Don’t be shocked when you turn to the Austin Music Network next Monday and find nothing but snow. In fact, don’t be surprised when you continue flipping past for the rest of the week to find no improvement. The all-Austin music cable channel hasn’t gone off the air permanently, rather bossman Woody Roberts says the station is taking a leave of absence from the airwaves Feb. 11-18 in order to facilitate a long-needed overhaul of the master control room. Expect a better-looking and sharper-sounding AMN when the channel returns, as well as some specials that Roberts says he’s been holding back (including a musical tribute to biker Lance Armstrong titled “Viva Lance!”) to debut after the makeover. Don’t expect the AMN staff to go on vacation for a week, either; you’ll see them out taping new material during the week they’re off-air, including a visit to Hip Hop Humpday with Bavu Blakes, Tee Double, and others at the Mercury this coming Wednesday. Meanwhile, on commercial TV, look for another new national ad campaign from the folks at Tequila Mockingbird and Schlotzsky’s. In addition to Austin sounds, the new ads feature such local musical luminaries as Jon Blondell, Bryan Crowell, Danny Levin, Alice Spencer, Darin Murphy, and Ben McDonald in rotoscoped form, an animation technique most recently celebrated in Richard Linklater‘s Waking Life.
This article appears in February 8 • 2002.