SOLD

After 10 years, it is time to say good bye to the Austin house. We had many good times there and worked so hard to fix it up. I'll never forget the deck that we built and all the fun parties we had every Spring.

Good bye front yard and the native Texas plants and wildflowers:

Good bye back deck and the numerous parties with Austin friends that we had on that deck:

Good bye Little Walnut Creek and the spring flash flooding in Texas:

Onward to Arkansas, y'all

The Toadies - In Fayetteville

So, The Toadies are technically from Ft. Worth but I've seen them so many times in Austin, I consider them part of the Austin music scene (what is left of it). Toadies shows in Austin always attract a huge crowd and, as a result, a level of intimacy with the band is difficult to obtain (such as getting up real close to the band without having to deal with idiots). Actually, ones ability to immerse themselves with a band during a performance, on a somewhat personal level, was lost all together with the destruction of Liberty Lunch - but that is an entirely different topic.

A nice thing about Fayetteville is that it is small. Clubs are small, crowds are small and the ability to get up close to the band is easily facilitated with little or no hassle. When "Austin" bands come into Fayetteville (which there are many) I try to make time to see them. It is like going back in time seeing these bands at the small clubs back in Austin, when they existed and when these bands were unknown enough to be able to play them. The Toadies in Fayetteville (George's Majestic to be specific) was one of those occasions and I offer some photos:

From the back of the club at the bar. Pretty small and intimate, huh?
Stage right. Up close with no effort - I didn't even spill my PBR.











Left: Sharon enjoying the front row; Right: Toad Lewis working the guitar
After the show. A blurry, PBR induced photograph of Sharon showing off the guitar pick that was handed to her by Todd Lewis - only achievable in a small venue.

Only In Austin...

Tom Hughes Park on Lake Travis, formally (and always to me) known as Marshall Ford. After a day of floating in the lake drinking cerveza Tecáte and enjoying the Austin heat, I was no longer white... simply red - and I'm not talking about Red Hucknall and the boys.

It was a great July 4th, 2008.