Paint the Town Neon

Upon recently moving to Brooklyn from Austin, Texas, Alan Palomo (of Neon Indian and VEGA) noticed two things about New York: You have to hustle to get ahead ("the city has a funny way of lighting a fire under you," he says) and the ubiquity of the word "vibe." According to him, "no one uses that word in Texas." Though Palomo, who is already thinking about the next Neon Indian album, would likely be ambitious no matter where he lived, the latter New York-Centric trait can be attributed to Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor, who co-produced Palomo's new single, "Sleep Paralysist." In the recording studio "Chris [Taylor] would always say 'I like that vibe' or 'Yeah, I'm vibing with that,' Palomo laughs, admitting that the word soon crept into his vocabulary too. Commissioned by Mountain Dew-owned label Green Label Sound, "Sleep Paralysist" is full of the lo-fi fuzz, syrupy synths, and jittery video game beats that helped Neon Indian's debut, Psychic Chasms, appear on several Best-Of-2009 lists. Rounded out with Grizzly-sized hooks, the song is a seamless pairing of each musician's sensibilities. Or, dare we say,"vibes."

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, where he'll be heading March 20 to play at Todd P's MtyMx festival, Palomo's currently in his former stomping grounds, playing eight shows in three days at SXSW. Whether you're in Austin for this whirlwind music festival or planning a trip there, Palomo's got a few tips for places to eat, drink, and rent videos at 3 a.m.

I LUV VIDEO

Neon Indian says: "This is a video rental place open until 3 a.m. They have a really extensive selection and I went here a lot late at night during the writing of Psychic Chasms. I would go in there after working all day feeling kind of zombified and could always find a movie that complimented that mood." (2915 Guadalupe, (512) 236-0759; 4803 Airport (512) 450-1966)

(Above, clockwise: I Luv Video; A "Don Juan" at Juan in a Million, photo courtesy of thetastingbuds.com; BackSpin records, photo via Flickr.com; The Mohawk, photo courtesy of mohawkaustin.com; Rio Rita logo, photo courtesy of Riorita.net)

JUAN IN A MILLION

Neon Indian says: "They have this really good egg, potato, bacon and cheese breakfast taco plate called the 'Don Juan' for around $3. It's more food than anyone can eat in a reasonable state of mind." (2300 E. Cesar Chavez St., (512) 472-3872)

SWITCHED ON

Neon Indian says: "It's an unbelievably amazing music boutique with lots of esoteric synth equipment and old guitars. We'll be DJing here and I'm excited to get a chance to play around with some toys in there." (1111 E. 11th St. Suite 150, (512) 782-8806)

RIO RITA

Neon Indian says: "This is a divey, Mexican sort of bar with amazing bloody marys. I've spent a lot of Sunday afternoons there chewing on celery." (1308 E. 6th St., (512) 524-0384)

THE MOHAWK

Neon Indian says: "A lot of great bands roll through the Mohawk. When I lived in Austin, I got to see Ariel Pink play there and he totally blew my mind. One of my friends was hopped up on laughing gas like Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet -- he had that same kind of glaze in his eyes. It was so funny and appropriate to be seeing Ariel Pink while my friend was going through this really potent psychedelic experience." (912 Red River St., (512) 482-8404)

BACKSPIN RECORDS

Neon Indian says: "This place is unassuming and located in a strip mall, but they have an immaculate disco funk and house section. There's lots of Larry Levan and stuff you can never really find. What I love most about it, though, is this sign out on a turntable in the store that says 'Whoa there, Qbert! No scratching on these records.'" (4631 Airport Blvd #110-A, (512) 454-7746)