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Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > August > 27 > Entry
SaveKUTAustin plans Oct. 11 concert
In an Aug. 24 letter hand delivered to University of Texas Communications Dean Roderick Hart, Cleve Hattersley of the SaveKUTAustin steering committee wrote:
“We are planning a major concert at one of Austin’s top venues to be held on October 11. The stars will be big, very big. This event, plus a series of events at venues throughout the city throughout October, will focus the community on the issues stated above and raise funds to support this focus effort. The attendant PR campaign will be loud and widespread. The student body of UT will be involved.”
The steering committee met last night at the AAMP headquarters on Monroe Street and according to the minutes the locations being discussed are the Paramount Theatre and the Austin Music Hall, depending on who they can get. Jerry Jeff Walker seems fairly certain, and the wish list includes Natalie Maines and Joe Ely, Delbert McClinton and Robert Earl Keen.
Meanwhile, Spike Gillespie’s “I’m So Popular” column in the Austinist has an interesting take on what all the uproar is about at KUT.
You can read it here.
Comments
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By Joseph
August 27, 2009 12:28 PM | Link to this
This is hilarious. Cleve Hattersley, you’re no Cleve Jones, that’s for sure. Aren’t there more pressing concerns you should be expending time and energy on? Spike’s column is right on…there are plenty of people who are listening with greater interest at night to KUT and enjoying what they hear rather than the endless drone of jazz and blues standards that the Armadillo crowd hangs onto as sacred. I love hearing modern music that 101X and KGSR would never bother to play, and I don’t want to pay a subscription fee for Sirius XMU. I’m donating to KUT for the first time this October and supporting a station that I’ve grown to love over the past year.
By Rob
August 27, 2009 2:09 PM | Link to this
I think the protests are about keeping KUT unique and about Austin. Undercurrents is not local. Matt Reilly plays music you can hear on every public radio station in the country as well as 100s of streaming stations and Sirius/XM.
Why is KUT turning into another homogonized NPR format radio station? Why can’t KUT strive to be a unique voice in music like KCRW or KEXP?
I guarantee you people around the country won’t stream Matt Reilly’s shows. They can hear the same thing in their cities. KUT needs to be a radio station that makes Austin proud, not another cookie-cutter station from NPR programming heads.
By Lance
August 28, 2009 3:06 PM | Link to this
These protests against KUT are absurd. I always found myself flipping the channel whenever the jazz shows came on, while I stay and listen to Matt Riley (and there’s virtually no difference between what Riley plays and what was played on Phil Music). Anyone trying to claim that KUT is becoming a generic NPR-format station obviously doesn’t listen to any other NPR stations. (And honestly, can you even imagine anyone streaming the Tuesday/Wednesday jazz shows?)
By Todd
August 28, 2009 8:21 PM | Link to this
Joseph won’t pay a small fee to Sirius but says he will donate for the first time to KUT (yeah right). Sirius is 24/7 the music you want, while KUT is mostly news with music on the side. Why donate to NPR propaganda news?
Lance, The overnight spot is 100% generic NPR with UnderCurrents, a syndicated program heard on 40 other NPR stations. The generic sound the rest of KUT is moving to a generic AAA format like KGSR. KUT now makes DJs play most selections from a preapproved list of artists heard on KGSR.
You may not like the Jazz shows, but it was only two 3 hour shifts of Jazz. If you like the AAA format of Matt Reilly, that same KUT AAA format was already heard for hours and hours of John Aeilli, Jay Tractenberg, Jeff McCord, Audrey Morton etc… Your AAA format already dominated the lineup, wanting to cut out the small bit of non AAA that others in the community like is kinda selfish.
By Lee Cooke
August 29, 2009 2:50 PM | Link to this
Nineteen years ago, while Mayor, tragedy struck the music world. Austin was very hard hit! That night, along with thousands, we all stood silent in Zilker Park, no sound, only light from lighters and small flashlights to the sky. Thursday night, August 27, was the 19th anniversary of the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan. If Phil Music were still on KUT, Larry Monroe would have done a tribute to Stevie. Last night there was not one single song by Stevie Ray Vaughan played on Music With Matt Reilly. There were songs by Johnny Thunder And The Heartbreakers, Avett Brothers, Grizzly Bear, Pearl Jam, The Lemonheads, The Dead Weather, The Plugz, Eels, Young Fresh Fellows, The Soft Boys, Fruit Bats, Loose Fur, Dirty Projectors, The Swell Maps and Sex Mob, but not one single song by Stevie Ray Vaughan to commemorate the anniversary of perhaps the saddest day in Austin Music History. KUT dropped the ball. Hand Picked, Homegrown, Uniquely Austin…That’s KUT Music. That’s a slogan, not the truth. That’s PR, that’s not honesty. Sadly, KUT is slowly breaking the music trust with the Austin Community. It is not about old vs new or change vs no change, it is about the overall culture and depth of Austin music, now on the world stage. It’s acknowledging our rich music history starting with Kenneth Threadgill in the 1930’s and those like Larry Monroe and Paul Ray who helped “brung us” to the scene we all enjoy in Austin every night of the week now. How many new artist, everywhere and in Austin, hark back to some or many of the sounds past, giving us cutting edge today?
By laura
August 31, 2009 4:06 PM | Link to this
Jay played an entire set to Stevie Ray during his show - and Corey got to fill in for Matt that night as Matt was on in the morning slot. I am glad Corey got to spin such a fab set. Give it a rest guys!!!! If you want to hear Stevie Ray morning, noon, and night then listen to KGSR - the station you apparently hate.
By norm
August 31, 2009 5:33 PM | Link to this
People don’t hate KGSR. We just don’t need KUT to be another AAA station like KGSR with heavy rotation and a core artist list. KUT should bring back jazz, unleash Aielli and keep the folk in Folkways! KUT is spending too much money on management while cutting back great DJs.
By laura
September 1, 2009 9:28 PM | Link to this
KUT is staying relevant and is sounding good to me. And as far as a playlist/heavy rotation issues I listen to KUT all the time and I never feel like I am hearing the same over and over. I find it to be interesting and different and at times downright odd. Maybe they should have a jazz show slot -Aielli sounds beyond unleashed to me. No comment on folkways (one comment…boring) but I like the nights way better now.
By Slim
September 3, 2009 3:44 PM | Link to this
No heavy rotation? Please!! Take a look at the set lists. There are a few bands that appear on almost EVERY show. Iron & Wine. WIlco. Steve Earle. Etc. Either there’s a heavy rotation, or there is a group of DJs over there with no imagination…
And Laura: the deal with Stevie Ray Vaughn was that it was an important ANNIVERSARY of SRV’s death. That day was one of the saddest days in Austin music history. And if you don’t understand that the folks here in Austin wanted the evening broadcast to acknowledge that, you are sadly misguided. Actually worthy of pity.