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Austin owes Clifford Antone.

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Clifford Antone leaned over, pointed at the roof, saying, "I think I can see Doug hanging off that rafter over there." Onstage, an amazing band was rocking Antone's -- the only thing missing was Sir Douglas himself, but if he wasn't there in body, he was there in the music. The peak was an awe-inspiring version of "She's About a Mover," driven by Augie Meyers' keyboards. Doug Sahm's death was so completely unexpected and devastating that many suffered from an overwhelming hopelessness. Couldn't we have done something to help? But there was an extra sadness in the room that night: Clifford Antone is going to be sentenced to jail soon (see Ken Lieck's "Dancing About Architecture").

This hurts deep inside. The actual legal issues involved are the judge's purview and not our business. But if only, as someone suggested the other night at Antone's, a person's contributions to the community could count for him as the other issues counted against him. Although Clifford is neither owner nor manager of Antone's, his unfettered love of the blues makes him its spiritual leader.

We are all in Clifford's debt, whether or not we ever went to the club. His impact on the music, the local music community, the greater community, and this paper has been extensive. For those of us who have benefited not only from the club but also from getting to know Clifford, his impact has been especially strong.

There is no way to write an accurate history of the blues in the last quarter of the 20th century without covering Clifford Antone and Antone's. Historic meetings and searing, brilliant performances are the norm at the club. Antone's is headquarters to a huge community of musicians and has been since it started on Sixth Street. When a legend plays Antone's, the audience is made up of significant peers, leading to surprisingly great performances from artists who are working all the time. The history of the club includes the Fabulous Thunderbirds as the house band, long residencies by artists as legendary as Hubert Sumlin and Mel Brown, and the nurturing of three generations of talent, including Angela Strehli, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lou Ann Barton, Sue Foley -- and that doesn't even begin the list.

Austin owes Clifford. One of the reasons for the city's current boom is the perception around the country that we are a creative community that prizes innovation. The atmosphere created by nationally known clubs such as Antone's is crucial to that perception. On the Paramount lot in Hollywood, I was introduced to a sitcom director. Hearing I'm from Austin, he asked about Antone's (mispronouncing it "Antoine's"). The same thing (without the mispronunciation) happened on a beach in Cape Cod, a smoky bar in Toronto, a coffee shop in Portland, and on a plane to Europe.

Antone's gives back to the community, and not just in music and talent. I can't begin to count the number of benefits I've attended there or helped put on there. When you call them to ask for help, they just ask how.

Clifford will be going away soon. There is this very real sense of frustration. Our love and our prayers go with him. Prayers not just of words and religion but of hope. Prayers that sound like a long-running blues riff or a slow, rolling harp that's slung sweet and low until it's soaring over the horns through the audience and out of the club's door into the dark, moonless night.


Last Saturday, the Statesman ran a story about how Rick Linklater was leading a coalition of local filmmakers in an effort to get some of the abandoned hangars at Mueller to use as sound stages. As president of the board of the Austin Film Society, I am part of this effort. My relationship with you, the reader, dictates I give a little background on what is an inherently political process. Rick Linklater has a vision (Stan Ginsel actually saw the hangars and brought Rick the idea, but he became an enthusiastic believer immediately): Mueller Airport hangars as relatively inexpensive-to-rent sound stages in order to aid local filmmakers and attract other productions (including major Hollywood movies) to Austin. In the past, when Rick has had visions (often shared with friends and co-workers), we've pitched in because they were also about community and about film. From Rick and company's earliest days with the Austin Film Society, the Chronicle provided advertising and editorial support. Now AFS shows over 100 films a year, almost half of them for free. Recently there's been the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund, which has given away $180,000 in just the last three years. In development is a national film distribution library (more on that as it develops). So one day Rick called and said he was excited about turning hangars into sound stages. The first concern was the response of neighborhood groups and the ongoing Mueller planning process. A group that included Rick, Elizabeth Avellan, Robert Rodriguez, and Mike Judge began the long process of talking to neighborhood groups and city staff. The next step will be to become involved in the planning process. Right now, our mission is to communicate and learn from as many neighborhood leaders, planners, and city staff as possible, so that we can come to understand the issues we are facing.

The best news was discovering that four years back, when discussion and planning for possible future uses of the airport was going on, neighborhood groups had offered sound stages as a viable option. Fulfilling this vision by using the hangars as sound stages could be the anchor which holds in place all the rest of the community's plans (and the planning process is ongoing, with a report due next year).

There is much to say about this plan, but we are still at the point where it is more important for us to listen than to talk, to learn rather than lecture. This is not a plan from developers, politicians, entrepreneurs, or politicians; instead, this effort is being headed up by working filmmakers who have all made their long-term commitment to this city clear. It is an idea from the creative community which should benefit not only the future of filmmaking in Austin but also the long-term redevelopment of Mueller. It asks for no money from the city. There are productions willing to commit. I'm so excited by this that I'm tempted to go on and on -- but I won't.

There is an embarrassing story here about the mayor and I (not embarrassing for the mayor), but I'll also save it for later. end story

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