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Austin Music Hall, Backyard architects sue Direct Events et al
Claiming it is owed more than $84,000 for architectural work at the Austin Music Hall and $34,000 for work at the new Backyard, Sixth River Architects filed suit June 15 against Direct Events Inc. and Tim O’Connor and Doug Moyes dba Two Lawnmowers. Planet Earth LLC was added to the Backyard suit, while Silent Running Inc. is a co-defendant in the Austin Music Hall suit.
The plaintiff’s case includes an April 9, 2010, “Payment Plan Agreement for the Austin Music Hall Outstanding Debt,” in which Sixth River president Rollie Roessner agrees to lower the “actual total unpaid invoice amount” from $66,160 to $57,500. O’Connor signed the agreement April 9.
Terms call for $10,000 to be paid no later than April 12, with an additional payment of $10,000 due May 31. The final payment of $37,500 is due Oct. 31, according to the agreement. A penalty fee of $1,000 a day is to be applied upon failure to pay.
Moyes did not return an e-mail asking for comment last week. O’Connor could not be reached Monday. Direct Events CFO Will Hodgson also could not be reached via phone or e-mail Monday.
Comments
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By bye-bye Tim O'Connor
June 21, 2010 8:48 PM | Link to this
Within a year O’Connor will be less than irrelevant, thanks to the luxurious ACL Theater that will be opening in the spring…
Still can’t figure out how you tear down a terrible venue like the Music Hall and build one that is 10 times worse.
Keep Austin weird.
By TXn
June 21, 2010 9:24 PM | Link to this
Man, this guy makes me feel like a Music Consultant or something… How/Why did he set this up??? And who loaned him the money thinking it would work!
By Wow
June 22, 2010 10:25 PM | Link to this
So that’s who’s responsible for the awkward design of the new music hall. O’Conner rightly deserves to withhold money from Sixth River. O’Conner realized Sixth River designed a faulty and flawed venue once Austin Music Hall customers started complaining about the sound echoing of the roof and balcony, and started complaining about lack of bathrooms and long lines. Those architects deserve to pay O’Conner (and every concert goer that’s been there) for their mistakes.
By Thedude
June 23, 2010 9:24 AM | Link to this
Business as usual at direct events!!!
By skam
June 23, 2010 10:57 AM | Link to this
It’s unfair to put all the blame on the architect(s). Unless given carte blanc, their designs & final product are based on input from the client. In this case, the client has years of experience owning, running & managing large music venues. O’Conner, as well as his team, contacts & friends should know what will & won’t work before the designs are even started.
By TXn
June 23, 2010 11:01 AM | Link to this
Sixth River is awful, if they are the designers of Austin Music Hall.
Worst venue in Austin. WHY do people not restore buildings…I understand cost, but building a whole new buildig and taking loans out? Seems like he could have gutted the old Music hall (or fix the structure!)
Just seems like Austin is going the way of Dallas/Houston= TEAR DOWN and BUILD something with crummy materials.
By skam
June 23, 2010 11:10 AM | Link to this
All blame should not be put on the architect(s). Unless given carte blanc, their designs & completed products are based on specific requirements provided by clients, & clients must approve final designs before construction begins. In this case, the client, his team, contacts & friends, have years of experience owning/managing/hanging out in large music venues. O’Connor & his peeps should have stopped the truck, long before it was put into gear. Your peeps might be in high places but that doesn’t mean they know all.
By jamin
June 23, 2010 12:34 PM | Link to this
What do you expect from another indoor shell or outdoor space? For O’Connor, it’s all about making money, hanging out with a few of the same ole “Willie celebs”, backslapping friends, giving Texans what they ask for…live music. Does he care about or promise good sound? If he’d wanted venues to be done right, he would’ve hired professional consultants instead of his usual peeps. If you want good sound in Austin, you need to go to the PAC or Long Center where money was spent to build quality venues.
By been there...
June 23, 2010 5:00 PM | Link to this
make no mistake, the music hall and the new backyard are all oconnors fault! since the begining of the music hall project he has systematicly removed ALL of his once very experienced and loyal team and replaced them with very young unexperienced “yes” men. he “bought back” large sections of the original contracts to save money and then gave to the new team memebers to run into the ground. it makes sense right?.. marketing personal should be in charge of countertops and floor sealing in the restrooms… what a joke. the design of the music hall and the new backyard are similar to the results you would get giving a spider drugs and watch it weave a web. you wanna a real joke?…. try going through bee cave on the 4th during willie’s picnic