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The Resentments with Tapwater
Ruta Maya World HQ

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We sat with a few of the members of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra on Jam Cruise. While they all shared enough of their answers to present them to you collectively as the band, one answer has to be shared and credited to the person who said it. When asked how they all felt about Austin, band member Martin responded: “It’s a secret fantasy of mine that everybody moves down there. That we escape the aggravation of New York and maybe can all own houses one day.” His secret fantasy has become a reality (at least in part) and we would like to personally welcome Martin into the Austin community The music that this band creates is nothing short of fantastic, creative, energy flow, soul sounds with a groove that cause dance. Read the rest of this entry »

AUSTIN DAZE: How long have you been in Austin?

HAPPY JACK: 77. Actually 76, but 77.

AD: On and off?

HJ: Well you know I’m a Rainbow, I go to lots of places but I always come back to Austin.

AD: What brought you to Austin?

HJ: Lets see, I think it was a 56 Chrysler. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594270496732,id=235372793,j=r,s=s,l=p]AUSTIN DAZE: Tell us about the good things that you all are doing on Jam Cruise.

MARC ROSS: Well we’re doing several elements of Jam Cruise. The overall function of Rock the Earth on Jam Cruise is to reduce the ecological footprint that this ship and this festival have on the environment. So we have had environmentally friendly initiatives to try and reduce that impact. The first of which is recycling. Normally this cruise liner, unlike other cruise liners, doesn’t conduct any type of recycling. So we’ve brought in a fantastic organization called Clean Vibes that has four kids down in the bottom of the ship sifting through garbage and separating the glass, separating the aluminum, the steel, and spending most of their time down there doing that. Read the rest of this entry »

Topaz is one of our favorite musicians here in Austin. He just owns the funk. Check him out and see for yourself. He does a pretty regular Thursday gig (GRR!) at the Velvet Spade.

AUSTIN DAZE: please describe the group topaz and your sound.

TOPAZ: I started the group around 1999. It started as a weekly jam at a cafe in Tribeca. It’s always been a very organic thing, constantly evolving. That’s what I’m doing at our weekly gigs, bringing in different cats, having lots of special guests and just letting it evolve. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594270496732,id=235372563,j=r,s=s,l=p]AUSTIN DAZE: Where did the name come from and what does it mean?

UM: It’s a very deep meaning. No, it’s actually Brenden, our guitarist’s, distant cousins who is a gentleman who lives down in Mississippi. Fine outstanding guy. And he of course has an “h” in front of the “u” and no apostrophe. But he pronounces it with a silent “h”. “Umphrey’s McGee”, is how he says it. So, it started out, it was kind of funny and now we just hope we don’t get harassed too much. He’s a lawyer too so if he ever wanted to sue us we’re totally hosed. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594270496732,id=235372854,j=r,s=s,l=p]We met up again with Bela Fleck on the first day at sea. He remembered us from the interview at Old Settler’s last year. We had a short conversation and hit on some key points. By the third day of the cruise we bumped into him a number of times. The Flecktones played two unstoppable shows on the main stage. They also played individually and with various combinations at many other times on the ship.

AUSTIN DAZE: So what do you think of Jam Cruise?

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[fa:p:a=72157594270496732,id=235372545,j=r,s=s,l=p]John Kelso is one of our local treasures here in town. The column he writes at the Statesman is the reason I pick up that paper. I have always wondered why he writes for The Statesman and not The Chronicle, which seems to be more akin to his style. A friend cleared that up by telling me that he stands out more at The Statesman. And standout he does. He kept us laughing during this conversation. Enjoy.

AUSTIN DAZE: So how did you get involved with the Statesman?

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[fa:p:a=72157594270496732,id=235372751,j=r,s=s,l=p]AUSTIN DAZE: Tell us about SXSW this year.

LOUIS BLACK: It’s the 20th anniversary, which is kind of shocking and exciting. It’s really weird to have the Chronicle almost 25 years old and then SXSW is 20, which will probably be the most extraordinary SXSW we’ve ever had and, I think, the most difficult. The music line up and the film line up are both so strong. There are so many great acts and so many great movies that people aren’t going to be able to get in to see who they want to get in to see. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594270496732,id=235372817,j=r,s=s,l=p]This person just blew me away. I have never been around enough hip/hop to consider myself a fan. That’s why I never really heard of him. Everyone I talked with seems to hold this guy up there as someone very special. I did my research and found his exploits to be interesting. The day before we shared words I had a chance to see him play. He can’t really be classed as an artist. Classing artists only works for ones you have not experienced. Even then, it doesn’t work because anyone can transcend a label. His songs just shook me. Tears came down during “Tell Me Sweet Little Lies” and that doesn’t usually happen. The lyrics just spoke to me deeply. From that point on, I was a fan. We met and talked about his work, his new film and some of his beliefs. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594267830938,id=233939463,j=r,s=s,l=p]AUSTIN DAZE: What is the difference between writing a screenplay and writing a book?

CHRIS ELLIOT: The thing I like about writing this is that I had free reign. I could go down to my office and just let whatever was in my head come out. I realized half way through writing it that that was why it was so much fun because usually on scripts you plan everything out and you basically just connect the dots between one scene and the next and even if it’s not working you still have to get to that next scene to finish the script. But I talked to people that wrote novels who told me not to plan anything out, to just let it go where it’s going to go and so it sounds corny, but it was a wonderful journey, to put it to you that way. It was a freeing sort of liberating experience to not have somebody saying that’s too stupid, you can’t do that, which I hear a lot. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594267830938,id=235141330,j=r,s=s,l=p]Don King is a local legend around town. Everyone seems to know him and what’s more everyone seems to like him. In the business he is in that is no small feat. We met with DK and Mike at a hidden away bar in North Austin. We were a bit nervous, but that faded immediately. Our interview turned into a great conversation and we quickly became friends. The thing I am learning with each passing day and Daze is that Austin is a cool town for the reason of its cool inhabitants. And DK is one to meet. We hope the following conversation lets you know a little more about the man that everyone seems to know. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594270496732,id=236178653,j=r,s=s,l=p]We were fortunate to share words and even a beer at Love Joys with this up and coming director.

AUSTIN DAZE: What was your experience in going from making low budget films to your first big feature?

RICHARD SHEPARD: I live in New York and had done a series of these million dollar or less thrillers. I raised money for these little million dollar movies from dentists and the air freshener king of Long Island–he was one of the investors in my movies. I was able to have this very odd career not living in Hollywood and not doing those things and actually making movies and it was pretty cool.

And when I wrote this movie. I actually thought no sane actor would want to play the part that Pierce ended up playing so I actually thought of making it as a digital movie like I had been making other movies for under a million dollars. Pierce got hold of the script and suddenly wanted to do it and it became a much bigger movie. I mean it is the most amazing thing in the world when a big star suddenly wants to be in your movie. You get a lot more money–I mean it just happens. Read the rest of this entry »

AUSTIN DAZE: You guys have reached success with The Greencards so quickly and have virtually exploded onto the scene. What was the defining event that changed the Greencards from being an opener and a Sunday brunch band to being a headliner?

EAMON MCLOUGHLIN: That’s a good question. I think the thing that was a big deal for us was the sensation of our first record, Moving On. We released that in November in 2003. You know it was original, it started to get some airplay on KGSR and that was a big deal, to here our music on the radio. That really changed things for us. The amount of exposure really helped.

AD: It seems odd that a band would move away from Austin with their musical career, doesn’t it usually happen the other way around?

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[fa:p:a=72157594267830938,id=235323328,j=r,s=s,l=p]How do I put this? You need to go see her play. I went last night and still humming the sweet sounds the next day. She is that good. Here are some words we shared:

AUSTIN DAZE: How did you wind up in Austin?

RUTHIE FOSTER: Who doesn’t wind up in Austin when you are in music or art or any of that? This is the place to be. This is the environment to be in for anything to do with art. I was living, well I was living in so many places, but I was living in College Station for about 7 years after coming back from New York and it just wasn’t as much as a nurturing town. Everything grows here. There is such beautiful music here. I had to come here. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone has a few skeletons in their closet, but my closet happens to be getting pretty full. It’s hard to try to contain the skeletons, to hold back the things I’ve done in the past, especially when there’s still interest today. If a skeleton wants to see the light of day, why not let it come out of the closet?

As the latest addition to Austin Daze, I am willing to let my skeletons find the light. No longer surpressing the past, I’ll give you, the readers, a little glimpse into some of the people I’ve interviewed and the things I’ve done, places I’ve seen. From touring the country on Ozzfest ! as a Harley Girl to interviewing people such as The Doobie Brothers and Pat Sajak (from the Wheel of Fortune), my skeletons are scratching at the door of my closet, waiting to wrech havoc once again. Like one of the many bones in my body, each hold a tiny part of my existence. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594267830938,id=235237362,j=r,s=s,l=p]AD: We feel very honored to share these words with you. How did you get into the music business?

IA: As a child, I was infatuated with the music of big band American jazz. And later, elements of Scottish throat music and black American blues and classical music. I just had this good feel about music. And I decided when I was in my mid-teens to become an artist, a painter. And I did a couple of years at art college before I thought, I’ve changed my mind, I’m going to give music a try after all. And that’s what I did. Read the rest of this entry »

[fa:p:a=72157594267830938,id=114880164,j=r,s=s,l=p]AD: Where are you from and how long have you been together?

DS: Asbury Park, New Jersey and Queens, New York. We’ve been together four and a half years. The past few months have been very sad for us since we lost Armando. He was a co-founder of the group. Read the rest of this entry »