Greed

Avarice.
Pride.
Envy.
Lust.
Gluttony.
Wrath.
Sloth.

The Seven Deadly Sins...........I am no Catholic, but I know these things well, and they are ALL the hallmark of this society. Big business wants nothing more than to keep getting bigger, until it BIGs itself right out of existance. This is truly Rome, and Rome is burning. There is no place for the little coffee house-just Starbuck's. And yet....the little coffee houses, locally owed and run, are finding a place again, despite being out priced and shoved out of the primest spots. Personal care, and local accessability do make a difference over fast food attitude.

I am pissed off because something of an equally large nature out there in the music world has tried to stomp on something small and new and local, out of pure pig-headed greed. It is obvious that the mega-monster that happens in Austin once a year has forgotten completely its roots. It now only cares about big fat dollar signs and celebrity. MUSIC no longer is the centre of its world.

The Red Room, and that crazy person Delphine, lit a fire about doing our own sort of music festival here, in a couple of venues, for all the wonderful indie music we have come across in the last year. Response has been tremendous, and frankly astounding. It is already a success based solely on all the outpouring of help that has come from more corners than I can name.

Perhaps, in the rush of things, the name was chosen for reasons less than honourable- who's to say now? That was weeks ago when this San Antonio event was barely in its infancy! Due to snobby, insecure, petty, greedy vindictiveness, the name has been changed. No skin off our nose really. Quite possibly it is for the better, because it served to remind US, all those involved in this brand new thing, that it is NOT related to Austin, save for the Austin acts coming to play here who can't get a fair shake in their own town. WE love you! WE hear your talent! and WE celebrate your coming. I personally am really looking forward to the line-ups the girls have put together for the Red Room. It's gonna be a nutty week, and I may have to hospitalized a couple of people after its done (!) but it is also going to seriously raise San Antonio's attention to what can go on here. And I already know this is just the beginning. Larger things, beyond this one, are already in the planning. and as big as the event up there may be, San Antonio is literally bigger.
There is so much room to grow down here, and not a whole lot more up there. I kow. I've been watching since the beginning.


we are now SA INDIE FEST.


Is that a great name or what? Simple, to the point, and all San Antonio.

This is the home of Augie Meyers, Doug Sahm and the Sir Douglas Quintet, Freddie Fender, Flaco Jiminez, Pat Green, the Texas Tornadoes, Lara & Reyes, Shawn Sahm, Selena, Pitbull Daycare, the Union Underground, and more Tex-Mex, conjunto, flamenco, mariachi and Tejano bands than I can possibly ever list! Our musical heritage is huge and WONDERFULLY diversified. We are home to indie music, hip-hop, pop, rock, metal, country, not to speak of our magnificent orchestra!
We do not appreciate the variety of sounds coming from any street corner, any given day of the week, due to some silly belief that Austin has something more. Sure, there's live music there everyday, but most of those same people have to get up the next day to go to "real" jobs.
Meanwhile, the Jim Cullum Dixie Jazz Band wows our multitude of tourists and locals down on the Riverwalk! And they do it because they love to play. Too many live in Austin thinking they can become the "next big thing" by staying in a specific place long enough. then reality sets in, along with all its bills, and everything changes.

Okay, I am getting off the subject a bit, but damn it, San Antonio is NOT a truly lame place to be, and we are out to prove it. I hope everyone will consider giving us a chance, and come check out what Delphine and her insanity crew are trying to do. BIG isn't always better. The smaller morsel, served up with eloquence, can make for the more memorable meal.

and no, we aren't doing anything with the movie industry. We just really don't care that much. Music, from the heart and soul, is far more important.

Hello

I haven't had much interest in writing lately. It's not for a lack of things to report, but probably some seasonally induced malaise. It was broken a bit last evening by a fellow from Austin called John Pointer. John is one of those genius types in music that make you wonder if everyone in the world actually gets equal shares of talent. A multi-instrumentalist who started showing signs of music ability before he could walk, He's one of the people who doesn't just PLAY music- he paints with it. I used the exact same description about Brady Muckelroy awhile back, and I would LOVE to hear these two jam. It is one thing to pick up a guitar and play it as the instructor has taught one to. It is another entirely to become one with the instrument, and make it an extension of your soul. There is something about John's connection to his music, and music in general,that goes beyond ordinary. It is one of those ineffiable qualities that draw me to music.
I have always loved the scene in Amadeus where Mozart is hunched over a pool table, rolling a ball in a repeating pattern around the walls of the table, while he scribbled furiously line after line of music that was obviously running through his head. I get that way with poetry, and I know the mania that accompanys it. If one does not get it out, it can drive one insane. I have long felt that was the reason we lose so many of the best artists so young. It isn;t burning the candle at both ends- it is burning up inside and not knowing how to douse the fire that consumes.

alright.....perhaps a bit dramatic, but I tell you, it is the point between genius and insanity. A curse of our higher brain power, I guess.

Back to John- he's definitely of this ilk, and I encourage you to find him, and go see him. Oddly enough, you may have and not have known it. He was the beatbox guy on one Chili's ad, which you can see at his website. i do not watch enough TV to be certain, but I vaguely remember it. The beat box he did at the Red Room last night was mesmerizing, and his version of Stairway To Heaven just astounding. He's a oneman band for sure! I seriously look forward to his return.

I owe manymany peoples write ups, and hope that this may mean a return to my self. It has just been a strange month or so for me. Oh! and thanks to anyone who may have tried to help DC out with their equipment problems! I haven't heard much since then, but figure the insurance company covered a lot of it. What was Sentimental may not be replacable, sadly.
I have a gig at the RR tonight, and ne for my son-in-law's band Brotherhood, and I need to get on horse. Tomorrow is quiet. who knows? Maybe I will finally get back on the horse!

ciao

www.johnpointer.com

Call to Arms, and damn it! this SUCKS!

http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=177446

Get aload of this above article. Someone, or probably oneS, stole Del Castillo's tour trailer. DAMN it! Not that anyone who has busted tail to build up equipment deserves such things, but these guys are just great people, and this really SUCKS.

Pardon. I have been raving for two days now. On top of being ill, which hasn't helped my mood a wit! I have finally started getting the urge to write back and then this. And yes, I DO take it personally. These guys are my friends, and my most beloved band. This will put a serious kink in what they might be able to accomplish this year. They have been going full out since the last CD was released.
I only hope that everyone grows stronger for the experience, though I pray not paranoid.

There have been some great gigs at he RR lately, and I was all set when I started being able to take a deep breath without coughing up a lung to write all about them!
At least I have been getting the pictures up. I am afraid my time will be spent for awhile looking up things on line, and talking to all sorts of music folk to try to help DC.
Send them some good vibes, and bear with me. I will write about Buttercup's fantastic two-nighter at the RR, and then Matt the Electrician, ethan Azarian and Marcus Rubio at the RR as soon as I can.

James Brown, 1933-2006

As one writer aptly put it, dramatic to the end- dying on christmas day. as a pagan, I couldn't give a fart about the date, but I suspect it wasn't in his plans to go out on a day like this. Ah well. Best laid plans and all. anyhow, I was never a collctour of his music, but like the Beatles, I very much appreciate the impact this man had on the music industry and the world in general. The godfather of soul will have a place in history for generations to come. I know there is more I could write, but I haven't had any entusiasm lately, so I will not strain the reader's patience with tripe.

Bad day

It was 26 years ago. I spent the day in a court room waiting to testify against a little richkid brat whose daddy bought his way out of facing theft charges. I spent some time researching a book I was writing. I slept for awhile at home.
The phone rang. I sat bolt upright from a sound sleep, knowing who was calling. I said her name outloud. When I picked up the phone, she was hysterical. When she told me why, my knees gave way, and I collapsed to the floor. I didn't sleep for more than 48 hours after that......
John Lennon, one of the Beatles, a man outspoken about peace for most of my life, had been shot down in cold blood on his own building's doorstep.

Everything changed that day. All those things that had always seemed like they could be possible became brittle, bitter dreams. Yet strangely enough, John, without somehow becoming a martyr, despite what had happened, actually brought a lot of us together, where we might never had met. Grieving for our own mortal loss briefly clouded the greater meaning of his words and music. Though I wish it had been a different day, a different person, something, ANYthing but what it was......I also know that it was a very powerful bringer of change.

May we as a species learn to live up to what you sang of, John. It would be the greatest homage we could pay to your memory.

"All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance."

John Ono Lennon, 1940-1980
We will not forget.