So here we go. This is something I’ve been working on with my comrades in blogging at You Ain’t No Picasso. My Old Kentucky Blog, Gorilla Vs Bear, Largehearted Boy and Rock Insider for the last while and which we’re finally ready to unveil – The Hot Freaks!

It’s an event we’re putting on at SxSW this year and it’s looking pretty bad-ass if I do say so myself. We’ve got 32 bands playing over two days and three stages at Fhe Mohawk and Club DeVille in Austin on March 16 and 17 and we’re talking some top-notch talent – mostly hand-picked (or begged) by us. Can you guess who mine were? Probably. There’s names both new and familiar in the mix, and over the next month as I get acquainted with or excited about various acts participating I’ll be posting my thoughts here – de facto content. Gotta love it.

Also kind of loving the idea of not having to run all over downtown Austin for those two days (if not nights). But I’m very happy to be able to announce all this today because I’ve been sitting on it for over a week now while we got some stuff hammered out, and it’s been driving me a little nuts. And this might not be the end of it!

But enough jabber – check out the sched… and maybe a little musical accompaniment… And check out the flyer from San Francisco’s Andy Hawgood.

MP3: Guided By Voices – “Hot Freaks”

Friday, March 16

Mohawk (outside):
12:00 pm – Catfish Haven (MySpace)
1:00 pm – Thunderbirds Are Now! (MySpace)
2:00 pm – Apostle of Hustle (MySpace)
3:00 pm – Imperial Teen (MySpace)
4:00 pm – Annuals (MySpace)
5:00 pm – Shearwater (MySpace)

Mohawk (inside)
12:30 pm – Briertone (MySpace)
1:30 pm – Sea Wolf (MySpace)
2:30 pm – St. Vincent (MySpace)
3:30 pm – Midnight Movies (MySpace)
4:30 pm – Bishop Allen (MySpace)

Club DeVille (Insound stage)
12:30 pm – Apes and Androids (MySpace)
1:30 pm – The Black Lips (MySpace)
2:30 pm – Walter Meego (MySpace)
3:30 pm – Shout Out Out Out Out (MySpace)
4:30 pm – Pelican (MySpace)

Saturday, March 17

Mohawk (outside)
12:00 pm – The Early Years (MySpace)
1:00 pm – Malajube (MySpace)
2:00 pm – The Ponys (MySpace)
3:00 pm – Viva Voce Asobi Seksu (MySpace)
4:00 pm – Menomena (MySpace)
5:00 pm – Special guest headliner from Dallas, TX.

Mohawk (inside)
12:30 pm – White Denim
1:30 pm – Page France (MySpace)
2:30 pm – Twilight Sleep (MySpace)
3:30 pm – Young Galaxy (MySpace)
4:30 pm – RJD2 (MySpace)

Club DeVille
12:30 pm – Prototypes (MySpace)
1:30 pm – Land of Talk (MySpace)
2:30 pm – The Young Knives (MySpace)
3:30 pm – The Rosebuds (MySpace)
4:30 pm – Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s (MySpace)

And that’s not all – on Thursday the 15th, I’ll be co-presenting, along with My Old Kentucky Blog and An Aquarium Drunkard and in conjunction with LiveDaily and Spaceland, another day show at Antone’s. The lineup for that one is as follows:

Blonde Redhead (MySpace)
Annuals (MySpace)
Mando Diao (MySpace)
Datarock (MySpace)
Dirty On Purpose (MySpace)
Tally Hall (MySpace)

So as you can see, my SxSW 2007 is looking pretty damn busy. But if you’re in Austin that week and happen by one of these shows, do say hello.

Bradley’s Almanac has got a live Shearwater set from Boston last September up for downloading. Needless to say, I’m ecstatic about their headlining our Friday show.

And just so that the hometown doesn’t feel too neglected today, I’ll point out that Frog Eyes have booked a show at Sneaky Dee’s for May 24. Pitchfork talked to Carey Mercer about their new album Tears Of The Valedictorian, also due out in May.

Also, The Long Winters, The Broken West and Stars Of Track And Field are at the El Mocambo on March 27 (via For The Records). On one hand, Long Winters and The Broken West are guaranteed to turn out some ass kicking power pop. On the other hand, March will already have killed me five times over.

And finally, the new album from Feist is indeed called The Reminder and will be out May 1 in North America, the week before in the rest of the world. Grok the album art at All Things Feist.