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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Down in Monterrey
Am I insane for thinking that I’d rather have been at this fest instead of SXSW? Great report, anyway.
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Post-SXSW encounter with someone who could hurt me
A trip to the dentist today and a conversation with the hygienist made me realize that South by Southwest is a mystery to many. Between x-rays she bemoaned missing Smokey Robinson, one of her favorite performers.
“They didn’t advertise that show at all,” she said. “No mention on the radio, no ads in the paper. The organizers did a lousy job of promoting that show.”
I told her that since SXSW is an industry event, they don’t advertise to the general public. But anyone familiar with using the Internet could find stuff to do, whether they were in the music business or not. “Smokey Robinson didn’t come down to Austin to play for free (well, $250) so the public could fill the place. He came to play for booking agents and folks who place songs in movies and promoters, to show them that he still has it.”
The tooth townie wasn’t feeling me. “I don’t think I like that. Everybody should have the same chance to see the show.”
Yeah, when that happens acts from Smokey Robinson to the Tunnel Ape Bunnies won’t play SXSW.
SXSW is unlike any other festival that plays Austin. The misconceptions (“I thought SXSW was for local bands to get signed”) regarding the conference/ festival are starting to get tiresome, but I had to agree with my hygienist. You don’t want to hear “oops” when you’re in the chair of pain.
Enjoying a slow news day.
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New Pornographers return to Austin July 23
The last time the anthemic, mercilessly catchy powerpop supergroup sang Austin Spanish techno was in November 2007, headlining the second Fun Fun Fun Fest in Waterloo Park. That show commemorated the release of fourth album “Challengers,” while their July 23 date at Stubb’s will similarly feature the band touring behind fifth album “Together,” which drops May 4.
The band hits Austin as part of a massive tour through the United States and the group’s native home (or adopted home, in Neko Case’s … case) of Canada. You can wait for the general on-sale date of the tickets, which is Friday, March 26, or grab them for a reduced service charge part of a special pre-sale now.
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ACL exhibit coming to Rock Hall of Fame
April 14, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland will unveil “Great Music. No Limits: Celebrating 35 Years of Austin City Limits” in the Ahmet M. Ertegun Main Exhibit Hall. Producer Terry Lickona and ACL photog Scott Newton will be on hand for ceremonies.
“Austin City Limits represents one of the most unique archives of modern American music,” said Rock Hall CEO Terry Stewart in a press release. “It shares with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the mission of collecting, preserving and interpreting the rock and roll story and educating fans about the cultural significance of this art form.”
Besides Newton’s photos, the exhibit will include historical artifacts, including three documents from 1974 outlining plans for ACL. There are also set lists from shows by Leonard Cohen, Ray Davies and Pearl Jam, as well as various contracts.
Last year, the Rock Hall designated the Austin City Limits’ KLRU-TV studio as an official rock and roll landmark. The show moves to its new Moody Theater studio on Second Street’s W Hotel complex in December.
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Woxy.com goes ‘off the air’
From woxy.com:
WOXY Listeners, Fans and Friends…
Due to current economic realities and the lack of ongoing funding for WOXY’s operations, we’ve been forced to suspend our live broadcasts as of March 23rd. We’re continuing to explore options to keep The Future of Rock and Roll alive. For business inquiries, please contact Bryan Jay (bryan@woxy.com) or John at Future Sounds (john@futuresounds.com).
Thanks for your years of dedicated support.
- Mike, Shiv, Joe, Paige, Brian and Bryan Jay
More on this story here, here and here.
UPDATE: We talked with Future Sounds partner John Mascarenhas, who said Future Sounds Inc. has independently funded WOXY since acquiring the station from online music service lala.com in 2009. Mascarenhas said that they have been unsuccessful in finding underwriting during the last year. “There are a lot of people fighting for a little bit of money,” he said Tuesday. The company had been exploring different options up through last week’s South by Southwest music festival, but was unable to secure a deal that would keep the station on the air. “We’ve been looking at partnerships and the possibly of a sale, and had an eleventh hour deal that fell through on Sunday,” Mascarenhas said.
The shutdown was not related to the station’s audience size. “WOXY’s problem has always been from the financial and business side,” said general manager Bryan Jay Miller. “On the programming side we’ve always done really well.”
Mascarenhas added that he received several inquiries about the station this morning, and needed to sort through their options. “Right now our goal is for WOXY to remain in Austin and have it turned on, whether if that is with us as owners or selling it completely,” he said.
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Morrison reschedules Bass show
Van Morrison is back on at Bass Concert Hall, where he canceled a Jan. 23 gig earlier this year due to exhaustion. The new date is April 30; tickets go on sale Friday at noon at Livenation.com, all Texas Box Office outlets, texasperformingarts.org, or charge by phone at 800-982-BEVO.
