For more than a decade, Epistrophy Arts has been Austin’s leading voice in free-form and avant garde jazz, consistently bringing the world’s finest in improvised music to local stages (see “Free Jazz, Thin Margin”). This month, Epistrophy continues the streak with two shows at the Victory Grill: "Amsterdam Meets Chicago," featuring the Ab Baars Trio with Ken Vandermark on Friday, followed by the triple threat of Peter Brotzmann, Nasheet Waits, and the Eric Revis Trio on April 30. OTR asked Epistrophy Arts founder Pedro Moreno to help break down the two bills. The Ab Baars Trio with Ken Vandermark: Ab Baars represents the very fertile Dutch scene, which is amazing. We’ve had the pleasure of hosting him with the ICP Orchestra, a 10-piece band from Amsterdam. I love his music. It’s really idiosyncratic and unique in jazz and improvised music. He’s doing something really marvelous with the trio. By adding American Ken Vandermark, who we’ve worked with several times, it’s an absolute thrill. I can’t wait to see those guys play together. This event represents what we’re all about. We want to promote mutual cultural exchange. Peter Brotzmann: He’s one of the pioneers of European free improvisation. For me personally, his integrity and commitment to this music against all odds has made him an icon. He’s been following his vision for close to 40 years. He’s just phenomenal, and live it’s something else – a hundred times as powerful. It’s really something to behold.

After we learned of the disturbing murder of beloved Austin character actor Lou Perryman last week, we solicited a few remembrances from several people who knew Lou best. First to respond was Watchmaker Films' founder and all-around filmmaker Mark Rance. Here's what he had to say about the late, great Lou: "Lou Perryman was one of the most generous men I have even known. He was generous to his friends and former-friends and not so good friends alike. I met Lou through Eagle Pennell back in 1980 working on Doug Holloway’s Fast Money. I had had just seen him in Eagle’s The Whole Shootin' Match, which was at the Berlin Film Festival that year. Lou and I stayed in touch off and on through the years, but really got back in touch when Eagle Pennell died in 2002.

Austin Police Dept. robbery investigators are asking for help nabbing two men suspected of robbing a pair of meat markets in North Austin. Police say the first store, La Familia Meat Market, located at 8540 Research Blvd., was robbed on April 5 at 8:30pm. A Hispanic male in his 30's with a receding hair line and mustache entered the store and robbed a clerk at gunpoint. Police say he fled in a large four-door sedan, possibly a 1970's Buick Le Sabre. The second store, La Merced Meat Market, located at 8120 Research, was robbed April 6 at 6:30pm. This time a thin Hispanic male in his 30's entered the store and, again, a clerk was robbed at knifepoint. This time the suspect fled in a light green Buick, police say. Anyone with info about the robbers should call CrimeStoppers at 512/472-8477, or the robbery hotline at 512/974-5092.

If you are not registered to vote and wish to participate in the May 9 municipal elections, today is your last day to get signed up. For registration information, contact the Travis County Tax Office. Austinites living in Williamson County should go here, and those living in Hays County should go here. Participation in municipal elections is always pathetically low in Austin. Go get signed up and change that.

Coming into the session, one of the big goals of the Senate Transportation Committee was to reform the unresponsive TxDoT. Committee Chair John Carona, R-Dallas, was hoping to raise or at least index link the gas tax. Failing that, the back-up was to provide local funding tools to counties and municipalities, to allow them to take some charge of their own transportation destiny. Instead, Senate Bill 855, Carona's bill to do that, limped to engrossment Wednesday after a deluge of local exemption amendments that smack of obstructionism. The result, Carona said with obvious frustration, "is what happens when the folks at the top decide not to get behind a state-wide initiative." Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, called it a "disaster" that, with so many exemptions added, puts the whole new tax burden on "my two favorite people, the police officer married to the school teacher." Carona was unimpressed. "I don't want to be a talk-radio Republican, I want to be a problem-solving Republican," he said to Patrick, adding that this was in no way a shot at his talk-radio colleague.

When I first read about Texas Christian University's new DiversCity Q housing program for GLBT students my first reaction was, "Could this be some sort of sneaky program designed to brain-wash gays into turning straight?" After all, TCU's middle name is… well, you know. Instead, it turns out that the new program, first proposed by a young, gay student is being genuinely supported by TCU's administration. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that:

The DiversCity Q community will open in the fall in a section of the Tom Brown-Pete Wright apartments. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender students and allies – heterosexual classmates who support them – will have the chance to live together. Eight students have committed to the community so far, said TCU sophomore Shelly Newkirk, who applied to create the program. … Newkirk, who is gay, helped lead the effort for the DiversCity Q housing area. She said her vision is that it will be a place where gay and straight students can interact and hang out. She said she also plans to have programs for the general TCU community that will include speakers and maybe programs about gays in the media and gays in general.

So props to Shelly Newkirk, a "Horned Frog" (no pun intended) for taking a chance on creating a unique program.

First let me say this: Happy Passover, Hebrew queers! May the matzoh flow like, um, the Nile? Totally inappropriate. Eat lots of dry unsalted crackers for the next week or so, ok? It's the original Atkins diet. That's right. I said it. This Easter the White House is breaking all the rules… Homos can now look for Easter eggs, too! Oh wait, some restrictions apply… um, it probably helps if you are Christian… and, at least according to the headline in the Washington Post, it probably helps to be a parent… which means I'd have to have a kid. So, I'm out on both counts. Dammit. I guess I'll have to wait another year to cruise some goyischa on the White House lawn. Guess this is the only pink egg I'll be looking for this upcoming Easter. Is nothing sacred anymore?

The Austin Aztex regular season opener is just a week away! There's a rush, in fact, of three home games in eight days: against the Minnesota Thunder, Saturday, April 18; the defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps, Tuesday, April 21; and the Cleveland City Stars, Saturday, April 25. All at 7:30pm at Nelson Field (season tickets are still available). The Aztex fought to a scoreless draw with the Puerto Rico Islanders Friday, April 3 – their lone preseason test against a fellow USL-1 team. The Islanders went on to Mexico City, to take on Mexican giants Cruz Azul in a CONCACAF Champions League semifinal – and suddenly the five-across defense that had looked so solid and organized against the Aztex, was shredded for 20 shots and three goals, though Cruz Azul was a man down for the last hour and a half. Still, the Islanders forced the series to a penalty-kick shootout before coming up short – a solid showing for the USL against one of the top teams on the continent. The state high school championships are in Georgetown this week, Thursday through Saturday at Birkelbach Field in the Georgetown ISD Athletic Complex, 2275 N. Austin Ave. No local teams made it this far; full schedule below. In European Champions League play Wednesday, Chelsea got a big 3-1 win at Liverpool, while Barcelona destroyed Bayern Munich, 4-0 – stark contrast to the two nervy draws the day before: Manchester United-Porto, 2-2; and Villarreal-Arsenal, 1-1. The return legs are next Tuesday-Wednesday, April 14-15, 1:45pm, all live on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.