Woodstock 1969 - revisited from AMFM STUDIOS LLC on Vimeo.

Now - I know I’m supposed to be the big Michael Bay apologist - for the record - I loved and continue to love BAD BOYS 1 & 2, THE ROCK and ARMAGEDDON. I feel PEARL HARBOR was an hour too long and it hurt what might have been a better shorter film, much like this film. And I really really strongly dislike THE ISLAND and TRANSFORMERS.

This latest film I found more tolerable than the last one, if only because I enjoyed Prime’s battle with 3 Decepticons in the forest. And the Egyptian battle sequence, especially with the modified Prime.

But you have to remember, I didn’t like a single action sequence in the first film. I rewatched TRANSFORMERS on Blu-Ray before going to the theater today, because I wanted it fresh in mind. I do feel that John Turturro is better this time out. Megan Fox was hotter in the last film. But this film has so much obviously wrong with it, that you have to wonder if anybody in the process ever told Michael Bay that he was fucking offensively retarded.

Well, I know it wouldn’t be Lorenzo DiBonaventura - the lead ACTIVE producer on the film. He’s the incompetent schmuck that shat on IRON GIANT, and put Schumacher on BATMAN. Lorenzo is a nice guy that has zero barometer for taste. He’s like a sweet janitor, more than a smart producer or studio exec. The basic storyline about the Fallen - and the distant history of Robots on Earth… I like. I very much suspect that Orci & Kurtzman created the overall storyline, but then Ehren Kruger came in with the Twins and most of the SHIT in this film. I say this, because I once experienced first hand the rancid idiotic fumblings on Ehren Kruger on JOHN CARTER OF MARS - who single handedly managed to shit on Burroughs in a way I though unthinkable. And cost us untold fortunes in rewrites and changes. And yes, I’ve never been more frustrated as when the studio forced that hack upon us. But I will say that Mudflap and Skids and Jolt read just like some of the unnecessary bullshit that I’ve read from Kruger before.

All that said though - my nephew loved the film, he’s nearly nine. He hated the kissy stuff. But he loved pretty much everything else. He adored Mudflap and Skids - which is more disturbing than anything else. The amount of foul language popping out of their mouths is astonishing, especially with the shit, bitch, muther…, ass, pussy, etc…

What the hell is this stuff doing in a TRANSFORMERS movie?

Anyone?

This film was conceived during the WRITER’S STRIKE - with Michael Bay up at ILM doing animatics on the big action sequences. Then when the strike was over, he brought in Orci & Kurtzman to string the scenes together. Which oddly enough was kinda how Hitchcock and Lehmann worked on NORTH BY NORTHWEST (to radically different results). And then the roto-rooter of screenwriters, Ehren Kruger did the mop up work on the film. At least that’s how I’ve heard it went down.

The film will make a mint, undeservedly so. Steven Spielberg should be embarrassed to have his name on shoddy storywork like this. Shame on you Steven. Kids will be lining up for this - and they’ll be met with dog fucking, cussing, racial stereotypes and more. I seriously wonder if Spielberg was thinking of Mudflap & Skids as he watched the inauguration of Barack Obama - because he’d read the script at that point, he knew what his name was bringing, and yet he still had the gall to attend.

The filmmakers, studio and toymakers behind this film should be ashamed. To spend this type of money to bring this sort of hurtful and repugnant work to screen - it is an insult to every DREAM that so many have WORKed for, for years.

I’d like to ask you not to support this film, but those of you with young boys, I know there isn’t a chance. But realize you’ll be taking them to see a film with the lowest forms of humor, stereotypes and racism around. Not only that, but its packaged for our children. Which makes it all the more offensive.

Away We Go

The saying “Home is where the heart is” takes on new meaning in Away We Go, a romantic comedy for the unaffected. Burt (the irresistibly charming John Krasinski) and Verona (a perfectly quirky Maya Rudolph) are a smart, modern (she doesn’t see the point in marriage), unconventional (and refuses to marry him) couple who discover through one of the film’s funniest moments, that they are having a baby. A series of circumstances free them up to go in search of a place to start their new family.

After the torturous look at love gone wrong with Revolutionary Road, Sam Mendes has pulled a 180, using Away We Go to celebrate a rare kind of love between two people who seem to fulfill every cliche known to man (and woman) about completion and one-ness ever created.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film so unapologetically committed to the notion of love.

Encased in the lyrics of Alexi Murdoch’s lovelorn soundtrack, Verona and Burt don’t just look at each other, they melt into each other. There is a sense that they genuinely don’t need anyone else. Living in what seems to be the middle of nowhere, when Verona tells her sister in an early phone conversation that the couple has plans that evening she responds with a genuinely surprised, “You two?” They have built a sacred world where each is free to be weird and un-cool and try their hand at funny even it if doesn’t work. Through this unique relationship, they have largely removed any outside pressures to be anything else. Burt’s not getting a job means about as much as forgetting to pick up milk.   Verona’s “disappearing vagina” is a new and exciting challenge. In what is arguably a non-plot, the film’s drama is centered around the couple’s testing out of their force field of unwavering comfort and devotion in various states and allowing a selected few of the world’s insufficient and flailing lovers to bounce off of it.  Mendes coaxes a few standout performances from these couples, including a particularly mouth dropping Maggie Gyllenhaal as a self-possessed new age mother, and a few dramatic exchanges between the super couple and the averages, are very funny.  But that’s about it as far as drama goes. And where most reviewers have come down on the film and Mendes. It’s also why many theater goers might feel compelled to run from the theater screaming.  Admittedly, I experienced both. And then, I had another…experience.  One that required an uncomfortable opening up, a squirm-inducing embrace, and finally, full-tilt acceptance of the film’s preciousness.

Anyone that has attempted to brave love knows how difficult it truly is. And even if you do find the one, there are all those other factors-being in the same “place” mentally, physically, childhood fears, adult fears, baggage-the chances that you will both line us is well, not a promising proposition.  The whole love business is as much a fine art as it is a science, one which few in this world have truly mastered.  In this sense, watching a couple who seems to have achieved such a feat is compelling enough, much a like a rare jewel in a museum that warrants nothing more than a glass case for which to peer into. (of course the film ends before the possibility of their tiring of each other’s smiles and quirks, become suffocated, and begin sleeping in separate rooms).  It’s hard to appreciate the stripped down not-ness of a film like this one. It’s hard to slow down and contemplate such pure possibility. It’s hard not to puke at precious.  But it’s worth a try.

The Hangover is a genuinely committed, gross out, raunch-fest comedy, that if at times uneven, never succumbs to sentimentality or sap. This is no small feat considering the premise which is about as formulaic as they come: A crew of  friends go to Vegas for a bachelor party that goes all wrong.   Part of its success is the fearlessness with which they push the dark-comedy envelope. Part of it is the treatment of the whole  buddy movie/road trip and their ability to embrace one of the most worn out plots in film with a  a  we-know-the-concept-sucks-but-trust-us sensibility that seems to motivate the filmmakers to stay one step ahead of its audience’s we’ve-seen-this-before expectations.

Following on the heals of that other comedy about a delusional man-boy, Observe and Report (which had the unfortunate task of following on the heals of the other comedy about a mall cop), the story for The Hangover is set in motion by Allen (Zach Galifianakis ), the brother-of-the-bride whose overzealous desire to be part of the crew takes them on a life- altering path of destruction.  Zach undeniably steals the film with his dead pan psychotic behavior and stupidity, leaving the rest of the cast with the responsibility of either reacting to him or whatever situation he has managed to get them into. This is not to say they don’t hold their own and Justin Lee Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms  each seem to fully inhabit the “man” they are assigned to play.  This should be a breakout film for much of the cast who up until now have been putting in time with romantic comedies, TV, and the stand-up circuit.  Heather Graham turns up as a funny, sweet, stripper but still a far cry from her heart stopping power in Boogie Nights (undeniably, a big-picture career disappointment role, but don’t think too much about it).

A few editing choices leave you scratching your head, a few moments feel stalled, but most leave you smiling with appreciation at the love of comedy,  laughing a   “that was fucking brilliant” laugh, or shaking a  “Did that just happen?” head .  And the end, well, it is downright ridiculous.  In the best way possible.

The Hangover opens Friday, June 5th.

AUSTIN DAZE: Tell us about performing as part of  M.A.L.I’s festival.

ELAINE RYAN: I can’t wait. It’ll be my first performance in Austin and my first trip to Texas. I’m really looking forward to hearing all of the other musicians and watching the films. It should be a fabulous time.

AD: How did you get involved?

EM: I applied for the festival through the Sonicbids website. That’s how I came to hear about it.

AD: What do you think about the theme of this year’s festival: Sustainability?

EM: I think it’s apropos. The environment is such an important issue-they’ve been telling my generation to care for the earth since we were five and it’s scary how little has changed in 20 or so years. The more attention that can be brought to bear on the environment and sustainability issues the better.

AD: Tell our readers a little bit about your sound. If you had to describe “folk-soul”…

EM: I call my music folk-soul because, like folk, my songs have simple melodies and song structure, while being lyric-driven. I believe that the lyrics themselves and my voice are more reminiscent of soul…but that’s a subjective thing I suppose-what do you think?

AD: What are you inspired by?

EM: Most of my inspiration comes from lived experience, particularly relationships I’ve had. The songs that have social justice themes come from experience too, whether working in a developing country or getting out of a tough relationship. The songs are usually inspired by an emotional state and then flushed out with thoughts and images floating around in my head.

AD: Have those inspirations changed over the years?

ER: I became a singer-songwriter with the idea of writing feminist songs. I had recently returned from a trip to Guatemala and was coming to terms with the fact that women in most of the world do not have the kinds of rights and freedoms that women in North America and Europe do. I had known that before of course, but the shock of it really hit me after I had done some travelling. I find it extraordinary that there’s so little public outcry about the harsh treatment of women in the developing world. In the end though, when it came to my song-writing process, I found that I was much better at being truthful and genuine about my own life experience. So I only write as many overtly feminist songs as I have material for in my personal life! There used to be a lot of that but as I’ve grown, emotionally, and gotten a bit older, I’m better able to choose situations that are conducive to my liberty and happiness. Now, it is more important for me just to write my truth. I feel like the more that I do that, the more I find that other people can identify with the songs, and the better I feel about what I’ve written.

AD: What’s your process?

ER: I think I collect ideas in the back of my mind as I go along and then when my mind is in a creative place it, or some kind of muse, puts the pieces together in song form. One thing I’ve really noticed over time is that I need to be finished with a situation to write well about it. When I’m in a situation that isn’t good for me, my mind has too many ulterior motives (like not having to reconcile contradictory feelings and behaviors) to write truthfully. Sometimes I write the words and the music together, sometimes separately. It’s really important for me to be in a place where no-one can hear me when I’m working on songs, or I start to censor myself.

AD: What’s the music scene in Vancouver like?

ER: It’s hard for me to say; it’s the only urban scene I’ve really been in. I’ve spent some time on Maui too, which is very tourist-oriented. Naturally, the music that really speaks from the soul there tends to be Hawaiian-influenced. This is my first time in Austin, which I know has a pretty big reputation. I enjoy playing in Vancouver but it’s a scene that I find is more oriented towards bands than solo artists. But the musicians there are super-friendly, people help each other out a lot, and I think there’s quite a lot of good music coming out of Vancouver.

AD: Tell us about your debut recording, Sisters.

ER: A lot of people are touched by the title track “Sisters.” It speaks mainly to violence against women, but also to other struggles that women around the world go through. The song “Dream of Peace” is also on another album-it’s a double-disc charity compilation CD dedicated to the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. called “Dream On!”. The Sisters CD has an acoustic sound, it’s a great Saturday evening with wine or Sunday morning with a cuppa coffee or tea kind of listen.

AD: How did you get started in the music business?

ER: I was in my first semester of a Masters program in Political Science. I hated the emphasis on deconstruction. We were being trained to pick everyone’s work apart and the professors were conservative and discouraging of new ideas. I had been tempted to go to law school, but after working for a legal non-profit, realized that it would be very destructive to my soul. I was in the Masters program to get a degree that I could use to help people-either working in non-profit or for the government. But the whole program just felt oppressive to me, so I chose to quit after the first semester. I wasn’t sure where I would go from there-I wanted to do something in the arts. I ran into a friend of a friend who was working at a music store and he asked me if I’d like to play a song or two at an upcoming benefit show he was organizing. I jumped at the idea. I had never written a song before but I wrote one for that show and then just kept on writing.

AD: Did you ever consider doing anything else?

ER: When I was growing up I always wanted to be a singer or a dancer. Now I’m a singer-songwriter and I also dance flamenco for kicks. But it took me a while to settle on being a musician. There was a lot of pressure within and without to do something more lucrative and academic. I considered working in international development or as a human rights lawyer before working at becoming a musician.

AD: What’s next?

ER: I’m actually in the middle of mixing my first full-length album right now. And I’m moving to Montreal for a while to check out the music scene over there and take the opportunity to tour the eastern parts of Canada and the U.S. I’m looking forward to living in a bilingual city (and to improving my French). The musicians I’ve met over there are so warm. I’m really looking forward to the move.

$200 million was spent on Terminator Salvation. They should have fed Africa. This was a story that did not need to be told, and with its shoddy execution, weak plot, and down right bad acting, should never have been. The entire thing seems like an afterthought, an appendix to the several video games available on the website (which also seem to have more personality), and the endless marketing opportunities that surround a painful bastardization of the original machines vs. man cult classic.

The film starts off with a ridiculously convoluted subplot that threatens to suck out all important substances from your brain.  Never mind, you do your best to pay attention and make sense of it all until you realize about 30 minutes in that it really doesn’t matter either way and in fact, the possibility of a Muppet mating with Barney while eating their curds and whey and waiting for that cute little spider thing to come along would have been just as plausible a scenario to get the this movie rolling. And by rolling, I mean getting to the part where-we-can-spend-our-overblown-budget-on-blowing-shit-up. Which, after the initial set up, is pretty much all that happens and goes something like this: 2 lines of wooden, nonsensical dialogue, 10 minute blow shit up sequence, music swell, and repeat. The special effects are admittedly “cool as hell” (my inner preteen’s words). Creatively choreographed action scenes will have you jumping out of your seat. More than once I felt compelled to double check and make sure someone hadn’t slipped me those blue and red cardboard glasses as I dodged left and right to avoid the giant pieces of metal coming straight for me. Now if only the actors plodding mindlessly through their scenes could have demonstrated even a hint of that kind of animation. A particularly disappointing Blair Williams (played by Moon Bloodgood), dressed in Urban Outfitters-esque jewelry (one of several styling missteps, Markus’s “distressed” t-shirt being another) and perfect white teeth, is of little more use to the Resistance than those talking Mannequins in the Old Navy commercials. Linda Hamilton she is not, as she mutters something about kicking ass, right before the three  slovenly men the threat was intended for overtake her in what appears to be the beginning of a gang rape.

“I’ll be Back” (please, don’t bother). “Come with me if you want to live” (I hoped they wouldn’t) and a naked rubbery -looking computer-engineered Arnold (unintended comic genius) are all hard evidence that this is in fact related to the original, but their haphazard delivery and random existence had many exasperated audience members glancing at each other with the same helpless WTF? expression on their faces.  If  this is the best the Terminator franchise has to offer, I’m rooting for the machines.

Can You Speak Your Truth?

This was the question posed to a dozen or so participating artists at the The Portrait Assignment, an exhibition currently on view at Flatbed Press.  The answer came in the form of  individual “Portraits” created to convey what each contributor considered to be their “truth”–an up close and personal look at who they are. Each statement is accompanied by a visual manifestation of that “truth”.  The Portrait Assignment was conceived by Mariska Nicholson, whose contributing piece  “Cherry”  is a raw and moving meditation on sexual satisfaction. The seeds for the project were planted in 2007, when Mariska began writing in an attempt to face her own reality . Her personal accounts, which she started sharing with her friends and family, “Were honest and unedited.” They were also inspiring. She says, ” I had people say to me that I was inspiring because I wanted to talk about things that some may perceive as uncomfortable or inappropriate.”

About eight months ago she took that inspiration a step further and decided to enlist others–some artists like Bob Schneider and some non-artists–to share their stories as well.  From there, the  project took on a life of its own and ultimately, a new purpose.  The individual contributions, taken together, demonstrate a collective human experience that Mariska hopes will teach people that “we are not so different from the next.” In addition to the exhibition, she has  launched a website where you can submit your own “Portrait”. Can you speak your truth?

The Portrait Assingment will be on view from  5.15.09 - 6.12.09: The Portrait Assignment Exhibit Located at Flatbed Press, 2832 E Martin Luther King Jr, Austin, TX 78702.

Submit your Portrait at www.portraitassignment.com. You can view all Portraits from the exhibit there as well.

Winner of 20 major awards, including a Grammy® Award and 3 Tony® Awards, Wicked is the untold story of the witches of OZ. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

Texas Box Office Outlets, by phone at (512) 477-6060 or online at www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com. Groups of 20 or more, call 1 -877-275-3804 or e-mail Austin.groups@broadwayacrossamerica.com.

Natasha Minsk is model, burlesque dancer, and vintage clothing entrepreneur.  She’ll be dazzling you with her performance Saturday night but first she’ll be answering some of our questions.

AUSTIN DAZE: What is your favorite aspect of Burlesque?

NATASHA MINSK:  The opportunity to interact with an audience and draw them into an experience with me.

AD:  Is this your sole profession or do you have an average day job?

NM:  I design interiors for homes and events, as well as run a vintage clothing business, Cheesecake Vintage (www.cheesecakevintage.etsy.com). In addition, I have a Masters Degree in opera and occasionally perform in that realm.

AD:  Does your personality onstage differ from who you are off stage?

NM:  Not really - my burlesque persona and my real life are pretty integrated. The integration process for me took place years ago when I was struggling to express who I truly was rather than hiding behind a shy exterior.

AD:  You are also part of a duo called The Honey Buns.  Can you tell us a little about that?

NM:  Lola Getz, the other Bun, and I met 2 and 1/2 years ago in a burlesque class and did a routine together for that class. We enjoyed working together so much that we decided to continue to perform duets as well as provide a support base for each other’s solo careers. Working with Lola is a blast because we each bring different things to the table and as a result, are always learning from each other. We are each pretty laid back ladies too, which has been so wonderful - there is none of that territorial competitiveness that can arise in a performance arena. Love you, Lola!

AD:  Do you prefer to perform solo or as a pair?

NM:  It depends on the day! I love the thrill of being the only one on stage and getting to play with the audience so intimately, but when I go too long without collaboration, I get antsy. It is the same with opera - there is an insane high when you are the one weaving a aria into an audience’s conscious, but the feeling of working with other singers provides a whole different energy because there is that ability to play off of each other as well as the magic of having all these diverse parts come together to create this wall of sound.

AD:  How do you decide on what you will perform at each show?  Is there a process or just what feels right for the location?

NM:  Often, a show or venue will have a particular feel or theme - classic, 1980’s, speakeasy - and that definitely informs the choice of a number. If there isn’t a prescribed feel, I pick whatever piece I am most passionate about at the moment. That passion will translate to the audience!

AD:  Some people think that Burlesque is too risqué.  What are your thoughts on that?

NM:  I think there is a time and place for it - I certainly wouldn’t walk into corporate America and start a routine, but I think that burlesque is classy. Of course it’s titillating - that’s the point - but for the most part burlesque performers are a theatrical bunch, not a raunchy bunch. Burlesque is a theatrical venture, with an additional focus on the story and the illusion, not solely the physical.

AD:  I am in love with the whole pin up look!  Any advice for a girl who is interested in getting into the biz?

NM:  Learn how to do your hair! It’s actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it - it just takes practice. Once you’ve got the hair done, you could throw on some jeans and a t-shirt and people will still be amazed by your pin-up-ness. Then find an amazing photographer with pin-up experience and start learning how to pose. There are lots of great books of the old pin-ups out there to inspire both your look and your pin-up style posing. Most of all have fun! To me, pin-ups are about inspiring people, from women who are learning to love and embrace their figures, to people at a pub who may feel like there is no longer glamour in modern life.

AD:  What are your plans for the future?

NM:  I am going to be taking Cheesecake Vintage on the road a lot this summer to Rockabilly and Pin-Up events so that will be consuming much of my time. But I do have plans for creating some new burlesque routines, bringing a few women positive events to fruition, and then traveling to NYC to perform at the Coney Island Cockabilly Festival and Pin-up Contest. Whew!

Red Hot Annie also hails from Chicago.  She started out as just a girl selling hot dogs on the city streets but soon heard her calling as an entertainer.  You can catch her act on Saturday night as well but first we talk here about monthly bills and how important it is to love the body you were born with!

AUSTIN DAZE:  What attracted you to Burlesque?

RED HOT ANNIE:  I am an exhibitionist, and I enjoy the idea of expressing myself - specifically - in front of an audience.  Burlesque lets me do that, but it also has an aspect of theatre and glamour that I adore.  Plus, I get to express myself sexually, which - even as far as we’ve come - is still a rare thing for women to be able to do socially without reproach.

AD:  I would never have the balls to pull of what you all do on stage.  Have you always been this comfortable in your skin or did it take some time?

RHA:  It took some time, of course.  I actually started acting on stage when I was 16, and acting/singing in front of an audience was enough to help me overcome a lot of my physical insecurities.    But, just because I embrace my cellulite on stage doesn’t mean that I always feel 100% about my body.  So, certainly there are times when I’m climbing the stairs to the stage and I have a momentary freak-out about my ass, my dirty bare feet, or whether I have lipstick on my teeth.  The fact is - for me - the joy of being on stage trumps any of feelings of insecurity.

I firmly believe that Empowerment is a Process.

AD:  I read on your web site that getting “the monthly bill” never stops a dancer but something called a “diva cup” can be used.  I can’t imagine having to be sexy while going through my period but also having to wear some kind of cup?!  How do you do it?

RHA:  Haha!  It’s not always easy, that’s for sure.   Sometimes, I feel like sitting on the couch, eatting a chocolate cake, and watching Sex in the City reruns instead of performing - especially when I have my period.  But, it’s rarely hard for me to just throw some glitter on and dance because I love burlesque so damn much!

AD:  Fans must go bananas over you!  Can you tell us a little about your fan base and how they help fund your travels?

RHA:  I am very lucky to have such enduring fans.  I’ve been a pinup model for 7 years, and my biggest fans have been around since the very beginning.  There are a lot of gentlemen and a few ladies who send me regular emails that really help make it all worth doing!  When I was preparing to travel for the Vancouver International Burlesque Fest, many of my fans sent me donations to show their support.  I don’t think I could have made it to Vancouver without their help!  It’s very expensive to travel internationally.

AD:  Your photo spreads are beautiful, do you have a favorite style to shoot?

RHA:  I am constantly trying to evolve my work.  It tends to stay in the Pinup genre, for the most part, but I’m always looking for new and interesting photographers who want to push my boundaries.

AD:  Is your family supportive of your career choice?

RHA:  They are not unsupportive.  My parents pull that, “I may not love what you do, but I’ll always love you,” line, but the rest of my siblings - I have six! - are sorta “Meh,” on the whole thing.  My sisters have come to a show or two, but the fact is, they’re really not interested in any of it.

AD:  Are there Burlesque dancers that you look up to?

RHA:  This is going to sound corny, but my favorite dancers are the girls in my troupe, Vaudezilla.  Wham Bam Pam always has these amazing ideas for acts and ways we can engage the audience, Donna Touch is a master marketer - oh yeah, and hot as hell, and Bonny Babs makes these incredibly intricate costumes.  We also just signed-on Maria May I who is brand new but can shimmy like no one else in Chicago.

AD:  I was looking through some of your acts: Annie’s Panties, Chocolate Kisses/Strawberries, etc.  There must be a whole lot of work that goes into each act you perform like music, costumes, choreography.  Where do you get your inspiration from?

RHA:  Honestly, I guess because I’ve only been doing this for a little more than a year, I still see inspiration in just about everything, so coming up with concepts for 3 minutes of stage time comes easy at this point.  Ask me again in another year. 

AD:  Lastly, what does the future hold for Red Hot Annie?

RHA:  Who knows?  I’m ready for whatever comes my way.  I hope I can learn from the bad and be humble about the good, and remember it all when my tits are in my shoes. 

For more information on the Texas Burlesque Festival go to: http://www.texasburlesquefest.com.

In 1996 Rent hit off-Broadway with a controversial thump.  Everyone was talking about the the rock musical that showed young artists living in alphabet city struggling with drug addiction and AIDS. I was intrigued but also perplexed: at the time New York was gritty, Alphabet City legitimately “rough”, “Bohemia” was enjoying a resurgence with young “creatives”, a mix of minorities who might have grown up in the city and white kids from Scarsdale  and Westport, shirking their parent’s conventional paths in favor of resurrecting a new version of the Beats just east of their original café hangouts (which had been plowed over by Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen). The subjects of the musical were my friends; their dreams playing out some tragically, some successfully everyday. Why would you want to sing and dance about them? With that logic I opted out of seeing it back then, skipped it when it hit Broadway, and ultimately passed on the big screen event all the while wondering, Did I miss something? Tuesday night I finally put the curiosity to rest at the Bass Concert Hall.

The Bass Concert Hall has recently been renovated (admittedly I hadn’t seen it before the renovation) to accommodate musical theater, apparently something it couldn’t do well before.  In addition to the new acoustics, perhaps the Hall’s most exciting addition is the sculptures on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Eyes a striking marble piece by Louise Bourgeois greets you when you enter. All of the works vary in medium and tone, a haunting The Swan’s Dream of Leda by David Hare can be found on the same floor as the comparatively serene Column of Peace (sadly, their signifacace was largely passed over several patrons who repeatedly used the base of one to hold their cocktails). There are two bars on each of the three open floors (they don’t have snacks but there is a vending machine just out the doors on the way to the Fine Arts Library), and plenty of comfortable seating (think hip hotel lobby). A wall gallery featuring the artists Jared Dunten and Marty Butler lead diners to a modern café on the second level. The combination of dining, drinking, and art perusing in a bright and airy setting invites theater goers to come early and make a night of it.  It’s a great way to spend an evening.

The theater itself is massive and on opening night was packed—more than you could say for a Tuesday night on Broadway these days. The two leads, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, took the stage to enthusiastic cheers. Along with their fellow cast members, they returned the enthusiasm and kept the energy at a maximum as they sang their hearts out over the next two hours. Many of them have been performing Rent since its inception and the comfort and ease with which they inhabit their characters is compelling. For the leads, now stars in their own right, (with self titled CDs and memoirs available) their performances have the feel of a rock/pop concert, complete with head set (an unfortunate but necessary distraction). While the themes are no less jarring–AIDS, drugs, homelessness–New York has lost much of its bohemian grittiness (although there is talk of it making a comeback with the country’s latest economic bust) and the play serves as an accurate history lesson about a genre specific far away time in a far away place. Most of the audience seemed to be indifferent to the show’s relevance, there instead to sing along and be part of the musical sensation, cult status experience that is Rent. And despite my I-was-there-I-don’t-get-it instinct, you can’t help but see why. The songs are infectious and fun, heart sweeping and tear inducing. And with no more than five lines of dialogue in between, you are along for the ride.

Rent is part of the Broadway Across America series and will be performed through May 17th. BAA will present Wicked next, also at the Bass Concert Hall,  from August 12th-30th. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, May 16th.

Tomorrow night Antone’s will be hosting a benefit for Ruben Rodriguez, chef and owner of Evita’s Botanitas. Ruben has a brain tumor, no insurance, and mounting medical expenses. Ruben himself insists on preparing a mouthwatering appetizer buffet and Flan Queen Marta Guzman has agreed to come out of retirement and make flan for this one party. Local bakers will donate their best pies for the live pie auction and the silent auction will feature gift items, a variety of professional services, cookbooks, restaurant meal packages, custom-made jewelry, and clothing.

Evita’s Botanitas has become a fixture of the South Austin culinary landscape. Entering the café you feel as though you have stepped into one of the small familial restaurants I’ve come to cherish in my travels through Interior Mexico. A small Mexican curio shop has been set up in the corner, a cornucopia of treasures, offering anything from cowboy boots to cactus lamps. The walls are hand painted with murals depicting different temples. Yellows, blues, greens, and reds from the booths to the tablecloths to the decorative art offer a festive spirit that embraces you and welcomes you to sit down, relax and enjoy a leisurely meal. It feels at once like you are on vacation and at someone’s home for lunch, a perfect combination for passing the afternoon away. Which is exactly what the Daze crew did on a recent Friday afternoon feasting on a  meal that lasted almost three hours. The staff didn’t seem to mind at all.

Ruben and his family have been providing delicious food and welcoming hospitality for 19 years. The Rodriguez family is integral to creating such a friendly atmosphere. On the day we were there, Ruben’s daughter made sure our bellies were properly filled. And filled they were. The moment we sat down the infamous Salsa Tower arrived, a two tiered extravaganza of chips and six homemade salsas, ranging from hot to hotter to hottest. We ordered the Botanitas combo plate of appetizers—perfect for a party or to munch on over drinks. The plate consists of quesadillas, crispy flour tortillas with mushrooms, peppers, and cheese, battered and fried stuffed jalapenos filled with oozing white cheese, onions and cilantro, a healthy portion of guacamole salad, and bean and cheese nachos. We took on the homemade Mole Puebla Enchiladas (a perfectly rich sauce) and Chicken Fajitas which came out sizzling with a side of black beans, guacamole, rice (accented with cilantro and lime), sour cream and cheese. When it comes to presentation, Evita’s Botanitas goes the extra mile (vibrant bell pepper flowers adorn each plate) and Ruben’s desire to celebrate life with food shines through with every dish.

Leann Atherton, one of the many performers at tomorrow’s benefit, has been a big fan of the restaurant and was happy to lend a helping musical hand. She says, “ Ruben and I became friends when I was selling ads for the Chronicle. I called on his business and was blown away by his incredible salsa and the way he made everything look so beautiful. He had worked for a hotel and was trained in ice sculpting and all of that incredible presentation.” Leann was quickly sold on Evita’s Botanitas and it became her new favorite restaurant. She proudly watched as the business grew. She explains, “He started advertising with small ads, and entered the Chronicle Hot Sauce contest and won. He started catering cool events. He kept winning, he kept working, growing. He catered my (potluck) wedding at the Barn, using my porch to display his beautiful food.”  Other musical guests who are longtime fans of the restaurant and will be lending their support include: Steven Fromholz, the Sunset Valley Boys, Zydeco Blanco, Gurf Morlix, the Texana Dames, Larry Lange & His Lonely Knights, and the Blue Tuesday band. Rumor has it there is a very special guest expected to make an appearance.

Come enjoy great food, great music and a live auction all for a great cause.
Date and Time: Tuesday, May 12^th 6pm-midnight

AUSTIN DAZE: How did you get started in the business?
STEPHEN BRUTON: Well, when I got started it had nothing to do with business-I was just playing guitar in Fort Worth, Texas. And then, you know, one thing leads to another and the next thing you know you are getting paid a couple of bucks to do this or that and your hobby becomes your profession and your profession becomes your calling and pretty soon you’ve made a livelihood out of it. And now it’s too late to stop.

AD: Did you always know this was what you wanted to do for a living, or was there a specific time when it clicked?
SB: No I didn’t really know exactly how you make a living out of it. My dad was a professional musician-he was a drummer-but he always went to school and then had a record store in Fort Worth so he worked six nights a week and then six days a week he worked at the store. I was always surrounded by music. I got out of college during the Vietnam War era and I had a bad back so I didn’t have to go into the service. I got a degree to stay out of it and then said, “Well I’m going to try my luck.” So I wound up moving up to New York just to see. I knew there was a lot of music going on everywhere but Fort Worth, and I thought if it’s like this here it’s got to be great elsewhere. So I did that, went up to New York and lived up there, and wound up getting a job with a songwriter named Kris Kristofferson and wound working with him for years and years. Went back to Fort Worth and worked with Delbert McClinton for years and years and then back to work with Kristofferson at the time his star was born. I stayed with him for a long, long time but worked with other people-always worked with other people. So I ended up working with lots of greats and doing a lot of session work all over the place and was really fortunate.

AD: I read that you moved up to Woodstock; was that scene similar to Austin back then?
SB: It wasn’t similar at all. There was no scene in Woodstock. I didn’t realize when I moved there but everybody that lived in Woodstock during that time could afford to live there. There were a very small number of us where we wound up playing music. My friend Jim Colgrove was there. I was playing with Graham Parsons and all those guys that had been with Janis Joplin and then she died and they didn’t know where to go. They went back up to Woodstock where Albert Grossman had them up there. And there were the guys in The Band who I met. I met Levon the very first day I was in Woodstock-my roommate was working for them at the time. There was no real live music. There was only one place to play in the town. It was that everybody that could afford to live there lived there and made music there-they didn’t make music out at the clubs. If you wanted to go see live music you went into New York City. On the weekends I would take a bus there and check out what was going on.
AD: Did you know Cindy Cashdollar?
SB: I did not. And I didn’t know the great bass player Jennifer Condos. Evidently they were both around when I was there. They somehow escaped my grasp. I’m sure I would have ultimately wound up meeting them. I didn’t know Cindy during that time, no.

AD: You play in a number of formats-as a solo artist; with a band. Do you have a favorite?
SB: That’s an interesting question. I’ve always been of the mind that whatever you are doing at the moment is the most important thing that you should be working on. And so I always operated in a band format as a back up player and so to me that was my calling-I really enjoyed playing behind everybody. And then I was playing in bands and maybe doing one or two songs but I always liked the band dynamic because a really good band was greater than the sum of its parts. And I always loved playing guitar. That’s where my reputation, if there was one, came from. But as it has gone on over the years I never expected to be a solo artist and have my own band and everything but that became something that just fell in my lap-I didn’t avoid that. And I got more comfortable with that after I started doing it. The Resentments is just a bunch of guys who have their own bands but also play behind people so we’re comfortable doing either. It’s kind of interesting because one out of every four songs you get to sing a song and the rest of the time you are a back up player which is what we all really made our bones with. So in answering your question, whatever I’m doing at the moment I try to let myself do whether it’s me playing solo with The Resentments or playing with my band or backing up somebody-playing behind Malford down at Antone’s on Blue Tuesday or producing a record or playing with Kristofferson or Bonnie-it’s just whatever you are doing at the moment I think you really need to focus on. As a result, more and more things have come my way because I didn’t put my foot down and say, “This is what I do.” In this town we all know that everybody has to play in three or four different bands to make ends meet. And also as a professional, sometimes you have to do three or four different things. I’ve been really fortunate-blessed-to be able to do lots of different things and get called to do them again and again. One year there was nothing going on musically and I wound up getting a bit part in The Alamo. You never know where it’s going to come from so you’ve got to keep yourself open to it and lend yourself to whatever is going on at the time.

AD: Tell us about your writing process. Where do you get your ideas?
SB: That’s a hard question because there’s no formula. It’s funny the last album I put out the only mediocre review I got was in Austin where the guy said, “All his songs are formula.” And I started laughing because if there’s one person that doesn’t write with a formula, I’d have to say it’s me.  I mean if it was a formula, if they knew the formula, everybody could do it and everybody could do it successfully. There is no formula. Sometimes it literally starts with maybe an idea-a word idea or clever phrase or something that you realize if you say a certain way can mean two or three different things. Other times, a lot of times, it comes from, say, a rhythm that you are playing or you have an interesting melodic line and you think, I don’t want to forget this, so you wind up making up a lyric so you don’t forget the melody. It’s not particularly deep or anything-I think some of my favorite songs in the whole wide world weren’t message songs or anything, they were just wonderful songs by themselves-they just express something that’s just, I don’t know, almost unconscious. Sometimes I think I’ll overwrite something, I’ll be a little heavy handed with it and then I’ll go back and you have to put your ego aside and you have to say, “Ok how can you say this where it doesn’t sound like you’re coming down with a hammer on somebody?”  I think songwriting comes from wherever it comes from. It just happens.

AD: I read that you liken acting to performing music.
SB: I kind of backed into doing acting. Lets face it, I’m not exactly a household name by any stretch of the imagination, but a number of years ago I went out to LA and I was working out there playing music and I started going to this scene study class. You would take scenes from plays and you would work on a scene for a six week period and every week you would add, say, a page so by the end of that time you had worked on an entire segment of a David Mamet play or something. What I noticed about acting was that everything I had learned in music as a member of a band you could also correlate to something in acting. In other words, it had to do with the rhythm; it had to do with making whatever you were working on work. It had nothing to do with your own ego. So I really had a great time with it. This instructor said, “You seem to be able to adapt to a lot of things.” And I said, “Well it’s really the same thing as playing different kinds of music.” When it comes time for someone to deliver their lines it’s action and reaction. You’re reaction to whatever is happening at that moment is the truth. Therefore I could see a real similarity between the band dynamic and the acting dynamic.It’s like a band situation-and I got to say the guys in my band are the greatest. My father was a jazz player and I always grew up with a jazz sensibility about how the music should go. And I’ve explained to different people that there has to be this dialogue between the three of us before I ever sing a note. Even though my songs are not jazz at all, I always approach them with a jazz sensibility-there has to be this subtext, this conversation musically between everybody before you start singing. So I think that’s where that comes from.

AD: What do you think is special about an Austin audience?
SB: Well what I’ve told friends that have asked me about Austin, I’ve said, “It’s not an industry town.” It’s good in some ways and not good in some ways. What is good about it is when you come down here you really are playing music for all the right reasons. You’re not there to get the sessions-there aren’t a lot of sessions. Everybody is trying to help each other along. If somebody is out of town I’ll get a phone call to come play somewhere. You might get a call to play western swing one night or you might get a call to plays blues one night-even though that’s not what you do per se. What else is cool is that I’ll go out and hear different bands because it’s not a competition. You’re out there really enjoying what somebody else is doing because they are much further ahead in it than you are.

AD: Do you think other towns have a greater sense of competition?
SB: I don’t know. You could say some pretty catty things about different scenes. The real guys, the true players are always going to be the same in every town. But if this was more of an industry town, if there were more sessions or what not, people would be a little bit more competitive. That’s not always a bad thing because that really makes you sharpen your skills. There are two ways to look at every town. Somebody could say, “Oh Nashville, I don’t like Nashville because it’s too this or too that. But there are some of the greatest players in the world that come out of there, and some of the greatest songwriters and it’s an incredibly good music scene. It didn’t used to be that way. When I first started going there, I don’t think the music scene was nearly as viable as it is now. But it’s easy to ride off other areas. You hear, “He plays like an LA guy” Well what does an LA player play like? The guys in LA I know are incredible. Any town would be proud to have them join. I think you have to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Sometimes I think if there is a down side to Austin, it’s that it becomes a little exclusive; it gets a little too inside and a little too hip sometimes. But then again I love it here for the reasons that people really are inspired by each other and that’s really inspiring, the fact that it’s not an industry town, and no one is looking over your shoulder and telling you what you are doing wrong. You are able to grow at your own rate.
The audiences here, I find to be really great and lets face it, it’s great to be able to play several nights a week. You have to realize you’re not going to get rich quick-you may not get rich at all but you are able to play. And if you are a player, that’s what you’ve got to go do.

AD: What is the best thing and the worst thing about being a musician in Austin?
SB: Lets talks about the worst thing: sometimes I hear this town referred to as the “velvet rut” and I think that can be true to a certain extent. Because you get comfortable here; because it’s so comfortable climate-wise and at least until recently, so easy to get around and smaller and friendly, good quality of life-it’s easy to become complacent. Any time you have a town that gets content with itself, it’s not growing. If you become complacent, you’re not growing. So you have to constantly guard against becoming satisfied with what you are doing and how you are doing it. There’s a difference between acceptance of where you are and what you are doing and procrastinating what you want to do or how you are going to do it. You have to keep furthering yourself. I think the worst thing about Austin is that sometimes it gets a little full of itself. It’s easy to live here and take yourself a little too seriously and have a little too much respect for yourself. You can wake up in twenty years and still play the same whatever.
A number of years ago I started getting into producing, and when I would get off the road that was a wonderful place to be. I would get off the road with Bonnie or whoever I was working with and then go into the studio and produce somebody and it would be the flip side of the road-you know what I’m saying? You’re sleeping in your own bed but you’re playing music every day. So it was a wonderful place to be. But then the advent of the home studios: record companies went by the way-side, budgets have fallen drastically and now you’re asked to do the same amount of work for much less money. It’s just the way the industry is. It’s not like you’re not working or anything like that-it’s just the way it is. So that’s kind of the downside for somebody that likes to produce and be on the road. For awhile there I was having a ball. It seemed to kind of dovetail together.
Now the best thing about being in Austin: even with the growth we’ve seen in the city it still maintains a community vibe-there’s a great community here. I don’t know, maybe I’m insulated and see what I want to see rather than what is actually going on but I feel pretty strongly about it. I feel that the music community is still really, really strong and real insular and protective of each other. I think that’s fantastic. I also love the fact that somebody calls up and says they are having a benefit and 99% of the time you’re in. That’s not found in a lot of towns. I really think that’s something special here. It’s one of the reasons I love it here.  And it’s still easier to get around than New York.
Austin is a double-edged sword: for the same reason you can argue for it, you can argue the other side of it.

AD:  What kind of changes have you seen in the music business since you started?
SB: It’s really changing shape in the fact that the recording industry is different and what’s changing in the actual business. When it started out with 78s it was a singles oriented situation and it lasted until 78s became 45s and then if you had enough successful 45s or 78s you got to do a thing called an album which was all your hit singles and then three or four other sides that made an album. With the advent of CDs, record companies got really greedy and they were charging close to $17 for something that cost them a buck. Well now because they were greedy and because it was a self-fulfilling prophecy it’s gone back to a singles market. It seems like the younger and younger crowd that are buying music are buying single songs. It’s interesting to see it come around. A couple of years later it’s exactly where it started off in that sense-a higher technological sense that somehow doesn’t sound as good.

AD: Speaking of change, what do you think of SXSW?
SB: I enjoy SXSW because I get to see a lot of my friends that come to my town but still get to sleep in my bed. I think when it first started what I really think was great, and it seems to still go on, it was basically started for people to exchange information about things that they didn’t have-independence in the late ’70s and early ’80s. You could exchange publishing information and touring ideas and how to do things for less money and how to get your songs out there. This was right when the industry started shifting so it was a great thing and a great service, the original SXSW. And of course like anything else, it breeds success but also breeds its own failure. But if you take a look at the Convention Center every year, they still have the original thing: you can still find out about publishing; you can still find out about putting out your own CD. There is a lot of information that is exchanged that is for free. About 8 years ago I was really hating SXSW and I was down at the old Austin Rehearsal Complex (ARC)-they were opening it up for a showcase-and I hung around there and saw all these different young bands from New York and LA and I said to myself, “Man you are really becoming one of those old guys that hates everything. These young guys are great and they have driven all this way and are just trying to get a chance. They are all hanging out and they are just as nice as can be.” I looked at those guys and thought, there you were. There you were. What are you going to put down about that?
On the other hand, I think it has a tendency to take itself way too seriously.It’s kind of an interesting deal. One of the things I noticed when it first started getting big and a lot of the national acts started coming down here and playing and it got to be a little Hollywood, was that this town wants it both ways. This town wants to be its own isolationist, hipper than thou, we’re Austin and the rest of you guys are something else. But then at the same time it also wants to be recognized. Welcome to Austin. Now go home. They’re not going home. That comes with the territory. It’s all changing.
But I don’t have to worry about anyone else’s motives; I have to worry about my own.

AD: What wisdom would you offer musicians starting out in the business?
SB: You have to do it for the original reason that you started out which was that there was something in there, some magic element that was not tangible-not verbal. I’ve always told guys playing guitar, “This is your best friend, this is your shrink, and this is your better half, your mistress. This is the one that holds the mirror up to yourself.” The greatest thing about playing music is that you have an outlet that not a lot of people have. Anybody that is able to do that is completely blessed anyway but to do it for a living, come on. Let’s take a look at the world: we’re not stuck in Baghdad, we’re not stuck in Eastern Europe, and we’re able to do what we do. So don’t take it for granted ever because it is a gift. To sound like Yoda, “You must use this power only for good.” A lot of times if you are a musician you really don’t have a choice-this is what you are going to do. It doesn’t matter if you do it on a big scale or a small scale. My dad worked in a record store during the day and played music every night. I was able to go on the road and fortune shone my way but I know that if I was working in a store I would be playing music on the weekends. That’s just what you do. You just got to do it. The main thing is do it for the right reasons. If it gives you joy keep doing it; if it’s causing you a lot of pain you might want to take a look at it and back off for a minute. If things are going haywire, I don’t think it’s the guitar that is treating you wrong.

AD: Any new recordings coming out?
SB: I’m sure there will be. I haven’t been recording anything lately although I have been writing quite a bit. I’ve been testing new songs out at the Resentment gigs much to everybody’s chagrin. I’ll just finish them and bring them in on a piece of paper, lay it at my feet, and see if I can get through it. I think I have an album well under way right now but I want to keep writing until I can cherry pick it and find the best ones.

AD: One of our staff saw you with the Blue Tuesday Band. Is that going to be a regular thing?
SB: I don’t think so. I got the call to come play when Derek was out of town or couldn’t make it one night which I was happy to do. It was a couple of Tuesdays within a two or three week period. David Murray also played guitar and David’s an incredible guitar player so we had a really great time. Riley was gone last week, he was out in LA doing the Jay Leno Show so it was me and David playing two guitars rather than having a keyboard player. When I’m in town I love to play, I’ll probably go down and play a bunch more but I’ve got things going on. I sure had a good time playing down there.

AD: Anything else?
SB: I think we covered it all. I’m pretty long-winded.

Sun, May 10th @6pm at Republic Square Park

Austin’s mayoral elections are heating up and the Daze sat down with candidate Brewster McCracken to get to know more about his plans for Austin. Get out and vote Saturday, May 9th.

AUSTIN DAZE: Brewster McCracken is…

BREWSTER MCCRACKEN:…a father of a 5-year-old boy who loves music, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, and playing Chutes and Ladders with his dad…

…a novelist, guitarist, surfer, technophile and avid reader…

…an admirer of Pike Powers, Michelle Greer, Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Avellan, Barack Obama, Sara Hickman and his great grandmother Maude McFadyen…

…a husband who feels incredibly blessed by his wife’s love…

AD: For the people that don’t know, you’ve been a big supporter of the film and mixed media community. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience and role in helping those sectors?

BM: When Austin Studios’ development was sidetracked due to the federal government re-directing funds after Hurricane Katrina, I brought together Austin film leaders to craft a studio upgrade proposal. I persuaded my colleagues to include the upgrades in the 2006 bond election, and then I succeeded in accelerating the bond funding.

Robert Walker wrote this great testimonial [link: http://www.brewstermccracken.com/2009/02/04/robert-walker/] about my work with the film and digital media community.

Austin’s creative community is important to our city’s economy and national brand. Even more than that, our creativity is our community’s soul. If creative opportunities dry up, we’ll lose our creative community. We lose our creative community and we risk losing… well, you get it.

AD: You are also a big supporter of musicians and are concerned about their leaving the city. One of the things that has been happening recently are the increased noise ordinances and increased decibel restrictions. What are your feelings on this?

BM: There’s a 70-decibel restriction for restaurants that dates back to the 1970’s. It’s lower than the 80-decibel standard for live music venues. Clearly the 70-decibel standard is out of date and needs to be changed to 80 decibels.

Here’s why this matters. The reason why Austin has such a strong music community is because we have an incredible number of working musicians. For working musicians to thrive, they need to have work, and that means we need venues where Austin musicians can be paid to perform. The decibel restriction threatens to reduce the number of venues that offer live music, and thereby reduce the amount of available opportunities for working musicians to earn a living and be heard.

AD: You want to “make Austin a national leader in the creative economy sectors of film, digital media and music.” How?

BM: Just this week, an economic study was released [link: http://www.brewstermccracken.com/2009/05/01/study-emphasizes-importance-of-creative-sector-to-texas-economy/] showing that Texas’ creative sector is growing faster and paying higher wages than jobs in other arenas and that leading in the creative economy will be important to our state’s future.

I have worked with music, film, video game, digital media and creative arts leaders on strategies to protect jobs and create new opportunities for our creative community. In one of my Crow’s Nest blog posts, “The Creative Economy,” [link: http://www.brewstermccracken.com/2009/02/04/the-creative-economy/] I describe why the creative economy matters to Austin and how we can expand opportunities. And in my most recent Crow’s Nest post, “How to grow Austin’s economy during this economic downturn,” [link:http://www.brewstermccracken.com/2009/05/06/how-to-grow-austin’s-economy-during-this-economic-downturn/ ]I identify the specific steps specific steps that I will pursue to protect jobs and create new clean energy, biotech and creative economy jobs.

AD: In addition to film and digital media you are very passionate about clean energy, biotech, and healthcare. Can you tell us a little bit about their significance to you and Austin as a community? And their role in our economic future?

BM: For a generation, the semiconductor industry has been the foundation of our economy. And now, these jobs are moving overseas.

How Austin responds to this challenge is the central issue in this mayoral election.

The focus of my campaign’s economic strategy – and the core challenging facing Austin’s economy – is protecting jobs and pursuing opportunities in the emerging job sectors of the 21st Century Economy: clean energy, biotech and creative media.

Just this week, the New York Times reported [link: http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/can-clean-energy-revive-manufacturing/] that Oregon is successfully repurposing semiconductor fabs for solar manufacturing, and that this approach is creating new opportunities for people who have worked in the semiconductor industry. This story demonstrates the value of moving now into these new economic sectors.

Attempting simply to ride out the current storm will not address the fundamental challenge to our economic future. In fact, a hunker down approach would cost us valuable time while other regions work to establish leadership in the emerging job sectors of the 21st Century Economy.

I believe Austin leaders – including the mayor – need to begin work NOW on new opportunities in clean energy (particularly solar, energy storage and smart grid software systems), biotech (including nanomedicine, microfluidics and medical devices) and creative media (film, digital media, wireless, music and video games).

How we respond to this global economic challenge will determine our region’s economic future.

AD: Is the city prepared to become a national leader in all of these?

BM: Yes, but only if we choose to. This will not happen for us by accident or through luck.

AD: How can the Austin Model be applied to our current economic situation?

BM: Austin faces real economic challenges from the erosion of our economy’s foundation in the semiconductor industry. And as I point out in my video post on The Austin Model [link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3fUkvuvFHg&feature=channel_page], the risk of inaction is that Austin could face decline and loss of opportunity. That video is now the most watched YouTube video in Austin election history.

Decline isn’t inevitable. We can control our future. I have written and spoken a lot about The Austin Model [link: http://www.brewstermccracken.com/about/austinmodel/] because this is the proven approach for how a city can become a leader in emerging economic sectors.

In my post, “The Seven Steps to Securing Austin’s Economic Future,” [link: http://www.brewstermccracken.com/about/seven-steps-to-securing-austin-economic-future/] I have laid out the steps that Austin can use to lead in clean energy, biotech and the creative economy – just as we did in the 1980’s when Dr. George Kozmetsky, Pike Powers, Dr. Ben Streetman and other visionary leaders reinvented Austin’s economy in a 5-year period into a global leader in semiconductors and information technology.

We can do it again. After all, we’ve done it before. And we invented the model.

AD: Let’s talk about fear. People are feeling pretty anxious these days. What can you tell Austinites about their future? What can we expect? What’s realistic? Where does Austin stand in comparison to the rest of the country?

BM: Our community has the talent, ambition, creativity and values to lead in tomorrow’s economy – if we choose to get to work. The global economy is undergoing a significant transformation, and the scary thing is how fast this is happening. But that is also the good news. If we act now to lead in tomorrow’s economy, a better future will come faster than many expect.

AD: Day to day hot topic we hear a lot about: “Traffic is getting worse and worse in this city.” Thoughts on that and plans for public transportation?

BM: Austin’s vision should be to create a world class transportation system. That means great highways, local roads, rail systems, bicycle facilities and bus networks. The challenge is funding these – particularly with the global financial crisis that erupted last fall. But road and rail systems require a lot of engineering work in advance, so now is a good time to do the engineering and planning so that we can pursue federal funding for these improvements.

AD: Biggest lesson you learned at City Council.

BM: I learned to listen more and talk less.

AD: Why Mayor?

BM: It’s a job where you can really make a difference in the community where you live. And the work is very meaningful.

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This is your life…on Jazz Fest.

So became the mantra of ten days lived, loved, and ultimately lost   to the increasingly sticky streets of my beloved voodoo city. Or so  I thought until I checked out the live music happening in town this  weekend. With the Stanton Moore Trio, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, and Mike Dillon’s Go  Go Jungle playing at Ruta Maya,  Continental, and the Parish  respectively, it turns out: this is your  life…on jazz fest…in Austin.

For those of you who might have missed it or for those of you who aren’t ready to let it go…

Stanton Moore Trio

There are many faces of Stanton Moore all of which shined through this week in New Orleans. From Freaquinox to Galactic he is a force to be reckoned with, and with every show (I believe he played a record number over 10 days) he seems to be intent on outdoing himself. I am continuously blown away by this New Orleans drum legend’s energy and stamina. He will be joined Saturday night by Ephraim Owens and Red Young at Ruta Maya.

Big Sam’s Funky Nation

Big Sam’s mission in life is to bring joy to it—primarily through shaking your booty. As hard as you can. All night long. His show at Blue Nile was a high energy, sweaty, explosion of horns. Joined by Tarace Boulba (they will not be there this weekend), a 30 person strong Afro beat brass band from Paris, there was little room left on stage for the Big horn blowing man himself. Big Sam will be shaking it at the Continental Club.

Mike Dillon’s Go Go Jungle

Mike Dillon is a mad genius; a freaky son-of-a-bitch with an intensity that pulsates through every pore of his body. Go Go Jungle is an extension of that pulsation—a hot, sweaty, eyes closed, hips swaying, party. With songs like, Your Mother Was My Teacher, the man is committed. And in two years running, I have still not seen him naked. The tradition, usually held around sunrise involves encouraged clothing removal of the band and audience members alike. This year, he rocked the Dragon’s Den in what was decidedly a religious experience. I made it until 6am. There were taunts and teases, false promises, but ultimately, by the time I headed out in the early morning light, only his shirt was off. Maybe you’ll get lucky this weekend at the Parish.

There was a healthy amount of people, some pushing kids in strollers, others walking their dogs, and some, like myself, just trying to soak up the atmosphere. There were tons of vendors selling anything from bundt cakes and candles to bath salts and cribs. And don’t even get me started on the delicious food vendors! Fried catfish, crawfish etouffee, gyros, kennel corn, the list goes on. The perfect foods for an event like this.

The music playing made this Austin experience even more pleasant. We caught some of the acts on the Latin and International stages. We were also lucky enough to see some street performers wowing the crowds and children while juggling lit torches or tap dancing on the corner.

Next year I definitely recommend bringing the family and friends down for this event. The music was great, the food was delicious, but the Austin atmosphere was even better.

Photo courtesy of George Salazar, Jr.

Any plans for tomorrow? Looking for a canine and family friendly activity that is not only fun but also benefits the Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation which promotes the health and well being of animals? Well Woofstock at Waterloo is the place for you to be and Austin Daze is going to tell you why!

AUSTIN DAZE: What is Woofstock and what is the purpose of this festival?

WOOFSTOCK: Woofstock at Waterloo is a dog-friendly festival created to connect pet owners and their canine companions with the veterinary professionals who care for them. The day-long celebration of peace and pups honors the Central Texas community and the animals we love. The festival benefits the Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation, established in 1978 as a charitable and philanthropic organization dedicated to promoting the health and well being of animals through owner education programs, veterinary student scholarships and emergency funds, and continuing education programs.

AD: How did this event get started?

WS: As a member of an organization that represents veterinarians in Texas, some of the leaders in the field here in the state decided it would be a great idea to start getting involved more with the public in an effort to bring the community together through the love for their animals.

AD: What kind of activities can the public expect?

WS: There’s lots to do for every man, woman, child and canine. There are demonstrations from certified pet trainers and animal behavioral specialists from in and around Central Texas. Local non-profits will be on hand to promote their efforts and commercial vendors within the pet industry will be there as well. Everyone can enjoy costume contests, trick contests and have a chance to win a one-of-a-kind custom made guitar in a raffle. Live music will be going on all day from local bands such as the Uranium Savages, Atomic Strawberry, Sometimes Salvation and Smoke and Feathers. Best of all, the first 1,500 people will receive a free gift from Dirty Dog and goodie bags while supplies last.

AD: If people want to donate, where can they do so?

WS: They can donate at the festival web site, www.woofstockatwaterloo.org

AD: Finally, give us the facts!  When and where?

WS: Easy. Saturday May 2nd. Waterloo Park 10a.m.-5p.m. All attendees with dogs must sign a waiver form before entering the festival. The form can be downloaded at the web site or filled out at the entrance. Finally, this event is free to the public.

“FOR  $(?), I’LL GET YOU THE HEAD, THE TAIL, THE WHOLE DAMN THING!” -QUINT FROM “JAWS”

My Solo Night With “The Soloist” by Rosie Gomez

I arrived a little late to the screening but quickly upon sitting down, became absorbed in the emotional story. Robert Downey Jr. plays Steve Lopez, an LA Times reporter who’s lost his inspiration for writing. But through a chance encounter he meets Nathaniel Ayers, Jr. (Jamie Foxx), a homeless man with an incredible musical talent.

The Soloist touches upon many heart breaking subjects such as homelessness in America today, mental illness, as well as the importance of friendship and family. There is also a phenomenal supporting cast consisting of Catherine Keener, Stephen Root, and my per

sonal favorite, Rachael Harris. I encourage everyone to get off their behinds on Friday and go to the theatre. You just might walk away with a new perspective on the increasingly shoc

king number of homeless Americans and the misconceptions concerning mental illness.

The Soloist opens this Friday, April 24^th.

Brunch #1 Somnios Café

Somnios Café is a new “slow food” café on south first.  “Slow food,” according to slowfoodusa.org, is a “global, grassroots movement with a commitment to community and the environment.”   Besides feeling good about where your food is coming from, you can also rejoice at the food and bevie prices.  Everything on the menu is between 5-6 dollars.  I splurged and got the special ($9) that was an incredible shrimp chipotle migas plate covered in goat cheese.  Delicious! The corn tortillas, I wrapped my decadent migas in, were softer than any I’ve ever had.  One of my 6 comrades got the Buckwheat Pancakes, which are cooked with apples and cinnamon inside the pancake and served with syrup, cinnamon, and sour cream.  If you like thin pancakes like I do, they are the best pancakes served in South Austin.  No Joke!  To top the whole thing off, Somnios Café has a beautiful colorful ambience and a BYOL (bring you own liquor) policy.  Their setups are only $2 a piece and yummy. I’ve never had a better kick off to Sunday Funday!  I highly recommend it.

On Monday, April 13th at midnight, we will close advance ticketing at the OSMF website. Tickets may still be purchased at any Frontgate Ticket outlet throughout the festival.  Tickets may also be purchased at the Gate at an increased price.   Platinum, four and three day passes (both camping and non-camping) and single day tickets are still available. All Festival-goers might want to buy a four day camping pass to take advantage of seeing the Gourds on Thursday night and participating in the late night jams on the campground.  Can’t wait to see you there!

Sweet Water at SXSW from AMFM STUDIOS LLC on Vimeo.

Dapper in black suit and fedora, Leonard Cohen grinned like a man on a mission. Opening with an arresting Dance Me to the End of Love, he commanded a stage he seemed truly grateful to be back on. At 75, the concert served as a retrospective of a life fully dedicated and devoted to living. An authentic life of an authentic man, born to sing; to write; to communicate the collective human experience.

He was a beautiful figure to behold, dancing and hopping a bit from side to side like a magic deer in a fairytale. The fairytale, as anyone that knows Leonard Cohen knows, was about love, and after all these years, nobody seems to have more of a lyrical command of it than he does. At times the high priest, the court jester, the doe-eyed creature, the destroyer, he sings about the power of love and all its cruelty in a way that makes it undeniably cool to be in it; to feel and experience it to its fullest capacity. From the first note, his voice grabbed holed of the hearts of the sold out crowd, at once caressing them, then stroking them, then poising to rip them out so that we might throw them on stage in place of roses.

Supported by his longtime collaborator Sharon Robinson and the lovely Webb Sisters, who performed a stunning, “If it is Your Will”, and back up band lead by Austin’s own Roscoe Beck, Cohen deftly revisited a repertoire that spanned his entire career. Everybody Knows, My Secret Life, Chelsea Hotel, Ring the Bells, I’m Your Man, Suzanne, Gypsy Wife, One of Us Cannot Be Wrong, A Thousand Kisses Deep–at over three hours there was something for everyone. He is no less brilliant. We were no less grateful, dotting our wet eyes, when a song resonated particularly true. At one point he stopped to address the audience, “It’s been 14 years since I took the stage. I was 60. Just a scrappy kid with a dream. Took some time off. I turned to religion and philosophies. But the cheerfulness kept pushing its way through.” The Webb sisters did a cartwheel. Mr. Cohen did a little shuffle. He performed like a man who had survived the sheer burden of living so closely to the heart–and having gotten through it was here to reflect in a way that was lighter, less imminent, the words easier to sing. There was a sense of ease, or perhaps relief, of the survivor who had made it, passing his wisdom on to those who still had many more to learn.

On both nights it was the exact same show and from what I’ve seen on You Tube, the same everywhere else. He’s 75. It works. No complaints. Well OK, maybe one: there is an increasingly popular format popping up with big name acts: the extended encore. So extended, that it is longer than the actual show.  I wish someone would get rid of it. One encore is exciting. Two encores, is still exciting. Hell, even three, you feel like you are getting a special treat. But when you get into the seven and eight encore territory…. there is something about the flow of it, that well, doesn’t.  It’s a strange choice for such an intimate performer and by the last song (and final encore),  I Tried to Leave You, even he seemed to find it amusing. He sang, “I tried to leave you, I don’t deny.” The audience let out a laugh.  “I closed the book on us, at least a hundred time” They laughed louder and began to applaud.  “Goodnight, my darling, I hope you’re satisfied.” We were.

Greg Mottola’s Adventureland captures the place perfectly. It’s exactly as I would have remembered it, if not for the somewhat bleaker lens.  Instead of the young Long Island girls hopped up on cotton candy rocking out in Gravitron, he hones in on the park’s employees and uses their entangled summer camp-like antics as a backdrop, writing a “sad love song” exclusively for the lost romantics and perpetually confused who worked the gaming booths that at 10 and 11, I was so happy to hand tickets over to. Those expecting Superbad II might be partiucularly surprised at just how sad of a love song it is. For this film, Mottola called on his inner Woody Allen. Mottola explains, “I personally felt like I wasn’t seeing a lot of stuff for young adults that treated emotions or problems in a psychologically believable way. I was quite insecure that people would just get bored if it wasn’t all jokes but I had to try–I had to try and take those emotions seriously.” And he does. Semi-autobiographical, the film centers on James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), a highly intelligent virgin hero looking for love–or something that resembles it and also hopefully includes having sex.  Instead of the obvious quest-for-losing-your-virginity-cue-tits flick, Mottola builds a complex character whose need to understand human sexuality is equal to or greater than his need to physically get laid. It’s a far more human emotion and surprising one to see in this genre. Aptly cast, Jesse Eisenberg has an arsenal of facial expressions to communicate his confusion, and while it seemed hard to believe the character with all his naiveté had just graduated college (I kept thinking high school), he does an excellent job of tackling the conflicting emotions that come with the whole human experience, regardless of age. As he forges forward, it’s sweet, sad, and sometimes legitimately painful to watch his journey unfold.  Mottola reflects, “It’s very much about being of an age where all my ideas of romance were childish and that I was waiting to find the perfect love as a young guy.”

Mottola says that when he wrote this he was thinking of films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High. You see a throwback not just to the look and feel of the 80s but the filmmakers that dominated the teenage angst screen. It captures most successfully the John Hughes idea of  drama that we can still laugh at and with; dealing with the heavier things with a joke.  Just maybe not the tits.

The seriousness of Brennan’s journey is balanced by the comedy of a cast of quirky characters. Frigo (Matt Bush), the “ball busting childhood best friend”, Bobby and Paulette (Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig) mom and pop owners of the park who should have been in show business but ended up here,  Lisa P. (Margerita levieva) the glossy and sultry Catholic girl, and Mike Connell (a creepy but perfect Ryan Reynolds) the glory days musician turned mechanic.  At times they teeter on the stereotypical, but then Mottola ads a tinge of darkness to each that is inescapable and undeniably real.  It’s as if he seems to remember his summer working at Adventureland as funny, and the people he worked with as genuine characters, but also profoundly depressing when he considered their future versus his.

Not surprisingly, this is not the case with Brennan and while he doesn’t let him ride off into the sunset on a fluffy cloud of bliss, he does offer him some valuable life lessons. Ultimately, what he learns through his summer journey is that love is really about “seeing a person for who they are and loving them with their flaws and allowing intimacy to happen.” And once you settle into the fact that this isn’t Superbad II or anything like it, the same can be said of the film.

by Bree Perlman

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Austin Daze had a chance to steal away Rene Coman from The Iguanas to answer some questions about life after Katrina and their new album.

Interview by Rosie Gomez.

AUSTIN DAZE: Was it good to be back in Austin for SXSW?

RENE COMAN: It was great to get back and see all our Austin friends. People there have always been so nice to us. Nice to see some hills.

AD: Anything you’re particularly looking forward to?

RC: I’m looking forward to eating some good Mexican food and hearing some new music.

AD: You guys have a really unique sound mixing Latin, Rock, and R&B.  What inspires this mix in your music?

RC: I think we just have a sense about what works for us. We started out in one place, and we added to it bit by bit, feeling it out as we went. The central thread is the collective personality of the group.

AD: Judging by the message board on your web site it seems like you all have a really personal relationship with your fans.  Can you feel the love?

RC: We feel it. And it feels good.

AD: Your latest album “If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times” has a lot to do with the effect Hurricane Katrina had on your hometown and families.  Is this album closer to your heart than previous albums?

RC: You love all your children, just in different ways. This new music is an excellent addition to the Iguanas canon.

AD: Have you all recovered from the storm?

RC: I think we’ve recovered about as much as we are going to any time soon. The easier parts have been done. The rest may take a while.

AD: What’s next for the Iguanas?

RC: If anything, the last few years have proven that you never know what’s around the next corner. One thing I know is we’ll be playing music. Keep an ear out for us.

Third Eye Blind from AMFM STUDIOS LLC on Vimeo.