Clifford Antone - 1949-2006

At Antone's, a deeper blues is a fine tribute

Musicians and fans pack namesake club to honor Austin icon

By Joe Gross
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, May 25, 2006

As it has been so many Austin nights, Antone's was the place to be Wednesday. A packed house, hugs and tears, stories exchanged, electric blues roaring from the stage.

There was just one person missing: Clifford Antone.

Hundreds of fans and dozens of musicians turned out for a combination wake and blues jam to pay tribute to Antone, the club's founder and an Austin music fixture known worldwide for his devotion to the blues.

The free show resembled a jazz funeral, with the solemn faces that ringed the outside of the club all night soon dancing in jubilation to music from such acts as Gary Clark Jr., Guy Forsyth, Monte Montgomery and Joe Ely.

Del Castillo played a Spanish version of "The Godfather Theme," announcing that it was the first song played for Antone in heaven. After Papa Mali performed the gospel number "Glory Glory Hallelujah," he announced, "There are no jails in heaven."

The blues jam included Jimmie Vaughan; Bob Dylan's guitar player, Denny Freeman; and W.C. Clark.

Darcie Fromholz, a waitress at Antone's in the '80s, was typical of the crowd: somber yet ready to party.

"It's time to take it to the streets and march to the second-line beat," she said.

Antone, 56, was found dead at his Towers of Town Lake condominium Tuesday afternoon. Police said the death did not appear to be suspicious, and an autopsy is pending.

Mayor Will Wynn said a memorial event cosponsored by the city is planned for June 3 at the Palmer Events Center but added that the club was Antone's most vital legacy.

"I think the most important tribute is that Antone's survives and remains an iconic piece of the fabric of Austin," Wynn said.

Fans, well-wishers, mourners and folks who just wanted to get out of the late afternoon heat lined up outside Antone's nearly an hour before doors opened at 4 p.m. Police closed street lanes closest to the club at 213 W. Fifth St. to accommodate the crowd that grew larger as the night wore on.

Bill Hughes was one of the first in line. A longtime roots music fan, he once found himself sitting next to Antone at the Broken Spoke without knowing who Antone was.

"I was asking him questions about the band, and he couldn't have been nicer," Hughes said. "He described himself as a 'lifelong professional listener.' "

The free show reached its 600-person club capacity inside of an hour, with the staff enforcing a one-out, one-in policy.

Blues guitarist Gary Clark Jr. opened the show with an hour-long set.

Bass player Nick Travis watched from stage right, near Clifford Antone's traditional listening spot. An Austin musician who has played with blues artists such as Lavelle White and Guy Forsyth, Travis had known Antone for more than 25 years.

"Seeing all these people, it's really starting to hit me that he's gone," Travis said. "Clifford was Old Man River; he was just always around." Travis later joined Clark onstage.

Although Antone no longer owned or booked his namesake club, now at its fourth location, he frequently introduced acts onstage there.

He stayed close to the blues scene despite a shrinking fan base as many of the aging greats who once played his club died. Although the club booked rock acts many nights, Antone continued to push young blues players.

His advocacy was dimmed only by two federal prison sentences, in the mid-1980s for marijuana possession and in 1999 for conspiracy to deliver marijuana and money laundering.

Fans were not talking about those lapses Wednesday night, however.

Carlyne Majer ran the Soap Creek Saloon with husband from 1973 to 1985 and worked for Antone when he was establishing his record company.

"What I admired most about Clifford was his resilience in the club business," she said. "It's very tough, but he withstood it all because of the music."

Sandi Deming, a lifelong friend, worked the door Wednesday.

"Clifford was the sort of guy who would go to everyone's funeral," Deming said, choking up. "It's all of our loss."

Wednesday morning, signs popped up all over town paying tribute to Antone. "God bless you Clifford Antone," read the Paramount Theatre marquee. "Bless You Clifford" read the ever-changing sign on the old Cinema West theater on South Congress Avenue.

Longtime Austin artist Brian Curley printed 200 posters commemorating Antone's life and brought them to the club.

"We just gave them away because Clifford was such a great guy, and they were gone in 20 minutes," Curley said.

Cutter Brandenburg, Stevie Ray Vaughan's one-time road manager, held court at the corner of the bar, watching Clark wail away.

"There should be a statue of Clifford right next to Stevie," he said, "I don't know anybody else in this industry who reached out to so many artists, young or old."

jgross@statesman.com; 912-5926

Additional material from staff writer Michael Corcoran.