House speaker Dennis Bonnen could be leaving sooner than anyone expected, so says Texas tribune co-founder Ross Ramsey. We’ll have details. Other stories we’re following: a backlog at a major DPS crime lab. The problem: worker turnover. Also, money going up in smoke? What to do about a surplus of natural gas. And is Texas more southern or western? Scholar H.W. Brands invites readers to rethink what they know of the latter, in his epic history of the American west. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Archives for October 2019
Big Wild: “6’s to 9’s” (feat. Rationale)
Before starting this most recent chapter, Massachusetts-born Jackson Stell spent a good amount of time producing hip hop under the name J Beatz. But upon visiting some of California’s most grandiose natural formations, Stell shifted gears, upped the ante on his atmospheric sounds and rebranded himself as Big Wild
Big Wild only released his debut full-length this past February, but the emotional depth and electronic tones certainly live up to the album’s title, Superdream. You’ll be able to experience Superdream live onstage, this Wednesday at Emo’s, and to get your foot out the door and into Big Wild, check out a track that features British singer Rationale, “6’s to 9’s”!
Photo: Lucas Klingner
Higher Ed: How To Keep Tired Students Engaged? Help Them Produce – Not Just Consume – Knowledge
Students have a lot of tugging at their energy and attention including classes, homework, jobs and activities. In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton strategize on how to keep exhausted students engaged in the classroom.
“I teach an elementary math methods course. My students are seniors who are concurrently student teaching. They have two 3-hour classes each Monday and they are in classrooms the rest of the week. My class is the Monday afternoon class. I am struggling to keep their interest for three hours…. Any ideas on how I can get my tired students engaged and interested for three whole hours?”
Speaking from experience, Ed says several teaching strategies can help keep students’ (or anyone’s) attention when they are low on energy and rest but have a long stretch of classroom or meeting time ahead.
First of all, try to make the longer class feel like a shorter class.
“You’ve got to make sure that you give time for breaks. That’s number one,” says Ed. “It can’t be a three hour block.”
Ed also believes teachers need to inspire and support students’ curiosity about the material.
“Teachers should never be answering a question that [students] are not at that moment asking,” Ed believes. “So the real challenge in teaching math, or frankly, teaching anything … is to bring students to a place where they look at us and say ‘well, how do you do that?’ And than you say ‘I am so glad you asked!'”
He says fueling that curiosity will not only drive engagement and participation but also learning.
“If you make it into a riddle or a puzzle or a conundrum, then there’s this curiosity of ‘how come that person did it and I don’t know how to do it?'” says Ed. “And then it’s like ‘show me how. Show me the secret.’ So it’s like magic. ‘Show me a magic illusion and then show me the secret behind the curtain.’ And all of a sudden they’re learning.”
That active learning will, Ed believes, puts students in the position of creating more ideas themselves, which will in turn keep them more involved in what’s happening in the classroom.
“The more you can create active learning in the classroom or even outside the classroom,” says Ed, “we learn better when we are actively engaged and we’re the producers of the ideas rather than merely the consumers of the ideas.”
Of course, it’s hard to get around the fact that a three hour class is a long stretch of time. Ed says in his opinion, even 50 minute classes are too long. For him, an ideal class would last about 20 minutes in rotation with other subjects.
So Ed says one way to break up the time into smaller chunks is to introduce a new element every 20-25 minutes. What about something like a puzzler? Listen to this week’s full episode to hear more ideas on keeping students (or anyone) engaged and to get the solution to last week’s puzzler. We will cross that bridge when we get to it!
This episode was recorded on Sept. 25, 2019.
Jarrett Bell, pt. 2 (Ep. 46, 2019)
This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. concludes his conversation with Jarrett Bell, a veteran NFL columnist with USA Today Sports, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee who has covered the National Football League for more than three and a half decades.
Africa Night!
This is how you work up a sweat. And no endless amount of photos scattered throughout social media will ever do it justice.
Welcome to Africa Night, a Saturday night mainstay at the “jewel of the Eastside,” The Sahara Lounge, 1413 Webberville Rd. It’s simultaneously one of the most electrifying, invigorating and very relaxed nights around. Following a buffet feast open to all guests, Sahara patrons fill up the floor with nonstop dancing to the eternally groovy African psych house band Zoumountchi into the wee hours.
Tonight, Zoumountchi shares the bill with mighty funk/rock/reggae/Latin outfit Frederico7 (featured on today’s AMM). Afro jazz musician Ibrahim Aminou kicks off night’s festivities at 8:30 p.m.
Make sure you can dance in those shoes. You’ll need them. A longtime treasure that must be experienced in person. Recommended.
-Photo courtesy of The Sahara Lounge.
Do No Harm
Full disclosure: Though already a fan, your humble Austin Music Minute host had the honor and pleasure of traveling with songwriter/vocalist/musician Grace Park, front woman of The Deer, through Project ATX6 in 2016. What began as a musical adventure soon flourished into an overall incredible journey, with a much deeper appreciation for all the work of each of the six Project ATX 6 musicians.
From Angers, France to Toronto, Park could stop audiences in their tracks with a quiet intensity. It was apparent that something bigger was brewing, and The Deer’s new LP Do No Harm shows it without question. It brings to life something fluid, vast, sometimes indescribable, a redefining cinematic soundscape of breathtaking emotional moments. It took some time to make the album, but experimenting outside of any preexisting comfort zones has paid off tremendously.
Don’t miss The Deer as they celebrate the new album with a release show tonight at Antone’s, 305 E. 5th St. The KUTX October Artist of the Month Ley Line and classic western string swing band Big Cedar Fever share the bill. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the music starts at 9 p.m. Very recommended.
-Photography by Julia Reihs for KUTX.
KUT Weekend – October 18, 2019
The Austin City Council reinstates limited bans on camping and resting in public. Plus, what does the word “equity” mean in the context of AISD school closures? And iconic Austin burger joint Hut’s Hamburgers closes this weekend after 80 years in business. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
Subscribe at https://weekend.kut.org
Texas Standard: October 18, 2019
This time it seems it’s for real: the Energy secretary caught up in an impeachment inquiry, is coming home to Texas. We’ll have the latest on the return of Rick Perry. Other stories were tracking: Fort Worth is the biggest city in Texas without a police oversight board. After last weekend’s police shooting of a resident lawfully in her own home, people are asking if greater oversight would it have made a difference. Plus the week that was in politics with the Texas tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Small Town Festivals
Almost every Texas town has at least one — and they happen almost any time of the year. So, really, it’s always “festival season” in the Lone Star State. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Micah Shalom & The Babylonians: “Peace Rights Love”
Having played alongside Sister Nancy, The Skatalites and members of Inner Circle and The Specials, there’s no doubting the reggae chops that horn player Micah Shalom flaunts. A dozen years back, the then-Gainesville, Florida resident began fronting what has now become one of the Lone Star State’s most renowned Caribbean-inspired groups, Micah Shalom & The Babylonians. You can expect a little bit of everything from The Babylonians, who skank their way through roots, ska, rocksteady, and Afrobeat with impeccable ease while holding onto the conscious lyricism that defines those genres.
Micah Shalom & The Babylonians play a sweltering single release show tomorrow night at The Grove and again next month opening for The Skatalites at Flamingo Cantina. And speaking of that latest single, Shalom’s longtime advocacy for universal liberties and co-existence makes a bold return with some direct call outs on this one: “Peace Rights Love”!
Uncharted and Beyond
There’s nothing so simultaneously invigorating and rewarding as musical discovery, on so many levels. Case in point: Austin Uncharted, essentially a crew of ATX-based creatives that produces live in-studio performances by local artists at King Electric Recording Co. The spotlight is on local music. These performances are filmed and recorded with a lot of hard work – and, most obviously, a lot of love.
Tonight, Austin Uncharted celebrates two years of this work with the 2nd Annual Austin Uncharted Showcase at Barracuda, 611 E. 7th St. Catch performances by A.U. alumni Coattails, Honey Made, Löwin (featured on today’s AMM), Jake Lloyd, Otis Wilkins, The Matters, Aubrey Hays, and McMeta. Doors at 8 p.m., and the music starts at 9 p.m. So recommended.
-Photo of Löwin by Kate Blaising.
Why Talk About Happiness?
Listen back to Two Guys on Your Head recorded live at The Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas for a Views and Brews, as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy talks with Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke about the psychology of happiness.
Many people chase after goals that seem to them important and promising—getting into the right college, getting the dream job, moving to a big house. But what do you really need to be happy? To have a sense of fulfillment and joy? And why is it important?
Texas Standard: October 17, 2019
A Texas republican takes his stand against president Trump in what may be the biggest bipartisan rebuke of the president yet from Capitol Hill, we’ll have the latest. Also, the longest summer on record in Texas? Certainly the hottest September. A new investigation by the Austin American Statesman suggests Texas heat more and more is becoming a matter of life or death. And holding off on a glass of water with dinner? You’re consuming more water there than you may realize. Plus tech expert Omar Gallaga gets us up to speed on the latest hardware releases. Tis the season already? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
This Song: FINNEAS
Singer, songwriter and producer Finneas O’Connell not only writes and produces music with his sister Billie Eilish, but also makes his own music under the name FINNEAS. He just released a solo EP called Blood Harmony. Listen as he explains why he loved “Holy S**t” by Father John Misty from the moment he heard it and how the song helped understand that when it comes to songwriting, nothing has to be off the table.
“My general rule with songs — it’s the rule I follow with Billie, it’s the rule I follow with every other artist I collaborate with — is like, write about the stuff that you’re uncomfortable writing about, write songs that you’d be scared to put out, because you wouldn’t want the person who it’s about to hear it…and then put it the f*ck out.”
📸 Michael Minasi
Watch “Holy Shit” performed live on KEXP
Listen to FINNEAS’ new EP “Blood Harmony”
Billie Elilish talked to NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson at ACLfest. Listen to that interview here
Listen to Songs from this episode of This Song
The Belle Sounds “Light It Up” [PREMIERE]
It’s been a surprisingly short amount of time since singer Noëlle Hampton and guitarist André Moran first met in San Francisco, became partners in marriage and songwriting, and moved to Austin as The Belle Sounds. And it’s just as impressive that in the five years since then they’ve become a treasured indie pop rock mainstay, to the point that the City of Austin has declared April 13th as “The Belle Sounds Day”.
Now equipped with some at-home digital production software and producer Danny Reisch (Shearwater, David Ramirez, Erika Wennerstrom), The Belle Sounds are venturing further into the pop realm, while still retaining the vivid soundscapes and infectious harmonies that made us fall in love with them in the first place. They’ll be dropping new singles periodically through next Spring, and their first single release party is 8:30pm tomorrow night at One-2-One Bar. Wanna hear it? So do we. For the first time ever, here’s “Light It Up”!
La Voz de Oro
Get hip, music lover. Carrie Rodriguez’s Laboratorio returns tonight to the Cactus Café. It’s an all-star collaborative concert series exploring – and especially expanding – the boundaries of Latin music in America.
Tonight’s celebration is perhaps even more special than usual, by the way. In addition to the line up featuring Rodriguez, Michael Ramos, Roscoe Beck, Alex Marrero and David Pulkingham, there’s a featured guest bringing some classic vocals into the mix – La Voz de Oro himself, legendary Tejano vocalist David Marez. Yes, that Marez – of The Royal Jesters back in the early ’70s, and a major solo artist through the ’80s, ’90s and beyond. We’re talking a genuine treasure here who spans the decades. (Dude. Play “Entre Mas Lejos Me Vaya” for your buddies in El Paso or San Antonio, or…c’mon, you’re gonna have them going crazy with memory-overflow…)
Doors open at 8 p.m. at the Cactus, and the music starts at 8:30 p.m. – but make sure you have your tickets now. This one comes very recommended.
Texas Standard: October 16, 2019
The Tale of the Tape: what the secret recording of a meeting at the Capitol means for a once highly celebrated Speaker of the Texas House. We’ll take a look at the fallout. Other stories we’re tracking, what last night’s presidential debate means for the two Texans who were, at last check, still in the running. Plus, luxury brand Louis Vuitton is putting down roots in a Texas farm town. Pourquoi? President Trump plans to stop by this week, and we’ll take a closer look. And why Texas has a thing for Halloween…or as our commentator notes, maybe it’s the other way around. All of that and so much more on the National News Show of Texas:
10-and-a-Half Frightening Facts About the Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Originally aired: Oct. 31, 2016.
Texas is number one in a great many things: oil, ranching, rodeo, cotton. But you may be surprised to know that we are also number one in horror. That’s right, our very own charming little low-budget film, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, is considered by many critics to be the best (and most horrifying) horror movie ever made.
At the time of its release in 1974, the famous film critic Rex Reed said that it was the most “terrifying” movie he had ever seen. When the celebrated master of horror, Wes Craven, first saw the movie, he wondered “what kind of Mansonite crazoid” could have produced such a thing. Stephen King praised the movie. He said it had achieved “cataclysmic terror.” And my favorite critique comes from Anton Bitel who said that the “very fact that it was banned in England was a tribute to its artistry.”
In honor of Halloween, I thought I would help you appreciate this hallowed film; here are 10-and-a-half things you may not have known about the film.
1. Ed Gein is the name of the real criminally insane killer who inspired the character of Leatherface. He did not wear a leather mask. What he wore was worse: a mask made of human skin.
2. Ed Gein only killed two people, not dozens. Hardly a massacre. He did not use a chainsaw. He used a gun.
3. Gein did his killing in Wisconsin, not Texas. I know, disappointing right? Wisconsin Chainsaw Massacre just doesn’t have the same poetic ring to it.
4. So where did the chainsaw idea come from? Tobe Hooper, the director, said that he was in a Montgomery Ward store a few days before Christmas. The store was annoyingly crowded with aggressive shoppers. As he stood in front of the chainsaws he had a disturbing epiphany. He realized that if he started up one of those chainsaws the sound alone would part that sea of shoppers giving him a quick path to the exit. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how iconic art is born.
5. One last thing about Gein. He inspired not only Leatherface, but he was also the demented muse for Norman Bates in “Psycho” and Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs”.
6. Perhaps the most horrifying aspect of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, for the actors at least, was that it was filmed in the middle of the scorching Texas summer. You can see the sweat dripping off, even streaming off, the actors. Hooper said everyone suffered mightily because there was no stopping to wait for cooler weather. And even though
some days were well over 100 degrees, they had to press on to get filming done in a month, come hell or high water – and hell is what they got.
7. In his much-praised book, “Chain Saw Confidential”, Gunnar Hansen, who played the character of Leatherface, said that the name of the depraved family in the first film is Slaughter, not Sawyer. If you look above the Coca-Cola sign at the gas station you will see “W. E. Slaughter BBQ.”
8. Hansen also said that the power of the chainsaw myth they created on film persists with such tenacity in Texas that people would not believe him when he said that no such chainsaw crimes ever happened in the state. People would say something like: “No, they happened. My cousin worked on death row over in Huntsville and saw Leatherface himself get the chair.” But this is understandable because the film falsely marketed itself as “based on a true story.”
9. The film cost less than $300,000 to make, and eventually grossed $30 million in the U.S. The movie had its opening in Austin, appropriately, since its director was a University of Texas professor and documentary cameraman. Though it is hard to believe, he tried to keep the gore and violence of the film to a minimum so he could get a “PG” rating. That didn’t work. He got an “R” rating.
10. Horror and humor are allies. The movie even spawned a hilarious Geico ad that has run the last couple of years – the one where four people are running from a killer and debating where to hide. One suggests they take the running car and another says that’s a horrible idea and suggests that they hide behind the chainsaws. Even Leatherface is astounded by their filmic ignorance.
10.5. The film’s gas station is now a kind of bed and breakfast in Bastrop. It’s called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s “Last Chance Gas Station”. You can get BBQ and spend the night in a cozy cabin. Chainsaw alarm clocks are certainly available. I understand the BBQ ain’t half bad. At least the owners are not, like those in the film, focused only on serving their fellow man.
W.F. Strong is a Fulbright Scholar and professor of Culture and Communication at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. At Public Radio 88 FM in Harlingen, Texas, he’s the resident expert on Texas literature, Texas legends, Blue Bell ice cream, Whataburger (with cheese) and mesquite smoked brisket.
Lucas Jack: “Send Some Fire Down”
After half a decade of practicing corporate law in Chicago, Lucas Jack made a hard left turn, ditched the attorney’s digs, and doubled down on his dream of becoming a full-time songwriter. Jack established his piano-centric sound across his first three records, but he couldn’t do it without the help of drummer Michael Gomez and bassist Justin Schneider, who continue to perform alongside the eponymous frontman.
The next chapter in the Lucas Jack saga is the upcoming Forever and Nowhere, venturing a bit away from the acoustic piano to embrace vintage electric pianos and synths. You can see the trio 10pm next Tuesday at Saxon Pub, you can learn more about Lucas Jack with their recent five-part documentary, Send Some Fire Down and you can enjoy the new album’s lead single of the same name right now!
Man Vs. Magnet
The praises for L.A.-based band The Distillers on the Third Man Records site, where the band’s single “Man vs. Magnet” is available on vinyl, set the record straight. “To call The Distillers simply a punk band doesn’t do justice to either the band or the word ‘punk,'” runs the narrative, and it’s on point. Songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Brody Dalle takes the whole damn thing to several cerebral levels, making it clear that having depth amidst the debauchery is not a bad thing. There’s a reflective mind working within the wreckage and chaos, an intellect clicking with all the explosiveness.
Since reuniting last year for a run of dates, The Distillers have been going nonstop on a tour rush, and their current run includes a gig in Austin this Wednesday night at Emo’s, 2015 E. Riverside Dr., with Death Valley Girls opening the show. That’s a whole lotta hell yes. Doors at 8 p.m. Very recommended.
-Photo courtesy of the artist.