Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > January
January 2010
That voice: The arrival of Andrew Cannata
Within the relatively cozy world of Austin musical theater, a male voice like Andrew Cannata’s comes along once in a generation or so. Joe York’s warm, booming baritone made its first mark in the 1980s. Stephen Michael Miller’s delicate tenor glided onto the scene in the 1990s.
Yet it was his performance last season as the romantic lead in the classic musical, “The Pajama Game,” that elicited unprecedented raves and an Austin Critics Table nomination for Outstanding Singer. Under the tutelage of music and stage director Michael McKelvey, Cannata has smoothed out the breaks in his blooming tenor and has relaxed into a natural acting style.”
“McKelvey breaks down your boundaries,” Cannata says. “He urges you to do what comes naturally.”
As for musical theater’s third required skill, dancing, Cannata says: “I can follow choreography.”
Thursday, Cannata opens in “John and Jen,” a two-actor, vestpocket musical produced by newborn Penfold Theatre, which presented the award-winning “The Last Five Years,” also directed by McKelvey, in 2009. He plays four people, two of them children, in a family story told from the mid-1950s to mid-90s. “I had to distinguish between the children, so I concentrated on props,” he says. “It’s tough show to make work.”
So far, Cannata has assayed several characters younger than his biological age. His succinct features and wonder-infused looks aid in credibility.
Cannata, who remembers attending his first musical, “Fiddler on the Roof,” almost as soon as he could walk, comes by his artistic bona fides familially. His father, a particle physics expert who delved into computers, played piano in the theater; his sister and brother performed on the musical stage. The seventh of nine siblings in an Irish/Italian Catholic family, Cannata, an almost-lifelong Austinite, comes to theater with a built-in fan club.
“It’s in our blood,” he says. “The family sang three masses a week. A lot of my musical skills were developed there.”
A professional services engineer for LifeSize video conferencing service by day, Cannata dreams of taking his computer and theatrical skills to a bigger, tougher market, say, Chicago maybe.
“I go back and forth,” he says. “It would be hard giving up such a good job and theater community.”
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ADL Torch of Liberty Awards at the Four Seasons
After the Anti-Defamation League Torch of Liberty awards dinner Thursday at the Four Seasons, I wondered, if only for moment, why it went so well, why the introductions and acceptance speeches, the videos and testimonials, even the lighting combined for a profound emotional and intellectual impact.
Kirk and Amy Rudy
Once again, Steven Tomlinson, playwright, performer and business coach was ready with the answer. “Because the speakers hold the audience to account,” he said. “It’s the only gala where that happens. There’s a confessional element, then they make sure the listeners understand they are personally responsible for fighting bigotry.”
Kirk and Alicia Golinghorst
Larry Connelly and James Armstrong, who won the Raymond and Audrey Maislin Humanitarian Award, spoke modestly about their philanthropic efforts in the community. Yet everyone choked up when Connelly thanked Austin for accepting the pair’s life partnership for the past 26 years.
Shawna and Eric Hills
Amy and Kirk Rudy, the Torch of Liberty honorees, were more loquacious. Amy talked with utmost sincerity and humor about growing up a sensitive child, “a crier,” having that quality squeezed out of her, then finding, later in life, that sensitivity aligned her with compassion. Rudy, almost Latinate in his oratory, cited examples from his own life, but also form the larger sphere, of attitude changes, if only people stand up to intolerance.
Alisa Weldon, Aliza Orent and Austin City Council Member Randi Shade
So many leaders attended — starting with Luci Johnson and extending across the city’s social spectrum — it was hard not to chat with everyone who passed by. My immediate tablemates, Carolyn Seriff and Jane Stetson, were special delights. To my left, Seriff talked about life in Horseshoe Bay, which she won’t give up even as she establishes a pied-Ã -terre at the Austonian.
Tom Spencer and Simone Talma Flowers
To my right, Stetson, the National Finance Chairwoman for the Democratic Party, was curious about everybody and everything Austin. She’s a rising star in her own right, if only behind the scenes.
What an eye-opening, and, I understand, also a record-setting event, thanks in part to organizers Eugene Sepulveda and Shelley Zausmer.
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This is the Jetté Momant Moment
If Jetté Momant hasn’t reached you through social media, chances are, she will.
The Austin event planner and public relations expert tends her Facebook, Twitter and blogosphere networks like an avid gardener in spring. Palm Pre at the ready, she knows where you are, who you are seeing and why you should stray in her direction — if you have the time.
“He’s been out of the picture since I was four.”) For her part, Momant never considered signing up with the military.
“I don’t like other people telling me what to do,” admits the entrepreneurial Momant.
Her mother and stepfather settled in Indianapolis, Ind., to which she returns regularly. Yet Momant, who attended elementary school in Austin with actor Mechad Brooks, keeps gravitating back to Texas. She followed a friend to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, thought she’d made a mistake, then blossomed socially as a resource for other students.
“It’s a small big school,” she says. “Like Austin is a small big city.”Sitting outside at Snack Bar on South Congress Avenue, Momant claims she’s nervous talking about herself, as opposed to her normally tenacious championship of clients. Yet she appears as calm and collected as she does at nightly openings, parties and clubs. Pools of turquoise circle her neck and her curled hair deftly complements her prism-like features as we speak at length.
The human personality, you see, is an endless fascination for Momant, which might explain her degree in psychology. “I was always interested in what people do, what they like, and how to best communicate with them,” she says.
After college, she “ping-ponged” around. The Jennifer Lopez movie, “The Wedding Planner,” made a particular impression. Back in Indianpolis, she got involved in a ”lifestyle marketing” firm. She then connected with Denise Silverman at Soirée (now Clink), an Austin event-planning firm. Later, she worked with Vivian Miller, now of Austin Wedding Planners. Event design — the decor, arrangements, fabrics, etc. — became her specialty. So, at age 25, she opened her own firm, Decor Jetté, to provide those services to established planners. To entice customers, she’d charge only $500 for what she now bills $3,000.
“I kinda fell out of love with weddings,” she says. The relationships Momant developed during those years served her, however, when she started Manna, a broader promotional outfit. Soon, all her efforts will be consolidated under Jetté Momant PR and Event Productions.
Her first “cool” client was East Austin bar the Peacock, which instantly swept up the hipsters with its parties and retro atmosphere. Her major breaththough, however, came when owner Victoria Lynden transformed a gourmet grocery store on South Congress into chic Cissi’s Wine Bar. Asked to organize the opening festivities, Moment did so well — and gracefully — Lynden brought her in on other business ventures.
Since then, Momant has been the toast of the town. Or at least, the younger, connected part of it. A lot of her success can be traced back to that digital revolution.
“I’m on social media 24 hours a day,” she says. “It’s a great way to find out what’s going on in the city. To take its pulse. And, eventually, to direct that pulse.”
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Pease Papers Reception at Woodlawn
Elisha Pease, and to a lesser extent, his wife Lucadia Pease, played critical roles in mid-19th-century Austin. They also embodied aspects the city’s always intriguing historical complexities. Hailing from Connecticut, Elisha was a key figure in the Texas Revolution, later a Unionist, then Reconstruction governor. He owned slaves, but it’s not clear whether his land above Shoal Creek was ever devoted to large-scale agriculture. (The Enfield neighborhood derives from his land and background, as do many of its street names.) From the desk of Greek revivalist Abner Cook, he obtained Woodlawn, one of the city’s architectural gems, and Pease was the first leader to occupy Cook’s Governor’s Mansion.
Laura Sandefer and Karen Oswalt
Lucadia preferred Connecticut. Letters between the husband and wife are among the archival treasures stuffed into a trunk, discarded by Pease’s grandson in the 1940s, and salvaged by a youth who now, in old age, lives in Cameron. (He prefers relative anonymity.) That man has offered the papers to the Austin History Center for a fraction of their market value. The City of Austin has put up somewhere in the range of $100,00, the Stillwater Foundation another $25,000.
Ellie Hutcheson and John Oswalt
The reception Wednesday at Woodlawn, kept in pristine condition by Jeff and Laura Sandefer, toasted another $25,000 raised by smaller-scale donors. Only $50,000 remains to finalize the deal. About two dozen guests mingled in the impossibly wide, open rooms, listened to Guy Forsyth sing a Depression Era tune (previewing an Austin History Center event), and talked about he past. Mary Margaret Farabee was there, of course, helping as she does with half the causes in Austin. Among the other guests were ever-gracious Nancy Bowman and Fran Ramsey, sterling couple Karen and John Oswalt, architectural historian Peter Flagg Maxson, darling actress Mary Furse and investor Greg Marchbanks.
Laura Sandefer, Nancy Bowman and Jeff Cohen
Still, the deepest conversation was engaged with History Center archivist Mike Miller, whom I peppered with questions. Yes, Pease owned slaves. No, it doesn’t appear they were engaged in agriculture. Yes, they settled in Clarksville. No, he didn’t know where the residents of Wheatville originated. Like most Austinites, he knew less about another African American enclave, the one where we live in the Swisher Addition of the Bouldin neighborhood.
Brad Johnson and Mary Barminski
So why did some of these communities persist, even after the much-interpreted, much-cited, segregation-era Austin city plan of 1928? Miller threw out an historical morsel: Nobody has ever researched whether that 1928 plan was ever enforced. A dissertation topic for a lucky graduate student?
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University Awards at the AT&T Center
I could have listened all night. A room full of very sharp people gathered at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center on Tuesday for the annual University Awards. The announcement of the teaching and service honors were made by UT President Bill Powers and Provost Steven Leslie, both speaking carefully and with dignity.
President William Powers and Juan Sanchez
Presidential Citation winners included university carillonneur (since 1952!) Thomas Anderson and university backers Kenneth Jastrow and Robert Rowling. The Civitatis Award went to civic-minded English professor Alan Friedman, while the Arno Nowotny Medal was conferred to former staffers Brenda Luckie and Ted Pfeifer.
Helen Elizabeth Cox and Kirby Brown
Engineering professor Philip Schmidt took the Chancellor’s Council Outstanding Teaching Award. Yet I was most interested in the young teachers in liberal arts and the sciences whose areas of studies include interpersonal relations, Cherokee literature and expansive ideas about Shakespeare and the Restoration: Douglas Bruster, Ben Carrington, James Cox, Elizabeth Hedrick, Timothy Loving and Devin Stauffer.
James Zand and Geraldine Hill
Someday, I hope to meet all these fascinating people. I did spend a tiny bit of time with the Dean of Natural Sciences Mary Ann Rankin, who told me about the tens of millions pledged by Michael and Susan Dell, Bill and Melinda Gates for a new computer science center (much more is needed). At my table, however, were people whose stories completely occupied my meal time.
Ann Hillis, David Hillis and Mary Ann Rankin
They included Vice President for Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez, , and his wife, Sonia Honne-Gonzalez, who coaches in the McCombs School in a program founded by our dear friend Steven Tomlinson. Also there were Ann and David Hillis, who stirred up memories of my days in Clear Lake City, as well as Gonzalez’s predecessor, James Vick and his wife, Niki, as well as my host, Robert Meckel. This is why I go to events like this.
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Your A-List: Best Radio Station-Sponsored Event
When the results of Your A List’s Best Radio Station-Sponsored Event contest popped onto my screen, I breathed a sigh of relief. The winners are indeed popular Austin social intersections, most often combined with live music. (What if they were unknown, rogue events? What would I do?)
KVET’s casual series of free concerts behind Hill’s on South Congress Avenue strummed up 11 percent. (Check on parking in advance.)
Scampy Bobby Bones headlines two events: Second-Chance Prom (7 percent) and Anniversary Bash (5 percent). 101X also landed two events among the finalists: Homegrown Live (5 percent) and X-Mas Party (3 percent).
That leaves JB and Sandy’s Beach Party (6 percent), Mix 94.7’s Pink Slip Party (5 percent) and Bobaritaville (2 percent).
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Your A-List: Best Improv Group
I adore improvisation, well done. Yet I don’t seek it out like I did in the past. Entirely my fault. Something about a social schedule.
Frank Mills also scored well with 19 percent. ColdTowne shook loose 8 percent. Snackers — what a crunchy name! — served up 7 percent. Midnight Society snuck in 5 percent.
The remainder — Maestro, Girls, Girls, Girls, Confidence Men and GetUp — came up with 4 percent or less.
Note: The accompanying photo about racing pigeon doctors has nothing to do with the winning improv group. I just thought it was funny.
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Your A-List: Best Place to Spot a Celeb
While it is true that a bevy of celebrities attend University of Texas sporting events, it’s not always easy to spot them among a crowd of, say, 100,000 fans. Without a zoom lens.
Cut them some slack, though: Your A List voters picked UT Longhorns games as the Best Place to Spot a Celeb. Credit UT with 28 percent of the tally.
South by Southwest, Austin’s biggest single social event, perked up 23 percent, while the Four Seasons Hotel — especially the lobby — did quite well at 12 percent.
Austin City Limits, which points the spotlight on the house as well as the stage, picked up 10 percent. The Lady Bird Lake Trail ran up 6 percent.
The rest — Whole Foods, Guero’s, Hotel San Jose, Chuy’s and Continental Club — racked up 5 percent or less.
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Your A-List: Best Popcorn
Popcorn is evil. It’s soooo good. And only in great quantity. But even sick evil things deserve credit for their temptations.
It’s cousin, Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek, didn’t do so badly at 13 percent, nor did Cinemark Round Rock at 9 percent.
The next three — Regal Westgate, Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz and Regal Gateway — almost tied, leaving Alamo Drafthouse Village, Cinemark Austin Southpark, AMC Barton Creek and Regal Arbor to sweep up the ramains.
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Philanthropy Day Awards at Hilton Austin
Five things l learned from the Philanthropy Day Luncheon at the Hilton Austin on Tuesday.
A) The 313 members of the Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals are serious about their work. Yet they don’t take it too seriously. They ribbed themselves and others during the Philanthropy Day Awards ceremony, which luckily started on time, since a bundle of honors were bestowed. (Austin Community Foundation’s Ken Gladish makes a brainy emcee.)
James Armstrong and Larry Connelly
B) The Austin Hilton can easily accommodate 1,000 diners for a comfortable, fresh, filling meal. What actually discourages event planners is the parking, which is tricky when the hotel also books a business convention, as it did Tuesday. (I walked.) This must explain why Zach’s Red, Hot & Soul and Dell’s Children’s Gala operate out of the cavernous Austin Convention Center.
Mary Tally and Donaji Lira
C) The winners of the awards — James Armstrong and Larry Connelly, 3M, Nikki Salzillo, Richard Hartgrove, KDK-Harman Foundation, Austin Junior Forum, Julie Morgan Hooper, Gene Attal and Oriana Wright — each came with a compelling story, told in brief, expertly executed videos.
Joanna Linden and Dr. John Hogg
D) This is why I stay for the meals at these events: Had a long, instructive conversation with lawyer and philanthropist Becky Beaver, who sat next to me, on governance of nonprofits. It was like a mini-seminar, with dollops of dish to go with dessert.
E) Event chairwoman Joanna Linden is an exceedingly graceful hostess.
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What musical queen wouldn’t weep?
With joy. You decide. I’m busy wiping away the tears.
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Live Chat with Samantha Davidson on the State of Austin Nightlife
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Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Party at Whole Foods
Austin’s culinary horizons have expanded in every direction during the past 25 years. Top chefs run top restaurants. Local and organic foods abound. Central Market and Whole Foods set national standards for grocery stores. Wineries spread across the landscape, ever improving in quality. Foodies constitute one of the liveliest constituencies in social media. Newcomers help set higher and higher standards.
Chad and Susan Auler
Credit some of that to the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, now celebrating its 25th year. It must have seemed like something of an amusement to Ed and Susan Auler when they hosted the first fest at their Fall Creek Winery, lo those many years ago. Now the celebration has grown into a long — at times, overlong — weekend of education and entertainment about all things gustatory.
Lindsay Novy and Mark Garza
Susan Auler was on hand Monday at the Whole Foods Culinary Center to preview the 25th festival, slated for April 15-18. Yet it was her son, Chad Auler, chairman of this year’s event, who did the talking. He emphasized some of big names returning this years — among them John Besh, Karen MacNeil, Elmar Prambs, Kent Rathbun, Brian Caswell, Naomi Gallego, Josh Watkins — as well as the popular large events, such as Stars Across Texas at the Long Center and the Sunday Fair at Driftwood.
Elizabeth Smith and Jeff Washler
The preview event itself spiced up the early week with tasty crudités and competing cakes from the Texas Culinary Academy, shaped and colored to look like a barrel and a roast. Not exactly enticing, but inventive, and, I’m sure delicious.
Barry Hirsch and Emily Kuchenrither
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Steve Hicks and the Rise Across Texas Challenge
The goal is $5 million. Already, donors have pledged $2 million. For one charity event.
Pick the right cause, at the right time, and one can line up the biggest names to back it.
And the news keeps on rolling in: You’ve probably already heard about the cross-state bike ride, slated for March 6-20. Or perhaps the launch party, set for Friday at the Mount Bonnell-area home of Sally and Mack Brown. (Drat! I will be out of town !)
It probably hasn’t sunk in, however, that, in a city where $1 million marks the outer limits for single-function fundraising, Hicks has already lined up $2 million and plans to pick up the other $3 million by the time the post-event buzz dies down later this year. Some of the Challenge dollars will go to other Rise Schools — which serves children with a developmental disability or delay — in Houston, Dallas and Corpus Christi. Yet the bulk of it will be devoted to building a stand-alone campus for the local Rise School, now housed, part-time, at a megachurch in Southwest Austin.
How does Hicks draft social superstars such as the Browns, Lance Armstrong, Gene Stallings, Kristin Armstrong, Tim McClure, Bart Knaggs, Evan Smith, Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott, Comptroller Susan Combs, Rep. Carol Alvarado and a slew of state senators — Kirk Watson, Jeff Wentworth, Rodney Ellis and Dan Patrick?
“They’ve asked me for favors,” the soft-spoken, mostly introverted Hicks says. “This time, I’m asking for one favor. And I’m not asking for myself. Not one has said no. Everybody I approached has helped in some way.”
Fewer than two dozen riders are expected to make the full trip from the Louisiana border to Presidio near Big Bend. Yet 200 celebrities will pedal from the Rise School to the Salt Lick in Driftwood on March 10 (an estimated hour ride). The public is invited to join them.
Donna Stockton Hicks and Sally Brown got the financial ball rolling for the local Rise School, run by Mandy Myers, after a granddaughter of Longhorn legend and Austin businessman James Street was born with Down syndrome. Their first event took in $50,000. A visit to the school converted Steve Hicks.
“These children touched something inside of me,” he says. “There’s no pretense. No ‘me’ gene. When I was growing up, they would have taken those kids away from their parents to be institutionalized. Now they can be main-schooled, have jobs, live fairly normal lives.”
During the ride, not long after the March 2 Republican gubernatorial primary, Hicks and Perry will jointly celebrate their 60th birthdays at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort near Bastrop.
“I hope I can look back and think: ‘That was a pretty cool deal when I turned 60 and made a little difference.’ ”
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Dell Children’s Gala at the Austin Convention Center
Like silk. That’s the best word to describe the Dell Children’s Gala at the Austin Convention Center on Saturday. Supple, smooth, classy. Few hard sells. Many opportunities to reflect on the value Dell Children’s Medical Center brings to Central Texas and beyond.
Steve and Amy Robertson
Too large for any other traditional gala venue, Dell Children’s takes over the upper reaches of the convention center. (A volleyball tourney occupied the lower southwest quadrant.) Check-in was effortless, and the black-tie guests ascended the double escalators with regal calm.
José and Lissandra Adames
A few wrinkles waited in the upper lobby. Bar stations were placed opposite the silent auction pods (cleverly installed on laptops), and across from an inventive appetizer display (cheese and fruit on little kabobs, arranged in tiers). Few people made it to the third station, however, because the crowd of 900 bunched up in that middle section for an hour or so.
Irina Marinova and Josh Bruckerhoff
Event designers did what they could to make an Olympian-sized hall into an intimate dinner setting. Lighting tightened the visible space. Video screens brought those tiny figures on the stage closer to those of us dining on the back row of tables. Performers dressed as insects and plants tied the zones together.
Kirkwood Johnston and Karen Ting
Plants and insects? You see, the theme was “growth.” Eventually, that explained the dark gray fabric splashed with green light, as well as the living centerpieces of orchids, maidenhair fern, etc. Although, I must say, the color scheme was almost too subdued, enervating.
Craig and Staci Falls
In general, arts galas are more entertaining than their charity brethren. The producers for visual and performing arts can predict the ebb and flow of audience energy, the minute direction of attention and focus, the need to saturate the senses. Dell Children’s is one charity event that keeps the entertainment and instruction balanced and generally upbeat. The inevitable testimonial videos — made with the help of the KEYE cohorts stationed at my table — emphasized hope and progress, not the horrific accidents and diseases that struck the young subjects.
Zuhair Khan and Faraz Khan
Dinner was fine, but I was even more impressed by the service, which exceeded even the standards of the Four Seasons Hotel for much smaller events. Why talk about dinner at all? Well, there’s not much social scuttlebutt to share when you are seated at the press-only table. My colleagues and I talked about the travails of the industry, but I learned nothing about the people who passionately back Dell Children’s.
David and Karen Lack
I spotted a few social lions — Larry Connelly and James Armstrong, Amy and Kirk Rudy (or at least Kirk), Mary and Rusty Tally — but the remaining 894 were mostly new to me. Which would have made table-talk with some of them all the more satisfying. Gala master Armando Zambrano told me attendance was a tad down from last year’s record crowd, but organizers were still hoping for a $1 million take. We’ll let you know when we find out.
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Live It Up Party at the Austonian
The Austonian generates super-sized reactions. Perhaps because the residential tower, slated to open in June, is, at 56 stories, the tallest west of the Mississippi in a city that, until recently, preferred a relatively low skyline. Or maybe because of the price tags on the sleek condos, soaring into the millions of dollars, at a time when many families find it hard to make ends meet.
Julie Thornton and Hans Dietrich
Or place the blame on the name, appearing to fuse our fair city with the suffix historically reserved for Houston, my former hometown, which, only after Dallas, is the bogey man of Austin development. I’d add to the list the a rumor mill — a restaurant offered $20 million for the top floor! Kanye West purchased one of the penthouses! — that are met by official Austonians with coy comebacks such as: “I hadn’t heard that.” (“Yes” or “no” will do.)
Decorator Karen Hall and soon-to-be Austonian Emily Moreland
Still, everyone is curious. With a rush of anticipation, I’ve attended three events in the raw spaces of the streamlined, elliptical spire. At the Ballet Fête, on a rainy night, I was stunned by the views, which seemed to erase Austin landmarks and map lines like runny watercolors. Later, at the Runway to Heaven charity fashion show, I recognized what a potentially smashing space the Congress Avenue lobby could be.
Lily Lloyd, Elizabeth Pitts and Susan Dunaway
Friday, at Live It Up, the last such party before the opening, four floors were filled with gawkers. A surprising number lingered on the first floor, near the Second Street entrance, a convivial enough spot. Floor 54, destined as a penthouse, hosted a pop band and easiest access to limitless views, along with bar stations.
Jana and Eric Visser
Narrower Floor 55 will become the private club, which can be divided into sections for parties. Friday, it held the loud jazz band. Even thinner Floor 56 will be the gym. The gym? Really? The highest perch in Austin, the place where the Hill Country and the Lost Pines can be grasped with the swivel of the head, will be a workout area? Sounds like a placeholder to me. (Though I do look forward to Pamela LeBlanc’s likely column on “Sweating in the Clouds.”)
Sarah Blackburn and Jennifer Guthrie
Tout de Austin attended Live It Up, and not just haute société. (Perhaps I should use Spanish terms, since the finances were hatched in Spain.) Those of us cursed with acrophobia crept as close to the sheer glass cliffs as we dared. On a clear night, this will be the place to throw a cocktail party. But you won’t get me out on the tiny balconies.
Pei-San Brown and Christi Cuellar
The Austonian will continue to be the talk of the town. Much of consequence will happen here. That’s predetermined. And most of the annoying rumors will vanish like the top of the altitudinous tower on a foggy night.
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Dominic Anton Models + Fashion at the Phoenix
Defined as a business, modeling is a mystery in Austin. There’s not a lot of money to be made, strictly in the local market. This, despite the rapid expansion of the fashion scene, and seemingly daily reel of runway shows, photo shoots and special events.
Angi Shaul, Jamie O’Toole, Brianna Villareal and Katie Scott
Yet Austin is brimming with smart, smartly turned-out people who could make a stab at a modeling career before facing the danger age of 25. Two who did well, Anthony Domniguez and Jennifer Reyna, are former models hoping to help others mold careers in that world through Dominic Anton Models + Fashion.
Anthony Dominguez and Jennifer Reyna
I’d met Anthony on several occasions. The ex-El Pasoan and his striking wife, Sonia Dominguez, were naturals for Out & About exposure. And I knew he had earned his MBA, bolstering his business credentials. So I was delighted to attend the launch party for new outing, presented Friday at the Phoenix.
Hector Chavez and Robert Chavez
At first — and please don’t get me wrong — I thought I’d stumbled onto the wrong party. A few dozen randomly attired people were sitting — sitting! — against wall-side banquettes staring into the void, sipping the free drinks. (No, I didn’t photograph any of them. I’m not mean. Just observant.)
McLane and Kim Lawrence
From my previous observations, models don’t sit anywhere for long. And they don’t leave the house without checking the mirror a few times. Eventually, however, the crowd thickened and the model potentials, male and female, made themselves known.
Sonia Dominguez and Larissa Ness
Representatives from media, music, nightlife and other industries joined in. Still, a remarkably subdued affair for such an auspicious occasion. My conversations turned rich and full by the time I left.
Roger Tanner and Heather Newby
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Brilliant Social at the Phoenix
This is what Brilliant does. The statewide luxury magazine brings together the acknowledged wealthy and powerful with the permanent party pack and the buy-curious circus (those shopping for a social set). All tribes were present at the Brilliant social on Thursday at the always evolving Phoenix club.
Justin Kirk and Former Texas Secretary of State Geoff Connor
Brilliant publisher Lance Avery Morgan is capable of crossing so many social boundaries, the admixture doesn’t implode. Let’s examine Group 1 (Triple A), rarely seen in a dance club, but having a swell time: Jo Anne Christian (!), Bobbi and Mort Topfer, Patty and James Huffines, Mary and Rusty Tally, Maria and Eric Groten, Andrea and Dean McWilliams, Geoff Connor, Linda Ball and Forrest Preece, Larry Connelly and Sara Fox. (And those are just the ones that come to mind 36 hours later.)
Zach Biderman and Andrea Rado
Then there’s the social migrants (straight and gay, and some on official observer status): Rich Bailey (flourishing since he left the mayor’s office), Chris Cantoya, Laura Aidan, Christopher Carbone, Marques Harper, Holly Jackson, Kevin Smothers, Michael Pungello, Jen Shoemaker and more.
Bradley Bechtol and Laura Bechtol
I’ve never quite sure to make of the “buy-curious” crowd, who arrive alert to an event’s potential, but don’t really mingle with the others. They often make up a third or more of population of these parties, but I just haven’t met them yet. Time will come.
Patty and James Huffines
Among the attractions were the celebrity DJs, who really cut loose in the booth. It got a little loud and raucous in the there. More than one socialite was seen dancing on pedestals. We like that.
Asa Fitzsimons and Sara Fox
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AU40 Nomination Wrap Party at the Driskill Hotel
The Austin Under 40 Awards are justifiably renowned. At least locally. And whichever smarty came up with the gold-themed “AU40” abbreviation deserves a gold-plated marketing prize. But I knew next to nothing about the groups that established the awards, conferred on civic leaders under the age when the body and brain begin to slow.
Kate Stoker and Maria Orozova
It was not until I spoke with the miraculously polished Erin Geoffroy and Ryan Kelly that I discovered the awards, now in their 12th year, were devised by young men and women’s business associations that go back 100 years. And that the ceremony benefits the Austin Sunshine Camps and the Young Women’s Alliance Foundation.
Anthony De Jesus and Christopher Clary
By now, everything this group does is a celebration — of Austin, of civility, of youth. A full 600 people were expected at the Driskill Hotel upper lobby for a happy hour on Thursday — just to toast the wrap of the nomination process. The awards ceremony is not until March 6 at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center. (Note: Same night as the Heart Ball at the Long Center.)
Gordon Moore and Erin Geoffroy
Traffic kept the early birds from noshing on mixed nuts and popcorn, or filing up to the cash bars. By 8 p.m., however, the place was swarming with young professionals, dressed in an alarming array of styles from ultra-casual to near-formality.
Megan Powell, Brandyn Balmos and Stephanie Bell
I traded dish with various outstanding leaders, including salon owner Barbara Kelso, whose troubles with her SoCo landlords have been in the news. But I also just admired the folks who really seem to be energized by the will to do good in the community.
Samantha Stone, Ted Stanfield and Catherine Yong
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Liz Carpenter Living Estate Sale
Just think of all the history in that house on Skyline Drive: Liz Carpenter, who recently entered a Querencia retirement home, has arranged a living estate sale for Saturday and Sunday.
“There’s a large volume of books that reflect her zeal for politics and poetry,” says her daughter Christy Carpenter. “Music and singing were always essential ingredients for Liz’s many parties, and on sale also is her electronic keyboard and some serving pieces used at her parties.”
The sale takes place at 16 Skyline Drive in West Lake Hills from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, and from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday.
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Grounded in Music at the Paramount Theatre
Grounded in Music, like Dart Music International, is one of those community nonprofits that took off like a rocket. Both groups took perceived needs seriously, then the community took them seriously. The first nonprofit provides musical training in area schools; the second connects international musical acts to Austin.
Scott and Lori Morrison
Dart Music held its first big fundraiser at the Parish on Tuesday. Grounded in Music staged its annual party at the Paramount Theatre on Thursday, featuring headliner Patty Griffin. It sold out quickly, even with a $90 top ticket. Impressive.
Jeff Kreinik, Tere Hernandez and Zach Baker
At the VIP pre-party, held in the State Theater lobby, I spoke with co-founder Jeff Kreinik about the group’s new studio, located on the campus of the South Austin Boys & Girls Club. He expressed interest in collaborating on projects with Dave Dart’s outfit, with which he was unfamiliar. (Another Out & About social dot connected!)
Shanna Howard and Jeremy Rathke
One thing that struck me about this crowd: It almost exactly matched the group that attended the earlier Dart Music fundraiser. The music community knits ever closer together with the charity, education, media and arts sectors. I like that.
Note: Due to other social commitments, I couldn’t stay for the Griffin concert. But I’m sure it is covered elsewhere.
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Live Chat with Paul & Paula Angerstein on the State of Austin Nightlife
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Austin Lyric Opera Party at Annies
It makes me proud that so many improvised Haiti relief benefits popped up in Austin this week. My social time was limited Wednesday, so, instead, I spent few sweet minutes surveying a little party at Annies for Austin Lyric Opera. (Our newspaper has done an excellent job of spreading the word about local Haiti benefits; my added voice would have been very small.)
Erika Wuerzner, Marianna Mooring and Katherine Altobello
This early-evening amusement was tied to ALO’s’s production of Emmanuel Chabrier’s “The Star.” Cast members appeared in costume, which fit the 19th-century Parisian look of Annies on Congress Avenue, one of 2009’s most auspicious nightlife additions. (“The Star” opens at the Long Center on Jan. 30.)
Love Nance and Robert Nash
The cafe served crispy fries, some sort of bruschetta and its award-winning calamari salad, which I adore. I spoke with owner Love Nance and her sociable word-spreader, Robert Nash, who I hadn’t seen in an age.
Lizette Garza and Katie Shanahan
I met willowy, soft-spoken Marianna Mooring, who used the social occasion to introduce herself to a room full of strangers. I also forced Charles Peveto, expert on so much of Old Austin, to agree to lunch and a peek at his Texas art collection. Didn’t have to break any arms.
Paula Kothmann and Charles Peveto
He and Nash are headed out to Marfa today. Perfect weather for it. Jealous.
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Your A-List: Best Place to Buy Home Accessories
Long ago, Breed & Co. stood alone. Very few other locally owned businesses carried stylish, practical stuff for the home.
Newer Zinger Hardware Loft and Mercury Design Studio fared well enough with 16 percent, 13 percent and 8 percent of the tally.
Wildflower Organics and IF + D also did themselves proud with 7 percent and 6 percent.
Taking 5 percent or less were Feather Your Nest, Extraordinaire, Gardens and Finch.
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Your A-List: Best Vegetarian Cuisine
Almost every Austin restaurant of any reputation offers vegetarian options. Yet some eateries specialize in their meat-free menus. They were the main contenders in the A List competition for Best Vegetarian Cuisine.
Eastside Cafe, longtime anchor to the Manor Road dining district, came in second place with 12 percent.
Thai Passion edged out Casa de Luz, Mother’s and Mr. Natural, which tied at 7 percent.
Those three barely beat out the Clay Pit, leaving Bouldin Creek Coffee House, Wheatsville and Sarovar to complete the list with 4 percent or less.
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Your A-List: Best Pickup Bar
Funny, I had always thought of Six, the tri-level lounge at Colorado and West Fourth streets, as a cool place to relax. Maybe catch up with friends. Or to join a party in progress on the rooftop.
Rain, often the busiest gay bar in town, managed 5 percent. It’s near-neighbor on West Fourth Street, Oilcan Harry’s, took 3 percent. A few of the others — J. Black’s, The Ranch and The Belmont — stretch more toward the West Sixth Street district, which has been friendly to the pickup demographic.
Lucky Lounge nabbed 2 percent. Vicci, now christened Kiss & Fly, also eked out 2 percent. Upstairs/downstairs neighbors Cuba Libre and the Phoenix convinced only 1 percent.
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Your A-List: Best Addition to Austin’s Nightlife Scene
This vote boiled down to two-way contest. The A List readers poll on Best Addition to Austin’s Nightlife Scene pitted a Houston import against an Austin classic reclassified.
The renovated Star Bar, once and future gateway to West Sixth Street, twinkled with 30 percent.
Kiss & Fly, the giant gay dance club that’s morphed continuously since the 1980s, flew away with 4 percent.
All the rest — the Lustre Pearl, the Phoenix, renovated Cedar Door, East Side Show Room, Malverde, Peche and Clive — accomplished less than 1 percent each.
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Dart Music International’s Icon Awards at the Parish
Clearly, a need existed. When I first met Dave Dart, not that long ago, he was helping foreign acts navigate the logistics of the South by Southwest Music Festival. It was just Dave. No organization. No student interns. No board. No fundraisers.
Kevin Connor, Dave Dart and Derek Woodgate
Now Dart Music International arranges concerts for all manner of far-flung acts and connects regional artists with those from abroad. And the nonprofit group has evolved into a community force. One could tell from the industry professionals on hand for the Dart’s first Icon Awards on Tuesday. ME TV’s Kevin Connor emceed. Insiders Derek Woodgate, Cash Edwards, Roger Polson, Lynn Margolis, Kathy Cordova, Ihor Gowda and Randy Miller darted in and out. Lovebirds Paul Oveisi and Suzanna Choffel — off to Taos, N.M. for a getaway — made the rounds.
Cash Edwards, Lynn Margolis, Kathy Cordova
The Parish, looking and sounding better than ever, welcomed the elegance of Patricia Vonne, then wistful northern songs by Stanley Samuelsen, a leading musician from the Faroe Islands.
Lisa Wood and Sean Foster
Much later in the evening, Icon Awards went to City of Austin’s Jim Butler, local legend Roky Erickson, Austin City Limits’ Terry Lickona, and Austin Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’s Rose Reyes. The Black and White Years, currently finishing up a new record, wrapped the show.
Roman Gonzalez and Vicky Garza
It never ceases to amaze me how music types can network while an amplified band is playing. Sometimes, I just read the facial cues, nod and laugh. This strategy has backfired disasteriously before.
Rob Hinton and Eva Musoke
Another amazing thing about this industry: Their Zen patience. Guests for the awards were invited to arrive by 6:30 pm. By the time I left, almost 9:30 p.m., no awards had been conferred. I’m still learning this culture.
Paul Oveisi and Suzanna Choffel (off to Taos, N.M. for a romantic getaway)
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Live Chat with CK Chin on the State of Austin Nightlife
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Wren Cottage Feast: Cook’s Illustrated
Loyal readers understand our domestic social arrangements. We like traditions, such as our Reading Weeks — summer and winter editions — shared with dozens of friends at the beach and other locations since 1994.
Also, the Spice Boys gourmet group, which met monthly for 10 years, though now only occasionally, since four of the six original chefs — Dale Rice, Antonio La Pastina, Sean Massey and Loren Couch — have moved to other cities.
Zarghun and Eddaicsa Dean
A few months ago, we instituted the Wren Cottage Feasts. Originally, this series of meals was dubbed something less fortuitous; now they are named for the Carolina and Bewick’s wrens that feud over our South Austin property.
For these feasts, Kip and I choose a thematic menu, then do the marketing, prepping and cooking over the course of several days. For Sunday’s feast, we had selected highlights from Cook’s Illustrated magazine, the ingeniously scientific periodical that has improved our kitchen life for years.
Our guests ate variations on comforting classics: Peppery tomato soup, onion tart, horseradish-encrusted beef tenderloin, baked ziti, garlicky green beans and sticky toffee pudding.
Charles Levy and Karen Frost
Usually, we are occupied with cooking and serving, so our guests get to know one another quickly, informally. They can overhear all the kitchen drama, like the tart that balked at the boundary of firmness, or the potato crisps — part of the tenderloin crust — that fused together unhelpfully.
Here’s the twist: We invite one couple several weeks in advance. They nominate two other guests, who, in turn nominate two others. This insures a healthy conversational mix.
Sunday, socializing felt, at first, halting, uncertain. By the end of the evening, however, guests shared anecdotes that were almost shockingly intimate. As always, a cone of journalistic silence descends over these dinners.
Ken Stein and Ken Lambrecht
Guests at most recent feast: Karen Frost (Frost Media), Charles Levy (Waco attorney), Zarghun Dean (Act 2 Studio), Eddaicsa “Eddy’” Dean (fashion icon), Ken Lambrecht (Planned Parenthood) and Ken Stein (Paramount Theatre).
Previous feast: Rusty Tally (UBS), Mary Herr Tally (philanthropist), Bettie Naylor (lobbyist), Libby Sykora (nonprofit management consultant), Kevin Smothers (Pulse) and Michael Pungello (Overhead Music Supervision).
Before that: Alex Winkelman (Charity Bash, Rare), Donald Park (Austin Ventures), Elaine Garza (Giant Noise), Rich Garza (Pachanga Festival), Cliff Redd (Long Center) and Rick Johnson (dear friend).
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Merry, Merry Martini Mixer at Mercury Hall
The Merry, Merry Martini Mixer is as guileless as a University of Texas freshman peeking into Oilcan Harry’s for the first time.
Becca Powell and Tim Haney
It’s got martinis. Those boys lubricate social mixing. Nothing more complicated than that.
Michael Thad Carter (working on a photographic project about Lady Ga Ga fans), Michael Gomez and Tim McCabe (leaving for Thailand)
The annual event — now in its fifth year — raises money for Equality Texas, the anti-discrimination advocacy group. I’m guessing it raises a lot of dough, because this baby was sold out way before Saturday, when it returned to the magical Mercury Hall, an easy stroll from our home.
Bobby Levinski, Josh Lodolo and Andrew Knox
I arrived a bit late to find the interior of the converted church already massed with merry-makers. The volume of the music drove me and other slightly older gay men and lesbians (and their allies, as always) out to the white tent stationed nearby.
Adam Ayres (leaving for Odessa) and Jan Patterson (running for Court of Appeals)
After an ugly Friday, weather-wise, this night matched the good feelings shared inside the tent. Conversations overlapped conversations. Martinis were greeted with martinis. It wasn’t formal and it wasn’t entirely casual.
Adam Garner (Trigger Studios) and Danielle Thomas (Big Green House)
Yet it was consummately social. At one point, looking around, I wondered why someone hadn’t opened a downtown lounge for this particular crowd. Clearly, they love the lounge vibe. The side bars at Rain and OCH — even Charlie’s — sometimes feel like this.
Regina Miles and Heather Aidala
Two of my conversation mates told of leaving town. One was a tale of hope: Real estate wizard Tim McCabe (W Hotel and Residence) is off to Thailand to teach orphans English and soccer. Dear, dear Adam Ayres, however, has been banished by the economy to (gulp) Odessa.
Danny Ramon and Kane Hosmer (great name!)
I’m hearing that more and more: People who would really rather stay here, but can’t afford it. The jobs just aren’t here, and those that are, don’t pay well enough to keep up with our area’s cost of living. Drat!
Liz Lurie and Laramie Gorbet
If this situation holds, we are going to lose some of that creative class we’ve nurtured all these years. I have no solutions. One can only downsize so far. All I know is that Odessa is almost never the answer. (Even loving West Texas as much as I do.)
Jason Scheffel and Brandon May
Back to the party: Equality Texas leaders say the Merry, Merry event has outgrown Mercury Hall. Next year, it’s moving to the Sheraton Austin. Well, that will be a different event, but I’m sure just as popular.
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The Regulars on a Rainy Night
The streets change character when the city turns cold, dark and wet. Creeks and crevices fill up quickly, the flood gray-green in the streetlight. Trees and shrubs, burdened by the rain, block the walker’s path. Drivers lose their famous Austin equanimity. At least fellow pedestrians acknowledge the dreary conditions, and shout out encouragements to the sodden passersby.
Moontica and Raina Leigh
Once inside, however, the old, familiar warmth spreads quickly. Thanks to a sturdy Four Seasons umbrella lent me by Linda Ball, oh, ages ago, I forged across hill and dale to reach the Saxon Pub on a Friday night when almost nothing else beckoned (at least, within walking distance). A microscopic drop of Jameson’s and some flat Shiner Bock didn’t fire my mood much, but the first performer did.
Ron Ramelli and Steve Bernstein
Raina Leigh sang one song and danced one semi-comic burlesque number. Yet she burned her talents into my memory. After the tip jar circulated, she asked for a few extra bucks to eat at a good restaurant. “That’s a New Orleans tradition,” she happily claimed. Even if it isn’t, it should be.
Alex Bernstein and Lee Anne Huskey
Up next, the Regulars, a rootsy act featuring former American-Statesman advertising ace Ron Ramelli (vocals, harmonica, accordian). The eight-piece band — graced with a surfeit of guitars — nimbly roamed over the musical map. I particularly liked the songs spiked with a little funk. Also anything aided by saxophonist Steve Bernstein, who, it turns out, currently works at the Statesman. Small world.
During the course of the set, I met Steve’s son, Alex, and his wife, Lee Anne. In fact, the near-stage tables seemed packed with Regulars regulars. “I think I see some people we don’t know,” cracked limber frontman David Allan from the stage. Yes, some folks from the “talking area” filtered forward t hear the band. The musical cheer warmed my bones on the journey home.
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Carlos Sosa and the Great Idea
Carlos Sosa has figured out what to do with all those talent-rich, cash-strapped Austin musicians working for tips at more than 100 area music venues.
Export them.
Not permanently, mind you, but just long enough to piece together living incomes and accrue such essentials as health benefits.
The sociable saxophone player, musical director and president of the Texas Chapter of the Recording Academy has been helping to stuff Austin musicians into the touring acts of Kelly Clarkson, Jason Mraz, Christian Castro and other marquee artists.
It’s just the latest campaign in a life of campaigns for the son of a Brazilian air force officer, deported before Sosa got to know him, and a single mom who died when he was 9. Sosa was raised by his grandmother on San Antonio’s rough South Side.
She insisted the young man drop his pursuit of music and study computers. Yet, even before he could be admitted into clubs legally, Sosa was playing sax with a punk funk band. He later studied music at Texas States University-San Marcos, where he was admitted into a selective program for recording technology, a skill that would amplify his later careers as a producer and musical director.
Bonding almost by accident with other brass players, some from the University of North Texas’ jazz program, he started his first campaign: “To build a horn section that could play with any act, anywhere.”
That band, Grooveline Horns, which included trumpeter Fernando Castillo and trombonist Raul Vallejo (later replaced by Reggie Watkins), became phenomenally successful by Austin standards. They played with bands at Catfish Station during its heyday and backed the Scabs, Ian Moore and other hot acts. At one point, they were playing with different bands at Steamboat, then the center of local musical energy, almost every night of the week.
(Back to Sosa’s grandmother: A few years ago, she attended a Scabs concert at Antone’s. She sat in the VIP box and, when recognized from the stage, waved proudly to the crowd.)
During one South by Southwest, he and his brass buddies were sitting at Paradise Cafe on East Sixth Street, thinking: “We’ve made the big time.” A chance to open for James Brown convinced them otherwise.
“Now that was a horn section!” the hazel-eyed, boxer-jawed Sosa remembers. “It freaked me out.”
His background in recording helped boost the next step in his career. He bought Music Lane recording studio, working night and day for four years, even sleeping there. “We never made any money,” he says. “But I learned everything I needed to know.”
At the end of those four years, he brought home the digital sound package, the Pro Tools System. Not long after, the hit Christian band Salvador called, needing help with their Pro Tools. They were delighted to meet Sosa: “Dude, you’re the guy with the Scabs!”
Sosa then toured with Salvador, making more money than he ever had in his life. For that group, he produced their first Spanish-language album, which became their most successful and earned Sosa a 2004 Dove Award.
His next campaign: Start Boombox ATX as a corporate umbrella for cover bands to play weddings and corporate gigs.
“Let’s face it, Austin musicians can be a bit lazy,” he says. “These gigs give them a paycheck so they can actually start doing the basics, as well as health insurance.”
Sosa’s musical and organizational gifts have not gone unnoticed in Los Angeles, where he began putting together teams for established artists and producers. He continues to use his connections there to help Austin musicians.
While in L.A., he stays with actor friend Alan Tudyk (“Firefly,” “Serenity,” “Dollhouse”), whom he met at a party for “28 Days,” which included music from Austin artist Bob Schneider. Sosa could return the sleepover favor, since Plano-bred Tudyk has been dating Adrianne Palicki from Austin-shot “Friday Night Lights.” (Both actors were in town recently.)
Sosa, who recently moved to a rural spot between Austin and Bastrop, continues to widen his social circle. As president of the regional wing of the Recording Academy, he works with Washington, D.C., contacts on the passage of a bill to pay musicians for their work when it appears on traditional radio. Here, he helps build the Academy, best known nationally for conferring the Grammys.
“I want to bridge the gap between Austin musicians and the world,” he says. “And create a ripple effect along the way.”
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Confirmed: Liz Carpenter in health care unit at Querencia
Her daughter, Christy Carpenter, reports her current condition is stable.
At her unpretentious home on Skyline, she had entertained old friends such as Bill Moyers, Carol Channing, Walter Cronkite, Gerald Ford, Cokie Roberts and Lady Bird Johnson, for whom she served as press secretary in the White House (1963-1969).
Carpenter, born in 1920, started her reporting career at the Austin American-Statesman in 1942.
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Lance Armstrong and Sandra Bullock Haiti pledges
Ordinary people are sending in $5, $10, $100 apiece through various digital tools.
Celebrities were not far behind, many of them sending out pleas for massive relief on Twitter and Facebook. Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Adam Lambert were among those tweeting outside Austin. Eugene Sepulveda, Sloan Foster and Turk Pipkin are among the local socializers using social media for good.
Austin’s Lance Armstrong has donated $250,000. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have set aside $1 million for Doctors Without Borders. And George Clooney is set to host a Jan 22 telethon on MTV.
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Live Chat with Tito Beveridge on the State of Austin Nightlife
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Your A-List: Best Shoe Store
Hey, it was a race!
Pun emphatically intended.
Yet Goodie Two Shoes gave it a run for its riches by tapping into 19 percent. Strut held its frame high with 12 percent.
Three stores tied for fourth: Karavel, Rogue Equipment and Adelante at almost 7 percent each.
InStep and Fitting Stool were not far behind at 6 percent, while Blackmail and Bettysport brought up the rear with 5 percent and 4 percent.
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Your A-List: Best Sportscaster
Come on! Mike Barnes, what happened? Sharing a name with the newspaper’s social columnist was not enough? I can’t believe you didn’t win. Punishment laps for you, sport.
KVUE’s Mr. Barnes did very well, placing second in the A List reader poll for Best Sportscaster, racking up 32 percent of the vote.
But the winner is KXAN’s Roger Wallace, pictured, who stretched for 37 percent.
FOX 7’s Dave Cody and KEYE’s Bob Ballou were neck and neck for third place, taking 14 percent and 12 percent respectively.
News 8’s Jeff Power rounded out the list with 5 percent.
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Your A-List: Best Cheap Drinks
Years ago, the State of Texas clamped down on really cheap alcoholic drinks. Remember 10-cent-drink nights back in the 1980s? Probably a good thing that trend dried up.
The top dog is located on East Sixth Street, land o’ shots: Treasure Island (24 percent of the tally); as are two of the other contenders — Cheers (11 percent) and Jackalope (2 percent).
Others are scattered up north: Barfly’s (12 percent); Ginny’s Little Longhorn (12 percent); Poodle Dog Lounge (10 percent), Nasty’s (8 percent) and Carousel Lounge (7 percent).
One is south: Horseshoe Lounge (7 percent). Another is east: Longbranch Inn (6 percent).
Sounds like the neighborhood dives are keeping up with the downtowners on this score.
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Your A-List: Best Low-Fat/Health Conscious Option
Before we get to the winner of the A List readers poll for Best Low-Fat/Health Conscious Option, let me share a little story.
Everything I had was fantastic! Cheese and pepper tamales, black beans, spinach salad and stir-fry veggies all spiced and cooked to perfection. Just goes to show what an idiot I had been for passing on this low-fat/health conscious option more often than not.
Actually, I like all these A List eateries to some extent or another. And three contenders nearly tied for first: Zen Japanese Fast Food (21 percent; pictured); Whole Foods (20 percent) and Central Market. The next two bunched up together, too: Eastside Cafe (12 percent) and Mr. Natural (9 percent)
The rest — Casa de Luz, Mother’s, Wheatsville, Sun Harvest and Leaf — fell to 5 percent of the vote or less.
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Live Chat with DJ Chicken George on the State of Austin Nightlife
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January Live Chats on the State of Austin Nightlife
So far, in our January Live Chats on the state of Austin nightlife, we’ve learned from Spider House’s Conrad Bejarano that the wilder socializing has moved from the campus area to downtown and that places like United States Art Authority regularly collaborate with event planners, a growing custom all over town.
From Mason Arnold (Greenling.com) and Mylie Arnold (Go Dance), we discovered more about hyper-localism and the benefits of social media, such as time flexibility and good will.
Here’s the tentative schedule for the rest of the month. Remember, you can comment or ask questions right here during the 30-minute chats.
3:30 p.m. Jan. 15: Tito Beveridge (Fifth Generation Inc., Tito’s Handmade Vodka)
3:30 p.m. Jan. 19: CK Chin (Imperia)
3:30 p.m. Jan. 21: Paul and Paula Angerstein (Texacello Distillery, Paula’s Texas Orange and Lemon liquors)
3:30 p.m. Jan 26: Samantha Davidson (Uchi, Red Fez, Central Austin Management Group)
3:30 p.m. Jan. 28: Margie Coyle (Cap City Comedy Club)
More Live Chats on this subject to come in February and March
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Neighorhood Walks: Guadalupe, Part 2
Surprise No. 5: Besides the commanding, familiar churches — Ebenezer Baptist Church and namesake Our Lady of Guadalupe, community centers for black and Latino neighbors — two others caught my eye. One’s a rough gospel church, still in some disrepair, which radiates gorgeous music during services, Little says; the other a trim African Methodist Episcopal house of worship I’d never before spied on out-of-the-way East Tenth Street.
Joining us along the northern sectors of the district, Rogers told me about the prostitutes and drug pushers who populated the alley behind his house during the 1980s, then how Narciso Gil, Sister Amalia Rios, Mary Helen Lopez, Candelario Hernandez and Bobbie Sparrow pushed area improvements before his work began. The area was crisis back then, losing one third of its population and threatened by ill-timed downtown commercialization. (That population trend surely has reversed, given the rather awkward and bland Robertson Hill apartments which at least brought some residential density to the neighborhood.)
We passed various astonishingly creative structures along East 11th street, designed by Bercy Chen Studio. Also some improvements encouraged by the Austin Revitalization Authority, a public-private group that can’t buy a positive headline, given its slow progress. We also checked one of the alley-oriented flats that just won an award from the Austin Heritage Society and wondered at the columned, formal St. Joseph Masonic Lodge on East Eleventh Street, which, like so masonic buildings in Texas, stands stubbornly empty.
Personal stories emanated from doors and windows, including Emily Little’s memory of an African American woman, dying, surrounded by neighborhood friends. “It was the first time I’d encountered such a situation outside a hospital,” said Little, who grew up in a more affluent West Austin near Laguna Gloria.
Little shared that story to illustrate the one irretrievable thing lost during Guadalupe’s predestined gentrification: Human connections. Little: “What we lose is community.”
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Neighorhood Walks: Guadalupe, Part 1
Curiosities — geographical, architectural and cultural — crouched around every corner of the Guadalupe neighborhood during a recent weekend walk.
After some mind-thawing tea, Little and I scrunched over the 1887 birds-eyed-view map of Austin, which displayed her neighborhood and many of its current structures along its far right margins. This and other historical Austin maps are priceless for showing the original terrain — lost creeks, leveled hills, abandoned industrial sites — as well as the surviving buildings from what was, then, at most a medium-sized town (15,000 inhabitants by 1890).
The Guadalupe neighborhood, sometimes called Robertson Hill after the pioneer family that once owned the French Legation, sits on a smooth knob overlooking the Colorado River valley to the south and downtown to the west. Today its trapezoidal outline is defined by East Seventh Street, Interstate 35, East 11th Street and the Texas State Cemetery.
Surprise No. 1: The French Legation grounds offer a grand view that would have included the Colorado River during the 19th Century. The sleepy former home of French legate Alphonse Dubois de Saligny, now owned by the State of Texas and run by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, sometimes bursts with energy during special events. Yet few people gaze south to imagine this commanding view.
Surprise No. 2: Three missing creeks. All appear on the 1887 map; Little showed me the remains of one under a grated culvert down an alley between Seventh and Eighth Streets. Another, the namesake for Longbranch Inn, included, within living memory, a pond, boat and attendant mule. A third, probably just a ravine, ripped through the neighborhood’s north side, right where the towered Robertson Hill Apartment Homes now stand.
Surprise No. 3: A creek artificially revived, along with other wonders at the cemetery. Little served as a consultant on the site’s renovation so she showed me curiosities ordinary tourists would not puzzle out, like an abandoned hall-of-fame-type project meant to match a circle of upright boulders. We paused at monuments and graves, including the fluid stone designed for Ann Richards (someone had left a flower and note) and sculptor Elizabeth Ney’s Texas Gothic marble-and-painted-iron cage for Civil War general Albert Sidney Johnston.
Surprise No. 4 and my favorite: Little urged a little jog down Inks Avenue where she revealed a low, limestone house with a Gulf Coast/New Orleans-style porch and a memory of its own view of the river. Could this house date to the French Legation era? Worth some digging.
More to come …
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L Style G Style Issue Launch at Four Hands
Among Austin’s slicks — magazines printed on high-quality paper — Tribeza, Rare and L Style G Style seem to be in the same stylistic league. Tribeza, under new ownership, is serious about fashion and design in all their manifestations. Rare seems to be about youth, and that rarefied experience of living in Austin at this very moment, which is one reason why they stage such spectacular parties (oh my!).
Nick Lopez and Lauren St. Pierre
L Style G Style, despite its name, is more about community. Pick up the current January/February issue. The cover photographs and design presenting Armando Zambrano and Valerie Espinosa are the essence of taste, but they are more than that. They highlight two crucial members of your community, both in the health care industry.
Dianna Alonzo and Brittany Padilla
Now I adore all three magazines. Let’s get that straight. But there’s something about L Style’s long-range plans that make me glow with pride. And I felt that when some 400 or so people showed up at Four Hands furniture showroom for the issue launch.
Lily Gomez and Lloyd Heckman
For one thing — and this is no small matter — the men and women from the gay community were pretty evenly matched, and they blended with straight allies. Also, they were gathered at a place known for its fair trade practices with the developing world and its creative marketing strategies.
Stephen Morse and Chantal Rice
Let’s not forget the Bollywood theme, as dancers not only performed in the basic, modernized Indian style, but they invited guests up on the stage with them. A delight!
Steve Olivares and Josh Allen
So many of the people we lingered with — Bettie Naylor, Stephen Moser, Alisa Weldon, Seabrook Jones, Libby Sykora, Kevin Smothers, Lynn Yeldell, Stephen Rice, Michael Pungello, Scott Dinger, Oliver Everette, Lonny Stern — have been friends for a long time. Yet I also introduced myself to dozens of strangers, something shy people like myself don’t always do.
Jacob Wilson and Dustin Wills
It felt fine. If they are at an L Style event, they are good people. That’s my take. And don’t try to start an argument over it!
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Austin Cabaret Theatre at the Long Center
Almost 10 years old, Austin Cabaret Theatre nears institutional status. Producer Stuart Moulton, himself an entertainer, has brought to Austin universally consecrated acts such as Eartha Kitt, Elaine Stritch, Ann Hampton Callaway and Carol Channing, as well as onetime Texans Billy Stritch, Amanda McBroom and Sharon Montgomery.
Stuart Moulton and Christy Duvauchelle
The switch from hotel and banquet settings to the Long Center, then, made perfect sense. As the did the recent upgrade in the pre-show dinner menu. The Kodosky Lounge serves for most acts, but for its gala, Moulton seated more than 200 in the lounge for eats, then shepherded them downstairs to the Rollins Studio Theatre for the big show.
Charles Duggan and Stanislav Pronin
That’s when Moulton, after an extended vamp, earned the right to say: “Ladies and gentlemen, Judy Garland!” That dream cabaret act, in fact, took the form of Jim Bailey, longtime impressionist, who was doing Judy back when Judy was doing Judy.
Dr. Bill Jones and Anton Nel
Now, let’s see. Last year, Judy would have turned 87, had she not passed into immortality in 1969. Bailey, for his part, is 60. He still twitches, strays and warbles just like Judy in the late years. It may be that I’m now 56 — and 40 years has passed since Judy’s death — but one act of Judy-ism was enough for me. No more her Carnegie Hall quip: “We’ll just have to stay here and sing them all night.”
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Ada Anderson and the LEAP gala
This city owes an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Ada Collins Anderson. The social pioneer and civil rights leader, born in 1921, has been a pathfinder in so many ways, it’s hard to calculate the cumulative effect.
Rose Demerson and Ada Anderson
Among her achievements — later in life — was the founding of the Leadership Enrichment Arts Program, which offers low-income and minority youth a chance to experience the performing and visual arts. Friday, LEAP celebrated its 20th year of exposing students to the arts and giving them opportunities to participate at the Crown Plaza at Interstate 35 and US 290.
Sherry Ransom and Susan Baughman
I tried to discern social trends in the crowd of maybe 150, seated in blue-ribboned chairs before dinner. It was predominately African American, but not exclusively so. Older Austinites took the lead at most tables, but younger ones bounced up to give speeches, perform on instruments or network with the elders present.
Carla Jackson and Kelvin Phillips
The tightest bunch of guests gathered around Mrs. Anderson herself, clearly a touchstone for the evening. Sweeping from table to table was Sherry Ransom, LEAP executive director, who whispered that later a new scholarship would be named for Ada and her late husband, Marcellus J. “Andy” Anderson, the nation’s first black Realtor. (It was a kept secret from Ada until the formal announcement.)
Derrick Leon Washington and Zakiya Larry
I ran into Victoria Corcoran, who is doing the Lord’s work helping small to medium-sized nonprofits to grow. Sitting back to back were New Orleans transplants Christine Perrault Moline and Terrence Moline (on one side) and New York transplants Carla Jackson and Kelvin Phillips (on the other). Vibrant Zakiya Larry, Miss Black Texas USA, the evening’s emcee, posed for me with stylish Derrick Leon Johnson.
Anderson has received many accolades over the years. Let’s hope there are many more to come.
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‘The Pepper Lady’ Jean Andrews dies
Jean Andrews, “the Pepper Lady” — scientist, gardener, explorer, artist and cook — passed away Thursday in her home at age 86.
The best-selling Texas author of books on shells, bluebonnets and hot peppers, Andrews was a glamorous character who popularized the cultivation and use of capsicums.
“She was colorful — oh my goodness she was colorful,” said Theresa May, director of the University of Texas Press, which sold more than 40,000 copies of her books on shells and peppers.
May recalled a time when a UT press employee visited Andrews, finding road kill lined up in front of her house.
“She was doing some kind of experiment,” May said. “She was so intrepid and adventurous. And she had a voracious intellect.”
Andrews, known at the UT School of Human Ecology as “Dr. Jean,” was born in Kingsville in 1923. After graduating from the University of Texas and Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville), she earned her PhD from the University of North Texas in 1976.
The world, however, was her classroom. She traveled to China, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Oman. She camped in Ethiopia, rode a donkey through China, traveled with the Bedouin.
One of her memorable phrases: “Well, I can’t stand to have anything if I don’t know all about it and one thing led to another.”
Andrews began collecting sea shells in 1959 and learned to scuba dive, then explored waters of the Philippines, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Costa Rica, Panama, the Canary Islands and the Red Sea. Her field guides on the shells of the Texas and Florida coasts became instant classics.
Andrews taught herself botany and cultivated varieties of peppers. Her 1984 book, “Peppers: The Domesticated Capsicums and Red Hot Peppers,” illustrated with her own 32 color plates, became a must-have for any Texas kitchen.
The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History reserves her writings and the Texas Memorial Museum keeps her collection of shells. Andrews served on the advisory boards of both the School of Human Ecology and the College of Natural Sciences.
An embroider since childhood, Andrews helped establish an artisan cooperative in Costa Rica for women to create and export fabrics.
But it was Andrews’ audacious spirit, her discursive dinners and house packed with collections that made her an Austin icon.
“We saw her at Christmas and she was fiery and humorous as always,” said former restaurant owner,” Michael Dyer.
A group of male admirers from the creative community created, in her honor, the Order of the Oosics, named for the fossilized male reproductive bones that Andrews collected.
“That’s so incredibly Jean,” said Meghan Mullaney, special projects writer for the School of Human Ecology, of the club and its inspiration.
“She was the source for anyone wanting to know about peppers,” Crider said. “She really was the Pepper Lady.”
Andrews is survived by her son, Robert F. Wasson of Middleton, R.I., and was predeceased by her daughter, Jean Andrews Wasson. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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The ebb and flow of real life for ‘Friday Night Lights’
“Friday Night Lights” has run long enough to record a string of beginnings and endings.
Newborn Luca Verde was selected appear in the series’ season finale when it was filmed back in November. Son of Austin’s Kevin Verde, chief technical officer for the Jason’s Deli chain, and his wife, Jen, Luca was chosen from images casting directors found at Pinkle Toes Photography.
“We watch little TV and actually never saw ‘Friday Night Lights’ before,” said dad Kevin Verde. “This just sounded like an experience that would be cool for his baby album.”
In sadder FNL news, a fire destroyed the Dallas apartment of Liz Mikel, who plays Smash’s mother on the series. Mikel told NBC’s Dallas/Fort Worth news affiliate that she had lost everything.
“Memories from ‘Friday Night Lights,’ signatures, scripts that I had saved — all of that, gone,” she said. “But I am grateful to be here. I could be gone.”
Mikel escaped harm with her daughter, Lindsay, and Lindsay’s 1-year-old son.
Photo: © Cheryl Muhr Photography
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Longhorn Holdouts at Third Base Sports Bar
She kept the faith until the last seconds. He professed skepticism, but erupted with joy whenever the game went the Longhorns’ way.
Neither Jessica Manning nor Aaron Herzog attended the University of Texas. She’s a student at Texas State University-San Marcos, he graduated from the same school.
Aaron Herzog and Jessica Manning
Yet they joined the throngs at Third Base Sports Bar on West Sixth Street, riding the emotional rollercoaster of the National Championship Game on Thursday.
Bar owner Brendan Puthoff estimated a total of more than 120 high-definition screens blazed at three Third Base locations, plus his Aces Lounge on East Sixth Street, which opened early for the roaming football herds. Fans filtered as early as 1 p.m. By 6:30 p.m., trays of margarita shots were departing for far reaches of Third Base more regularly than planes from Atlanta Hartsfield Airport.
Mark SoRelle and Paul Purcell
Outside, patrons shivered in a makeshift beer garden on the loading dock. Almost as soon as they arrived, they moved inside, or left altogether. After all, the wind chill spiralled down toward the single digits.
It stayed toasty warm inside. That didn’t stop a table of five from huddling under burnt orange Snuggies. These young women area didn’t cherish memories from the last Texas championship four years ago.
“We were in Houston!” the shout went out.
Paul Purcell remembered.
“Back then, nobody even thought we’d be there,” Purcell said before the game began in Pasadena, Calif. “Now, everybody worries we’re not going to win, but they won’t say that. Four years ago, it was magical. It will be again, if they pull it off.”
Geri Dixon and Ashley Dixon
And not all present were pigskin maniacs.
“We’re here because we won a free table,” said shy actor Tia C. “We texted a code to the bar in a contest and won.”
She and table-mates Mike Hinojosa and Dorothy Davis waggled their palms hesitantly when asked about their UT fervor. “We’re moderate fans,” Hinojosa said, deafened by the cheering around them when icons like Bevo and Vince Young crossed the screens.
The first social chill spread through the crowd when it was announced that Texas had never lost to Alabama. “Knock on wood,” Herzog said. The chill turned arctic when Colt McCoy was injured. Even six early UT points didn’t melt the anxiety. By the end of the first quarter, orange-swaddled faces were frozen in anguish. A trip outside revealed that the cold had driven almost all those of those fans away.
Mike Hernandez and Dorothy Davis
The half-time mood inside? Manning: “Disappointed but optimistic.” Herzog: “I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach.”
Nelly Byrne: “Frustrated but hopeful.” Marianne Scudder: “It’s time to move on.”
Sonia Merritt: “Still positive. Gotta be. No choice.” Brittany Fellwock: “If Colt McCoy comes back, he’ll turn it around.”
Sonia Merritt, Brittany Fellwock and Kelly Dixon
Davis: “I’m bored.” Tia C: “UT’s still ranked high academically.”
Mark SoRelle: “I feel sorry for (freshman back-up quarterback) Garrett Gilbert now.” Purcell: “I’m somber.”
During the ups and downs of the second half, Manning and Herzog’s mood matched that of the masses.
Nelly Byrne and Marianne Scudder
Then, late in the fourth quarter, as Alabama guaranteed its win, the bubble burst for good.
Herzog: “I feel so bad for Colt.”
Manning: “I’m proud. Very proud. With Colt, they would have dominated.”
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The State of Austin Nightlife with Mason & Mylie Arnold
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National Championship Day of Anxiety
This morning, I posted the following on Facebook: “Are you ready for a national championship? I’m oddly anxious. Tell me your thoughts.”
Forthwith, some of the most pointed comments so far:
Jodi Gonzalez: “I’m very nervous. I really am hoping the Colt has the game of his life, and ends his career on a high note.”
Sandy Walper: “Apt phrasing about your mental state. I’m there too. Everyone is touting Alabama. They have a better defense; their QB has not lost a game ever, it seems; they have Ingram; they have at least three other offensive and defensive players who are game-breakers. However. We have Muschamp and Applewhite and Brown, OH MY! I want to think that …”
Jeff Abbott: “I feel distracted today, not anxious, just very ready for the game to start. I think we have a better coached team and everyone is selling us short and I think that will be a motivator for them. I grew up in Austin, but didn’t go to UT (I went to Rice). But I married into a Longhorn family, and will be cheering as loudly as any UT grad tonight. Texas Fight!”
Kate Hersch: “I could care less about football, unlike El Rey. I am using the game as an excuse to eat queso.”
Elizabeth Christian: “I woke up feeling very anxious about it!”
Kerry Awn: “Vince and Ricky will be there. Maybe we could sneak ‘em into the game. Have some faith, people.”
Herb Belofsky: “A win tonight for the Horns will put Austinites in a good mood for a long time. An Orange tower is a beautiful sight.”
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Your A-List: Best Pet Store
All those pets downtown — and their humans — needed a club house. They found one in Lofty Dog, the West Second Street all-in-one pet stop. It won the A List reader poll for Best Pet Store.
Two other Austin institutions did reasonably well in the contest: steady Bark ‘n Purr (17 percent) and expanding Tomlinson’s (12 percent).
All the rest — Gallery of Pets, Zookeeper Exotic Pets, Bark ‘n Bubbles, Herpeton, Rivers & Reefs Pet Center, Just for Pets and River City Aquatics — harnessed 3 percent or less.
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Your A-List: Best Theater Company
I’ve been reporting the results of A List reader polls for a couple of years. I can usually predict in advance which reports will receive the most comments. This is one.
Esther’s Follies, an Austin comic tradition since 1978, took second with 14 percent.
Greater Tuna, almost as old as Esther’s, came in third with 6 percent.
Hyde Park Theatre, The Vortex, Salvage Vanguard, Austin Playhouse, Rude Mechs, ColdTowne and Latino Comedy Project bunched up below that.
Zach, Austin’s largest and most acclaimed theater company, received no votes.
Those are the results. Unhappy readers should vote next time. And if you must leave comments, snarkiness persuades no one here.
Congratulate City Theater and move on.
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Your A-List: Best Hard Rock/Metal Group
Reassuring news: Sex, violence and ribaldry still rule the names of hard rock and metal acts. That’s a quick conclusion one can draw from the winners of the A List reader poll for best Central Texas band in that combined category.
Only Tia Carrera appears to break the naming rule, although there may be a ribald reference to actress/model Tia Carrere somewhere in there. Although her last name is spelled slightly differently, she did inspire the local artists. (When he first arrived in Austin, former Statesman music critic Joe Gross thought he was going to review her pop band, then three shaggy musicians came out on stage to make big noise.)
Those rolling up 6 percent or less of the vote fit the norm, name-wise: New Disaster (6 percent); Devil’s Right Hand (5 percent); At All Costs (5 percent); Amplified Heat (3 percent) and — ta da! — Supercrash (3 percent).
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Your A-List: Best Late-Night Snack
Ever so slowly, Austin is adding places to snack late at night. Since this is prime dining time for your social columnist, I couldn’t be happier. Many more spots are serving into the wee hours than you’ll find on this A List, but count this as a fair start.
Relative newcomer Home Slice, purveyors of fine New York-style pizzas, came in third with 13 percent. Longtime West Sixth Street deli Katz’s zoomed into fourth with 10 percent.
Taking 6 percent or less: Mrs. Johnson’s Donuts, Pluckers, Roppolo’s, 24, 888 and Wan Fu.
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The State of Austin Nightlife with Conrad Bejarano
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Johnson-Bentsen-Richards Dinner at the Four Seasons
Just try silencing 600 or so Democrats. Valiant Andy Brown, Travis County Democratic Party Chairman, tried. That almost insuperable task took the quiet gravitas of Ora Houston, inaugurating the first-ever Johnson-Bentsen-Richards Dinner with a prayer at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Carol Alvarado and Charles Villaseñor
I learned at the end of the evening that this get-together was formerly known as the “Filing Day Dinner” and took place at the even more rambunctious Austin Music Hall. So named for the last date politicians filed for a primary run, it has always brought together the county’s Democratic brigades for a little pre-campaign camaraderie.
Scott McCown, Mary Margaret Farabee and Ellen Richards
Only this year, under Brown’s leadership, the dinner raised $180,000 for coordinated campaign efforts. Just about every face in the crowd looked familiar. And, in case you were wondering, I’d happily report on any similar Republican social convocation, surely more organized than this, as Will Rogers would quip.
Rebecca Bell-Metereau, Yvonne Reynolds and Yolanda Velasquez
State Senator Kirk Watson and. U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett gave bookend speeches, although they might have been reversed, since Watson’s was a rousing, hopeful call to arms, while Doggett’s, which followed, repeated the challenges ahead. He emphasized the energy of the Tea Party wing of the opposition, something he’s witnessed first hand. (Visit YouTube for dramatizations.)
Ramey Ko and Katherine Haenschen
Touching tributes were offered for lost leaders, including Emma Barrientos, late wife of former State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos and a huge friend of the arts. (Name the MACC for her?) Yet the climax of the evening came with a short, funny, classy speech from B.A. Bentsen, widow of late U.S. Senator and Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen.
Lynn Meredith and Robbie Ausley
She told a story about how, as soon as her husband was elected county judge in his 20s, a couple was waiting in their car outside their house, knocked on the door and asked to be married. He rolled out every ritual he could remember, including the Pledge of Allegiance, to make the ceremony work.
Maurice Culley and Catherine Robb
Before the dozens of Democratic candidates were introduced, awards went to three exceedingly fit public citizens — Catherine Robb, Lan Bentsen and Ellen Richards — who happen to have descended from the dinner’s titular leaders.
Skyler Bentsen Stewart and B.A. Bentsen
Some progressives at the event whispered that their hero, late U.S. Sen. Ralph Yarborough, should have joined the Gang of Three on the letterhead. Actually, the the chosen ones represent a balance between idealism and pragmatism that almost anyone can appreciate.
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My New Year’s Word
We don’t make new year’s resolutions. Too easy to break.
Instead, for almost 20 years, we’ve chosen new year’s words. These syllables color the next 12 months, without forcing particular, easy-to-avoid actions.
My word for 2010: SLOW.
Rough estimates for 2009: Attended more than 1,000 organized social events. (25 one weekend alone!) Perhaps another 500 informal ones.
Saw two dozen movies, two dozen sporting events, three dozen arts events, four dozen musical acts.
Read more than 300 magazines, but only 20 or so books.
Number of Austin restaurants, bars, clubs and coffee shops patronized: More than 300.
Walked 1,500 miles, mostly in Central Austin. Drove more than 4,000 highway miles, mostly in Texas, staying in dozens of small towns.
Posted more than almost 1,000 updates on Out & About; many more on Facebook and Twitter. Published more than 150 print columns.
Number of party pictures published with Thursday’s columns: More than 600. Published online with blog: More than 2,000.
Number of Facebook friends: More than 3,300. Number of Twitter followers: More than 2,400.
And my editors say I’m obsessed with numbers! Sadly, they are right.
In fact, every six months for the past 20 years, my supervisors have staged mild interventions, urging me to listen to that word that — with any luck — will enrich my 2010: SLOW.
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The State of Austin Nightlife
During the next three months, we plan to examine Austin’s nightlife to see where the bars, clubs, parties and coffee shops — and, to a lesser extent, cafes and restaurants, which are related but not the central topic — are headed.
We’ll use many reporting tools, most prominent among them a series of Live Chats on this blog 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. You’ll have the opportunity to comment and ask questions of these and other nightlife leaders.
We’ll check in with these folks (and others):
In February: Manuel ‘DJ Manny’ Muniz (DJ Dojo, RockIt); DJ Mel (Swoll, Rock the Casbah); Tre Dotson (Tre Dotson Productions & Talent, Maria Maria); Bridget Dunlap (Clive, Lustre Pearl); Michael Girard (Speakeasy, Cuba Libre, Imperia); Thomas Gohring (Kick Butt Coffee); Doug Guller (Bikinis); George Gutierrez Jr. (everywehre); Becky and Damon Holditch (Marquee Tents); Donaji Lira (Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, Texas Heritage Songwriters Association); Matt Luckie (Lavaca Street Bar, Star Bar, District 301)
In March: Gary Manley (Iron Cactus); Dagan Martinez-Vargas (everywhere); Jette Momant (Manna Lifestyle Marketing, De’cor Jette’ Event Design, Cissi’s Wine Bar); Kristin Owen (Do512.com); David Pantano (Rain, AIDS Services of Austin); Taylor Perkins (Rare); Brendan Puthoff (Third Base, Aces); Jen Shoemaker (The Phoenix); Denise Silverman (Clink); Randall and Donya Stockton (Beerland, The Good Knight, Rio Rita, Shangri La); Jim Stotz (Rusty Spurs, Emerald City); Kara and Matt Swinney (Launch 787, Austin Fashion Week); Danielle Thomas (Big Green House Presents, Red Bull); Mike Yassine (Vicci, Qua, Treasure Island, Pure, Kiss & Fly); Kevin Williamson (Ranch 616, Star Bar); Brad and Chad Womack with Jason Carrier (Thirsty Nickel, Chuggin’ Monkey, Dizzy Rooster, The Marq, Molotov)
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Joy to Austin on New Year’s Eve
I rang in the new year with a dash of Old Austin and a pinch of New Austin.
Joseph Boyle and Christina Clark at Cissi’s
Central Texas native son Sean Massey, since transferred to Upstate New York, but in town for the holidays, personified the old. Representing the new were Nick Shapiro and Laurel Pochucha, stopping over during an expedition from Richmond, Va. to Los Angeles, where they’ll chase careers in film and fashion. They don’t live here now. But I suspect some day they will.
Clare Tucker and Rainy Edwards at the Long Center
First, Massey and I toasted the silver anniversary of our friendship at Cissi’s Wine Bar, where the always alert Charles Nikkel poured a fruity, full-bodied Gramona Gran Cuvée 2005.
Ann Sauder and Manny Moss at the Long Center
Taking our time, we aimed downhill to the Long Center, where First Night revelers huddled, escaping a sudden Norther. Wisely, the art event’s leaders opened the VIP areas to the public. Hoarse and fatigued, First Night board chairman Albert Cantara appeared nevertheless proud, standing next his bride, Jamie Smith Cantara, who looks exactly as she did more than 20 years ago when we shared a basement office at the University of Texas.
Dann and Christina Sanchez at Malverde
Scanning the skyline from the Long Center plaza, Massey and I counted the new towers whose names he didn’t know. After grabbing a street taco, we ascended the blue stairs to Malverde on West Second Street to find a find a sleek social set who looked as if they had just jetted in from Rio de Janeiro. They sipped the club’s modernist cocktails with gusto.
Fernando and Mayra Peralta at Malverde
After this dalliance in cosmopolitan Austin, we steered over Congress Avenue to the Cedar Door, a funky Austin institution recently spiffed up by designer Michael Hsu. We drank traditional Mexican martinis, introducing ourselves to folks well-girded for further adventures downtown.
Kaitlyn Merchant, Christopher West and Nicole Pullin at the Cedar Door
I had hoped to show Massey the hipster hive of clubs on Far East Sixth Street — maybe the sock hop at Shangri La — but the clock was ticking, so we turned left at Sixth and Brazos, which is where we met Schapiro and Pochucha. They asked where they should greet midnight. We said: “Follow us!” and faced west.
Maricela Trevino, Maria Anaya and Daniella Garcia at the Cedar Door
We poked our heads into Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, where Linda Ball, Forrest Preece and party were lapping up the sultry sounds of jazz trumpeter Jeff Lofton. Then we targeted the red Star Bar sign. We huddled outside briefly until the manager waved us in, then warmed us with his graciousness. The mob here was lively unto delirious.
Nick Schapiro and Laurel Pochucha on East Sixth Street
“You said something about a power plant,” Schapiro reminded me. Yes! Minutes to go before 2010, we strode over to Seaholm, where our new Virginia friends marveled at the mottled lighting on the former smokestacks. Once inside, we turned into the vast, industrial space, done up like something out of “Bright Lights, Big City,” and packed with writhing dancers. I glanced back at Pochucha and Schapiro, whose eyes had grown round with delight.
Luca Ceroofoli and Alberto Serafini at Star Bar
Not bad, huh? Taylor Perkins and his Rare/WOXY gang had completely outdone themselves, creating a New Year’s Eve party for the ages. We danced and danced, then headed back deeper downtown. Resistol-topped couples disgorged from the Austin Music Hall, while urbanistas tangoed out of Mulberry.
Amanda Bullard, Gaia Ciolfi and Julie Serafini at Star Bar
Bacchants filled West Second Street as completely as they had East Sixth. We dashed up the stairs of the Phoenix, where I knew events coordinator Jen Shoemaker had whipped up a storm of a party. She and I wished each other well, but didn’t understand a word the other said because of the DJ’s agitated hip-hop din.
Spencer and Devan Palmer at the Seaholm Power Plant
Massey and I hugged the parting Schapiro and Pochucha, who planned breakfast at TacoDeli, then buzzed across Colorado Street to the dance-happy Kiss & Fly, which my friend had not seen since its days as Hall’s more than 20 years ago. (We missed the naked dancer reported by a reliable Facebook friend.) Afterward, we skipped by still-buzzy West Second Street to cross the Drake Bridge, hiking toward home.
Matt McCormack and Candace Wasilew at Seaholm
Viewing the city through homecoming and sojourning eyes just magnified the evening’s joys.
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