LIFE AS A MUSICIAN IN AUSTIN p. 32
MOTHER FALCON’S MUSIC LAB p. 14
AUSTIN’S POPPIN’ MUSIC SCENE p. 8
AUSTIN MAKING MUSIC HISTORY p. 26
BEHIND THE NOTES p. 20
the
CONTENT
CONTRIBUTOR’S PAGE 4
A FEW NOTES FROM THE MUSIC MAN 6
AUSITN’S POPPIN’ MUSIC SCENE 8
AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC VENUES 12
MOTHER FALCONS MUSIC LABRORATORY 14
2 | The Austonian Vibe
HOW TO DRAW A PIANO 18
BEHIND THE NOTES 20
STEPS UP IN THE CAREER OF DAVID MURRAY 24
AUSTIN MAKING MUSIC HISTORY 26
FAMOUS AUSTIN ARTISTS 30
LIFE AS A MUSICIAN IN AUSTIN 32
DIFFERENT MUSIC TYPES 36
The Austonian Vibe | 3
CONTRIBUTOR’S PAGES THE BAND
The Austonian Vibe was made possible due to the effort of five students, each with their own styles and skill. All of their efforts combine to make the magazine before you.
BELA MCSCOGGIN Bela McScoggin is a freshmen that is currently attending LASA high school in Austin Texas. Although he enjoys school although getting great grades is not his main goal, he just wants to enjoy his time at LASA and his high school experience. In his free time he enjoy playing percussion, with band and alone, as well as hanging out with his friends and playing video games. Bela also enjoy listening to music of many kinds although his favorite genre is probably hip hop.
JUDE JOHNSON Jude Johnson is an avid lover of the arts, and enjoys a variety of music styles. His top five favorite bands are twenty-one pilots, U2, Gungor, Coldplay, and Judah and the Lion. In addition to music, Jude enjoys various visual arts, especially graphic design. He also likes to read, bike, and spend time with his younger brother. He resides in Austin and currently attends LASA High School as a Freshman.
4 | The Austonian Vibe
GARRETT URBACH When he is not in school, Garrett Urbach likes to play sports, board games, video games, and card games. He also plays music, listens to music, reads comic books, and eats tacos. He plays percussion and is on the drumline at LASA high school. Garrett is a freshman, and he plans on attending some college somewhere at some point. That is the extent of his plans for the future.
ANDREW GUNAWAN Andrew Gunawan is interested in becoming an entrepreneur and wants to pursue engineering and computer science. Out of school, Andrew actively participates in LASA Robotics. He enjoys tinkering with technology such as 3D printers and servers. He plays three instruments: piano, flute, and guitar. At LASA, he wants to achieve high academic goals such as good grades to prepare and hopefully secure admission at Stanford for his undergrad degrees in business, engineering, and music, and MIT for his graduate degree in computer science. After high school and college, Andrew wants to start his own successful business and start a family.
SOPHIA VASQUEZ Sophia Vasquez an enthusiast of many things. Although mainly Sophia tries to focus on LASA with her academics, she also tries to enjoy the little things out of school like spending time with her two dogs, Peanut and Chiquita. Sophia is currently learning to play the ukulele and also occasionally attempts to draw in her spare time. As to that, she is very interested in learning about neuroscience, and plastic surgery because of her interest in the medical field. Her goal is to be able to graduate from LASA, attend a somewhat decent college and live with her dogs happily.
The Austonian Vibe | 5
a few notes from the Hello y’all! I’m glad our magazine has peaked your interest. It is my hope that this magazine will inform, influence, and inspire you to get involved in Austin’s vibrant music scene!
Photo courtesy of Thomas Hab
Inside this magazine you will find a wide variety of articles covering various topics and aspects of Austin’s music culture. You will learn about some of the most prominent music venues and the musicians that provide such places with business. You’ll learn what motivates musicians in Austin, as well as how the city made it to its present position as The Live Music Capital of the World. This magazine is the culmination of a year of work by many persons, and they deserve as much credit as I do as the Editor. These pages represent the interests, the personality, and the essence of the people behind this magazine. Enjoy! Sincerely,
Jude Johnson Editor
6 | The Austonian Vibe
Jude Johnson’s face as a child.
Photo courtesy of Ben White
“I got a lot of paradoxes in my life. I guess I’m a real confused person, but there are some focused parts to my life now, and I’m slowly trying to put all the pieces back together.” Stevie Ray Vaughan The Austonian Vibe | 7
Austin’s Poppin’ Music Scene Music Venues in Austin, Texas Written By Bela McSCoggin
8 | The Austonian Vibe
“At both of these venues our primary focus is on the music, everything we do is supposed to add on to the music and make it more enjoyable.” Mikey Wheeler
ustin is known as the live Music Capital of the World for a reason. If you are traveling here and want to hear some quality music or have fun in General these are a few great places to go! This feature story focuses on three music venues in Austin: The Saxon Pub, Parish, and The Scoot Inn. This article covers how they make Austin what is it now, the mark that time has had on them and what lies in their future. This interview is communicated through three individuals that manage these venues. All three of the sites have a lot in common about some of their core values and how they hope to please their audiences and what they want people to perceive in their venues. Elise from The Saxon Pub also commented on how what they wanted to communicate to people is “A listening room environment, the spotlight is always on the music at the Saxon Pub.” Since the music is so important at these venues and there is so much focus on what people are hearing and how it is being delivered Sound quality is critical for everything from these sites. About
what stands out about the Parish and the Scoot out compared with other Austin venues of the same scale Mikey Wheeler Says: “One of the major differences between us and sites similar to us is our high sound quality, as I mentioned before, that is the primary focus for us and we take pride in that aspect of the both the Parish and the Scoot Inn. At both of these venues our primary focus is on the music, everything we do is supposed to add on to the music and make it more enjoyable. The drinks and food we supply in only a complement to our sounds and not meant to distract from them.” With this high-quality music, all of the venues that have interviewed want to make as many people happy as possible with the music. Depending on when you visit you can find many different types of music for whatever you want to hear. “Since both of our venues are nonspecific genre sites we get all kinds of people from all different walks of life whether it’s bluegrass or heavy metal. Also, we want everyone to enjoy what we offer, so our venue is open to people of all ages” said Mikey Wheeler. When asked about this the Saxon Pub said that, “When people visit here, they are looking for many different things depending on the night, but everyone is for the most part just looking for some quality performances.” Regarding genres, Elise said that “Mostly we host Blues, jazz, delta blues, country, and rock bands
but we try new music on weekends from small Austin upstart bands.” This way they can make both returning audiences having a particular idea in mind as well as new or younger Austinites that have more modern taste happy with what the venue has to offer. The future for both of all of these venues as well as what has happened recently may be rough in some ways for them especially due to the gentrification that is happening all over Austin although it has positives and negatives. According to the Saxon Pub “We are getting newer customers with the housing developments being put in around us more and more each day. And overall it has been positive, and the new people have helped us.” Elise also says that The Saxon Pub will be “Staying here, don’t plan on leaving, recently, though, we have been bought by an Austin philanthropist but will still be under the name of the Saxon Pub forever.” No matter what happens, they will try to remain The Saxon Pub and maintain the history. Regarding what is in the hands of the Scoot Inn and The Parish, they will “just continue to evolve the quality of our technology and try our best to cater to what the audience desires. Regarding expansion, I think we will most likely just stick with these two locations rather than creating more like them. Also, though, we aim to preserve the history
The Austonian Vibe | 9
Above: Front of Saxon Pub Bela Mcscoggin
At left: Saxon Pub Sign Bela Mcscoggin
Bottom: Scoot Inn Sign Bela Mcscoggin
of the venue and what it has been over the years from here on out.� says Mikey Wheeler. As far as what they cannot effect and what more has to do with the growth and modernization of Austin the future may be more rocky for the Scoot Inn than the Parish. Wheeler elaborates on the issue, what has happened thus far and what may lay in the future. “So far neither of our venues have been affected very much at all, in the future though I think that The Parish will not endure much change because it is an indoor venue. Scoot Inn, on the other hand, may be effected very soon, a housing development is going in right behind us,
10 | The Austonian Vibe
At Left: Austin Skyline and South Lamar Bela Mcscoggin
Above: Saxon Pub sign Bela Mcscoggin
and we have already been negotiating on how our sound must be changed to not affect our neighbors negatively.”
Saxom Pub concert schedual Bela Mcscoggin
“We have been playing music for thirty years every day of the year with several shows each day. Mostly we host Blues jazz, delta blues, country, and rock band but we try new music on weekends from small Austin upstart bands.” Why these venues are some of the defining features of Austin being the live music capitol of the world are their historical value and their consistency over the years and the change in Austin. According to Elise from the Saxon Pub, “We have been playing music for thirty years every day of the year with several shows each day and intend to keep it that way.”
Regarding the Scoot Inn, “The Parish and Scoot Inn contribute to Austin’s title as The Live Music Capital of the world, because they are old venues that are still thriving and delivering.” Wheeler, said. The Saxon Pub, the Scoot Inn and Parish are some original music venues of austin that have stayed great over the years. If you are visiting the city then these are destinations you can’t go without.
The Austonian Vibe | 11
Austin Live Music Venues Displays the location of Several important music venues in Austin and the description of the type of music that they play.
12 | The Austonian Vibe
The Saxon Pub 1308 E 4th St
The Cactus Cafe 2247 Guadalupe St
Multi Genre Venue all kinds of music
all Genres
The Broken Spoke
The Parish
3201 S Lamar Boulevard
214 E 6th St
Plays country bluegrass and old timey music
Multi Genre Venue all kinds of music
Antone’s Nightclub 305 E 5th St Mostly a blues nightclub
The Scoot Inn 1308 E 4th St Multi Genre Venue all kinds of music The Austonian Vibe | 13
Mother Falcon’s Muscic Laboratory 14 | The Austonian Vibe
By Garrett Urbach
Making
Music In
Austin
usic affects people differently. Austin affects music differently. This city is an unmistakable in its stark musical originality, and local band Mother Falcon is no different. Most music you hear on the radio won’t have cellos or accordions, and because of this many people limit their conceptions of these instruments to be associated with more classical style music. Mother Falcon Music Lab has been showing middle and high school kids in Austin that this is not the case, and has impacted many people’s sense of music and creativity.
M
is heavily saturated with music and opportunities. I would say what makes Austin especially unique is the grassroots aspect of the music scene. There is so much energy and feedback, bands constantly
Mother Falcon, however, is unique even among Austin musicians. “We’re like a Photo by Arnold Wells chamber ensemble that writes their own music, which is somewhat unique as far as I can tell,” she explains. “[Also] collaboration is very important to us, and it’s something we try to get right every time and find the patience to follow that process. It hasn’t always been easy, but this gets down to what is most unique about us.”
Mother Falcon plays its final show on Dec. 29 at the North Door.
Mother Falcon is a symphonic rock band based in Austin, Texas. They are well-known locally for their unique sound, and more recently
popping up from the groundwork, always a steady roar of activity in the local networks,” says Clara Brill, a violin player and program
Image from MFML Website
director of the Mother Falcon Music Lab. Austin’s unorthodox music environment is where the band started,
“Everyone is a musician here, everyone wants to contribute creative currency, so it
“I heard about Mother Falcon through my friends,” Jack Parker explains. He is 14 and has attended the Mother Falcon Music Lab for two years. “I was really attracted to their music because it was so different than anything I had heard before and it kind of opened the door, I guess, to all these musical possibilities I had never really thought of.”
“We want them to
build a better world, and be forward
thinkers - always
imagining without
The Mother Falcon Music Lab’s logo.
have commanded more widespread attention throughout the nation. Other people might know them because of their summer camp “Mother Falcon Music Lab” (MFML) that creates an environment where young musicians can practice the creative process that goes into writing songs.
for young bands to establish themselves,” says Brill.
Austin’s music might have impacted Mother Falcon’s music in its early days, but as their influence grew, so did theirs on Austin. “We are trying to lift up and empower young musicians through our education
boundaries. ”
and as a result, it’s hard not to draw some inspiration from it. “Austin is very supportive of it’s musical acts. Not every city has such a diversity and mass of venues. The band was able to play shows from a very early age at coffee shops, on bridges, at shows organized by friends - it’s a very active and very supportive community, and there are opportunities
Clara Brill
The Austonian Vibe | 15
program at MFML,” says Brill. After attending MFML multiple times, Parker plans on continuing to participate for the foreseeable future. “Before I went to MFML, music, especially on my instruments, was associated with band class or lessons or some kind of work. Now I can associate it with the fun of creating my own music and playing with my friends.” Mother Falcon brings the same originality
“[Music Lab] united us and made us think of [music] as something we could do together. ” Thomas Dalfan in music to their summer camp, the Mother Falcon Music Lab. “We want them to be empowered to do whatever they want to do, not just empowered to do music- that’s just the medium they learn in,” according to Brill. “We want them to build a better world, and be forward thinkers - always imagining without boundaries.” Another view a lot of kids had before going to the summer camp was that music was more work than fun. “Kids mostly play music in school for fine arts credit or something like that, and those kinds of programs don’t really encourage composition or
creativity,” says Thomas Dalfan, another MFML camper.
There’s a lot of diversity at the music camp, which means there is also a large diversity in children’s idea of music. “I met all kinds of people there 16 | The Austonian Vibe
[at MFML]. There were a surprising amount of people with different backgrounds and different reasons for playing their instruments and stuff,” says Parker. So with many kids coming in with different ideas of what music is or how it affects them, Mother Falcon Music Lab can also be said to influence children’s views of those things. “I think everyone thinks about music in a different way. But what Music Lab did was it united us and made us think of it as something we could do together,” says Thomas. Austin is well-known for its musical atmosphere, and Mother Falcon is a prime example of the spirit of originality present in the city. At the end of last year, the band of almost 20 members broke up, though ten of the original members will continue to use the name Mother Falcon. They have also confirmed that they will continue to host the summer camp. “I liked how it goes full circle,” says Parker. “The way you explained it: musicians make Austin a unique place, other musicians are inspired to make their unique music which all just contributes to making Austin what it is musically. But it’s also cool to realize where we fit into that rhythm. We’re like the next generation of this big cycle, and soon enough we’ll be the ones hosting summer camps.”
The Austonian Vibe | 17
How To Draw A Piano A Walkthrough of how to draw a piano in MS Paint.
Step 1 First draw the side to the viewers left. Do this by drawing the left side, and then completing the left leg of the piano. Finish the side by aligning the other edges with the side you drew.
Step 2 Outline where the keys will be by mirroring the side you drew in step one and drawing lines to the other side. Make sure they are all parallel.
18 | The Austonian Vibe
Step 3 Draw the rest of the details. The music stand, legs, pedals, lid, the housing, and the back of the piano.
Step 4 Finish the piano by coloring it in and drawing the keys. The housing and pedals should be yellow or gold, while the rest of the piano should be black. The piano here is grey to show the outlines, but if you are using pencil and paper you can contrast by shading. Congratulations, you’ve drawn a piano!
The Austonian Vibe | 19
very year around 450,000 fans gather for Austin City Limits (ACL), a music festival held at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas every year during the month of October. People stand for hours despite the sweltering heat to watch someone on a stage yell at them through blaring speakers. But they don’t mind. Why? What makes music so captivating and contagious? People from all walks of life are drawn to music -- it’s their passion, what drives them. Musicians’ backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences shape the art that is so readily consumed by the populous. It is this meaning -- this imbuing of a person’s humanity into art - is what makes music so popular. People can connect with it. “Music has always had a profound effect on my life,” said SaulPaul, an Austin rapper and singer/songwriter. “Music mentored me. Music inspired me. Music touched me. It moved me. So, I’ve always loved music.” Paul explains that he grew up in the ghetto in Houston -- a land of, “Slow beats, and bangin’ bass, and freestyle flows.” Paul’s music has
20 | The Austonian Vibe
reflected that, but he’s taken that heritage and uniquely blended it with a classical acoustic guitar and a loop pedal. “I was always drawn to, toward music,” said David Murray, Sound Engineering Consultant, City of Austin Music and
“Music mentored me. Music inspired me. Music touched me. It moved me.” SaulPaul
Entertainment Division. Like Paul, Murray’s heritage and upbringing has affected him and his music. “It was part, I think, being the youngest of five kids, you know, I was exposed to a variety of other music from my older siblings.” Murray,
who specializes at guitar, has played with many music artists including Stevie Ray Vaughn, Kelly Willis, and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. He explains his love for Blues and Motown that he developed, being a child living near Detroit in his childhood. However, while an artist may be influenced by their upbringing, it is not the sole factor that drives artists to music. Another draw for many artists is something that is utterly human -- the love of story. “I’m a storyteller at the core. I’m a songwriter if we’re talkin’ about music,” said Paul. “And I’m all about the lyrics.” “I’ve always liked language, and words, and rhymes just come to me,” said Murray. He explains that songwriting, much like any other product of the written word, takes time. “You only have two-and-a-half or three minutes to tell a story in a song and you have to make every word count,” Murray explains. But while all songwriting takes some time, each musician also has their own method of developing songs, just as each artist
The Austonian Vibe | 21
22 | The Austonian Vibe
has their own style. Brandon Kinder, member of the Austin-based band The Rocketboys, says that he doesn’t have set-in-stone method for writing songs. “There isn’t always a set way that I write lyrics,” says Kinder. “Usually I’ll have the musical ideas first, and once I have some nice progressions I’ll just start kind of mumbling along while I consider different melodies. Sometimes I have ideas, from the get go, of where I want the song to go, but usually I just let it happen as I’m mumbling. Maybe a word or phrase will pop out, and then I’ll kind of work from there.” For Paul, song development deals more with a beat. “When I used to rap I would just, like, listen to a beat and if the beat caught me, then that
the small scale or a larger, global scale.” Paul tells me that sometimes he will see something in the world (he used a map as an example) that will make him say, “‘I wanna write a song about that.’”
“I’ve always wanted our music to inspire people to love each other, and stay hopeful even when things seem to be falling apart”
All of these experiences, beliefs, as well as the artist’s own unique personality combine all synthesize to create their music. But this music, like most art, was not made simply for “art’s sake.” It has a purpose. “I just wanna help other people live their best life.” says Paul. “What was fulfilling was to touch other people’s lives, to edify others, to entertain, inspire and empower.” “I’ve always wanted our music to inspire people to love each other, and stay hopeful even when things seem to be falling apart” says Kinder. Good music can be extremely powerful. It ignites a whole host of different emotions. It can affect humans in ways that nothing else can. Art has always been an instrument for change and social justice, and music is far from an exception.
Brandon Kinder
beat usually spoke to me,” said Paul. “I always looked at a song as speaking back to beat.” When these carefully crafted songs come to fruition, they reflect the artist’s unique perspective of the world. “I always try to be authentic with the things I sing about.” says Kinder. “I’ve never been one for writing a bunch of nonsense, and so what I see, taste, smell, and hear around me everyday, my environment around me is what I tend to write about. Whether that’s on
But often, the songs reflect an artist’s beliefs as well. “My beliefs about the world and life are the only things I know, and so they come out in every word I write,” says Kinder. He tells me that there isn’t necessarily one set meaning to each song. “The meaning can be different every time someone hears it. What I meant doesn’t even really mean anything if somebody else takes another meaning, and I think that’s beautiful.” For Paul, his faith in God has a huge influence on his music. “Realizin’ that God had created me and that I was born on purpose with a purpose, like, totally influences everything that I do,” Paul said. He goes on to explain that his name, SaulPaul, comes from the Bible, when the Apostle Paul met Jesus and changed his name from Saul to Paul.
The Austonian Vibe | 23
Murray is mentored by Stevie Ray Vaughn, an Austin legend.
Murray joins the Dynafloes around 18-19, a four-piece Blues band led by Keith Dunn.
After the Dynafloes Murray joins another four-piece Blues band called Lewis and the Legends. Murray goes on his first tour.
David Murray, a musician in Austin, TX has many y ears of e xperience in t he music field. He has played all over with a whole host o f musicians, b ut “none of these were lateral moves they were all steps u p” s aid Murray. B elow w e track the path of his musical career.
in the career of DAVID MURRAY
STEPS UP
Murray gets his first guitar in the summer of his 6th grade year.
24 | The Austonian Vibe Murray begins playing with Marcia Ball, who had “a much more established territory”. They toured all over, including Chicago, New Orleans and Europe.
Murray plays for Angela Strehli, an Austin Blues artist. She partnered with Clifford Antones to start Antone’s Nightclub.
From 1985-51988 Murray again plays with Marcia Ball.
City of Austin, Murray Music
SOURCES: The Austin Chronicle,
Tired of touring, Murray begins teaching guitar lessons at a music store.
Kelly Willis asks Murray to join her band, and they record on the record in Nashville, TN. Murray plays with Kelly Willis for 3 years.
David Murray
Murray plays with other artists, such as Doyle Bramhall and Monte Warden
In 2010, Murray is hired as the Sound Engineering Consultant by the City of Austin, where he works today!
These days, t here are l ots of music-streaming services a vailable, a nd i t can s eem daunting when trying to discern which service to use. Below we’ve provided a side-by-side comparison of some of the most prominent music-streaming services available today, to better help you decide which service fits you best.
Amazon Music Unlimited
Spotify
Apple Music
Echo ($3.99), Individual ($7.99 w/ Prime) and Family ($14.99) Plans
Spotify, unlike the others, has a free service, although it comes with ads. You can pay for Spotify Premium for more benefits.
Individual ($9.99), Student ($4.99), and Family ($14.99) Plans
Tens of millions of songs
Over 30 million, including stuff only available on SpotifyOver 30 million, including tunes only available on Spotify
30 million songs
Curated playlists, music suggestions, and custom stations
Curated playlists, music suggestions, weekly playlist catered to your taste, concert listings, merch, and much more!
Curated playlists, music suggestions, weekly playlist catered to your tastes as well as Beats 1 radio. There are also lots of other cool tools.
DEVICES iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Mac, PC, Amazon devices (Fire tablets, Fire TV Echo Dot, etc...) automotive, web, home entertainment systems
iPhone, Android, Mac, PC, Amazon Echo devices, iPad, Web player, and more
Mac, PC, iPhone, Android, CarPlay, Sonos, Apple TV, Apple Watch
VERDICT Great for people who want a free streaming service, or own mostly non-apple products.
Great for Prime members, or people wanting it for only there Echo device
Great for Apple users
The Austonian Vibe | 25 SOURCES: Amazon, Apple, CNet, Spotify
Austin Making Music History How Austin Became the Live Music Capital of the World By Sophia Vasquez
E
verybody knows whether it’s an Austinite or tourist, where to find great music venues and festivals in Austin, whether it’s 6th Street, Austin City Limits or South x Southwest. These musical attractions, alongside the city having the label being “The Live Music Capital of The World” are the reason for thousands of people traveling, visiting and moving to Austin everyday. But do the the tourists, and perhaps even the Austinites, know how the city came to claim that particular title which makes the heart of the Austin music scene alive and pumping every night? Individuals from all over the country travel to Austin because of all of the events that go within the city, and its precise title also assists with the abundance of tourists coming to visit the city. Austin has been known to be “The Live Music Capital of The World” for at least 25 years, but how did it acquire the oh-so famous title it is recognized by today? There is very little to no tourists who are aware of how the city receive this branding. At hand, there is at most likely merely just a handful of Austinites who indeed know the tale of their musical city’s history.
Austin City Limiits Logo
26 | The Austonian Vibe
Austin Fact: In 1945, the Victory Grills open which was known as a hangout for black soldiers coming home from the war. Throughout it’s years it was a well-known stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit and hosted musicians like James Brown, Billie Holiday, Chuck Berry and Ike and Tina Turner. It fell onto hard times in the 60s’ and 70s’ and closed it doors in 1988 but reopened in 1966. At the time Austin didn’t really know what to do with the music scene,” Said Ronny Mack, an engineer and employee at the Austin History center. Going back into the late eighties, the Austin Music Scene had started forming more and more because of the Armadillo Headquarters back in the seventies. Austin at the time already had many musicians living in the city with many places for these musicians to play. But other than that at the time, Austin wasn’t really seen as a music scene. The Austin Chamber of Commerce (ACC) felt like something was going on but they did not know how to promote it.
Why it was difficult for them to try to promote the music scene was because the majority of people in America weren’t aware of these bands and also weren’t used to going out to little clubs to hear bands they never heard of, which of course made it also difficult to try to promote tourism within the city. “In a series of different actions … in trying to address this issue the Austin City Council started a music commision that was just made up of citizens … ” Ronny Mack describes this group of citizens that chose to become a free show commission who would report back to the council who was trying to understand and learn about distribution, how to promote it, how to help, and especially how to understand it. So the group created a music office within the city of Austin, that starting doing a economic study with three other facilities like the Austin Convention Center, and hired consultants to go down to the music scene and they came back with numbers, big numbers that were valuable.
Interesting Fact:
One of the earliest live music venues in Austin was Threadgill’s which was a filling station and restaurant where hillbilly blues and also country bands played for rounds of beer. It was also where young Janis Joplin got her start into music.
They didn’t know Austin Texas Mural what to do with these numbers so then the music commision had inspiration to go out and do something about it, so the Austin city of chambers decided to send these booking agents who were interested in Austin to New York to attend the largest music convention in the United States, and one of two of the individuals that were sent to NY turned out to later be the founders of South x Southwest. So when these guys came back from New York, they started thinking, “Wow we “In a series of different actions … in trying can start a to address this issue the Austin City little festival Council started a music commision that here
was just made up of citizens ...” - Ronnie Mack
you know just down the Southwest?” thinking that would maybe help austin. With that going on shows that people didn’t particularly know how to help Austin. “Well why don’t we have a sign outside the city … mentioning the Music Scene you know we don’t have anything talking about it” Mack recalls, there was a city council member Max Nofziger, who was real pro music which made him turn out to be the catalyst or the leader of the city council coming together to put some sort of motto onto the city of Austin. To help collaborate and contribute the idea of putting a motto onto the city, there was an idea put around within the City Council to make a slogan that was music related that could represent the city as a whole. Within a completely different group of people, they also represented the idea of the city needing an overall slogan was important. Around 1987, there was the idea of the Austin Music Network (AMN) which was intended to help bring attention to the live music within the city. The idea got proposed, with a group of motivated individuals working on getting this network up and running, but it remained on the table and did not become a thing just yet.
South By Southwest Logo
The Austonian Vibe | 27
Austin City Limits Fact: Austin City Limits is the country’s longest-running live music TV show which began on October 14, 1974. A then-unknown Willie Nelson was one of the featured performers to be on the television show. With the idea of the AMN bouncing around, it made more people think that the slogan will help improve the music scene and promote the city. Current video archhist at the Austin History Center Tim Hamblin, went over to the Austin Music Commission (AMC) saying “Wow you know I saw the people working on the Austin Music Network, we got the slogan ‘Live Music Capital of the World’, why don’t we consider that or something similar?” “They studied all the reasons could Austin legitimately could claim itself to be the live music capital of the world” Mack says, the AMC looked at the number of musicians living within the city, the number of music venues and concluded that we actually had more live music than other music capitals.
Austin City Limits Fact: Austin Texas Mural
They judged why other capitals like LA, New York, New Orleans and Chicago couldn’t fully claim the title of ‘The Music Capital of the World’ which was usually judged on the amount of major recording studios, publishing houses and songwriters that are in the city. Well, Austin had little recording studios and not any major recording labels, but once they added the live music aspect onto the title, that made the AMC think we could legitimately claim the title ‘Live Music Capital of the World.’
28 | The Austonian Vibe
Austin City Limits has been around for over 40 years but the festival has only been around since 2002 which started to try to draw moderate sized crowds to celebrate Austin’s musical culture. Tickets for the first ACL festival were only priced at $25. Nowadays wristbands and passes sell out within minutes of going on sell on the website.
“Once upon a time that wasn’t true it was a musical town but people did not know how to come enjoy it and there wasn’t a austin city limits festival and there wasnt south by southwest.” Mack talks about how Austin is known as just as a musical town that has changed throughout the years with the introduction to Austin City Limits and South x Southwest. During the late eighties and early nineties, Austin tried learning what they could do to try to help make them unique and set apart from other cities, a portion of that was trying to brand austin as the live music capital of the world and which it turned out even without even any promotion it came to be the this very powerful worldwide brand that other countries and cities would die for. The ability to know Austin’s music history and how they got the iconic slogan we know today is outstanding. But as we know not many people, except the people who were involved, know how it came to be. This part of the city’s history is not written down, so it’s important for others to learn about this event. So in the future it will be written down for future generations of Austinites to learn about their city’s musical history.
6th Street Sign
ACL Performance
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Famous
Artists
By Sophia Vasquez
With Austin being known as the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’, there are many artists throughout the years that have came and performed within the city. Many musicians have came and played in Austin, but have you thought about the artists that have performed in Austin and got there big break? Here’s some background on some well-known artists that have got there big break while being within the music city.
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin was born on January 19th, 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas. Joplin first came to fame around the 1960’s being well-known for ger powerfull blues-inspired vocals. She developed a love for music at an early age by singing in her church choir as a small child. While attending the University of Texas in the summer of 1962, Joplin began performing folksings-causal musical gatherings where anyone can perform-on campus and at Threadgill’s. From then on, Janis’s musical career opened wide and stunned many audiences.
Willie Nelson Willie Nelson was born on April 29, 1933 in Abbott, Texas. He had started his love of music with hymn books at the church he attended with his sister and grandparents. Nelson had got his first Guitar at the early age of six and started writing his own songs soon thereafter. In 1960 Nelson settled in the country music capital, Nashville Tennessee, where he found a job as a songwriter , the following year Nelson’s creations became hits from other artists. In 1970 when his home in Ridgetop burnt down, he decided that things need to change , so he moved to Austin and quickly became an important part of the city’s music scene.
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Stevie Ray Vaughan Born on October 3.1954 in Dallas, Texas, Stevie Ray Vaughan was born. As a young child, his older brother Jimmie Vaughan, inspired Stevie with his guitar plaiyng, and Stevie picked up his first guitar when he was 10 years old. Stevie Dropped out of school and moved to Austin and concentrated on making a living as a musician. When he wasn’t trying to make ends meet by picking up cans and bottles, he was plaing music and jumping in-and-out of various bands that had semi-regular gigs in the Austin Area. While still in Austin, Stevies music ablilites caught the attention of David Bowie, who asked the musician to play with him on his up coming album, Let Dance.
Jimmie Vaughn Jimmie Vaughan, whom is known as Stevie Ray Vaughans older brother was born on March 20, 1951 in Dallas Texas. Jimmie moved to Austin in the late 1960s and began playing with musicians such as Paul Ray and WC Clark. Jimmie was able to develope his recognized style very easily, and he formed the band The Fabulous Thunder Birds. Vaughan released his first solo album Strange Pleasure , which contained songs dedicated to the memory to his brother .
Townes Van Zandt Townes was born on March 7,1944 in Forth Worth, Texas, some of his musical influences are Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. Van Zandt’s music is characterized by moody folk textures with vivd enagaging storytelling and his emotionally resonant voice. He started playing guitar at age 15 and continuing to ply his craft at the univeristy of colorado. Later relocation to Houston and worked as a live performer, influenced by many blues artiists.
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Life as a
Musician in Austin
Is Austin supporting the local musicians that make up the Music Industry?
By Andrew Gunawan
M
usic is a booming industry in Austin, Texas. But does Austin do enough to support the local musicians that make up the industry? Austin is known for it’s live music and music industry, drawing musicians from all over the country to start their careers in the city. Austin is also known for its music due to the local musicians who set the city apart. However, is the city doing enough to support the musicians that
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make up the music industry? And is it really the best place to be a musician? One of the most compelling reasons to come to Austin as a musician is the already existing supportive music industry. However, if Austin does not support the local musicians enough, the industry may start to lose its supportive attributes and could become less appealing to musicians. A lot of tourists visit due to the booming music industry and are interested in experiencing the live music, and some even stay, making the music industry one of the appealing reasons to come to Austin. If the city does not do enough to support the
industry than there may be a decline in the Austin music industry, that will not only affect the musicians, but also local citizens. According to Reporting Texas, “Music is a vital part of Austin’s social fabric and economy. But according to a recent survey, the people behind the valuable city brand aren’t getting their fair share of the earnings, and the city isn’t doing enough to make sure the industry is sustainable.” This information is very concerning, but talking to local bands has given way to contradictory information. “It’s the best city to be a musician right now. Aside from the number of venues and the music
Sound Board Juan Di Nella
Guitar Head
Gabriel Barletta
Playing the Piano Isaac Ibbot
Drumset on a Stage Gabriel Barletta
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Music Streaming Services Usage Graph What is the most popular service out there?
1. Pandora (45%) 2. iHeartRadio (17%) 3. iTunes Radio (16%) 4. Spotify (13%) 5. Amazon Music (7%) 6. Rhapsody (5%) 7. Google Play (5%) 8. TuneIn Radio (4%) 9. Radio.com (3%) 10. Slacker (3%) 11. Beats Music (3%) Source: geekwire.com
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“The community is waiting there with their arms open, ready to make support you” it more John Zakoor
community making it easier to book and play shows, the foundations to help musicians like HAAM, SIMS, the Austin Music Foundation are tremendous, as well as the radio and music publications like KUTX and the Austin Chronicle,” said Leslie Sisson. Other bands such as Migrant Kids and Magna Carda also shared the same positive opinion towards the Austin music industry.
“Because the city’s music businesses are disconnected, they don’t benefit from the synergy found in Los Angeles, New York and Nashville, the major music hubs,” said Mary Jurey, general manager of Playing in Traffic Records, an Austin-based label in an article by Reporting Texas. This would impact a musician’s decision to choose Austin as their main performing city. However, local bands seem to disagree with this statement. Sisson states that being in Austin does not
difficult to spread music, “not with the days of the internet.” Miguel Odjeda from Migrant Kids pitches in, “especially with Spotify and Google Play Music and other services like that, it does not make it more difficult to be in Austin.” Another issue reported about the Austin music industry by Next City is that, “Affordability was identified as a key problem. As Austin gains in popularity, it’s becoming a lot more expensive, pricing out the musicians who maybe contributed to its desirability in the first place.” However, local bands feel that there are organizations that help with this. “Black Fret is a non-profit organization that basically picks 20 bands a year, and 10 of them get theses big grants, so we won a $13,000 grant last year,” said Odjeda “but I think because there are so many bands here, it takes a while to gain some support from some certain outlets, just for the sheer amount of bands.” The bands feel that being in Austin definitely has a positive impact on their business. Dougie Do from Magna Carda says, “Being in Austin has a major impact positively, but staying in Austin too long can definitely impact the business negatively. For example, if you play too many shows in town, people eventually get tired of seeing the same band over and over for $10/15. If you treat it like a supply/demand kind of thing, you’re in good shape”. John Zakoor from Migrant Kids also felt the same way about the Austin music industry, saying, “The community is waiting there with their arms open, ready to support you, but
you kind of got to get there, but once you’re there, it’s been a pretty incredible experience we’ve gotten.” Overall, most bands love the Austin experience. But becoming one of the reputable bands may be a little difficult. The bands say that there is a good amount of support, that they wouldn’t get anywhere else. There are grants available from local foundations such as Black Fret, and a supportive community. News outlets are posting articles about the downsides of being a local musician, but the reality is, the benefits overcome the downsides. Austin truly is one of the best places to be a local musician. The only problem is getting to that point of recognition. Fortunately, the Austin community is a fostering music community which encourages positive growth.
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Types
of
s t i f e en
of s e p
y t t n re e f f i D
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a c c i us
m
Pop music helps with endurance and can enhance physical performance.
tb n e r fe f i d ve a h n
Electronic music will help you feel good due to high energy levels.
Music By Andrew Gunawan
Rock music will give you an adrenaline boost and raise your mood.
Classical music will help you calm down and relax and help you think better.
Sources: joytunes.com mamiverse.com upworthy.com
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