Forte

FORTE

THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION FOR MUSIC LOVERS BEHIND THE SCENES OF ACL FESTIVAL MUSIC OF THE WORLD WHY AUSTIN IS THE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

TABLE OF CONTENTS 6

Letter From the Editors

8

Pop Music - Not a Real Beauty

12

Music of the World

14

Independent Successes

18

Inching Towards Independence

By Elliot Word

By Elliot Word

By Jillian Evans-Strong

Photo Credit: Un

splash

By Jillian Evans-Strong

Behind the Scenes of ACL Festival

20

Genre Analysis

24

Sparrow’s Song

26

Why is Austin the Music Capital of the World

By Ireland Cole

30

Quotes from Contributors

32

By Hayden Beaty

By Hayden Beaty

By Ireland Cole

1

Genre Insights

By Hayden Beaty

LETTERS FROM THE EDITORS

Hayden Beaty

Working on this magazine has been both a great learning experience and a perfect opportunity for Hayden to spend time with his group. He has been going to concerts since before he was ten, and he has made an effort to see a live show every year since. ACL festival has always been a great excuse for him to see artists and make a fool of himself in the crowd at the same time, so he decided it would be a fun topic to cover. Ezine was a great class with emotional conversations, InDesign errors (@ Obama assignment), and an ungodly amount of popcorn.

Elliot Word

Elliot doesn’t really know what to say other than… he plays Saxophone. YAY! Though he is not very good at the saxophone, he really likes to play it. Music is a very significant thing in his life with marching band and band in general. He loved working on this magazine because it has opened his eyes to all the types of music around him and how music is produced. On a different note (ha get it), the interactions and people in his group were so great. He had such a fun and emotional time in Ezine (we spilled a lot of tea in here lol).

Ireland Cole

This whole semester has been a crazy, entertaining whirlwind of becoming best friends and crying for Ireland (we’re the messy group). She has been playing french horn for almost five years so music a huge part of her life. Naturally, she felt that writing a magazine about it would be fun! She chose to write about Austin-influenced musicians because she wanted to learn more about. Ireland had an incredible time working on this magazine (even though she has a rough relationship with InDesign) and getting to know my amazing group!

Jillian Evans-Strong

Hey boys and girls! Making this magazine was truly an incredible experience for Jillian that taught her a lot about herself. She wanted to focus on music because as someone who has sung in choirs since she was six, it has been a large aspect of her life. Also, she finds music to be something that the majority of people can identify and communicate with, which is ~beautiful~. She chose to write about independent artists because the transition is a current and interesting topic. Also, she would like to give a shoutout to her group for being amazing and supportive, especially since she always left class for tennis tournaments!

(from left to right) Elliot, Jillian, Hayden, and Ireland.

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POP MUSICNOT A REAL BEAUTY Why Pop Music is so Dang Popular

by Elliot Word Courtesy of Pixabay 8 - FORTE MAGAZINE - FALL 2018

P

op Music has a fairly specific definition as being the genre of popular music that produces the most hits.

Note that it is capitalized like a title and represents an entire genre of music. The definition of popular music, on the other hand, is not as simple as what you may find in a dictionary. It can even be difficult to define by someone who has worked their entire life in the music industry. According to John Turner, communications director for the Grossman School of Business at the University of Vermont and former radio DJ for KOOP, popular music is “in the eye of the beholder.” While Pop Music can certainly be popular, Pop Music and popular music are not inherently the same.

Popular music can be found on the Billboard’s Top 40 chart, across all genres. Why? Because popular music is not a specific genre. It’s the music that we recognize as rhythms that have changed our lives. Pop Music on the other hand, is formula driven and certainly does not appeal to everyone. It is a genre of music, while popular music is not.

Pop Music is blowing up the charts today, as is the most lucrative music genre. Many different people influence the charts today and those people were influenced by people before them. “You could arguable say that Prince took a lot of his style and ideas from Jimi Hendrix.” John Turner said. And current musicians on the charts today are in turn being

“The more magnitude any particular act has, the more tendrils of influence you can draw back in time,” -Chris Moser

influenced by Prince’s music and style. This speculation illustrates that performers from the 1960s are still influencing what we listen to today.

“The more magnitude any particular act has, the more tendrils of influence you can draw back in time,” Chris Moser, a DJ at ACL Radio, said . These tendrils have a pronounced impact on what we listen to today.

This means that one artist can not only influence another artist, but that they can influence generations of musicians.

It’s really about how that one art

Photo of John Turner with his cat, Jack. (Courtesy of John Turner)

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ist can influence an entire music industry. As Turner says, “Sometimes there is a common thread that I think goes down the line if you go down generation to generation.” It’s like a constant flow of artists being formed. “Like a conveyor belt, it just starts and people are jumping on and off at certain points, while some people stay on it the whole time,” John Turner said.

Pop Music is associated with only one period of time, while popular music is associated with an undefined period of time. Popular jazz music is obviously very different from popular Christian rock music.

There are distinct differences between these two types of popular music. These differences effectively eliminate the idea of popular music being a genre. A genre is a specific type of music — since popular music is all types of genres, it cannot therefore be a genre itself.

Popular music of various generations is obviously quite different, but also share some similarities. Leslie

“Sometimes there is a common thread that I think goes down the line if you go down generation to generation.”

-John Turner

Moser, a sales person with IHeartRadio, quotes Danny Turner, a music programmer, “‘You are most heavily influenced from age 14-16 to age 23’ so the music that you love now will still be your favorite music when you are your parents age.” Music is versatile, in the way that no matter what age you are, you will always like the music from your youth. Music is a valuable thing, it helps you reflect on the past, but also helps you see the future. It is important to go back and listen to the music before your generation. “There is a lot of history of social change, things that are meaningful, that you can go back and listen to. Certain types of music now or certain songs, or certain artists, because I think that it’s important to do that because without them in the past they wouldn’t be able to do what they can do now,” John Turner said.

To be popular music, it does not always have to be pop music that is competing for the top spot, it can really be any artist. The band’s management has a lot of influence over what genre they are considered and certain artist endorse certain brands to make them popular with the following to quote Moser, many reasons that Pop Music might be popular is because of the people singing it and what they want to promote. “Taylor Swift started out

country but now I would say she is a pop artist,” Moser said. This means that bands will gravitate towards genres that will benefit their reputation, and unfortunately that genre is quite often Pop Music.

Another factor that influences the popularity of Pop Music is that it is played on the largest number of radio stations in the largest markets.

“Here in Austin, 96.7 Kiss is probably the most ‘pure’ form of that. And that tends to be just the most popular hits in any genre,” Moser said.

By labeling the station in that way it illustrates that KISS FM is a Contemporary Hits Radio (CHR), meaning that it only plays the songs on the Top 40 charts. The mainstream public, when turning on their radios, is inundated with stations such as KISS and does not have nearly as many choices for genres other than Pop

Music. Listening to music other than Pop Music takes more effort, but the pay off can be worth it.

Leslie Moser (Photo Courtesy of Leslie Moser)

Consider think about this next time some music is turned on; is it easy and safe or is it unfamiliar and therefore risky? Music experts use the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and most people when thinking about music tend to lean that way as well. Make a musical selection that may not be as familiar.

By not choosing the most “beautiful” station, someone will probably be provided with a far superior companion for the night. Beauty is what someone makes of it. It can be pretty to the person on the right but ugly to the person on the left.

Chris Moser (Photo Courtesy of Chris Moser)

Courtesy of Pixabay

THE MUSIC OF THE WORLD The music around the world

by Elliot Word

Russia

Mexico

#1 Song: Mi Sorpresa Fuiste Tu Calibre 50 Description/History:

Popular music in Mexico is very hard to pinpoint to one genre.

In America we have Hip-hop, but in mexico they have the traditional folk music and the pop music they know and love. In the 1960’s and 70’s most spanish music was covers of english songs. This then sprouted singers to go off and try something new and exciting.

Brazil

#1 Song: O Bebê Mc Kevinho & Mc Kekel Description/History:

Unlike Japan, Brazil is still in a folk music stage. Having popular music still be like samba and choro. Brazilian music is very similar to Mexican Music, but without the evolution from traditional to pop.

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#1 Song: Ibiza Filipp Kirkorov & Nikolay Baskov Description/History:

Russian music has developed a lot in the past decade. In the Soviet Era, orchestra was a main part of the wmusic theme. From the 1950’s up (Russian) pop music started to sprout all around the country, allowing for the present day music to start.

Japan

Kenya

#1 Song: Baby Love Otile Brown Description/History:

Popular music in Kenya is not focused on one genre mostly, like America, but more focused around one instrument. Guitar. Guitar is very popular in all music in Kenya, being incorporated in most songs from Hip-hop to gospel.

#1 Song: Ikiro NEWS Description/History:

Different from most countries, Japan doesn’t have many American songs on the top charts.

Japanese music has gone through many stages, from traditional music to what is now J-pop. Pop music still to this day over powers most music in Japan.

Australia

#1 Song: Shotgun George Ezra Description/History:

Australian music is very close to American music with American music flooding the top charts. Since Australia is so far away from most other major countries, they are having to branch off and make music that don’t follow the common trends, such as indie and alternative rock.

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INDEPENDENT SUCCESSES

INDEPENDENT ARTISTS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE COMMON... WHY? By: Jillian Evans-Strong

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P

eople often say, ‘work smart, not hard.’ Why then, when presented with the option of receiving support for their dreams from a third party, would someone ever say no? And why is this seemingly-crazy choice of solidarity becoming reality for musicians everywhere? Simply put, times are changing.

It has been the long-standing norm of the music industry that working with a label will bring you success-and that it is the only way to do so.

However, over the past few decades, this belief is slowly being disproved by the growing number of successful independent artists. Independent artists are musicians who are not affiliated with a record label. While this is a simple definition, the reality of their situations is much more nuanced. It isn’t that the group, who represents around 82% of all artists, are opposed to working with labels.

For the most part, they are working without a label because one has not contacted them. However, a growing number of these individuals are staying independent from labels after finding great success on their own.

When presented with this information, one might ask, why is this happening in the first place? Why is it becoming more and more common to produce music independently, and why is their success becoming more and more possible? To put it simply, technology: The level of technology that is available to a small, independent artist is slowly advancing (and the price is dropping, too).

“You can buy a studio in a box and open it up at your house and get similar quality recordings to what you could in a studio,” Pat Cassidy, a musician manager who often works

Photo by Pixabay

with independent artists, said. This is the current reality of the music industry. The cost of producing music is going down, while the quality of these at-home productions is going up.

Independent artists’ growing capability of producing highquality recordings for a low price is essential for their fast, cheap growth many are experiencing.

This transition is making it easier to work without a label. “[In] the

“You can buy a studio in a box and open it up at your house and get similar quality recordings to what you could get in a studio.”

- Pat Cassidy

height of the record industry, [the] 60s or 70s, it [was] very expensive to record music, but in the late 80s and 90s, home recording technology advanced significantly,” Cassidy said.

One large advantage to working with a label is having access to resources, such as recording studios and technology. However, this advantage is quickly becoming obsolete.

Independent artists do still have responsibilities that fall on them that are harder to fulfill. A major one is the monetary support. When working with a label, an artist has

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access to funding for all aspects of their career, from production to merchandise.

“The label serves as a bank… so, you know, as a startup business, it’s challenging to find the funding to invest [into] your career -- music videos, radio campaigns, press campaigns,” Cassidy said. Labels take the worry of funding away from artists.

To combat this financial insecurity, independent artists have found many ways of funding their music, from the classic trope of bustling on the side of the street to more technologically-advanced plots, such as utilizing crowdfunding websites.

Another large component that independent artists lack is access; labels are able to offer their numerous and strong connections to their clients, which makes many aspects of the job easier.

Take, for example, getting an artist’s music on the radio. While it may not be something you’ve ever considered, a large part of getting on the radio, especially for smaller artists, is petitioning.

This petitioning is done for radio promoters, who are in charge of finding music to go on the radio.

“There are only so many great radio promoters, [and of] all the great radio promoters… the majority of them are on retainer with record labels,” Cassidy said. Having a radio promoter on retainer for your music is something an independent artist can’t have.

Access isn’t a necessity, but it takes weight off of the artist’s shoulders.

However, with the internet opening up more and more opportunities to independent artists, access is becoming less of an issue, too.

One website that many independent

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artists use is SoundCloud.com. On SoundCloud, artists can produce and publish music, and the public can access this music. Essentially, it acts as a lifeline for small artists attempting to grow a fanbase.

There are over 175 million users on SoundCloud each month. This massive audience allows artists to create a niche and following for themselves, which they can eventually take to other platforms as they grow. “SoundCloud [is] great for those artists that are able to take advantage of its social media aspect,” Robert Shadowen, an independent musician based out of Austin, Texas, said.

With the internet opening up and more and more opportunities to independent artists, access is becoming less of an issue.

SoundCloud is an accessible way for up-and-coming artists to find their place in the music industry.

However, many describe the website as a ‘jumping off platform.’ This is because, while SoundCloud is great for artists looking to get discovered, success lies with the kingpins of streaming: Spotify and Apple Music.

These streaming services are where most artists’ music eventually ends up.

However, these large, royalty-using

streaming services do not lend themselves to all formats of music.

Rappers who create mixtapes (in which they rap over a previouslyexisting beat, often owned by someone else) cannot share them on Spotify or Apple Music due the royalties they would be charged.

Another caveat is DJs, who often produce extremely long (30 minutes to an hour) sets. These outliers thrive better on SoundCloud.

Regardless of the streaming platform, artists cannot rely solely on streaming. “You can see this as a consumer--how easy is it to listen to music for free online? So to the growing independent artist, it means that streaming does not represent a realistic source of income, it is a way to attract more fans,” Shadowen said.

This may be changing. In early 2018, a bill called the Music Modernization Act was passed and is moving onto Congress and the Senate in late 2018.

The act has many components and touches on multiple topics that are pertinent to independent artists.

“It begins to address the problem of internet streaming being considered different from airwave,” Justin Douglas, the owner of King Electric Recording Studio, said. This is important because many platforms use this loophole to avoid paying musicians. If passed, the bill will monetize streaming for artists in a way that will fix many of the monetary issues smaller artists face.

The music industry is going through a major transition. No longer do artists have to be picked out of the crowd and groomed by a label -- anyone can become successful if they work hard enough. As Cassidy puts it, “It’s an exciting time, a lot of artists own their production, they own their recordings, they’ll never see a royalty cost. They don’t take the million dollars from the man, they do it themselves, and that million dollars comes back to them.”

Photo Credit: P A T C A S S I D Y Photo Credit: J U S T I N D O U G L A S

“Anyone who knows anything about the music industry knows it’s not only about the music.”

- Isaac Hanson FALL 2018 - FORTE MAGAZINE - 17

INCHING TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay

By: Jillian Evans-Strong How does an being an independent artist work? How much does it cost? What added responsibilities do they have? What constitutes being

an

independent

artist?

Which of your favorites artists are independent? Find the answers to all of these questions and more below!

MILLION

people use the producing/ streaming service SoundCloud each month! The website is used to produce and release mixtapes, songs, and DJ sets, as well as for listeners to find new, unreleased music!

PERCENT OF ARTISTS ARE CURRENTLY UNSIGNED. While some of these artists may be looking to get signed to a label, a

GROWING NUMBER OF MUSICIANS are finding different ways to grow and be heard ON THEIR OWN! These artists use websites such as SoundCloud and Youtube to do so, as well as relying heavily on social media.

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In today’s landscape, what is the true cost of producing an album as an independent artist?

to produce 10,000 CDs (approximately)

to produce 5,000 vinyls

per year for online distribution

to mix and master an album

to record tracks

TO PRODUCE AN ALBUM!

What Does it Take to be an Independent Artist?

When working without a label, there are certain things that fall on the shoulders of artists that normally wouldn’t. A big one is brand identity and awarness. This includes:

1. management of social media accounts 2. distribution of merchandise 3. upkeep of a positive identity

Sources: • David Wiebe, 2017, 10 Jaw-Dropping Music Industry Statistics.

• Lending Point, 2017, What does it cost to produce an independent album?

• Nina Mashurova, 2017, The Ups and Downs of Working as an Independent Artist.

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Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

by Hayden Beaty 20 - FORTE MAGAZINE - FALL 2018

E

very Oct. 5th, Zilker Park in Austin, Texas

is overrun with 75,000 people. Eight stages are set up, with over 100 bands performing on them over the course of the weekend. Austin City Limits (ACL) is one of the biggest music festivals in the world.

Since its launch as a festival in 2002, its popularity has grown among both Austinites and tourists alike.

Thousands of people come to eat, hang out, and watch a large variety of performances. A lot of work that goes into planning for the festival that happens year - round in Austin, with anything from closing streets to bringing in dozens of vendors.

ACL is put on by the Austin based company, C3 Presents, which also produces other festivals, such as Lollapalooza. C3 Presents works alongside Front Gate Tickets and other partners all year to help manage and plan such a huge event. These companies are constantly keeping tabs on artists and bands that could be a good candidate for the next year. The bands picked for the event are usually chosen by the artist management section of C3.

Natalie Prass performing on the American Express stage on Oct. 5, 2018. (Photo Courtesy of Hayden Beaty.)

economy ever since the 2006 weekend. Every year, the festival gains more money, with a $55 million gain from 2015 to 2016. As Pierik mentioned, setting up ACL’s artists is the most vital component of the festival,

The band was a good choice for the festival and “They’re constantly working to get back in the studio and do what they love. I think that really comes across in the live performances, because they’re singing and playing and you can just tell that the energy of the performance is great.

They have a unique style that people can really get into.” Pierik said.

The majority of the artists playing at the 2018 festival were part of the pop genre, with rock making up the second most popular genre.

Rick Pierik has experience with ACL festival, as he is the manager of the band Sweet Spirit. Every year before the first weekend, “ACL works hard to research what artists are being listened to right now and by who,” Pierik said. “Their whole management of artists for the festival is really good at working year round to find artists that will perform well at the festival.”

ACL has become both a large part of local culture and a great opportunity for business and profit. Choosing artists that will appeal to their large audience brings more publicity to the festival, and a huge economic advantage. The festival has had an impact of $1.5 billion on the city’s

lifetime. With headliners like Paul McCartney, Metallica, and Travis Scott at ACL 2018, other artists can have a hard time securing a spot at the festival. However, smaller bands such as Sweet Spirit still manage to find themselves on the lineup.

as it can impact the turnout of the weekend.

Because of this, being on the ACL lineup is an accomplishment that many bands strive for. It can be the biggest performance chance of a

As for the genre of the band Sweet Spirit, Pierik described it as “A mix of rock and roll with some elements of soul singing. The whole feel is kind of dreamy and pretty, but also with a side of rock.” Sweet Spirit is considered part of the rock genre, which could have helped make their selection for ACL easier. Even with

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Rap group Brockhampton at ACL on Oct. 5th, 2018. (Photo Courtesy of Hayden Beaty.)

pop and rock making up the largest genres of the festival, ACL still showcases the best performers with music of all styles.

said. “Over the years the headliners got more pop music for young people and less classic style bands for older people.”

Although there is still a considerable amount of bands in the rock or metal category, it hasn’t always been true that pop was dominating the festival, or that there was much variety to other genres, especially electronic or experimental music. Somebody who would have experienced the changes in ACL over the years firsthand is David Miller. Miller is a photographer with a background in the music industry, and said that he has “been photographing performances at ACL for as long as I can remember.” Of all the things that have changed in the festival, Miller has been surprised at the larger spread of genres and

The other thing that ACL coordinators need to be aware of when choosing artists is the audience at the festival. Just as Miller said, ever since 2002 when the festival began, more young people have gone to ACL every year since then. This is probably due to the fact that it has increased in overall popularity and it’s a great place to hang out. The crowds at shows like Travis Scott, Shawn Mendes, and Brockhampton were very young compared to shows in previous years. However, ACL has continued to draw in more people every year, with only half of their audience from Austin.

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styles there now is. “I think in the past here at ACL it used to be more rock and roll kind of music,” Miller

Cristy Wells, a fan at ACL Weekend One suggested more bands to play next year. She has been going to ACL for a couple of years and loves the whole festival environment. Based on the past shows she’s seen, she gave her opinion of some new artists to bring in. “I think that it would be really awesome if the band Lany would play at ACL next year. It would be great if more indie bands like Night Riots or Grouplove played,” Wells said. “I think that they would fit the kind of audience that ACL is trying to find bands for. Like, Phoenix or the Wombats playing this year is probably going to be super appealing to the Austin crowd.” Both of the bands she mentioned are on the indie side of the pop or rock genre.

Knowing the audience the festival is making shows for at ACL and finding artists that fit the crowd is important economically for ACL management.

Again, ACL had a large variety of genres and artists in the 2018 festival, and the festival benefited more because of it. Having this music that people know and love helps keep them engaged, which is the overall goal of the festival.

“I love you, Austin!”

- Janelle Monáe

(Pictures to right) Janelle Monáe performs her first ACL show on Oct. 7, 2018. (Photo Courtesy of Roger Ho.)

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POPULAR MUSIC GENRES IN THE US

by Hayden Beaty

Rock

Pop

Hip Hop/Rap

Jazz

Latin

Christian

Electronic

Country

Classical

Above shows the top ten most listened to music genres in America compiled from, vinyl, downloads. and record sales. This graph shows the amount of each genre and its popularity. Looking at the graph on page five, you can compare the genres of ACL Festival and the overall most popular genres.

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POPULAR MUSIC GENRES OF 2018

Metal

Funk

Rock

World Music

Electronic

Pop

Hip Hop/Rap

R&B

Youth/Local

ACL is known for being one of the most popular music festivals in the world. It takes place in Austin, TX every year for two weekends in October. The spread of music genres at such a large festival are very diverse. This year at ACL, there are nine main genres of music that performing bands and artists are representing. Of the 140 artists playing, the biggest genre is Pop, representing 30 artists. Rock, with 21 artists follows, and Electronic and R&B follow, along with the rest of the genres.

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Guitar Statue in Downtown Austin

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SPARROW’S CALLING

by Ireland Cole

A

Austin is a true sparrow in

Texas. It sings a song from comfortable branch upon which it was raised and then spreads its wings to take off into the world. Migrating everywhere, bringing the music from its home, always knowing how to get back. Musicians in Austin follow a similar path. Many of the most famous musicians around began in Austin. They were raised in a musically adapted culture and flourished from there. Austin naturally has a welcoming culture that creates a environment so easy to find inspiration in. John Croslin, an Austin musician, recognizes how Austin itself has affected his growing up playing music: ”I think Austin’s environment here is very pleasant, generally. It’s a fun place to live, lots to do, lots of stimulation.” Austin acts as the birthplace for so many musicians through the feel of the city. With its old timey bars and pubs that have been open for a hundred years and yearly music festivals dominating Zilker Park it’s nearly impossible to not get swept up in the rhythm of the city.

In the 1830s Stephen F. Austin founded a small settlement along the Colorado river and deemed it Waterloo. Later this was renamed and called Austin, after the founder that brought these 300 colonists to the area. Just 300 people formed what is the most lively, weird, quirky culture

that is the home of over two million people today.

Back in the 1950s prejudice was quite prevalent in the South. Black musicians were only allowed to perform on the East side of town opposed to the West. Ironically, the people from the East that the westerns wanted to keep out were exactly who first got Austin to hatch into a music city. For, in the East side is where some of the most well-known musicians of all time first made their mark such as B.B. King and Tina Turner.

”I think Austin’s environment here is very pleasant, generally. It’s a fun place to live, lots to do, lots of stimulation.”

Austin continued to evolve in the 1960s

and 1970s as a music hub when Austin City Limits was first created and Ray Charles performed. Also Stevie Ray Vaughan, one of the greatest guitar slingers of all time grew up and spent his life in Austin eventually going on worldwide tours.

He had won over ten Austin music awards in his life. And of course, one can’t forget Janet Joplin, an Austinite singer who was an idol to women in the 1970s and sang her way through the lives of people in the past and continues to today.

Saving the best for last is Willie Nelson, the musician that truly made Austin what it is. In the 1970s Willie walked onto the stage and united two adversaries--rednecks and hippies-through music. He is now a true icon in every way as to what Austin is. A used-to-be divided front united through music.

Nowadays Austin has evolved into a place where anyone can play music, anywhere. All someone needs is a guitar, a pick and a song to sing. Austin has over 250 live music venues that can run 24/7. Hundreds of bands have formed there and spread a country/indie feel through their music around the globe. One of the most popular of these bands is Spoon, an indie rock band that started in Austin and grew to be nationally recognized. Spoon, like many other bands got inspiration from more unique artists like Queen and David Bowie: ”They produced incredibly innovative and original music and paved the way for producers like me,“ Jim Eno, drummer of Spoon said. Spoon follows a pattern of many other bands based in

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Austin.

Where they start as a small town band, gains recognition at a local Austin restaurant or pub, goes on to a show like South by Southwest and suddenly known around the globe. for producers like me,“ Jim Eno, drummer of Spoon said. Spoon follows a pattern of many other bands based in Austin. Where they start as a small town band, gains recognition at a local Austin restaurant or pub, goes on to a show like South

by Southwest and suddenly known around the globe.

With all these musicians trying to make their way in the world, they need a place to perform. That’s when Austin’s spread of bars and variety of restaurants comes into play. There are thousands of restaurants located in Austin with about a quarter of them looking for a musician to play to attract customers.

Because, not only is Austin a great place for drummers to rock out, but Austinites love the beat that pulses through the city. As many of them grew up in this town, austinities will go far past normal restaurants to look for a guitarist that their ear so desperately craves.

The restaurant industry recognizes this demand, often B making theirob Bul lock Mus restaurant eum more music friendly.

Flye

r

This attracts jobs for musicians in other parts of Texas trying to make their way in the world to

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Austin. As more and more musicians come in more and more of their audience flocks in as well, making Austin an ever-expanding home to all sorts of music.

I’ve been going to concerts in Austin since I was 13, and to be able to give back to that community by giving bands an outlet to release music seems like it has come full circle. I’ve never done it for the money, honestly; I’ve just wanted to give a piece of myself back to all of that.” This shows how the youth of Austin is really affected by the culture they were brought up.

I’ve just wanted to give a piece of myself back to all of that.” This shows how the youth of Austin is really affected by the culture they were brought up in.

Austin is, overall a unique place to live. With the musical atmosphere around, there is always is a constant thrum in the wings of the citizens. And for the musicians that started here they always have a sparrow call guiding them back to the Heart of Texas.

Musicians that have had luck in Austin eventually want to make a career out of their success. This creates opportunities for other businesses to develop such as labelers, producers, developers and more. Nathan Lankford the owner and manager of a label called Austin Town Hall described how Austin brought him into the music industry, ”My favorite experience really has to be giving back to the Austin community that sort of gave birth to my obsession within music.

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WHY IS AUSTIN THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD?

by Ireland Cole

A

ustin, Texas is known as the Live Music Capital of The world for good reason; with its numerous music shows scattered around the city practically rings with the sounds of new bands forging their way in the world. At almost any time, you can catch a band performing at a local pub or restaurant.

While Austin, Texas is now irrefutably The Live Music Capital of the World, it was a self-proclaimed title. In 1991, the Austin City Council voted to brand the city as a music hub. They got this idea from the many music legends that started just downtown, like over on Barton Springs Road andArmadillo Street where Willie Nelson sung his way into the hearts of anybody that passed through.

Austin was able to keep its name through the consistent amount of music festivals that cycle through the city. Festivals like South by Southwest, Austin City Limits, Euphoria Festival, and many more bring thousands of tourists every 30 - FORTE MAGAZINEyear.

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MUSIC FESTIVALS in AUSTIN

South by Southwest was first founded in 1987 by Louis Black as a celebration for all film and music. It was an instant hit bringing over 700 people the first it showed and currently has over 2,000 venues making it the largest film and music festivals of its kind.

Austin City Limits is a music festival that happens annually bringing thousands of people from around the globe to celebrate the wide variety of concerts shown there. ACL also appears on live TV every year, helping with its publicity. It was first started almost 50 years ago when it was opened in 1974.

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The Fun Fun Fun Fest was founded in 2006 latching onto the trend of music in Austin. However this festival was quite different than the others in that it was more comedy based as well as music. It showed bands like, Hannibal Buress, Tomahawk, and more. Sadly, it was shut down in 2015 but still remained as a vivid part of Austin culture.

The Austin Food and Wine Festival began in 2012 and brings food and wine tastings from all over the globe. It features an abundance of live music venues to go with the food tastings.

The Euphoria Festival is a campout featuring musicians themed around alternative music styles such as,EDM, Indie, hip-hop, and other music themes. It feeds off of the old hippie, Keep Austin Weird vibe, as well as the tech megapolis that Austin is becoming.

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Hayden Beaty Elliot Word Ireland Cole Jillian Evans-Strong “I don’t think I’ve ever NOT been in isolation mode.”

“Obama thinks he’s soooo cute.”

“Remember when we trusted Jillian to fill out the Style Guide?”

“Obama is the problem child of our group.”* *DON’T WORRY, WE LOVE OBAMA! WE’RE REFERING TO THE OBAMA ASSIGNMENT THAT PERSONALLY ATTACKED OUR GROUP. :)

“We’ll group hug the sadness out of you.”

“Guess what Mrs. Giulietti I’m missing anoTHER CLASS!” 32 - FORTE MAGAZINE - FALL 2018

“None of us ever show up or ever contribute.”

“I would like to give a shoutout to Hayden because he fixes all my ugly mistakes.”

“Just send it to me 3-5 times and even though it says it didn’t send it might have.”

“High Effective PPIs are only for cute people.”

“Filosofia was the Worst Descision of All Time.”

“Fi-lo-so-fi-a. Filo-sof-ia. Feel-a-sofa.”

“Where’s Jillian? Probably in the bathroom. Or at a tennis tournament.”

“Ireland, you downloaded an ad.”

“We should make T-Shirts.”

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