Austin after dark

Austin has quickly become one of my favorite cities. During the past year I have had the chance to walk its streets three separate times. Its perfect blend of culture, music, liberality, BBQ, and football offer open arms to someone with tastes such as my own. It’s a bit quirky…but so am I.
Last night an old friend and I visited Threadgill’s in South Austin. He has been an “Austinite” for several years now and his native insights are invaluable when trying to navigate the myriad entertainment options on a Friday night. The prospect of selecting the right music to listen to when there are over 100 performances can be a daunting task. At his recommendation we visited Threadgill’s- former home of the Armadillo world headquarters and one time stopping grounds as such greats as Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Cat Stevens. On this evening we would be treated to eclectic sounds of Bob Schneider and his supporting band, “The Texas Bluegrass Massacre”.
After a typical dinner- typical cuisine being either Tex-Mex or BBQ- we settled into the grounds outside for the upcoming performance. It was nothing fancy- a stage, some grass, a few bleachers, and the requisite bar. All in all it could accommodate 200-300 good natured folks in search of a good time. The weather was cool, a light breeze and the smell of jasmine in the air, and the alcohol was loosening up the crowd and creating a friendly care free atmosphere. The fun was about to begin.
My friend was familiar with Schneider as he has been a staple and a favorite in Austin for several years. He struggled to define his sound and I quickly found out why, he was all over the place. He had a cool demeanor and a charisma that easily won over the audience. He had Chris Isaac like looks and his crooning was equally sexy. It only took one or two songs before I knew that I was witnessing an incredible performance.
He and the band weaved in and out of Bluegrass, Soul, Reggae, Rock, and Samba. Their talent was superb and easily justified their bold adventures in multiple genres. His lyrics were stories…stories of love, god, and loss. The words really flowed seamlessly through the intricate rhythms of the songs, absolutely incredible. This wasn’t music that I would typically listen to but the performance had us completely in awe of their skill.
They played a two hour set in which they moved through a wide range of music and had the crowd completely in the palm of their strumming hand. We left very satisfied with the performance but we couldn’t help but wonder why he doesn’t have a wider audience or greater notoriety. They had more talent and charisma than most current bands- Snowpatrol, Keane, etc…- currently dominating the radio waves. We surmised that while his talent incredible and his music solid that the greater audience values the trite and manufactured hooks of the pop world. Or maybe they are content playing exclusively to “their” audience and not having to sell out their sound in order to create a wider one.

Capturing a thought or two

I figure I've got a little down time to devote to my oft forgotten blog. I find myself alone in a Howard Johnson in a seedier part of Austin. (My company is notoriously cheap when it comes to business travel.) I figure that I can either watch and see if the Jazz can make a series with the Rockets or look out the window and potentially catch a crime in progress. Since the game isn't on yet and it is still light I will devote a few minutes to catching up on things.

• I'm currently reading "Revolutionary Characters" as part of a book club with friends. The book, for the most part, is prosaic and reeks of a thesis paper there have been a few moments that I've truly enjoyed. These moments have typically been revelations of the figures that I really don't know much about. Things like how Hamilton's orphan upbringing allowed him greater freedom in taking risks or how Burr was a wealthy artistocrat who married a prominent madame. It is very intriguing to see the doubts these people had about their newly formed government, to see their foibles and vanities, and to get a better understanding of their views. My Revolutionary education primarily came through symbols of men who were bigger then life. I have enjoyed seeing these figures as humans.
• I recently bought a Paul Reed Smith McCarty guitar. I splurged and decided to buy something that had superb craftsmanship and sound. I do have to plead ignorance, however, when I bought it. I don't know about all of the nuances in tone and I am not familar with the vernacular- axe, play, etc....I will certainly enjoy and take advantage of this guitar but I don't think that I'll get too caught up in the "guitar culture". My ultimate goal is complete an album's worth of material, record it with my cousin, see if it has an audience, and play a live performace all before the end of the year. I'm pretty invested in this idea and I don't know if I could live with myself if I didn't see it through.

More photos...I'm getting better

Living in a time of media and mixed messages

Like 98% of the general US population I have been both saddened and inundated with the news of the “massacre at Virginia Tech”. It seems like events like this are growing in both magnitude and frequency. Is it as simple as blaming this event on the popular culture, selfishness, and godlessness that pervades our society? That’s a thesis paper that I don’t have the time or aptitude to answer. I only wanted to share a brief observation that I made yesterday at lunch while working out.
For the most part it was the usual workout environment. Plenty of people of various ages doing their routines. Also, as usual, there were the usual distractions to help the dedicated patrons pass the time, namely numerous banks of televisions and the radio. Today about 2/3rd of the TV’s were playing some sort of coverage of the shootings. The others being watched were displaying anything as diverse as motocross racing, day time soaps, or financial news. Everybody seemed disaffected by whatever they were watching while working out. Why the big deal?
For me this whole observation is illustrative of our culture in general. We are virtually soaked in media messages all day long. A good majority of these messages are violent, tawdry, or of little value…well, other then to provide a temporary source of entertainment or amazement. The media perpetuates this problem because that is what we crave. These kinds of images pass in and out of us all day long, to the point of where they really lose their impact. We were temporarily shocked when we heard about the news in the morning but by the afternoon we are already moving on and wondering what Ben and Angelina are up to.
I guess that is what was so amazing to me. Here we were in the midst of a pretty big national tragedy and nobody really seemed that affected by it. We were either too involved with our own selves or we didn’t have the attention or interest to truly ask why this happened and what this tells us about our society. I don’t know if any of this makes sense, it’s just what was on my mind.

A couple other photos

Dancing or something after dinner at a Costa Rican club in Cal.
Misc. Photo of cemetary in Savannah, Georgia