House of Songs for KUT

There's a neat musical exchange going on between Austin and Denmark. Musicians from Copenhagen fly in for total immersion in the live music capitol, spending a week or two collaborating with locals, playing gigs, and soaking up the atmosphere in the 78704.

The program is funded by the Songwriter Guild of Denmark and operates other houses in New York and Los Angeles, Spain, Portugal and Greece.  Back in January, I worked on a story with KUT's David Brown. I met some amazing musicians and made a list of people to see the next time I visit my brother in Copenhagen.

Stanley Samuelson, center, a songwriter from the Faroe Islands, plays with Austin artists Danny Schmidt, left, and Carrie Elkin, right, on the back porch of the House of Songs in the Travis Heights neighborhood.

Peter Smith stopped by several south Austin shops, hoping to find a new guitar.



Peter Smith and Austin musician Nathan Felix collaborate on a song in north Austin.



ZAR outside Austin's Broken Spoke.







The House of Songs has weekly showcases of Austin and Denmark musicians at Flipnotics, Momo's, and Threadgill's. Check 'em out. You won't be disappointed.

Spoon for KUT

Shot Spoon for Texas Music Matters on Tuesday. It was fun to run around the set of Austin City Limits and not be hostage to the usual two song limit.  This band also rocks my socks off.  Bonus.  See the slideshow below.

'Under the Hood' for KUT

I found myself back in Killeen with KUT reporter Nathan Bernier last week.  Under the Hood is an anti-war coffee house where soldiers can vent their feelings about the military without fear of reprisal.  Army Spc. Eric Jasinski and Pfc. Mike Kern recounted their struggles to receive mental health care after returning from their deployments to Iraq.  Cynthia Thomas, the proprietor of the coffee house organized a protest last week to bring attention to the lack of services soldiers and their families receive.