Yes, this time it's for real. Austin Outhouse owner
Chuck Lamb doesn't
hide his emotion when discussing it, either: the Outhouse is out of business as
of the last day of this month. Now do you want to compound that bad news? Try
this:
Laura at the Blue Flamingo says that day also marks the closing of
her unique venue as well. And neither club has any clear hopes of a new
location in the near future.
The Outhouse's problems you probably already know, as they've been dragging on
for months now, with several temporary reprieves dotting the way. Simply put,
the building's owner wants the club out so another business (Flamingo Auto
Parts, ironically) can expand into the space that the low-key club has occupied
for 15 years. Lamb has been searching for a new Outhouse location in the
meantime, but has been dogged with the usual problems of high rent and city
bureaucracy.
The Blue Flamingo's closing comes as more of a shock. When clubowner Laura
paid the rent late this month, she was informed that she'd broken the lease and
that the landlord intended to come out of retirement and open a place of his
own ("It's gonna be a shitkicker bar," says Laura) to make more money. Laura
has decided not to fight the decision, opting instead to take this opportunity
to rest and recuperate from some heart problems before looking for another
location. "The music scene will go on without me," she says, "It's too big to
stop - but I hope to be a part of it again." And that's a sentiment that could
no doubt be attributed to Lamb just as easily.
Yep, the music scene will go on. Among other things, Power Tools and
the Poodle Dog Lounge are stepping into the live music ring. And then there's
that new La Zona Rosa place....
Poster-Mortem
Eric "Emo" Hartman says that over the weekend, his and other clubs in
town received fines for posters that bands had posted promoting shows at said
clubs. Hartman says that Emo's had received a notice a few months ago
indicating that the city was preparing to crack down on postering, but points
out that the club itself had nothing to do with the flyer in question (for a
Sangre de Toro show) that was found on "a street I've never even heard
of." Hartman says that according to his lawyer the law is "probably not
enforceable," then disgustedly adds "It's just another day in court in Austin:
the Live Music Capital of the World, as long as you don't advertise your shows
or turn the music up too loud!"
Munikkendam Groothandel
Is Coming to Town...
When you think of good old American roots music, naturally you think of
Holland. Well, Dutch record company Munich Records (those long funny words in
the subhead are the original name the company was formed under in 1946),
specializes in such music, and is opening a U.S. office in Austin. Local
producer/former
Poi Dog Pondering right hand man
Mike Stewart
will be running the marketing and promotion for the company's North American
branch. The first batch of recordings from Munich America include albums from
Albert Collins & Barrelhouse, Rory Block, Liz Meyer, Hugh Mundell, a
reggae collection, and
Sunday Morning Coming Down, a compilation
featuring
Calvin Russell, Loose Diamonds, John Gorka, and other Austin
and non-Austin musicians. Next year (Munich's 50th anniversary) should see at
least 10 more releases from the label.
Go-Go Girls and
Eager Beavers
Two new bands featuring familiar names are springing up in the same place at
the same time this week. Former
Go-Go's guitarist
Kathy Valentine
has put out her first album since the Go-Go's days with the
Delphines
(on Delphine Records) and that band, which also features ex-
Bluebonnets
bassist
Dominique Davalos and drummer
Paul Crowder, will be
playing on Saturday with
Will Sexton at Steamboat, and Sunday at the
Continental Club. Opening the latter show will be
Lucky, a new band
featuring former
Cobra and
Eager Beaver Boy Alex Napier
plus
Thierry LeCoz and
Sherri McGee rockin' the roots ("originals
and everything from
Merle Haggard to
T. Rex," says Napier).
Super Secret Mixed Notes
I know one band in town that I won't be taking any checks from any time soon.
A certain fivesome who were to receive $10,000 for having one of their songs
used in the soundtrack to the movie
Showgirls did a whole lot o'
spending - and then were informed that the scene containing the song had been
cut from the film at the very last moment. No "Wendel," I
won't take an
I.O.U... A certain former Austin drummer who's known for his digestive tract as
much as his hi-hat was spotted in his new home of New York recently by the
members of
Spoon. Frontman
Britt Daniel gives a full update,
saying the drummer in question is still on crutches (see recent columns), is
almost out of money, has had his car impounded, and "by the end of the night he
had managed to throw up on the shoes of everybody in my band as well as this
A&R guy from Slash Records and the manager of
Weezer"... If you were
at
Kris McKay's "Too Many Guitars" show last Wednesday at the
Continental Club, you saw a "once in a lifetime" guest join McKay, Will and
Charlie Sexton and the gang. None other than
David Byrne,
ex-
Talking Head and renegade former Subgenius, hopped up and performed
with the band. Byrne, it turns out, was in town helping
Terry Allen out
by lending his musical talents to his new album...
Mineral have just
signed with California-based Crank Records and will have an album coming out in
October. There'll be a Crank showcase with Mineral and two of the label's other
bands,
Boys Life and
Boilermaker, at the Flamingo Cantina on
Monday. Don't expect to see any posters for the show... I already told you it
was happening, but yes, we have received the official notice that
Sarah
Brown has signed with Blind Pig Records. Look for an album in January...
Baffling Voicemail of the Week comes from what sounds like a 14-year-old boy
who found the following worth making a long distance call to the
Chron
from San Marcos: "Just on TV I heard that
Flea of the
Red Hot Chili
Peppers is a Republican and he has a tattoo of elephants forming a chain
around his left arm!" Wow, thanks for the information. We'll get a reporter on
that
right away!... Actually, that reminds me:
Jesse Tobias,
former Austinite and Chili-Pepper-for-a-day, is in
Alanis "I used to be
on
Nickelodeon but now I talk dirty"
Morissette's touring band
these days. Didja see the two of them on
120 Minutes last Sunday? And
did you see former
Steam Heat drummer
Kenny Dale Johnson on
The Larry Sanders Show with
Chris Isaak?... Will someone
please tell Will Sexton to give
David ("Welcome to the Boomtown")
Baerwald a call? The poor fella's been posting on the Internet for,
like, months now looking for him...
Gibby-wise, there's good news and
bad. The
P album has been delayed until late October but - shock of
shocks - the
Butthole Surfers are scheduled to go into the studio during
the first half of that month, and the resulting new album is scheduled for
release in March of next year...
Hollowbody have a single release at
Emo's on the 25th, while
bo bud greene will be doing the full-on instore
thing at Waterloo Records this Friday at 5pm and a release party at Flamingo
Cantina next Thursday. And there's a big No Lie showcase at Emo's next
Wednesday with
Blue Meanies, Jesus Christ Superfly (with their new
drummer
Steve from the
American Psycho Band), and the
Chumps... I hear there was a fire in the Texas Union during
Peter
Case's Cactus Cafe show, so Pete set up the monitors outside and played his
set on the steps outside... Supporters of the
Stevie Ray Vaughan statue
may not appreciate the
Motards' new single "King of Blues (one song for
$3.49 on the aptly named Ripoff Records). Then again, fans of SRV's statue
probably wouldn't want
either of the Motards' new singles... "We'll give
you, uh, gum," say
Squat Thrust, if I plug their Friday show at Emo's.
Good enough... Seattlite
Peter "Texas Pete"
Blackstock, besides
playing tour guide to the R.E.M. guys, is also plugging his new magazine
No
Depression: The Alternative Country Quarterly. You'll see the work of some
current and former
Chronicle writers therein...That's
Chron
photog
Michael Crawford's photo of
L7 at Emo's in the new
Rolling Stone (
Foo Fighters cover)but they not only identified
Donita Sparks as
Jennifer Finch, the band is quoted as calling
themselves "Canine." Uh, folks, believe that's
K9, as in L7 - get
it? Also in the issue is
Chronicle writer
Jason Cohen's piece on
Garbage - but no
bands from here. Maybe that slogan should be changed to
"Live Music
Journalist Capital of the World..."
Wish You Were
There: This week's photo of what you're missing by living in Austin is "the
6'x3' plexiglass armadillo [that] hangs above the dancefloor in the Armadillo
Honky Tonk Lounge" at the Texas Gambling Hall and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hmmpph! I'll bet even
Branson, Missouri doesn't have anything as
impressive as
that! n
