Handsome Family
Hard to believe it’s been three whole years since the perpetually smiling face of Red River, “Handsome” Joel Svatek, died from injuries sustained in a collision with a drunk driver. But the calendar doesn’t lie, and many feel Svatek’s stomping grounds haven’t been the same since. “I haven’t seen anybody replace him in the sense of the personality that he was,” says Joe Sebastian, Svatek’s former roommate and vice-president of the Handsome Joel Foundation, the nonprofit founded by friends and family to raise awareness about drunk driving. “There’s been a few people in the scene who may have the same level of renown, or be somebody everybody knows,” continues Sebastian, “but not in the same positive way.” Luckily, enough people have made it a point to remember Handsome Joel – consider the abundance of “I (heart) HJ” tattoos – that neither he nor his legacy are in danger of being forgotten. The Foundation’s Safe Ride Program, which provides cab vouchers to those unable to drive home, has been operational for a year, and now counts 15 downtown bars among its ranks. “We provided over 100 rides home in the past year,” notes Svatek’s mother, Katherine Ward, who hopes more bars come aboard after SXSW. The foundation’s latest project is raising its profile through events like Friday’s benefit at Elysium with Dixie Witch, Suplecs, the Bulemics, Brewtality Inc., and a 9pm set by Holy Happy Hour Charlie. “It’s a big comfort to me that after three years, people still care so much,” Ward says.
Safe Harbor
Bars participating in the Safe Ride Program as of Jan. 31: Beerland
Casino el Camino
Club de Ville
Elysium
Emo’s
Flamingo Cantina
Headhunters
Hole in the Wall
Jackalope
Longbranch Inn
Lovejoy’s
Red Eyed Fly
Ritz
Room 710
Side Bar
This article appears in February 3 • 2006.