Diatribes by Joah

R.I.P. Brent Grulke, creative director of SXSW Festival

To say Brent Grulke's fingerprints are all over South by Southwest would likely be a gross understatement. While working on my book about Austin's live music scene, Indisputable, I had the opportunity to interview Brent to learn about the history of the Austin Chronicle and SXSW. Sitting in Dog & Duck Pub, Brent re-counted some great stories about the small group of creatives who started two of Austin's important businesses in the early-to-mid '80s. At the end of that interview, perhaps feeling a creative-entrepreneurial kinship, I shared with Brent an idea I had about SXSW adding a fourth segment alongside its successful Music, Film and Interactive components, which would be focused on style. While Brent was already heavy into 2010 SXSW planning (this was December 2009), I shared the initial concept of Style X with him months before I ever sat down with Brad Spies Jon Pattillo Cristina FisherNiraj Mehdiratta or many of the other people who would later be key to Style X's first year success. For a couple of months, before unloading my SXSW Style idea onto others, I went over notes for Indisputable - focusing on the interviews I'd conducted with people who'd actually started something of note, like Brent, like Austin City Limits' Terry Lickona, like Susan Antone (whose brother Clifford gave us Antone's) - and their impact in and on Austin. In the end, it was the confidence, not in success but in the collective spirit of "guys we should do something cool together" and creative zeal I heard in Brent's voice that drove me to have those initial conversations with Jon and Brad. Hopefully, one day, I'll be able to make Brent and those other guys proud of having joined their ranks as someone who left their mark on Austin's creative scene. Brent certainly left an impression on me that I hope to someday leave on others. May he R.I.P.

What happens if Austin runs out of "tokens" like me?

I wish this wasn't the case, but my last blog - about tweeting during a recent Austin City Limits taping - was my most read in the last year. Does this mean I don't write about things that interest people? Perhaps. Although I did once write a blog about the Washington Elite that is still relevant today and continues to be among the most-trafficked blogs on the topic on the Internet. (do a Google search for the words “Washington elite”.)

But I actually think it says a bit more (possibly something disheartening) about Austin's residents. Often times, we are extremely short-sighted and can’t see the forest through the trees. We can’t see an in-show tweet as a sign of a new form of publicity for Austin musicians. We can’t see public transit, rail specifically, as a long-term answer to our traffic woes. We can’t see the Texas Legislature’s attack on public education as a long term effort to stiple innovation and economic solvency in the state.

Did you see the blog when I pointed out how dismal our African-American population growth is? By “growth” I actually mean that it’s on the rapid decline. It’s the only demographic – no other age or ethnicity is doing anything similar –experiencing a decline in the Live Music Capital of the World. What does this mean? Why is this happening?

Does anyone care? Will anyone be commenting on my Twitter or Facebook or blog about this trend? Will Austinites both new and old, mothers and daughters, friends and neighbors, because taking up arms about this issue? No, that’s way over their heads I suppose. Or maybe everyone has their token black friend and think they’ve done their part. Well, no, being my friend isn’t enough.

Because guess what? You keep this up, Austin, and there won’t be enough tokens to go around. No more rides on the merry-go-round for you in this city of creativity, fun and relaxation. The world of Austin, Texas, will have a lot less color. A lot less rhythm. Is that a stereotype there? Perhaps, but there aren’t even enough people concerned with the racial implications of this decline in the Black population to be up in arms the way people appear to be about my ACL/Twitter post. 

This is sad. I wish someone would tap me on the shoulder during an ACL taping and thank me for being there b/c it’s a rare occasion that this Live Music Capital of ours embraces the musical genres that embrace Black residents. Sure, we have Texas Relays but you all – yes, I said “you all” – seem to loathe it. We have hip-hop shows here and there, but they never have the momentum and support of those indie and singer-songwriter shows.

The remedy seems to put the word “Black” in your band name to get a little more attention, maybe from metal fans. I don’t know.

I’m just saying. Try caring about something more than whether or not my iPhone makes something less like it’s former self and care about the real things that make Austin a special place. We’ve been the token in the State of Texas for years.

But what happens when us tokens in Austin – yes, I realize that’s what I am when I’m out in social settings about 75% of the time - start to run out? What then?

 

Dear Kathy: Here's why I was Tweeting during last night's Austin City Limits taping.

Dear Kathy,

I’m writing you today to apologize that my phone usage during last night’s Austin City Limits taping for Kat Edmonson disrupted your experience at the show. I attend quite a few of these tapings, as I know you and your husband, John Kunz, do as well. I definitely wouldn’t want to hinder a fellow live music lover’s enjoyment of such a delightful artist as Austin’s own Kat Edmonson.

However, I also wanted to take the time to point out a few things that may shed some light on exactly why I was on my phone last night. For starters, I wasn’t texting anyone; I was Tweeting. Secondly, I intentionally sat on the upper level to ensure my phone usage did not show up on the taping or impact the artists. Typically I’m in the standing only section during these shows because I prefer to be closer to the artist. But knowing Kat Edmonson’s music fairly well – I saw her several times at the Elephant Room after moving back to Austin in 2009 – I figured this would be a better show if seated.

The main reason I attended this show was because I continue to work on my second book, Indisputable: A Fan’s Guide to the Live Music Capital, and had yet to include a major mention of Kat Edmonson in the book. I wanted to fix that, and the best way for me to do so was by seeing her at arguably the biggest show of her career.

So you may wondering why I was Tweeting at all during such an amazing, heartfelt show in support of one of Austin’s favorite young songstresses. Well, it’s rather simple: I was trying to do two things: 1) further promote Austin’s live music scene (being the vice chair of the Austin Music Commission only does so much) and 2) help artists like Kat Edmonson to make a living off the music she makes (ultimately, she’ll depend on fans like me [I have spent more than $2,000 in Waterloo Records since 2009] to buy her record).

You see, whether you like it or not, this “social media thing” isn’t going away. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that it’s quite revolutionary to the way people consume and gather information. Major news stories break on Twitter. Every major magazine/TV show/musician/news anchor/presidential candidate/brand/business has a Twitter presence because of it’s significance in raising awareness, expanding the brand connection with consumers, fans and “followers”, and bringing the world closer together. I could send you a ton of articles about this kind of thing because I’ve been working in the social media space for several years, but I think you get the point.

Interestingly, I realized that the very Tweet I was sending when you came up to chastise me was the following:

“Kat Edmonson's voice may seem soft, but it's a reminder how powerful jazz music feels. I'm being swooned. @acltv #Austin #livemusic #jazz”

You may not think that has any value to the show or Kat Edmonson’s career or to Austin City Limits, but sure enough that tweet was the only thing @ACLTV – their official Twitter handle – retweeted during the whole show.

It turns out that something I wrote and sent out to my 1,619 followers – approximately the number of people who were able to attend the show itself – registered with the folks running ACL TV’s Twitter and they decided to share it with their 27,133 followers. Talk about spreading the word. And considering that artists whom perform for ACL tapings are paid something paltry like $500 (imagine Radiohead getting paid $500 for a gig same as Kat Edmonson) and it’s pretty easy to see that the main reason bands are attracted to this show are for two reasons: 1) they love playing in Austin’s best venue and 2) they love the publicity generated from the show.

Simply put, Twitter has become one of the best and biggest publicity mediums a musical artist or business can have. This is probably one of the reasons why Kat Edmonson has a Twitter as well (1,073 followers), and why your husband’s business – Waterloo Records – does too. Last I checked, Waterloo had 15,042 followers on Twitter, not to mention another 19,320 fans on Facebook. You may not think it has value, but when tourist come to town for South by Southwest or any other time of year and spend their money buying CDs and vinyls, they’ll go home and click “like” or “follow” and that will be the way they stay connected to that legendary place called Waterloo Records.

I hope you know I'm not just guessing that this is the case. I actually know a thing or two about publicity because I’ve worked in the industry for a decade. I was a public relations graduate from the University of Texas several years back. Over the years, I've acted in a publicity-related role for the Texas Longhorns, Southwest Airlines, Volkswagen, the Beijing Olympics, the Pac-12 Conference, South by Southwest Festival, the bars on Rainey Street, and aided nonprofits such as the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, the March of Dimes, AIDS Services of Austin. Also worth noting, I've written a book called Real Role Models, an inspirational book for young African-American students, which was published by the University of Texas Press; I write blogs for The Huffington Post and have been published both in print and online for newspapers and magazines ranging from The New York Times to Austin-based Tribeza. I was the chief speechwriter for a government agency in 2005 and 2006.

My point is that I understand the value of both publicity and words, along with relevance. It’s also worth noting that I work for a tech company in town called Bazaarvoice, which specializes in helping some of the world’s leading companies leverage word of mouth behavior. That being said, a Tweet about that show was more valuable to ACL and Kat Edmonson last night because it drives a trending topic. In essence, it makes it more likely that a lot of Twitter users will find out about what was happening than if I had waited until after the show.

To be chastised for trying to raise awareness for Austin’s live music scene (thus reinforcing its status as the “Live Music Capital of the World”) in a real-time setting such as a live performance on Austin City Limits for an emerging artist like Kat Edmonson whose album is being sold at Waterloo Records, one of the last and best locally-owned record shops in the world is upsetting.

That it came from someone who loves Austin’s live music scene every bit as much as me is even more disheartening. I, too, would have been upset if someone was texting throughout the show. The problem is, that wasn’t happening.

The day and age we live in isn’t passive. We don’t just stand and watch. We don’t just sit and listen. We get on Facebook, we Tweet, we YouTube, we Instagram, we share. We build fan bases for our favorite musicians, TV shows and locally- and independently-owned businesses through word of mouth, online. I get it. @ACLTV gets it. @WaterlooRecords gets it. I hope you do too, someday.

With the utmost respect, 

Joah 

 

P.S. When I'm in Austin (I travel very often), I go to Waterloo Records just about every Tuesday to check out the newly-released albums and buy a few. My friends could tell you how serious I am about purchasing rather than stealing/pirating new music. Let me know if you'd ever like to meet up and chat more about the importance of social media and why I love Twitter. I've trained dozens of corporate executives, marketing reps and brand managers on how to leverage social media tools, and I'd be more than willing to give you a free tutorial if you're interested.

This "Little Longhorn" commercial is awesome!

When you're sick, take time with a new gadget!

At least that's what I'd recommend. I came home from nearly a week away between partying in Vegas for a weekend then spending a few days in Miami for a conference where I ended up getting a cold/fever, missing my a.m. flight then losing my keys in the airport. Not to fret, though, because I came home to this beautiful, sleek new Dell XPS 13.

I gotta say thank you to Dell! My day started like the photo below and ended with what you see above!

 

This city is the bestest!

And a few things they missed: - 2006, Mohawk opens joining Stubb's as the most powerful one-two punch in the country for live music venues on the same street - 1997 Alamo Drafthouse opens - 2005 UT Football, led by Vince Young, wins college football BCS National Championship