San Antonio Current — March 8, 2023

Philip Krumm

Hot Dish

35 Music

Still the Silos

Long-running band that fuses roots,

and jangly pop is headed to San Antonio

Critics’ Picks

San Antonio Current

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Courtesy Photo / UTSA Archives

On the Cover: Composer Philip Krumm helped bring several artistic movements to San Antonio. Photos: UTSA Archives (left) and Josh Huskin (right). Design: Samantha Serna.

Philip

rumm SAN ANTONIO'S MUSICAL MAVERICK

country

That Rocks/That Sucks

HTexas Vista Medical Center, one of just two major hospitals in San Antonio’s southernmost stretch, will reportedly close May 1. The 325bed facility owned by Steward Hospitals has served a population of predominantly low-income residents for nearly four decades. Steward officials said in a press release that they asked University Health System and Bexar County to take over the hospital but were unable to reach a deal.

The San Antonio metro area has one of the highest rates of nonwhite home ownership in the country, a new study from industry review guide Construction Converge has found. Around 60% of non-white San Antonio area residents are homeowners, the highest rate in Texas. The metro also has one of the country’s lowest homeownership gaps between white and non-white residents.

HSurprise, surprise: more transphobia from the Texas Legislature House Republicans are rallying around a bill from Sen. Valoree Swanson that would restrict which college sports teams transgender athletes are allowed to join, barring transgender women from joining women’s teams and barring transgender men from joining men’s teams. Gov. Greg Abbott has signaled his support for the bill, a reported priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

San Antonio International Airport received a $20 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to build a new ground load facility at Terminal A. The new facility will allow the airport to add five new gates, increasing traveler capacity and potentially allowing airlines — including airlines that don’t currently fly to San Antonio — to add new routes in and out of the city. The project is expected to be completed in 2025. . — Abe

Asher

Suppressing students’ votes with Texas Rep. Carrie Isaac

Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.

Even among the Texas GOP’s beyond-flimsy justifications for filing a raft of new voter-suppression bills, freshman State Rep. Carrie Isaac’s is a standout for its absurdity.

The Wimberley Republican last month filed a proposal seeking to ban counties from locating polling locations on college campuses. Her justification? Campus safety. Indeed, she also said she wants ban polling places from K-12 schools.

“I don’t think it’s wise we’re inviting people to come on to our school campuses that would otherwise not have any business there,” Isaac said. “So, I believe that we should do anything and everything possible just to make sure that our campuses are as safe as possible.”

Never mind, of course, that college students tend to skew Democrat, and that Isaacs’ proposal dovetails with other GOP measures that are engineered to steer folks who tend not to vote Republican — people of color, poor people and people with disabilities — away from the polls.

Never mind that college campuses regularly host sporting events, concerts, lectures and other gatherings that draw far larger — and harder to monitor — crowds than those that typically show up at voting centers.

Also never mind that Isaacs’ campaign website puts her pledge to “preserve the Second Amendment” front and center while including endorsements from Gun Owners of America

and the Texas Gun Rights Political Action Committee. Such credentials suggest school safety isn’t something the state rep would normally give a wet shit about.

When public radio program the Texas Standard queried Isaac about the difficulties her proposal would present to college students, many of whom don’t have cars or much time between classes to cast ballots, she replied with trite platitudes about America’s college students being smart enough to figure it out.

“I have the utmost confidence in our young adults to be able to vote no matter where the polling location is,” Isaac said.

In a sane world, Isaac’s anti-democratic efforts would ensure that she remains a one-term member of the House. But the political reality is that she’s the kind of autocratic assclown with a bright future ahead in the Texas GOP.

— Sanford Nowlin

The Republican Party of Texas voted to censure U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, who has committed the cardinal sins of voting in favor of gay marriage and to pass a gun safety measure that gained bipartisan support after the Uvalde school massacre. Gonzales, who represents a massive South Texas district that includes Uvalde, has also been criticized from the right for his failure to support extreme immigration policies.

The Alamo Collections Center opened on Friday with some 500 artifacts from the Texas independence fight on display, including some donated by the British pop star and Alamo enthusiast Phil Collins. The center is the first new building constructed on the site of the Alamo grounds in nearly 70 years, and it will serve as a temporary home for the artifacts until the new Alamo Museum and Visitors Center is completed in 2026 at a cost of $150 million.

District 7 has a new council member. City council voted unanimously last week to appoint civil-rights activist Rosie Castro to fill the position vacated by Ana Sandoval on an interim basis. Castro, the mother of Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and former Mayor Julián Castro, will fill the last three months of Sandoval’s term before the winner of a May 6 election is sworn in. —

Abe Asher

YOU SAID IT!

“The reality is I’ve taken almost 1,400 votes, and the bulk of those have been with the Republican Party”

— U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales R-San Antonio, after the Texas GOP voted to censure him forvoting for a gun-safety bill and other measures it opposed.

Courtesy Photo / Carrie Isaac

Jade Esteban Estrada

Dilbert cartoonist deserves blowback for racist tirade

BY KEVIN SANCHEZ

Editor’s Note: Bad Takes is a column of opinion and analysis.

Plenty of us find little to laugh about in newspaper comics, but the cancellation of Dilbert from hundreds of U.S. periodicals has brought some unexpected mirth.

The strip’s author, Scott Adams, ran his reputation through the office shredder late last month by sharing what he later conceded were “super-racist” comments on his YouTube channel. The editors at the Express-News were among those who wasted no time in dropping the strip, saying they’re “not obliged to give [Adams] a platform and financial support.”

In the offending clip, Adams says he’s dedicated his life to trying to help Black people, then cites a Rasmussen poll which he says shows that “nearly half of that team doesn’t think I’m OK to be white.”

Adams continues: “So, if nearly half of all Blacks are not OK with white people — according to this poll, not according to me — that’s a hate group. And I don’t want to have anything to do with them.

“And I would say, based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people. Just get the fuck away. Wherever you have to go, just get away. ‘Cause there’s no fixing this. This can’t be fixed. You just have to escape. So, that’s what I did, I went to a neighborhood where I have a very low Black population ... .”

He goes on: “So, I think it makes no sense whatsoever as a white citizen of America to try to help Black citizens anymore. It doesn’t make sense. It is no longer a rational impulse. And so, I’m going to back off from being helpful to Black America because it doesn’t seem like it pays off. I’ve been doing it all my life and the only outcome is I get called a racist. It makes no sense to help Black Americans if you’re white. It’s over. Don’t even think it’s worth trying.”

Notice the apparent speed at which

Adams went from posturing as an aspirant white savior to advocating full-on neo-segregationist white flight. But also note something odd about the timeline: he intentionally moved to a neighborhood with few Black residents well before he’d ever read the poll that allegedly triggered his change of heart. Adams has also been a longtime defender of the last wet fart of the white majority, Donald Trump, who declared following the 2017 Unite The Right rally that “very fine people” can march alongside neo-Nazis.

For the record, the poll that set Adams off was complete troll manure. Rasmussen Reports is s a right-wing polling agency with a penchant for loaded wording. The question they asked 117 Black respondents last month read, “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: ‘It’s okay to be white’?”

At first blush, that sounds like an innocuous no-brainer, and over half of Blacks polled expressed their agreement. Except, according to the Anti-Defamation League, the statement itself is a white nationalist meme targeting diversity initiatives on college campuses.

“Given this history, it makes a lot more sense why a quarter of Black Americans might have some hesitation in signing off on the sentiment,” diversity, equity and inclusion consultant Pamela Denise Long wrote in Newsweek.

Reputable polling firms try their best to use unambiguous language. If a poll asked whether you agree or disagree that “White lives matter” or “All lives matter,” you might pause and wonder, “Am I supposed to interpret these phrases literally or as politicized slogans?” Your response would therefore have fuck-all to do with whether you felt those of European descent or those with paler skin tones should enjoy the human right to exist.

Only near-universal assent to the

inviolability of whiteness would have satisfied Adams, however. On a “feeling thermometer” of 0-to-100°, the 2020 American National Election Studies survey found 62% of Black Americans rated whites warmly, and only 18% at below 50°.

Close to 99% of nonwhites approve of interracial marriage, according to Gallup; evidently white people are okay enough to marry one’s son or daughter off to. And according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey of race relations, “Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians are about equally likely to say they often or sometimes hear comments or jokes that can be considered racially insensitive from friends or family members who share their racial background. About half in each group say this rarely or never happens.”

Not exactly knock-down proof for designating one race or another “a hate group.”

Although Adams said in a subsequent interview that he would apologize if data proved the opposite of his original point, he’s yet to issue that apology.

Indeed, two days after the tirade, he seemed to dig in deeper.

“We’re at the point where 100% of people are racists and it’d be kind of stupid to act like it’s not true,” the comic creator said, adding that both affirmative action and reparations are “racist by definition” and that “‘racist’ is no longer a bad word.”

But racism isn’t reducible to fleeting subjective preferences or “thinking in racial terms.” It’s chiefly about the systemic furthering of racial subordination, or what economist Glenn Loury called “the withholding of the presumption of equal humanity.”

Adams’ self-reinforcing rationalizations have been particularly asinine,

from claiming his critics don’t understand “hyperbole” to contradictorily claiming “no one disagrees with me.” But white Americans who continue to donate to the NAACP disagree. Those who don’t consider remedies for past discrimination “racist” disagree. Those who marched with Black Lives Matter disagree.

“When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression,” the saying goes.

Blacks are 12-14% of the US population and hold less than 2% of the nation’s wealth, while whites comprise 60% and hold nearly 90%. Learning that fact doesn’t mean “demonizing” — in Adams’ words — those with less melanin in their upper epidermis. It’s OK not to be Black. It’s not OK to abandon the centuries-long dream of multiracial solidarity in America because you woke up one day and read a bogus poll.

Adams, the face of white fragility this month, represents millions of racists who have given up on Black people. But as historical investigations including the 1619 Project show, we owe what semblance of democracy we enjoy to the fact that Black Americans didn’t give up on us.

And what’s a more apt example of so-called “cancel culture” — that newspapers stopped running a comic strip after a cartoonist went on a racist harangue or that states like Texas explicitly forbade the teaching of the 1619 Project in public schools?

We eagerly await the Rasmussen poll on that one.

Shutterstock / Jeffery Edwards

MDilbert creator Scott Adams (right of screen) speaks via video to attendees of a Donald Trump rally.

we remember San Antonio leader ‘Red’ McCombs,

also remember Hemisfair ’68 — minus the mythology

BY HEYWOOD SANDERS

Editor’s Note: CityScrapes is a column of opinion and analysis.

The recent of passing of billionaire B.J. “Red” McCombs at age 95 has occasioned an outpouring of commentary on his legacy and impact on San Antonio. That’s understandable. McCombs has long appeared a larger-than-life figure in this community thanks to his expansive business empire and enthusiasm for professional sports and growth.

Commentators have properly recognized his contribution to big-time sports here, from helping to bring the Spurs to town to pressing for the development of the Alamodome. McCombs played a central role in spurring the development of the far West Side — Westover Hills and Alamo Ranch — by supporting the construction of Highway 151 through the donation of land by existing property owners. And McCombs also chaired the Hemisfair ’68 committee that realized the building of the iconic Tower of the Americas.

Hemisfair has long been acclaimed for transforming San Antonio, through its surge of international publicity and the construction of the foundation for the city’s modern convention and tourism industry. But even as we properly recognize the impact of McCombs and his generation, it’s also time to more fully understand the nature of the city they envisioned and built.

McCombs wasn’t a member of the initial committee of “interested citizens” who initiated the plans for the 1968 world’s fair, a group that included Bill Sinkin, H. B. Zachry, Walter McAllister, John Gatti, Tom Frost, Jim Gaines and Charles Kilpatrick. Their February 1962 meeting came on the heels of a heated battle over the location of the new University of Texas medical school here, a battle that pitted Zachry and McAllister, who favored downtown, against those who sought an outlying site.

So, it wasn’t surprising that when it came to Hemisfair, McAllister and his fellow “interested citizens” held the opinion that “political consideration should be set aside in discussing worthy projects.” For his part, Gaines argued for this “tremendous” develop-

ment, “there can be no splintered groups but there must be solidarity among all groups and factions if this project is to succeed.”

San Antonio had a long history of splinter groups and factions within its business and civic leadership. To say nothing of enormous divisions along racial, ethnic and geographic lines. But the reality was that factions were exactly what happened as planning and operation of Hemisfair got underway.

The signature project that resulted in the Tower of the Americas was a fine example. Famed architect O’Neil Ford proposed the construction of the world’s tallest concrete structure as a privately financed investment. But Zachry’s reaction was far from enthusiastic. He termed the tower proposal a “dollar-and-mortar fabrication of another Texas Brag which [will] add to the negative imagery of Texas and increases an alienating factor.” He called for “ideas, concepts, themes, that will make friends and influence people, that will excite the Latin countries …”

Zachry’s view held no sway with the other Hemisfair leaders, and the construction plans moved ahead. But in a fashion that would be repeated over and over here, the grand concrete tower failed to excite any interest by private investors as a profit-making proposition. It would be built and owned by the city — with public dollars.

The split over the Tower of the Americas was just one of a series of conflicts that plagued the fair effort. The committee sought out and hired Ewen Dingwall who had run the earlier fair in Seattle to manage the operation. However, they disagreed with him over how to deal with the state legislature and ultimately forced him out. And as local business leaders fought with U. S. Sen. Ralph Yarborough over federal government participation and as fair construction stalled, they turned to construction magnate Zachry to direct the effort.

The consultant study prior to Hemisfair’s opening forecast an attendance between 5.9 million and 8.5 million, with figure of 7.2 million deemed “attainable.” Local boosters often promoted the 8.5 million

estimate, and Gaines placed his prediction at 7.5 million as the event opened.

Final attendance came to 6.38 million, including 1.38 million from Bexar county.

Even though the San Antonio Light newspaper called it a “respectable” attendance number, the shortfall came at a significant price. Although embroiled in conflict over the tower and with Senator Yarborough, business leaders called upon him to save the fair in the face of the lackluster numbers. He pulled no punches in his assessment of the data.

“I end my assignment with a feeling of bitterness. Our world’s fair should have made a profit,” Zachry wrote in his “Finale” report. “It lost $5,250,000 for the underwriters. It lost thousands for our concessionaires, failure to some, who had pinned their hopes to a promised gate ‘beyond 7½ million’… . The sole reason for this condition was the Executive Committee’s continual refusal to do the things I asked plus continuous, poor management, a management crime.”

Zachry also observed that President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s promise that the White House would shift federal agencies dealing with Central and South America to San Antonio and presumably the fair site after the event, never came to be. Zachry blamed the intransigence of the executive board.

San Antonio was left for years with acres of world’s fair leftovers.

Since then, a wonderful and reassuring mythology has blossomed around Hemisfair ’68 — essentially that it “made” San Antonio what it is today, yielding iconic buildings and a great tourism industry.

Yet even now, as we bid farewell to McCombs, it’s questionable whether we learned the real lesson of Hemisfair. Land development deals and grand public buildings do not themselves produce a great, thriving city.

That takes a unified, committed whole community with thoughtful, public-spirited leaders and a willingness to address the full reality of its needs and inequities.

Heywood Sanders is a professor of public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

As

let’s

Wikimedia Commons / Larry D. Moore.

Safe and Affordable?

Residents of San Antonio’s subsidized housing complexes say they’re fed up with their lack of security

BY MICHAEL KARLIS

Last year, the Alamo City recorded 54% more homicides and 55% more car thefts than in 2021, according to San Antonio Police Department statistics.

However, as those rates rise, an already vulnerable part of the city’s population says it’s grappling with a worrying lack of security.

People living in subsidized low-income housing owned and operated by Opportunity Home — formerly known as the San Antonio Housing Authority — told the Current that the housing agency has abolished security guards at its complexes. What’s more, tenants maintain that their complaints about rising crime at Opportunity Home facilities have largely gone ignored.

Frank “Pancho” Valdez, a San Antonio Tenants Union organizer who’s lived in The Lofts at Marie McGuire for eight years, said instances of robbery, vandalism and drug dealing at the downtown development have skyrocketed in recent months. However, when tenants complain to the property managers, their concerns often fall upon deaf ears, he added.

“We’re treated like inmates, and when we have legitimate grievances, they’re ignored,” Valdez said. “Most people in [Opportunity Home] housing worked most of their lives. It’s not like we’re welfare bums.”

In an email to the Current, Opportunity Home spokesperson Bianca Garcia said the agency stopped hiring security personnel at properties in which the majority of residents are elderly after funds from the pandemic-era CARES Act were exhausted.

“With limited non-federal funds, we have a contracted security company that provides regular patrols throughout our nearly 100 properties,” Garcia said.

Management woes

Tenants at the Lewis Chatham Apartments on San Antonio’s South Side said their concerns about lack of security are compounded by what they said amounts to Opportunity Home’s inability to conduct internal investigations.

Tenant James Hamilton said that in December 2020, he was approached by another resident who pulled a gun on him while he waited at a bus stop located at the apartment complex.

Hamiltin managed to alert a security guard, who was stationed at the complex thanks to funding from the CARES Act. The man who threatened Hamilton then fled the scene, according to a police report obtained by the Current.

Hamilton told the Current he’s unsure whether he’d still be alive if the guard hadn’t been there.

The suspect was ultimately arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat, according to SAPD records. Even though the man ultimately pled guilty to the charges in Bexar County court, Hamilton said Opportunity Home’s internal investigation turned up nothing.

“Even after the guy was convicted, the CEO of [Opportunity Home], Mr. Ed Hinojosa, said there wasn’t evidence that it even happened,” Hamilton said.

The investigation into Hamilton’s run-in with the armed man isn’t the first time Opportunity Home has dropped the ball during an inquiry into an incident at the Chatham Apartments, tenants allege.

Emilio Quinones suffered a stroke eight years ago, which hindered his ability to walk, write and speak clearly, his sister Yolanda Alcorta told the Current.

On March 15, 2022, a tenant whom Chatham residents allege files frequent false police reports accused Quinones of public intoxication and making lewd remarks, according to Opportunity Home paperwork

“He’s not an alcoholic,” Alcorta said. “He had a stroke. He doesn’t walk right, and he doesn’t talk right. But [management] always assumes he’s drunk.”

After the tenant filed the police report, Opportunity Home began the process of evicting Quinones from his apartment, she said.

However, Alcorta — along with residents who witnessed the incident — sought help from Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), a nonprofit that offers free legal services. After TRLA intervened, the housing agency dropped the eviction, citing the lack of evidence against Quinones, documents show.

If there had been security on the property, Alcorta said the incident likely would never have made it to court. She said guards would have been familiar with Quinones’ condition and would have stopped management from pursuing an eviction.

Opportunity Home officials said in an email that disputes between neighbors can’t be resolved by security guards.

Focused on Development

Even though Opportunity Home sends third-party security patrols through its complexes, Valdez, Hamilton and Alcorta said their appearances are few and far between.

Resident Maureen Galindo, who lives at the Refugio Place Apartment Homes near Southtown, argues that Opportunity home would have the funds to hire more security if it wasn’t so focused on developing mixed-income housing.

Prior to the early 2000s, Opportunity Home – then SAHA – owned and operated apartment complexes comprising only low-income subsidized housing.

One such example is Victoria Courts, which opened in 1940.

However, the Lavaca-neighborhood complex was demolished in 2000 to make way for a new mixed-income development called Victoria Commons.

The 213-unit master-planned Victoria Commons would be owned and operated by Opportunity Home, but only 20% would be subsidized and set aside for low-income housing. The remaining 169 units would be leased at market rates, according to now-defunct news site the San Antonio Heron.

“[Opportunity Home] isn’t really taking care of its tenants or residents anymore,” said Galindo, a Tenant Union organizer whose master’s thesis was on gentrification. “If you go to the board meetings, so much of their time and energy goes towards these new developments.”

Opportunity Home is diverting funding needed for security and maintenance toward these new developments, Galindo alleges. The new mixed-income developments also increase neighborhoods’ desirability, meaning that rents — even for those living in subsidized housing — go up, she added.

However, in public comments, Opportunity Home officials maintain that mixed-income developments improve the standard of services offered to low-income tenants and reduce crime by preventing high concentrations of poverty.

Garcia said the agency doesn’t funnel funds away from security to fund new developments.

“An ongoing misperception that the organization has the allocated funding in its possession is often formed by those with little, to no, knowledge in housing finance,” she said. “Funds are not readily available and instead are housing credits for new development projects.”

Valdez of the Tenant’s Union said he just wants someone to listen to tenants’ concerns. To that end, his group has spoken to District 1 City Councilman Mario Bravo and plans to meet with U.S. Rep Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, in coming weeks.

Even so, with developers snatching up SA housing properties and citywide rents rising more than 20% last year, according to a report by online real estate marketplace Redfin, Valdez acknowledges that time is running short to get results.

Michael Karlis

MChatham Apartment Residents Emilio Quinones (left) and James Hamilton (right).

ART

CAM PERENNIAL

March is San Antonio’s Contemporary Art Month, both a celebration of and spotlight for local artists and contemporary artwork within the city. Each year’s festivities include a keystone exhibition developed by a curator from outside of San Antonio dubbed the CAM Perennial. This year’s CAM Perennial is titled “Picking at Scabs,” curated by Gil Rocha from Laredo. Featuring works from both San Antonio and Laredo artists, including Anthony Francis, Juan Carlos Escobedo, Anthony Rundblade, Erika Ordoñez, Gary Sweeney and more, the exhibition is billed as a “metaphor for hereditary injuries” — that is, tales of generational suffering, attempts to heal and accepting the scars left behind. The pieces, which come from artists specializing in media ranging from sculpture and painting to photography and prints, are compiled as varied expressions on social, individual, community and generational wounds. Free, opening reception 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Mar. 8, on view 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday through Apr. 8, Michael and Noémi Neidorff Art Gallery, Trinity University, One Trinity Place, contemporaryartmonth.org.

— Dalia Gulca

expression through art. $10-$20, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday through July 2, McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave., (210) 824-5368, mcnayart.org. — DG

FRI | 03.10

SPORTS SPURS VS. NUGGETS

In the midst of a franchise record 16-game losing streak, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich offered a frank assessment of his young team’s effort on the defensive end. “Youth’s got nothing to do with it,” he told reporters after a listless 120-110 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. “At some point, you have to take pride in what you are doing execution-wise and competitively, and that starts with defense — and we really suck. That’s on me.” San Antonio’s defense has ranked among the worst in the

WED | 03.08SUN | 07.02

ART

‘WOMANISH: AUDACIOUS, COURAGEOUS, WILLFUL ART’

On view now at the McNay Art Museum, “Womanish” is presented as a second chapter to 2010’s “Neither Model Nor Muse,” a collection featuring works of art made by women that the museum has acquired since its 1954 inception. Now, in this follow-up exhibition of woman-made work, the McNay has compiled a new set of pieces acquired in the years since that pioneering exhibition. “Womanish” showcases more than 70 regional, national and international artists, spanning 90-plus years. Featured artworks include landscapes, abstract works, portraits and more. The title comes from Alice Walker’s definition of the word “womanish” in a 1983 essay and it seeks to surmount the word’s oft-demeaning implications by celebrating the ways women produce

league this season, and with less than a month left in a lost campaign, it seems unlikely to make a dramatic improvement. Things don’t get any easier for the Spurs this Friday against league MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Jokic is averaging an astounding 24 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Nuggets, and will likely collect his third consecutive MVP trophy this summer. Expect another strong showing from Keldon Johnson, who led all scorers with 30 points the last time these two teams met. $12 and up, 7 p.m., AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com, Bally Sports SW-SA. — M. Solis

FRI | 03.10SAT | 03.11

CLASSICAL MUSIC

OUR PLANET LIVE IN CONCERT

A live 44-piece orchestra will bring favorite scenes from the beloved Netflix docuseries Our Planet from TV screens to the big stage, all with the show’s soundtrack composer, Steven Price, conducting. British broadcasting legend and biologist David Attenborough and William Shatner, the Emmy Award-winning actor known for portraying Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek, will provide onscreen co-narration as striking scenes of the natural world come to life. The live performance will last around two hours with an intermission, and proceeds from the performances will benefit the World Wildlife Fund’s global Our Planet education and awareness initiatives. $36.40-$75.50, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, H-E-B Performance Hall, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — Macks Cook

FRI | 03.10

FILM

HIDDEN FIGURES

H-E-B Cinema on Will’s Plaza is bringing the critically acclaimed 2016 drama Hidden Figures back to the screen for one night. Set during the 1960s space race, the film tells the true story of Black female mathematicians Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), who worked as human computers to get astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Facing racism and misogyny in addition to the threat of being replaced by machines,

Violeta Garza

© Katja Oxman, courtesy of McNay Art Museum

San Antonio Spurs

Courtesy Photo / Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

the women triumphed by contributing to one of history’s boldest scientific advances. Arrive early at 6:35 p.m. for a lecture from UTSA Physics Professor Kelly Nash to learn more about the incredible women who inspired the award-winning film. Science demonstrations and other activities are scheduled beforehand. Full concessions and bar will be available, and attendees are welcome to bring lawn chairs or blankets, though chairs are also available at the venue. Free, 7:30 p.m., Will Naylor Smith River Walk Plaza, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — Christianna Davies

SAT | 03.11

SPECIAL EVENT

CREATIVE CONFLUENCE

Spirituality, respect for nature and creativity collide at this community event in which San Antonio-area artists celebrate World Water Day. Featured performances at Creative Confluence will include music for dancing, a drum circle, poetry and storytelling, and guests can enjoy snacks from a range of vendors. Creators of all ages can join the fun with hands-on activities such as plant potting, giant bubble blowing and Gyotaku printing of fish, turtles and frogs, courtesy of the Blue Star Arts Collective. Guests can even bring their own bag or T-shirt, and Crooked Arm Printing will silkscreen it with a commemorative image. Free, 3-6 p.m., Confluence Park, 310 W. Mitchell St., celebrationcircle.org. — MC

SAT | 03.11

SPECIAL EVENT FEST OF TAILS

The San Antonio Parks Foundation is presenting the latest iteration of this family friendly event celebrating both dogs and kites. In addition to kite demonstrations and family kite flying, the gathering will include live music, food and a variety of vendors, including some selling pet products and treats. What’s more City of San Antonio’s Urban Forestry program will conduct a tree giveaway, visitors will participate in the Tour de Tails bike ride and the longtime favorite Pooch Parade & Costume Contest invites attendees to dress up their furry friends. (Register at saparks.org.) A variety of animal welfare organizations will be on hand to offer pet registration, vaccinations, rescues and more. Free, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., McAllister Park, 13102 Jones Maltsberger Road, saparks.org. — CD

FRI | 03.17 -

SAT | 03.18

SPECIAL EVENT

BUD LIGHT ST. PATRICK’S FESTIVAL AND RIVER PARADE

There’s more to this tradition than dyeing the San Antonio River a slightly brighter shade of green, although spectators can watch that happen on both Friday and Saturday. However, the high point occurs Saturday, when 12 Irish-themed floats carrying bagpipers and other entertainers will drift down for the St. Patrick’s River Parade. The parade will take place at both 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, hitting the Museum Reach and downtown sections of the River Walk, respectively. Both days, the Patrick’s Day Artisan Show will feature more than 40 artisan vendors selling handmade goods. Free, 3-8 p.m. Friday, 1-6 p.m. Saturday, (river dyeing ar 1 p.m. Firday, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdsay, thesanantonioriverwalk.com — DG

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Courtesy Photo / San Antonio Parks Foundation

Courtesy Photo / Celebration Circle

Twentieth Century Fox Jaime Monzon

DeRay Davis

Zarna Garg

SAT | 03.18

ART

NANCY RUBINS CELEBRATION

As part of Contemporary Art Month, Ruby City’s Sculpture Garden will celebrate Nancy Rubins, who’s known for her larger-than-life, gravity-defying sculptures. The location is fitting since Rubins’ monumental sculpture, 5,000 lbs. of Sonny’s Airplane Parts, Linda’s Place, and 550 lbs. of Tire-Wire (1997), is permanently installed in the garden. This event, based around STEAM (STEM + arts), will feature Rubins-inspired interactive physics demonstrations from Trinity University’s Physics Department. An artist-led project and an aerial performance by Cirque Aria will round out the afternoon. Rubins will also take part in a March 16 artist talk with curator Sara Softness that will be streamed at 3 p.m. via Facebook Live. Free, 3-5 p.m., Ruby City, 150 Camp St., (210) 227-8400, rubycity.org. — CD

FRI | 03.17 -

SUN | 03.19

COMEDY

DERAY DAVIS

Actor and stand-up comic DeRay Davis is perhaps best known for his

SUN | 03.19

SPECIAL EVENT

YAMATO: THE DRUMMERS OF JAPAN

The youthful energy of Yamato’s performers belies the taiko drumming troupe’s decades of experience. Founded in Japan’s Nara Prefecture in 1993, Yamato has racked up more than 4,000 performances in 54 countries and regions. The group’s lively performances feature original compositions for taiko drums and sometimes showcase other traditional Japanese instruments such as the three-stringed shamisen. Yamato is marking its 30th anniversary with its latest tour, Hinotori: The Wings of the Phoenix. In an interview with Broadway World, Yamato founder and artistic director Masa Ogawa explained his approach to creating each touring show: “Since Taiko is more like music, it seems that I would create a show based on the ears, but I think I probably create a show based more on the eyes, on the scenery I can see between them, and on the energy I feel from them, rather than on the ears.” He also revealed one secret behind the contagious energy of Yamato’s members — everyone runs around 10 kilometers each morning as part of their training. $45.50-$75.50, 8 p.m., H-E-B Performance Hall, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — Kelly Nelson

comedic takes on what it means to grow up Black and poor on Chicago’s South Side, including how to explain why you have “whack-ass shoes” and how to sell crack for your uncle. Similar gritty-yet-hilarious observations — along with humorous takes on the United States’ pervasive racial issues — fill his hit 2017 Netflix Special How to Act Black. Davis’ work beyond stand-up includes appearances in Scary Movie 4, 21 Jump Street and the Fox series Empire. He also has a recurring role as Peaches in the FX series Snowfall Tables for $80-$320, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, improvtx.com/sanantonio.

— Michael Karlis

SUN | 03.19

SPORTS BRAHMAS VS. RENEGADES

With the best viewership and attendance in the relaunched XFL football league, it’s clear Alamo City sports fans are taking a shine to the Brahmas. Led by retired NFL super champion Hines Ward, the Yellow and Black are taking on the dominant Arlington Renegades at the Alamodome following a three-game road trip. The matchup against the Renegades will be the Brahmas’ first home game since Feb. 19, and it stands to reason that the team is looking forward to playing in front

of what’s shaping up to be the most dedicated fan base in the XFL, even if the league’s having trouble racking up big TV numbers. $24 and up, 9 p.m., Alamodome, 100 Montana St., (210) 207-3663, alamodome.com, ESPN

2. — MK

Mark Menjivar

Courtesy Photo / Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Composer and Catalyst

For decades, Philip Krumm served as the living embodiment of San Antonio’s avant garde

BY BILL BAIRD

Lauded composer Philip Krumm has been at the center of multiple significant art movements. In addition to performing with 20th-century masters and having his own music catalogued in multiple releases, he’s been a decades-long creative catalyst for San Antonio — a metro not always on the cutting edge. Krumm orga-

nized the city’s first concerts showcasing “new music” composers such as John Cage, helped drag it kicking and screaming into the psychedelic ’60s and eventually provided a stage for some of its greatest literary minds.

It’s a role the 82-year-old has embraced with a wink and a smile.

“Phil is a genius, a real genius,” says Louis Cabaza, keyboardist for The Children — a band that emerged as San Antonio’s chief psychedelic ’60s export — and later for Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Natalie Cole. “You could almost hear him thinking. I always thought if there were people from outer space — travelers — it’d be him.”

In the late 1950s, while still a teen, Krumm and a fellow San Antonio musician hosted a series of DIY concerts at the fledgling McNay Art Institute, premiering works by John Cage, Richard Maxfield and others now revered as some of the last century’s most significant composers.

Eventually, Krumm went on to work with Cage and other icons — Yoko Ono and Karlheinz Stockhausen among them — and contributed to two of the most

Josh Huskin

significant 1960s art movements, the ONCE Group and Fluxus.

Later, Krumm helped usher in the Alamo City’s 1960s counterculture. He programmed the innovative Youth Pavilion at Hemisfair ’68, founded the city’s first psychedelic lightshow company, managed rock bands and hosted parties at his apartment that were attended by Beat writers Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs.

“The ’60s were amazing,” Krumm says. “It was like Paris in the ’20s. Boundaries breaking down, creativity exploding. Not sure you’ll see anything like it again.”

After the seismic ’60s, Krumm’s life slowed down a bit. But even then, he remained a creative force, running San Antonio bookstores including Clipper Ship Book Store and King William Books. He also helmed the award-winning Musica Nova radio program at long-running classical music station KPACFM.

Still witty and sharp in his eighth decade, Krumm is one of San Antonio’s living links to the giants of the 20th-century avant garde. But for all his brilliance, and all the effort he’s made to move the city ahead, he hasn’t reaped much financial reward.

Krumm is surviving on a modest social security check and living in a portion of the house he inherited from his family. Until recently, was losing his vision. After a year of battling the health system, he’s regained his sight thanks to cataract surgery.

His road hasn’t been an easy one, but this is often the case for those in the vanguard.

The recent inclusion of Krumm’s work in “Jerry Hunt: Transmissions From the Pleroma,” an exhibit of composer-performer Hunt’s sculptures and video at New York’s prestigious Blank Forms Editions, could bring a renewed — and long overdue — focus back to this overlooked icon.

Portrait of the artist

Krumm was born in Baltimore in 1941, the son of a union organizer father and mother who funneled her talents as an aspiring writer into penning ad copy. H.L. Mencken, one of the 20th century’s most famous literary critics, was a family friend. However, due to young Philip’s health problems, the Krumm clan relocated to San Antonio’s more favorable climate.

After a childhood immersed in music — he was a Stravinsky fan by age 5 — the teenaged Krumm became assistant to the librarian for the San Antonio Symphony and overheard rehearsals of innumerable classical works. He also worked for the San Antonio opera and met some of the era’s stars.

Eventually, Krumm’s insatiable musical appetite led him to “new music,” a movement that employed dissonance, chance and electronics to expand classical music’s boundaries. It was often performed in a playful, deliberately confrontational manner.

“Part of the fun of new music was seeing who you could get rid of first,” Krumm said in 2015 to the blog Astronauta Pinguim. “Who would be the biggest chicken? Who would be the first one out? I know I took pride in running people out of the auditorium when I got the chance.”

Partners in crime

Krumm’s early partner in stretching San Antonio’s musical sensibilities was Robert Sheff, later known as “Blue” Gene Tyranny. The late piano prodigy went on to become a respected composer in his own right and toured supporting artists including Iggy Pop.

“He was so brilliant,” Krumm says of Sheff. “Just an astonishing piano player. Could sight read anything — I mean anything — at age 16, and just got better.”

Krumm and Sheff organized a series of new music concerts at the fledgling McNay Art Institute, Texas’ first modern art museum. Eager to jumpstart the series, a fearless Krumm reached out to his hero John Cage directly.

“I got interested in Cage’s stuff and wrote a letter to his Stony Point address. Which, at that time, was just ‘John Cage, Stony Point, New York.’ There were no ZIP codes,” Krumm says. “His publisher sent me a wad of scores.”

Through the McNay concerts, Krumm and Sheff connected with the greatest avant-garde musicians of the era — Terry Riley, Richard Maxfield, La Monte Young and Tom Constanten, the latter of whom later found fame as a member of the Grateful Dead.

“I met the other guys from the Grateful Dead, but I can’t remember their names anymore,” Krumm says with a sly grin.

Those McNay concerts remain unprecedented in Texas music history, according to observers.

San Antonio native and music critic Andy Beta, who has written for Pitchfork and the New York Times, says he was stunned to learn

about Krumm’s concert series when he was commissioned to write the liner notes for the composer’s 2003 album Formations.

“Growing up in San Antonio, the McNay was this stuffy institution,” Beta says. “To think that the work of distant luminaries had world premieres down in Texas — staged by two teenagers nonetheless — still feels inspiring. That these two teens took it upon themselves to disrupt the status quo, to startle, to try and shock life into the populace is important ... . And I hope it inspires another Texas teenager to take it upon herself to envision and enact a different present and future.”

Harsh critics

The first guy through the wall always gets bloody, or so it’s said. Given his eagerness to overturn the status quo, Krumm was no exception.

As Krumm began showcasing some of his own works, which relied on dissonance and unconventional scoring techniques, the now-defunct San Antonio Light ran a full-page attack on his work. In the article “Krummy? It’s Simply ‘New Music’,” critic Glenn Tucker excoriated the young creator, even fabricating absurd titles to mock his compositions.

“When young San Antonio composer Philip Krumm sits down to play, some people laugh,” Tucker wrote. “Children usually weep.”

From the perspective of our jaded, seen-itall 2022, it’s difficult to imagine a fledgling composer generating such vitriol, much less any kind of attention in the mainstream press.

Asked about the piece now, Krumm shakes his head.

“What an asshole. Capital ‘A,’ capital ‘H,’” he says of Tucker. “But you have to put up with that kind of stuff if you’re doing really radical art.” Gerald Ashford, a critic at 21

Courtesy Photo / UTSA Archive

19 the Express-News, also weighed in with the absurdly titled but more sympathetic article “Young S.A. Pioneers: Pair Deny Efforts to Abolish Music.”

“These young men talk a bewildering amount of good sense,” Ashford wrote about Krumm and Sheff. “[They] are not trying to destroy music but only try to extend its scope ... [to] expand the limits of what is to be considered music. And perhaps that is not such a bad idea, if you stop and think about it.”

Already composing challenging new works, Krumm graduated from Jefferson High School in 1960 and entered the St. Mary’s University music program on a full scholarship.

However, more resistance awaited.

“It was a very conservative time,” Krumm says. “There were well-meaning people, but St. Mary’s wasn’t that great in 1960. It’s much better now.”

During one performance on campus, heckling gave way to physical violence.

“I was doing a La Monte Young piano piece and I was under the piano — had to knock on the bottom of it — and some joker shoved a chair into my kneecap pretty hard. Can you imagine somebody caring that much about ... that? That’s just being an asshole. But that’s a lot of what I put up with back then, because it was all brand new!”

Despite the adversities, some understood what Krumm was doing.

His innovative score for a community theater production of The Taming of the Shrew drew admiration. At the urging of theater proprietor Bill Larsen, Krumm sent the score to Ross Lee Finney, then head of the music department at the University of Michigan.

Finney loved it.

Though Finney couldn’t guarantee Krumm a spot in Michigan’s graduate

school program, he encouraged the young composer to make the journey. So, with only $39 to his name and a train ticket bought with borrowed money, Krumm arrived in Ann Arbor in late 1961. He was accepted into grad school and awarded a President’s Award grant. His leap into the unknown paid off.

“It was hard to make anything move much down here. But it was good people,” Krumm says. “Going from St. Mary’s to Ann Arbor was like being on a spaceship.”

Music for Clocks’

In Michigan, Krumm finally found a welcome environment for his radical musical approach.

“It was transcendental,” Krumm recalls. “I was in the right place at the

right time, and that was the best thing that ever happened to me — being in Ann Arbor.”

Krumm immediately became involved with the ONCE Festival of New Music, a gathering of composers who performed their own works in defiance of unsupportive local institutions — an approach strikingly similar to his own McNay concerts.

ONCE allowed Krumm to work alongside John Cage, who directed a performance of Toshi Ichiyanagi’s “Sapporo.” Cage had Krumm “play” a bicycle, the Japanese avant-garde composer’s favorite means of transportation. Krumm used a bow to draw sounds from the spokes and the wheels.

Krumm premiered several of 23

Courtesy Image / Philip Krumm

MScores for slide whistles used in a Krumm composition.

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21 his own compositions at ONCE, including the well-received “Music for Clocks,” a proto-minimalist composition with a Dada spirit. The stage was filled with clocks, which were the music’s intended audience.

“When the ONCE festival played ‘Music for Clocks,’ it got a good ovation,” Krumm says. “[Experimental composer] David Tudor grabbed me and hugged me and swung me around. David Tudor! He was one of my superheroes. To have one of your superheroes do that? Fuck yeah!”

New World Records released Music from the ONCE Festival, 1961-66 as a massive box set in 2003, and it included “Music for Clocks.” Krumm’s piece received particular attention fromVillage Voice critic Kyle Gann.

“The most fun piece and the only one to slightly foreshadow the minimalism that was soon to break, is Music for Clocks, by Texan Philip Krumm,” Gann wrote.

Sharing stages

By 1962, Krumm had entered the world of his heroes, among them Robert Ashley and John Cage.

“It helped that I was cute,” Krumm says with a chuckle.

These heroes also included La Monte Young, whom Brian Eno later called ‘the grandaddy of us all.’

“The time I met La Monte, he was in the bathtub,” Krumm says. “Very funny man. Wonderful and strange. He was just ... sitting in the bathtub.”

Young was a pioneer of Fluxus, which Dutch critic Harry Ruhé called “the most radical and experimental art movement of the ’60s.” Its interdisciplinary community spread internationally, and creators used it as an opportunity to create experimental works that placed the artistic process ahead of the finished product.

Young’s piece “921,” for example, consisted of the composer banging a kitchen pot 921 times.

“To me, that was one of the best things I ever sat through,” says Krumm, who witnessed a performance of “921” at ONCE Fest.

Krumm also made early contributions to the movement. Some of his works were showcased in the first Fluxus newsletter, and his composition “Patterns” was featured at the first public Fluxus festival in Wiesbaden, Germany. Eventually, Krumm’s piece “List” — a list consisting solely of the word “list” repeated over and over —

was included in the Fluxus Codex, a definitive 1988 tome chronicling the movement.

Thanks to a connection with La Monte Young’s girlfriend, poet Diane Wakoski, Krumm performed at Carnegie Hall with Yoko Ono, one of Fluxus’ highest-profile provocateurs. Also on stage was George Brecht, a seminal Fluxus artist whose compositions Krumm had included in his early SA concerts.

“Yoko sat on a toilet in the front of the stage, reading her poetry,” says Krumm of the performance, now considered legendary in new music circles. “Her boyfriend Tony Cox had a microphone backstage by the toilet and, every now and then after Yoko said something, there’d be this monster toilet flush coming through these big speakers. And within that framework was George Brecht, me and Terry Jennings, a great sax player, doing vocables — mouth sounds — with cans tied around our ankles, walking in a circle. It was good avant garde for its time. Good and proper avant garde.”

That same weekend, Krumm made a pilgrimage to the Stony Point, New York home of John Cage, where they shared spiked dandelion tea and Cage’s favored Gauloises cigarettes. In the back of Cage’s station wagon sat an unopened box of his recently published book Silence, one of the seminal texts of experimental music. Cage gifted Krumm a copy.

“I got copy No. 1. Copy No. 1!” says Krumm, his disbelief persisting to this day.

When Krumm asked Cage to write a dedication in the book, Cage doubled over with laughter.

“‘Write in the book?’ he asked. ‘I just wrote the whole book!’” Krumm remembers. “He really was one of the funniest people in the world ... one of the great people of the time.”

At the 1963 Pataphysics Festival, organized by author Roger Shattuck, Krumm met Jerry Hunt, a lifelong friend and avant-garde luminary who later released Krumm’s hauntingly beautiful “Sound Machine” on his Texas Music compilation.

The pair also hosted The Music Hour, a 1964 program on Austin’s public TV station, performing John Cage scores with Ed Vizard, saxophonist for Asleep at the Wheel. Another TV performance from that time, “Sampler,” linked Krumm with Waco native Robert Wilson, who later became an art world superstar with Einstein on the Beach, his

operatic collaboration with minimalist composer Philip Glass.

Back to Texas

In summer 1966, Krumm headed to the University of California at Davis to work with yet another giant of experimental music, Karlheinz Stockhausen, whose tape loop experiments were the primary inspiration for The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

However, this time, Krumm’s great leap fell short: the school had no funding available for him. Krumm stayed in Davis for six months, auditing Stockhausen’s classes, recording his composition “Sound Machine” and performing a well-reviewed concert with future new-age great and Brian Eno collaborator Harold Budd.

“Stockhausen was a bright spot in a difficult time for me,” Krumm told Austin musician and writer Josh Ronsen in 2009. “He took a liking to me ... and invited me to have lunch with him ... . I saw him in concert a few years later ... . I went to talk to him after the concert,

MBy the early ‘60s, Krumm had entered the world of his heroes. “It helped that I was cute,” he says now.

told him that I’d driven up from San Antonio to see him. He grasped my hand warmly and said, ‘You are an angel!’”

While at UC Davis, Krumm worked the school’s Buchla synthesizer, one of the first modular versions of the instrument, and made a little money composing music for Volkswagen commercials. Even so, he couldn’t sustain life in California. To save money and care for his parents, he permanently moved back to San Antonio.

After his return, Krumm took an unlikely musical detour by participating — for a paycheck — in Truth of Truths, a Christian rock cantata staged by then-Trinity Baptist Church Pastor Buckner Fanning. Krumm, no big fan of religion, played synthesizer.

“All I had to do was play a little electronic sound behind God’s voice 25

Courtesy Photo / UTSA Archive

Psychedelic pioneer

By this time the psychedelic ’60s were in full blossom, and Krumm’s artistic wanderlust led him into that nascent scene. Before long, he’d founded San Antonio’s first light-show company, Light Sound Development — which boasted the apt acronym of LSD — with local visionary Charles Winans.

“He was one of SA’s native geniuses,” says Krumm of Winans. “One of the original avant-garde artists here in town.”

LSD provided visuals for the short-lived Mind’s Eye, billed as the first psychedelic nightclub in the Southern United States.

The company also designed the lighting for Hemisfair ’68’s Youth Pavilion, sometimes called Project Y. Beyond that, Krumm also had a hand in programming music for the pavilion, bringing in a range of bands and composers, from the ONCE group to William Russo, a trombonist who pushed the boundaries of jazz by combining it with classical music.

Eventually, Krumm also ended up managing two of San Antonio’s most promising psych bands, The Children and Rachel’s Children. Both bands played the opening of The Mind’s Eye, alongside Texas’ now-legendary and always mind-expanding 13th Floor Elevators.

“They were already named when I found them,” Krumm says of his time shepherding the two musical groups. “‘Manager’ in quotation marks. I didn’t know what I

was doing, but they tolerated me.”

Although Krumm didn’t fancy himself much of a rock-band manager, he fully embraced the mind-expanding side of the era’s music scene.

“I loved acid. Loved it,” he says. “I had a lot at the appropriate time, back in the ’60s, when it was the good stuff. I learned all my psychic lessons and had great respect for it. It never hurt me ... . It was never anything but nice to me. No matter the environment, a bunch of wonderful people or a bunch of monkeys — it always pulled me together. That was the initial effect I got from it — togetherness. It said ‘you’re very sane. Don’t worry about it.’”

Meanwhile, Krumm’s apartment — known as The Bug House due to its location above ABC Pest Control — emerged as a meeting place for the local counterculture. Cassell Webb, who sang for The Children, has

House,” she says. “Met Ginsberg and Bill Burroughs when they were coming through to have a good time in Mexico.”

Sailing on

In the late ’70s, violinist Jane Henry connected with Krumm, who invited her to join CAPASA, a composers group he led with the late San Antonio composer Sarmod Brody. Brody, who led Trinity University’s music department, was a tireless advocate for adventurous music.

“At that time, Phil and Sarmod were cheerleaders,” Henry says. “Connecting people. Very encouraging.”

After meeting Krumm, Henry began hanging out at Clipper Ship, Krumm’s nascent bookstore. It served as a connection point for the city’s boundary-pushing creatives.

“Phil has always had salons,” Henry says. “And Clipper Ship was the hottest bookstore in Texas — pun intended. No air conditioning. Probably never paid a utility bill. But it was wonderful.”

Launched as chain booksellers were consolidating the retail landscape, Clipper Ship stood apart by refusing to carry Harlequin romances, bestsellers or anything remotely mainstream. It emerged as a hub of the city’s literary scene, hosting readings from award-winning writer and filmmaker John Phillip Santos, 2000 Texas Poet Laureate James Hoggard, celebrated Chicana poet Lorna Dee Cervantes and Charles Behlen — one of Krumm’s favorite poets — among many others.

Clipper Ship finally earned Krumm positive local press.

“Philip Krumm’s bookstore is, for some, the last bastion of quality literature,” Express-News scribe Ed Conroy wrote in 1987. “The entire Clipper Ship operation is a continuation of Krumm’s campaign for contemporary arts in San Antonio.”

The effusive 1987 article was a stunning reversal of the snidely dismissive reviews Krumm received for his early concerts.

Patchy legacy

After an extended run, Clipper Ship closed its doors in the early ’90s. Krumm subsequently became a music critic at the San Antonio Light, which shut down

in 1993, and a DJ at classical music station KPAC-FM, where his adventurous Musica Nova program won two awards from the Texas Music Association.   Sadly, though, his original music has nearly faded into obscurity, with the only recent release being his exceptional composition Formations — a piece written using star charts and performed by longtime collaborator Tyranny. It was released by San Antonio-based Idea Records in 2003.

However, after years of frustrating setbacks, Krumm was finally reintroduced on a national level with the aforementioned ONCE box set. His inclusion in Blank Forms’ Jerry Hunt retrospective, its accompanying book released this year by the prestigious Blank Forms publishing house, may encourage further exploration.

Also, Krumm has finally released new music, Goofy Tunes and Minimalist Melodies, a delightfully bizarre home recording featuring extensive keyboard programming.

“I wasn’t trying to do what I did before,” Krumm says. “Just seeing what I could do with existing systems. I was happy with how it turned out, although it might be kind of amateur-ish.”

So, why does such a groundbreaking artist linger in near obscurity?

In part, it could come down to a lack of accessibility. Many of his early scores were one-offs with no copies made. But observers say Krumm’s confrontational approach also plays a part. His willingness to challenge conventional thinking wasn’t always popular in Texas — and still isn’t.

“As Texas is wont to do, it eradicates any history it deems unpleasant or unsightly,” critic Beta explains. “Growing up in Texas, you can’t help but fall victim to that cultural amnesia. Perhaps that’s why a figure like Phil gets erased.”

But Krumm isn’t dwelling on his lack of recognition.

“San Antonio has certainly had more art and music people in it,” he says with a grin. “But it’s a little quiet right now.”

Courtesy Photo / Philip Krumm

MAn excerpt from Krumm’s Formations, a piece composed using star charts. It was released by San Antonio-based Idea Records in 2003.

Making Monsters

San Antonio-tied short horror-comedy Dead Enders making debut at SXSW 2023

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

When filmmaker Fidel RuizHealy made a trip back to his hometown of San Antonio from New York City during the pandemic, he knew he couldn’t stand idly by before creating another movie.

So, he and fellow screenwriter and director Tyler Walker, who he met when they were both students at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, dug into their virtual files and dusted off a script for a short they could shoot while the world was shut down.

The resulting movie, Dead Enders, is a horror-comedy about a gas station clerk named Maya (Skarlett Redd), who encounters a hostile race of mind-controlling parasites during her late-night shift. Dead Enders, which premieres at the South by Southwest Film Festival next week, explores the idea that working a dead-end job is comparable to serving as a host to a face-sucking organism that detaches one’s brain from reality.

“We wanted to do some of the science fiction stuff that we like, like Alien and the game Half-Life and those sci-fi tropes,” Walker said. “We thought about what the embodiment of a soul-sucking job would be. Something that takes away your face and destroys your spirit.”

The original story for Dead Enders was set in Walker’s home state of Pennsylvania, but the duo decided to expand the narrative, change the location to Texas and give it a “Buc-ee’s gas station sort of vibe.”

“Every part of America has its favorite gas station chain,” Walker said. “We wanted to tell that story and let it have this midnight-monster-movie energy to it.”

With Ruiz-Healy in San Antonio and Walker in Los Angeles, the pair wrote most of the script via Zoom sessions. It became RuizHealy’s job, however, to find a convenience store that would agree to serve as an overnight shooting location.

Ruiz-Healy made a list and called dozens until he found Mr. C’s Food Mart in Southeast San Antonio. The mom-and-pop shop, located on the way to Elmendorf, closed daily at 5 p.m., so it fit the bill perfectly. Of course, it also helped that the owner was open to the idea.

“It was this old family business, so he had complete control over it,” Ruiz-Healy said. “It’s one of those gas stations that has no

branding outside. He had been working there since the ’60s or ’70s. He let us remove whatever we wanted — except the lottery machine.”

Production on Dead Enders lasted five days. The directors ran into a technical problem when they found out the puppeteer they lined up to control their creepy-crawly creatures couldn’t make it to San Antonio due to the pandemic.

In the end, he mailed Ruiz-Healy and Walker the puppet, so they could control it themselves. Then, by “messing with the frame rate,” the duo created bugs that looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie.

“[The puppet] showed up with a bunch of chopped up coat hangers to control it,” RuizHealy said. “We were like, ‘What are we supposed to do with all this?’ Slowly, we started piecing it together in our heads and were like, ‘Oh, now I see what he was cooking.’”

Working together to solve problems is something Ruiz-Healy and Walker have been doing for more than a decade with the

American Standard Film Co., a studio they co-founded with filmmaker Jordan Michael Blake.

Ruiz-Healy said he and Walker work well together because they have developed a shorthand way of communicating. They’re also good at settling disagreements that come up during production.

“We have a way of pushing each other to come up with better ideas,” Ruiz-Healy said. “Neither of us likes to settle on the easy solution. We have different skills that work together nicely when we’re on set.”

Looking ahead, Ruiz-Healy and Walker want to expand Dead Enders into a fulllength film.

“In our brain, this is like the first 15 minutes of the feature movie,” Ruiz-Healy said. “Right now, we’re grinding away writing it.”

Dead Enders premieres during the Austin-based South by Southwest Film Festival’s Midnight Shorts Program at the Alamo Drafthouse Lamar, 1120 S. Lamar Blvd., on March 13 at 9:45 p.m. It screens again on March 16 at 9 p.m.

American Standard Film Co.

Spirited Debate

With the read-to-drink cocktails taking off, Texas lawmakers weigh allowing them in grocery stores

BY NINA RANGEL

The explosion in Texas-based readyto-drink cocktail companies is forcing state lawmakers to consider a pair of “common sense bills” that would allow the booze-infused canned drinks to be sold in grocery and convenience stores. The phrase “common sense” may seem counterintuitive when referring to bills under consideration in the Texas Legislature, but stay with us.

Currently, state law allows the sale of beverages under 17% alcohol by volume (ABV) at grocery and convenience stores. However, anything containing an alcoholic spirit such as vodka or tequila, even in minute quantities, is allowed in liquor stores only.

So, even though many spirits-based readyto-drink cocktails, or RTDs — think ranch waters and alcoholic seltzers — contain no more alcohol than wine or many beers, they’re not available on at the local H-E-B and or in convenience-store coolers.

“I always knew I wanted [our products] to be liquor-based, and I knew the challenges that would come with that, particularly in Texas. I knew that we would be limited to liquor stores,” said Amelia Lettieri, CEO of Austin-based RANCH2O Spirits, whose canned cocktails are just 7% ABV. “If you look at other states, though, they allow liquor to be sold in grocery and convenience stores. Texas liquor laws go all the way back to prohibition, and we, as a society, have changed so much. I think that it’s time that Texas evolves to meet consumer demands.”

Other Texas-based RTD purveyors include Ranch Rider, Lone River Ranch Water and Canteen Spirits, all of which offer more than one sipper with distilled spirt bases. None of those ventures is headquartered in San Antonio, and most canned cocktail producers here use wine or malt liquor in their concoctions.

Texas Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall, apparently agrees with Lettieri’s assessment.

On Feb. 13, he introduced HB 2200, the House version of a bill that would enable grocers and convenience stores to carry spirits-based ready-to-drink cocktails.

“In Texas, beer- and wine-based RTDs can be sold in more than 30,000 … grocery and convenience stores,” Holland said. “Meanwhile, [spirits-based] RTDs with the same or lower amounts of alcohol can only be sold in 3,200 locations. My bill closes this loophole, providing economic opportunity to tens of

thousands of Texas businesses.”

Economic justification

Holland isn’t exaggerating when he talks about the change bringing economic opportunity, proponents say.

Canned tipples have become the fastest-growing spirit category by revenue, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, or DISCUS. The International Wines and Spirits Record database, which tracks alcoholic beverages in 157 countries, notes 1,600 new spirits-based drinks came to market in 2022, up from fewer than 1,000 in 2020.

“As someone from Texas, I know how frustrating it can be to have to go from store to store simply to purchase my favorite canned cocktails,” DISCUS President and CEO Chris Swonger said. “As [spirits-based] RTDs gain in popularity, states all across the U.S. are taking a look at beverage laws to ensure consumers of these products are being treated fairly … Texas consumers should not get left behind.”

What’s more, the distilled-spirits industry is a big economic driver in Texas, contributing to manufacturing, hospitality, tourism and agriculture — all still recuperating from the COVID-19 slowdown. Currently, some 92,000 Texas jobs depend on the spirits industry, which generates more than $9.6 billion in state economic activity each year, according to DISCUS.

Swonger argues that easier access to spirits-based RTDs will give the industry a boost, further increasing its contribution to Texans’ livelihoods.

Other states moving ahead

Texas isn’t alone in weighing legislative changes in the wake of the RTD boom. Currently, 25 states now allow equal retail access to beer, wine and spirits-based RTDs with Vermont being the latest to change its law.

“Alcohol is alcohol is alcohol, and we just don’t see why we can’t sell spirit-based RTDs in convenience stores and grocery stores in Texas,” said Paul Hardin, CEO of Texas Food & Fuel Association, which represents more than 12,000 grocers and other retailers across the Lone Star State. “It makes no sense that consumers can come into our stores and pick up malt-based seltzers but can’t do the same with their favorite spirits-based canned cocktails.”

The current law is confusing to consumers, Hardin argues, plus it unnecessarily restricts the sales of businesses that already sell drinks with comparable alcohol levels.

“Allowing our members to sell these lower-ABV products would not only support their growth but the growth of many Texas-owned businesses looking to get into the RTD market,” he added. “These products contain the same or lower amounts of alcohol than beer- and wine-based beverages … there is no reason to treat them differently.”

RANCH2O Spirits’ Lettieri said a loosening of the retail law would benefit more than her own bottom line.

“Opening up the door for something like this wouldn’t just help my business, but also a lot of convenience and grocery stores who are losing revenue because people wanting these products have to go elsewhere,” she said. “This would really change the game.”

Courtesy Photo / RANCH2O

Drink Dok

BY RON BECHTOL

Editor’s Note: This is the first edition of Drink Dok, the Current’s ongoing cocktail column.

The Manhattan is a cocktail that has it all: depth of flavor, ease of preparation, minimal and easily sourceable components. Plus, for those so inclined, it lends itself to tinkering at home — and it’s almost bulletproof at any half-decent bar.

Whether out or at home, the first call to make is whether you want your Manhattan built around bourbon or rye. Bourbon is allegedly the most popular, but rye is a personal favorite due to the way its spice, herb and honey profile plays with sweet vermouth, the cocktail’s second major ingredient. Angostura bitters — think of it as the drink’s salt and pepper — is the third, and almost universally agreed-upon, component.

If you order the drink at, say, San Antonio cocktail spot Amor Eterno, you’ll automatically get Old Overholt rye — a perfectly respectable well liquor — paired with Carpano Antica, a high-end sweet vermouth, all stirred with ice and the Angostura. The combination is killer.

I’ve played with higher-end ryes at home, but my current go-to for cocktails is Rittenhouse 100. It’s only a few bucks more than the Overholt Straight, but also a tad more complex and proof-potent. Here’s a good baseline recipe to get you started.

Basic Manhattan

2 ½ ounces rye, preferably Rittenhouse, but hey…

1 ounce sweet vermouth, preferably Carpano Antica

2 shakes Angostura bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass—or whatever you have at hand. Garnish with a high-quality preserved cherry such as Luxardo, if desired.

Normally, I hate recipes that get really specific about brand names, thinking, cynically, that the writer has been co-opted. But, pricey as they are, the Luxardo cherries are really worth it. Please promise never to use the fluorescent red ones. Or, for that matter, to muddle orange slices into your mixing glass, as was inexplicably the rage a generation ago. A naked Manhattan is better than a tarted-out Manhattan. It’s fair, though, to fiddle with the vermouth. Carpano is especially bold and unctuous, and I sometimes cut it 50/50 with a lighter version such as Martini & Rossi or the French-made Dolin Rouge. I less

often do the so-called Perfect Manhattan, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t give it a try. The perfection here is in the equal split of sweet and dry vermouths as follows.

Perfect Manhattan

2 ounces rye ½ ounce dry vermouth, preferably Dolin Dry, but Carpano also makes one ½ ounce sweet vermouth

2 shakes Angostura bitters

Stir as above, garnish with cherry.

The logical next step is the Dry Manhattan, which uses only dry vermouth and is accordingly garnished with a lemon twist. Instead, though, let’s move on to the Black Manhattan. Yes, it involves buying a bottle of amaro that you might not otherwise think you need. Trust me, you do. Using two types of bitters may seem finicky, but try it. If you still think it’s too fussy after that, you can always revert back to the Angostura alone.

Black Manhattan

2 ounces rye

1 ounce Averna or other herbal but not-too-aggressive amaro

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 dash orange bitters

Stir and serve as above.

For what’s basically a two-part recipe plus seasoning, it’s clear that almost infinite variations are possible by just playing with the range of ryes or vermouths on the market. By and large, though, none of the tweaks will result in a change of texture or “mouth feel.” Here’s a hack that will do that without materially affecting the taste or aroma of the drink: add rice.

Yes, I had the same reaction. But a serious drinks magazine suggests stirring a tablespoon of raw sushi rice stirred into a Manhattan recipe, so I tried it. Amazing. Stirring an obsessive 60 times with the rice rounded off the edges of the drink and gave it a fuller-bodied texture.

There’s just one word of warning before you and I both try this with every stirred cocktail in the repertoire: double strain. Rice grains in the bottom of your Nick and Nora coupe are not what I mean by enhanced texture. I speak from experience.

The Manhattan cocktail offers almost infinite variations based on subtle changes

Ron Bechtol

A chat with Moureen Kaki of Saha Palestinian Cuisine

Name: Moureen Kaki

Job:  Chef and partner in Saha Palestinian Cuisine, now doing a Saturday residency at Little Death Wine Bar, 2327 N. St. Mary’s St., through April 29.

Age:  31

Birthplace:  San Antonio Industry Experience:  Began as a pizzaiolo’s apprentice at age 19. I’m also a former bakery owner with four years’ catering experience.

Something that makes you smile: The smell of a freshly picked fig when it’s torn in half.

Why does Palestinian food resonate with you so much?

It’s a love of two things combined really — a love of food and a love of Palestine and Palestinian culture. When I first learned to cook, I thought the foods we made at home — Palestinian food — was lame and not fancy enough to serve in a restaurant. And I’m glad to say now that I realize how wrong I was. Somewhere along my food journey, I intersected with this sort of need to connect with my Palestinian roots and different ideas for recipes started to float around in my head and, along with them, the memories of sharing and making these foods with family and friends.

Tell us about your process for selecting ingredients. Are any intimidating to work with?

At Saha, we try to showcase as many Palestinian ingredients as is possible. What’s available to make these dishes back home isn’t always the same as what’s available here, so it can be intimidating to have to make these kinds of adjustments while still ensuring that what we’re serving is authentically Palestinian.

What has Saha allowed you to express that can’t be explained otherwise?

Saha has allowed me to express my pride and love for who I am and the place I come from in ways that words can’t do. When people think of Palestine, their first reaction often isn’t very positive, but we have such a beautiful culture with a profound respect and love for life that I think is really apparent in our food and food culture.

Saha is still new to San Antonio and rotates its menu every week. Is there a specific dish you have lined up that you are excited to showcase to the city?

There are a lot we’re excited to share and also a lot that is limited by the availability of seasonal ingredients. One dish I’d love to be able to share with San Antonio is dawali, which is a stuffed grape leaf dish. There’s a vegetarian version too called yalangee. The traditional way to make it is to use fresh vine leaves and stuff it with a rice, tomato, meat and mint mixture that’s cooked in a beautiful broth that features pomegranate molasses. It was my favorite dish as a kid.

What’s something you want people to feel when they try your food?

There’s something about sharing food that feels like you’re passing on memories and the love of that food along with each bite.

Have you traveled to places beyond Palestine that have influenced your food?

I haven’t really had much chance to travel other than to places to visit family, including South Florida and Los Angeles. Those [visits] motivated me more to pursue food, but not so much an influence on the recipes. The influence of the Saha recipes comes from where my family has traveled as a result of leaving Palestine. My mom was raised in Brazil. They didn’t always have access to all the Palestinian foods my grandmother grew up with, so they made adjustments.

Sara and Suzie Masoud — [my business partners] and fellow Palestinians — have also influenced the menu. Their family comes from a different part of Palestine than my family, so we’ll often put our heads together and adjust based on our own recipes and the traditions our families used.  —

Brandon Rodriguez

Nationally lauded 2M Smokehouse is plans a fall opening for its second location, this one in nearby Castroville. 1303 Lorenzo St., Castroville, 2msmokehouse.com.

Next month, Japan-based bowling, karaoke and entertainment chain Round1 will open at San Antonio’s North Star Mall, offering exclusive games its website touts as being “imported straight from Japan.” 7400 San Pedro Ave., Suite 2600, round1usa.com.

North Carolina-based fried-chicken chain Bojangles will open its first San Antonio store this spring. 8610 Potranco Road, bojangles.com.

Monterrey, Mexico-inspired eatery Tu Asador now serving breakfast specialties including barbacoa, tacos al vapor and three varieties of French toast. 8055 West Ave., #125, (210) 5304595, tuasadorsatx.com.

Longtime local sandwich institution Zito’s Deli has opened a second location near Balcones Heights. 1554 Babcock Road, (210) 684-6555, zitosdeli.com.

Tripoli’s Mediterranean Grill has closed its Lackland-area shop ahead of a relocation to the Alamo Ranch area.

Fiesta San Antonio’s Taste of the Republic culi-

nary event will return to the hallowed grounds of the Alamo for 2023. tasteoftherepublic.com.

OPENINGS

Austin-area barbecue mainstay Milt’s Pit BBQ is now open in a new space in the Northeast San Antonio neighborhood of Live Oak. 8000 Pat Booker Road, (210) 267-5794, miltspitbbq.com.

Gourmet hot dog spot The Dogfather quietly opened a second location in Northeast San Antonio, serving up all-beef hot dogs and burgers loaded with specialty ingredients. 13032 Nacogdoches Road, Suite 201, sadogfather.com.

San Antonio-based Pizza Patrón has opened its first downtown location, this one near San Pedro Springs Park. 1107 San Pedro Ave., #101, pizzapatron.com.

Luna Rosa Puerto Rican Grill has relocated into the distinctive Southtown space that, until recently, housed culinary powerhouse Rosario’s Mexican Cafe y Cantina. 901 S. St. Mary’s St., lunarosatapas.com.

New bar River Sun is now open in the space that formerly housed music venues The Ventura and Ten Eleven. It serves up zero-proof and high-octane craft cocktails, seasonal craft beer and organic wine. 1011 Avenue B., instagram.com/ riversunsa.

Courtesy of Moureen Kaki

Nina Rangel

MLeft to right: Moureen Kaki, Suzie Masoud and Sara Masoud

Still the Silos

Long-running band that fuses roots, country and jangly pop is headed to San Antonio

BY BILL FORMAN

Silos frontman Walter Salas-Humara isn’t calling his group’s current cross-country jaunt a reunion tour, although it does contain elements of that.

For one thing, the shows — including a Thursday, March 9 stop at San Antonio’s Lonesome Rose with Buttercup opening — feature track-by-track live renditions of Cuba, the 1987 sophomore album that led to the post-punk, pre-Americana group being named Best New Artist in a Rolling Stone magazine critics poll.

For another, the set list will include a generous sampling of the band’s career favorites, ranging from last year’s “Colorado River” single, which Salas-Humara wrote about his whitewater-rafting expeditions, to the obligatory — and self-explanatory — “Let’s Take Some Drugs and Drive Around.”

A Cuban American singer-songwriter whose family fled Havana when Castro came to power, Salas-Humara grew up in a Spanish-speaking household across the Florida Straits in Fort Lauderdale.

After attending the University of Florida in Gainesville, he made the move to New York City, where a burgeoning underground music scene was experimenting with hip-hop, no wave, dance music and what would eventually come to be known as indie-rock.

It was there that he put together the first incarnation of the Silos, who went on to sign a deal with RCA, perform on The David Letterman Show and appear regularly on critics’ yearend best-of lists.

In the decades since, the Silos have released more than a dozen albums, while undergoing countless lineup changes. Salas-Humara had remained the one constant. Last year, the Silos released the new studio album Family on the artist’s own Sonic Pyramid label as well as a 35th-anniversary edition of Cuba, complete with gatefold sleeve and bonus live disc.

Along the way, Salas-Humara has also continued to make a name for himself as a visual artist, with works that range from pop-art canine caricatures to abstract expressionist paintings inspired by his art-school heroes Ellsworth Kelly and Jasper Johns.

We spoke to the musician from New York City — where he was finishing up paintings for a trio of gallery shows — about eccentric guitarists, Colorado connections and the Silos’ enduring musical legacy.

When Television frontman Tom Verlaine died earlier this month, you posted on Facebook about how, as a guitarist, he’d personified a New York style in which he would play all the “sideways notes” with total confidence. What did you mean by that?

It basically means that you don’t play the scales in the normal way. You know, like when you’re going down the scale and you’re supposed to hit the minor third, but you purposely play the major third. And the guitarists who’d do that — you know, like [Television co-founder] Richard Lloyd or Marc Ribot or Robert Quine — none of them played in styles you’d find in music theory manuals. If they were recording a solo part, you’d tell them, “This song is in D,” and they’d just go, “I don’t care about that.”

Coming out of the mid-’80s experimental music scene that was centered on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, did you feel like you were part of that?

Well, we were part of the scene, but we were like the “normal” band. I mean, Richard Lloyd did play on Silos records, but there were a lot of noise bands like Cop Shoot Cop, the Honeymoon Killers, Live Skull and Sonic Youth. Whereas we were more like organic guitar-rock.

Did you expect it to catch on?

No, I really hadn’t. I sent the first record out to media outlets and the next thing I knew, we were Pop Album of the Week in the New York Times. It was insane. The NME and all these different fanzines wrote about it, like everybody wrote about it. We even got an A-minus from Robert Christgau in the Village Voice

So, after that, I recruited some folks to start playing shows, and then a band sort of coalesced out of that. We made the second record, and then the third, which was a major label album. I thought, “Wow, this is great. This is gonna go on forever.” And then we got dropped from the major label. Not only did the band fall apart, but management, legal, agent, everything — all of it went away. So,

then I was back to square one again.

At which point, you’d moved to LA.

Yeah, and then I started a whole ’nother thing out there. We made a couple more albums, and we were mainly playing Europe, because the popularity in the States kind of just went away.

But the Silos continued.

Yeah, the Silos thing keeps going on. I call it the Silos family now, because there’s so many different people that have been involved in it all around the world. So, there’s like this body of songs that are performed by these 50 people, and I’m the one that travels around. Me and maybe one other person — from New York or Chicago or someplace else — going to Seattle or Texas or Europe or wherever. But these are all musicians that I’ve worked with over and over and over, and they’re all on the albums.

Even the first Silos album — which was basically seven years’ worth of four-track tapes that I started making when I was 17 back in Florida — that was made with something like 20 different people. But I called it the Silos because I wanted it to seem like a band, which I thought was cooler. I also thought my last name was gonna be too confusing for people, so I wanted something that was kind of like it but had only two syllables.

How many shows a year are you averaging these days, either with the Silos or on your own?

Oh, these days probably about 75 or 80, I would say.

So, you like being on the road.

Uh, I like performing. That’s how I would answer that question. I mean, we used to do 150 shows a year. We used to play every place we could. Now I play in places where I know people that are old friends, and scenes that I enjoy, and places where, you know, people actually are interested in what I’m doing. I’m not trying to conquer the world anymore.

$12, 9 p.m. Thursday, May 9, Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St Mary’s St., (210) 455-0233, thelonesomerose.com.

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Courtesy Photo / Walter Salas-Humara

critics’ picks

Thursday, March 9

Andrew Duhon

Music critics throw the term “troubadour” around a little too freely, but in the case of folk singer-songwriter Andrew Duhon, it’s more than justified. Duhon’s lyrics are soulful and easy flowing, undoubtedly born of his New Orleans roots, and his vocal delivery evokes comparisons to Van Morrison and Ray LaMontagne. There’s no better example of that striking balance than on 2014’s Grammy-nominated The Moorings Emerald Blue, his 2022 release, continues his exploration of heartfelt Americana balladry. Although Duhon often tours as a solo act, he’ll be supported by a rhythm section for this tour. $18, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Danny Cervantes

Friday, March 10

Bodysnatcher, Angelmaker, Paleface, Distant

Melbourne, Florida’s Bodysnatcher plays dirty, grimy riffs befitting a hardcore punk group, but the band provides enough death-metal riffage and breakdowns to place it firmly in the deathcore camp. While Canada’s Angelmaker and Holland’s Distant are also deathcore purveyors, Paleface infuses its metal with hip-hop influences. $18-$20, 6:30 p.m., The Rock Box, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 772-1443, therockboxsa.com. — Brianna Espinoza

Lucki

In 2013, Chicago-born rapper Lucki was on the verge of mainstream stardom with the release of the mixtape Alternative Trap However, three years later, hard living caught up with him, and he put his career on an eight-month hiatus. With the release of his 2022 sophomore album Flawless Like Me, a 54-minute, 22-song project, Lucki reclaims his title of “underground king,” covering personal topics including his bouts with depression and his battle with prescription drug addiction. $36.22-$86, 8 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. —

Marco Aquino

Saturday, March 11

Static-X

Even though Static-X vocalist Wayne Static has been gone in physical form for almost 10 years, his music and spirit are still with us. The band, a titan of ’90s industrial metal, has carried on making new music and touring with Xer0, a masked vocalist who cops much of the late frontman’s look. Expect to hear classic tracks that made your hair stand up back in the day — pun intended. Apparently, the band’s done a good job keeping Static’s memory alive — the show’s all sold out, leaving only high-priced resale tickets available. $85 and up, 6:30 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — BE

Burly Battle of the Bands

The concept of speed dating could also be applied to battleof-the-bands bills. Take, for example, the Burly Battle of the Bands. A deep-stacked lineup of local acts who survived a prior competitive showdown will blow through 15-minute sets for a shot at a $1,000 cash prize. Expect Social Distortion-influenced Pavel Demon and The Revenant, alt-punks Gleaming Streets, psychedelic rockers Naga Brujo and eclectic rockers Optic Arrest to provide bite-sized highlights. And if you don’t like any of ’em, just relax, the date will be over soon enough. $5, 5-11:30 p.m., Burleson Yard Beer Garden, 430 Austin St., (210) 354-3001, burlesonyardbeergarden.com.

— Mike McMahan

The Zombies

New Order

New Order’s “Blue Monday” defined the electronic dance music genre on its way to becoming the best-selling 12-inch single of all time. Forming from the ashes of downbeat post-punk act Joy Division after the death of frontman Ian Curtis, New Order went on to provide the soundtrack for the John Hughes generation with the seminal 1987 compilation Substance. “Bizarre Love Triangle” endures as a dance floor staple while songs such as “Shellshock” and “Temptation” helped set the mood in the movies Pretty in Pink and Trainspotting, respectively. $50 and up, 8 p.m., AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com. — DC

Sunday, March 12

Skeletal Remains

Old-school death metal lives on in the form of Skeletal Remains, a band that manages to sound contemporary while paying homage to the genre’s 1980s and 1990s origins. Vocalist Chris Monroy has been the mainstay of the band, which like many of those acts of yesteryear features a revolving door of musicians. Despite the frequent lineup shifts, Skeletal Remains offers consistently pummeling riffage and catchiness — plus that heavy feeling in one’s chest when the double-bass drums are high in the mix. $15-$17, 7 p.m., Vibes Underground, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, facebook.com/vibesunderground. — BE

Kenia Os

Kenia Guadalupe Flores Osuna, better known as Kenia Os, has emerged as one of Mexico’s rising pop stars. Born in Mazatlán, the singer-songwriter became an online sensation after uploading videos to YouTube as a teen. At 21, she signed to Sony Music Mexico and has since released the hit albums Cambios de Luna and K23. On her latest single, “Malas Decisiones,” she embellishes her seductive and understated vocals with a mix of pop and urban rhythms. $44.50-$75, 8 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — MA

Wednesday, March 15

Lilbootycall, Quentin Heartz, a$$phat

The trio of San Antonio rappers headlining this bill share a spaced-out delivery and home-grown bedroom pop sensibilities, which may explain why they regularly gig together and occa-

sionally collaborate on tracks. They share other similarities too. All three also deal in a confessional-yet-occasionally nonsensical lyricism and often use samples of recognizable pop melodies. And, finally, all three achieved a significant following outside of their hometown courtesy of the Internet. $15-$20, 8 p.m., 1100 Broadway, 1100 Broadway St., (210) 504-8984, elevenhundredcollective.com. — Dalia Gulca

Glass Spells

Synth-pop frequently manages to sound simultaneously cutting edge and nostalgic. San Diego-based duo Glass Spells celebrates this retro-futurist approach by pairing the dreamy and atmospheric vocals of Tania Costello with founder and instrumentalist Anthony Ramirez’s infectious backing tracks. “Thrills” from Glass Spells’ 2021 release Shattered is a catchy intro into both the album and the pair’s sonic stylings. $15, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — DC

Saturday, March 18

Pachanga de San Patricio

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the Tobin Center is hosting this free, outdoor mini-festival that explores “traditional music from new perspectives.” Piñata Protest headlines with support from Los San Patricios and Angelika Ruiz. Rounding out the event, Inishfree School of Irish Dance will present samples of an infectious 6:8 rhythm found almost exclusively in Veracruz’s huapango, Ireland’s jig and Western Africa’s wawa-nko, or snake rhythm. Free, 3-8 p.m., Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — MA

The Zombies

Although best known for the eerily catchy classic rock staples “Time of the Season” and “She’s Not There,” The Zombies were much more than a singles band. Over the years, a cult following has emerged for the British Invasion group thanks to its 1968 album Odessey and Oracle, a psychedelic-pop masterpiece Rolling Stone named one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The record has drawn praise from an eclectic cast of artists, from the late Tom Petty to Mikael Åkerfeldt of Swedish prog-metal group Opeth. This show may serve as a valuable rock ’n’ roll history lesson for those eager to explore the foundations of psychedelic music. $39.00-$79.50, 8 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — MM

Shutterstock / DFP Photographic

Audit Manager, Experienced @ BDO USA, LLP (San Antonio, TX) F/T. Suprvse mltpl clnt audt engagmnts by advisng clnts on vrious econ & rgltry risks, formltng audit plns & answrng complx questns invlvng GAAP & GAAS. Mstr’s (or frgn equiv) in Accntng, Bus Admin, or rltd + 1 yr of exp in job offrd, or as Exp Audit Sr, Staff Accntnt, or rltd. Altrntvly, ER wll accpt Bach’s deg (or frgn equiv) in Accntng, Bus Admin, or rltd + 5 yrs of prgrssvly resp exp. Mst have exp in ea: Rslvng complx accntng issues; Applyng GAAS, GAAP, SEC, & PCAOB reprtng rules; Publc accntng; Revwng engagmnt prftblty, incl billngs & collctns; MS Office prdcts, incl Windows, Word, Excel, & PowerPoint; & usng vrious assurnce applns & resrch tools. Mst hve CPA or sufficnt edu/exp reqs (as detrmnd by State Board of Accntncy) to rec CPA w/in 24 mnths of hire or promo. ER will accpt any stble combo of edu, traing or exp. Travl to vrious unantcpted clnt sites & BDO offce loctns ntnlly. Mail resume: T. Brown, HR, BDO USA, LLP; 615 South College St, Suite 1200, Charlotte, NC 28202. Indicate job title & code “GM-TX” in cv ltr. EOE

Marathon Petroleum Company LP in San Antonio, TX needs a Senior SAP Business Analyst IT. Collaborate and consult with internal client groups to understand complex business and user needs, and document requirements. Meet with clients to gather and document business requirements. Please visit our career website at https://jobs.marathonpetroleum.com/ and apply online.

EOE: Veteran/Disability

Synaty, LLC, San Antonio, TX, has multiple positions open for Software Developers. Roving position. Full details of duties & reqmnts available at https://synaty.com/careers/. Send resume to 1777 NE Loop 410, Suite 600, San Antonio, TX 78217.

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ACTION ON APPLICATION FOR CONVERSION OF BASE IRRIGATION GROUNDWATER TO UNRESTRICTED IRRIGATION GROUNDWATER

The General Manager of the Edwards Aquifer Authority (“EAA”) proposes to grant an application to convert Base Irrigation Groundwater to Unrestricted Irrigation Groundwater under § 711.342(c) of the EAA’s Rules. A copy of the application, the technical summary, the General Manager’s proposed action, and the proposed amended regular permit are available for public inspection at the EAA’s offices at 900 E. Quincy Street, San Antonio, Texas Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Electronic copies may also be obtained by request to Jennifer Wong-Esparza at jesparza@edwardsaquifer.org or (210) 222-2204.

The General Manager proposes to approve the following application to convert Base Irrigation Groundwater to Unrestricted Irrigation Groundwater under § 711.342(c) of the EAA’s Rules:

Continential Homes of Texas, LP – Filed application on February 8, 2023. The application seeks to convert 42.14 acre-feet of Base Irrigation Groundwater to Unrestricted Irrigation Groundwater based on the development of the Historically Irrigated Acres (HIA).

The applicant or any other Edwards Aquifer permit holder may file a written request for a contested case hearing on the proposed action with the EAA by no later than April 10, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. in accordance with § 707.603 of the EAA’s Rules. The EAA’s Board of Directors will consider approval of the application and issuance of the proposed amended regular permit within 60 days of publication of this notice unless a request for contested case hearing is timely filed. If no timely requests for contested case hearing are filed, the application will be presented to the EAA’s Board on the date of the hearing for final action.

This notice is issued pursuant to § 707.525 of the EAA’s Rules.