What music or musicians do you like that was made before you grew up?
I’m not sure there’s a line that separates when I “was” and when I “was not” grown up. It depends on whether you’re talking to my daughters or a traffic cop. I go through phases.The same holds true for music. I have a quite broad appreciation for all types of music, except one. I’ll leave that to your imagination. (One hint: stupid lyrics that approach issues with an attitude clothed in bias and rank ignorance).Now that we’ve settled that, I’ll say this: there’s a lot of Blues, Jazz and some Country music that was made before my day. Life experience has given me a broader appreciation for musicians I despised in my youth. I listened to a lot of Classical music in my teens and twenties—mainly as an exercise in broadening my horizons and because I was an audiophile. Some of the best studio work and production values were done on classical wax, and I enjoyed the thrill of hearing a full orchestral range on a great system. Jazz and classical seemed to offer the best experience in that regard.Today, I find myself in thrall of a number of musicians from the genre classified rock, folk rock and alt rock. Some of Rock’s best work came a couple of years before I was willing to hear it. Crosby, Stills and Nash—with and without Young, (the harmony between those voices is astounding!); Neil Young; Jimi Hendrix (I think “All along the Watchtower” is the best rock cover…ever. The fact that the writer, Bob Dylan now plays it using Jimi’s interpretation is testament to that. Before Jimi gets too smug about that, though, let me also say that I think Stevie Ray Vaughn's rendition of Voodoo Child is a bit finer than Mr. Hendrix’s); Carole King—I always liked her performing her own stuff, but when I found out just how broad her calalogue actually was, my appreciation multiplied; Bob Dylan, A-Z—and those people who diss his born-again catalogue are depriving themselves of some great music and solid, clever lyrics; The Who—Townshend’s a tortured genius; John Fogerty—I used to laugh at CCR, but time has proven that John has the goods; Tom Waits—I’ve liked him for a lot of years, but my appreciation has boiled over to near-adulation with closer scrutiny of his lyrics, catalogue and list of people who’ve covered his material.Well, there are likely many more, but the constraints of time and many more AtoAs await. I have to pace myself.
What is Austin, TX known for?
Live Music — bands come here to be heard and be known. With SXSW, ACL Live, and ACL Fest, it will probably always be that way.1 Part Drunk Techies who probably relocated from Chicago or California and didn’t want to sell their souls to Silicon Valley — rather, who couldn’t afford to live in the Bay Area.1 Part Chill Techies that are a bunch of hippies, are (mostly) bootstrapped, and you can actually have a beer with them (sans eye-rolling).Probably the Most Segregated Metropolitan in the US (and getting worse every year).Badass Mayor - who’s currently taking on SB4 with San Antonio: San Antonio, Austin join growing lawsuits against draconian Texas immigration billUnique Democrat Political Climate. We’re a 1-party town. The only difference is your fiscal policy. Also, don’t mess with our businesses. Also, screw business. We’re confused.Healthy Lifestyle. Not quite LA, but there’s a juice bar on every corner and every third person you meet is a yoga, Barre, or Soul Cycle instructor.Good food. See my comments on this: What are the best restaurants to try when visiting Austin, TX? What should you try while you're there?Growing Film Industry.I would add breakfast tacos, but that’s a central Texas thing, not an Austin thing. I love our food here, but any San Antonion will laugh at you if you think Austin has the best breakfast tacos.
Is music fundamentally innate to humans?
To the degree that most people have the capacity to sense sounds and interpret them, I would say that music is generally a fundamental inborn quality of human beings. There are, of course, some people who are completely deaf, and others who are less able to interpret sound at a level of proficiency necessary to create music well. Music has attributes that are objectively consonant or dissonant. Harmony in music preserves energy in the wave output better than combinations of sounds that do not complement each other. Sound is an important part of how humans have developed communities through spoken language, and music has played an important role in preserving oral histories and sustaining cultural bonds. Studies have shown that in societies that rely on pitch to denote differences in the meaning of spoken words, such as in Mandarin Chinese, there is a greater instance among children of so-called “perfect pitch.” Like so many qualities inherent in the human experience, there is a “use it or lose it” nature to musical ability. After all, for the classic question “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” the answer is not “talent,” it is “practice, practice, practice.”
Who was the bigger star? Hogan or Austin and why?
Hogan is the Biggest star by far.Hogan was the Biggest Star throughout the 80’s during the Rock n’ Wrestling. No one was even close. I think it was five years he held the belt. He was wrestling.Then, when wrestling kind of hit a down turn the NWO happened. Now, potentially anyone could have joined Hall and Nash in the NWO and become popular, but Hogan got in there and took it to the next level. Hogan again had a massive run on top as the star heel of the WCW, And during this time again he was the most famous pro-wrestler in the world. For a year and a half WCW was rated higher head-to-head than WWE. Most of this was while Hogan was the most recognizable person in the company.When Austin was popular, it was during the resurgence that Hogan helped create. Austin is amazing. But Hogan is pro-wrestling.
For those of you who have been in juvenile hall how is it like?
I've visited juvenile hall to see some of my clients. Our juvenile hall has pods with 12 cells/rooms per pod, and one juvenile per room. The rooms are probably about 5 feet X 10 feet in size. They have a door with a window in it, but there aren't any bars. Each room has a metal cot, bolted to the floor, and a thin mattress on it. There's a shelf/desk bolted to the wall as well as a metal stool bolted to the floor. Right next to the door is the toilet/sink combination. It's one of those metal one-piece units. The pods are gender segregated, so the males and females are not together except during class and PT. The juveniles are allowed one pillow, one blanket, one sheet, and two books, as well as their PT clothing in their cell. Each day, the juveniles, one at a time, take a shower in a shower stall that is located at the end of pod. They get a certain amount of time to shower, and the water turns off automatically when the time is up. In the center of each pod are three tables with four stools each, all bolted to the floor. At meal time, the juveniles line up to get their trays and go to their designated stools. When the command is given, they sit down and eat. No talking is allowed. School is held daily, but it's not like in regular school. There is no talking between the juveniles, by the way. They do have church service on Sundays, for those who chose to go. The juveniles wear the orange striped suits, white socks and shower shoes most of the time.except during PT when they were gray shorts and t-shirts, as well as tennis shoes. When the kids are outside their rooms, they are expected to walk with their hands behind their backs. Wake up time is 5:45 am. If you don't follow the rules, you can get put in lockdown, which is in an isolation cell. Rules include no talking, you must keep your extra clothes folded neatly, you have to ask permission to do anything.
Is campus life at Stephen f. Austin State University enjoyable?
There is always something to do at SFA! Griffith is not one of the newer dorms on campus, but it has had some recent renovations to make everything look nice. There are events going on in Griffith all the time - and you should get involved in the Residence Hall Association or the Student Activities Association so you can be involved in helping plan some of those events! Before you head to Nacogdoches, be sure and buy a bath caddy to keep your shampoo and stuff in. If you've never shared a bathroom before, having to go down the hall to shower will be a little bit different, but it isn't a big deal. Having so many friends living around you is worth it!
How big were Hall & Oates in the 80s? They’ve got the hits but compared to their contemporaries they seem to have faded more into obscurity.
Hall and Oates were and still are considered the most popular duo of all time after The Everly Brothers. They almost literally had a hit, or multiple hits, every year for the first five years of the 80’s, released an album for each one of those years and one in 1988, and toured behind every album (and let's not forget music videos and their popularity on MTV). They were asked to participate in We Are the World, Live Aid and performed at the Apollo Theater with two members of The Temptations. Needless to say, they were extremely busy and extremely huge back then. They've discussed these busy years in several interviews, shows like Behind the Music, and books like John Oates' memoir Change of Seasons.As for recent years, I definitely would not say they've faded in “obscurity”. The media may not be reporting every thing they do or covering all of their newer projects (due to the media preferring younger people with less talent) but that doesn't mean they haven't been doing anything. They've been touring constantly since the 70’s including this year with Train. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, and got a star on the Walk of Fame in 2016. There's been several solo projects in the last ten years by both Daryl and John, including Daryl's popular web show turned TV show Live from Daryl's House and again John's recently released book. They aren't making music (i.e. albums) together anymore, but they did release a song this year with Train to promote their tour.
How do you get tickets to SXSW?
SXSW sells wristbands for $110 - $150 each (past year's price) that'll get you into all the music venues (space permitting). You have to buy them in person in Austin. The wristband sale date is kept secret, due to the high demand - they sell out quick. If you register at the link below, they'll send you a text message when the wristbands go on sale. Then you gotta race down to Waterloo Records and wait in line. If you can't be there to wait in line in person, you can buy a wristband from a scalper for double face value. Each venue also sells admission at the door the night of the performances for like $30. The upside is you don't have to have a wristband; the downside is that it gets expensive if you hop from venue to venue. Plus, if you leave, you might not be able to get back in without paying to cover again.
Who were the greatest geniuses in rock 'n' roll?
By genius, I think of real groundbreakers, those who came up with original approaches that were brilliantly executed. So I'll put these names (or groups) out there: • Jimi Hendrix, and closely related...• Led Zeppelin, who created new reasons for parents to lock up their daughters. I mean, really, nobody made music like that before them, and it's been imitated ever since.• Lennon-McCartney, all you have to do is listen to the White Album. Listen to Rocky Raccoon, then Helter Skelter. • Kraftwerk, who, as other electronic music pioneers were making weird popping noises, created music, and electronic percussion that have been sampled and copied ever since.• Prince (mentioned previously); hard to name a great songwriter that's also a great musician but Prince is it.