Premium Burn
Individual Category Red Sauce First Place: John Unger Second Place: Brent E. Kirby Third Place: Dennis Willms Green Sauce First Place: Cinnamon C. Nemec Second Place: Pamela Wells Third Place: Brian S. Morrison Special Variety First Place: Jacob Grimes Second Place: Devin Garza Third Place: J.W. Grosik Restaraunt Category Red Sauce First Place: Curra’s Grill…
Going With the Flow
The tunnel itself is a simple concept, and enough of its specifics have already been outlined that “design” will be the easy part. The far more important challenge will be building the sucker, and that is where your friends at LCRA make their odd appearance. Many greens and progressives hardly see the LCRA and its…
Articulations
Who says there’s no good news these days? With the announcement last week that its Architect Selection Committee had chosen a finalist in the search for an architect to design a permanent downtown facility, the Austin Museum of Art provided the city with news that was not only good � it was wonderful. The decision…
Astro-nomical!
Sunday at the 50th Annual Emmy Awards with a deluxe four-hour gala (6/13, 6pm NBC), during which they will presumably stop reminiscing long enough to give away some awards. NBC has the home-network advantage and the most nominations (86), but � except for Out-standing Television Movie, which ought to be renamed Outstanding HBO Movie �…
Film Fast, Die Young
Depending on whom you ask, German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder was either the saint of international cinema during the 1970s or its scourge. Come to think of it, he was both for most people. Working at a breakneck speed, he made 41 feature films in 14 years (that’s nearly three movies per year, many of…
Exhibitionism
Pro-Jex Gallery, through September 29 Fotoseptiembre Internacional is a biennial celebration of photography organized by the Mexico City-based Centro de la Imagen. Designed in 1994 to promote the work of Latin American photographers, Fotoseptiembre has become a worldwide showcase of not only the photographers of Latin America, but also the region’s innumerable photographic subjects. This…
Psychoactive Sounds
Russ Smith photograph by Bruce Dye When asked for an epiphany he’s experienced since founding Chocolate Records in 1993, Russ Smith replies without hesitation: working with the Naxi Music Orchestra of Southwest China. The Naxi is a unique orchestra, consisting of 20 septuagenarians who have endured China’s ironically named “Cultural Revolution.” Not only did they…
Scanlines
D: Wolfgang Peterson with Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Xander Berkeley, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell. Harrison Ford as President James Marshall in Air Force One. Does this look like a guy who would fool around with an intern? What if she looked like Princess Leia? Glenn Close is Gerald Ford in…
Austin Murals – A Partial List
Producing a definitive catalog of all the murals in Austin is the kind of endeavor that can’t be accomplished by one writer and one publication. Taking into account the works created off the beaten track, in the nooks and crannies of the city’s many neighborhoods, and the constant creation of new works of wall art,…
Paying the Costs
Chris Wall photograph by Bruce Dye When local honky-tonker Chris Wall parted ways with Jerry Jeff Walker’s Tried & True imprint in 1994, he had two choices: wait around for another record deal or open his own vanity label. “I shopped a little and found nobody was really interested in a 40-year-old cowboy singer,” says…
Short Cuts
If it’s not one festival, it’s another. We’re in the season � sort of like being in the zone. As the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) heads into its second week, its strong schedule is continuing to attract great audiences and discussion. Here’s a reminder of aGLIFF’s info line (476-2454) and Web…
Our Murals, Ourselves
Detail of Genesis by S. Fogel, 1950 photograph by Sam Martin Just off Guadalupe Street, at 402 W. 22nd, a colorful, semi-abstract mural frames a doorway of the University Baptist Church. A first of its kind in Austin, the fresco-style painting was erected in 1950 by then-University of Texas professor Seymour Fogel, whose credits included…
Dancing About Architecture
Historically speaking, prison and country musicians have had their share of encounters, but it was still a shock to many locals when it was reported that Johnny Rodriguez has been charged with murder. According to reports out of Sabinal, Texas Saturday night, Rodriguez shot and killed what he believed to be an intruder, though it…
Paris Is Burning
Although nearly a decade has already passed since Jennie Livingston’s groundbreaking documentary first took home the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and then went on to nail just about every other award in the book, Paris Is Burning is as relevant now as it ever was, if not more so. Since then, the notion of…
Postscripts
Since in Central Texas the climate is obviously no indication that fall is on its way, there fortunately are other indicators, like the fall rush of literary fiction hitting the shelves and the increasing presence of authors making appearances at local bookstores. First, though, one local bookstore has recently moved: Asylum Books, which sells used…
Put Up or Shut Up
Jeff Cole photograph by Bruce Dye That’s what I really want to be known for,” says Jeff Cole, nodding and grinning as if, at long last, the essential point were finally made. “Bringing stock-car racing to Austin. This is all just a means to that end.” Cole’s “means” is Doolittle Records, the Austin-based indie he…
1998 Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund
The Austin Film Society has announced the names of the grant recipients of this year’s Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund. Now in its fourth year of existence, the TFPF awarded $50,000 to 19 different film and video projects. The grants are funded through a combination of private and corporate donations, and revenue from benefit film premieres.…
Lone Gunman
Joe Queenan is this country’s top character assassin. In Red Lobster, White Trash and the Blue Lagoon: Joe Queenan’s America (Hyperion, $21.95 hard), he spends 18 months devouring American staples such as Branson, Missouri, Planet Hollywood, Geraldo Rivera, and Cats. His findings: “Mainstream culture is infinitely more idiotic than I had ever suspected.” When he…
Filling the Void
Matt Eskey photograph by Bruce Dye When Matt Eskey founded Freedom Records just over three years ago, he knew the music business was traditionally an easy place to lose money, dignity, and faith in humanity. But with just a few credit cards and a vow to sign only bands he genuinely liked, Eskey decided to…
The Case of the Changing Icon
Nancy Drew ruined my life. There, I’ve said it. Now I’ve voiced my resentment of one of America’s most beloved female icons. Nancy Drew gave me false hopes – by pretending to be just an average girl when she was really a goddess in disguise. Oh, there were aspects of Nancy’s life that ought to…
Where the Sea Used to Be
by Rick Bass, Houghton Mifflin, $25 hard Ah, wilderness.The uncharted wild is not only Rick Bass’ favorite subject, it’s also where the acclaimed writer, one of the country’s premier sources of poetic, nature-oriented short fiction, finds himself with the publication of his very first novel. Where the Sea Used to Be explores little new ground…
7 Austin Record Labels
The last time the Chronicle examined Austin’s independent record labels, South by Southwest ’95 (Vol. 14, No. 28), the terrain was much different. Of the eight labels profiled, only three still exist; two of those, Arista-Texas and Antone’s/DMZ/dos, survive today in radically different forms. The others, Trance Syndicate, Dejadisc, Rise, Sector 2, and Unclean have…
The Fifth Beatle
Andrew Magilow photograph by Bruce Dye If you had to sum up the philosophy behind Austin’s Framed! Records in a slogan, it would probably be “Dilettantes Need Not Apply.” Which isn’t to say the local label provides a living wage for anyone involved. Whenever he’s not working at his obligatory day job, Framed! founder Andrew…
About AIDS
One-half of U.S. high school students are sexually active, and of those, one-third have had four or more partners. These are among the findings released August 14 by the Centers for Disease Control in its new Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance report for 1997. The implication for HIV infection and AIDS, as well as for pregnancy…
Finding the Angle
Dave Sanger photograph by Bruce Dye Dave Sanger, founder and president of Lazy SOB records, can sum up the problems of the music industry in one succinct sentence: “There’s no more Dark Side of the Moon out there,” he says with a laugh. In the absence of this kind of supernatural longevity in the rapidly…
Marius and Jeannette
Marius and Jeannette 1997, NR, 102 min. Directed by Robert Guédiguian, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Ariane Ascaride, Gérard Meylan, Pascale Roberts, Jacques Boudet, Frédérique Bonnal, Jena-Pierre Darroussin, Laëtitia Pesenti. Marius and Jeannette are not your average movie twosome. They are 40ish lovers whose faces are appealing though not gorgeous, whose bodies have…
Coach’s Corner
Twelve months of constant summer has beaten the creative energy out of me. This week, I’ll stick to sports. Here are some floating summertime thoughts: John Daly’s emotional crackup on the putting green, during an obscure tour event in Vancouver, was gut-wrenching and difficult to watch. I can’t begin to imagine the pain and humiliation…
Live Shots
Alejandro Escoveda (left) at the Continental Club, August 30 photograph by John Carrico NORTH BY NORTHWEST Portland, Oregon, August 20-22 “‘Louie Louie’ is the whole history of rock & roll in three minutes and 40 years,” said moderator Dave Marsh at the outset of “The Real Story of ‘Louie Louie'” panel. A bold statement in…
Plump Fiction
Plump Fiction 1998, R, 85 min. Directed by Bob Koherr, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Tommy Davidson, Julie Brown, Paul Dinello, Sandra Bernhard, Dan Castellaneta, Colleen Camp, Kevin Meaney, Pamela Segall, Robert Costanzo. There is a popular line of metaphysical thought that says each person has their own personal heaven or hell preordained…
Day Trips
The courthouse in Waxahachie is the grandest of Texas county courthouses, with ornate trim, circular towers, graceful archways, and polished pink granite to complement the red sandstone. photograph by Gerald E. McLeod Waxahachie claims to be the most photographed motion picture set in Texas. The town’s preservation of the turn-of-the-century ambiance comes at you from…
Empire of the Mind
Travis Higdon photograph by Bruce Dye From the cozy confinesof his West Campus efficiency, Peek-A-Boo Records “CEO” Travis Higdon has transcended the dime-a-dozen world of indie labels by marketing a myth along with the music. Okay, maybe myth is too strong a word for Higdon’s tendency to portray Peek-A-Boo as a giant corporate enterprise rather…
Page Two
The Austin Chronicle was birthed in the spring and summer of 1981. What should have been a balmy time, revolving around music and school and the easy ways of summer, instead was a period filled with almost daily meetings and constant planning. Still, we had no idea how rough the ride we were setting forth…
Pyramid of Dreams
All of this political theatre effectively obscures the vital question about the MACC, which is, “What is it?” Such a simple question should warrant a simple answer, but it does not. Outside of its location, there are no design plans for the facility (some 1995 conceptual drawings have been shelved pending the November election). Instead,…
Public Notice
Just a quick note to let you know that Austin Boxing Against Drugs, Inc. (ABAD) has found a home. The dream of Joe Vela Jr., ABAD is a boxing program designed to teach life skills through boxing’s lessons of discipline, self-defense, sportsmanship, and camaraderie to all kids, regardless to race, creed, color, gender, or financial…
Dueling Dreams For The MACC
Just what would a Mexican American Cultural Center actually be? Ask six different backers of the MACC, and you may get six different answers: “A large performing arts facility and art school with classes in all the different disciplines: theatre, dance, music. An amphitheater, lots of open space for a plaza or a festival. Also,…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Florence Henderson was the first female guest host of NBC’s Tonight Show. Fireflies aren’t flies at all, but beetles. Most of their life is spent as larvae, and their flying phase is rarely longer than two weeks. There are more than 2,000 species of fireflies, and they’re all in the family Lampyridae, Latin for “shining…
Save the Music
Subterfuge on both sides of the battle has been tough. While music commissioners scoured the nation for ideas, people, and resources with which to beat out the Music Management Company, Melchior was doing his own counter-intelligence, requesting through city finance director Betty Dunkerley piles of information, including Music Commission transcripts and tapes of meetings and…
Rats From a Sinking Ship II
illustration by Jason Stout James Cameron, the director of Titanic, presented himself with a major problem when he cast the pretty Leonardo DiCaprio. He must cast a female opposite DiCaprio who, a) can act (somebody’s got to), and b) won’t threaten all those gals drooling over DiCaprio � an actress young women will accept while…
Can’t Get No Respect
The writing would seem to be on the wall for KOOP’s board of trustees, but don’t think the fight is over by any means. By a vote of 442-151, with 29 abstentions, the membership of the cooperatively run community station supported a resolution declaring no confidence in the trustees, and declared that “a state of…
Food-O-File
Hill Country cheesemaker extraordinaire Sara Bolton, co-owner of Pure Luck Grade A Goat Dairy in Dripping Springs, won a slew of ribbons at the American Cheese Society competition in Madison, Wisconsin August 6. The annual event, which recognizes the best American-made cheeses, is the largest, most prestigious competition for specialty cow, goat, and sheep’s milk…
Naked City
Worthy Mothers � a documentary about adoptive gay and lesbian parents � may be pulled from this year’s Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival. Responding to personal pleas (and veiled legal threats) by three women featured in the locally made documentary, aGLIFF organizers said they were still weighing the decision at press time Wednesday.…
8th Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival Contest Winners
Individual Category Red Sauce 1st Place: John Unger 2nd Place: Brent E. Kirby 3rd Place: Dennis Willms Green Sauce 1st Place: Cinnamon C. Nemec 2nd Place: Pamela Wells 3rd Place: Brian S. Morrison Special Variety 1st Place: Jacob Grimes 2nd Place: Devin Garza 3rd Place: J.W. Grosik Restaurant Category Red Sauce 1st Place: Curra’s Grill…
