Have you ever discovered a band that's new to you, through a song on the radio or in a friend's playlist, and then set out to find out all about your new obsession — only to then find out the band is no more?

This happened to me yesterday morning when I heard Dry Land Fish's "Carla" on XM's X Country. I got into the office and Googled (and then Ask'd and then Yahoo'd and even A9'd) the band, but couldn't find much other than a dated writeup and a defunct URL. So I emailed X Country to try and find out something — anything! — about the band.

Apparently someone from XM forwarded my request, because a few hours later I had emails from Jonathan Hodges (vocals, harmonica) and then Darren Doyle (vocals, guitar, producer), plus a live URL for the band's site at last.

The band still exists, though new release "Dry Land Fish: The Album" is purported to be their final recording. No audio samples that I can find on the site, but once I get the album I'll be sure to post a few.

I've only heard a couple of their Southern rock songs (perhaps because of mine and others' requests, X Country played another two songs yesterday), but trust me — this is a band you need to hear.

Several recent stories of note from the Austin American-Statesman:

Joe Gross's guide to Austin's independent record stores, from heavyweight Waterloo Records to newcomers like End of an Ear and Sound on Sound. Plus profiles of several stores and their owners. Unfortunately the useful infographic that mapped the stores and was included in Sunday's print edition does not appear to have made it online.

Michael Corcoran's in-depth cover story on the Braun brothers — Willy and Cody of Reckless Kelly, and Micky and Gary of Micky & the Motorcars. As my wife pointed out, he somehow muffed the final line: "The Big Sky Country has been good to them, but, as the song goes, their first love is a twisted, wicked road." The album, song, and lyric are "wicked, twisted road."

Steven Kreytak's article on Jerry Jeff Walker's legal dispute with Palo Duro Records over the recently released (though now withdrawn) Viva! Terlingua! Nuevo! Songs of Luckenbach Texas. Walker claims the album, which pays homage to his classic Viva! Terlingua!, infringes on his copyright and unfairly leads purchasers to assume he was involved in its creation. Palo Duro founder Chris Thomas promises an aggressive defense (PDF) and hopes to return the album to stores soon.