Ring in the new year with professional game developers, from five of the most prominent 2012 video games made in Austin! Learn about some great locally-made game projects from their creators. Presented by International Game Developers Association-Austin and moderated by chapter chair Jennifer Bullard.
Special thanks to Batch 19 for providing their Pre-Prohibition Style Lager. The recipe dates back to before prohibition (1919-hense Batch ’19′). It was discovered in the basement of the brewery that has been around since 1878. The beer is made with two rare types of hops — Hersbrucker is a German style hop that is very grassy and Strisslespalt is a hop that has a flavor similar to black currant and is slightly sweeter.
Hardly Sound
Airs at 10:30 pm Tuesdays on KLRU starting Jan 1, 2013;
Airs first Monday of the month on KLRU Q music block at 11 pm
or watch online anytime at klru.org
Here in Austin, music is everywhere: in our airport, in our restaurants, behind grocery stores, and even on the 6th floor of office buildings. Given the sheer supply of choices, one would imagine it to be a daunting task to really penetrate the local musical territory and make it big. However the thriving bond between creativity and music keeps people going at it here, which in itself is the essence of why Austin continually rules.
When local filmmakers Chris Kim and Randy Reynolds set out to find bands whose passion and creativity distinguish them within the overarching Texas music scene, their task evolved into an all-out adventure revealing some great insights behind this creative community. They’ve condensed their journeys into half-hour long segments for a new documentary series called Hardly Sound.
The show profiles one artist per episode and conveys their respective stories through conversation and performance, detailed in footage spanning the full month they spent with each artist. What I enjoy most about this program is that rather than simply offering a dry profile of the band, the filmmakers establish an emotional connection between the audience and their subject through the intimate dialogue about their creative process. This stands closely to the filmmakers’ mission to create “a creative series about creative people for creative people”.
Topics of past experiences, personal triumphs, emotional hardships and overcoming adversity make you feel what the musicians feel and give a true sense of what shaped their path towards adopting their creative lifestyles. Bands like twang-wave act The Bye and Bye detail important life lessons like “expect the unexpected”, “don’t wear shorts”, and “bask in the unlikelihood of life” while taking the filmmakers on a “birding” trip. Meanwhile, garage rockers The Bad Lovers express their sentiments for the community of outcasts who welcomed their eagerness to play rock n’ roll in sweaty basements and damp clubs. Through their POVs, these musicians come off as hopeful, devoted and relatable, as their rehearsals and reflections become transparent windows into their souls.
For anybody who’d enjoy an intimate look at bands trying to “carve out their own space in the crowded scene” (and we all know, its CROWDED), this is that plus more.
About the Reviewer: Kaitlyn Roche is a fourth-year student at the University of Texas at Austin and currently works in the Marketing department of KLRU. She has contributed to online and print publications such as A.V. Club, San Antonio Express-News and Verbicide Magazine.
KLRU-TV to present Season 1 & 2 of Masterpiece Classic “Downton Abbey” this December.
KLRU features Season 1 & 2 of Downton Abbey for our viewers to enjoy this month! As we all eagerly await the new Season 3 of Masterpiece Classic “Downton Abbey,” it is time to reflect on the previous seasons.
For those needing to see the story from the very, very beginning with Season 1 of Downton Abbey, KLRU will provide this treat starting on Saturday, December 15th. On that Saturday from 6 pm- midnight, you can watch all four episodes of Season 1 of Downton Abbey.
Then on Sunday, December 16th, KLRU-TV will offer fans a real Downton Abbey Marathon starting at noon. Season 1 of Downton Abbey will be repeated noon-6 pm. Then at 6 pm, Season 2 of Downton Abbey will be featured till 10 pm that evening.
Season 2 continues the next Sunday, December 23rd from 6 pm-10 pm and repeated on Saturday, December 29th at 8 pm.
Then on Sunday, December 30th, the Christmas finale of Season 2 will air from 8 pm-10 pm.
The first Monday of the month KLRU Q’s 11pm music block features Hardly Sound. The documentary series focuses on Texas underground music and artists but goes beyond the recording studio to tell the story of the band members with insight into the creative process.
For December
Join Vincent Martinez – one of the most stunningly original artists in Austin – as he lives his self-proclaimed “Jazz Life.” Then marvel at his undeniable hooks and poetic, personal lyrics as he steps into the studio as Emcee Eats.
We’ll be live from Studio 6A tomorrow night for an exciting evening of local arts and adventure !
Starting at 7pm, we’ll be live in studio 6A with a great line up of KLRU Collective highlights. If you haven’t visited our online arts portal, KLRU Collective, then tune in tomorrow to see our favorite videos of local movers and shakers in our creative community. And we’ll literally be moving and shaking with special guests from the Austin Samba School joining us!
Following our mix-tape of KLRU Collective, we’ll premiere the brand new Arts in Context episode, All My Friends Are Vampires, which documents Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the country, specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action, and just plain fantastic movies from around the world held each year in Austin, TX at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on South Lamar. We’ll have Tim League, founder of Fanstastic Fest and the Alamo Drafthouse, in studio with us and we’ll giveaway a 2013 Fantastic Fest badge and an Alamo movie theater experience for you and your friends.
You’ll probably be hungry at 8:30pm, so we’ve planned a special Daytripper hour of the best in Texas BBQ. Chet joins us with the inside scoop on taking daytrips and brings some great gifts when you support the station, like a 2013 Daytripper BBQ Calendar, Daytripper Koozies, and a subscription to Texas Highways magazine.
Celebrate Arts In Context with a season three kick-off party. The new season of the award-winning arts show begins on Oct. 25th with a documentary on Austin’s Mother Falcon. KLRU is hosting a party to celebrate the event!
Date: Thursday, October 25th
Time: 7 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)
Location: KLRU’s Studio 6A (map)
RSVP: The event is free but RSVP is required. RSVP now
Arts In Context season three explores the process of creation through collaboration and the condition of living and working as an artist. By spotlighting visual arts, dance, music and culture, we hope to pique curiosity and inspire people to learn more about a subject, visit an exhibition, attend a performance or create and share something beautiful of their own and facilitate the dialogue between artists and audiences. Episodes air Thursdays at 7:30 pm on KLRU and are available everywhere on the PBS iPhone app and iPad app.
The new season begins airing on Oct. 25th with a documentary on the inspiring story of one of Austin’s beloved bands, Mother Falcon. Featuring performances and in-depth interviews, Arts in Context takes you inside the 21-member band’s journey from aspiring, high school musicians to the popular band they have become today, and the challenges they now face trying to break onto the national stage. Watch a preview of the Mother Falcon episode on klru.org/artsincontext.
KLRU broadcasts programming created by and about people from all cultures year-round, from public affairs to history to independent film to kids programming. In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, KLRU will broadcast a lineup of new and encore presentations honoring and exploring Native American culture.
Standing Bear’s Footsteps airs on Monday, October 15th at 9 pm.
“Standing Bear’s Footsteps” is the story of an Indian chief who went to court to prove he was a person…and in the process redefined what it means to be an American. The documentary traces one man’s journey from his Nebraska homeland to the malaria- infested plains of Indian Territory and finally to a trial that made front page news across America. Standing Bear’s odyssey began in 1877 when the Ponca tribe was exiled from the Niobrara valley to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma, a place they called death country. As Standing Bear’s son was dying, he begged his father to take his body home and bury him with his ancestors. In January of 1879, Standing Bear began the long walk north to keep his promise. Before he and his small band could make it home they were arrested and imprisoned at Fort Omaha. With the secret support of a famous army general, Standing Bear sued the U.S. government for his freedom. The film weaves interviews, re-creations and present day scenes to tell a story about human rights, one that resonates powerfully in the present. “I am a man,” Standing Bear said at his trial. “The same God made us both.”
Journey of Sacagawea airs on Monday, October 15th at 10 pm.
The teenage Sacagawea, who with her infant son accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is an American historical icon. This program seeks the woman behind the icon and shows how cultures and events may have shaped her. The special goes beyond the sparse comments found in the expedition journals to the rich oral history of the Agaidika Shoshoni (known as the Lemhi Shoshoni), the Mandan/Hidatsa and the Nez Perce. Dramatic re-enactments and scenes of the wild areas in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming and Oregon that the youthful Sacagawea knew bring her story to life.
POV #2511 “Sun Kissed” airs Thursday, October 18th at 9 pm.
When a Navajo couple discovers their children have a disorder that makes exposure to sunlight fatal, they also learn their reservation is a hotbed for this rare genetic disease. Why? “Sun Kissed” follows Dorey and Yolanda Nez as they confront cultural taboos, tribal history and their own unconventional choices to learn the shocking truth: the consequences of the Navajos’ Long Walk — their forced relocation by the U.S. military in 1864 –are far from over.
Jim Thorpe: World’s Greatest Athlete airs Thursday, November 1st at 9 pm.
This program chronicles the sports superstar’s remarkable life (1887-1953) – from his boyhood in Oklahoma and his gold-medal wins at the 1912 Summer Olympics to his subsequent fall from grace and later, his advocacy of American Indian rights and self-sufficiency. The one-hour biography recounts these events, and others, through in-depth interviews with Thorpe’s surviving children, dramatic re-creations, and archival stills and film.
POV #2506 “Up Heartbreak Hill” airs Friday, November 8th at 9 pm.
Thomas and Tamara are track stars at their rural New Mexico high school. Like many teenagers, they are torn between the lure of brighter futures elsewhere and the ties that bind them to home. For these teens, however, home is an impoverished town on the Navajo reservation, and leaving means separating from family, tradition and the land that has been theirs for generations. Erica Scharf’s “Up Heartbreak Hill” is a look at a new generation of Americans struggling to be both Native and modern.
Independent Lens #1203 “Reel Injun” airs Thursday, November 15th at 9 pm.
Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond takes an entertaining, insightful, and often humorous look at the Hollywood Indian, exploring the portrayal of North American Natives through a century of cinema and examining the ways that the myth of “the Injun” has influenced the world’s understanding-and misunderstanding-of Natives. Narrated by Diamond with infectious enthusiasm and good humor, this film is a loving look at cinema through the eyes of the people who appeared in its very first flickering images and have survived to tell their stories their own way.
For those of you looking for Van Cliburn and Itzhak Perlman from Live from Lincoln Center, these two specials will be featured this Sunday, September 30th.
Cliburn: 50 Years of Gold will air on Sunday, September 30th at 2 pm followed at 3 pm by Live from Lincoln Center “The Philharmonic Opening Gala with Itzhak Perlman.”
Cliburn: 50 Years of Gold–Every four years a group of the finest young pianists take the stage at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. In the midst of the drama, the beauty, the nerves and the excitement, they know one thing is true – what happens there can change their lives. They strive to feel the joy of victory and achieve their utmost goal: to become a performer on the world stage. As seen through the eyes and memories of 15 gold medalists, The Cliburn: 50 Years of Gold follows the half-century long history of one of the world’s most prestigious music competitions, set against the backdrop of beautiful music. The most important moment in the life of a young pianist is when he or she walks out onto the stage of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Gut-wrenching drama, strung-out nerves and the joy of victory are the elements that make up this extraordinary film retrospective.
Live from Lincoln Center “The Philharmonic Opening Gala with Itzhak Perlman”–Violin legend Itzhak Perlman joins the New York Philharmonic and music director Alan Gilbert for this season opening concert gala featuring Respighi’s Pines of Rome.
So please join KLRU-TV on Sunday, September 30th at 2 pm for these two unique specials.
The first Monday of the month KLRU Q’s 11pm music block features Hardly Sound. The documentary series focuses on Texas underground music and artists but goes beyond the recording studio to tell the story of the band members with insight into the creative process.
This month … Dive into the world of the Austin, Texas garage rock scene with The Bad Lovers and all their rock ‘n’ roll cohorts as they talk about their adventurous past, hopeful future, and the sometimes tenuous friendships that they’ve formed over the years. Hardly Sound airs the first Monday of the month at 11 pm on KLRU-Q. The Bad Lovers episode airs October 1.
Thursday, September 27, Arts in Context explores some of Austin’s best contemporary and performance art featured in this year’s Fusebox Festival. Featured is Austin’s own Les RAV and composer Travis Weller, both showcasing unique local talent. Also featured is Jennifer Sherburn, a dancer and composer whose innovative style brings to the stage a non-traditional form of Austin art. Fusebox Festival features not only Austin’s best artists, but also showcases some of the most interesting national and international artists, like Singer/Songwriter Holcombe Waller (Portland), the electronic folk duo, Lulacruza (Colombia and Argentina), and choreographer David Zambrano’s (Venezuela).
Fusebox Festival is a space where artists and audiences can take risks, ask questions and explore ideas together, break rules and blur boundaries. The 2012 festival features a great mix of local and international talent performing theater, dance, and music.
Join KLRU Thursday, September 27 at 7:30 PM to catch Arts in Context’s Fusebox Festival episode!
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