A couple of months ago when a locally notorious skinhead leader got released
from prison, a buzz started going around that trouble might soon be afoot, but
then I was informed that said skinhead had relocated to San Antonio and indeed
things remained quiet. One notable exception came September 1 at the Back Room,
when a group of skinheads (not including the one alluded to above) pulled
members of
Auschwitz 46 offstage while the band was playing a Muscular
Dystrophy Association benefit and proceeded to pound on them.
Mike
Titsworth ended up with "a broken nose, multiple hematomas and a
contusion," according to a fax sent out by Auschwitz's label, Pinche Gringo
Records. Titsworth returned to the stage and finished the set, but says he has
"bowed from any further involvement with the band." The fax goes on to note
that "Prior to Auschwitz 46's set, the security staff of the Back Room was
asked to remove those who would later assault Titsworth. The security staff did
not act upon the request." The Back Room's
Mark Olivarez says that the
MDA, not the club, was in charge of all aspects of the show that night,
including security, but as far as throwing out the skins previous to their
causing trouble, he adds that "I have no intention of keeping people out just
because their heads are shaved." Not unnoticed from this vantage point is the
irony of neo-Nazis attacking a band named after a concentration camp...
Of course, I don't want to accuse the skinheads of having any monopoly on
violence. Babes' rockside manager Saun Edwards doesn't have a mouthful
of bolts and his jaw wired shut because of any Hitler jungen.
Nope, he just made the mistake of bumping into a drunken moron while trying to
pass a construction dumpster on the sidewalk outside his club. The bumpee and
two friends confronted Edwards, and when he endeavored to explain that the
three were drunk and were "gonna get in trouble" if they continued to hassle
people on Sixth Street, he received a punch in the face. While he was down, the
assailant apparently decided he wasn't satisfied with the damage and kicked him
repeatedly in the head, breaking his jaw. Police apprehended the alleged
attacker, who promptly passed out in the paddy wagon. Edwards currently faces
at least another three to six weeks in his iron mask. Babes' Jim Hawk
notes, however, that he doesn't think that the overall rate of violence on
Sixth is going up, other than the fact that with UT back in session there are
"more people on the street and [therefore] more people trying to prove
something.
Rise-ing to the Occasion
Saturday's sure to be a busy day at Sound Exchange, with a listening party for
the new
Into Another album from 2-3pm (the band plays with
Seaweed that night at Emo's - see "Recommended"). Then there's a Rise
Records showcase with the
Furry Things (who have a new 7-inch out) and
Miss Universe (who have a new CD).
Big Drag may also play. The
latest update on the Miss Universe saga is that due to a sea of legalese
gobbledygook sent to them from the famous anachronistic pageant, the band may
use the name for another four months, and then when they change it, they have
another six months in which they can refer to themselves as "formerly Miss
Universe. And get this - I hear that all this mayhem started because some dumb
yahoo in some shitty little town in the middle of Ohio or somewhere actually
believed that the famous anachronistic pageant was actually being held
in a dismal local punk club in his locality, causing him to call the creators
of the pageant and demand an explanation.
Mixed Notes
Warning: though your
Pearl Jam ticket says that the band hits the stage
at 7:30pm, the fact that the
Ramones are going on at 4pm indicates that
PJ will likely come on closer to 5 or 6pm. That is, unless the Ramones have
recently added a batch of
Rush covers to their set list... In the fine
Austin tradition, the CDs won't be ready for the "Free for All" at the Hole in
the Wall release party, which just happens to be going on all weekend. It's
still the one year anniversary of the event, hosted by
Great Big Ego
frontman/
XL ent. ghostwriter
Paul Minor, so go anyway. Oh,
when the CD does come out (should be pretty soon now), note the label. Lone
Wolf Records, run by
ZZ Top manager
Bill Ham, decided to pick up
the project and will be marketing it worldwide... Say goodbye to the
Inhalants and unless something goes awry you can look for
Lisa
Rickenberg next as the bassist for the
Fall-Outs next time they tour
through town. Oh, there
may be an Inhalants show or two when the album
comes out in November, but you'll just have to wait and see if that happens or
not... Sorry,
Fuck Emos fans, but there's no free T-shirts to be had
when you call the "hotline" - that would be the Trance Records office number
you're dialing. Says one Trance employee, "When the first guy called, it was
funny." His response to the next 20 of so was not as enthusiastic... Did I say
there was a new
Hand of Glory ready to play? Well, now they've decided
to keep the lineup but lose the name.
Skintalk is the new moniker... No,
the
Foo Fighters didn't do any
Nirvana numbers at their Liberty
Lunch show last week, but opening act
Spearhead sampled "Teen Spirit"...
Kelly Willis (who was
amused by my
Buck Owens joke, thank
you very much) was spotted with songsmith
Matthew Sweet at the CMJ Music
Marathon in New York. Word is that he's gonna write her some songs... Got to
admit I don't know anything about the
Dirty Three, who are playing Emo's
tonight, but according to
Flynn Mauthe, they're
David Yow's
current favorite band. Apparently, the
Jesus Lizard frontman was sitting
in Mauthe's lap when he told him this, as evidenced by a recent photo in the
San Francisco Bay Guardian... This Sunday at the Doris Miller Auditorium
there'll be a tribute to
Dr. Hepcat, Grey Ghost, and the late
Erbie
Bowser and
Ural Dewitty, complete with proclamations from the city.
That starts at 7pm and features a host of blues players ranging from teenagers
to old-timers...
Retarted Elf are doing a free CD release show at
Liberty Lunch this Saturday.
Happy Face will also be playing. They're
not to be confused with
Happy Valley, who are having a cassette release
party at Aussie's that same night with
Sambaxé opening.
In-store-wise, besides the Rise stuff I mentioned above,
Eric Taylor
will be performing a set at Waterloo Records at 4pm Saturday... The Texas Music
Office is looking for an administrative assistant. For information call
463-6666... The South Austin Blues Celebration and Jam at Hank's next Monday
will be videotaped, for posterity, public access, and elsewhere. And if you
don't think Austin blues is a force to be reckoned with, pick up a
Billboard magazine and check the names on their recently-added blues
chart... Forgot to set the VCR timer last night for
Don Walser on
ABC
Prime Time? Don't sweat it. The segment was postponed and all I can tell
you at press time is that it
may run next Wednesday...
Gutbucket,
from Davenport, Indiana, have moved their band, along with their charmingly
titled
Taint CD, to our fair city... Along with its appearance (CD,
video and attractive booklet in a 6"x10" wooden box) the
Norwegian Wood: A
Contemporary Collection of Roots and Rock is also notable for the fact that
only
one of the artists represented on the collection is named Erik! Oh,
the singer/songwriter in question is
Erik Moll, the
"other" guy in
Erik & Erik...
Monte Warden is off on a
U.S./Canada tour, with
Jimmie Dale Gilmore's son-in-law
Dan Yates
replacing
Dave Murray, who'd "Rather" be spending time with his
girlfriend... Look for a Hallowe'en single soon from the
Naughty Ones.
Hell, for that matter, keep an eye out for quarterly compilation albums from
the Continental Club, now that they've got all that nice recording equipment
set up there...
FABU are currently negotiating with the Detroit rap
group of the same name regarding who gets to keep it... Waterloo Brewing is
having a parking lot party with music by
8 1/2 Souvenirs, Toni
Price, Walter Traggert, and
Storyville this Saturday. Starts at
4pm...
Christine Albert, George Jones, Barry White,
and
Tim
Stegall all share the same birthday?!? Aw, come up with your own
joke...
Wish You Were There
This week's lovely top o' the column photo comes to you courtesy of the
Keebler company. I'll let their accompanying caption tell the story:
"Wheatables Snack Cracker from Keebler Company `ropes' the country market with
a $6.5 million fully integrated sponsorship program featuring the talents of
country music singer/songwriter
Clint Black (pictured with Ernie the
Keebler Elf)." Funny, I always thought Clint was taller than that... n
