Dancing About Architecture

Photo By Ken Hoge

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Not So Super! But Thanks For Asking ...

Well, well. I'm not alone, it seems. My rant last week about the hell I was going through finding a new place to rent attracted more comments than anything else I've written in a long time. I had to give up on staying central and settled into a place out near Burnet and Anderson, after a number of years living mostly within walking distance of the Hole in the Wall and even a short stint (long ago) on Seventh Street less than a block from Emo's. I appreciate all the support I got last week, but it's a very bad sign for this town when you consider how many people, most of whom are involved in Austin's music community, identified with my plight and are getting elbowed out of the way by the ever-growing rush of button-pushers. Even worse, the dominant atmosphere among artistic folks in town is one of defeatism, with many believing that it's just plain over as far as the Austin that was, and no hope of recovering lost ground. One citizen, who shall remain anonymous, admits to consorting with the "fascist techie slime ... er ... high-tech set," and e-mailed the following: "Even though I've tried my best to blend in with the enemy (i.e. bottom-of-the-barrel job at Dell), I can still feel the disgust and utter lack of respect every time I walk past one of these power-suited Nazis in the hallway." I'd be lying if I claimed I'm particularly optimistic about Austin's future as a center of creativity, or that I haven't thought, like so many others, of moving on to greener pastures. As one highly placed government official who remains one of us points out, in the interest of "boosting" the local economy, the current city administrators are "boosting everybody right out the door."

On the other hand, in the midst of my move I found myself detoured by the biggest Eeyore's Birthday Party I've ever seen, one untainted by any sign of the pocket-protector set. For a moment there, it seems "they" were nowhere in sight, and not only that, but there were more of "us" than ever! As far as live music, the clubs may be dropping like flies, and artists may be struggling to make ends meet, but when has that ever not been the case, really? The conspiracy theorist in me has been taking note of the constant increase of live music everywhere but the town's once-beloved venues and looking at it from the angle that it's all a product of "them" demanding that we put on a show for them at their convenience, on their turf, as they greedily continue to eat away at ours. Maybe, though, just maybe, it's our natural ability for subversion (the artist's greatest strength) that has put live local music in schools (Kelly Willis at Westlake High on Easter), H.E.B. (by ex-Emo's doorguy Lonesome Dave Fisher, who books live music at both Central Markets), and even at Round Rock Express games (tonight's performers are Rick Treviño doing the "Star Spangled Banner" and pre- and post-show sets by Clay Baker & the Texas Honky Tonk Band). Yup, that's it. Without even consciously thinking about it, we've already started preparing for the day when there are no more live music clubs. As that day approaches, however -- and to the dismay of those with no imagination -- music continues to sprout up everywhere in the city, so we the artistic community must remain vigilant, constantly eyeing housing as we continue to get tossed from one rental property to another. Because, as our anonymous e-mailer points out, I was completely in error in suggesting that eventually we would all be fighting for living space under the Loop 360 bridge. "That's just way too close to their home turf," he notes with the ring of absolute truth. "Now, the Congress Ave. bridge, maybe."

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Patti Pending

In February, singer-songwriter Patti Griffin told an Austin City Limits audience that her upcoming album for monolithic post-merger label A&M/Interscope was done. This week, a spokesperson for said label(s) told the Chronicle they weren't sure that everything was quite so down pat(ti), but what we heard next is almost unheard of from big labels in these days of catastrophe and chaos in the music industry: enthusiasm. Asked whether the label would be sticking with the comparably little-known artist, the reply came back, "Hell, yeah! We think Patti's gonna have a hit with this record!" Admittedly, if anyone's in a good position to get noticed by the time the disc hits stores this fall, it's Griffin. With a tour opening for everybody's darlings the Dixie Chicks starting in June, the less-than-ubiquitous Austinite is guaranteed an expanded audience and attention from the media throughout the summer, and since she shares a manager with Lyle Lovett in the person of power player Ken Levitan, the addition of serious commitment from Interscope -- assuming that level stays as high as it currently is -- should make up for the fact that the other side of the slash, A&M Records, appeared to be all but dead following the labels' dive into the merger wars that have marked the music industry's move into the next century. Perhaps, this is just a case of the rest of the country actually catching on to an Austin act at the same time as the locals; despite not keeping a high in-town profile by gigging regularly at, say, the Cactus Cafe or Ruta Maya, the label reports Griffin's 1998 A&M album Red has sold some 100,000 copies, a number comparable to the sales figures for the most recent effort from River City household name Kelly Willis. In any case, expect to find a packed house at the Erwin Center on August 12 as the Chicks/Griffin tour makes its Austin stop. Expect also to find both born-and-bred tie-dye Austinites and bought-and-sold bowtied limousine riders anxiously hoping to get in on the ground floor with Griffin.

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Starting From Scratch

Brett Bradford, ex of Scratch Acid (the band that brought you fine song titles like "Unlike a Baptist" and "Big Bone Lick"), and currently the heart of Sangre de Toro, tells us that former Scratch Acid drummer Rey Washam, fresh out of Ministry, is currently up in Chicago with other former Ministers working on recordings for a Swiss label (guess this delays that rumored Scratch reunion we've been looking for). Bradford mentions this because his current drummer Max Brody may replace Washam as skinpounder in the Al Jourgensen family. If he gets the gig, Brody would be playing at red-eyed Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest this summer instead of at the Red Eyed Fly, and no friendly Rey of sunshine would be available to fill the dark spot in Sangre de Toro. To make things worse, Bradford has already lost current Brown Whörnet bassist Julian Peterson, but in that case, he's got the amazing Jeff Pinkus taking up the bass chores. Note to Brett: Keep two things in mind when working with Pinkus. One, he's going for the Austin record for most bands played in this year, and two, whatever you do, don't throw cake at the man. He had quite enough of that at the recent Honky show at the Hole in the Wall, and icing looks really silly dripping off his beard.

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Mixed Notes

MCA Records has taken an interest in the Love Supreme, enough to give them money to record a couple of songs for the label, says an MCA rep. The label had heard good buzz about the band (and, they admit, they figured the name was too cool for the band to really suck) and had planned to send someone up to catch them during SXSW. An attack of the flu put the kibosh on that plan, but the label folks decided the band's self-released, self-titled album showed enough promise to inspire them to drop the bucks. I guess that means they're into "self-love supreme"... "Is that Weird Al?" smirked a proofreader as the strains of "Boyz-N-the- Hood" began to issue from the Chronicle's just-received advance copy of Dynamite Hack's Farmclub/Universal debut, Superfast. The band expects to laugh all the way to the bank when the album becomes available commercially. "We are the No. 1 most requested [act on key L.A. radio station KROQ] for two weeks in a row now," crows manager George Couri on behalf of Mark Morris and company. If you catch any of the Hacks complaining when people crack jokes about the band, be sure and remind them of the old adage about the pot calling the kettle black; purchasers of Superfast who wait a bit after the last song listed on the CD will find a secret bonus track that takes a potshot at Vallejo... Bedhead fans will be glad to know that defunct act has a new album out -- sort of. Brothers Matt & Bubba Kadane and their pals in Athens, Joshua & Mischo McKay (also brothers) of the band Macha sent tapes back and forth between their respective cities to come up with Macha Loved Bedhead, which is out now on the Jetset Records... Margaret Moser reports staring at the cover of Blues Before Sunrise for a long time before it dawned on her (ouch!) that the photo of Stevie Ray Vaughan thereon was from a shoot for the Austin Sun, taken for what she believes is the first article ever written about the Vaughan brothers. Here's another pic from that session... The Antone's Blues Festival is still on for May 13, despite the unexpected removal of star John Lee Hooker from the lineup. The 82- year-old Hooker was undergoing a routine checkup recently when doctors discovered a vascular condition that may require surgery, resulting in the cancellation of the Austin gig as well as a string of planned European dates. Hooker is undergoing further testing, while the Blues Festival was, at press time, still "waiting and waiting" on a confirmation for a replacement. As a result, it's still a secret who the special guest might be, but our "mole" tells us you could be pleasantly surprised...

--Contributors: Raoul Hernandez, Andy Langer, Margaret Moser