Now, the fog lifts and I remember Austin in other hard times, when clubs were closing at the turn of the 1980s, and how bleak it felt when a building that was your friend – as Mike Henry said so eloquently of the Electric Lounge – goes away, shuttered into memory.
Artz Rib House, now temporarily closed, has been dealt another blow as Zenobia Sutton (who puts the Z in Artz) is in the intensive care unit of an area hospital with undisclosed health issues. Some of the Artz gang are opening the venue’s doors tonight in an impromptu fundraiser for her. Headed up by the State Musician of Texas, Shelley King, and whoever else she can wrangle in, it’s bound to be an emotional, songwriter-heavy gathering starting at 6pm. Artz is one of the last bastions of old school Austin songwriter clubs, a keeper of that flame along with Threadgill’s and the Cactus and in the spirit of the Alamo Lounge and Chicago House.
Those who can’t make the last-minute effort can donate by check to:
Art Blondin
C/O Rene Britt
PO Box 91092
Austin, TX 78709
Times have been tough for the scene before but it’s important to keep the club fires burning because they are the heart of the music community, the spiritual homes to bands and their fans.
This article appears in January 23 • 2009.