midispaceho Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 I have heard this many times. I am considering moving to Austin. Everything I hear sounds GREAT! Las Vegas sucks dog ass. I need out. Anyone know anything about Austin, particularly the music and club scene? I also love bats, and Austin has this bitchin bat statue and tons of the suckers flying about. Love it. Heeeeeere kitty kitty kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midimonk Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 midispaceho, i lived there a coupla years ago,it's a really cool town,from what i've heard though is that the city is try to set up an @#$$ noise ordinance which will have a dramatic effect on the scene.the local weekly happenings paper is : http://www.auschron.com just remember that austin club scene is always in a state of change w/closures/new management.so i be hard pressed to recommend anyone in particular. peace, midimonk BTW yes, the bats are really cool. I cannot be bought, and I cannot be threatened. But if you put them both together then I'm your man!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midispaceho Posted December 3, 2002 Author Share Posted December 3, 2002 Thanks for the link monk! Noise ordinance eh...sounds scary. Heeeeeere kitty kitty kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix_dup1 Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 There's a lot of live music played in Austin - and a lot of bands playing for free or next to nothing. Huge college town (University of Texas alone has over 50,000 students - the 2nd most populous campus in the US, I think). It also seemed to me when I lived in Austin that the genres of music that one could be successful with was limited. As Austin became a new Tech Industry center, drawing many companies from Silicon Valley and such, I've heard from many of my friends there that the vibe of the city has changed. With the economic downturn and the Tech meltdown, though, perhaps that will reverse itself somewhat. When I've gone to visit, while the city has definitely grown and traffic has gotten worse, it still seems as funky and original as before, with plenty of the character that has always made Austin one of my favorite places. I would think that Austin would still want to capitalize on it's "Music Town" image. After all, Austin is still home to South by Southwest (SXSW) and downtown doesn't have anything to lose by having live music after regular business hours. The bats are cool, especially during the time of year when you can see them all fly out from under the South Congress bridge at dusk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midimonk Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 felix, your correct the tech industry is what has caused all these problems.they went on a building spree(traffic was bad enuff) and then the industry took a proverbial dump.you have all these start-ups using lofts downtown that just don't care about music so they gripe whenever they can.it is a great town that has wonderful musicians that play their hearts out for next to nothing but the love of music.it is also the only town that has 24hr music video station (dedicated to the local scene),i used to be the head audio engineer their and those were the some of the best experiences in my life. midimonk I cannot be bought, and I cannot be threatened. But if you put them both together then I'm your man!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midispaceho Posted December 3, 2002 Author Share Posted December 3, 2002 I gotta move there. I am also considering San Antonio. I love it there too. Beautiful river front. Lots of bats also. Seems like a lot of groups tour through there. Heeeeeere kitty kitty kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 I lived in Austin for 8 years. I still visit once a month or so. Sixth street (downtown) hasn't changed that much, except that everyone seems so young. :eek: Dunno if I would call it the live music capital of the world but its pretty good. Not as large as Bourbon Street for example, but a good variety of stuff. Also I think it's very nurturing of young acts, so you see more tolerance and support of original music. There's also a number great blues and rock places that are not on sixth street. The San Antonio live music scene is typified by it's love of hard rock and metal. Austin is more blues, folk-rock oriented. If I had to pick a place to live, it would be on the Guadalupe river near Georgetown, 30 minutes from Austin and San Antonio. Midimonk, I couldn't find the link to the noise ordinance issue. From conversations I have had with city employees, I thought the plan was to preserve the pedestrian flow on 4th-6th streets and merely put up noise walls at the highway to prevent IH35 highway noise from coming into the city. Would you correct me if I am off? If you have links to more info, I would be grateful. It's a place I have considered retiring in. Thanks, Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midimonk Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 tusker, this should give you an idea of what's going on.it seems after dec 5, will know more.i love austin,but cannot stand politics and music.nothing good ever comes out of it. here's some links: http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2002-11-29/cols_pagetwo.html http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2002-11-22/music_dancing.html http://austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2002-05-03/music_feature.html I cannot be bought, and I cannot be threatened. But if you put them both together then I'm your man!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Tonk Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 I lived in Austin from 89-92.I loved it.I haven't been back a whole lot,a few times in ten years.I would reccomend it.You can pretty well play what you want ,although you wont get paid.Day jobs were easy to come by when I was there and I would bet jobs are even more abundant since the tech boom.Another option is San Marcos.Located between Austin and San Antonio.San Marcos is beautiful,the river runs right thru town.There are a few clubs to play there and it's a short drive to Austin or San Antone,so you could still play those places as well. jgc2002 is not responsible for damages ,injuries and or death as result of above post.Side effects include nasuea,dizziness,dry mouth,vomiting,blurred vision,nervousness,loss of memory and in extreme cases sexual side effects. www.mp3.com/salt_creek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Peasley Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 I've lived in Austin since '73, with a year off in Denver. The politics/music connection is perennial here...always some politicos are talking about supporting the music industry....always someone griping about the noise level. The talk is mostly just talk. Austin does have a lot of live music and some lucky bands and solos find venues that pay ok and they get to play a lot. But Austin is no haven from the usual music business crap. Most musicians are broke here like everywhere else. Lots and lots of bands play for free or for some pathetic tipping jar change. With a few exceptions, the crowds are the usual inattentive party/drunks/meatmarketeers, etc. Where Austin really shines is in Austin City Limits, South By Southwest, and a few cool venues like the Backyard, Austin Music Hall, The World Theater, and a few restaurants like Stubb's BBQ that actually seem to appreciate the musicians. I'm sure I'm missing some other cool venues - don't get around much anymore as the song says... But Austin does not have notable recording studios or publishers or meaningful corporate presence from the big boys. Lots of singer/songwriters from here eventually have to go to Nashville to peddle their dreams. The music scene is somewhat eclectic, but not as much so as it used to be. A lot depends on the clubs and venues that are hot...they come and go. There are some very interesting people here, tho...The Fat Man, Francis Preve, Eric Johnson, the Double Trouble guys, Arthur Brown (I think he's still here), Frosty (the drummer), and a host of folks have spent time here in transit to the bigtime (SRV, Cristopher Cross, Jerry Jeff, again, there are a bunch I'm not thinking of at the moment....) And Willie lives down the road from me here a couple of miles. Austin is beautiful, the traffic is bad but not like Boston, and if you want musicians to hang out with and commiserate with, there are a zillion of em. M Peasley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Knutson Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 [quote]Originally posted by M Peasley: [b]Austin is beautiful, the traffic is bad but not like Boston...[/b][/quote]That's almost a lyric. Let's see... [i]The traffic's bad in Austin, But it's not as bad as Boston Boston's more like Paris, Busy cities to get lost in[/i] Hmmm... needs some work. But, seriously, is there another city in the USA with traffic as bad as Boston? Manhattan doesn't count; you're not [i]supposed[/i] to drive a car there. :D https://bunny.bandcamp.com/ https://theystolemycrayon.bandcamp.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Downchild Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 I used to be stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base (now the local commericial airport) and I had a blast while I lived there. Austin is where I began my profesional career, and is still close to my heart. I went back to visit some of my old haunts and found that they had been shut down, MUCH development had taken place, and the population had exploded. (any present/past Austinites remember Liberty Lunch? The Steamboat? The old, funky Antones when it was in the brown house on N. Guadeloupe?) Rents are now sky-high compared to when I lived there. Used to be relatively cheap. I-35 was always a busy highway, but damn....now it's a guaranteed traffic nightmare hell. Ben White Blvd is now a major highway also, but I remember when it was a just a strip. A lot of new trendy yuppie-chic places have sprung up, and did I mention the population explosion? However, I'm glad that there's still: La Zona Rosa, The Continental Club, Antones (anybody know when Cliff gets out of jail?) Zilker Park, the hill country, Ray Hennigs Heart Of Texas (my second address), the Palmer Auditorium, Congress St at night, The Dog & Duck, 'the drag', and Auditorium Shores. I always get nostalgic remembering the good times and great gigs I had there, while coming of age in ol' Austin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_dont_fret Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 TEXAS!!! We all know only TWO things come from TEXAS!!! Drummers and big egoes. (What? You thought I was gonna say steers and queers, right? Well, ok, let's make it FOUR things that come from TEXAS.) Anywho, Memphis has a large music scene, just none of the GOOD bands get out to play much. All of the hardcore copy bands are all over the place, and somehow Saliva slipped through the cracks (cough cough...SELLOUTS...cough cough). Anywho, hopefully they will discover me and things will change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_dup3 Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 I too lived there for a while (1977~1989). The main things in Austin were the U of Texas & the state legislature---always great support for entertainment wherever there's lots of college kids. There've been lots of electronic & media companies developed/located there in the past decade too. That said, it's still just a mid-size (pop.=less than 500,000) city. [last I heard---see later post] I would think NYC remains the live music capital. If you want to go to a smaller city with a big music scene try New Orleans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_dont_fret Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 [quote] d say what?: [b]If you want to go to a smaller city with a big music scene try New Orleans.[/b] [/quote]I lived there too. Great music scene. (Real music scene.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Peasley Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Not to quibble, but the MSA population for Austin is well over a million. And I think that 90% are on I-35 right as we speak... M Peasley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain54 Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 There is a lot of live music in Chicago, if you can handle the cold a few months out of the year, affordable city...you might actually get paid, unlike Austin... My sister lives in Austin, and I've been there a few times, and to me it seems its the same people playing over and over again...Guy Forsythe, Trish Murphy, etc...It's a wonder how any of these musicians can make a living....and to me, a steady diet of folk/rock/rockabilly thing gets old after a while...(I was in one coffeehouse, once though, and a dude was sitting up on the stage and playing one of those 12 foot long elephant tusk african mountain horns for two hours while everyone was talking and drinking their lattes) At least in Chicago, (or NYC) there's a wide, wide variety of all genres of music and all types of clubs and people who will hire you.....plus, there a few world class studios here.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigknuckles Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Austin has a nice music scene but to proclaim it the live music capital of the world is a bit much. That's a marketing tag dreamed up by the tourism people. Nice place to live though. On any given night there are more musicians playing in New Orleans than Austin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midispaceho Posted December 4, 2002 Author Share Posted December 4, 2002 I don't know much about Austin. I did not make up the "live music capital of the world thing", just what I read. Several web sites do in fact call it the "live music capital of the world" I also heard the unofficial city slogan is "Keep austin weird". As far as I am concerned, weird is good. Very good. More live music in New Orleans though eh? I would expect NYC to have more, but with a city that size, I don't think you can compare it to other cities. Heeeeeere kitty kitty kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat0124 Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Its subjective isn't it? You gotta add the Triangle in NC, Memphis, Houston, LA, Seattle, Orlando, Richmond, DC, Boston, and more. Austin is the bohemian capital of Texas for sure, and its PBS show Austin City Limits alone shows how eclectic it is. That alone sells me, despite the fact I used to bar hop there. Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylver Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Just stay away from Philly. I really don't know what to put here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midimonk Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 midispaceho, i see your into industrial/electronica heres some links to bands in austin that are in that vein: http://www.luciddementia.com http://www.analogaether.com/ctrl http://www.alphaconspiracy.com/alpha.html http://www.analogaether.com/aia/ this should give you an idea of whats going on in the elektronik scene in austin. midimonk I cannot be bought, and I cannot be threatened. But if you put them both together then I'm your man!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix_dup1 Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Wow, midimonk, that's about 2 more electronic acts than existed when I was there. I agree that it seemed like it was always the same group of artists who were playing successfully in Austin. Just get your hands on a few issues of the Austin Chronicle, and you'll soon see the names that are mentioned continually. I hope there's more of an electronic scene now, or at least that the scene is more electronic-friendly, since this is one of the places I'm considering moving to in less than three weeks. :eek: Keep Austin weird is definitely one of the town slogans. You may want to rent the movie "Slacker." There was definitely some cool weirdness there - just might not be the kind of weirdness you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midispaceho Posted December 4, 2002 Author Share Posted December 4, 2002 Thanks again monk! I'll have to check them out later...the boss is lurking around here somewhere...how fast can I hit the minimize button anyway? Heeeeeere kitty kitty kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midimonk Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 midispaceho, no problem :thu: felix, its been about 2yrs since i left austin,so most of what i know is from then.the only real freaky goth/industrial club is the atomic cafe(i hope there still open).the dj scene is getting big from what i understand,heck even King Coffey from the butthole Surfers,spins the wax.overall,though you gotta search for scene. midimonk I cannot be bought, and I cannot be threatened. But if you put them both together then I'm your man!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abnorm Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 I lived in Austin from 1974 through 1982, and it was definitely the best place I've ever lived. It was called the live-music capital of the world back then, because there were more bands per capita than in any other city. I don't know if that's still true, but it probably is. I had to move away in the early 80's, because in those bad economic times there were no jobs to be found unless you had a professional degree of some type. I was an avid bicycle rider back then, and I loved that the city had bike trails everywhere! :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Ratte Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Austin is like San Francisco Jr., chock full of alternakids and old burnouts who go there to die. Or almost as suburban as the DFW sprawl, with extra granola. G. Ratte' http://www.cultdeadcow.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timrocker Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Midispaceho: What is it about Vegas that doesn't work for you? I've been following this thread with some interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midimonk Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 come to think of it :idea: what is wrong w/ vegas anyway? i live in Eugene,OR but do to the bad economy in this town,i've decided to move out to melbourne,fl by new years.i considered LV,but it will be cheaper for me in FL(family). midimonk I cannot be bought, and I cannot be threatened. But if you put them both together then I'm your man!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midispaceho Posted December 5, 2002 Author Share Posted December 5, 2002 Vegas is a great city for a lot of people. Gambling can be fun, but you quickly learn here that you can't do much of it or it will ruin you hardcore. The economy is great here. The city is growing like crazy and there is hella money in real estate here. The mountains are beautiful and there are many cool places to go on day trips - ie Zion Utah, San Diego etc. The strip is cool, but it gets very old very fast. Here are my biggest bitches about Vegas: 1) NOBODY tours here - at least nobody I want to see. I am a industrial / goth / techno guy in a big way and have been for like 15 years. None of the bands I like come through here...ever. They all go through Austin though. The last concert I went to was Lords of Acid and I had to drive to San Diego to see them. 2) The climate is brutal. The summers are utterly intolerable. 120 degrees and it is ofter very windy here. 120 degrees and sustained winds of 30 mph - dries your eyes out in seconds. You can literally feel a deep tingly burn when your skin is in direct sun light - I am hella white so you can immagine how well I hold up in that kind of radiation. The winters are cold - not like Chicago, but it ain't comfortable. 3) No art scene. Yea, Steve Winn bought a few Picassos, but thats about it. I came from Columbus Ohio which is a very artistic town. I miss going to art galleries. 4)There is no club scene...for the music I like anyway. There are some big DJs, but they go to the big clubs that I sometimes can't even get into. Besides, I don't like that glam club scene anyway. Thats basicly it. I have no social outlet here. I miss that. I have been living in isolation for 6 years now and I think it is time to move on. Bottem line - no culture for me here and I need that in my life. Vegas is a great town for some people though. I will probably keep my house here when I move as the market will make it easy to rent out providing me my best investment. Heeeeeere kitty kitty kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.