I'm in Austin too, BTW!

Thanks for the reply CMiYC,

I was refering to this version:
http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardSerialSingleSided3

That's the only single sided one I've seen, but like I said I'm real new to this.  

Integrating the LEDs sounds great!  I'll only be building this specifically for this task, so that makes sense.

One issue is that the cable need to be able to be about 15-20 feet long from the computer to the ardunio (or 15-20 feet from ardunio to LEDs), so I know that makes the USB version not a good choice...

Can anyone point me in the direction of where I should ask if this is not the place?  You guys know if I can control eight LEDs individually with the Arduino Duemilanove?

Hi folks,
I am brand new to arduino, so please go easy on me!  I will be needing to control eight independent LEDs via maxMSP.  Each LED will either be "blinking", "on" or "off" independent of eachother.  I'm looking at building the single sided arduino board since I can etch it myself.  Will one board be all I need?  Do I need a shield board?

Thanks you, and if I have forgotten any needed basic info, please let me know.

Cheers,
Joel