XL Music

AM/PM: Grooming his entrepreneurial spirit

By Michael Corcoran
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, March 02, 2006

You have known them by the trail of destruction they often leave in their wake. Yet the volatile noisesmiths known as . . . And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead will be on best behavior when they play a party at the Beauty Bar, which is opening an Austin location just in time for South By Southwest.

How can I be so certain of the Trailers' choirboy demeanor on March 17? Master-thrasher Jason Reece is a co-owner of the trendy manicures-n-martinis joint, which has spots in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, and soon on East Seventh Street in ATX. This could be the first Trail of Dead gig where Reece will not only refrain from kicking a bass drum onto a table full of drinks, but might also remind folks to use their coasters.

Last year, Reece met majority owner Paul Devitt at the Las Vegas location, one of his fave haunts on the road, and the two became fast friends. "Paul said they'd been thinking about opening a Beauty Bar in Austin and I said, 'Let me help you scout for locations,' " says Reece, whose diverse night-owling takes him from dance clubs to dives. The kid knows where the action is — and he's shown Devitt around on about 10 visits during the past year.

Eventually the duo found what they were looking for in an old brake shop across from the Municipal Court building and next door to new rock club Red 7. "I love that there's never been a bar there before," Reece says of the 617 E. Seventh St. location. "There's no residual, next-nightclub-to-fail-in-this-location feel."

Reece says, the more he talked with Devitt about the club, the more he wanted to become more involved. "Eventually, I was able to drum up enough money to become a partner," he says, describing his role as more hands-on than the other investors. "I'll be one of the faces of the club." he says.

The opening night of Beauty Bar, which will reserve a capacity for about 200 inside and more on the front patio, will be March 12, when it will host a party for the Pixies documentary "loudQuietloud" premiering at SXSW. Among the acts playing parties during the music fest will be Art Brut, Peaches and Big Daddy Kane, but Reece says live music will not be a fixture at the club where customers can have their nails done while getting hammered. "I've always loved the Beauty Bars (the first opened in 1995) because the (piped in) music was just edgier and more adventurous than what I'd hear elsewhere," Reece says.

Reece sees the Austin locale as a hangout for movie and fashion folk, and the first drink/last drink stop for Red River rockers. "We don't have the chain mentality," he says. "This Beauty Bar will have its own truly Austin identity." . . .

Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and the Dixie Chicks played some of their first gigs in front of listeners (as opposed to pizza eaters) at the original Waterloo Ice House on Congress Avenue. For its 30th anniversary, the burger joint, now next to Waterloo Records (with other locations) is returning to its roots, giving a greater emphasis to live music. First there's the new stage in the front window, christened by the Hudsons on Feb. 16. Then there are free showcases during SXSW, featuring 30 acts March 15-18, with the March 17 lineup featuring Rick Trevino, Jesse Dayton, Sara Hamilton and more looking especially strong. . . .

Tony Villanueva, who left the Derailers in October 2003 and moved his family back to Oregon two years later, has gone from Nudie suit-wearer to a man of the cloth. The born-again Christian has not only returned to the Calvary Community Church of his youth, but he's just been named associate pastor. . . .

The unofficial Mayor of Sixth Street, Bob Woody, has drifted his sights a few blocks south, acquiring the green brick building at 319-323 E. Second St., across the street from the Austin Convention Center to the east and Roy's and Fleming's to the north. Plans are to open three separate nightclub/restaurants at the former child-care center on East Second by the end of the year. . . .

The Belmont. That's the working name of the 13,000 square foot swankery Matt Luckey and Daryl Kunik are working on next door to their Oslo. The concept is said to nibble from the Dresden Rooms club featured in "Swingers." Lotsa red, lotsa "baby" this, "baby" that, lotsa Sinatra.

Finally, it looks like the long wait is about to be over for Steve Dean's new rustic club two miles south of Manor on FM 973. The Oaks will host a farewell SXSW barbecue March 19, with James Intveld, Rosie Flores, Rick Broussard and more. And look for a KGSR live music series to start at the 1,000-capacity venue this summer.

mcorcoran@statesman.com; 445-3652