OneTwoThreeFour!
A Texas concert series 'In The Mix,' the mini indie renaissance and 48 hours of Victory
By Joe GrossMay 27, 2004
Theresa Jenkins has been named project manager of the Recording Academy, Texas Chapter (also known as the local office of the Grammy people). She is the former president of DiverseCity International, an entertainment public relations firm.
"I will be responsible for educational events throughout Texas and serve as the Latin music contact for the state," Jenkins said Tuesday.
The Academy's "In the Mix" event series, which launches July 13, spotlights various musical genres in various cities. The first event, which takes place in San Antonio, showcases Latin music. Houston-based Armando Lichtenberger, manager and founding member of La Mafia (the band, not the organized crime group) and the president of Urbana Recording Studios, is the featured artist.
The second event focuses on urban music and will take place in Houston. Jenkins is also working up the "Heroes Awards," an October event in Austin that will honor members of the Texas music community.
LITTLE INDIES HIT THE BIG TIME
Indie labels, what with being the future of the music industry and all, come in all sorts of sizes. (Which is why they are the future of the music industry.)
New West Records is one of the higher-profile ones and it is on fire. This summer, the Austin-and-Los Angeles-based alt-country label will release some of the finest albums of its seven-year life, including new joints from the Old 97's and the Drive-By Truckers, -- both huge live draws in Austin -- a live Flatlanders album featuring a set from 1972, and an album from Austin songwriter Jon Dee Graham that's rumored to be a career-defining record.
As for smaller local labels, Arclight Records, around since mid-2003, has a big summer planned as well. The micro-indie -- founded by Republic Studios owner/engineer David Elizondo and Mauro Arrambide, who plays in Speedloader -- will release an album on June 15 by Book of Knots, their first non-Texas band. Elizondo says the record has gained a surprising amount of attention, with reviews running everywhere from contemporary percussion magazine Modern Drummer to metal magazine Kerrang! (Yes, it has an exclamation point.)
Arclight is also preparing an album from Red River district sensations Amplified Heat, whose bluesy hard rock has gained them a legion of club-going fans.
"People ask me, 'Are they like Los Lonely Boys?' " Elizondo says. "I have to say, 'Uh, no.' " The label is also planning an album from Richmond, Va., metal act RPG and an LP release of D.C.-based post-hardcore act the OutCircuit.
"Austin's scene has an interesting ebb and flow," Elizondo says. "Right now, there's a lot of pop-punk and pseudo-punk, and that's not really our thing. But we also don't want to be a stoner rock label or a label that just does weird artsy releases."
Elizondo also runs the unassuming Republic Studio on 14th and Rio Grande streets, where he has recorded many of the Arclight releases. The studio is near a bunch of law firms, which begs the question: Is there a noise problem?
"Nah," Elizondo says. "It's kind of a ghost town once you get past 5 p.m."
IT HAPPENED ONE KNITE
One Knite reunion organizer Rebecca Kohout declares the show a success, but is unsure if she wants to do it again next year. Kohout was joined by what she estimates as 600 to 700 people at Stubb's on Sunday for the show, which included sets from the Flatlanders, Greezy Wheels, Doyle Bramhall, W.C. Clark and more.
"It was great, we had a blast," Kohout said on Tuesday (a real-estate agent by trade, she was in the middle of a closing as we chatted). "It was like a festival, and there were a lot of old people that we hadn't seen in a couple of years."
But she isn't sure if it should be an annual event. "At this point the jury's out on that," Kohout said. "I did all the work on it this year. The good news is we made money, and everybody has been hounding me about it, and I'd love to do it again, but only if I could generate the same amount of interest.
"Maybe not annually, but once every two years or so," she said. Then she got back to her closing. ...
TO THE VICTORY GOES THE SPOILS
Not only did the Victory Grill's doors stay open for all 48 hours of its benefit last week, but people were there for all of it.
"I was actually very impressed," said DiverseArts director Harold McMillan, who has been involved with reviving the Grill. "The doors were actually opened from Friday until Sunday."
McMillan says the club was packed during the prime times of Friday night and Saturday night. McMillan says the Saturday night set by the Blues Specialists was probably the most popular.
"There was a rainbow family there," McMillan said, referring to the racially diverse crowd. "Lots of dancing, lots of people with digital cameras."
McMillan says he is unsure how much money was raised, and totals were unavailable at press time. "I know that some people were there just enjoying a community event," he says. "But I also saw some people digging into their checkbooks and writing some big checks."
Nor could he estimate when the storied (and star-crossed) East Side venue would return to fully active status. Victory Grill director Eva Lindsey was unavailable for comment at press time. (Given the fact that McMillan estimates she was probably awake most of the two days, she was probably still asleep.) "I know the plan right now is that there will be drama and spoken word, as well as blues and jazz," McMillan says. He added that there will likely be a special event for Juneteenth. ...
Tips? Call. jgross@statesman.com; 912-5926.
