Lysergic Eyeballing
by Tim Stegall It’s weird,” says Paul Leary between sips of beer and drags on his cigarette. “I had an article in Mix Magazine under “Producer’s Desk,” and I just thought, `That’s weird! I’m not really a producer! I’m still a punk rock guitar player!'” Leary delivers the last byte with a laugh. He laughs…
Music Reviews
PRINCE The Gold Experience (Warner Bros/ NPG) The sexy 1999-ish between-track voice tells us that the all-out funk throwdown “Now” is “great for dancing and improving self-esteem,” and that other titles in this category include “Irresistible Bitch,” “Housequake,” and “Sexy MF.” True. “But that was then, this is `Now,'” she says. Yeah, sort of. On…
Film Reviews
THEREMIN: AN ELECTRONIC ODYSSEYD: Steven M. Martin. (PG-13, 85 min.) Some stories just write themselves. This fascinating documentary about the life of Leon Theremin is wilder than anything a storyteller might have imagined. The Russian-born Theremin was an electronics genius who invented the strange contraption that became the world’s first electronic musical instrument. Named after…
Couch in L.A., Heart in Austin
by Andy Langer Without any hint of collusion, both Michael Fracasso and Billy White — two artists who couldn’t be more musically dissimilar — cite exactly the same qualities that make Dave McNair their producer of choice: his “fine-tuned ears” and thorough attentiveness to exactly what part of the mix is working well at any…
Scanlines
Help! D: Richard Lester MPI Home Video In this compelling rock comedy, the Beatles get squashed by international intrigue when a mystical Eastern cult cartoonishly plots to reseize their sacrificial ring from Ringo’s ring finger. Not surprisingly, the uninteresting plot line exists purely as a vehicle for the Beatles to be cute, and crack funny,…
Film: Showtimes
Film listings are updated Friday mornings. Showtimes listed below start Friday, October 27 and cover the week ending Thursday, November 2. 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…
Recommended
edited by Raoul Hernandez STEVE RILEY & THE MAMOU PLAYBOYS La Zona Rosa, Saturday 4 While Wayne Toups & Zydecajun were still unconfirmed at press time for their Friday gig at LZR, Steve Riley & Co., are definitely on for Saturday, and if you caught this New Orleans Cajun crew’s rockin’ dopsie of a set…
Texas on Tap
Texas was the nation’s top beer producing state in 1994, according to Matthew Hein, the Director of Statistical and Information Services at the Beer Institute in Washington, D.C. The new statistics which the Institute will release this week make no distinction between brewpubs, microbreweries, and national giants, but according to Hein, such distinctions are fuzzy…
State Constitutional Amendments A voters’ guide and recap of Chronicle endorsements
Election Day: Tuesday, November 7; early voting continues through Friday, November 3 #1: Authorizing $300 million in general obligation bonds to finance student loans. Yes. #2: Exempting from ad valorem taxation the property of an organization used primarily for charitable or public service activities. No. #3: Transferring bond authority from the farm and ranch finance…
Articulations
One of the city’s finest theatre companies, Troupe Texas, is no more. An October 20 letter from the group’s board and staff notes the demise, citing “artistic differences” and diverging career paths among members as contributing factors. The troupe was created by playwright Harley Erdman, director Skyler Hampton, and composer Mike Warner when they produced…
Money’s Green, Too
by Andrea Barnett If you were watching closely last week, you might have caught The Nature Conservancy President and CEO John Sawhill hawking GM trucks on television. But Sawhill is no hired hack. In fact, General Motors Corporation and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have a close relationship. TNC Director John Smale is also chair of…
Say Anything
by Richard Linklater If I had to describe Eric Bogosian, I’d call him the raw nerve of the American cultural psyche. I’ve been lucky enough to see quite a bit of his work (Talk Radio, Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll ). His last one-man show, Pounding Nails in the Floor With My Forehead, blew me…
As the Mitchell Turns
by Alex de Marban The Austin City Council took Thursday off last week, leaving us time to report on a few items gathered while the city information police were napping. It seems that both Councilmember Eric Mitchell and the city’s public information office “misspoke” when commenting on the potential conflict of interest that resulted when…
The Challenge of Figaro
by Robert Faires Perfect, it’s called. Sublime. A pinnacle of the form, in the quality of its craftsmanship, its appeal, and its artistic expression. That’s how Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is described, and with that great a rep, it can be a little daunting to artists who deign to give it life onstage. How…
Perry Wears Egg
by Robert Bryce Texas Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry doesn’t have an egg on his face. It’s more like a large omelette, complete with cheese, onions — and since it involves Perry — lots of ham. The reason for Perry’s embarrassment, though, doesn’t include dairy products. Instead, it’s cotton. As a vocal supporter of the Texas…
Local Palette
The Mojo Show Various Artists Alternate Current Art Space Showing through November The word “mojo” derives from the African KiKongo word mooyo, meaning “spiritual spark,” “force” or “soul.” The Friday the 13th opening of Alternate Current’s Mojo exhibit set the tone for what the gallery and exhibit are all about: young, untested artists given free…
Naked City
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 7 for the 14 proposed state constitutional amendments. See page four for a list and the Chronicle’s endorsements… SOS Legal Defense Fund president Kirk Mitchell is coveting a place on the city council, according to In Fact. His target: Jackie Goodman’s seat. Mitchell, whose oilman/developer father George Mitchell was named…
about AIDS “Eat, Drink, and Make Merry — With Caution”
The Holidays are a time when many of us feast on, prepare, and donate foods for traditional holiday meals. For persons with HIV disease, their families and friends — it is also a time to keep in mind the dietary needs of people living with compromised immune systems and to pay strict attention to food…
Prairie Fires
by Mike Clark-Madison This story started out smelling like hay. From where it jumps Walnut Creek at Jourdans Crossing up toward its confluences with I-35 and Pflugerville’s FM1825, Dessau Road is for the most part a rambling country track. Not wild luxury-car-commercial country like you see along City Park Road or other Westside drags, but…
Public Notice
by Kate X Messer In the House of Love [[perthousand]]Celebrating the 10-year existance of some public service organizations is double-edged. On one hand, it’s a testament to the dedication of the folks committed to the cause; on the other hand it indicates that problems still exist, probably in increasing numbers. CASA’s 10-Year Birthday Party certainly…
Subversive, yet Fun
by Marc Savlov On the cusp of the 21st century, consumerism runs rampant. Spike Lee and William Burroughs shill for Nike; commercials possess budgets dwarfing most American films made before 1970; and entire independent two- and four-year colleges have opened to cater to the needs of a culture that needs more ad people. What’s an…
hearth & soul
by Suzy Banks My Life as Plywood I am the spokeswoman for the Do-It-Yourself Association of the Universe. When I read about fellows who perform appendectomies on themselves with a cordless drill in “News of the Weird,” I think, “What’s so weird about that?” I’ll tackle anything around the house — framing, electrical, cabinet making,…
Shortcuts
KEYE-TV42 has launched what they claim to be Austin’s first television Web site at http://www.k-eyetv.com. But the folks at Texas Student Media station KVR-9 would have to challenge that statement since they’ve been online since November, 1993. In May of this year, the station publicly announced the site’s ability for 24-hour online broadcasting, a far…
Beer Food
by Robb Walsh Bitter End Bistro & Brewery 311 Colorado, 478-2337 Dinner daily 5-10pm, 11pm on weekends; limited menu served after dinner hours ’til 12am(Fri) and 1am(Sat) Although I ranked the Copper Tank’s beers higher in the blind tasting that the Chronicle conducted last summer, the Bitter End is my favorite brewpub. Several of the…
Creeping Tarantinism
by Patrick Taggart Look at me. I’m the guy who’s going to tell you the way it is. As if you couldn’t see for yourself. Take a look at Get Shorty and Coldblooded, and maybe a couple of other films in the last year or so and there it is, as plain as the .45…
Food-o-File
by Virginia B. Wood It’s hard to imagine certain restaurants without their longtime staff members. As of two weeks ago, there’re still “no fries, no draft, and no frou-frou drinks” at the Texas Chili Parlour but there’s also no Paisley Robertson at Friday Happy Hour. She’s at home wondering how 30 years of waitres-sing experience…
I’ll Take No Gain, Please, for $100
Love Hurts But Pain Hurts Worse by Spike Gillespie “We are all familiar with the professional euphemisms of `you’ll feel a little push,’ and `some pressure,’ after which pain electrifies the skull…”Paul West, A Stroke of Genius: Illness and Self-Discovery I hold that there are three types of pain: purely mental; purely physical; and can’t-tell-your-head-from-your-heart-from-your-ass…
From Sideman to Soundman
by Mindy LaBernz Tom Petty’s not gonna show. “I’m outta here,” snaps a 25ish redhead as she stomps her last cigarette into Antone’s dirty concrete floor. The other Casino El Camino refugees mumble in agreement and start slamming their half-finished beers. Rumor had it Petty would be sitting in with this Stephen Bruton character tonight.…
Mr.Smarty Pants Knows
In Detroit, submarine sandwiches are called “grinders.” In Alberta, Canada, it is illegal to paint a wooden ladder, but you can bring one into the province. Cuban cigar factory workers read works from Zola, Dumas, and Victor Hugo to one another to alleviate boredom and further worker education. Microsoft Windows 95 uses segment selectors to…
Outta the Garage and Into the Tool Shed
by Ken Lieck Looking at John Croslin, the last mantle you would likely assign this quiet, gangly, curly-haired man is that of Record Producer. In fact, the first Mantle called to mind looking at Croslin would be the late Mickey; you picture John comfortably sitting around his house watching a ballgame, or maybe spending some…
Austin Gourmet Market
1931 E. Oltorf, 444-4344 M-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun Noon-6pm New rule of thumb: If you want to learn about ethnic cuisine, find a small lunch counter, preferably in the back of a family-run store. Most times, it’ll be the closest you can get to somebody’s home kitchen without being arrested for trespassing. Roadside barbecue shacks fit…
Dancing About Architecture
Signings seem to be in a rare abundance these days. For one thing, Miles Zuniga and company have finally let out the news: Magneto USA have inked a deal with Hollywood Records, a subsidiary of the Disney corporation. The majority of the big guns behind Hollywood, which had long been a laughingstock of the record…
Bonus Tracks
T. HARVEY COMBO $1 Beer, Free Pool, NO COVER! (THC) For the price of this record, you can afford cover, pool, and several beers at Hondo’s, where this was recorded last Valentine’s Day. The same old tired blues that haunts Sixth Street day and night, there’s really no point at all in listening to this…
