KUTX The Breaks presents Summer Jam 2019 Aaron “Fresh” Knight and Confucius Jones
VOLUME XI AUGUST 2019
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Sam Houston Sam Houston is remembered today primarily for his Sam Houston activities in Texas, but in fact he was also a giant of
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KLRU stories that really matter to our on ouramplifies Facebookthe page at facebook.com/decibelatx community. Hosted by Judy Maggio. Join the conversation on our Facebook page at facebook.com/decibelatx
Sam Houston is and remembered today primarily for his figure in the frontier a dominant American political activities in Texas, but in fact he was also a giant of the 1800s. the frontier and a dominant American political figure in the 1800s.
Downton Live! Host Deborah Roberts along with cast members and Downton Live! creators for a celebration of the beloved series Host Deborah Roberts along castpeek members and Downton Abbey and with a sneak at the upcoming creators for a celebration of the beloved series feature film. Downton Abbey and a sneak peek at the upcoming feature film.
Sunday, 8/18, at 8 pm; Thursday, Sunday, 8/18, at8/22, 8 pm;at 7 pm Thursday, 8/22, at 7 pm
KLRU-TV, Austin PBS is community supported. More than 85% of our funding comes from the public. PLEASE CONSIDER INVESTING IN KLRU. KLRU-TV, Austin PBS is community supported. More than 85% of our funding comes from the public. PLEASE CONSIDER INVESTING IN KLRU.
Zona U r b a n a Tip the Band Program recipients announced The City of Austin’s Music and Entertainment Division announced the 10 local Austin musicians and bands selected for the Tip the Band digital tipping grant program. Participants include Atash, Church on Monday, Derek Phelps, Gina Chavez, The Human Circuit, Jackie Venson, Kathy & the Kilowatts, Superfónicos, The Watters and Will Southern. Grantees will use the vessels to collect digital tips at live performances during all local and traveling shows for a six-month period. Selected musicians are required to market and promote their use of Tip the Band alongside a promotional campaign implemented by the Music & Entertainment Division and report final outcomes. For information on the Tip the Band, please visit https:// www.atxmusic.org. “Our Parks, Our Future” final participation opportunities District 2: Dove Springs Advisory Board Backpack Giveaway Mendez Middle School S. 5106 Village Square, Austin, TX 78744 Saturday, August 10, 2019, 9 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. District 3: Austin Pride 2101 Jesse Segovia St., Austin, TX 78702 Saturday, August 10, 2019, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. District 4: Bartholomew Municipal Pool 1800 E. 51st St., Austin, TX 78723 Wednesday, August 14, 2019, 5:00 p.m. - 8 p.m.
VOLUME XI, NUMBER 3 PUBLISHER / Gavin Lance Garcia / info@todoaustin.com EDITOR / Lesly Reynaga / lesly@todoaustin.com WEB / Nathalie Phan / nat@onvinylmedia.com ONLINE EDITION / EQAustin.org
Fiesta Gardens listed in the National Register of Historic Places Fiesta Gardens at Edward Rendon Sr. Metropolitan Park at Festival Beach was recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Noted for its historical significance, Fiesta Gardens joins other properties under the stewardship of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department system with National Register status. Opened to the public in 1966, Fiesta Gardens is an entertainment complex in East Austin on the northeast shore of Lady Bird Lake. Conceived in 1960 as a tourist attraction, Fiesta Gardens was designed by architect William C. Holmans, and built by a coalition of local and regional investors led by businessman and Austin Chamber of Commerce staffer, Tom Perkins, and Ed St. John, former Chamber President and Austin Aqua Festival Commodore. The complex has been in continuous use since 1966, and currently serves as an event space, hosting music festivals as well as smaller community-based events. Fiesta Gardens was a popular water-based event center from the time of its opening, later expanding under city ownership to serve as home base for the city’s annual Austin Aqua Festival, Austin Boat Club races, and other civic and community events. The site was pivotal in shaping the development of the northern shore of Lady Bird Lake. The property is further recognized for its association with community organizing efforts by Austin’s Hispanic community to prevent displacement of East Austin residents for facility expansion through the early 1970s. The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of cultural resources deemed worthy of preservation. EQ Austin Journal is an online monthly for “ALL of Austin” that highlights the local music and creative industry, mirroring our community’s demographic profile. Since its establishment in 2008 as TODO Austin, the publication highlights our multicultural heritage and stories covering every ethnic community.
© 2019 Spark Awakened Publishing. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are the authors’ and should not be taken to represent those of Spark Awakened Publishing or of any of it associates or partners.
The Breaks presents Summer Jam 2019 Emcee, Ladi Earth packed out Stubb’s Indoor earlier this summer. She put on a braggadocios and bouncy show, inspiring the whole audience to dance and move with the music. “Austin has always had incredible music from a community that has not been cared about in the city,” said KUTX The Breaks co-host Confucius Jones. “The fabric of R&B and hip-hop artists are now proving that it should and will be included in the city’s tapestry and these artists will provide an incredible show on August 30.” Eimaral Sol KUTX 98.9 The Breaks and LÜM present the 2nd Annual Summer Jam, which will be held on Friday, August 30 at Barracuda with doors opening at 8 p.m. The event will premiere rising R&B and hip-hop artists, bringing them to the forefront of Austin’s music scene. Summer Jam will be hosted by Austin’s #1 hip-hop radio show, The Breaks. Hosts, Confucius Jones and Fresh, not only want to highlight the hottest artists in the city, but also to bring various pieces of our community together, uniting in appreciation of Austin’s vibrant music community. “Summer Jam demonstrates and proves to the city as a whole that every negative preconceived notion about black music is wrongly assumed,” said KUTX The Breaks co-host Fresh. “This music undoubtedly is a part of the Austin music experience.” This year’s event packs a resilient lineup featuring R&B acts Sam Houston, Eimaral Sol, and Drint. Artists deliver their own rendition of purely gracious R&B music. Emcees Shirt off Fe and Ladi Earth will deliver a glimpse in the rising hip-hop scene in Austin. Spinning for the whole night will be DJ Manny Mo who has burst on to the scene as a conduit of great music and support for emerging locals. Both scenes have been pushed to the background of the Live Music Capital for years.
Support for the event strings together many integral community partners, including Austin Revitalization Authority, Cap Metro, Treaty Oak Distillery, Austin Chronicle, Rambler Sparkling Water, KUTX 98.9 and new music app, LÜM. A portion of ticket sales will benefit local nonprofit Kids in a New Groove, which is an Austin-based nonprofit that provides over 150 Central Texas youth in foster care with free, weekly music lessons and mentorship. Additionally, two Mangrove trees will be planted in Madagascar through The Eden Reforestation Project, significantly decreasing the carbon footprint of the event. Sam Houston
Friday, August 2 - Driftwood Nights with Shad Blair 7pm | All Ages | Vista Brewing
Join Vista Brewing and HAAM every Friday night for music from local songwriters, craft beer and local artisan food. The series is free and open to the public, with all donations and 10 percent of beer sales directly benefiting HAAM! This week’s show features music from Shad Blair.
Saturday, August 3 - C4AC’s Back to School Jam 6pm |21 & Up | One-2-One Bar
C4AC’s annual Back to School Jam will be held Aug. 3rd at One-2-One Bar. Always our best attended, small-venue show, this year we will feature Black Fret nominees Cari Hutson & Good Company and longtime Austin rockers Vallejo. Please join us and help support HAAM, Superhero Kids, and Step Onward Foundation.
Friday, August 9 - Driftwood Nights with Adam Johnson 7pm | All Ages | Vista Brewing
Join Vista Brewing and HAAM every Friday night for music from local songwriters, craft beer and local artisan food. The series is free and open to the public, with all donations and 10 percent of beer sales directly benefiting HAAM! This week’s show features music from Adam Johnson. More information available at myhaam.org.
Adam Johnson
The Wine Down Wed, Aug 29 | 3TEN ACL Live
If you haven’t experienced the Wine Down with AMF, join us on Wednesday, August 29. This month’s edition will feature tunes from Love & Chaos, plus bites by the Living Room at W Austin, and a pop-up Yummi Joy shop. Drop by the AMF table & donate $5 for your chance to win our raffle. This month’s winner will Rainey Street package, including gift cards to Lustre Pearl, Container Bar and more! Big thanks to sponsors and partners: Charles Smith Wines, 2nd Street District, 3Ten Austin City Limits, Visit Austin, TX and KUTX. Admission is free and open to the public.
AMF Artist of the Month The Selfless Lovers
Established in the fall of 2015 in Austin, The Selfless Lovers are gearing up to release their second EP on August 10. The Selfless Lovers offer an energized, modern interpretation of rock & roll and soul. Their music showcases something for all music lovers with a retro sound, uplifting melodies and catchy hooks. Featuring Nik Parr on lead vocals, keys and sax, Daniel Warner on percussion, Daniel Kerner on lead guitar, and Augie Gittmer on bass, The Selfless Lovers have honed their sound into a dynamic and forceful four-piece act. For more, visit austinmusicfoundation.org.
The Selfless Lovers
Artist H A N N A B A R A K A T Spotlight Please tell us about your background and upbringing. I have to say, my upbringing was most definitely unconventional. My mother is from Oklahoma and my father is from Lebanon. I happened to be born in Dallas. I was homeschooled for the majority of my under-teen years, mostly traveling with my family. My father frequently worked overseas, and we, as a family, would travel with him and spend extended periods of time wherever he was called to work. We visited Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, France, Ireland, Wales, England, and many more amazing places over the course of my tender years, and I absolutely loved it. I loved experiencing different worlds, traveling on planes, trains, buses, and long ferry rides… I take that back, the ferries were terrible! On these excursions, I explored different landscapes, food, people, cultures, customs, and religions. I was exposed to so many different things, to the point where “different” was absolutely normal. And to me, that is what I take away from all that movement across the globe. I was exposed to so many different perspectives and that made a lasting impression on me.
strenuous time in my life, but it only drove me harder towards my ultimate goal of being a professional musician on the world stage. Help the audience understand your work by describing your musical concept or genre(s) I have never found the precise words to place my sound in one specific genre, for narrative content or for sonic reasons. Some songs travel through the complexity of relationships, the balance of strengths, messy breakups that resolve with constantly falling back into old habits with one’s significant others yet again. While other songs touch on anguishing sociopolitical situations that plague the world today. I want to bring awareness to these situations, both personal and global, not by forcing any specific point of view or political agenda, but by pushing for love, understanding, and acceptance of all the other humans walking this earth together.
Through my music, with rock guitars, heavy drums, deep rhythmic bass lines, and my intricate vocal melodic lines and punchy harmony stacks, I have chosen to forge Arabic instruments like the oud, kanun, Was there ever a defining moment that led you to frame drum, and riqq, into my sonic landscape, where fully dive into your music career? I feel they so naturally and appropriately belong. One fan described my earlier work as a fusion between Music has always been in my blood. I cannot rememAmy Lee of Evanescence and Fairuz, a Lebanese tradiber a time that I wasn’t humming and singing my days tional music and pop icon. That was the most glorious away. I do know that my acceptance into Berklee Col- comparison and compliment anyone could ever give lege of Music was a very validating and pivotal mome and my music! ment in my life and my trajectory. I knew I wanted to pursue music as my career, but I was still very young Who are your music heroes and influences? and had no clue what was in store for me. My experiences, performances, and musical community at It was definitely the powerful voices of Chester BenBerklee left a phenomenal mark on me. It was a very nington of Linkin Park and Amy Lee of Evanescence
that made me want to be a rock artist. They were not your typical rock singers. They had such powerful voices that could pierce your emotional flesh, make you want to run 10 miles, all while delivering their performances with such exquisite precious fierce voices. How does your ancestry influence your lyrics and your work as a whole? My background plays a significant role in my creative process, both musically and conceptually, because my background is me. My history and my family’s history shaped me. I’ve always been so intrigued by my heritage, from the culture, politics, customs, food, and most importantly the music. The situation in the middle east is very tumultuous. After graduating in 2010, I actually moved to Lebanon to engross myself in the culture, gain understanding, study arabic, and just be in it all. It was a wildly profound and life altering experience for me, both good and bad, and I could go on and on about it, but what I can say for sure is that I grew in so many ways while living there. My perspective on life changed entirely. I was also exposed to so many things that I have since been compelled to write about. It was always in my blood and now it’s under my tongue in many of my songs. In your opinion, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the Austin music community?
that can help others not get taken advantage of. There are so many venues and so many musicians to go around. For example, some musicians have day jobs and are willing to play for free, or close to it, essentially. That is a huge hindrance in progress for full time working musicians here. There are so many unique voices here, and I feel like there is a strength that needs to be tapped into in this community, to better the situation and have more people thriving in the community as a whole. Tell us about your upcoming projects. Over this past year, I produced my debut record, and I am so happy to say I now have three singles released, my title track single came out July 19, and my debut record, Siren, is due out on August 16! The CD Release Concert and party will be taking place at Come and Take It on August 30! I absolutely cannot wait to share it! The album was produced by John Moyer, bassist from famed hard rock band, Disturbed, and mixed by Martin Nessi (Michael Jackson estate, Ariana Grande, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Ricky Martin, Kelly Clarkson), and mastered by Ted Jansen of Sterling Sound (Disturbed, Evanescence, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Halestorm, Pat Metheny).
Austin is a beautiful city with many opportunities to thrive, and I’ve managed to live here as a full time musician for the last 4.5 years. The quality of life offered in Austin is hard to compare. I’m grateful that there are so many opportunities to perform, cover and original music. I’m grateful music is a part of the daily conversation here. That’s truly unique for any city. I find that the biggest weakness in the musical population here is a lack of community and union when it comes to pay standards and performance expectations. I feel that musicians are not actively working together to better the conditions, pay, quality of performance, etc, as much as we all could be. Talking about pay or any kind of comp is not really common, as people feel like they have to keep it a secret or under wraps, when in reality, sharing information like
Hanna Barakat, Kirk Stauffer Photography
By Liz Lopez
United Sounds
Celebrate at the second annual Austin Birthday Bash at Republic Square Saturday, August 3. The free community celebration of the city includes food, activities for all ages, and a lineup of live music not to be missed. Scheduled to perform are Mobley, Kalu and The Electric Joint, Bidi Bidi Banda and GirlFriend ATX. Food and drinks, including alcoholic beverages, will be available for purchase at the event. No outside alcohol or glass containers allowed. Event runs 5- 10 p.m. at Republic Square, 422 Guadalupe St. --------------------------------------------Leti sings bilingual protest music for the migrant children who remain in the detention camps across the country. The show, Leti Canta Música de Protesta, will be on Friday, August 9, from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. at The Sahara Lounge, 1413 Webberville Rd. All proceeds from this performance will go toward RAICES, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit agency that promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to under-served immigrant children, families, and refugees. --------------------------------------------The ABGB is featuring the best emerging talent from all corners of the Austin live music scene. The monthly series will feature a three-band bill of their newest favorites making their ABGB debuts. No cover, all ages. Rival Waves (11p) is an Austin-based rock band fusing propulsive, distortion-soaked anthems with sweeping personal and political themes. Armed with arena-ready songs reminiscent of Pearl Jam and U2, the band is driven to create a more meaningful connection between art and audience. With a DIY ethos focused on the convergence of music and tech, an inclination towards consistent musical experimentation, and an earnest commitment to topics ranging from the intimately personal to the sociopolitical. Full lineup includes Blood (10p) with Ben McCamman McGinnis on guitar; Tim O’Brien on vocals; Caleb Parker on piano; Julian McCamman Mcginnis on guitar; Tyler Wolff on percussion; Nino Soberon on bass/ cello; and Zach Malett on trumpet. The Sun Machine (9p) is a four-piece Austin-based band co-mingling genres and exchanging harmonies to the backdrop of darker cross dimensional pop sounds.
KASE101 & 98.1 KVET present Robert Earl Keen with special guest Bruce Robison and David Beck’s Tejano Weekend. This Country Music Live show will be on Saturday, August 31. Doors open at 6 p.m. Nutty Brown Amphitheatre, 12225 Hwy 290 W. --------------------------------------------The new single “Lost in the Middle of Nowhere” by Austin-based Tejano music artist Mia Garcia was recently released. It is a cover of the song originally performed by country artist Kane Brown and Urban artist Becky G. Mia continues to branch out musically, incorporating this song into her own unique style of a bilingual cumbia. Mia would like to thank Sunny Sauceda, Tony Gonzalez, and David L. Garza for helping produce the song. It can be found on iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, Deezer, Spotify, Pandora, YoutubeMusic, and others. Mia is currently working on completing her next album. --------------------------------------------Press Junkie PR celebrates its ten-year anniversary on Saturday, August 17 at Stubb’s (Indoors) with a free event. Music will be by El Dusty, Frederico7, Kelly Hafner, and DJ Vanessa La Bestia. RSVP required. --------------------------------------------Rotel & The Hot Tomatoes are a great party band with a show that captures the sounds, the look, and the fun of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s through today. They are playing two full sets. Friday, August 2, doors at 6 p.m. $10 GA tickets (ages 16+); $15 GA at the door. Haute Spot, 1501 E. New Hope, Cedar Park. --------------------------------------------Maracatu Texas, Patois, and Mala Nota perform on Sunday, August 25, starting at 8:30 p.m. Cover is $5 at The Sahara Lounge, 1413 Webberville Rd.
Leti Garza
Saturday, August 10, 10 a.m.- noon. Austin Resource Recovery Curbside Composting Open House. If you need a refresher or a boost to get started on the Curbside Composting Program, attend this open house. The Asian American Resource Center will be closed for its scheduled annual maintenance period from Monday, August 12, 2019 through Friday, August 16. The AARC will resume regular business hours at 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 17. Saturday, August 24, 1-3 p.m. Austin Japanese Minyo Group Bon Odori Festival. Come join the Austin Japanese Minyo Dance Group for an afternoon of summer dancing and Japanese snacks and onigiri. Learn traditional folk dances in Ballroom. Food and beverage available for sale by Asahi Imports.
Wednesday, August 21, 6:30 p.m. Be part of the decision making process for the Carver’s new Manager and join the community feedback session this fall. Thursday, August 15, 6-7:30 p.m. Join the Carver for Youth Arts Safari Show N’Tell. Campers’ Art exhibit, demos and more. On exhibit: Future Inhabitants by Tia Boyd. Billions of years of evolution have produced a world in which every organism’s welfare is intertwined with that of countless other species. The “willful” self-destruction of humanity by Earth’s most formidable species, humans, is the topic of New Orleans-born and Dallas-raised photographer Tia Boyd. Through a series of portraits, Boyd reveals a surviving race of godlike women warriors who have come to terraform the planet for future inhabitants.
Saturday, Aug. 3, 4-6 p.m. FOTO ATX Exhibit Opening by Caminos Teen Program. The students of Caminos, the ESB-MACC’s youth leadership program, are hosting a photography exhibit that will be at the community gallery from through October 5. The theme of the exhibit will be Examining Identity Through the Lens of Youth. The opening reception will include refreshments, interactive stations, and live music. Friday, Aug. 23, 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Voces in Augmented Reality explores the Mexican American World War II experience with photos and video interviews of veterans from the Voces Oral History Project of The University of Texas. Use the augzoo® app on-location when visiting the Zócalo to view the augmented reality digital installation through Aug. 31.