David S. McWilliams

Two-Minute Tuesdays 28

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“Two-Minute Tuesdays” are a series of micro-stories written in five minutes or less. Consider them “public practice,” like shooting free throws in the park.  Prompts are supplied at the bottom in case you want to try your own hand at one of them.

Was it possible to see beauty in a cockroach, I wondered?

It was my seventh day of solitude. The doors were still locked, the windows dark. Not much I could do about either.

But as I studied the small, brown specimen, these things mattered less. It clung to the wall, near a piece of plastic moulding, lured into the open by careful inactivity on my part. Now I stared at its almond-like form, the bobbing antennae. How many discarded hamburger wrappers, rotting bird carcasses, literal pieces of shit had that small insect burrowed its way inside over its short lifetime? Could I see beauty in the mindless, unstoppable force of decay and consumption that this bug personified?

No dice; I was still crazy, and solitude wasn’t making it any better.

Write for two minutes using these three nouns: beauty, cockroach, dice

October Gigs w/Hecho a Mano

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Hey y’all — two last-minute gigs coming this week with Hecho a Mano.

10/4/18 (This Thursday!) We’re pleased as punch to be opening for Timberos del Norte again at the Spiderhouse Ballroom.
Dance Lesson: 8pm
Hecho a Mano: 9pm
Timberos del Norte: 10pm
21+ $5 cover ($3 for students)
18+ $8 cover ($6 for students)

10/6/18 (This Saturday!) The free concert series continues at Central Market North Lamar. Come hang, enjoy the nice weather, and escape the ACL crowds!
Hecho a Mano: 6:30pm and 8pm
Dance Lesson: 7:30pn
Free!

September Gigs w/Hecho a Mano

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Hey y’all, two upcoming shows with Hecho a Mano that you can look forward to:

Friday August 31st (okay it’s not September, but close enough)
Hecho a Mano @ Central Market North
Free!
Hecho a Mano: 6:30pm and 8pm
Beginner Salsa Dance Lesson: 7:30pm

Thursday September 6th
Hecho a Mano @ Spider House Ballroom
21+ $5 Cover, 18+ $8 Cover
Salsa Dance Lesson: 8pm
Hecho a Mano: 9pm
Timberos del Norte: 10pm

If you haven’t seen us in a few months, we’ve got some new tunes ready for you!

Hecho a Mano will be on Local Live Tonight!

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I’m excited to announce that Hecho a Mano will be appearing on Austin’s very own Local Live radio show tonight from 10 to 11pm!

We’ll premiering a bunch of my new arrangements, including a pair of new originals (one of which is Tino’s). Additionally, we’re really excited to be performing with Victor Cavazos of Orchesta Trabuko — a fantastic vocalist and good friend of mine. We’re also going to be joined by the Top Shelf Latin Entertainment dance team who will be cutting it up in front of us!

The best way to see us is to watch through the Facebook live stream on the Local Live facebook page! But you can also tune in on 91.7FM in Austin and kvrx.org/livestream for the audio and watchtstv.com/live.php for the video broadcast.

Gigs: First Week of June

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Hey y’all,

Two performances coming up this week that you might be interesting in coming to.

First of all, Hecho a Mano is playing at the Workers’ Defense Project’s 4th Annual Music & Movement dinner. We’re going to be premiering at least two new songs, which is a lot for a single 45 minute set! Come on out to enjoy yourself and support a good cause at the same time.

Thursday, June 7th
7pm – 10pm

And then on Saturday I’m playing again with my favorite band in Austin (except Hecho a Mano, of course) — Orquesta Trabuko — at the Salsa y Bomba festival. This is going to be quite a night of dancing, so bring good shoes. https://casita.prfdance.org/2018/05/celebrando2018/

Saturday, June 9th
6pm – 11pm

See you soon!

April is for Salsa!

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Howdy, y’all,

I’ve got a nice slate of upcoming salsa gigs, both with Hecho a Mano and Orquesta Trabuko. It’s gonna be a good April!

First of all (and I’m just about to run out the door to this one), Hecho a Mano is playing tonight at our usual haunt, the Pangea Lounge. You know the drill — music at 9, dance lesson at 10, more music at 11 and until your feet get tired!

Tomorrow night I’m beyond excited to sit in with Orquesta Trabuko @ the San Antonio Gloria’s. It’ll be my first road trip with this band, and if you’re down South I’d love to hang.

Next week Hecho a Mano goes to a new venue — we got the call to fill the Thursday slot at the North Lamar Central Market. If you haven’t been there before, it’s one of the most family-friendly venues on the north side of town and has a great rotation of talent come through on a regular basis.

And finally, Hecho a Mano will be back at Pangea Lounge to finish out the month on the 27th.

Hope to see you out and about!

P.s. I’ve still got some room for beta readers on my most recent manuscript if you want to get on this list — shoot me an email or use the contact form.

Beta Readers Needed

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Do you enjoy detective novels?

Do you love science fiction?

Do you want to contribute to improving a work in progress?

I’m looking for beta readers for a 50k word manuscript. It’s a detective story set in the distant future:

Ethyll Pratchett is a half-cyborg private investigator trapped on the isolated planet of Klio. Wracked with guilt over her role in the incarceration of her partner, she takes on a sensitive case searching for the abducted wife of a high-ranking military officer. Immediately after taking the case, though, she barely survives a bomb attack on a crowded café and becomes one of the chief suspects in the investigation. When the bomber disappears into the same tea shop that the officer’s wife disappeared into, she realizes that the two cases must be somehow linked.

Before the end, she’ll have to face the decision that put her partner into prison, and the forces that are keeping her there…

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, let me know! I’m considering two different levels of beta reader:

1. I’ll send you the manuscript; you read as much or as little as you care to and provide feedback as you see fit. I’ll give you a few questions to prod your brain, but it’s up to you if you want to follow them or not.
2. If you feel like sci-fi and crime stories are your bread and butter, let me know. I’ll send you the manuscript along with a more detailed questionnaire, and we can talk about compensating you fairly for your time (I’m thinking around $30, but let’s talk. I’d also love to beta read one of your manuscripts in return if you’d prefer that).

I’ll be ready to send these out next week sometime, and I’d like to get the responses back by May 14th. If you’re interested, please drop me a line at davidsmcwilliams@gmail.com. Talk to you soon!

New Track Up: Juana Peña (in progress)

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Hey y’all, since we’re playing at Pangea tonight I wanted to share a track Hecho a Mano is working on:

https://soundcloud.com/hechoamanosalsa/juana-pena-v1

The roughs takes for this and four other tracks were squeezed into a three-hour period back in December, with the band crammed into a single room and everyone distinctly aware of what brand of deodorant their neighbors were wearing (that’s how you get that authentic sound, right?). What you can’t see is James bent nearly double, playing bell on the moña into a mic on the floor while trying not to let the alto hanging from his neck hit anything, or Will threading his slide between mic stands every time he brought his horn up to play. It was a good time.

The only thing we didn’t cut that day was José’s vocals — everything else you’re hearing live as if you were in there with us (but with less Old Spice). So yeah, it’s a little rough, a little bit raw, but the vibe is good and so I’m happy with it.

Upcoming SXSW Gigs

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SXSW descends on us once again … I’ve got five gigs lined up this next week with three different bands, and I’d love to see y’all!

Hecho a Mano is excited to (finally!) be returning to the Pangea lounge this Friday now that the weather’s warmed. We’ve got some new music ready for you–including originals–and as far as we know, the dance floor will be open and popping. I’ll be leading our ever-popular drink-as-you-learn beginner salsa lesson at 8pm, and then the music starts at 9pm!

Big Wy’s Brass Band is a familiar sight around Austin, and I am really excited to join them for their official SXSW showcase on the 13th. We’ll be joining the world-famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band on the 14th for a parade, too, so be sure not to miss that!

The Capitol is a new Austin funk project that’s doing some pretty cool stuff with original compositions. I’m one of the old men in this band (some of them can’t even drink yet?!?) which is a really strange feeling, but these dudes are bringing it. The Co-Op show is going to be a fun grungy mess and if that’s your thing you should definitely come dig it.

Friday March 9th
Hecho a Mano @ The Pangea Lounge
Salsa Dance Lesson: 8pm
Music: 9pm-11pm

Saturday March 10th
Big Wy’s Brass Band @ Empire Garage
Music: 8:30pm

Saturday March 10th
The Capitol @ New Guild Co-Op
Music 11pm-Midnight

March 13th
Big Wy’s Brass Band @ Empire Garage — Official SXSW Showcase!
Music: 8:30pm

March 14th
Big Wy’s Brass Band @ 6th/Congress — with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band!
Music: 5:30pm-ish

Enjoy SXSW and stay safe, y’all!