Growing Pains

Photo By Jansport

Photo By Jansport

It looks like the “Welcome to Austin, Don’t Move Here” shirts locals like to sport at Austin’s never-ending array of festivals aren’t working at all.  Do we need more shirts?  Bigger font?  Blockades at the city limits?  Since I moved here in 2003 – yes, I’m part of the invasion – Austin has overtaken Columbus, San Francisco and Fort Worth.  Between 2011 and 2012, we also managed to grow beyond Indianapolis and Jacksonville.  While I’m sure these five cities are alright places to live, they’re simply not Austin.

It’s easy to see why the city we call home is so inviting to outsiders.  If you want to move to the big city, you’re met with the choice of metropolises like NY, LA and Chicago (too big), a few other Texas cities (too lame) and a list of places in California (too California).  Austin is like the “just right” bowl of porridge after tasting the ten cities ahead of us in population.

So, is it a bad thing that Austin’s getting bigger?  The first thing I loved about Austin upon relocating here was the number of activities available, and those activities continue to expand as the city grows.  A few years ago, Austinites never dreamed of skydiving indoors; you had to go all the way to San Marcos to skydive, and you had to do so outdoors – the horror!  We didn’t have a mega-venue for big-name concerts until Circuit of the Americas opened its doors and welcomed Kenny Chesney and Lil Wayne.  And, if you wanted to live in the action of the downtown area, you shelled out $10 million for a dilapidated house instead of leasing a condo next to ACL Live, which also didn’t exist at the time.

Sure, there will be more traffic, but will anyone even notice the gradual slide from really bad to slightly-worse-than-really-bad?  Parking becomes harder to find (Wait, we had parking at one time?).  Condos change the city’s skyline and its historic streets, but now that panorama of the Austin skyline circa 2007 on your wall is its own piece of history.

We’re still no Houston, San Antonio or even Dallas when it comes to population, and that’s a good thing.  Austin is happy being the “small” town in a big state.  We still boast the fourth-lowest crime rate among large cities, the #7 ranking for Best Hipster Neighborhoods (Forbes) and, more importantly, the most Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ Joints.  I say, bring it on out-of-towners.  You could all move here, and I still wouldn’t become a Hoosier for all the breaded pork in Indianapolis.

Eric Kennedy

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Podcast #28 Christian Remde and John Lewis

Interview

I generally meet my interviewees before I actually do the interview. Not this time. I knew Christian from his work but never meet him. After an email introduction from Ben at Contigo I found myself at 9am knocking on Christians door.  We sat at his kitchen table and just talked.

Direct Link to Mp3

Austin Trend Report

John Lewis and la Barbecue recently made Texas Monthly's list of The Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas.  @bbqsnob's list cause a firestorm on twitter. Here is his response defending the list. 

Our Conversation:

  • Smoker Tips
  • Menu
  • The White Horse

Musical Guest: Reed Turner

We continue our interview with local Austin artist Reed Turner and discuss his Merle Travis style of guitar picking.

We play his song Room for Doubt.

Support him and purchase his new album.

We are a Listener Supported Podcast

May 30th 5pm-7pm Happy Hour Party and Giveaway at The Workhorse Bar in Northloop. Make plans to come see us.

We will be giving away a $50 gift card to the Workhorse Bar for our listeners who are gracious enough to offer their support during the month of May.   

To enter, become a member of our When in Austin Community by using the subscription link on the right sidebar of the website or on our support page. 

You can also support our efforts by using this link when shopping at Amazon.

Thanks for listening!

Comment

Blue Lapis Light: Heaven~Earth~One

As someone who is new to attending dance events I am still learning to balance my understanding of the performance with the message.  To me it seems difficult to communicate a complex message nonverbally and I am still learning how to receive the message. When I interviewed Sally Jacques, I asked if there was a message to the dance she was emphatic that there was and I was excited about seeing Heaven~Earth~One.

Vickie and I agreed to write our own impressions of the evening without discussing them too much with one another.

Location

HE SAID: It is a powerful stage.  Sitting inside the “round” of the Long Centers Terrace. Our cities skyline is simply beautiful and is peaceful to look at.

SHE SAID: The entire event felt very “Austin” to me: casually dressed folks sitting in chairs, bleachers, or on blankets on the ground amid warm spring breezes with the lights of the downtown skyline in the background.  I felt a part of something unique and special as I wondered what people driving by thought about what they were seeing.

Story

HE SAID: I found it a little elusive. Again, I am a novice when it comes to getting dance.   The different colors the dancers were wearing and the placement (high or ground level) where the only clues I really absorbed. But there was the setup, struggle, climax and resolution.  That was clear but I did not understand WHAT the struggle was about.

SHE SAID: To me, the performance signified the journey of someone who didn’t feel at home either in Heaven or on Earth, but then found another that brought both worlds together for the pair. I got a little bit of an Adam and Eve vibe, although I am not sure that was intentional.

Visual  

HE SAID: Stunning. The lighting allow the dancers to become larger than life with the use of shadows.  Powerful.

SHE SAID: I was surprised that half of the dancing took place on the ground, but I suppose you can’t have Heaven and Earth if it all takes place in Heaven. Aside from the dancers themselves, I really enjoyed watching the scarves streaming in the breeze and the shadows on the structure created by the lighting on the dancers.

Sound  

HE SAID: The music helped advance the story.  My only negative or question was the use of a song that had lyrics.  I think it interrupted the flow of the performance and detracted from the dancers.  

SHE SAID: The music gave an ethereal quality to the production, which was occasionally interrupted by the more boisterous sounds coming from Threadgill’s. One of the pieces had vocals and I actually tried to ignore the lyrics so that they wouldn’t cloud my interpretation.

I also wasn’t sure when I was (or wasn’t) supposed to applaud. I noticed that many in the audience chose to clap when they saw the aerial dancers do something that seemed particularly spectacular or difficult. I felt that this broke the mood a little in that it focused more on “stunt” than “story.”

Know Before you go:

HE SAID: This is an easy place to get to and the performance is not overbooked. There is plenty of space and the Austin night air is lovely this time of year. Park at the Long Center: best $7 of the event. (Unless of course you can get there by Cap Metro.)

SHE SAID: If you are sitting on the ground, bring a blanket or yoga mat since you will be sitting on concrete. Wherever you sit, make sure you can see the ground area as well as the columns.

Beer, wine, and cocktails are available for purchase and we noticed that several people brought snacks in with them to eat while they waited for the performance to begin.

Such a lovely way to spend an evening in our beautiful city.

I really had a great time getting to know more about Blue Lapis Light and really appreciate the time they gave me for our interview.  I look forward to more of their performances as I continue to expand my cultural horizons.

Podcast #27 Blue Ox BBQ & Chase Palmer

Interview

Chase Palmer has only been open 4 months and he is already being mentioned in the same conversations as some of Central Texas' best BBQ.  

I got to sit down speak with him on a beautiful day.  We talked:

  • Working in a Cube
  • Choice of Salt
  • Starting a Business
  • BBQ

Direct Mp3 Link

Caroline from Bitchbeer.org

Caroline from Bitchbeer.org 

Austin Trend Report

I sit down with Caroline to discuss American Craft Beer Week, Beer Styles and their monthly Happy Hour this Friday May 17th.

May's Musical Guest

Reed Turner.  Hear more of our interview with Reed and Listen to his song Long Gone.

We are a Listener Supported Podcast

We will be giving away a $50 gift card to the Workhorse Bar for our listeners who are gracious enough to offer their support during the month of May.   We will be having a WIA happy hour May 30th and the owners of The Workhorse will be drawing the name of the winner.

To enter, become a member of our When in Austin Community by using the subscription link on the right sidebar of the website. The monthly subscription is $2.  Each month you subscribe you will be entered into that months drawing.  If you choose to be an annual member then you will be in for the next 12 drawings.   We report our odds of winning on this show and on twitter a couple of times per week. Let's just say it is pretty good right now.  Do not miss out.

You can also support our efforts by using this link when shopping at Amazon.

Thanks for listening!

A Conversation with No Satiation Podcast

I have been seeking other local podcasts to network and talk shop with.  Thanks to Kristin Sheppard of MadBetty.com fame I found Will Burdette. 

 We started emailing and Will asked me to be a guest on his show I was flattered but I failed to take one thing into account.  What it would feel like answering the questions instead of asking them.  Will was a great host.  He made me feel relaxed and I learn a few things from his style and how he approached me.

I would really like for you to listen to it.  It is something special to me and if you like our work here I know you will enjoy Will's work on No Satiation.  Make a comment on how you think the show was - I would love to hear from you.

We discuss:

  • Local Food Scene
  • Podcastting About Food
  • Interviews from WIA

The show can be found here.  When in Austin on No Satiation.

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Podcast Episode #26 Blue Lapis Light

Interview

Terry visited the aerial dancers and organizers of Blue Lapis Light during rehearsals for their upcoming show entitled Heaven~Earth~One, which will open on May 19th and run through the 26th at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. He had a chance to speak with Artistic Director Sally Jacques, Associate Artistic Director Nicole Whiteside, Managing Director Lauren Peterson, and Rigging Specialist Barry WIlson about the different aspects that go into this unique performance.

Direct Link to Mp3

Austin Report

Dinner Lab just launched in Austin. Terry and Vickie checked out a sample event with Foodie is the New Forty and Mr. Foodie40 at the Empire Automotive event space owned by the folks at
Side Bar

Host Talk and Link Bait

KGSR has released the 2013 schedule for Blues on the Green.

Whose public transit tweets reign supreme? @the3bus vs. @dailybusrider

Vickie posted a blog post on the unveiling of the mosaic wall created by the  Austin Mosaic Guild for the Healing Garden at the Dell Children’s Medical Center. The wall honors the 25 years of the Woody Pet Therapy Program and its contributions to patient wellness and recovery.

Musical Guest: Reed Turner

I was able to spend some time with Reed at The Tamale House East.  We talked about his music, goals and his love of roots music.   We play Modern Man at the end of this weeks show. Get his new Album Ghost in the Attic on amazon or itunes. 

Musical Guest Reed Turner

Musical Guest Reed Turner

Listener Support

We will be giving away a $50 gift card to the Workhorse Bar for our listeners who are gracious enough to offer their support during the month of May.   We will be having a WIA happy hour May 30th and the owners of The Workhorse will be drawing the name of the winner.

To enter, become a member of our When in Austin Community by using the subscription link on the right sidebar of the website. The monthly subscription is $2.  Each month you subscribe you will be entered into that months drawing.  If you choose to be an annual member then you will be in for the next 12 drawings.   We report our odds of winning on this show and on twitter a couple of times per week. Let's just say it is pretty good right now.  Do not miss out.

You can also support our efforts by using this link when shopping at Amazon.

Thanks for listening!

Healing Art with Furry Friends

A couple of dear friends of mine, Cheryl Rae and Tania Tost, are members of the  Austin Mosaic Guild (AMG), which is a Central Texas area group for mosaic artists, from beginner to professional. (You might remember Cheryl from the piece Terry did on her art installation at Thirsty Planet back in 2012 when we were still using Tumblr and SoundCloud.)

Knowing that I work in the  Mueller development, they invited me over to the  Dell Children’s Medical Center this morning for the official unveiling of their mosaic wall in the DCMC Healing Garden. The group has worked for over a year to complete this amazing project, which honors the 25 years of the Woody Pet Therapy Program. (Woody, the sheltie that started it all with her owner Debbie Cobalis in 1986 has a special plaque and an amazing likeness on the wall.) 

All the mosaic pieces in the wall are dog themed and the outside frame contains the names, breeds, and service years of dogs that have participated in the program. Some of the dogs were also in attendance. I had the chance to meet Darla, Z, and Ty, who seemed as pleased to be in this colorful setting as the humans despite the chill in the air. (Z and Ty are the two gorgeous Great Pyrenees you see on the therapy program’s home page.) 

There is something comforting about being surrounded by art, nature, and big snuggly dogs that you almost forget you are in a hospital setting. You can tell how much thought and care has gone into making children feel more at ease during a difficult illness or emergency visit. 

The  landscape designers have gone out of their way to make the entire facility a welcoming, comforting environment for children and their families. The healing garden wraps around the hospital’s outer edge and has several interactive play elements include a floating stone fountain, concrete puzzle pieces, streams, and plants. A friend of mine who volunteers at the hospital mentioned that the garden is also used as an outdoor movie plaza for patients and their families.

The AMG should be exceptionally proud of their amazing wall, which is a fabulous addition to the garden and well worth a peek if you are in the area. Congratulations and thanks for all the hard work.

A List of Austin Based Podcasts 2013

Back in October of 2012 Lauren of Hipstercrite fame made a “Comprehensive List of Austin Bloggers” and that post inspired this post. Thankfully we made her list and have enjoyed getting traffic from her post to this day.

If you have spent anytime around me you know I love talking about podcasting.  My friends are now thankful that I found some fellow podcasters to talk with like my friend Jake and my new friend Will both produce a local podcasts.  

The concept of a podcast is powerful but not without its flaws.  It is relatively easy to deliver audio content to anyone that has an internet connection or an iphone in their pocket which is millions and millions of people.  No middle man. Me and my audience.  It can be powerful if someone listens.  

It is a real challenge with all the available content for a potential listener to consume, to produce something that is compelling.

Instead of grouping the podcast into content sections (food, beer, technology etc) I grouped them on how I think about podcasts.

Indie: This is someone or small group that is producing content but still has a 9-5 type of job to pay the rent/mortgage. You might say that it is a hobby for them.  But I think they would disagree. I know I would.

Big Time but still just a podcast: Marc Maron, Leo Laporte and Dan Benjamin fall into this camp. They are doing a podcast for a living. I am not suggesting they are getting rich etc just that they are doing work that is only available via podcast/internet distribution.

Big Time Media using Podcasting: Here I am thinking ESPN and even my beloved NPR.  Yes they are putting their content out in a audio format via podcast distribution channels but their shows should not be called or classified as podcasts.  It is just not right.  It is a TV or Radio show re packed into a podcast. Ok maybe I am just jealous that every time I go to the itunes store podcast area that it is primarily populated with national media organizations shows. I am sorry.  If you are spending that kind of money on production and staff/talent and have cable and broadcast media to promote and get your work out there then hell yeah you better be popular.  I am not saying they should not be in the itunes podcast section.  I am just saying that Apple (are you listening Tim Cook?) break out their podcast sections into something similar to what I am suggesting in this post. I think it would help in the exploration of indie podcasts.

So with that in mind and in the effort to network with fellow podcasters here is my list of local podcasts that are being produced in Austin. - remember this is not a list of podcasts that are ABOUT Austin - just produced in Austin.


Local/Indie

  • When in Austin - My Favorite Podcast.
  • Austin Sessions - Long form interviews from Jacob Garcia
  • No Satiation - Food Podcast for Food Nerds. Hosted by Will Burdette 
  • Austin Beer Guide / Beer Town Austin The craft beer media powerhouse produces several podcasts a year to accompany their wildly successful printed Beer Guide.  I have learned a great deal from them over the years.
  • Beerists - A national award winning podcast. They beat out The Splendid Table which is an NPR produced podcast. This is no small award. I am very honored to have made a guest appearance on their When in Austin episode .
  • Die Robot Die Technology podcast.  Not a lot of info on their site but I know Eric Wiess is a host.
  • Everybody Has a Podcast Great name. A comedy podcast. I am warming up to their stuff. 
  • The Austin Improv Podcast The name explains it pretty well. Comedy. 
  • Austinot This podcast accompanies their blog. Helps new people to Austin learn about Austin.
  • Lonely Gourmet Laurie interviews different people in the national food community. She uses BlogTalk Radio which is an interesting model. 

Big Time but Still Podcasts

  • Field and Feast  - Airs on KUT and is extremely professionally produced. Should it be in the "Big Media" section? I am not sure. I would love to meet Celilia one day and see how she works.  
  • 5by5 Dan Benjamin has built an national empire of technology podcasting right here in Austin. Tons of shows with nationally known hosts.
  • No Agenda  Did you know that Adam Curry, yeah THAT Adam Curry lives here in Austin?  He helped invent podcasting back in 2005.  He has a politically charged podcast but I need to list it since he is really the Godfather of podcasting.  

Big Media - Competing in Podcast Arena

  • Dudley and Bob - Radio Hosts turning to podcasting in an interesting experiment. Charging for Episodes. While they are producing an extra hour of content that is NOT on the radio - thus defies my own definition of this section.  They still have access to all of the power of the radio station.
  • KUT and KUTX

Editorial Comment:

I included podcasts that I found and have produced some content in 2013.  If I missed you and you are producing your podcast in Austin, make a comment below and I will review and add you.

I excluded podcasts that were corp training, religious in nature, etc.

If you are listening to our podcast I hope that you check these other out as well and support your local podcaster.

Terry