Harmonic Convergence
“As you can see, we’re going nuts in here,” noted Kara Remme, co-founder of the brand-new Austin Music Co-op. As she conducted a guided tour of the premises, co-oppers scurried about painting walls, laying down carpet, running wiring, cleaning the kitchen, and otherwise preparing the former nursing home at 5413 Guadalupe to house between 25 and 35 residents. Fanning herself with a notebook, Remme acknowledged, “We’re hoping to fix the AC in the next 48 hours.”
Though it’s still very much a work in progress, the co-op is already about two-thirds full, having received “tons” of applications. No wonder: for less than $500 a month, members get a room, two meals a day, and access to a wide range of amenities, including an on-site recording studio, rehearsal space, and a computer room with a scanner and copier for making posters and fliers. The facilities are also available to associates – i.e., people, who don’t live there – for a small fee.
Remme and partner Heather Carmichael, who met at Trinity University in San Antonio and were soon driving up to Austin every weekend, saw too many of their musician friends struggling to make ends meet and wanted to help out. To their way of thinking, local musicians put a lot more into the economy than they get back. “Austin is a fantastic place for musicians to make music but a hard place for them to make money,” Remme says.
Though the mortgage is currently in Remme’s name, she hopes to eventually sell it to the co-opers so they can reap tax benefits, but financial incentives are only part of the story. Remme and Carmichael are betting the co-op becomes a social center for local musicians, somewhere they can try out new material, collaborate with like-minded peers, and find out about potential gigs. There’s also a stage in the commons area for shows, like the launch party Sunday, 5-10pm, with Carolyn Wonderland, DJ Tomás, and several other co-opers showing off their skills.
If this co-op works out, Remme and Carmichael would like to start several more around town – maybe even a retirement home for musicians. So far, they say the response has been overwhelmingly positive, with musicians willing to do whatever they can to get the enterprise off the ground. Dale Watson, for example, donated a refrigerator. “It’s just a neat, neat bunch of people,” says Carmichael.
This article appears in June 25 • 2004.