl, or the changing culture of Mp3s and singles, the result has been a boon for short-stack lovers. No doubt, however, that these four recent vinyl releases serve as a nice capstone for local one-offs this year, with Follow That Bird and the Sour Notes both offering up excellent follow ups to debuts that appeared in the past year, and the much anticipated new project of Sound Team’s Matt Oliver, TV Torso, delivering a double shot of 7? vinyl as a debut. As indicators of what might be around the bend with bigger releases for each band, all of the efforts suggest next 2010 will be a good year for local music.


TV Torso: “Days of Being Wild b/w I Can See Your Face”; “The Black Mask” b/w “The Eye in the Pyramid” (SR)

The new project of Sound Team-ers Matt Oliver and Jordan Johns, along with bassist Austin Leonard Jones, TV Torso dropped two singles this fall that suggests the splinter of the ST outfit may have bloomed productively for the local music scene. While Bill Baird’s Sunset has matured over the past several years, frontman Oliver has plotted a more calculated course. His new trio, formerly dubbed the Minotaurs, is an impressively coherent and directed project, especially against the inevitable comparisons to Baird’s sprawling and ever-evolving Sunset. For all the promise of the band, though, it doesn’t quite emerge full force on these two 7-inchers. Oliver’s voice carries a scratchy hew that immediately recalls Britt Daniel, and it’s easy to anticipate the band eventually showcasing Spoon-like brilliance, even if not quite there yet. “Days of Being Wild” b/w “I Can See Your Face” is the poppier of the two singles, the A-side punctuated by jumpy horns and intermittent shots of scarred guitar atop the steady drums. B-Side “I Can See Your Face,” rocks harder, touring into Sixties psych-rips with a push and pull that races and collapses through a rough mix. Its dark-covered counterpart – “The Black Mask” b/w “The Eye in the Pyramid” - cruises more smoothly on the front, but with a much darker and unsettling vibe to spite Oliver’s calmer croon. He sounds almost resigned though “The Black Mask,” harmonies lingering out amid the swell even as they get buried in the beat. But “The Eye in the Pyramid” proves by far the most polished, the minimal backing allowing Oliver’s lyrics to push to the fore. While the double debut teaser is still rough around the edges, as a taste of what an LP might showcase, Oliver and TV Torso show amazing promise.


The Sour Notes – “Never Mix Never Worry” b/w “Rose Puzzles” (SR)

Local quartet The Sour Notes have highlighted pitch-perfect pop tunes across two excellent albums – last year’s The Meat of the Fruit EP and this year’s debut LP, Received in Bitterness. Their new 7” only pushes that credit further, but dips into some expertly and unexpectedly heavier territory. A-Side “Never Mix Never Worry” announces those intentions with the immediate pummel of the chorus, the hard-lined pop bounce that opens to match Jared Boulanger’s high-hitting trill at first subtly meshed with a slant of distortion, which then ricochets full force. The teasing build ultimately explodes, but never loses its melodic center even in the wave of climax. “Rose Puzzles” falls much more in line with the group’s established sound, the pull of Boulanger’s sweetly tortured vocals leading the tune. Yet even here, the band turns up the pulse in release with the lyrics - “Where no roles confine us, Where no laws define us” – surging to the guitar barrage close. With yet another new album ready to drop next January, The Sour Notes remain one of the brightest, and probably most under-appreciated, groups in town.


Follow That Bird – “I Want You to Know” (Monofonus Press)

Following on the heals of this year’s debut eponymous EP, Follow That Bird’s new one-sider 10-inch offering from Monofonus Press picks the best pieces of the previous release and gestures to a band that has finally found its own formula and sound. While the touches of Sleater-Kinney, Karen O, and a little Patti Smith still run around the edges, the three songs on the latest effort settles itself marvelously. Lauren Green can still wail like a banshee possessed, trembling and contorting in vocally vicious cuts, as on the opening title cut, but there is a confidence evident here that allows her to calm the effectiveness as well. Part of this is simply the trio’s better all-around movement – Tiffanie Lanmon capable of keeping a steady surge behind that kit that proves equally dramatic when needed, and bassist Mitchell Tellstrom leading a heavy bass rhythm that allows Green to maneuver marvelously on guitar. The balance between Green’s almost lethargic, day-dreaming and reflective vocals with her moments of all-out catharsis especially comes to full fruition on “Where They Rest.” If there is one lingering piece of the puzzle that FTB still needs to find, it’s a counterpart to Green on vocals, even if simply some shading harmony. Her voice is so intense that even after only three tunes, it’s almost too acute to sustain for the listener, and even at her most vocally reserved, she draws contains an encompassing presence and fervor.


- Austin Sound

Most young bands work diligently toward creating their “big break,” the key moment that ushers in a level of recognition which allows them to make a living off their art. Whether it is a well regarded SXSW showcase performance, the support of an influential radio DJ such as Steve Lamacq (or John Peel, once upon a time), or getting picked up by a respected indie label, this tipping point is the goal for most acts trying to make a name for themselves. My guess is that a handful of Austin-based acts are in for just such a moment when Matador Records releases Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010 on January 26, 2010. The compendium brings together nineteen different emerging Texas bands, each of whom contribute one song to form a snapshot of the music mecca’s current local indie rock scene.

One such group is Follow That Bird!, who provide “Ghosts That Wake You,” a fiery mash of electric guitar and syncopated drums. Judging from her performance, vocalist/guitarist Lauren Green likely counts Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein among her chief influences; while Follow That Bird! never quite veer into riot grrrl territory, the emphatic vocals and toothed riffs are rooted in the same feverish terroir. However, with its hard driving beat and bravado, the band’s overall sound is grounded more in the tradition of iconic rock performers, both indie and otherwise: Delta 5, Bikini Kill, The Pretenders, L7, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and even early Hole are all pieces of the puzzle. “Ghosts That Wake You” is an assertive bit of songwriting from a band which–ike many of its neighbors–may be earning itself a larger spotlight come January.

- One Track Mind

Austin’s Follow That Bird are a fine enough band; opening-strength, female-led rock ‘n’ roll with smoky, Stevie Nicks-acolyte vocals. These two ladies and a gentleman are way stronger than they let on, as several listens to this record revealed a casual durability to what would otherwise be a formulaic run through occupied territory. What makes it is their attitude – it’s very easy to envision this band playing on an East Side patio bar, ripping it up for fun. I hope I get to see them sometime; this is the sort of throwback that’s in many ways necessary, a humble band giving an existing idea a shot of outsized yet cool personality, and growing wilder as the record reaches a close. Interesting one-sided affair, manufactured with a 10” wide color sticker affixed to the B-side in lieu of the bummer world that is picture disks. Silkscreened cardboard flat, download card, and insert included. (http://monofonuspress.com)
(Doug Mosurock) - Dusted Magazine