SA invades Austin, Bonaparte invades us

On Friday, March 16, the Hickoids' singer Jeff Smith will be extra busy with two big events. In his role as a promoter, he'll be leading his sixth annual mini-invasion of Austin helped along by Mitch Webb & The Swindles, Alvaro y sus Amigos, De Los Muertos, Snowbyrd, The Masters of Love, the Krayolas, and Los #3 Dinners. The event, dubbed "A town south of Austin," starts at 7 p.m. at Opal Divine's The Free House (700 W 6th, Austin). You don't need a SXSW badge: the event is free, but you need to get there early because seating is limited.

In another Smith promotion, SA is also being invaded the same night by Berlin-based Bonaparte, a performance indie punk band led by a Swiss nut named Tobias Jundt (the only permanent member) and described by German daily Der Tagesspiegel as "a multi-ethnic group governed by the party king and a trash circus unleashed." They rock hard, but party harder, and are a visual feast (I can only describe them as Mardi Gras on acid mixed with a Johnny Rotten-organized rave). Glambilly and the Scoundrels will open at 9:30pm at Nightrocker ($8-$10, all ages, 605 San Pedro).

If you prefer something deeper and more conducive to liberating the masses from the oppression of evil forces, the third single off Stand For Something, Third Root's upcoming album, is ready for exclusive free download at sacurrent.com (go to www2.sacurrent.com/music/ThirdRoot-LyricalGraffiti.mp3). Third Root is a socially, politically, and culturally conscious Afro-Hispanic collaboration betwen Easy Lee (MoJoe) and Marco Cervantes (Mexican StepGrandFather).

"'Lyrical Graffiti' is a celebration of MCing and graffiti art," Easy Lee told the Current. "We know the role these elements played and continue to play in black and brown communities, so we wanted to find a creative way to capture them in song. San Antonio music producer Hits provided the perfect canvas and Big Rube's poem helped complete the picture."

Third Root plans to have a listening party/website launch in May and an official release party on June 16 at a still undetermined venue.

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