Marcia Ball, Natalie Zoe
Liberty Lunch, Saturday 6 Now that her hubby Gordon Fowler no longer runs the show at La Zona Rosa, Marcia Ball’s live appearances here in town seem few and far between. Here then, is your chance to join the back-to-school crowd, for a lesson in pianistics from Austin’s version of Professor Longhair (at least it…
Austin Arts Get Going in 1995 Forward Motion
by Marene Gustin In arts circles, 1995 may be best remembered as the year Congress gutted the National Endowment for the Arts and left a littered landscape of angry debate over public funding and freedom of expression; a year of intolerance and rhetoric on the political front and a year of decreased funding from foundations…
Ignored, and Underappreciated
by Jason Cohen How that the time has come when we’re supposed to take stock of the musical year that was, I find I have nothing to say. Hootie & the Blowfish sold 12 million records. Bush exists. So do the Beatles, sort of. Jerry died. Texas Instruments and Paul K are still stuck, career-wise,…
Austin Theatre Refuses to Fade in 1995 And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going
brightest theatrical talents leave us: meticulous director Mark Ramont, who left town after two years as Capitol City Playhouse’s artistic director; the imaginative, physically daring young company Troupe Texas, which dissolved after only a few brief seasons; the beloved performing space Chicago House, which moved from its longtime home at 607 Trinity; theatre artists Norman…
1995 Singles Lust
The first Top Ten list I made in the Seventies was simply my favorite songs of the year. I was so embarrassed when the lists were printed in The Austin Sun and my staggeringly MOR tastes stuck out among the vibrant album choices of luminaries like Bill Bentley and Bobby Eakin. For years, I hid…
Art Top Ten
by Rebecca S. Cohen 1. Artwork/Installation: Regina Vater’s installation “Ita./Ota” (The Austin Museum of Art exhibition, Ceremony of the Spirit). While I didn’t write about the show, I did make a point of going to the museum to hear Vater talk about her work. The Brazilian native who resides in Austin is an imposing woman,…
The Year in Rock, Austin Style
by Margaret Moser Looking for the bad and the dishy in 1995? Well, you’ll have to look at the previous year because 1995 was much less scandalous than previous years – no fights backstage at the Awards show with Ministry, Gibby Haynes behaved himself admirably, and Kelly Willis stayed out of the tabloids. In fact,…
Best of Print 1995
1995. It wasn’t the best year in book publishing: Martin Amis – genius or con man? – seemed be the de rigueur topic at parties where Those Who Read and Write gathered (witness the disparate opinions on his book from Jason Cohen, Marion Winik, and Spike Gillespie). But it wasn’t the worst, either. Words have…
Spanked All Over
by Robert Bryce Austin got whacked at the Lege. Hurricanes waged war in the Atlantic Ocean. And politicians continued playing football with the Barton Springs Salamander. Yes, it was quite a year for environmental stories, and most of those stories were bad news. Here, then, are my nominees for the Top Ten local and state/national…
HIV Negative Gay & Bisexual Men Weekend Retreat
HIV-negative gay and bisexual men have a very special set of concerns within the AIDS epidemic that, unfortunately, often go unrecognized. For almost a year, AIDS Services of Austin has been providing support services for non-infected gay and bisexual men through our Staying Negative Program. The Staying Negative Program offers a safe, confidential, and supportive…
Bigger-Is-Better
by Hugh Forrest On the national level, 1995 was a year of huge media mergers and takeovers. Disney’s purchase of ABC and Westinghouse’s acquisition of CBS epitomized this decade-long trend towards the centralization of power in the hands of fewer and fewer giant, multi-national conglomerates. And while the continued development of the Internet provided a…
Cold Feet
Dear Suzy, I have one of those 1920s pier and beam homes with thin hardwood floors that are cold, cold, cold in the winter. Are there any options for insulating under the house? Can someone slide around the crawl space and spray that groovy commercial cellulose stuff? Is there something that involves a net to…
Deep Six
The Best and Worst in Austin and National Media 1. Bad News. Think TV news is sophomoric in Austin? You’re right. Think it’s better elsewhere? You’re wrong. A Denver-based group called the Rocky Mountain Media Watch analyzed tapes of 100 different broadcasts from 58 cities on the night of September 20. Their findings? The average…
It’s four days ’til
Christmas. Will December ever end? The cold, wind-blown mist makes it feel like it’s been dark for hours, and it’s only 6:30. I’m trying to get home, except all downtown traffic is rerouted through Buda, due to the world’s ultimate trailer trash exhibition, The Festival of Lights. Every station on the radio dial, even the…
Off the Desk
Austin’s homeless may be losing sleep: The City Council voted four to one on Thursday to impose a citywide camping ban effective January 15. Councilmember Jackie Goodman voted against outlawing sleeping in public places, while Mayor Bruce Todd, Gus Garcia, Max Nofziger, and Ronney Reynolds voted for it. Eric Mitchell abstained, and Brigid Shea was…
Hindsight Is 10/10
Austin, Texas’ compassion is as defining a city trait as bluebonnets in the springtime, musicians on street corners, and yeller dawgs in the statehouse. We’re known for our generosity as well as our innovative and bizarre fundraising schemes. Looking back on ’95, Austin’s public service community is odd but healthy. Graciously, S. Emerson Moffat accepted…
Austin Strikes Out
by Louisa C. Brinsmade, Robert Bryce, and Chris Walters It started out badly enough: slammed at the Lege all spring, a police “riot” in East Austin in February, a federal court ruling against the city in Freeport-McMoRan’s favor, and it didn’t stop there. The budget season from June through mid-September was ugly, and how. Squabblings…
Art is a put-up-or-
shut-up proposition,” my friend Mikey Berger told me when we were 17. Let’s add to that a sentence that turns itself inside out (as the best art inevitably does): All art is mass art, all art is intimate. Even the unpublished poem, or the drawing an unknown artist gives to a friend, exists in relation…
Film Reviews
12 MONKEYSD: Terry Gilliam; with Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, Frank Gorshin, Jon Seda. (R, 130 min.) Terry Gilliam may be the most gifted cinematic surrealist since Luis Bu�uel and, while his newest film fits more squarely into the category of science fiction than that of fantasy, his quirky, disquieting, and thoroughly…
Hollis Chacona’s “PG” List
[Editor’s Note: No, this isn’t a politically correct, “PC” list. Rather, all these movies are rated “PG” or “G” by the MPAA, deeming them to be suitable entertainment for people of all ages. Any anomalies in Holly’s list can be assumed to be the fault of her editor. You see, having an 8-year-old daughter as…
day trips
Traveling around Texas seems to get better each year, but along with the encouraging news comes a mixture of not-so-good and downright sad happenings. In no particular order, here is a list of ten events in 1995 that did or could affect day trippers: 1. Aquarena Springs (pictured above) completed a full year of operation…
Film: Showtimes
Film listings are updated Friday mornings. Showtimes listed below start Friday, MMMMMMM DD and cover the week ending Thursday, MMMMMMM DD. An asterisk (*) before a title means that no passes or special admission discounts (apart from matinee discounts) will be accepted for any screening. Parentheses indicate weekend showtimes for Saturdays and Sundays only, unless…
Hollis Chacona’s “PG” List
[Editor’s Note: No, this isn’t a politically correct, “PC” list. Rather, all these movies are rated “PG” or “G” by the MPAA, deeming them to be suitable entertainment for people of all ages. Any anomalies in Holly’s list can be assumed to be the fault of her editor. You see, having an 8-year-old daughter as…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
According to psychic Jackie Stallone, Sen. Arlen Specter was a goldfish in a past life. Some plastic surgeons like to practice their laser resurfacing technique on tomatoes, which have similar properties to human skin. The French poet Apollinaire had illness of the mammary glands that caused him to produce breast milk. A typical night with…
Top 10 Breads
1. Whole Food’s Bakehouse 2. Texas French Bread 3. Central Market 4. Phoenicia Bakery 5. Morning croissants and pain au chocolat @ Jean-Luc’s French Bistro 6. Fiesta tortillas 7. La Madeleine 8. Sweetish Hill 9. The Upper Crust 10. Hyde Park Bakery and Cafe — Rebecca Chastenet de Gery Top Ten Cocktails With a Punch…
The Society of Texas Film Critics 1995 Awards
Best Picture: The Usual Suspects Best Actor: Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas) Best Actress: Emma Thompson (Carrington and Sense and Sensibility) Best Supporting Actor: Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects, Seven, and Outbreak) Best Supporting Actress: Joan Allen (Nixon) Best Director: Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) Best Original Screenplay: Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) Best Adapted…
AISD Notebook
I know that writing about education doesn’t sound very sexy, ya’ll, but I love my job. I’m gonna show you why. Once again, in no particular order of importance, are my Top Ten picks and rants about federal, state, and local education in 1995. 1. School lunches — bag ’em: The federal school lunch program…
A Landmark Year in Food
by Virginia B. Wood It would be difficult to name a more exciting year for the food business in Austin than 1995. A record number of restaurants, many of them excellent, opened and found enthusiastic local audiences, while several others saw anniversaries of 10, 15, and 20 years and are still going strong. Cookbook sales…
Critics Top Ten Films of 1995
Leaving Las Vegas; Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle; The Addiction; Heat;
Greg Beets/Alternative
1. The Makers of Smooth Music: Sublime Results of “Send Us Your Song-Poem” Music (Carnage Press) 2. Alice Donut, Pure Acid Park (Alternative Tentacles) 3. The Clean, Modern Rock (Summershine/Flying Nun) 4. Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, Bait and Switch (American/Onion) 5. Elastica (DGC) 6. Baboon, Face Down in the Turpentine (Grass) 7. Two Foot Flame…
Cream of the Tech-Top
Top Ten Multimedia Happenings of 1995 Dave Evans, Vice President of Digital Voodoo, Inc., an Austin online content developer, and 1994-95 President of Austin Area Multimedia Alliance, an organization formed to promote and support multimedia professionals in Austin. 1. $20/month Internet access for all Austin residents. 2. SXSW Multimedia Festival sets attendance record; attracts national…
Critics Poll
Best Roadshow Beets: Rail Road Jerk, Emo’s Blount: The Supersuckers at Emo’s Gabriel: The Roots, Catfish Station Gray: White Zombie, Sunken Gardens, San Antonio Hernandez: Sonny Rollins, Jazz Fest, New Orleans LaBernz: Presidents of the United States of America, Emo’s/Ben Folds Five, Electric Lounge Langer: Joan Osborne, Continental Club Mitchell: Innocence Mission, Liberty Lunch Moser:…
The Year That Slipped Away
by Raoul Hernandez I dreamt that Mick Jagger died. I was, pardon the pun, shattered. I couldn’t believe it, and I spent my entire R.E.M. cycle trying to figure out whether this had really happened or if it was only a dream. In that netherworld of my subconscious, I searched frantically for a newspaper to…
Happy F—ing New Year
I don’t suppose I expected anything out of the holidays except what I ended up getting; a long, dark descent into cold and depression, peppered with the separation from dear friends, both in the physical and emotional senses. The emotional part I won’t burden you with, but the physical comes in the form of two…
More Strands on the Web
More Austin arts groups are continuing to make a home — or at least a home page — for themselves on the World Wide Web. Hardly a week goes by now without some theatre company or artist sending us an invitation to visit his/her/their new Web site. A recent trip to a few of these…
