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Austin Music Venues of The Past

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Ever wake up in the morning and realize how different your life is then say 24 years ago?  This morning as my sweet 2 year-old continued to sleep next to me, I closed my eyes and images of performing my own composition Bob and Dave with the Creative Opportunity Orchestra appreared. Was that really almost a 1/4 century ago. I immediately thought, why couldn't I do things like that now?

This CO2 show of the past was filmed in the old Austin City Limits studio at UT and was never released as far as I know. The Creative Opportunity Orchestra, led by the late Tina Marsh, performed concerts of original jazz music by its members starting way back in 1980. I was at their first show at the Paramount Theater that year. Later, I would return to the Austin City Limits studio to perform on the very last ACL filming there with Pearl Jam. In that band we're too early musical mentors of mine: Martin Banks and Alex Coke. Martin and Alex we're key figures in my jazz past. A past that started when my dad opened a used bookstore at 4th and Lavaca called PaperBacks Plus in 1979.

Hear are some memories from those days: my poet dad would take me to Piggies on Congress (which later became what is now Manuels), jazz jams and poetry readings would be held inside the bookstore, Michelle Shocked would play songs on the walkway at midnight, members of Passenger including the late Mambo Trainer would perform regularly at the upstairs jazz club Piggies. Later an underground punk club opened up in the basement of the bookstore on weekend's called Voltaries Basement.  

On other nights, we'd take a long walk over to Symphony Square to hear the Mitch Watkins Group playing original burning jazz fusion with Paul Ostermeyer, Stephen Zirkel, and James Fenner. Lucky for me I got to have Mitch Watkins perform with us a few times and Zirkel naturally came on board later. This was the Austin music scene before SXSW or ACL was even an idea.  Downtown was the epicenter of the music scene. The warehouse district was filled with aging warehouses some on the edge of being condemded.

There was Armadillo World Headquarters, Soap Creek Saloon, El Arroyo, Chances, The Cacus Club, and too many more I can't recall...

And of course the great blues clubs...Antones and The Rome Inn...

In In the late 70's my parents divorced and my mom, brother and I moved into a gorgeous home on Pearl Street just down the street from the Rome Inn. We became members of the first edition Wheatsville Coop down the street as "turnups" (in the what is now a cycle shop).

Just a few years later my dad's bookstore moved into the Rome Inn building and we lived upstairs a few nights a week and caught the bus at the corner to Austin High School.

Larry Monroe, Paul Ray, and John Aielli ruled the radio on KUT in the small studio. Those we're the days of an easy laid back Austin. Oh and Antones was just around the corner too a few years later.... Good times.

I wonder what the rent would be at that home on Pearl Street now.

As we get older its so easy to be seduced into longs sessions of thinking about the past...and I'm generally one who wants to focus on the now. But the fact remains, we are in a different place than our early 20's. At that point, what did you have to look back to...? Your years as a child that we all so wanted to get over so we could get on to the freedoms of adulthood? 

I say, lets open our eyes, get up and make the best of what is now, be present and make more great memories.

What do you remember about Austin music venues of the past and what new Austin venues should I visit now?

Zeppelin Cover Stirs a Few Rock Purists

Recently I began offering a download of our cover of the Zeppelin classic Kashmir…
Get it here: http://stringsattachedmusic.net

Sort of a way to win new fans to the Strings Attached way.

I was very pleased with how it came together 8 years ago. My Iranian American friend Mohammad Firoozi from the world music band Atash, introducing the piece with a Rumi poem, a string trio, full rock band, percussion, a fantasy violin improv that seemed delivered by the divine,  accompanied by dumbek and pizzcatto.  This live cut was performed in a 150 year old Episcopal church in downtown Austin, Texas just a few feet from the (central) altar. Several times during the show, I was concerned about the delicate stained glass windows shattering to the beat of invading Vikings.