The 1996 Zine Yearbook
“The Zine Yearbook isn’t a book, it’s a zine,” says editor Jen Angel, who also puts out Fucktooth and Maximumrocknroll, punk zines that are not for the faint of heart. “It’s the only independently produced zine `book’ this year. Isn’t that disappointing?” Well, no, unless you’re expecting a sedate visit to the fringe. Without a…
Bonus Tracks
THE GOOD MEDICINE BAND Spirit of the Sharecroppers (Captive Audience) Maybe the pairing of the words “urban” and “cowboy” isn’t always a bad thing. The Good Medicine Band isn’t peddling any wares on their debut CD that an Eagles fan couldn’t stomach, but there isn’t anything on Spirit of the Sharecroppers that wouldn’t ring true…
Festival Reviews
HANDS ON A HARD BODY D: S.R. Bindler. Twenty-four people congregate at a Longview car dealership with the same goal: winning a new, option-packed Nissan Hardbody pickup. To do so, they must keep their hands constantly on the vehicle, minus brief scheduled breaks, until all their competitors drop out from pain or fatigue. A bunch…
Let Us Now Praise Sluggo
Somewhere in a box of old Raul’s posters and yellowed clippings of then-current events like Sid Vicious’ death, I have one copy of Sniffin’ Glue, the notorious English zine that chronicled the rise of punk. In that box are assorted other zines: Xiphoid Process, Seattle’s Chatterbox, Western Round-up, Plan 9, Monthly Chat, Honolulu Babylon, ContempoCulture,…
Dancing About Architecture
Howdy, Curt If you noticed someone looking suspiciously like one of the Meat Puppets wandering around town recently, you probably spotted Curt Kirkwood, who is said to have been in and out of Austin over the last couple of months and has a house rented and waiting for him to move into. (You’d think he…
Shoeless Harry Anderson photograph by Minh FESTIVAL HAPPENINGS
Opportunity can certainly bring out the ugly opportunist in people. And the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference is all about opportunity. The most overt attempt to get noticed? One woman sitting in the Driskill Hotel bar (not quite analogous to the Four Seasons’ bar at SXSW time, yet) frantically banging away on her laptop,…
Not in Kansas Anymore
“I began to see how shallow the `Hollywood high’ was, by talking to different stars on talk shows and seeing the fickle way the public would build you up and tear you down… I became somewhat disillusioned.” Words of a Hollywood recluse? Hardly. These comments (from a zine called Verbivore) were made by Rollen Stewart,…
Also Playing
Friday: The Funky Meters, Liberty Lunch (also Sat); Concerto Grosso, Elephant Room Saturday: Fastball, cling, Speed Cab, Electric Lounge; Coffee Sergeants, Cactus Cafe Sunday: Guy Forsyth, Antone’s Monday: Eric Johnson, La Zona Rosa (also Tue) Tuesday: Marvel Ann, Dilli, Hole in the Wall Wednesday: Darden Smith, Jon Dee Graham, Continental Club; Therapy Sisters, Threadgill’s Thursday:…
The Greening of VH1
Anyone out there remember VH1 in its first incarnation? Yes, I can see some of you do — you fell asleep. For a while, VH1 looked obvious: If a band was hot on MTV, it naturally was understood that there would be a time when they would be not so hot — what to do…
about AIDS
Fighting a Virus with a Virus: A Futuristic Trojan Horse? Dave is an HIV-positive person who is undergoing therapy for his infection, trying to keep the virus from wrecking his immune system and leading to AIDS. At the clinic he is injected with another kind of virus which seeks out his own infected cells and…
Texas Platters
EVAN JOHNS AND THE H-BOMBS Love Is Murder (Freedom) There’s been a lot of hard drinkin’ and hard livin’ between the recording of this disc (originally released in 1983 as Evan Johns and the H-Bombs), and the Evan Johns of today, but if ol’ Ev lacked gravel in his voice at the time, all the…
A Regular Joe
The late Mike Wilson in Joe Christ’s Sex, Blood & Mutilation photograph by Amy Shapiro Joe Christ, former Dallasite noise- maven turned underground filmmaker and one-man traveling hierarchy, is back with some new visual atrocities, and he’s headed this way. That means it’s time to hide the Baptists, break out that spare id you’ve been…
Hearth & Soul
Do It… Or At Least Read It I want to do everything. I want to control the weather. I want to crush stones between my palm and turn them into diamonds. I want to fly unaided by any mechanical device. Fortunately, I want to do more down-to-earth tasks as well: can my own agarita jelly;…
Roadkill
Blue Rodeo Stubb’s Wednesday, October 15 Invading Canada. It’s the oldest joke. The humor supposedly lies in the fact that Canadians are harmless and hence not a threat. Truth is, though, it’s no joke. Not only has the United States invaded Canada, we’ve already pillaged it, too. Amateur social commentator and professional musician Greg Keelor,…
Scanlines
The Land Where Blues Began: Appalachian Journey Jazz Parades: Feet Don’t Fail Me Now Cajun Country: Lache Pas La Patate! D. Alan Lomax, 1990 With his impish grin, lopsided beard, and ill-fitting wardrobe, the on-screen Alan Lomax cuts a benign and frumpy figure indeed — a pot-bellied prophet for the Arhoolie set. And to many…
Benefits
Sat 11 Out’n Open Golf Tournament to benefit Cornerstone Gay & Lesbian Center, at Circle C Golf Club, Golf: 8:30am; BBQ: 7-11pm. Cost is $150 for tournament; $55 for BBQ & auction. 708-1515. Sun 12 Trudy’s 20th Anniversary Music Fest to benefit AIDS Services of Austin & Center for Battered Women, at Austin Music Hall,…
Road Shows
FRI 10 Loudmouths, Boozers, Emo’s FRI 10 Marry Me Jane, Steamboat FRI 10 C&C Music Factory, Bob Popular Road Shows FRI 10 Radiators, Stubb’s FRI 10 Doyle Bramhall II, Antone’s FRI 10, SAT 11 The Funky Meters, Liberty Lunch FRI 10, SAT 11 Roy Ayers, Mercury Lounge SAT 11 Beau Jocque , Antone’s TUE 14…
Shortcuts
So, let’s see… it’s been at least a few days since a new local film series or festival has started up. I think we’re about ready for a new cycle. The ever-agreeable Austin Film Society (AFS) seems to think so too. Next week begins the group’s new 10-part series: A Survey of the American Avant…
Coach’s Corner
I don’t like being treated like a moron. I can follow the bouncing ball. Politicians treat us like idiots on a daily basis. For example, my mother might be the only person left in the country who still watches those stupid political talk things on PBS. The other night I walked in and there sat…
Targeting the Fat Cats
illustration by Doug Potter A metaphor commonly applied to campaign finance reform is that it is like trying to compact a balloon — when you squeeze it in one place, it bulges in another. Nevertheless, reform initiatives abound across the nation. In seven states and the District of Columbia, voters have approved referenda aimed at…
Validation?
Dinner with a group of friends. We’re waiting for our table. Claire, a friend of a friend, turns to me. “I ran into your ex.” “Which one?” I ask. Claire giggles. I am serious. I’m not that popular. But Austin has that small town feel; circles overlap. So, over the course of one evening, it’s…
Day Trips
photograph by Gerald McCleod In Chappell Hill the scarecrows of autumn replace the wildflowers of spring as the major tourist attraction. The village is 10 miles east of Brenham and about an hour east of Austin in a scenic and historic portion of Texas. The second weekend of October the residents close Main Street for…
On November 4, the ballot will read:
“Shall the city Charter be amended to regulate political fund raising and expenditures in City elections?” What it’s really asking: Should we limit individual and PAC contributions to city council candidates to $100? Do you agree that no candidate shall accept an aggregate contribution total of more than $15,000 per election, and $10,000 in the…
Mabee We’re Amazed
The Center for Battered Women in Austin has some pretty grim news. Statistics show that one in four Texas women will, at some point, enter an abusive relationship. This might involve physical battering, psychological torment, or both. Any way you look at it, one in four is one in four too many. Last year, CBW…
Page Two
Wednesday morning, while reading a stack of papers, I came across two interesting quotes. One was on the repeal of SB 1704: “Since Austin is by far the most anti-prosperity city in Texas, the repeal was essentially a surprise gift with a card marked `To: Austin and its cadre of radical environmentalists.'” This appeared in…
Austin vs. the `Burbs
Between all the self-righteous pronouncements of bicycling activists and the Austin-bashing declarations of soon-to-be-annexed citizens at last week’s council meeting, what — one might wonder — was the superlative moment of the day? Unexpectedly, it was a non-verbal one: the tense moment when the �ber-urban motley collection of cyclists exited the chambers in triumph following…
Esther’s Gene Pool
During its 20-year history, Esther’s Follies has had four homes: the original Pool, 515 E. Sixth, which was destroyed by a fire on October 12, 1983; The Ritz, 320 E. Sixth, a former movie theatre and playhouse which was being renovated by Follies founders Michael Shelton and Shannon Sedwick at the time of the fire…
Articulations
If you’re in the vicinity of Eighth & Congress and hear the sound of champagne bottles popping their corks, it might be because the folks on that corner have a lot to celebrate. Live Oak Theatre, which produces out of the State Theatre at 719 Congress, has precisely 1.9 million reasons to celebrate; that’s the…
Public Notice
One of our favorite bargain stores, Top Drawer Thrift Store, also happens to be the benefit thrift for one of our fave local groups (among the 100s of you selfless public service sweethearts…), Project Transitions. Not only are they taking shop Volunteers for the busy fall/holiday season, but they are also putting the word out…
Cupboards Are Bare
Larry Hastings has a new job. But he won’t be paid for about four weeks. In the meantime, he doesn’t have enough money to buy food for his three teenage children. So the 42-year-old lawn maintenance worker arrived early on a hot Wednesday morning at Caritas of Austin, hoping to get a few bags of…
Vertical Integration
Tape duplication at Sound Recorders photograph by Todd V. Wolfson It started with one man who wanted to put albums from his own label into the store where he worked. A mere eight years later, his is a business in which sales have grown by 4,000% and several million units are moved annually. Better yet,…
Pool Partiers
photograph by Alan Pogue You can’t really talk about the Austin of the last 20 years without talking about Esther’s Follies. This homegrown comedy troupe is part of the city’s history. It sprang to life on East Sixth back when that thoroughfare was still mostly ramshackle storefronts, and it was one of the entities that…
Mister Smarty Pants Knows
Eleanor Roosevelt was said to eat chocolate-covered garlic every day to improve her memory. The characters of Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Vegas showmen Sigfried and Roy met while working on the German ocean liner Bremen.…
Give Us News, STAT!
illustration by Doug Potter It was, as KXAN anchor Robert Hadlock said, “a history-making episode.” Indeed it was. The September 25, 10pm edition of KXAN’s news was truly a landmark low in the history of the network tie-in. All week long, as NBC counted down towards its live episode of ER, KXAN flooded its commercial…
Where Are They Now?
Like most families, the Follies has had members leave home and settle in a variety of different places. Some have continued to perform; others have taken careers in other fields. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Follies, here’s an update on a few of the extraordinary talents who at one time contributed to…
Letters at 3am
illustration by Jason Stout Thomas Jefferson would have to take the cake as the American figure who most closely approximates Hamlet — by “Hamlet” I mean a figure whose appeal and influence derive from the very contradictions that torture him most deeply. But Marilyn Monroe would be a close second: Lady Hamlet. No other woman…
Naked City
The Texas Triangle celebrates its sixth anniversary this week — this time without its founders, editor Kay Longcope and general manager Barbara Wohlgemuth, at the helm. The two resigned from their respective posts last week, some seven months after selling the paper to Dallasite Todd Cunningham. Taking over the editor’s position is Hope Johnson, who…
Exhibitionism
Mary Moody Northen Theatre, through October 19 Running time: 2 hrs, 30 min Chekhov can be a tricky beast to master. His plays are full of deep symbolism wisely disguised by a veneer of wit that illustrates the tortuous path the lives of his contemporaries took. Most directors manage to get a firm hand on…
Food-O-File
For my birthday last July, a friend treated me to an exclusive wine dinner at Bertram’s, where the wines of Napa Valley’s Niebaum-Coppola Winery were the main attraction. Miguel Ravago’s delicious Interior Mexican menu was matched with Francis Ford Coppola’s 1995 Rosso, an Italian-style California red table wine and the 1996 Bianco, an aromatic white…
Round Two
Much has been made of Mayor Kirk Watson’s public grilling of Kirk Mitchell over the language of the Our City, Our Choice (OCOC) charter amendment that failed to secure a spot on the November 4 ballot. Had the Austin City Council moved to place the measure on the upcoming election ticket, voters would be deciding…
In Person
Junot Diaz at Book People, Sept. 4 Trends in fiction come and go just as trends in supposedly less abstract realms come and go; lately a lot of books I’ve been reading feature wizened teenagers and children who somehow are able to voice truths we would only expect to hear from much more experienced individuals.…
Eastward Ho!
Preparations for the St. Elias Eastern Orthodox Church Medeterranean Food Festival. photograph by John Anderson The menus at the Methodist Church socials of my West Texas childhood were as homogeneous as the congregation. If there was even a whiff of ethnic influence other than the occasional pan of King Ranch casserole, it did not register…
Reverse Race-ism
In September 23, Councilmember Willie Lewis called a press conference to weigh in against single-member voting districts. At his side was Eastside activist Dorothy Turner. This was the same woman who, during last spring’s campaign, had never hesitated to rip Lewis in favor of the Place 6 incumbent he ran against — Eric Mitchell. That…
Postscripts
UT’s Center for Mexican American Studies sent news via their Noticias de CMAS newsletter that they, along with the Texas State Historical Association and the Center for Studies in Texas History, will sponsor a panel disscussion on Thursday, October 30, 6pm, at the Bass Lecture Hall in the LBJ School entitled “Mexican American History and…
Parental Guidance Suggested
photograph by Todd. V. Wolfson Just what is an “adult”? Well, that depends on who you ask. One of my closest friends says being an adult is total, absolute freedom to “do whatever the hell you want to.” My parents, true to form, see it more as meeting a series of responsibilities and obligations. My…
The Outsiders
illustration by Jason Stout When you ask Austin Independent School District (AISD) officials why they’ve hired an outside firm to manage the $369 million bond program to renovate old schools and build new ones, they always say the same thing: Don’t dwell on the fact that we’re paying Sverdrup, a St. Louis-based program management firm,…
The Zine Scene
So many zines, so little time… until now. Even though they’ve been around since the advent of the fanzine several decades ago, zines — those often witty or bombastic or useless amateur publications with goofy names like Crap Hound, McJob, or Inconspicuous Consumption — are only now crossing over from fringe to mainstream. In an…
The Adults
Soothing Sounds For Baby (Fume) Soothing sounds my ass! This album takes you on a wild ride frought with many a hairpin curve, and once the Adults get their motors running, there’s no time for scenic overlooks. Combining the aural non-sequiturs of Raymond Scott and Carl Stalling with an intimate homemade punk aesthetic, Soothing Sounds…
The Pen-Ultimate Fest
Free-for-all with Dennis Hopper, Bud Shrake and Oliver Stone photograph by Minh It may well be that, as the conference title says, a screenwriter’s words on paper are the heart of film. But according to Dennis Hopper, the heart of filmmaking is something else entirely: obscure and powerful urges emanating from mind’s darker recesses. “I…
