Former Small Faces keyboardist and Rolling Stones sideman Ian McLagan has called Austin home since the 1990s. And, as he says, it’s a welcome change from the weather back in England. Today, McLagan leads the Bump Band, who backed Bonnie Raitt on her 1982 album Green Light, and you can count on them to appear at SXSW each year.  His newest album, Never Say Never, is out now, and includes songs dedicated to his wife Kim, who died in 2006. Following the Bump Band’s set at Antone’s, McLagan was in high spirits as he talked about his amazingly diverse career.—Robin Cook

Imagine you’re a tween or a teen in suburban America.  The walls shake with the sound of band practice in the family garage.  Except that it’s your mother practicing, not you!  Rockin’ Moms came to SXSW to show that mothers can kick out the jams, too. Rockin’ Moms founder Tiffany Petrossi, Mydols guitarist Judy Davids and 3 Kisses frontwoman Tish Meeks talk about the joys and challenges of being musicians and moms.  Davids is also the author of Rock Star Mommy, published by Citadel, whose parent company is also this humble vidblogger’s employer.—Robin Cook

From indie guitar hero to blogger: Carrie Brownstein has been keeping herself busy since Sleater-Kinney broke up. Monitor Mix is her blog at NPR, and she’s also branched out into comedy. Carrie had a few minutes before a blogger panel to talk about what she’s been up to, as well as her plans for the future. (Check out her March 20 blog post for an illustration of said blogger panel.)—Robin Cook

Photo: Meg Sheff-Atteberry

PopMatters has had plenty of nice things to say about Baltimore’s The Oranges Band (specifically here and here. When the band announced that they were headed into the studio to begin work on their new record, having soldiered through personnel changes and struggles at their label, Lookout Records, it seemed like an excellent time to catch up and to allow them to speak for themselves by cataloging the happenings. Over the next several weeks, Oranges Band frontman Roman Kuebler will write in with updates from the sessions for the band’s third full-length. Here’s part two…
—Jon Langmead

It’s a maze of equipment in the tracking room. Doug emerges from the “amp cavern”. I’ll admit to being slightly confused and just a little overwhelmed here.

At Austin’s legendary Waterloo Records, Elf Power treated patrons to a lively in-store performance, with songs from their newest album, In a Cave (Rykodisc). Before their set, band leader Andrew Rieger talked about Elf Power’s history, their place in the great Elephant 6 cosmos, and their new sustainable housing project.—Robin Cook