From Texas Highways 2017 and updated As Austin is becoming more like Dallas and Houston, one thing that distinguishes the Texas capital’s quality of life is the live-music scene. The almighty South by Southwest conference, which makes Austin the capital of the new world each mid-March, was built on the backs of Austin clubs. They […]
Since the Sturgi-spreader in South Dakota in August, a good rule is to skip any restaurant with Harleys parked in front. But I will say that bikers from here are a kinder, more thoughtful breed. A true Austin outlaw biker: 1. Cooks crystal in a food trailer called “You Do the Meth.” 2. “Got his […]
On the morning of April 18, 1906, a headline on the front page of the Los Angeles Daily News screamed of “Weird Babel of Tongues” heard from a “New Sect of Fanatics Breaking Loose” at a former livery stable at 312 Azusa St. in downtown Los Angeles. The reporter described a racially mixed congregation, which […]
Where were you were when you heard the news? I was at work at the Dallas Morning News, and someone poked his head in and said that Selena had been shot. A few minutes later, the co-worker returned to say the Tejano superstar was dead. I sat there stunned, wondering why and how and who […]
From 1992, Dallas Morning News by Michael Corcoran Most of the characters of Robert Altman’s 1975 film Nashville were loosely based on famous country singers, which caused some speculation- like, was Ronee Blakely doing Loretta Lynn, Karen Black as Tammy Wynette? But there was no question who inspired the African-American country singer played by Tommy […]
Honolulu’s seedy Hotel Street in the ’70s The sailors and soldiers called it “Shit Street.” During Vietnam and a few years after, Hotel Street in Honolulu’s Chinatown was the Broadway of the skankiest red light district in the country. The Combat Zone in Boston wasn’t shit! Besides strippers, there were live sex shows, Korean handjob […]
“If you’re a fan of popular music and you want to know more about it, you should know the name ‘Michael Corcoran’– Marshall Crenshaw WFUV’s “Bottomless Pit.” “Corcoran has few rivals for following a story to its logical conclusion, then refining it into a seamless narrative. Even the means of reporting become part of the […]
Usually you’re surprised, one way or the other, when someone famous turns 50. You thought they were older or younger. It makes perfect sense, however, that Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart, hit the big 5-0 on Tuesday. Forty-nine would’ve been too young and 51 too old for the musical genius who, as leader of Sly and […]
Pizza is the ultimate communal slacker grub, able to feed the whole band. As minimalist food that you can eat walking down the street delivering existential lines in a Richard Linklater film, pizza could be among the most Austin of foods.
We’ve glimpsed our share of movie and TV stars at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and it’s usually easy to piece together why they’re there. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow was on hand in 2005 with baby Apple because husband Chris Martin’s band Coldplay headlined. Actor Bill Murray’s omnipresence two years ago was explained by his […]
