photo by Scott Newton

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards show has come and gone. We want to not only congratulate, ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona on his second year as co-producer for the Grammy telecast, but our distinguished ACL alumni who scored gold statues this year. Way to go, y’all!

Mumford & Sons – Album of the Year for Babel; Best Long Form Video for Big Easy Express
The Black Keys – Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for “Lonely Boy;” Best Rock Album for El Camino; Dan Auerbach – Producer of the Year
Esperanza Spalding – Best Jazz Vocal Album for Radio Music Society; Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for “City of Roses”
Bonnie Raitt – Best Americana Album for Slipstream
Juanes – Best Latin Pop Album for MTV Unplugged Deluxe Edition
Steep Canyon Rangers – Best Bluegrass Album for Nobody Knows You
Dr. John – Best Blues Album for Locked Down
Jimmy Cliff – Best Reggae Album for Rebirth
The Civil Wars (with Taylor Swift) – Best Song Written For Visual Media for “Safe & Sound,” from the soundtrack to The Hunger Games

photo by Scott Newton

photo by Scott Newton

Austin City Limits is proud to present an inspired double-bill featuring the experimental sounds of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and tUnE-yArDs.

The psychedelic folk troupe Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros bring their shared spirit to the ACL stage in their debut appearance on the show. Equipped with infectious melodies, catchy sing-a-longs and a free-spirited frontman, the 12-piece ensemble have gained fans all over the world. With two critically-acclaimed albums and a widespread reputation for energetic performances, the down-home outfit create what NPR calls a “gloriously uplifting ruckus.” The Los Angeles-based group draws inspiration from the communal musical communities that peppered Southern California with positive vibrations during the ’60s and early ’70s. The gang of animated musicians perform their bright music and homespun harmonies on ACL complete with spontaneous dancing, bare feet and bared souls.

“This is a band that loves to make music, pure and simple,” says ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona. “They may look and sound like they came straight out of the 60’s, but there is a joy to their music that is infectious – onstage or off. In fact, frontman Alex Ebert had a hard time staying ON our stage during the show, and to everyone’s delight he plunged into the crowd more than once.”

photo by Scott Newton

Next up is the bold, uncompromising music of tUnE-yArDs, performing tracks from the critically-acclaimed opus whokill. The brainchild of indie singer-songwriter Merrill Garbus, tUnE-yArDs have fashioned an expansive sound incorporating layered ukulele, voice, electric bass and drum loops into an eclectic DIY aesthetic. Technology meets primal in the music of Garbus, who The New York Times describes as “somewhere between Aretha Franklin and Yoko Ono.” She showcases her striking sound for her first appearance on the ACL stage. With a bassist and two sax players joining Garbus’ frontline of drums, amplified ukelele and looping technology, tUnE-yArDs put on a show unlike any other.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had an act quite like Merrill Garbus and tUnE-yArDs on ACL,” says Lickona. “But don’t be fooled…just when her music seems to veer off in a strange direction, Merrill brings it all back home with the raw power of her voice and those loopy rhythms.”

We hope you’ll join us in exploring new territory with these two remarkable artists. We also hope you’ll visit us on Facebook and Twitter, or sign up for our newsletter. Next week: Gary Clark Jr. and Alabama Shakes.

photo by Scott Newton

“This is a special night for us. We’re very excited!” ” proclaims Tim McGraw during his debut ACL performance. So are we to welcome one of contemporary country’s biggest stars. In a dynamic performance, McGraw takes the ACL stage armed with both his greatest hits and brand new songs. Performing tracks from his highly anticipated new record Two Lanes of Freedom, scheduled for release February 5th, McGraw blazes through an hour-long set of his distinctive brand of rockin’ country music.

Launching into a set that has the audience on its feet from the first note, the country kingpin has his engines revving and thrills the crowd in a visceral, moving performance. From his hard-driving new single “One of Those Nights” to the feel-good hangover of “Mexicoma,” the energy level is at 11 when McGraw sings his massive career-defining anthem “Live Like You Were Dying.” He brings the show to a close and a smile to every face with the good-natured hillbilly humor of his recent huge hit “Truck Yeah,” a singalong anthem if there ever was one.

“Country Music has plenty of superstars to go around, but Tim has that special ability to make an emotional connection with his audience that is rare in any genre,” says ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona. “His first ACL appearance meant a lot to him – he told me it made him feel ‘like a real musician – not just sort of smoke and mirrors.’”

Check out the episode page for more info on this exciting episode. Keep up with other ACL goings-on through our Facebook and Twitter pages and our newsletter. Next week: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and tUnE-yArDs.

photo by Alex John Beck

Alright, slackers, vacation time is over. We’ve already booked some artists for the next season of Austin City Limits, which will be our 39th.  We’re thrilled to announce that we’re kicking off our new taping season on March 17 with indie rock heroes Vampire Weekend, a longtime “ask” that’s finally a “get.” On April 16 we’re bringing current radio faves the Lumineers to our stage, accompanied by fast-rising critical faves Shovels & Rope. On May 6 we welcome French alt.rock troop Phoenix to ACL.

Not a bad way to kick off an exciting new year in ACL TV history. This will be just the tip of the iceberg, of course – check in frequently with our Facebook and Twitter pages and this here blog for more taping announcements as they happen.

photo by Scott Newton

Our latest installment of the gear blog features Bob Mould and is written, as always, by our front of house engineer Kevin Cochran.

“This is a Big Deal.”

At the risk of sounding selfserving, it’s been a red letter year for the Austin City Limits TV program. I’ll let you review the list of heavy hitters that have walked our boards this taping season, but this week’s artist is my personal favorite for all of Season 38. Coincidentally, it’s been a red (rad?) letter year for Bob Mould as well. After an interlude from recording, Bob came back with one of the strongest albums of his career and ended up topping a drove of “best of lists” for 2012.

It’s especially gratifying to see someone who started as a recusant of underground music and grow into a well revered personage for musicians and music fans from all walks.

Mixing front of house was a good friend of Austin City Limits and mine, Jeff Byrd. Jeff has mixed FOH for Spoon, Explosions In The Sky, and a few other tapings. As usual, he brought a Midas Heritage 3000 and a bunch of outboard gear provided by Big House Sound .

photo by Kevin Cochran

photo by Kevin Cochran

photo by Kevin Cochran

Bassist Jason Narducy played a red sparkle Fender Precision Bass passing through a Boss RC-50 Loop Station , a Boss FS-6 dual footswitcher, then a Radial JPC DI. We’ve used this piece of gear quite a bit at KLRU, as the go-to DI for computers, iPods, and DJ rigs. Radial doesn’t make useless gear, but we’ve really gotten our money’s worth out of this one.

photo by Kevin Cochran

photo by Kevin Cochran

For the taping, Jason ran into the ubiquitous Ampeg SVT Classic head, running into a 810E cabinet. Jason’s signal passes through and is split by a Radial J48 before hitting the amp head.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Mould’s live shows are synonymous with volume and for our taping, he used mixture of the old and the new. To the left is a Blackstar 100 head. Blackstar Amplification was started in 2007 by a group of former Marshall employees and has made many converts in its short history. I’d never encountered a Blackstar in person before, but was impressed at its versatility between getting “classic” and “modern” guitar tones and all points in between. On the left is a vintage (I believe) Marshall 1987 100 watt head, provided by Soundcheck Austin. The Marshall hadn’t been rented in years and was being finicky, causing Mr. Mould a little consternation. After being given a little attention by the Soundcheck guys, it was brought back to life and is probably one of the best-sounding amp heads I’ve ever heard. Bob became more relaxed as camera rehearsal progressed and commented, “Okay, this sounds like me.”

photo by Kevin Cochran

After 15 seasons of working for the show, I don’t fanboy or fawn like I used to, but Bob’s sound, that day, was one of the best guitar tones I’ve ever heard.  It just sounded… right.   Doug Chappell, one of our audio crew, has worked with everyone from ZZ Top to Armored Saint and doesn’t get worked up about anything anymore. Even he was impressed.

The most surprising thing about this set-up is that the cabinets are wired out of phase from one another. I’m told this is an old trick to counteract feedback at the vocal microphone when dealing with loud guitar volumes. Our head of audio, David Hough, remarked that sometimes steel guitar players will wire their Fender Twin speakers out of phase to get a “poor man’s stereo”. That would just drive me nuts. Both guitar channels were flipped into the same phase for the broadcast mix.

To the left of Bob’s rig is Jon Wurster’s C&C drum kit.

photo by Kevin Cochran

Bob’s pedal board includes a Aphex Punch Factory, an optical compressor, an Electro Harmonix Nano Freeze, a TC Electronic Flashback Delay, a MXR Distortion +, and a Boss Tuner.
To the upper right appears to be a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, resting atop a Voodoo Labs Iso 5 power supply.

photo by Kevin Cochran

If you’ve seen Bob Mould play an electric guitar in the past 25 years, it’s probably been this very one to the right, a 1987 Lake Placid Blue Fender Stratocaster. The Fender company was bought by CBS from its founder, Leo Fender, in 1965 and the next 20 years are widely considered the nadir in quality and reputation of Fender instruments. Bill Schultz and other Fender employees bought the company from CBS in 1985 and within a couple years the Fender brand began regaining its lost glory. In 1987, Fender introduced a new line of Stratocasters that included locking tuners, the Wilkinson nut, an improved vibrato system, and Lace-Sensor pickups.

In our post show interview (which I like to call the “debriefing”), Michael Toland, ACL’s chief archivist, asked Bob to talk about his guitar.

Bob Mould talks about his Stratocaster guitar on Austin City Limits from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

The silver guitar to the right is a backup of similar vintage and by the looks of the fingerboard, rarely gets played.

I really enjoyed taping this episode. Bob himself was the consummate professional and gentleman as was his band and crew. All he asked of Sachiko Robertson, our monitor engineer, was a loud, clear vocal (preferably not feeding back) and then he was happy. After years of touring clubs with sketchy sound systems, that probably goes a long way.

More importantly, it’s gratifying to see someone who’s paid their dues receive deserved recognition, and still be humbled by the experience. When we were starting our soundcheck, Bob looked around the studio and remarked, “This is a big deal.”  That show was true for me, too.

photo by Scott Newton

It’s amazing to think that the loosely defined umbrella “alternative rock” now stretches past the quarter century mark. In celebration of its endurance, this week Austin City Limits presents a veteran of the style and a fast-rising newcomer. Bob Mould pioneered the loud/fast guitar pop style with both his 80s punk band Hüsker Dü and his 90s power pop trio Sugar, while Delta Spirit carves its own path by blending Americana and indie rock. This episode will get your heart pumping and your air guitar flailing.

Joined by longtime bass foil Jason Narducy and Superchunk/Mountain Goats drummer Jon Wurster, Bob Mould wastes no time getting to the point, opening with the bludgeoning power chords of Sugar’s “The Act We Act.” It’s the start of a blazing career retrospective that ranges from the romping Sugary power pop of “Changes” and “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” to the raging power rock of “Star Machine,” the lead-off track from Mould’s highly acclaimed LP Silver Age. Hüsker Dü classics bring down the house, including the nuclear powered folk rock of “Celebrated Summer” and the irresistible hooks of “Makes No Sense at All.” While it’s hard to pick a highlight in a show packed with so many goodies, the epic, elegiac version of the rarely-performed Hüsker gem “Hardly Getting Over It” elevates the episode from simply excellent to truly magnificent.

photo by Scott Newton

From the intensity of the veteran we go to the enthusiasm of the newcomers, as Delta Spirit takes the stage. The Brooklyn-based quintet revs the energy up immediately with the rumbling “White Table,” before irrepressible singer Matt Vasquez sparks the crowd into overdrive with the anthemic “Money Saves.” The band brings things back down with “Vivian,” a lovely song about former Austinite Vasquez’s grandmother, performed with his own mama in the audience for a touching moment. Then it’s more palate-cleansing with the lilting, melodic “California,” before bringing the house down with the band’s explosive standard “Trashcan,” probably the only song in the ACL catalog that features a metal trashcan lid as a main instrument.

More details can be had on the episode page here. Don’t forget to check in with our Facebook and Twitter pages or sign up for our newsletter for more ACL news. Next week: country superstar Tim McGraw.